2013 British Grand Prix Thread

[Corvettian]

We've *almost* got the TV system up and running here, so maybe I'll be able to watch the race tomorrow!

[kfzmeister]

W-T-F Ferrari and Alonso? 10th??????
This is an absolute disaster.

[The Black Knight]

That lap by Hamilton is the sort of lap we used to be lucky enough to see Senna do. Incredible the way he hung onto it on the ragged edge throughout. I don't think Rosberg was ever beaten by that margin in qualifying before. Amazing!

[kfzmeister]

A frustrated @alo_oficial is annoyed that Pirelli keeps bringing the medium and hard, “and we know that only helps two teams…”

Why did they change from soft and hard in 2012 to medium and hard this year??

[dj_bytedisaster]

mindblowing lap from Hamilton. Looks like he finally gets the hang of the other break system.

[dj_bytedisaster]

A frustrated @alo_oficial is annoyed that Pirelli keeps bringing the medium and hard, “and we know that only helps two teams…”

Why did they change from soft and hard in 2012 to medium and hard this year??

Because this years medium tyre is roughly equivalent in life expectency to last years soft one. All compounds are significantly softer than last year. Silverstone is hard on the tyres and I suppose they don't want to get as much flak again as they got after Barcelona.

[The Black Knight]

mindblowing lap from Hamilton. Looks like he finally gets the hang of the other break system.

I have a feeling it's more to do with this track not having the emphasis on breaking that other tracks have. He looked really comfortable in the car though so he has definitely made a step this weekend. What a car Merc have produced this year for one lap pace. Maybe Jenson was right when he said Lewis would shock us all with his pace when he has the car set up to his liking. I was certainly shocked by that lap time. Thought he might get a 1 .29.9 at most.

[dj_bytedisaster]

What a car Merc have produced this year for one lap pace.

This 'strength' is their weakness though. They heat up the tyres quickly, so they are optimal for a quick dash, but this comes with a heavy price tag - higher degradation. Their 3-day private tutoring lesson with Pirelli seems to have helped with that, but I still wouldn't rule out that they go backwards again tomorrow. A lot will depend on what the track temperature will be like tomorrow. It's expected to be higher than today, which would be bad news for merc.

[The Black Knight]

This 'strength' is their weakness though. They heat up the tyres quickly, so they are optimal for a quick dash, but this comes with a heavy price tag - higher degradation. Their 3-day private tutoring lesson with Pirelli seems to have helped with that, but I still wouldn't rule out that they go backwards again tomorrow. A lot will depend on what the track temperature will be like tomorrow. It's expected to be higher than today, which would be bad news for merc.

Yep, I think we'll learn a lot about where they are tomorrow. They have been struggling with tyres for a long time now and, honestly, it's about time they fixed it. Still, if I were a betting man I wouldn't be betting on Merc winning tomorrow. But they may surprise us all. I hope they have cured it as the championships about to 100% swing towards Sebastien. Whether he wins the WDC or not, it would be nice if it went down to the wire and he doesn't just run away with it like 2011.

[CaptainRaiden]

Jeepers, what a lap by Lewis! I was almost forced to applaud when he crossed the line. The best I thought he could do was a 1:29.8, not a 29.6!! As Vettel said, simply a phenomenal lap. Fingers crossed regarding the race tomorrow, but I think Red Bull should take it. I bet Lewis and Mercedes are praying for rain tomorrow. That Merc is quite good in the wet.

Whether he has gotten used to the brakes still remains to be seen. As it has been said already, this circuit is not very brake intensive. You can actually get from Copse to Vale by only downshifting through certain corners and using very little braking. Only at the Vale sequence of corners do you need to stamp on the brakes. Next races should give a clearer picture regarding the brakes.

Meanwhile Mclaren and Ferrari are struggling massively. Ferrari's sudden drop in form is puzzling. I thought long sweeping corners suited their car. Bad balance, you could see from the onboard camera, Alonso and Massa struggling massively to hook up one proper lap.