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  1. #31
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    From what I understand, it is pretty much guaranteed Vettel is going to get some grid penalties later in the season. So it is likely he is going to start from the back of the field from, say, two races. Considering, how tough overtaking is this year, he would do well to finish around 4th-5th then. Two such races with two Hamilton wins, and the current gap of 25 points would be gone.

    So in my view Vettel would need to keep at least the 25-point margin he currently has to somewhat balance out the handicap, which is bound to arrive later in the season. So I think the championship is still very much open. However, from Hamilton/Mercedes point of view it is also clear that they need to regularly fight for wins and at worst start trading wins from now onwards. They can't afford Monaco-kind of weekends more.

    Fundamentally the Mercedes car is fast, about as fast as Ferrari. But it seems kind of difficult to set up. Whether they can overcome this issue during the season or not, is also important. Because otherwise they can fight for race wins pretty consistently (well, except at Monaco).

    Any DNF-s is also going to play a big role, because it possibly means a 25-point-swing. How are these going to pan out, also remain to be seen. Vettel looks good at the moment, as everybody has said, but F1 history tells that this is far from over. Especially with cars performing as close as they are. Remember, what happened in 2007 and 2008. Or 2006.
    Last edited by jens; 9th June 2017 at 19:26.

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Black Knight View Post
    I just can't see Hamilton going down as one of the best of all time given his current performances and career path when compared with the likes of Schumacher, Prost etc
    I think your assessment was a good one, but this specific element of it I disagree with. Lewis is the kind of prodigious talent that tends to be romanticised by history, so I think he will be rated as a legend even if he doesn't completely fulfill the potential of that talent.

  3. #33
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    Vettel put in a magnificent drive of a champion to limit his loses to 13 points at Canada. But it goes to show show that the margin for error is tight and punished severely. Ferrari and Vettel cannot afford any sloppy mistakes if they want to win one of the title of 2017. But more so for Mercedes and Hamilton, and Hamilton of Mercedes mistake could easily gift the championship to Ferrari.

    Vettel and Ferrari are still favorites, but it is increasing becoming difficult to rule out Hamilton and Mercedes.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  4. #34
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    Who is your money on NOW?
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  5. #35
    Senior Member Duncan's Avatar
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    This could get interesting later on:

    http://www.fia.com/file/59688/download?token=LKYYAOzI

    All the Mercedes powered teams are in good shape.

    Vettel has used his full season's allocation of turbos already. Both Red Bulls and Both Renaults have used their full season's allocation of MGU-Hs, and both McLarens have used at least a full season's allocation of every single component.

    Penalties are going to be a big factor in the second half of the season. Hamilton has got to be the number one favorite at this point, barring some unforseen catastrophe.

    These rules have really got to go...

  6. #36
    Senior Member Duncan's Avatar
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    One interesting feature of that list I noticed:

    Calos Sainz has used one more MGU-K than either works Renault driver. With that sole exception, all of the customer Renault drivers are doing at least as well on reliability as either of the works Renault drivers, on every single component. What's up with that? Why is the works Renault team performing so badly on reliability? Do they have thermal issues?

  7. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duncan View Post
    One interesting feature of that list I noticed:

    Calos Sainz has used one more MGU-K than either works Renault driver. With that sole exception, all of the customer Renault drivers are doing at least as well on reliability as either of the works Renault drivers, on every single component. What's up with that? Why is the works Renault team performing so badly on reliability? Do they have thermal issues?
    Although it's not so apparent right now, there was a similar situation last year with the Mercedes teams. To some extent with the Ferrari teams too. The customer teams were apparently getting better reliability.
    It could be that without as much detailed info about the limits of engine performance, the customer teams are forced to be more conservative with designing their installation. So that could explain why a factory team have more thermal issues than a customer team.
    Another possible explanation might be if the customer teams aren't being given access to the same high power engine modes - or are given tighter limits on how much they can use them.
    Last edited by AndyL; 17th July 2017 at 11:23.

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