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Thread: Austria '18

  1. #11
    Senior Member Duncan's Avatar
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    Just astonishing that Mercedes made the exact same strategy blunder again. This comment from Toto was really strange to me:

    "The VSC came out, we had half a lap to react, and we didn't. Fact. This is where we lost the race."

    from the discussion, it sounds like they only started talking about what to do when the VSC was actually initiated. Wouldn't the strategy team be constantly working out what they would do if a hypothetical VSC (or actual safety car) was flagged right now? It sounds like they don't do that.

  2. Likes: airshifter (4th July 2018),truefan72 (2nd July 2018)
  3. #12
    Senior Member N. Jones's Avatar
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    Yeah, they goofed but they still have the best car. I think they will still run away with both championships but for now these blunders make for more exciting racing.
    " Lady - I'm in an awful dilemma.
    Moe - Yeah, I never cared much for these foreign cars either."

  4. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by airshifter View Post

    I was rather surprised and happy that Ferrari didn't use team orders and force Kimi to yield to Seb. It's one of the few instances where it might have been warranted now that team orders are legal again. It shows how they have changed as a team.
    I was equally surprised and did wonder if Kimi had got the call and just ignored it?!

    What would you do if you had just been told you had been sacked*?

    Ferrari will look v silly at the end of the year if Seb misses out on the title by 3 points.

    [*widely speculated but not confirmed]

  5. #14
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    Maybe it being Austria played a part in Ferrari's decision not to reverse positions. Surely they still remember the outrage they created in 2002. And with Kimi closing in on Verstappen, they probably couldn't have swapped until the final lap.
    Oct. 31, 1999 - one of the blackest days in motorsports.

  6. Likes: airshifter (5th July 2018)
  7. #15
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    The reigning constructors world champion are beginning to crack under the sort of pressure they have not faced since the start of the hybrid era. Their bulletproof efficiency was evaporating from the get go. A catalogue of errors, simply dumbfounding lethargic reactions under fast changing eventualities during races. Redbull have got the measure of them on quick thinking under safety car conditions. Their strategist is slow and erroneous under pressure going back years.

    They need to sack someone l think. If l was the one to make such a call, l would fire the strategist and bring in new young blood. Luckily l am not :-). But their problems are numerous actually. Reaching into their engineering and mechanic crews. When Peres had a failure two races back l think, l felt there was something amiss with the Mercedes engine. It is safe to say Mercedes is beginning to look like Ferrari of last year, with increasing emergence reliability issues at the summer of last year. But they have some very bright minds at Mercedes, so l expect them to turn things around. Ferrari is not seizing the moments either, which is bringing Redbull into the title fight.

    If l was skeptical, l would say all of this is manufactured to produce an impression of a three way fight. But that is not the case which makes the picture more puzzling. The season is looking like the most lucky front runner is going to win it. Not superiority of skill and machinery but pure graft and a bucket load of luck it would seem.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 7th July 2018 at 11:57.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
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  8. #16
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    The strategy weakness has hurt Mercedes now several times, and in some cases could have been handled better by novice level viewers. I really think a few of the calls have been that bad.

    RB and Ferrari are IMO, light years ahead in strategy. Even when it comes to the tough calls like double stacking the cars in the pits they make a decision, execute it about as well as could be expected, and run their race through the course. RB with their lightning fast stops seems to really excel at the double stacking move. Ferrari seems to be very good at splitting race strategy, often forcing the hand for other teams to react. Sometimes it turns out well, sometimes it's the wrong thing to do.... but they make the call and make their move.

    Mercedes seems to almost be surprised when a VSC or regular safety car comes out, when tires aren't lasting as predicted, etc. And they sit on it, wait for an obvious window of opportunity to take place, and miss that window.

  9. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by airshifter View Post
    The strategy weakness has hurt Mercedes now several times, and in some cases could have been handled better by novice level viewers. I really think a few of the calls have been that bad.

    RB and Ferrari are IMO, light years ahead in strategy. Even when it comes to the tough calls like double stacking the cars in the pits they make a decision, execute it about as well as could be expected, and run their race through the course. RB with their lightning fast stops seems to really excel at the double stacking move. Ferrari seems to be very good at splitting race strategy, often forcing the hand for other teams to react. Sometimes it turns out well, sometimes it's the wrong thing to do.... but they make the call and make their move.

    Mercedes seems to almost be surprised when a VSC or regular safety car comes out, when tires aren't lasting as predicted, etc. And they sit on it, wait for an obvious window of opportunity to take place, and miss that window.
    Yea, it is so easy to remember races that a Mercedes driver lost due to very poor strategic calls by the Mercedes pitwall. Clearly whoever makes these calls is a dinosaur or halfwit. Whichever is the case, Mercedes need to fix this area of their operation.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
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