Results 11 to 17 of 17
Thread: Austria '18
-
2nd July 2018, 01:59 #11
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.
- Likes: airshifter (4th July 2018),truefan72 (2nd July 2018)
-
2nd July 2018, 14:21 #12
- Join Date
- Sep 2004
- Location
- Woodridge, Illinois, USA
- Posts
- 4,485
- Like
- 639
- Liked 1,082 Times in 604 Posts
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."
-
2nd July 2018, 17:39 #13
- Join Date
- Sep 2000
- Posts
- 412
- Like
- 6
- Liked 31 Times in 20 Posts
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]
-
2nd July 2018, 19:41 #14
- Join Date
- Jun 2006
- Posts
- 1,610
- Like
- 301
- Liked 180 Times in 140 Posts
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.
- Likes: airshifter (5th July 2018)
-
4th July 2018, 18:00 #15
- Join Date
- May 2015
- Location
- Greenwich, London UK
- Posts
- 3,442
- Like
- 14
- Liked 790 Times in 652 Posts
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 10:57.
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
William Shakespeare
-
5th July 2018, 10:57 #16
- Join Date
- Aug 2001
- Posts
- 6,132
- Like
- 645
- Liked 673 Times in 470 Posts
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.
-
7th July 2018, 11:04 #17
- Join Date
- May 2015
- Location
- Greenwich, London UK
- Posts
- 3,442
- Like
- 14
- Liked 790 Times in 652 Posts
Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
William Shakespeare
Chinese Grand Prix: More competitive race for Williams. The 2024 Chinese GP would see the Williams Racing Team again come away with another failure to score points but this race would see a more...
2024 Formula 1 Preview &...