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I am not so sure about Singapore being a blip in performance. All the facts point to the higher tyre pressure being a source of their lack of form. This will certainly continue at other tracks if they do not find a solution to running the cars on the higher pressure effectively. It is quite possible for this issue to throw the championship wide open, especially with 150 points on the table.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Black Knight
Right, well honestly I don't watch the races anymore, but that's cos I don't have a telly licence. I follow on bbc site and Radio 5 Live. And I fell asleep partway through the race. That's not a criticism, I was wrecked after many long night hours. :)
So from what I could see:
Congrats and fair play to Vettel. Outqualifying Kimi by over half a second(?) and just really looking totally on it all weekend. This is one thing I respect about him, his hunger and passion. He realises he may suddenly have a sniff of the title after all and is seeking it with no thought of giving up. If Mercedes problems continue, who knows, he could even go all the way 2010 style, which would be an astonishing thought pre-season.
Shocked as everyone else about Merc. Just baffling. You'd have to think it has something to do with the pressures cos nothing else has changed. What's worse is that unreliability is creeping in. Stranger things have happened than them ending up losing the title.
I noticed Ricciardo finished right behind Vettel. I don't know how much was safety cars etc but could he have actually done an even better job than the driver in 1st?
Honda absolutely terrible. I have less faith in them now than before the season. This was supposed to be the big one. I recently even suggested a surprise podium could be on the cards if they all fell right. I have to suggest that the much vaunted recent engine upgrade, much hoped and looked forward to, has actually done a Renault and gotten even worse! I still wouldn't mind that much but I am starting to wonder if Honda, with their policies and methods, which seem very... detached/exclusive and insular, may actually be delusional, to use a strong word. This is very worrying if it's the case.
Now it looks like Jenson's leaving, seemingly having had one too many seasons at the back of the grid in his career. As has been said, this would be a pretty massive vote of no-confidence in McLaren, or rather their weak link, and doesn't bode well for 2016.
Team orders! A tricky issue, as for me, context plays a huge part in it. A very grey area for me. Max Verstappen's "NO!" was equivalent to Massa and Bottas in Malaysia 2014 for me so I don't feel much issue with this. I really doubt Sainz could have passed Perez so no points were lost imo.
Silly season looked to be extremely dull this year, especially with Kimi retained, meaning status quo in many seats remained. Of course it was never going to live up to the last 3 years, in which the top 3 drivers all fell out of love with the teams they seemed married to. But now it's been blown open a bit over the weekend. Apparently we have Jenson retiring, Grosjean signing for Haas, Renault taking over Lotus as a works team, retaining Maldonado, and reportedly signing Perez, leaving at least 2 other seats open; then Manor about to get Merc engines to boot!
Tire pressures have nothing to do with it. This was something spouted around by journalists, including Brundle, at the weekend but the tire pressures were back to normal for the Signapore GP. The recommended PSI was 16 or 17 (can't remember which) whereas it was 19 in Monza which they won comfortably. It was just the nature of the track and them not being able to get the tires into the correct operating temperature but that was down to the car than tire pressures.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitrodaze
So anyway, Perez is expectd to be confirmed at Force India after all. Don't know who started that Renault rumour. Jean-Eric Vergne seems to be the favourite to drive alongside Brambillla, er I mean Maldonado.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Black Knight
So let’s clarify what the minimum tyre pressures has been over the past few races:
Belgium: Front tyres – 18.5 psi; Rear tyres – 20 psi
Italy: Front tyres -19.5 psi; Rear tyres – 21 psi
Singapore: Front tyres – 18 psi; Rear tyres – 17 psi
Last year the front tyre limits were set by Pirelli at 16 Psi on the front. This has been raised by two Psi to 18 and the rear tyres must be at least 17 Psi.
Pirelli raised the tyre pressures at Monza by 3 Psi when compared to 2014.
sources:-
http://thejudge13.com/2015/09/17/pir...-singapore-gp/
http://thewptformula.com/2015/09/19/...-in-singapore/
Don't forget Audi join F1 in 2018 with Redbull. Big news this. At least they would have 2 years to develop a competitive engine. I could see them ruffling a few feathers.Quote:
Originally Posted by rjbetty
Unless the VW Group are forced into liquidation over the emissions scandal. Doubtful but we don't know how much money they are going to lose. Motorsports might be relegated to the back of their list of priorities.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitrodaze
Great so that puts the tire pressure argument to bed then as the PSI was larger in the previous two events which they won.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitrodaze
Personally I think Singapore is a one-off for Mercedes. Street circuits can sometimes throw in outliers, which don't apply elsewhere. Alonso was 5th in Hungary, but he is hardly going to repeat it elsewhere. Williams is struggling at Monaco, Hungary (lesser extent at Singapore), but is good elsewhere.
I remember in 2002 and 2004, when Ferrari utterly dominated, they could not win at Monaco and could not even qualify on the front row on either occasion.
Of course it came completely out of the blue that Mercedes could not manage tyres there and was absolutely nowhere by their standards, reminding 2013, when they had big tyre management issues despite having an inherently fast car.