Is Mercedes fixing the 2016 driver chamionship

**Bagwan** · 14th October 2016, 20:40

Originally Posted by N4D13

Even so, how many terrible starts have the Mercedes drivers had so far? I can only think of Italy and Japan, and the former was caused by overheating whereas the last one was a driver error. It doesn't really look like they have massive issues either.

I'd also challenge the point that Mercedes isn't having the same issues, as I can recall Ricciardo and Verstappen also losing quite a few places on starts, most notably when Max's poor start in Singapore caused Hülkenberg's accident. So it doesn't look like it's a Merc issue alone.

Both of them started poorly in Oz and Canada .
Then Lewis was slow off the line in Bahrain , and Rosberg went from 1st to 4th in Germany .
Hamilton bad in Italy and Japan .

Lots of bad starts actually , and none of the other Merc teams seem to have issues .

They say it's complex , and they can't fix it this year .

I'll assume you meant Red Bull in your second paragraph , and though I agree that they haven't been completely alone in poor starts , there aren't any other teams having such a torrid time of it like Merc .

I'd love to know , since they are acknowledging this Achilles heel , why they say it can't be fixed this year .

I just noticed a touch of irony in the title of the thread in regards to this .
Is Mercedes fixing it ?
Well , no . They say they can't .

Hardeehar .

**Starter** · 14th October 2016, 23:36

Originally Posted by Bagwan

I'd love to know , since they are acknowledging this Achilles heel , why they say it can't be fixed this year .

Because it'd embedded in the software and would require a major rewrite to fix?

**N4D13** · 15th October 2016, 09:40

Originally Posted by Bagwan

Both of them started poorly in Oz and Canada .
Then Lewis was slow off the line in Bahrain , and Rosberg went from 1st to 4th in Germany .
Hamilton bad in Italy and Japan .

Lots of bad starts actually , and none of the other Merc teams seem to have issues .

OK, but that's still 8 bad starts out of 34, so basically 1 out of 4 is going wrong. It's quite a bit, admittedly, but I don't think it's all that strange considering the rule changes from previous years. Besides, my honest impression is that other teams have also been getting similar issues, but they aren't noticed that much because they're not at the front of the field. For instance, if Hülkenberg loses a lot of positions at the start, nobody cares and most of us won't even notice.

**Bagwan** · 15th October 2016, 13:25

Originally Posted by Starter

Because it'd embedded in the software and would require a major rewrite to fix?

Do you mean that this is actually the case , or are you speculating ?

It does put us on the edge of our seats , but I guess one has to weigh the difference between the cost of the fix and the embarrassment of being swamped off the line .

**Bagwan** · 15th October 2016, 13:37

Originally Posted by N4D13

OK, but that's still 8 bad starts out of 34, so basically 1 out of 4 is going wrong. It's quite a bit, admittedly, but I don't think it's all that strange considering the rule changes from previous years. Besides, my honest impression is that other teams have also been getting similar issues, but they aren't noticed that much because they're not at the front of the field. For instance, if Hülkenberg loses a lot of positions at the start, nobody cares and most of us won't even notice.

You're a little hard on the Hulk , but I get what you're saying .

They've said , though , that essentially , it was a mistake to have the clutch as complicated as it is .
Without help from the pits , as is now the rule , it has been very difficult for the drivers .
Given they admitted it's a problem , it may be that they've actually been doing a pretty good job , having only had 8 bad starts . It's hard to say .

To a degree , being ahead as they are , I guess the gains aren't worth it .
The bad starts will only be clearly recalled by the one who doesn't win the title .

**Mia 01** · 16th October 2016, 10:04

Lewis only have to take one or two leafs out of Nicos book and then he will be fine.

**Bagwan** · 16th October 2016, 13:48

Originally Posted by Mia 01

Lewis only have to take one or two leafs out of Nicos book and then he will be fine.

To a degree , you're right , Mia , but I think he would be loath to admit that .
According to Nico and the team , though , even though he has his mouthy moments , Lewis is as focused as ever .

Nico might look calm , but he knows it ain't necessarily over . He's been saying , each time they ask about the championship , that he's only looking at it race by race .
I think this approach has helped him a lot .

**Starter** · 22nd October 2016, 22:19

Originally Posted by Bagwan

Do you mean that this is actually the case , or are you speculating ?

It does put us on the edge of our seats , but I guess one has to weigh the difference between the cost of the fix and the embarrassment of being swamped off the line .

Sorry for the late reply, just back from vacation. Yes. speculating as Mercedes no longer copies me on all of their internal memos.