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  1. #1
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    2019 Spanish GP - Barcelona





    Back to the scene of winter testing where Ferrari sent a fearsome message of intent with a clear speed advantage over the rest of the field. Unfortunately, the actual races since the season kicked off in Australia has produced a surprisingly different story with Mercedes pulling out an impressive one two finishes over the four races that constitutes all races done so far.

    Hence, we arrive in Barcelona with mixed emotions as the air is filled with various grapevines of the Barcelona track dropping out of the calendar in the near future. There is also murmurs of Ferrari turning up with an even more powerful engine due to fast tracked upgrades being delivered to Barcelona for this race.

    Barcelona is a race Ferrari must win to get a toe into the championship fight which is slowly edgeing away into an uphill battle if Mercedes manage to repeat their magical feat with another one two finish. If this were to happen, most would formally write off Ferrari. But l suspect that Leclerc have a different idea on the matter. He has an agenda of his own to reclaim a win this weekend to make up for the lost opportunities in recent races. He would be the man to beat this weekend and if the Ferrari car can keep it together on the reliability front. It may be very hard for the Mercedes pair to beat Leclerc this weekend. It may also be the weekend that Vettel gets his mojo together to stamp his authority on the Ferrari charge against Mercedes.

    Whatever the case, this Barcelona race may be the last F1 race that we shall see. Hence, we should make the most of this weekend.

    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 9th May 2019 at 14:23.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
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  2. #2
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    Bottas tops FP 1. Mercedes ahead of Ferrari.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

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    Senior Member Tazio's Avatar
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    Quali dawgz!
    Can anyone stop the Merc's?
    May the forza be with you

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    Senior Member Tazio's Avatar
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    Ves Redbull beat both the Ferrari's in Q1
    May the forza be with you

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    Senior Member Tazio's Avatar
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    Bottas whups up on "The Boss" again!
    May the forza be with you

  6. #6
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    Jesus, I'm starting to feel sorry for Hamilton fans. What are they going to do if this form keeps going?

    6/10ths at Catalunya?

    Ouch.

  7. #7
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    Amazing lap from Bottas. I don’t remember a teammate ever beating Hamilton by nearly 7 tenths before. Mighty impressive.

    Ferrari nowhere. What a disappointment they have shown themselves to be this year. At this rate they’ll be lucky to win a race this year.

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    Senior Member Duncan's Avatar
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    That was the weirdest qualifying session I've seen in a long time, and it seems to be down to the extremely narrow temperature window of this year's tyres. Hamilton was taking it very slow on his initial Q3 out lap, and clearly got it completely wrong and found that he had no grip on his subsequent hot lap. Then for the final hot laps, the track temperature had changed, and pretty much nobody was able to get it together. I can't remember a Q3 in recent years where the final hot laps weren't decisive (apart from rain...).

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    Quote Originally Posted by Duncan View Post
    That was the weirdest qualifying session I've seen in a long time, and it seems to be down to the extremely narrow temperature window of this year's tyres. Hamilton was taking it very slow on his initial Q3 out lap, and clearly got it completely wrong and found that he had no grip on his subsequent hot lap. Then for the final hot laps, the track temperature had changed, and pretty much nobody was able to get it together. I can't remember a Q3 in recent years where the final hot laps weren't decisive (apart from rain...).
    True, but Bottas must be getting under Hamilton's skin now. Bottas is just grabbing every opportunity he gets with both hands. Hamilton, like Vettel, has to step up and respond to the challenge. As it is looking, we are set for a big upset at the end of this season. With both multi world champions licking their wounds from the kicking received from their younger teammates.

    But l would not write off Hamilton, he would ramp up as we go further in to the european races.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  10. #10
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    The thing with Bottas lifting, it means Hamilton doesn't get top value for his performances. No favouritism throughout the weekend. In the last couple of years for instance, Hamilton himself might not have been at optimal level, but he still won or beat Bottas, or Bottas has a really bad weekend and it's easy for him.

    Now, if he performs at an optimal level, he still might finish 2nd. He can try harder, but it might make it worse for him. When you're already performing at an optimal level, how much further can you go?

  11. Likes: Tazio (12th May 2019)

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