Formula 1 - 2018 Season

That's not a problem unique to Mercedes. The commentator here actually said that you'd need about a 2 second advantage in regular lap times if you want to have some decent chance of overtaking on this course (and Hamilton had nowhere near close that, maybe half a second or even less as he had older tyres). Now I'm pretty sure that's quite the oversimplification (and it probably doesn't help that the top speed of the Ferrari was just as high as that of the Mercedes), but based on what I've seen in this race I've no reason to doubt it. Alonso slowing down everybody behind him quite a bit, and Verstappen was clearly faster than the Haas in front of him, but no way he could overtake, and when he tried really hard it didn't end up too well for him.
Speaking of Haas, while they weren't as fast as the top 3 teams, they appeared to be very strong. Not the best pit stops, though... At least they proved they are a partner team Ferrari can rely on :).
Actually I was referring more to the fact that Bottas had trouble even getting through the middle-pack
 
Actually I was referring more to the fact that Bottas had trouble even getting through the middle-pack
Ah yes - Bottas probably did have that ~2s advantage in regular lap times. Still not really sure if that is a Mercedes specific problem, if he wasn't aggressive enough, or if other cars actually would have fared better. But overtaking is definitely difficult there (I think were was one "regular" overtake in the whole race). We didn't get to see another fast car from a different team being behind that much, so the comparison points are missing.
 
Bahrain looking good at the moment, Ferrari's half a second ahead of Mercedes which means they could maybe possibly be close to Mercedes in qualifying.

Also, Hamilton got 5 spot grid penalty for switching gear box
 
Quali will be interesting! Pole for taking by Merc or Ferrari. Race can be won by Merc Ferrari or Redbull in straight fight, so only thing needed is a bit of overtaking ability and I'm happy!
 
Vettel on pole, Kimi got traffic on last try but still 2nd, Bottas beat Hamilton at third and Hamilton drops all the way down to.. 9th I think? Verstappen hit the wall so 15th unless there's extra penalties
 
I'll be happy if they end up like that, before qualifying I put small bets on vettal to win & kimi to get on the podium
 
McLaren :(
Toro Rosso: will the engines last the race? :(

Also, the smoking Ferraris are really weird. Oi, oi, oil.
 
It was all part of the plan to force Vettel into a single stop start for the win.


btw that crewman has his leg on crooked.
 
Yeah the whole F1 is becoming a bit of a joke theres only a few possible winners, half the field is like $1000:1 payout if they win, theres no other 'sport' I know of where the odds are so lopsided
Its not gonna happen cause it's not in the car maker's interests but
how about the grid placement being ranking on current seasons standing but in reverse, eg vettel will start at the back next race.
Its not gonna really alter the final race placements much, eg in the current race most cars got lapped but there will be a lot more passing on the way to the inevitable result
 
Grandstand end to the race, but Toro Rosso must have to change the engines soon ... :( :(
 
What a baffling set of pit stop errors in the past two races.

How did Honda do so well? Last year Alonso was the last man running (14th) and Vandorne didn't even finish.
 
Probably the same reason why Renaults always used to blow up in red bulls, far more than any other car. The design is most probably reducing the flow of air to the coolers or something like that. Torro Rosso is not tightly packed like the Mclaren so i guess this isn't a problem.
 
Probably the same reason why Renaults always used to blow up in red bulls, far more than any other car. The design is most probably reducing the flow of air to the coolers or something like that. Torro Rosso is not tightly packed like the Mclaren so i guess this isn't a problem.
*grumble grumble grumble* :(
McLaren had a million engine penalties, Toro Rosso needs to have at least half this season or I will cry boohoo :(
 
What a baffling set of pit stop errors in the past two races.

How did Honda do so well? Last year Alonso was the last man running (14th) and Vandorne didn't even finish.
Finnish F1 broadcasters expert (actual ex-F1 Engineer Ossi Oikarinen (Ferrari, Sauber, Toyota, Arrows)) said that McLarens switch to Renault and subsequent performance suggest the problem was never the performance of the engine, but of the car itself. For example in Australia McLaren was actually slower than last season in raw speed - both absolutely and comparatively to Force India (Mercedes) ((I think they chose Force India for highest top speeds of all).
 
That was a great race, with some brilliant strategy from Mercedes. I think that Bottas has probably gone a long way towards keeping a Mercedes seat with yesterdays drive. Impressive to see a Toro Rosso do so well, and plenty of overtaking / drivers fighting.
 
Finnish F1 broadcasters expert (actual ex-F1 Engineer Ossi Oikarinen (Ferrari, Sauber, Toyota, Arrows)) said that McLarens switch to Renault and subsequent performance suggest the problem was never the performance of the engine, but of the car itself. For example in Australia McLaren was actually slower than last season in raw speed - both absolutely and comparatively to Force India (Mercedes) ((I think they chose Force India for highest top speeds of all).
All the cars are running heavy down force this year( during testing almost every cars top speed was lower, but times much faster) , but you have to compare the start of 2018 to the start of 2017 where they couldn't even get the oil tank right! For some reason people like to try and blame Mclaren, but do you remember 2017 testing? Do you remember Honda's admissions?

Even mclaren said that it was touch and go, between renault and honda, the issue was 3 years of it will be better next year with the start of the next year being worse then the end of the year before. This is almost the first time Honda have gone forward on the track relative to the end of last year.
 
Yeah the whole F1 is becoming a bit of a joke theres only a few possible winners, half the field is like $1000:1 payout if they win, theres no other 'sport' I know of where the odds are so lopsided
Its not gonna happen cause it's not in the car maker's interests but
how about the grid placement being ranking on current seasons standing but in reverse, eg vettel will start at the back next race.
Its not gonna really alter the final race placements much, eg in the current race most cars got lapped but there will be a lot more passing on the way to the inevitable result

It's been like this for decades. Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, red bull, Mercedes all had periods of dominance. At least this year it looks like there are 2 ~ 3 competitive teams. The mid field looks close too.

Football isn't any different. Every year you got the same handful of teams in the finals.

Stability in rules and aero that actually allows cars to follow and pass is what's needed.
 
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