2017 Italian Grand Prix - Monza, 1-3 September

[Dazed1]

I could not help but think Lewis' comment about the Ferrari engine might have been an attempt at making Ferrari "turn up the wick" a bit, and maybe blow an engine or two. It may have had that effect, in any case:

"Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne was not pleased and attacked the team in the Italian Media for failing to improve the car from last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix and for its operational errors."

“It was hard to suffer,” said Marchionne. “I told Arrivabene (team principal) and Binotto (technical director) that the car hasn’t improved from Belgium to here."

[Phil]

In all seriousness, i really don't think Hamilton looks dumb or stupid, he dresses quite well and he's not that nuts with his outfits, if he shows up with a mink coat, no shirt and trousers with a curtain pattern on them then i might retract that statement....
And 99.9% of the time i see him in the mercedes gear both drivers wear, just with a gold chain...
Could you give some examples of "what he says" that makes him sound dumb?

btw: "must be because i'm black" was sarcasm... the British are good at that...

I personally just think many people cant look past the gold chain, the ear rings and bling and associate it automatically with a certain group of people.

Adding to that, i can confirm that on German broadcasts, Hamilton isnt conveyed that well. He certainly doesnt get the "home coverage" the local boys Vettel etc enjoy. Adding to that, depending on which team and driver you support or from which country you are, it's pretty easy to fall into the good vs. arch nemesis the media is trying to sell us. And if you dont follow the other drivers, the obvious traits (ear ring, gold chain, Vettel road rage, alonso whinging) stick out.

[foxmulder_ms]

Tag, sorry, but arguing about Vettels DSQ is pointless. I didn't agree with the FIA/stewards verdict either, but I am not going to undermine the pace of the Ferrari because Vettel had 2 seconds of rage. If they hadn't collided, we'd have seen Hamilton win the race ahead of Vettel, meaning 7 point swing. If Vettel hadn't raged and Hamilton still would have had his headrest issue, he'd have won the race.

I'm not saying the Ferrari is the faster car. I simply think that Ferrari have done an exceptional job and IMO have been performing a bit better in the races where Mercedes has been on top of things than the other way around. Meaning that every time a Mercedes won, Vettel was right there in 2nd. When Ferrari won, Mercedes was fighting some issue on either drivers or both. Some of it is down to how Ferrari run the team, some of it, yes, is also down to Vettel beating Kimi comprehensively.

I'm looking wearily to Singapore because I see the potential there for Mercedes to lose valuable points. Ferrari have supposedly built a car that is easy to set-up and perform close to its potential. Mercedes arguably built the faster car, but for it to work and perform better than the Ferrari, they need to be on top of things. That's how I see it anyway and I think this is what will make the remainder of the season so exciting.

Vettel handed a win by Raikkonen, please include that too. Since Monaco, Kimi and Vettel is quite close. I disagree that "Vettel beating Kimi comprehensively".

[foxmulder_ms]

- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Japan
- US
- Mexico
- Brasil
- Abu Dhabi

From above list, I see Ferrari as the favorite only for Abu Dhabi and maybe Brazil... Singapore will be a three horse race. My current favorites are RedBulls. Remaining 4 is good for Merc. Suzuka, America and Malaysia are all like Silverstone. Mexico is actually a low down force tract due to the elevation so I expect Merc to be winning there, too.

[Spoutnik]

- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Japan
- US
- Mexico
- Brasil
- Abu Dhabi

From above list, I see Ferrari as the favorite only for Abu Dhabi and maybe Brazil... Singapore will be a three horse race. My current favorites are RedBulls. Remaining 4 is good for Merc. Suzuka, America and Malaysia are all like Silverstone. Mexico is actually a low down force tract due to the elevation so I expect Merc to be winning there, too.

Brazil ? High speed S1 and S3. If you start on pole it's really difficult to overtake on track. ---> Merc must win.

[dans79]

- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Japan
- US
- Mexico
- Brasil
- Abu Dhabi

From above list, I see Ferrari as the favorite only for Abu Dhabi and maybe Brazil...

I'm not seeing Abnu Dhabi at all, with those straits it should be Merc Territory. Look at last year, even with Lewis Backing Nico up, Vettel couldn't get buy.

[NathanOlder]

What i don't get with all the predictions ect is how Lewis made Canada look easy. I know vettels race was compromised but 3 tenths in Qualy was not close considering its a lot of slow corners and no high speed stuff. How come Ferrari didn't dominate ?

[Jolle]

What i don't get with all the predictions ect is how Lewis made Canada look easy. I know vettels race was compromised but 3 tenths in Qualy was not close considering its a lot of slow corners and no high speed stuff. How come Ferrari didn't dominate ?

to me it feels like Mercedes has the upper hand in general, but the advantage is so small that on race day it's all the small setup differences and the ability to make the tires work or not what makes the difference. To get this spot on at some races, is where there is still some gain to make from the men in silver.

[NathanOlder]

So why are people so sure of Ferrari in Singapore. I can understand being sure on Mercedes in Monza, its simply a power thing. But set up and Chassis' are so sensitive.

Baku was a walk for Merc if they had no headrest /Kimi issues (not blaming Kimi) thats gotta be like Singapore, all 90° turns and a couple of big straights.

[Steven]

Predictions for Singapore are not for the Italian GP thread.
If anyone still has anything useful to add here, ask the mods to unlock this thread.