2022 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[PlatinumZealot]

A lot of drivers save tyres by lifting in faster corners, lift and coast (saves under braking), etc. etc., accelerate more gently or short shift in traction zones, etc. etc. Most of them limit the action to particular corners or zones on the track, e.g. turn 3 at Barcelona, for example - the biggest 'problem' areas.

But just watch Hamilton closely during a race - he varies his lines way more than almost any other driver (very noticeable when following another car - many drivers don't do even that I've noticed!).

What Hamilton does is really interesting. If you watch closely you will see he often does a different thing each lap or each type of corner. So he can drive the same series of corners 3 laps in a row optimised to save the tyre on a different corner each lap. Or he will change which corners he is leaving margin for tyres on from lap to lap. He's continually varying lines, braking points, turn in points, acceleration points lap to lap and so constantly rotating which tyre he is saving. That also extends to giving one tyre an easy time in one corner but then making up the time by pushing hard in a corner that uses the opposite, one for example.

The result is - through this constant rotation of what tyre he is saving and the way in which he's saving it - that he shares out the load (in terms of the 'tire cost' of each bit of lap time) across all the tyres.

Yes this is something George Russell has noted. James Allison mentioned this too.

[AR3-GP]

Does anyone think french GP with the new FIA TD, redbull be pegged back a little? i doubt it but i am no expert

Will be hard to determine. Paul Ricard is supersmooth, so Mercedes will be competitive there anyway.

Merc already tested in Paul Ricard a few weeks ago so they will have a good idea going into the event.

[ringo]

Whenever they all were on fresh tyres Lewis pace wasnt special.

I think to get a meaningful comparison as to whether LH's pace was special, you have to look at his pace against his teammate when they're both on the same tyres. I guess you'll never get a perfect comparison but it's perhaps more meaningful than comparing with another team. And the sense I get is that not only is LH getting more pace out of pretty much any tyre against GR and most of his past teammates, he can maintain the pace for longer than all his teammates. And very often the tyres finish up in better condition too. How he does this I have no idea!

I agree with this. He has that ability to find pace throughout the whole stint. It was very evident during his time against Rosberg, as well as last year. What I meant was that it's not a sign that this W13 is somehow the fastest car and is a rochet ship. As mentioned he had the pace because of tyre offset as well as management. I simply don't think the younger drivers are good tyre managers. Theyre quick, but I feel they haven't mastered getting the most out of the tyres as we have seen with Lewis and Checo. The ferrari's pace simply fell off more than Hamilton's. in particular they did not get much time to do long runs over the weekend.

[ringo]

To me this is just setup related and should not be attributed to Lewis to the level you make it seem. If you have a fast car you can manage more without losing time to others. You always see the faster cars be able to have the longest stints.

Ok. Keep thinking that way. You will be left scratching your head. The testimonials from his team over the years is enough evidence that he is working magic in that car. You may actually do yourself a disservice for not looking into it and chalking it up to setup.

[rickybobbyf1]

Does this hint at an improved suspension?

https://www.formu1a.uno/ferrari-allatta ... bull-ring/

I doubt it’s reliable info, but sure hope so.

I just watched the debrief and Shov basically said that the upgrades worked as expected, which may hint at good correlation. That would be great, as that is so important for the next set of upgrades!

[SuperCNJ]

Does this hint at an improved suspension?

https://www.formu1a.uno/ferrari-allatta ... bull-ring/

I doubt it’s reliable info, but sure hope so.

I just watched the debrief and Shov basically said that the upgrades worked as expected, which may hint at good correlation. That would be great, as that is so important for the next set of upgrades!

Yeah but don't forget what happened after Barcelona. Silverstone was another smooth track and one that plays to Merc's strengths. The litmus test is when we get to another bumpy track. If they can perform well on a street/bumpy track, only then will we really know for sure.

[Shrieker]

Any1 think George got away scot free with a virtually undamaged car, in the era with a budget cap ? That could've been a huge headache.

[AR3-GP]

Any1 think George got away scot free with a virtually undamaged car, in the era with a budget cap ? That could've been a huge headache.

That's a front wing gone but yeah could have been much worse. Look at the remains of the Williams and the Alfa. Those smaller teams won't recover from a hit like that. They are talking about not having upgrades for their second car or stopping altogether. Meanwhile Merc/GR got off "scot free" as you say. Somehow doesn't seem fair?

[cheeRS]

Any1 think George got away scot free with a virtually undamaged car, in the era with a budget cap ? That could've been a huge headache.

That's a front wing gone but yeah could have been much worse. Look at the remains of the Williams and the Alfa. Those smaller teams won't recover from a hit like that. They are talking about not having upgrades for their second car or stopping altogether. Meanwhile Merc/GR got off "scot free" as you say. Somehow doesn't seem fair?

Isn't car damage exempt from the budget cap when it's from a crash/accident? I maybe totally wrong on this, please correct me.

[07Patches]

Any1 think George got away scot free with a virtually undamaged car, in the era with a budget cap ? That could've been a huge headache.

That's a front wing gone but yeah could have been much worse. Look at the remains of the Williams and the Alfa. Those smaller teams won't recover from a hit like that. They are talking about not having upgrades for their second car or stopping altogether. Meanwhile Merc/GR got off "scot free" as you say. Somehow doesn't seem fair?

Isn't car damage exempt from the budget cap when it's from a crash/accident? I maybe totally wrong on this, please correct me.

That would be far too open to create loopholes, wouldn't it? Red Bull could change their whole floor for free due to a bit of debris, any minor touch could be said to cause damage and free replacements?

[AR3-GP]

That's a front wing gone but yeah could have been much worse. Look at the remains of the Williams and the Alfa. Those smaller teams won't recover from a hit like that. They are talking about not having upgrades for their second car or stopping altogether. Meanwhile Merc/GR got off "scot free" as you say. Somehow doesn't seem fair?

Isn't car damage exempt from the budget cap when it's from a crash/accident? I maybe totally wrong on this, please correct me.

That would be far too open to create loopholes, wouldn't it? Red Bull could change their whole floor for free due to a bit of debris, any minor touch could be said to cause damage and free replacements?

As long as the parts being replaced were of the same exact spec as the ones that were damaged, it doesn't seem like a loophole if it was allowed.

Of course, someone like Mercedes could afford to have brand new same spec parts every weekend, but smaller teams would not, so that's where it becomes unfair.

[Shrieker]

RIP budget I guess.

[101FlyingDutchman]

RIP budget I guess.

Tough one for you guys. It’s really hard with the budget cap these days. But accidents happen. They were clearly pushing hard and on the pace. Some comfort there for y’all

[214270]

I remain v confused by the ‘22 package; wasn’t long ago consensus was the PU was the worst of the top 3. Rb were even quite bullish talking up Hondas special turbo yet they couldn’t muster up a purple - here in Aus? Meanwhile and notwithstanding the clvster that was quali; Merc showed some real, single-lap pace. What gives??

[chrisc90]

Wonder how many spare parts they have this weekend