2014 Spanish Grand Prix - Barcelona

[johnsonwax]

i think Mercs are definitely 2 stopping

Yep. Even if a 2-stop is overall slower, they probably have enough pace to stay clear of the field. Pit stop = risk. This is why Mercedes is going to win every race - they don't need to take chances. They can minimize pit stops, stay off kerbs, save fuel and therefore engines. They'll win through reliability.

[beelsebob]

https://twitter.com/adamcooperF1/status ... 3458142208

Why on earth would you change for hards 12 laps from the end?

[PlatinumZealot]

Minimise time on the slower tyre. The hards are not lasting much longer than the mediums.

[zeph]

And to add insult to injury, Vettel gets a five-place grid penalty for his gearbox change. When it rains, it pours...


I'm so tired of Ferrari not getting it right. Give Alonso a proper car, dangit!

[PlatinumZealot]

Well there is only one place to be if you want to win the WDC in 2014. One can only hope that they make it right for next year.

[LookBackTime]

F1 2014 - 05 Spanish GP - Post-Qualifying: Ted's Notebook

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUMZPKE-7wE[/youtube]

[myurr]

And to add insult to injury, Vettel gets a five-place grid penalty for his gearbox change. When it rains, it pours...

It's not like his team mate hasn't been hit with worse bad luck. There's a reason Vettel is still ahead in the championship standings, and it's not because he's been driving better than Ricciardo.

[Sevach]

I can barely believe the STR straight line speed, they put nearly 10 Kmh over the other Renault runners and even more over the draggy Red Bulls, their drag must be ridiculously low.

Those 10km/h over the other Renault runners it`s STR`s strategy with a low down-force setup rather than a draggy RB10, don`t you think mate?

Isn't that what i said?

[Multi21]

Well it would be interesting to see what Maldonado would have done, but to finish (qualify) first, first you have to finish (qualify)

EDIT: The forecast for tomorrow is cloud with lower temperatures, maybe we will see something better from the McLarens?

yeah, very stupid mistake by him today (sometimes it looks that he can't handle these complicated turbo power cars).
He was fast in the FP's and screws it up at the worst moment... on his (second) favorite track.
With a bit of luck and no further crash it can be a points finish for him tomorrow maybe.[/quote]
hahaha its not just turbo powered cars, maldonado has crashed all sorts of cars. he is fast but perhaps doesnt know when to not push so hard. Those Lotus mechanics must really be getting fed up him his crashing now; every weekend they have put in extra hours fixing Maldonado's handy work.

[raymondu999]

What tyres does Seb start on, anyone know?

[beelsebob]

What tyres does Seb start on, anyone know?

Anything he likes.

I'd bet on hards.

[djos]

What tyres does Seb start on, anyone know?

Anything he likes.

I'd bet on hards.

I'd have thought keeping the mediums till last and taking advantage of the rubbered-in in track would be faster?

Is that what you mean?

[beelsebob]

What tyres does Seb start on, anyone know?

Anything he likes.

I'd bet on hards.

I'd have thought keeping the mediums till last and taking advantage of the rubbered-in in track would be faster?

Is that what you mean?

No, I mean, he's starting in 15th, in amongst several significantly slower cars. Sticking the hards on will allow him to not loose time stuck behind people, but instead, just run at his own pace.

He'll then be able to move to the mediums and run the normal strategy backwards, not loosing too much time. The only issue with this kind of strategy is that you have to guess how long you need to run on the hards, while the people doing MMMH get to know how long to run on the mediums (because they die), and then move to the hards.

[djos]

Gotcha, makes sense.

[Chuckjr]

I'd like to congratulate Hammy on his second championship. It's gonna be a walk in the park for him this year.

This unequivocal dominance of one team is getting seriously unappetizing, and I hope some thread of equilibrium can be found in the off season reg adjustments--if there are any....Similar changes which dethroned the Ferrari-Shumi era hopefully can be identified this season and then implemented next.

And let's be realistic...is Ferrari or Macca or Williams or Lotus going to find 2 more seconds over the Merc development program this year? I just don't see it happening tho I hope I'm proved wrong.

If nothing is changed, I don't see how this lopsided effort will shift. Merc has boatloads of money and all the resources nessasary to commandeer the next 3+ years no problem. Unless some drastic homologation adjustments can be implemented quickly, I don't see any hope for change in this one sided dysfunction in the coming years.

Ham is not even pushing. I bet he could easily pull another half second or more out if he was pushed, and no, Nico is no match for him. Even in the post quali interview Hammy's eyes were wide in shock at the sheer advantage he carries and Nico was simply at a loss. Ham is not even trying IMO from what I've observed and Nico is pulling out all the stops to no avail.

Honestly, I could give a rats ass who wins, I just want some sense of equality between the top teams so that at least races are competitive for the top positions. The RB dominance was just as unappetizing as the Merc dominance currently.

Pity this has happened yet again.