foxmulder_ms wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2017 5:09 pm
I really think that Mercedes/Lewis lost the race. I think Mercedes still has the edge. It was the early pit due to too much "whining" of Hamilton that cost the race to Mercedes. Even under this circumstances if Lewis was not slowed down by Vestappen, he would be in front of Vettel. So, overall, I think Mercedes is still the favorite.
If the "whining" of HAM was why Merc chose to pit him then they should all be fired. They alone have all the information/lap times/deltas, HAM's job is to drive the car and communicate how it is performing to them, they are completely responsible for the strategy. Regardless of HAM's tone the numbers remain the same. HAM was still ahead of VET and still lapping faster than RAI or VER. It was clear that HAM should not have been called into the pits, all that did was give VET clear air while putting him in traffic.
Stay out as long as you are ahead, pit on the next lap if VET goes into the pits, or until you are clear of both RAI & VER.
The Ferrari was clearly faster than the Merc(at Australia). HAM had a great qually lap and VET had a poor one. Come race time the Ferrari was better on the used in Q2 ultrasofts. HAM was complaining of understeer from very early on, BOT did not seem that comfortable either and he was in clear air just as HAM. Why do the Marc's continue to take so much out of their Q2 tires when they have a 1.5 second comfort gap to get in, also they might need to think about Q2 on the supersofts rather than the ultras.
These tires seem to be more sensitive to track temp than last year. The big difference in time between the practice sessions and the race may not have been properly adjusted for by Merc. Also there was a big rain storm on the horizon at the end of Qually, did it hit the track and if so how did it affect track conditions.