2020 Austrian Grand Prix - Spielberg, 3-5 July

[langedweil]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone. It has come to my attention that Lewis had requested... Or suggested a different tyre strategy to what the team ultimately chose, but he was told no, shut up and drive the strategy we give you. Imagine that! If Mercedes stretegist was really paying attention he would have seen it obbious that many more reliabilty incidients were to come and thus the increased chances of saftey cars.. And as such should have ran the more aggressive strategy..

It really irks me because it isn't allowing the drivers to use their experience and instincts to differentiate themselves.

"Urgent Chassis Default 2-1" aka "Multi 21"

[TAG]

I specifically stayed away from the noise I figured would be here because I'm happy to have had F1 back over the weekend. The penalty on Hamilton was a joke and others have very eloquently put my same thoughts on the matter so no need to rehash. I'm starting to think that Red Bull will use Albon on Hamilton to protect Verstappen in the same way Ferrari used Massa to protect Alonso.

I don't say this lightly and without much thought given on the matter. Red Bull are desperate because 2020 is yet another season they come up short. Ferrari are clearly nowhere and so Red Bull saw in Austria Verstappens retirement in a shortened season as the first nail in the coffin on whatever title battle he could mount.

That move by Albon was inexperienced at best, premeditated at worst. I know, sounds hyperbolic on the surface doesn't it? But it's F1 you know the potential the past and set precedent.

Anyway, great race otherwise, a great jolt of excitement to kick off the season. Look forward to this weekend!

[ENGINE TUNER]

Anybody else notice how poor lewis in turn 3 compared to bottas consistently. He would be 0.5 behind before the turn, and exit up to 0.8 behind givin him no chance of overtakin. Bottas took a more normal line through the turn and took a 'standard' apex, where as lewis would go deeper and square off the corner, but it didnt do him any favours. Hopefully he make the adjustment for this weekend.

It could be that Hamilton was minimizing time loss in that corner. Without squaring off the corner, and following Bottas on the standard line, being more in the dirty air, Hamilton may have lost more than 3 tenths in that turn.

[JordanMugen]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone.

The driver on pole, who then leads the race, should surely have priority strategy and not be attacked with undercuts by the other team car!?

That's just normal practice!

[Phil]

I never was that impressed with Norris, except for the likeable character he is, but man was i happy for him and his reaction to be on the podium. Count me in as a fan in the making.

Leclerc also continues to impress. To get on the podium was a very strong result. Sure, benefitted from many circumstances etc, but he kept calm and focused the entire race, head down. Very very mature. The mark of a very talented driver. I said it while he was driving for Sauber, but if Ferrari hadnt snatched him for the number 1 team, I would have wanted Mercedes to. Next to Verstappen, one of the very strong WDC contenders in the future. Easy decision for Ferrari for investing in him. As much as i like Vettel, i cant blame them for axing him.

[PlatinumZealot]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone.

The driver on pole, who then leads the race, should surely have priority strategy and not be attacked with undercuts by the other team car!?

That's just normal practice!

Mercedes normal practice is to help the weaker driver, ie. hamitlons teammate. There were number of times Rosberg and Velaterri got the first pitstop while running behind to protect them or help them catch up. It's a shame sometimes.

[loekf2]

I never was that impressed with Norris, except for the likeable character he is, but man was i happy for him and his reaction to be on the podium. Count me in as a fan in the making.

Leclerc also continues to impress. To get on the podium was a very strong result. Sure, benefitted from many circumstances etc, but he kept calm and focused the entire race, head down. Very very mature. The mark of a very talented driver. I said it while he was driving for Sauber, but if Ferrari hadnt snatched him for the number 1 team, I would have wanted Mercedes to. Next to Verstappen, one of the very strong WDC contenders in the future. Easy decision for Ferrari for investing in him. As much as i like Vettel, i cant blame them for axing him.

It's a sign of a natural talent. No matter how bad the car is, almost get the maximum performance out of it and work around the issues.

Norris is also a talent, saw him many time in sim races. However, different skills. Give him something with four wheels and he will handle it. Not so sure he is able to work around issues like Leclerc or Verstappen.

[Restomaniac]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone.

The driver on pole, who then leads the race, should surely have priority strategy and not be attacked with undercuts by the other team car!?

That's just normal practice!

Yet when Bottas has been 2nd we have seen Mercedes often give him priority pit stops to the detriment of his teammate. Were you just asleep at those times?

[basti313]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone.

The driver on pole, who then leads the race, should surely have priority strategy and not be attacked with undercuts by the other team car!?

That's just normal practice!

Mercedes normal practice is to help the weaker driver, ie. hamitlons teammate. There were number of times Rosberg and Velaterri got the first pitstop while running behind to protect them or help them catch up. It's a shame sometimes.

So please help us on this....what would have been god's own strategy then? I am a bit puzzled with your comment, as with running past the pitlane when SC 2 was deployed every other strategy would have ended in a well back position after the second pitstop.

[Jolle]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone. It has come to my attention that Lewis had requested... Or suggested a different tyre strategy to what the team ultimately chose, but he was told no, shut up and drive the strategy we give you. Imagine that! If Mercedes stretegist was really paying attention he would have seen it obbious that many more reliabilty incidients were to come and thus the increased chances of saftey cars.. And as such should have ran the more aggressive strategy..

It really irks me because it isn't allowing the drivers to use their experience and instincts to differentiate themselves.

If I would have 30+ people behind screens with real time data and projections on all the drivers and strategies, the driver, even a six time world champion, can suggest what he want but stil gets the best set determined by science.

[Just_a_fan]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone. It has come to my attention that Lewis had requested... Or suggested a different tyre strategy to what the team ultimately chose, but he was told no, shut up and drive the strategy we give you. Imagine that! If Mercedes stretegist was really paying attention he would have seen it obbious that many more reliabilty incidients were to come and thus the increased chances of saftey cars.. And as such should have ran the more aggressive strategy..

It really irks me because it isn't allowing the drivers to use their experience and instincts to differentiate themselves.

If I would have 30+ people behind screens with real time data and projections on all the drivers and strategies, the driver, even a six time world champion, can suggest what he want but stil gets the best set determined by science.

Hamilton requested the opposite tyre from Bottas's at the pitstop. He wanted to roll the dice and see if he could win. The team elected to stick him on the same tyre. That would have been a political call, not a scientific one. Hamilton would have figured he could pass Bottas and then hold him off, which he might have been able to do, but the team chose not to let him. Even if Hamilton hadn't been able to hold off Bottas, he'd have been in no worse a position than he was sat behind him on the same tyre. At that point, they were cruising away from the rest so he'd have been confident of a second place anyway.

It's these differences that make the best drivers, the best. He's always looking for the advantage - Bottas is quick on his day but seems much happier to defer to the team.

[Jolle]

The elephant in the room for me.. Is the whole Mercedes equality thing. I think its overdone. It has come to my attention that Lewis had requested... Or suggested a different tyre strategy to what the team ultimately chose, but he was told no, shut up and drive the strategy we give you. Imagine that! If Mercedes stretegist was really paying attention he would have seen it obbious that many more reliabilty incidients were to come and thus the increased chances of saftey cars.. And as such should have ran the more aggressive strategy..

It really irks me because it isn't allowing the drivers to use their experience and instincts to differentiate themselves.

If I would have 30+ people behind screens with real time data and projections on all the drivers and strategies, the driver, even a six time world champion, can suggest what he want but stil gets the best set determined by science.

Hamilton requested the opposite tyre from Bottas's at the pitstop. He wanted to roll the dice and see if he could win. The team elected to stick him on the same tyre. That would have been a political call, not a scientific one. Hamilton would have figured he could pass Bottas and then hold him off, which he might have been able to do, but the team chose not to let him. Even if Hamilton hadn't been able to hold off Bottas, he'd have been in no worse a position than he was sat behind him on the same tyre. At that point, they were cruising away from the rest so he'd have been confident of a second place anyway.

It's these differences that make the best drivers, the best. He's always looking for the advantage - Bottas is quick on his day but seems much happier to defer to the team.

With the big possibility throwing away an easy one two (at the time) of Hamilton’s tires would degrade so much at the end he would have to take another pitstop.

[Just_a_fan]

If I would have 30+ people behind screens with real time data and projections on all the drivers and strategies, the driver, even a six time world champion, can suggest what he want but stil gets the best set determined by science.

Hamilton requested the opposite tyre from Bottas's at the pitstop. He wanted to roll the dice and see if he could win. The team elected to stick him on the same tyre. That would have been a political call, not a scientific one. Hamilton would have figured he could pass Bottas and then hold him off, which he might have been able to do, but the team chose not to let him. Even if Hamilton hadn't been able to hold off Bottas, he'd have been in no worse a position than he was sat behind him on the same tyre. At that point, they were cruising away from the rest so he'd have been confident of a second place anyway.

It's these differences that make the best drivers, the best. He's always looking for the advantage - Bottas is quick on his day but seems much happier to defer to the team.

With the big possibility throwing away an easy one two (at the time) of Hamilton’s tires would degrade so much at the end he would have to take another pitstop.

It's a dice roll. They're both pulling away from the rest, at that point, so stick on the softer tyre, pass Bottas and romp away from him. Then try to manage the end of the race or, if it doesn't work out, pit again and come back out in P2 and be no worse off. I think Hamilton would also have been thinking "if I get the softer tyre, I can get by, romp away and then if there's another safety car I have a chance of staying in the lead then too". He knows that if he pits behind Bottas and gets the same tyre then he's got a much more difficult job of passing. The team just want the 1-2 and don't care who wins - contrary to those who think Bottas is the number 2 driver. Hamilton knows he has to get ahead because they won't give it to him on the plate. So he wanted to switch strategies. He did it in Silverstone when the team were calling him in and he stayed out - because he can control that. Here, he asked but was refused.

As I said, he's always looking for the advantage, always thinking about how he can win the race even though he currently isn't in the lead. Other drivers seem more accepting of the strategy. The likes of Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Max are always thinking "if I roll the dice...". There is that last little bit of selfish drive in them. That's why they're so successful. That's the bit the team are fighting against when they say "no, you're getting the tyres we give you so shut up and accept your second place".

[Mchamilton]

Anybody else notice how poor lewis in turn 3 compared to bottas consistently. He would be 0.5 behind before the turn, and exit up to 0.8 behind givin him no chance of overtakin. Bottas took a more normal line through the turn and took a 'standard' apex, where as lewis would go deeper and square off the corner, but it didnt do him any favours. Hopefully he make the adjustment for this weekend.

That's his driving style, and one of the main reasons he's better on tire wear than Bottas is.

It's been a few years, but if you go back and watch the driving coach ( I forget his name) that Peter Windsor used to have on his YouTube channel regularly, he explains it in some detail.

It was also the reason he never got past Bottas, so in that instance he needed to change his style to advance his position

[Mchamilton]

Anybody else notice how poor lewis in turn 3 compared to bottas consistently. He would be 0.5 behind before the turn, and exit up to 0.8 behind givin him no chance of overtakin. Bottas took a more normal line through the turn and took a 'standard' apex, where as lewis would go deeper and square off the corner, but it didnt do him any favours. Hopefully he make the adjustment for this weekend.

It could be that Hamilton was minimizing time loss in that corner. Without squaring off the corner, and following Bottas on the standard line, being more in the dirty air, Hamilton may have lost more than 3 tenths in that turn.

i doubt it, it was lewis' standard line all weekend, and its the same corner he lost out to bottas in qualifying as well. It was consistent lap after lap. Watchin the live timing the appeared very much to be a result of lewis over slowing and not gettin anything like the same exit as bottas.