2021 AMG Mercedes F1 Team

[El Scorchio]

It seems RB is going to protest, and rightfully so.

Red Bull have confirmed they are not appealing against the stewards decision.

So it seems. Strange decision.

There must be nothing in it if they’re not. They absolutely should have done if they thought there was a chance of a change of outcome.

[zibby43]

I give Bottas a lot of flack because he’s like a box of chocolates on race day. But in quali? He’s been something else from a consistency perspective.

[Raleigh]

Surely there is no 'interpretation' either there were flags or not, and if there were it has to be a penalty if the flags were official or not.

It seems RB is going to protest, and rightfully so.

Not a fan of penalties, but the yellow must always be respected, full stop.#
(disclaimer. I have not seen any vid of this, so am open to changing my mind if I a wrong, but it surely is a yes/no decision an as it has been asked, the question must exist)

FIA has ruled that the yellow flags were not shown to Hamilton so that's pretty much case closed.

The double yellow button was pressed by mistake and cancelled within a second but this caused a marshal to extend the yellow flags in Lewis's sector. Hence the investigation, however the physical flags were withdrawn in around a second and not shown to Lewis. Additionally, there was no lightboard yellow or yellow on the dash display.

Which is completely different from for example driving straight through double waved yellows on the trackside.

[Big Tea]

It seems RB is going to protest, and rightfully so.

Not a fan of penalties, but the yellow must always be respected, full stop.#
(disclaimer. I have not seen any vid of this, so am open to changing my mind if I a wrong, but it surely is a yes/no decision an as it has been asked, the question must exist)

FIA has ruled that the yellow flags were not shown to Hamilton so that's pretty much case closed.

The double yellow button was pressed by mistake and cancelled within a second but this caused a marshal to extend the yellow flags in Lewis's sector. Hence the investigation, however the physical flags were withdrawn in around a second and not shown to Lewis. Additionally, there was no lightboard yellow or yellow on the dash display.

Which is completely different from for example driving straight through double waved yellows on the trackside.

I have just seen the vid of it and have to agree, but am still 'disappointed' a second was not enough to trigger a reaction of a driver off this experience.

Still, I do have to say I am glad as it would have spoiled the race, or the start if nothing else.

[ringo]

Hamilton's approach to the season is paying dividends so far. Controlled aggression and risk management. He is only taking risks if he is chasing; when his car is fast enough he doesn't go over the limit. The Jedha circuit is truly a redbull track based on how that car was slicing through the corners, but Mercedes received a gift from Max. They aren't out of the woods yet, Hamilton and Bottas need to get a 1-2 and still another 1-2 in Abudahbi

[rickybobbyf1]

So the GigaICE from Brazil was just hyped by everyone else… It didn’t amount to much of an advantage today. Hope the car was set up for the long runs!

[Marty_Y]

Awesome Qualifying, but gee, I thought Mercedes Brazil rocket engine would put them ahead in Q pace?!! This really reflects differently on that Brazil weekend now, and what the hell? I never expect RedBull to be this fast. I am really worried for Abu Dhabi now.

I have similar worries, but I think a lot of today's struggles were down to getting the tyres into the optimal operating window, maybe Abu Dhabi will be different.

I just hope tomorrow's pace will be strong enough to bring home the win for Lewis.

[Tvetovnato]

So the GigaICE from Brazil was just hyped by everyone else… It didn’t amount to much of an advantage today. Hope the car was set up for the long runs!

He still had a top speed edge on the RBs today, but it was more a problem of not having the tyres in the window, giving slow exits out on the straights. He really was all over the place on those softs, understeering into the fast corners, then snap oversteer making it hard to commit. I think Abu Dhabi will be more in Mercs favour, since they will most likely not have tyre problems there.

[Big Tea]

Awesome Qualifying, but gee, I thought Mercedes Brazil rocket engine would put them ahead in Q pace?!! This really reflects differently on that Brazil weekend now, and what the hell? I never expect RedBull to be this fast. I am really worried for Abu Dhabi now.

I have similar worries, but I think a lot of today's struggles were down to getting the tyres into the optimal operating window, maybe Abu Dhabi will be different.

I just hope tomorrow's pace will be strong enough to bring home the win for Lewis.

I also think this. Hamilton run his qualli laps on the same tankful of fuel. Why would he do this as fuel costs time? For me, it was an attempt to bring the tyres up.

I think the car will be happier on hard tyres, so look to an early change. Which may also be why they were not concerned with taking laps out of the tyre they start on

[Jozsusz]

What do you think guys about the race pace?

[Gillian]

It did seem like the Merc took some more time to get the tires working. What surprised me though was how much pace there was in the tires after a handful laps. I don't think an early stop would be a good strategy for Merc. For Hamilton atleast I think something similar to last race... Build a gap and mirror Verstappen. Don't get caught out by a badly times safety car.

[Tvetovnato]

I just have a 2006 season feeling about this. Two races left, things are looking good… but it just does not feel like Hamilton’s season still. There will probably be mayhem tomorrow at some stage, with the SC playing a huge part.

[Marty_Y]

[El Scorchio]

I just have a 2006 season feeling about this. Two races left, things are looking good… but it just does not feel like Hamilton’s season still. There will probably be mayhem tomorrow at some stage, with the SC playing a huge part.

I just want it to go to a last race winner takes all scenario with the two of them less than 7 points apart. It would be a fitting end to a really great season.

[Tvetovnato]

I just have a 2006 season feeling about this. Two races left, things are looking good… but it just does not feel like Hamilton’s season still. There will probably be mayhem tomorrow at some stage, with the SC playing a huge part.

I just want it to go to a last race winner takes all scenario with the two of them less than 7 points apart. It would be a fitting end to a really great season.

Same here. Going into Abu Dhabi on equal points would be amazing.