2023 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Gillian]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

[erudite450]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

People tend to forget that Hamilton takes time to get going especially when it comes to understanding how to prepare the tyres for qualifying laps. I expect him to keep getting better going forward. With Gasly's impending penalty, he shouldn't have to sweat too much for a P2 tomorrow.

[DGP123]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

Hamilton looking sharp. Back to back Q wins over Russell, suggesting he’s certainly more comfortable on a Saturday now, and finding some consistency. Good signs.

Second row a good starting position, and should get a tow from Sainz at the start. Should target a P2 tomorrow.

[Gillian]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

People tend to forget that Hamilton takes time to get going especially when it comes to understanding how to prepare the tyres for qualifying laps. I expect him to keep getting better going forward. With Gasly's impending penalty, he shouldn't have to sweat too much for a P2 tomorrow.

That's definitely true but he looked very competitive today, more so than at any point last season. Also compared to Russell who seemed to struggle a bit.

I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come. A battle for second in the WDC with Alonso and Perez (in a superior car) would be very intriguing. I think it would definitely motivate Hamilton to stay with Mercedes for a few more years!

[Hammerfist]

Right now I feel we have the second best car so p2 tomorrow should be the goal and if the Flying Dutchman somehow runs into issues we may score a win. Toto sounded very disappointed the car didn’t start p2 or p3. Hamilton said he’s going for the win. Let’s go!

[Gillian]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

Hamilton looking sharp. Back to back Q wins over Russell, suggesting he’s certainly more comfortable on a Saturday now, and finding some consistency. Good signs.

Second row a good starting position, and should get a tow from Sainz at the start. Should target a P2 tomorrow.

P2 definitely possible, though race pace of Alonso in that AM looked better. But we'll see, can't wait!

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Race pace of Merc seemed right with Aston martin and Ferrari in fp2. Believe ham will at least challenge for p2 and a win is on the cards if max has big issues

[Just_a_fan]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

In FP the Mercs were trialling things. Lewis ran lower downforce rear wing than George - unsurprisingly, he was slower because of it.

In Q, George struggled to bring the tyres in. Maybe something about the circuit doesn't suit George. Makes tomorrow interesting as once his tyres warm up, he ought to be racey in the midfield.

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[organic]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

In FP the Mercs were trialling things. Lewis ran lower downforce rear wing than George - unsurprisingly, he was slower because of it.

In Q, George struggled to bring the tyres in. Maybe something about the circuit doesn't suit George. Makes tomorrow interesting as once his tyres warm up, he ought to be racey in the midfield.

Won't be easy to cut through the pack based on pace differences in fp2 (alpines within a tenth of Merc's long runs) but the abrasive surface will help with 2 stopper seeming likely. Perez in 11th, Gasly somewhere nearby, Ocon, Alonso, stroll all between George and the top 5.. could be tough to make progress

[InsaneX_Badger]

With the Aston, alpine, Merc and Ferrari all close in race pace sounds like it's going to boil down to who looks after their tyres better.

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With the Aston, alpine, Merc and Ferrari all close in race pace sounds like it's going to boil down to who looks after their tyres better.

Yeah which will mean advantage AMR and also lewis going by his past tyre nursing performances. I think in fp2 tyre deg looked similar between Ferrari and Merc. Alonso didn't do enough long run to see deg

[InsaneX_Badger]

With the Aston, alpine, Merc and Ferrari all close in race pace sounds like it's going to boil down to who looks after their tyres better.

Yeah which will mean advantage AMR and also lewis going by his past tyre nursing performances. I think in fp2 tyre deg looked similar between Ferrari and Merc. Alonso didn't do enough long run to see deg

Be interesting to see if Ferrari can keep their tyres going. They seem to always burn out first

[Gillian]

Well that was a bit unfortunate contact between Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton's pace is very positive though, looked better than in FP. Hamilton getting comfortable with the car?

In FP the Mercs were trialling things. Lewis ran lower downforce rear wing than George - unsurprisingly, he was slower because of it.

In Q, George struggled to bring the tyres in. Maybe something about the circuit doesn't suit George. Makes tomorrow interesting as once his tyres warm up, he ought to be racey in the midfield.

Yeah true, but I still didn't expect it to be this close! I'm positively surprised.

[AR3-GP]

I think it was a good showing from Hamilton. The less said about Russell, the better... It's curious that Alpine and Mclaren are so close now on Saturdays. Previously you would never imagine Merc being outqualified by Alpine two race weekends in a row.