F1 Most liked posts in thread: F1 - 2013

Epic indeed, so many stories, so much great driving, enjoyed it immensely!!

Note: Since Spain and MB's illegal test, they have three wins and a third in as many races....

 

As far as cutting the curbs causing the tire failures. Well yes I can buy that to a point. But can you tell me if the curbing was new this year? Most likely not, which begs the question why last year the same tire explosions were absent?

Another classic Webber start, & race up through the field. If he could do a decent start I think he'd have a few more victories to his credit. RB sabotaging Webber's car? In F1 anything seems possible. :wink:

 

Well, with more teams getting the same kinds of tests Mercedes got, maybe there'll be an end to the turmoil.


Or not.

 

The movie clip is from "Saving Private Ryan" .........

 

So MB got to do development on their test but the rest of the teams aren't allow to on their test?

I think the the FIAs new fav is MB, sorry Ferrari.

What may level the field is that a new tire design that is to be used after the test is what they will be running. MB won't have a chance to try it before a race.

 

Regarding Mercedes' "advantages" after the tests. My views. Yours may vary

I think it's too early to really tell if they gained an advantage or not, and I'm going to use numbers and results to demonstrate my point.

Attached are the results so far for Nico and Lewis this season. Please take a second to view them.

So far, before the tests, they had 3 pole positions out of 5 races, and two podiums. That's not a bad result for a car that was considered to have poor race pace, but be great in qualifying.

Monaco was always predicted to be a Mercedes victory. For evidence I present this article, written on May 21, 2013

2013 Monaco GP preview: Mercedes' best chance for a win? - F1 Fanatic

Now that article was written after the tests, but BEFORE anyone knew about them. We learned about the test on the 26th. See the following article for evidence of that.

Mercedes in secret Pirelli Formula 1 tyre test row - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

So Monaco's result, after the test, was predicted for Mercedes based on how well they qualified in races PRIOR to the tests. It's impossible to say that the test affected the results at Monaco, since they were predicted to win regardless.

Now, since Monaco, since the knowledge of the tests became public, we've had two races. In Canada (Hamilton's favorite venue), they each finished one spot behind their starting position, and in Britain they did extraordinarily well, despite an exploding tire, and gaining first place due to a Red Bull retirement.

Now next race and for the future, tyres are going to be a totally new construction, that as you can see in the articles I listed above in this thread, are predicted to be better for Mercedes. Remember though that the prediction of Kevlar tires being better for Mercedes was made BEFORE the tests and is not news.

What I'm trying to say here is that I feel any advantage Mercedes might have gotten from the tests is difficult to quantify. They haven't been completely running away with every race, and in fact if it weren't for Sebastian Vettel's failure this weekend, they would not have won. Any advantage that they may gain from the switch to Kevlar was predicted before the tests, and is unrelated to the tests.

Mostly, I think the chief advantage they got was from Lewis learning how to use unfamiliar brakes better. Other than that, it's not a clear picture, since we really have only 2 post test races (I don't count Monaco for reasons I cited above) to compare to the previous 5, where honestly they did pretty well overall, Spain not withstanding.

 

That's what was said after Monaco, then after Canada, now your saying it again? How many more race wins will it take for you to be convinced? Come on just say your an MB fan, your proud of it, and stand up for what they have done.

I always said I was a Schumi fan from before he won his first championship. I have been Vettel fan since he won his first race. I have never backed down no matter what happened.

 

Three races, Monaco, Canada, Silverstone.

Two wins (Monaco predicted BEFORE the tests), one due to a Red Bull gearbox failure (Silverstone), one third place, which was a one spot loss from qualifications.

Compared to five prior races, with two third place finishes and three pole positions, one front row lockout. Nothing definitive.

Again, look at the attached chart.

 

I've just gotten into F1 in the last couple of years, so I know that I lack the knowledge of the diehards here. With that said, I agree with what Zapski said in the previous two post. People seem to be looking past the facts when discussing the Merc team.

Who do I like...whoever is in front of Seb! I think he is a great driver, but get bored when he is just driving away with a race ( not going to lie, I was jumping for joy last week). I'm not a big Lewis fan because I think he can be a bit of a spoiled brat at times. I liked what Alonso did last year with what seemed liked a sub-par car at the beginning of the season. I also like Kimi because of his consistency since coming back (felt sorry for him that they chose the hards instead of the mediums at the end of last week's race).

 

They nursed their tires at Monaco so much they were compared to busses.

They were predicted to win BEFORE the tests because of all those pole positions in the prior races.

Pole position at Monaco almost always guarantees a win as passing is difficult, especially if you have a front row lockout with the P2 driver defending the race leader. Which happened.

80% of Pole sitters at Monaco take the win says Pinnacle Sports, a betting site. This site also says "The slowest track of the year is easiest on tires." Which plays to teams that are hard on their tires, doesn't it.

Monaco was a foregone conclusion, the odds were with Mercedes all along.

Nothing Definitive.

 

Spoilers.

And Nico is way down in P11. Not exactly a clear Mercedes advantage, since a McLaren out qualified him without even setting a time.

Plus did you watch the third practice session? They were way off pace until they made a lot of changes to Lewis's car right before Q1. Also Nico had lead the first practice session, and was doing well in the second, so what's he doing way down in P11?

And again, I'd like to mention that everyone has long thought that Kevlar tires favored Mercedes, and that's why Lotus, Ferrari and others blocked the tire changes until this race.

Now, if Mercedes runs away Red Bull style, and leads the race by 13 or more seconds by the end without a Red Bull retirement, then you'll have convinced me.

Heck, if it weren't, for the safety cars at Silverstone I'd think we'd have a clearer picture, but even so Nico only got first because of Seb's car failure.

(On a side note re Silverstone, I couldn't watch the cup ceremony. The thought of Deutschland Ãœber Alles playing twice over a former RAF airfield bothers me. )

My prediction for this race is an early Mercedes lead, with Red Bull overtakes. There will be some nice wheel to wheel between Mark and Seb, but it will be a Red Bull 1,2 with a Lotus 3rd. Lewis will finish 4th or 5th and Nico is going to be stuck behind the Ferrari's until the end. Button will finish 12th or so, and Riccardo is going to have a stellar first half with a disappointing second.

 

Mull is in a holding pattern until all have seen it!!

 

We don't usually have someone who's 90 seconds behind.

I can't remember which race it was last year where we had four or five cars go by the safety and then go round. When it's a Marussia that can be a long wait

 

Good race, enjoyed it much and me thinks if Kimi hadn't been held up a bit by his team mate, he might have taken the win!!!

And how about those MB boys? The tires get a dose of Kevlar (effectively making them a different tire) and MB returns to their pre-illegal tire test form....dang tire degradation... Guess Bernie will have to give them another private test to silence the MB whine again..... LMAO!