172 replies to this topic

[The Passenger]

Discuss the news, the track, the teams and of course the drivers here!  I'll get you started with the prevailing UK favourite...

 

Lewis Hamilton is signing a US $31 million contract this week.  This means he would would make £3,082 per hour, £51.36 per minute, 86p per second, or more than £7 in the time it took you to read this sentence.

 

This means (as his hair looks) "he's worth it", so don't talk to him through the corners!

 

But he's just not as sexy as Kevin Magnusson. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Exb]

ahh,sorry - clicked here for the Chinese GP build-up thread only to see I have clicked on another Lewis Hamilton contract thread by mistake 

Edit: OK I will stop being grumpy and add something useful to the thread

Edited by Exb, 06 April 2015 - 07:59.

[Exb]

Number of Laps: 56.
Circuit Length: 5.451 km.
 
Times: local (UK- BST)
FP1 10.00-10.30 (03.00-04.30)
FP2 14.00-15.30 (07.00-08.30)
FP3 12.00-13.00 (05.00-06.00)
Quali 15.00-16.00(08.00-09.00)
Race 14.00          (07.00)
 
Tyres
Soft and Medium
(same compounds as last year)
 
2014 Fastest Laps 
FP1 - 1.39.783 (Alonso)
FP2 - 1.38.315 (Hamilton)
FP3 - 1.53.958*  (Ricciardo)
Qualifying - 1.53.860* (Hamilton)
Race - 1.40.403 (Rosberg)
(*Times set on a wet track)
 
2014 on-board lap
http://www.formula1....nboard_lap.html

[kimster89]

Vettel has this in the bag. Easily.

[kosmos]

I hope McLaren finish with both cars, and of course a fun race with a real battle for 1st.

[Jon83]

Discuss the news, the track, the teams and of course the drivers here!  I'll get you started with the prevailing UK favourite...

 

Lewis Hamilton is signing a US $31 million contract this week.  This means he would would make £3,082 per hour, £51.36 per minute, 86p per second, or more than £7 in the time it took you to read this sentence.

 

This means (as his hair looks) "he's worth it", so don't talk to him through the corners!

 

But he's just not as sexy as Kevin Magnusson.

 

Do you want to discuss the GP or do you just want to talk about Hamilton?

Edited by Jon83, 06 April 2015 - 09:11.

[Cyanide]

I think Ferrari will squeeze Mercedes by the balls some more around here. 

 

Track isn't too different from Sepang and I don't think temperatures were the sole reason for last weekend's victory. 

[MortenF1]

Could go either way between Mercedes and Ferrari, and I expect a close-run race between them. I just hope no-one is limited by tires.

[ConsiderAndGo]

Hoping for a close race and a CLEAN race for Raikkonen. Want to see what he can do.

[Nemo1965]

I was thinking: is this not a track where the Renault-engined cars are really to get spanked? So the first 10 places for Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams, Sauber, and perhaps even Force India... 

[Richard T]

Im pumped for this weekend    F1 and WEC at Silverstone    

[northanmonkee2]

Practice 2 will be telling when long runs are analysed , will be an indicator if the Ferrari really is a threat !
if it's a dry qualifying I expect merc 1 2 and unless there is a heatwave should be same in race , but that's just my opinion .
The fact that it's not a foregone conclusion and that Ferrari are being considered in many quarters
Has boosted interest in this race , personally I think in the majority of circumstances the merc will maintain
An advantage for most circuits. , with Ferrari closing and in some cases edging in front on selected circuits
But not enough to change the manufacturer of wdc , wcc

[Gilles4Ever]

I doubt Merc will be caught out twice, imo status quo will be restored, Merc by a country mile providing it's a "normal" race, no mechanicals or badly timed safety cars.

[DutchQuicksilver]

I think Ferrari will squeeze Mercedes by the balls some more around here. 

 

Track isn't too different from Sepang and I don't think temperatures were the sole reason for last weekend's victory. 

Nope, Vettel not pitting during the SC and both Merc's did, was the sole reason for Vettel winning.

 

Easy 1-2 for Mercedes if no funny stuff happens.

[YoungGun]

Nope, Hamilton stated Ferrari won on merit.

[tmekt]

Nope, Vettel not pitting during the SC and both Merc's did, was the sole reason for Vettel winning.

Easy 1-2 for Mercedes if no funny stuff happens.

He still needed to be faster to keep them behind. Obviously it wasn't just the safety car.

[Zava]

He still needed to be faster to keep them behind. Obviously it wasn't just the safety car.

Nah, it WAS just the SC. Otherwise how would've we got a Vettel, Hulkenberg, Grosjean podium?

Mercedes couldn't have two stopped even without the SC and the early stop, at least not in an effective way. Let's see if Ferrari can stop one less again.

[sergey1308]

Nope, Hamilton stated Ferrari won on merit.

Personally, it is something that he should say, because of respectfulness to contender and some prudence about Merc and Ferrari pace.

[sergey1308]

He still needed to be faster to keep them behind. Obviously it wasn't just the safety car.

But it was one of the main reason. Safety car helps Ferrary to overtake Merc due to strategy without necessity of real fight on the track

[JHSingo]

I have a feeling that Malaysia was the exception, rather than the norm, and that it'll be back to business as usual for Mercedes.

 

Inb4 someone complains that I'm being too negative.

[KingTiger]

Nah, it WAS just the SC. Otherwise how would've we got a Vettel, Hulkenberg, Grosjean podium?

Mercedes couldn't have two stopped even without the SC and the early stop, at least not in an effective way. Let's see if Ferrari can stop one less again.

 

Ferrari would've had to spend more time on the hard tire as well if there wasn't a SC, since Vettel got 3-4 laps to cool  down his tires and drive around slowly. He would've had to pass on track most likely as well, which I don't see with similar tire conditions.

[OneAndOnly]

Nah, it WAS just the SC. Otherwise how would've we got a Vettel, Hulkenberg, Grosjean podium?

Mercedes couldn't have two stopped even without the SC and the early stop, at least not in an effective way. Let's see if Ferrari can stop one less again.

SC actually helped Mercedes, not Ferrari. Mercedes gained time while they stopped during that SC.

[smr]

I think Ferrari will squeeze Mercedes by the balls some more around here. 

 

Track isn't too different from Sepang and I don't think temperatures were the sole reason for last weekend's victory. 

 

Agreed, it's not totally different to Sepang. Although it may be a bit cooler in China. Will have to see how much the temp played its part for Ferrari.

[nosecone]

I'm with JHSingo on that. Malaysia was the exception, not Melbourne.

 

Merc will win. Maybe not with 34sec ahead of the rest but they will win by quite some margin- 15s or so

[turssi]

Will Ferrari or Merc PU suffer more with the polluted air?

[teejay]

Neither

[GvdG]

"Polluted air"?

 

Shanghai is roughly 0m height, so engines will run at it's very best. Circuit with highest altitude in current F1 is probably still Interlagos.

[turssi]

Neither

I remember reading a story on how the material Ferrari uses in their heat exchangers is sensitive to air particles and on the other hand there is the weaker reliability of the Merc PU from last year that might be brought forward by the bad air quality.

[turssi]

"Polluted air"?

Shanghai is roughly 0m height, so engines will run at it's very best. Circuit with highest altitude in current F1 is probably still Interlagos.

Have you been there ? You can't breath without coughing and your skin dries bone dry at the moment. They have one day per month with clear skies free of smog and that is only because sitting in front of an ocean !

[Wuzak]

Ferrari would've had to spend more time on the hard tire as well if there wasn't a SC, since Vettel got 3-4 laps to cool  down his tires and drive around slowly. He would've had to pass on track most likely as well, which I don't see with similar tire conditions.

 

Mercedes were always going to do an extra stop.

 

And it was clear at the beginning of the race that Hamilton wasn't going to make a gap the size of the pit stop in the few laps until his stop. It would have been a 20s+ advantage to Vettel with each needing to pit two more times.

 

Allison made the point that it would have been difficult and unlikely to pass Mercedes on track if they were on the same strategy. If Mercedes pitted twice, or Ferrari pitted under the safety car.

 

If both went for a 3 stop strategy, Vettel had 2 sets of new mediums plus the set he started on. Hamilton had one set of new, plus one used set from Q2 on which he started and one used set from Q1. So Vettel may have been able to be on the better tyre for longer.

 

Malaysia was probably slightly unusual due to the high track temperatures. Still, Ferrari's race pace in Melbourne was good, so looking forward too seeing if they can be somewhere near Mercedes come the chequered flag on Sunday.

[Wuzak]

"Polluted air"?

 

Shanghai is roughly 0m height, so engines will run at it's very best. Circuit with highest altitude in current F1 is probably still Interlagos.

 

Would Mexico City be higher?

[kevinracefan]

I think Ferrari will squeeze Mercedes by the balls some more around here.

Interesting that you have more confidence in Ferrari than Ferrari does at China...

perhaps Ferrari is going to keep expectations low and not be disappointed...

[Anja]

Would Mexico City be higher?

 

Yeah, and by quite a margin. Sao Paulo is only 690 m above the sea level while it's 2,250 m for Mexico City.

[sergey1308]

Interesting that you have more confidence in Ferrari than Ferrari does at China...

perhaps Ferrari is going to keep expectations low and not be disappointed...

Reasonable strategy not to overrate their success in Malaysia.

[GvdG]

Have you been there ? You can't breath without coughing and your skin dries bone dry at the moment. They have one day per month with clear skies free of smog and that is only because sitting in front of an ocean !

I've been there. And I've been to other places. Including Industrial Germany (East). Shanghai is almost Spa (the air, not the place, albeit that's true too..) against Bitterfeld in 1988.

 

The air in China can be bad, true, but Shanghai does have (relatively) good conditions compared with other areas. They raced in New Delhi, which on average is much worse.

 

I would really not make pollution a big issue when racing in China.

 

I'm really looking forward for a race in Mexico City.. I would really like to see the engines performing there..

 

How high is South Africa (Kyalami, sp?)

Edited by GvdG, 06 April 2015 - 14:19.

[EcurieEcosse69]

I want to see what Verstappen can do again and how Kimi fairs without car dramas. Also can McLaren and Williams improve?

[Kelateboy]

Normal service will resume shortly in China.

[Newbrray]

Chinese GP: Preview - Mercedes

http://www.pitpass.com/53604/Chinese-GP-Preview-Mercedes

 

[Atreiu]

It would be nice if Kimi had a clean unventful weekend for once and got to race hard without setbacks.

 

I find it highly optimistic that Mercedes will win by some 30 seconds again and pretend Sepang never happened. But stranger things have happened whenever unlocking the Pirellis is fickle and uncertain.

Edited by Atreiu, 06 April 2015 - 15:21.

[Sanzx81]

I'll be cheering for a Kimi win. (I don't support Kimi or Ferrari btw)

[KingTiger]

Mercedes were always going to do an extra stop.

And it was clear at the beginning of the race that Hamilton wasn't going to make a gap the size of the pit stop in the few laps until his stop. It would have been a 20s+ advantage to Vettel with each needing to pit two more times.

Allison made the point that it would have been difficult and unlikely to pass Mercedes on track if they were on the same strategy. If Mercedes pitted twice, or Ferrari pitted under the safety car.

If both went for a 3 stop strategy, Vettel had 2 sets of new mediums plus the set he started on. Hamilton had one set of new, plus one used set from Q2 on which he started and one used set from Q1. So Vettel may have been able to be on the better tyre for longer.

Malaysia was probably slightly unusual due to the high track temperatures. Still, Ferrari's race pace in Melbourne was good, so looking forward too seeing if they can be somewhere near Mercedes come the chequered flag on Sunday.

The wear on the soft tires proved to be better than expected. If there wasnt a SC period and Merc's first set of softs lasted longer than they thought pre race, maybe they could've managed to switch to a 2 stopper. All in all they gained 4 laps and lost more in backmarker traffic.

[steferrari]

Ricciardo said that this circuit is very aggressive on the front tyres... two years ago Ferrari won with a pit-stop less than the others, it will be nice to see if they can repeat themselves again, like in Malaysia.

Last year even a bad car like the F14-T allowed them to be on the podium so I hope that it can be another great weekend for the red boys. 

[Zava]

The wear on the soft tires proved to be better than expected. If there wasnt a SC period and Merc's first set of softs lasted longer than they thought pre race, maybe they could've managed to switch to a 2 stopper. All in all they gained 4 laps and lost more in backmarker traffic.

Hamilton managed to do a what, 14 lap third stint on brand new mediums? with higher fuel loads and used mediums (in q2) in the first stint make that 10-11, and you're at the start of lap 25-26 out of 56 on fresh hards. good luck finishing your 30+ lap stint with competitive times.

[DrF]

Both Ferraris need a good, clean qualifying and a brisk start if they are to have any hope of matching Merc.  If they can line up behind the Mercs, maintain a gap and run a few laps longer (without losing too much speed) then they might, just might be able to come out of the last stop in front.  Might.

 

Anyone know how many stops this race is?  Or is this just a thread for discussing Lewis' contract, the SC from last race, etc.?

[LORDBYRON]

This thread is the stuff of legends 

[Zava]

Both Ferraris need a good, clean qualifying and a brisk start if they are to have any hope of matching Merc.  If they can line up behind the Mercs, maintain a gap and run a few laps longer (without losing too much speed) then they might, just might be able to come out of the last stop in front.  Might.

 

Anyone know how many stops this race is?  Or is this just a thread for discussing Lewis' contract, the SC from last race, etc.?

I think they're better off if they make their stops earlier than optimal. remember, if they have better tyre wear, that means they have a bigger window for pit stops than merc. let's say optimal 2 stops are on lap 15 for new softs and lap 33 for new mediums, and merc being more marginal can stop in laps 14-16 and laps 32-35 to be able to do the race with 2 stops without bad laptimes. in this case, and if the ferrari race pace is good enough to keep track position, I'd stop around lap 11-12, so I can a, definitely undercut merc until they wait to reach their window, (in this case second stop around lap 31 so they don't undercut at the second stop) b, pressure merc into bringing both their first stops far too ahead so they struggle at the end. for this version, it is also not bad if you have one of your drivers early in, and the other one on the optimal lap count so they can pounce with much fresher tyres if the other driver can't capitalise on the mercs struggling.

Edited by Zava, 06 April 2015 - 16:31.

[Exb]

First race with the new rule on fuel flow measurement - I wonder if it will affect anyone more than the others.

[Newbrray]

I think they're better off if they make their stops earlier than optimal. remember, if they have better tyre wear, that means they have a bigger window for pit stops than merc. let's say optimal 2 stops are on lap 15 for new softs and lap 33 for new mediums, and merc being more marginal can stop in laps 14-16 and laps 32-35 to be able to do the race with 2 stops without bad laptimes. in this case, and if the ferrari race pace is good enough to keep track position, I'd stop around lap 11-12, so I can a, definitely undercut merc until they wait to reach their window, (in this case second stop around lap 31 so they don't undercut at the second stop) b, pressure merc into bringing both their first stops far too ahead so they struggle at the end. for this version, it is also not bad if you have one of your drivers early in, and the other one on the optimal lap count so they can pounce with much fresher tyres if the other driver can't capitalise on the mercs struggling.

 

 

This all depends on if you hit any traffic when you come out of the pits, you also have to beware of an early safety car messing with your strategy. Its not as clear cut as you make it out. 

[Zava]

This all depends on if you hit any traffic when you come out of the pits, you also have to beware of an early safety car messing with your strategy. Its not as clear cut as you make it out. 

yes, you're right, I did not think about traffic. 

well then, let's hope williams (and red bull?) is not far enough in pace to hold ferrari up, while the rest is far enough to make ferrari able to slot in ahead of them.

[GvdG]

First race with the new rule on fuel flow measurement - I wonder if it will affect anyone more than the others.

Not heard about that before.. what got changed?