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Post by LRW on Mar 16, 2015 9:07:58 GMT
Fri 27 – Sun 29 Mar 2015First Grand Prix - 1999 Number Of Laps - 56 Circuit Length - 5.543 Km Race Distance - 310.408 Km Lap Record -1:34.223 By Juan Pablo Montoya (2004) 
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Post by Hammer on Mar 16, 2015 9:58:03 GMT
Mercedes should be even more competitive in MalaysiaMercedes has warned that its cars are likely to be even more competitive at the Malaysian Grand Prix than they were at last weekend's season-opening round in Australia. Lewis Hamilton led team-mate Nico Rosberg to a dominant one-two victory in Melbourne, which acted as confirmation that Mercedes has lost none of its competitive edge over the winter. The W06 Hybrid held an advantage in every sector of the Albert Park track, which is mainly made up of slow- and medium-speed corners. However, looking at the data from testing, Mercedes believes its main strength lies in high-speed corners such as the ones scattered throughout a lap of Sepang. "The most difference we see is mid- to high-speed corners - that seems to be the strength of the car," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said. "That was the strength of the Red Bulls and it now seems to be where we are looking most competitive. "We see a deficit from our car on the straights in comparison to Williams and Ferrari, they have much more straight line speed - as much as 10-12km/h in terms of straight-line speed, so less drag." Asked if Mercedes would be even more competitive in Malaysia, Wolff added: "Potentially yes. Aero wise we are doing well and on the power unit side we are doing well and the integration worked well. The team is really synchronised and we have spent so much time aligning everybody over the winter that I have the feeling that I am more tired now than at the end of last season and you can see the result. "But then this [Australia] was a perfect weekend: a faultless car, faultless drivers and then you have such a result with a one and two. I don't think you can expect to go on like this." The news will be of little comfort to Mercedes' rivals, especially Red Bull which has called for changes to be made to the sport to level the competitive order. ______________________________________________ 
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Post by Wß on Mar 16, 2015 10:15:15 GMT
Williams Strikes Back.
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Post by Hammer on Mar 16, 2015 10:19:36 GMT
According to Felipe Baby they couldn't because they aren't getting the best engines from Mercedes. Lol
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Post by LRW on Mar 16, 2015 10:22:26 GMT
He said what?
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Post by RyRy on Mar 16, 2015 10:23:46 GMT
Mercedes should be even MORE competitive at China and even more competitive at Bahrain.
The tracks that should theoretically suit the Mercedes car are: Malaysia, China, Bahrain, Silverstone, Belgian, Japan (kinda), USA and Abu Dhabi (kinda)
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Post by Wß on Mar 16, 2015 10:30:16 GMT
According to Felipe Baby they couldn't because they aren't getting the best engines from Mercedes. Lol That's not what his boss says. |
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Post by the2ndcoming on Mar 16, 2015 12:40:51 GMT
That sound byte from Toto about his anticipated gains in Malaysia is quite obvious to us armchair analysts. That and other circuits of its ilk are all aero/balance challenges and very few will admit it but that is where Mercedes AMG is shining this year. I think what Toto did was to avail himself of the opportunity to take a poke at Horner. Love it.  Sidebar: Remember when a unanimous vote was required to open up the PU development regs and Mercedes AMG persisted? Under his breath, Toto said, are you sure this is something you want to do? Cuz it just means we'll take another big leap. Finally they, Mercedes, gave in under the guise of keeping everyone happy. Well Red Bull, hope you're happy now. You created this problem for yourself and gave your other rivals like Ferrari an opportunity to dust you off. Merry Christmas! |
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Post by Hammer on Mar 19, 2015 15:14:18 GMT
In light of all this moaning by Horndog and co. I would think Merc could easily manage the situation in Malaysia by having an agreement with the drivers. Basically, once they have a 10 second advantage or so, to turn the engines down and continue racing but the gap stays around 10 seconds more or less to the finish. This could force Horner to shut up for a while...maybe do this for 2-3 more races and then let loose when the European races come around.
And when the moaning begins again, repeat cycle. The drivers will be strictly managed and told on the radios at the same time to ensure fair play, and they must comply immediately.
This is just one easy solution though. If Horndog manages to get support from 1 or 2 others after a few races, might cause the FIA to react and screw with the rules some more. As long as you have the advantage, why not play the politics a bit even when you're on the race track?
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Post by RyRy on Mar 19, 2015 15:22:27 GMT
In light of all this moaning by Horndog and co. I would think Merc could easily manage the situation in Malaysia by having an agreement with the drivers. Basically, once they have a 10 second advantage or so, to turn the engines down and continue racing but the gap stays around 10 seconds more or less to the finish. This could force Horner to shut up for a while...maybe do this for 2-3 more races and then let loose when the European races come around. And when the moaning begins again, repeat cycle. The drivers will be strictly managed and told on the radios at the same time to ensure fair play, and they must comply immediately. This is just one easy solution though. If Horndog manages to get support from 1 or 2 others after a few races, might cause the FIA to react and screw with the rules some more. As long as you have the advantage, why not play the politics a bit even when you're on the race track? If Mercedes had a number 2 driver (by team orders) then they would cruise home every race just to save the engines, save the risk of pushing too hard and keep horner happy while bringing in trophies, wins and £££ And as risky as it sounds but actually don't go flat out in qualli and qualli somewhere in the top 10 then cruise past everyone in the race. Mercedes' problem is both drivers want to win so they'll push every race. I'd happily be a number 2 driver just to get kicks out of fucking over Horner but I'd also get something sorted out so year 1 Lewis gets the championship, year 2 I get the championship. |
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Post by Hammer on Mar 19, 2015 15:29:00 GMT
But that's my point, they can still race competitively doing what I wrote.
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Post by RyRy on Mar 19, 2015 15:32:01 GMT
But that's my point, they can still race competitively doing what I wrote. Yeah, I misread. Exactly that's what they should do but they don't want to risk losing a race if a safety car came out, puncture, front wing failure... etc |
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Post by LRW on Mar 19, 2015 15:33:26 GMT
...If Horndog manages to get support from 1 or 2 others after a few races, might cause the FIA to react and screw with the rules some more. .... The thing is, there has been such a backlash to Horny Spice & Co, that many other TPs and teams have come out disagreeing with him - as they dont want the negative press thats coming with it. |
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Post by pistnbroke on Mar 19, 2015 23:54:21 GMT
Can anyone remember such a turbulent start to a season?!?
Manor not racing, Sauber fiasco, Alonso missing the 1st race, Bottas missing the second race.
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Post by Wß on Mar 20, 2015 0:23:44 GMT
Can anyone remember such a turbulent start to a season?!? Manor not racing, Sauber fiasco, Alonso missing the 1st race, Bottas missing the second race. Red Bull threatening to quit, news that the German GP is out... long list. |
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Post by RyRy on Mar 21, 2015 15:22:47 GMT
So anyone want to make some pre-friday practice predictions for the running order between Ferrari & Williams, what about Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Lotus, Force India & Sauber.
Will McLaren be behind Manor/Marussia?
Will Manor even race?
I personally think the running order in Malaysia will be:
Mercedes, Williams, Ferrari, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Lotus, Sauber, Force India, Manor, McLaren
I do think Manor will race, but I also have a fear that McLaren might not make the 107% in qualifying but will be allowed to race because of other sessions.
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Post by racechick on Mar 21, 2015 22:26:10 GMT
I think it's a close call for 2nd between Williams andFerrari, I'm Not sure which way I'd call it. Yes I'd put Red Bull 4th. And the next three are an Interesting bunch.
Ok I'll stick my neck out and go with this go with this
mercedes
ferrari
Williams
Lotus
Sauber
Torro Rosso
force India
Mclaren
manor
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Post by CookinFlat6 on Mar 21, 2015 23:30:56 GMT
This is just one easy solution though. If Horndog manages to get support from 1 or 2 others after a few races, might cause the FIA to react and screw with the rules some more. As long as you have the advantage, why not play the politics a bit even when you're on the race track? Thing is that the FIA cannot just change the rules anymore. Things have to be voted for by the top teams, engine makers and FOM. There is not a single thing that can be done to change nything outside this system except on safety grounds. Nothing will change before 2017, everyones voted and the new reality is that there is no unity with enough votes to do what Horner wants. Merc have Williams and likely Lotus or FI if they finish high enough, FIA do not in a million years want to open a can of worms - what are they gonna change to stop Merc? And on what grounds. Yes there is a mechanism to equalise things but this is more a gideline that would still have to be turned into a proper process or plan, and would have to be voted in etc. No one has a veto vote, its a democratic vote now to change the format, everyone has to agree and they didnt agree to anything at all at the last meeting. They didnt want to change the format or the tokens nada. 2017 they agreed to consider 1000 hp and wider tyres. Its all hot air, FIA sold their Max Mosely Hitlerite rights to change things. The token system cannot be changed without unanimous agreement, Renault would not want unlimited spending, unlimited fuel and no ERS, same as Honda, leaving Ferrari and Redull and they would be swamped. Ferrari + RBR +FOM vs Merc engines + Renault engines + Honda engines Merc AMG, Williams, Lotus, McLaren and FIA Anyway nothing at all can be changed till 2017 so Merc could come 1/2 for the next couple of years and lap the field each race and generally take the piss and no one has the power to say -'you are ruining the sport, we are going to do this to you' NO ONE. All they can do is try persuade Merc to agree to something dumb (aint gonna happen) or appeal to Merc to 'save' the sport by dumbing down (aint gonna happen) or find Merc cheating (aint gonna h......) or ban their engine and chassis on safety grounds (aint .......) Merc have a contract to be there till 2020, anyone changing the rules about changing the rules from what they were when Merc signed up will have to pony up the CVC FOM revenue x 12 years if Merc decide they have been hard done by over that contract. |
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Post by CookinFlat6 on Mar 21, 2015 23:47:35 GMT
So anyone want to make some pre-friday practice predictions for the running order between Ferrari & Williams, what about Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Lotus, Force India & Sauber. Will McLaren be behind Manor/Marussia? Will Manor even race? I personally think the running order in Malaysia will be: Mercedes, Williams, Ferrari, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Lotus, Sauber, Force India, Manor, McLaren I do think Manor will race, but I also have a fear that McLaren might not make the 107% in qualifying but will be allowed to race because of other sessions. For me Williams should shine here, its big test for Ferrari,no doubt they have massively improved the integration and usability of the engine and found more HP and their car is likely gained top speed. But the Merc engines have ominously fallen back on top speed yet are faster round the track. We need to remember that the engine HP or speed advantage is a part of the cars performance, mechanical grip, traction out of medium corners, power delivery optimisation at the lower end of the revs etc are likely to have improved compared to Ferraris. Therefore I think the big improvement we saw from Ferrari and Sauber highlights the engine improvements, fuel economy an ability to us the power properly Come tracks like Maylasia and especially tracks like Monaco, Singapore but also the mixed mid - high speed corner places will see the Merc improvments assert themselves, if all that makes any sense So to cut to the chase I think we will see the following, reliability aside Merc Williams Ferrari Lotus RBR/Sauber STR/Findia McLaren Manor |
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Post by Wß on Mar 22, 2015 11:27:10 GMT
I think Renault's issues are fixable, and they will get fixed soon. Not sure if they'll be at 100% by next weekend but certainly at the end of the flyaway races we may be seeing a William, Red Bull battle for second instead of Ferrari. Let's see. It's going to be close for those three with some leap frogging going on the entire year.
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