The Official 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**
Discussion
The top 3 press conference was interesting, Rosberg only talking about why he didn't get ahead of Vettel, absolutely no mention of Hamilton whatsoever. Seemed like he was resigned to being the slowest Merc and just concentrating on staying ahead of Ferrari (although Bottas was also very close)
hairyben said:
That looked like an excellent event though. A surprise to find Steve Rider there.suffolk009 said:
When is Nico's contract up? Merc must be wondering what's happened to the man.
Vettel is certainly enjoying his honeymoon period at Ferrari.
Signed a 2+options deal last year http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/24207/9383525/ni...Vettel is certainly enjoying his honeymoon period at Ferrari.
That would see him staying there until the 2017 season.
If he wanted to go early what would Merc do? I can't imagine they'd try too hard to keep him.
Possibly steal Alonso, who'd be out of McLaren in a shot. Potential fireworks with Lewis though ?
RIC,VET,RAI all tied up in contracts. Bottas maybe ?
Potentially pull their rookie Pascal Wehrlein forwards, but he hasn't even done a free practice session, to my knowledge he's never sat in an F1 car.
Far as Rosberg goes, I can imagine that Red Bull would pay him handsomely to tell them all Merc's secrets. Kvyat wouldn't even touch the ground. This gives Sainz & Verstappen another year at STR to mature/learn.
As always its ifs and maybes.
Edited by Crafty_ on Sunday 19th April 07:58
Crafty_ said:
Far as Rosberg goes, I can imagine that Red Bull would pay him handsomely to tell them all Merc's secrets.
Doubt this very much.Mateschitz said:
you don’t need a four-time world champion who at best can be ‘best of the rest’.
so why would they need Rosberg? Nurturing talent gave them Vettel. Also doubt the Merc has that many secrets aerodynamics wise. As we're seeing the whole traction, not being able to cope after the rear tyres issue is still there. They have a massive power plant advantage atm and that's about it.Merc's advantage is bigger than just the engine. McLaren had an identical engine last year, Williams too and look where they were.
Its a whole package. Yes the Ferrari can look after its tyres better in hot temperatures but it wasn't exactly cold in China and they were never a threat.
It will be interesting to see what the European races bring with regards to Ferrari - they should have an upgraded engine by that time and I suspect they will be working to widen the tyre operating window. From what I have seen their rear suspension is pretty interesting.
I think there is a lot RBR (or another mid field team) could learn froma Merc driver and I would think that RBR would be the most keen to find out.
Its a whole package. Yes the Ferrari can look after its tyres better in hot temperatures but it wasn't exactly cold in China and they were never a threat.
It will be interesting to see what the European races bring with regards to Ferrari - they should have an upgraded engine by that time and I suspect they will be working to widen the tyre operating window. From what I have seen their rear suspension is pretty interesting.
I think there is a lot RBR (or another mid field team) could learn froma Merc driver and I would think that RBR would be the most keen to find out.
Crafty_ said:
Merc's advantage is bigger than just the engine. McLaren had an identical engine last year, Williams too and look where they were.
Having the same engine does not mean the same engine performance.Last year Merc shared their fuel science/knowledge research with Williams which gave them a step up in performance.
Agree with you - Merc have the best package. They will be difficult to beat anytime soon.
Scuffers said:
is it just me or are we back to s
t tyres again dominating the 'racing'?
can we please go back to a tyre war?, no stupid tyre regs on this and that compound, etc etc etc, just get 2+ companies interested in the very best they can come up with.
I don't think so, because the two cars are using the tyres differently. Ferrari can cope with higher temps better, but have a narrower window. Merc has a wider window but isn't as good as the Ferrari in hot temps.t tyres again dominating the 'racing'?can we please go back to a tyre war?, no stupid tyre regs on this and that compound, etc etc etc, just get 2+ companies interested in the very best they can come up with.
I expect to see a Ferrari genuinely in the lead at some point, just not sure it will be on the last lap.
Can't remember the last time I was this excited about a race, oh wait...it was a few weeks ago. 
Soft has an inherent 1-2s pace advantage than the Medium. You run it earlier in the race to minimise the pace differential as medium on a lighter car is not too slower than soft on a heavier car. Now, if Ferrari can run longer on the softs during the first and middle stints, say only a tenth or two slower than Mercedes, by having a better tyre use, then it becomes a pace advantage.
Soft has an inherent 1-2s pace advantage than the Medium. You run it earlier in the race to minimise the pace differential as medium on a lighter car is not too slower than soft on a heavier car. Now, if Ferrari can run longer on the softs during the first and middle stints, say only a tenth or two slower than Mercedes, by having a better tyre use, then it becomes a pace advantage.
Crafty_ said:
I don't think so, because the two cars are using the tyres differently. Ferrari can cope with higher temps better, but have a narrower window. Merc has a wider window but isn't as good as the Ferrari in hot temps.
I expect to see a Ferrari genuinely in the lead at some point, just not sure it will be on the last lap.
maybe I did not explain that as well as I should?I expect to see a Ferrari genuinely in the lead at some point, just not sure it will be on the last lap.
I'm not interested in who can drive to protect the tyres during a race, I want to see wheel to wheel racing where the drivers can race each other without having to think that every hard corner is going to screw their tyres.
Qualifying is about the only point in the weekend we see then actually pushing the limits
take China, qualifying time - 1:35.782
Fastest lap - 1m 42.208
RichB said:
Chaps, I know this is what they do but it seems counter intuitive to me. I would expect the harder compound to be used when the car is heavy and then go to softs as it becomes lighter. So, why it it advantageous do it this way round?
Medium would be V poor early on, but better after the track has rubbered-in for 40 lapsScuffers said:
I'm not interested in who can drive to protect the tyres during a race, I want to see wheel to wheel racing where the drivers can race each other without having to think that every hard corner is going to screw their tyres.
Qualifying is about the only point in the weekend we see then actually pushing the limits
take China, qualifying time - 1:35.782
Fastest lap - 1m 42.208
Then we would have about 20 pit stops every race. Qualifying is about the only point in the weekend we see then actually pushing the limits
take China, qualifying time - 1:35.782
Fastest lap - 1m 42.208
Edited by 007 VXR on Sunday 19th April 09:44
RichB said:
Chaps, I know this is what they do but it seems counter intuitive to me. I would expect the harder compound to be used when the car is heavy and then go to softs as it becomes lighter. So, why it it advantageous do it this way round?
As others have said, it's the differential between the tyres that if you can run them last isn't as bad as if you run them early on. I'm sure the computer guys have run the calcs and this comes out fastest. I think some teams will do something different as a 'roll of the dice' strategy wise.
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