Official 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***

[WickerBill]

BrettMRC said:

It's only friday - suspec Merc will be back in the top 6 by saturday afternoon.

Top 6 isn’t good enough though....,

[sandman77]

WickerBill said:

Top 6 isn’t good enough though....,

It is on this circuit. Once the Mercedes tyres are up to temp in the race, with the help of the slip stream and DRS, they will easily be able to pass the cars in front on the long start/finish straight. My money is still on Lewis for the win.

[WickerBill]

sandman77 said:

It is on this circuit. Once the Mercedes tyres are up to temp in the race, with the help of the slip stream and DRS, they will easily be able to pass the cars in front on the long start/finish straight. My money is still on Lewis for the win.

Optimistic! If they get stuck behind the ferraris for too long, catching the red bulls will be tough

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Singapore GP cancelled again I see.

[anonymous-user]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Singapore GP cancelled again I see.

Probably a back-to-back in the US to replace it.

[sandman77]

WickerBill said:

Optimistic! If they get stuck behind the ferraris for too long, catching the red bulls will be tough

I think it’s more optimistic thinking the Ferrari’s will be able to hold off the Mercedes on a power circuit like this.

[jimPH]

WickerBill said:

So how far into the season does Sparta and others accept that Max is only winning because he’s in the best car?

Dunno what’s going on with Mercedes right now but they need to get it together if they’re to challenge the best car on the grid

Thought merc had the best driver?

[sparta6]

jimPH said:

WickerBill said:

So how far into the season does Sparta and others accept that Max is only winning because he’s in the best car?

Dunno what’s going on with Mercedes right now but they need to get it together if they’re to challenge the best car on the grid

Thought merc had the best driver?

Yep - it's plain sailing for Hamilton.

If the Merc is truly recalcitrant he can replicate Senna or Schumacher by hustling it to the front.

[Deesee]

Let’s be fair you only need to look at Dani Ricc in a Newey car and Dani Ricc not in a Newey car if you want to know about driver performance makes to a car.

[Deesee]

sparta6 said:

Yep - it's plain sailing for Hamilton.

If the Merc is truly recalcitrant he can replicate Senna or Schumacher by hustling it to the front.

Well that’s only happened a few times this season already.

[sparta6]

Deesee said:

sparta6 said:

Yep - it's plain sailing for Hamilton.

If the Merc is truly recalcitrant he can replicate Senna or Schumacher by hustling it to the front.

Well that’s only happened a few times this season already.

Right.

And Bottas didn't edge Hamilton last time out.

Let's see what happens

[paulguitar]

sparta6 said:

Let's see what happens

What we’ve seen clearly demonstrated more than once recently is that Hamilton can win when it really shouldn’t be possible. It seems a long shot from here but I’d not rule him out yet.

[WickerBill]

jimPH said:

WickerBill said:

So how far into the season does Sparta and others accept that Max is only winning because he’s in the best car?

Dunno what’s going on with Mercedes right now but they need to get it together if they’re to challenge the best car on the grid

Thought merc had the best driver?

This is my point.

The world according to Sparta....Hamilton is rubbish, it’s all the car....

....so now Max is winning, surely it’s the same?

[Deesee]

sparta6 said:

Deesee said:

sparta6 said:

Yep - it's plain sailing for Hamilton.

If the Merc is truly recalcitrant he can replicate Senna or Schumacher by hustling it to the front.

Well that’s only happened a few times this season already.

Right.

And Bottas didn't edge Hamilton last time out.

Let's see what happens

correct Sparta.. Max has a faster car over 250km..

Merc have to have a sharp pencil to take advantage of the last 50km. & Lewis has made a bit of time up to take that checkered flag thing.

[exelero]

WickerBill said:

jimPH said:

WickerBill said:

So how far into the season does Sparta and others accept that Max is only winning because he’s in the best car?

Dunno what’s going on with Mercedes right now but they need to get it together if they’re to challenge the best car on the grid

Thought merc had the best driver?

This is my point.

The world according to Sparta....Hamilton is rubbish, it’s all the car....

....so now Max is winning, surely it’s the same?

No, it’s not the car when he is winning so can’t blame the car when he’s not ... simple really

[Derek Smith]

In a season that promises to be a cracker, with Merc's performance suggesting they, or at least Hamilton, is having a problem getting the car to come on line, Azerbaijan could be something to remember. At the moment it would appear that the RB, at least in MV's hands, is the class of the field and might well waltz off into the distance, but there could be some fun further back, especially as it's possible the Merc might be get going later. Could be fun. Could be thrilling. It will be worth watching.

[rallycross]

Derek Smith said:

In a season that promises to be a cracker, with Merc's performance suggesting they, or at least Hamilton, is having a problem getting the car to come on line, Azerbaijan could be something to remember. At the moment it would appear that the RB, at least in MV's hands, is the class of the field and might well waltz off into the distance, but there could be some fun further back, especially as it's possible the Merc might be get going later. Could be fun. Could be thrilling. It will be worth watching.

+1 here’s to an exciting Sunday !

[jimPH]

exelero said:

WickerBill said:

jimPH said:

WickerBill said:

So how far into the season does Sparta and others accept that Max is only winning because he’s in the best car?

Dunno what’s going on with Mercedes right now but they need to get it together if they’re to challenge the best car on the grid

Thought merc had the best driver?

This is my point.

The world according to Sparta....Hamilton is rubbish, it’s all the car....

....so now Max is winning, surely it’s the same?

No, it’s not the car when he is winning so can’t blame the car when he’s not ... simple really

We know it's not the car, Bottas headed up the second row in Monaco and was harassing max in the first part of the race.

I find Toto's behaviour the most interesting, it must be easy when you're the boss of a winning team. Might actually get to see what he's really made of.

[DanielSan]

rallycross said:

Derek Smith said:

In a season that promises to be a cracker, with Merc's performance suggesting they, or at least Hamilton, is having a problem getting the car to come on line, Azerbaijan could be something to remember. At the moment it would appear that the RB, at least in MV's hands, is the class of the field and might well waltz off into the distance, but there could be some fun further back, especially as it's possible the Merc might be get going later. Could be fun. Could be thrilling. It will be worth watching.

+1 here’s to an exciting Sunday !

100%.

Best case scenario from what we've seen today- First half of the race could well end up being Mercedes playing damage limitation at the start and after the put stop while they try and get their tyres to work before playing catch up.

Worst case - Red Bulls drive away anyway and the Mercedes play damage limitation in a fight with the Ferrsri's and Mclaren's.

As always though Friday only gives away so much...

[ggdrew]

Its all interesting to observe the teams (incl. Merc) struggling against a big challenge.

BUT Im conflicted because how can a race result stand when the winning cars are illegal under the regs? Its a mockery!
- can you imagine the FIA letting an illegal car be on the podium ahead of a Ferrari (to take the extreme case)?

Newspaper headlines: "Illegal McLaren beats Ferrari at Monza" - totally impossible!