2021 AMG Mercedes F1 Team

[dans79]

Very first question ... did they really prepare for a start on M with Lewis (i have no clue what tyres they were doing their practice starts on)? Wolff initially said that he just held the clutch for too long (same as at the sprint start in Silverstone iirc) and both times they later claimed something else (miscalculated tyre temps).
It's two starts with lighter fuel in the sprint races and both were suboptimal whilst most of the other starts were fine.

I've wondered if the Merc PU just produces a lot of low range torque and that's causing an issue!

[RZS10]

Bottas' starts were decent though?

[dans79]

Bottas' starts were decent though?

In silverstone Bottas had to defend pretty hard vs Leclerc at the start of the sprint, and in Monza, I would assume he was running a different set-up since they knew he was going to start the race from the back.

Could just be driver preferences to though, Bottas might prefer a set-up that copes better with a light car starting from a stand still.

[PlatinumZealot]

Bottas' starts were decent though?

Bottas has been a victim of poor starts quite a number of times but it's not noticed or highlighted as much. Mercedes definitely has less consistent starts than their rivals I reckon.

[ringo]

Earlier in this thread i had mentioned mercedes opting to push the PU to get more performance from the car as opposed to distracting the aero team too much.
It seems like this is a viable option.
It will pressure honda to push as well.

If the drivers dont want to concede on track.. let's see which engine will.

Mercedes just needs 20 more HP to be safe.

[Marty_Y]

Earlier in this thread i had mentioned mercedes opting to push the PU to get more performance from the car as opposed to distracting the aero team too much.
It seems like this is a viable option.
It will pressure honda to push as well.

If the drivers dont want to concede on track.. let's see which engine will.

Mercedes just needs 20 more HP to be safe.

I just posted a article in the Mercedes power unit thread that pretty much said as much, but the quotes are from Italian motorsport.com and the article just reads as clickbait.

[Morteza]

[atanatizante]

Earlier in this thread i had mentioned mercedes opting to push the PU to get more performance from the car as opposed to distracting the aero team too much.
It seems like this is a viable option.
It will pressure honda to push as well.

If the drivers dont want to concede on track.. let's see which engine will.

Mercedes just needs 20 more HP to be safe.

This kind of HP jump at this stage of the season could only be possible had they had a fuel upgrade but unfortunately I didn't hear of it ...
In addition, but to a slighter degree, a lube update could allow them to run the ICE harder in the race thus with an engine mapping more aggressive with slightly more HP output, but in any case much lower than what a fuel upgrade could bring upon ...

Maybe the one and only fuel upgrade allowed this year was done at the start of the season ...

[Morteza]

[zibby43]

Can’t say I disagree with LEC’s assessment of Hamilton’s racecraft:

“Lewis is always very, very clever in the way he positions his car to put you in a difficult situation. And he most of the time manages to make the pass in a clean way.”

https://the-race.com/formula-1/leclercs ... at-styles/

[atanatizante]

How much of the car improved race pace since Silverstone was due to:
1. The new aero upgrade;
2. The 3rd PU;
3. The new rear Pirelli tyres.

According to Peter Windsor, he thinks the newly reinforced sidewall rear Pirelli tyres is helping the W12 car the most or just more than the RB16B car:

[El Scorchio]

Lewis Hamilton has decided not to back out of on-track battles when he believes he has a right to the corner, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says.

Wolff said it followed discussions over the aggressive approach to racing of title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

"The change in approach is that Lewis pretty much decided not to bail out any more when he thinks the corner is his," Wolff said.

"Now it needs two to understand when a collision can be avoided."

(From the BBC)

[Marty_Y]

Lewis Hamilton has decided not to back out of on-track battles when he believes he has a right to the corner, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says.

Wolff said it followed discussions over the aggressive approach to racing of title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

"The change in approach is that Lewis pretty much decided not to bail out any more when he thinks the corner is his," Wolff said.

"Now it needs two to understand when a collision can be avoided."

(From the BBC)

Article regarding above quotes,

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/58677987

[Just_a_fan]

Lewis Hamilton has decided not to back out of on-track battles when he believes he has a right to the corner, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says.

Wolff said it followed discussions over the aggressive approach to racing of title rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

"The change in approach is that Lewis pretty much decided not to bail out any more when he thinks the corner is his," Wolff said.

"Now it needs two to understand when a collision can be avoided."

(From the BBC)

I'm with him on that. The issue comes as they get closer to the end of the season. If, for example, Max is ahead on points going in to the last race and Hamilton needs to win for the title, Max is likely to just chuck it up the inside knowing that he either wins by being ahead on track or by taking Hamilton out.

[Marty_Y]

Brake magic again,