2022 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[Hammerfist]

I was riding onboard with Lewis in F1 tv. I don't see anything he could have done differently. He was on the gearbox of the Alfa Tauri for basically the whole medium tire stint, was mostly within 0.4sec but Gasly also had DRS somehow. Gasly always took the inside line away whenever Lewis got too close and Lewis, as soon as he pulled to the side, seemed to lose momentum. I suspect he was slightly lifting at the end of the straight because of the porpoising. But the weird thing is that Gasly wasn't within 1sec of Albon initially, but as soon as DRS got activated, he closed to within 1 sec so he could get the DRS. Also strangely enough, Gasly with Honda power, never made an impression on Albon who was at the front of the train with no DRS. Very strange. It's almost as if they were all conspiring to keep Lewis behind. Just kidding, but Lewis drove hard actually, just really unlucky day and he was never able to show what kind of pace he had. I've said it before though that it takes him usually half a season to really gel with the car. Max surely found that out last year. But this year, he may lose motivation and get thumped by Russell. Oh well it is what it is.

[silver]

Does anyone else think Hamilton would retire this year?
I think this is also a good time for Toto to move aside and for someone else to drive the team forward. Not sure what is the value Toto is adding being there. It's the right time for a new leader to slide in when the expectations are low.to try and bring a new dawn.

[des_1986]

Does anyone else think Hamilton would retire this year?
I think this is also a good time for Toto to move aside and for someone else to drive the team forward. Not sure what is the value Toto is adding being there. It's the right time for a new leader to slide in when the expectations are low.to try and bring a new dawn.

Have some patience - it's only a few races into a new season after nearly a decade of dominance.

[elMaestro]

From the long runs in FP2 the car was easily in the mid1:20 bracket with Lewis for constant laps, and George was in the low 21's. The car has potential but for some reason this race managed to mask it pretty well lol. George had understeer in the dry from the second pitstop and Lewis was stuck behind Gasly the entire race. I still believe we can manage to overcome this

[proteus]

I was riding onboard with Lewis in F1 tv. I don't see anything he could have done differently. He was on the gearbox of the Alfa Tauri for basically the whole medium tire stint, was mostly within 0.4sec but Gasly also had DRS somehow. Gasly always took the inside line away whenever Lewis got too close and Lewis, as soon as he pulled to the side, seemed to lose momentum. I suspect he was slightly lifting at the end of the straight because of the porpoising. But the weird thing is that Gasly wasn't within 1sec of Albon initially, but as soon as DRS got activated, he closed to within 1 sec so he could get the DRS. Also strangely enough, Gasly with Honda power, never made an impression on Albon who was at the front of the train with no DRS. Very strange. It's almost as if they were all conspiring to keep Lewis behind. Just kidding, but Lewis drove hard actually, just really unlucky day and he was never able to show what kind of pace he had. I've said it before though that it takes him usually half a season to really gel with the car. Max surely found that out last year. But this year, he may lose motivation and get thumped by Russell. Oh well it is what it is.

The difference is that there is no power superiority like it was in Brazil last year. Now we see even more of what rocket that car/engine was.

[AA_2019]

Good job Russell, showed the potential of the current w13, but no where near the front runners.

Bad strategy on Hamilton, should have pitted, he would have caught back up to Gasly but with fresher tyres. Tyre offset would have allowed him to overtake. Still the w13 is no race winner.

[PlatinumZealot]

I was riding onboard with Lewis in F1 tv. I don't see anything he could have done differently. He was on the gearbox of the Alfa Tauri for basically the whole medium tire stint, was mostly within 0.4sec but Gasly also had DRS somehow. Gasly always took the inside line away whenever Lewis got too close and Lewis, as soon as he pulled to the side, seemed to lose momentum. I suspect he was slightly lifting at the end of the straight because of the porpoising. But the weird thing is that Gasly wasn't within 1sec of Albon initially, but as soon as DRS got activated, he closed to within 1 sec so he could get the DRS. Also strangely enough, Gasly with Honda power, never made an impression on Albon who was at the front of the train with no DRS. Very strange. It's almost as if they were all conspiring to keep Lewis behind. Just kidding, but Lewis drove hard actually, just really unlucky day and he was never able to show what kind of pace he had. I've said it before though that it takes him usually half a season to really gel with the car. Max surely found that out last year. But this year, he may lose motivation and get thumped by Russell. Oh well it is what it is.

The difference is that there is no power superiority like it was in Brazil last year. Now we see even more of what rocket that car/engine was.

Siedl and Toto confirmed the engine was the same as the others. It clearly was because in Quatar, Jedddah and Abu Dhabi the Mercedes was on par with Honda again. It was Hamilton's setup that was a calculated risk that worked.

Doesn't make sense to perpetuate rumours of this "rocket engine" anymore. Too much sensible here people to fall for that one.

[lh13]

I was riding onboard with Lewis in F1 tv. I don't see anything he could have done differently. He was on the gearbox of the Alfa Tauri for basically the whole medium tire stint, was mostly within 0.4sec but Gasly also had DRS somehow. Gasly always took the inside line away whenever Lewis got too close and Lewis, as soon as he pulled to the side, seemed to lose momentum. I suspect he was slightly lifting at the end of the straight because of the porpoising. But the weird thing is that Gasly wasn't within 1sec of Albon initially, but as soon as DRS got activated, he closed to within 1 sec so he could get the DRS. Also strangely enough, Gasly with Honda power, never made an impression on Albon who was at the front of the train with no DRS. Very strange. It's almost as if they were all conspiring to keep Lewis behind. Just kidding, but Lewis drove hard actually, just really unlucky day and he was never able to show what kind of pace he had. I've said it before though that it takes him usually half a season to really gel with the car. Max surely found that out last year. But this year, he may lose motivation and get thumped by Russell. Oh well it is what it is.

The difference is that there is no power superiority like it was in Brazil last year. Now we see even more of what rocket that car/engine was.

Siedl and Toto confirmed the engine was the same as the others. It clearly was because in Quatar, Jedddah and Abu Dhabi the Mercedes was on par with Honda again. It was Hamilton's setup that was a calculated risk that worked.

Doesn't make sense to perpetuate rumours of this "rocket engine" anymore. Too much sensible here people to fall for that one.

They would be stupid to run an engine that only has to last 2 races in the same configuration as the engine that needs to last 7. The power difference was there, and quite obviously.

[xaero]

I was riding onboard with Lewis in F1 tv. I don't see anything he could have done differently. He was on the gearbox of the Alfa Tauri for basically the whole medium tire stint, was mostly within 0.4sec but Gasly also had DRS somehow. Gasly always took the inside line away whenever Lewis got too close and Lewis, as soon as he pulled to the side, seemed to lose momentum. I suspect he was slightly lifting at the end of the straight because of the porpoising. But the weird thing is that Gasly wasn't within 1sec of Albon initially, but as soon as DRS got activated, he closed to within 1 sec so he could get the DRS. Also strangely enough, Gasly with Honda power, never made an impression on Albon who was at the front of the train with no DRS. Very strange. It's almost as if they were all conspiring to keep Lewis behind. Just kidding, but Lewis drove hard actually, just really unlucky day and he was never able to show what kind of pace he had. I've said it before though that it takes him usually half a season to really gel with the car. Max surely found that out last year. But this year, he may lose motivation and get thumped by Russell. Oh well it is what it is.

The difference is that there is no power superiority like it was in Brazil last year. Now we see even more of what rocket that car/engine was.

This happens when you get robbed of what you deserve. you come back next year thinking that you will have your chance to make the wrong right and then you realize that you have got a dog of a car.

[Fulcrum]

Does anyone else think Hamilton would retire this year?
I think this is also a good time for Toto to move aside and for someone else to drive the team forward. Not sure what is the value Toto is adding being there. It's the right time for a new leader to slide in when the expectations are low.to try and bring a new dawn.

I thought he'd retire at the end of 2021, but that assumed winning the championship.

He'll probably stick around for another 3 years. $40M+ per year is enough to keep anyone interested, and I don't think Mercedes will be this rubbish for more than 6 months, meaning they will be fighting for better results soon.

[xinho]

Russell driving like an absolute animal. Race after race getting better and better.

Dont think so. He was lucky to get to that position. After that, surprisingly, no chance to approach Lando, almost lost position to Bottas what reflects true speed of Mercedes in Imola. Lewis was lacking straight line speed and got stuck in DRS train. Hope Gasly is satisfied with his race with zero attack on Albon

Lucky? Many were faster than him indeed, and jet he managed to retain 4th position while Lewis was stuck in 14th. George did great job over the whole race. Right from the start and trough to the end.

And what wrong has Gasly done? Should he simply move to the side because he was unable to past Albon?

And what should do Lewis differently? The whole race in 1 second without possibility to overtake. I dont think he did bad job with the car. In clean air/without stucking in DRS he would show the real race pace as Russell could. I think team could take more risk in strategy. Look at the sprint race, no miracle from Russell in traffic as well…

[Tvetovnato]

Does anyone else think Hamilton would retire this year?
I think this is also a good time for Toto to move aside and for someone else to drive the team forward. Not sure what is the value Toto is adding being there. It's the right time for a new leader to slide in when the expectations are low.to try and bring a new dawn.

So after 8 championships, they should retire after 4 non-winning races? Please elaborate on why Toto is not adding value now all of a sudden, and why Lewis would retire.

Lewis has been on Georges pace in all races so far, and faster in a couple of them at the very least. George had a good qualifying in Jeddah (or Hamilton had a bad one) where it was super important to have a good one. Luck with the SC in Melbourne put him ahead of Hamilton there. And he gained a few places at the start here, which was also crucial. That’s the difference right now. Had Hamilton been severely beaten in pure pace, it would be one thing. But so far that’s nowhere near the case. There are 19 races left and things will swing. Races will come where George has bad luck with SC or other circumstances.

And just be clear, I’m not trying to take anything away from Georges performance, he is doing brillantly and is proving himself to be as good as most people thought, but it’s waaay to early to count Lewis out just because things haven’t fallen his way yet.

[silver]

Does anyone else think Hamilton would retire this year?
I think this is also a good time for Toto to move aside and for someone else to drive the team forward. Not sure what is the value Toto is adding being there. It's the right time for a new leader to slide in when the expectations are low.to try and bring a new dawn.

I thought he'd retire at the end of 2021, but that assumed winning the championship.

He'll probably stick around for another 3 years. $40M+ per year is enough to keep anyone interested, and I don't think Mercedes will be this rubbish for more than 6 months, meaning they will be fighting for better results soon.

The worrying part is, while Mercedes is struggling to understand the problems with the car, the current top 2 teams are moving forward, especially RB. In this race, there was an average 1.7 seconds difference on race pace between the best RB and the best Merc when both were in clean air. Merc would be skeptical about their upgrades as they are built on a wrongly correlated data, so I am not sure if they can bolt it. Porpoising aside, the mechanical grip is missing, doesn't seem to have usable downforce, unable to warm the tyres well and doesn't seem to have any engine grunt. By the time they solve the problem, which obviously doesn't seem like sooner, the difference might just grow to 2 seconds to the top 2 teams. Can they produce solutions that can wipe out the 2 seconds deficit in a budget restricted time? What if they find their overall concept (to fight at the front) isn't the right one for these new regulations? That would send them back in time to 2020.

Based on the report below, it appears they want to bolt an upgrade in Barcelona and if that doesn't solve the problem, then it's a good bye for W13.
https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-me ... /10172138/

[aMessageToCharlie]

Dont think so. He was lucky to get to that position. After that, surprisingly, no chance to approach Lando, almost lost position to Bottas what reflects true speed of Mercedes in Imola. Lewis was lacking straight line speed and got stuck in DRS train. Hope Gasly is satisfied with his race with zero attack on Albon

Lucky? Many were faster than him indeed, and jet he managed to retain 4th position while Lewis was stuck in 14th. George did great job over the whole race. Right from the start and trough to the end.

And what wrong has Gasly done? Should he simply move to the side because he was unable to past Albon?

And what should do Lewis differently? The whole race in 1 second without possibility to overtake. I dont think he did bad job with the car. In clean air/without stucking in DRS he would show the real race pace as Russell could. I think team could take more risk in strategy. Look at the sprint race, no miracle from Russell in traffic as well…

Just because you ask:

Not denying the call to pit for slicks would have certainly put him in a much better position (assuming he would have kept in on track like the others)

[mstar]

Does anyone else think Hamilton would retire this year?
I think this is also a good time for Toto to move aside and for someone else to drive the team forward. Not sure what is the value Toto is adding being there. It's the right time for a new leader to slide in when the expectations are low.to try and bring a new dawn.

I thought he'd retire at the end of 2021, but that assumed winning the championship.

He'll probably stick around for another 3 years. $40M+ per year is enough to keep anyone interested, and I don't think Mercedes will be this rubbish for more than 6 months, meaning they will be fighting for better results soon.

The worrying part is, while Mercedes is struggling to understand the problems with the car, the current top 2 teams are moving forward, especially RB. In this race, there was an average 1.7 seconds difference on race pace between the best RB and the best Merc when both were in clean air. Merc would be skeptical about their upgrades as they are built on a wrongly correlated data, so I am not sure if they can bolt it. Porpoising aside, the mechanical grip is missing, doesn't seem to have usable downforce, unable to warm the tyres well and doesn't seem to have any engine grunt. By the time they solve the problem, which obviously doesn't seem like sooner, the difference might just grow to 2 seconds to the top 2 teams. Can they produce solutions that can wipe out the 2 seconds deficit in a budget restricted time? What if they find their overall concept (to fight at the front) isn't the right one for these new regulations? That would send them back in time to 2020.

Based on the report below, it appears they want to bolt an upgrade in Barcelona and if that doesn't solve the problem, then it's a good bye for W13.
https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-me ... /10172138/

IMO if the barcelona upgrades dont work i think heads will roll in the design office OR moved aside to something else. This is a cut-throat business you make a serious mistake in fundamental design (which you had MORE time to look at than RB), your moved aside, as you can't make mistake again and if management have lost confidence in your ability, then u be moved aside to something else. So i can see some engineers be fearing the worse if the car doesn't at least get close to Ferrari / RB by mid season.