2017 AMG Mercedes F1 Team - Mercedes

[ClarkBT11]

I heard the team give information to Lewis over the radio, that they had pitted Bottas on the softs and was lapping at 1:17:00 so were thinking of putting him on the same rubber and asked for his opinion. The broadcast didn't air his reply, maybe in practice he felt more comfortable on the super softs. Mercedes could of mirrored the RBR strategy of Danny with Bottas, it looked like the Finn was struggling more with the tyres making it a safer bet for his race.

[F1Krof]

Or they upgraded their suspension resmebling more to what they were doing before Ferrari & Charlie spilled their milk before the season started when their tricky "active" yet "passive" suspension were banned.

The car looked very calm and precise all the way through.

Lets see if the trend continues like this.

[ferkan]

Or they upgraded their suspension resmebling more to what they were doing before Ferrari & Charlie spilled their milk before the season started when their tricky "active" yet "passive" suspension were banned.

The car looked very calm and precise all the way through.

Lets see if the trend continues like this.

Yea...and Bottas car didnt exactly look great. Ferrari looked very strong until Q1, temps got upto 44C and that was it I think.

[Jordan44]

Or they upgraded their suspension resmebling more to what they were doing before Ferrari & Charlie spilled their milk before the season started when their tricky "active" yet "passive" suspension were banned.

The car looked very calm and precise all the way through.

Lets see if the trend continues like this.

Yea...and Bottas car didnt exactly look great. Ferrari looked very strong until Q1, temps got upto 44C and that was it I think.

Ferrari have looked strong in every FP3 session this season and it never transpires to be the true picture. Time you noticed the pattern.

[ferkan]

Or they upgraded their suspension resmebling more to what they were doing before Ferrari & Charlie spilled their milk before the season started when their tricky "active" yet "passive" suspension were banned.

The car looked very calm and precise all the way through.

Lets see if the trend continues like this.

Yea...and Bottas car didnt exactly look great. Ferrari looked very strong until Q1, temps got upto 44C and that was it I think.

Ferrari have looked strong in every FP3 session this season and it never transpires to be the true picture. Time you noticed the pattern.

Really? They looked shakey in Australia and Bahrain, and in both races their deficit in Q was larger then anywhere else. In Russia, China, Spain and Monaco they looked strong and in all of those there was very littled difference bewteen two teams.

Maybe you ae talking about 2016 because it definitely doesnt apply to 2017.

[Jordan44]

Yea...and Bottas car didnt exactly look great. Ferrari looked very strong until Q1, temps got upto 44C and that was it I think.

Ferrari have looked strong in every FP3 session this season and it never transpires to be the true picture. Time you noticed the pattern.

Really? They looked shakey in Australia and Bahrain, and in both races their deficit in Q was larger then anywhere else. In Russia, China, Spain and Monaco they looked strong and in all of those there was very littled difference bewteen two teams.

Maybe you ae talking about 2016 because it definitely doesnt apply to 2017.

Huh???

Australian: P3 - Mercedes 4 tenths behind. Qualifying - Mercedes 2 tenths ahead.
China: P3 - Mercedes 4 tenths behind. Qualifying - Mercedes 2 tenths ahead.
Bahrain: Wasn't the case here but Merc had their strongest qualifying so far.
Russia: P3 - Mercedes 4 tenths behind. Qualifying - Ferrari about a tenth ahead.
Spain: P3 - Mercedes 4 tenths behind. Qualifying - Mercedes a fraction ahead.
Monaco: P3 - Mercedes 4 tenths behind. Qualifying - Ferrari a fraction ahead.
Canada: P3 - Mercedes 4 tenths behind. Qualifying - Mercedes 3 tenths ahead.

Ferrari have always seemed strong before Q1... nothing new this weekend.

[ferkan]

Ok, but the point is, if Ferrari was 3-4 tenths faster then Merc in FP3s it would usually come down to a tenth of a difference or Ferrari slight advantage after Bahrain (in Spain Seb had engine that has done 5 races, surely he lost some time on it). Non the less, its not Ferraris FP3 form that is flattering, its more that Merc is conservative until Q3 where engine mods are running full pelt. But as I said, Ferraris advantage in FP3 in last few races meant tiny advantage in Q3. Here, it wasnt the case, that was my point.

It looked actually like Lewis car was only car really looking great on the track as he is in no way, shape or a form 7 tenths faster then Bottas over one lap.

[Jordan44]

Ok, but the point is, if Ferrari was 3-4 tenths faster then Merc in FP3s it would usually come down to a tenth of a difference or Ferrari slight advantage after Bahrain (in Spain Seb had engine that has done 5 races, surely he lost some time on it). Non the less, its not Ferraris FP3 form that is flattering, its more that Merc is conservative until Q3 where engine mods are running full pelt. But as I said, Ferraris advantage in FP3 in last few races meant tiny advantage in Q3. Here, it wasnt the case, that was my point.

It looked actually like Lewis car was only car really looking great on the track as he is in no way, shape or a form 7 tenths faster then Bottas over one lap.

7 tenths was an exaggerated gap due to the fact he failed to improve on his previous Q3 lap.

My point is that Ferrari were looking no greater than they usually do before Q1... which has often failed to get them pole position.

[ferkan]

Ok, but the point is, if Ferrari was 3-4 tenths faster then Merc in FP3s it would usually come down to a tenth of a difference or Ferrari slight advantage after Bahrain (in Spain Seb had engine that has done 5 races, surely he lost some time on it). Non the less, its not Ferraris FP3 form that is flattering, its more that Merc is conservative until Q3 where engine mods are running full pelt. But as I said, Ferraris advantage in FP3 in last few races meant tiny advantage in Q3. Here, it wasnt the case, that was my point.

It looked actually like Lewis car was only car really looking great on the track as he is in no way, shape or a form 7 tenths faster then Bottas over one lap.

7 tenths was an exaggerated gap due to the fact he failed to improve on his previous Q3 lap.

My point is that Ferrari were looking no greater than they usually do before Q1... which has often failed to get them pole position.

Ok, my point was that Ferrari looked relatively similar in FP3 to how they looked ever since Bahrain, but gap between these on front row was much bigger then usual. It was observation that Lewis car handled much better then anyone else and that temps that spiked up alot in comparison to FP3 could also be to blame (given how close Bottas looked entire weekend).

In any case it doesnt even matter now.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Interesting revelation from Toto!
Link -> WOLFF: NICO WAS THE VICIOUS ONE

Asked in an interview with the Daily Mail who the real ‘bad guy’ was in the three years of Mercedes’ utter domination which resulted in two titles for Lewis Hamilton (2014 and 2015) and one for Rosberg last year, Wolff revealed, “The one who is no longer here. The vicious one. Nico just tried to use all the weapons he had.”

“There were all the psycho games that you can play to destabilise your rival,” explained the Mercedes team principal, “With Nico and Lewis there may be factors we do not even know about.”

This is even more interesting!

One of the more high profile salvos in the battle between the two was during qualifying for the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix where Rosberg was accused (by most of the F1 paddock) of deliberately botching his final lap to prevent Hamilton having a shot at pole.

Wolff was reminded of the the incident and asked for his opinion, “I have an answer but I am thinking how you would write it. It caused friction in the relationship. That was a big one.”

[marvin78]

And if Hamilton had been the one to retire, he would be the evil one now.

[ENGINE TUNER]

Wasn't it quite clear that Rosberg was the main instigator of the problems between the two at Merc? Starting with his refusal to accept team orders in Malaysia 2013. Brawn ordered him to hold his position several times and Rosberg disobeyed several times attempting to pass Hamilton while both were low on fuel and marginal on tires. Hamilton was successful at defending or repassing every Rosberg attempt but he clearly disobeyed Brawn's orders.

Nearly every time they had contact it was Rosberg's fault and Rosberg clearly cheating for pole in Monaco 2014.

[aral]

We are veering into the realms of fanboyism and tit-for-tat comments. 2013 was a long time ago . Its over and done with. Please move forwards.

[Phil]

I like Bottas. I hope they keep him.

Some questions asked at the Baku Press Conference (Part 2) in regards to Bottas and his contract situation at Mercedes.

As it seems, he is officially out of contract for 2018 (so; no renewal yet), he has not approached any other teams and hopes for a steady long term contract at Mercedes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGk4HeWZFck

What's the consensus of Bottas at Mercedes?

IMO he is performing steadily (and when not, the issues have been probably down to the very narrow performance window of the Mercedes and the tires), has been very formidable in qualifying so far. Most importantly though, it seems that the working relationship between Lewis and Bottas is rather good and this (beyond other factors) have had a very positive impact on the team dynamics. This may not be entirely down to Bottas, but also the fact that Mercedes have a very close fight with Ferrari, but none-the-less, I can't help but think that if Rosberg and Hamilton were still in the same team, that the dynamics would have been very different. Bottas is controllable (given he wants a contract extension).

What alternatives are there? Vettels contract ends, but I can't see him wanting to leave Ferrari, not now that they have a very competitive car and have seemed to make the jump. There is also a question mark in regards to Mercedes long term commitment to F1, where Ferraris is probably undisputed. Then you have Alonso - but why take on him if you have a very steady performer in Hamilton already? You'd only risk a poisonous relationship that could destabilize the team. IMO it only makes sense to take on a very good driver like Alonso or Vettel if you risk going against them at a team that is a WDC contender. Vettel already has that at Ferrari, but Alonso doesn't. If Alonso leaves McLaren, I can't see him going back to Ferrari (even if Kimi is out). The only place I can see Alonso heading is back to Enstone/Renault.

In that sense, why not keep Bottas, the quiet but consistent Finn without all the drama attached to it? Keep him at least for another year, then Hamiltons contract is up. Then if either leaves (or the performance isn't on the level the team expects), there is still Max Verstappen (or Dan Ricciardo) who may be free to leave RB complicated contract arrangement.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

What alternatives are there? Vettels contract ends, but I can't see him wanting to leave Ferrari, not now that they have a very competitive car and have seemed to make the jump.

Let's say by the end of the season if Mercedes fixes their tyre issues and surge ahead, would Vettel be still happy to be at Ferrari? But then, would he be willing to go against Lewis in the same car?

Bottas has proved to be reliable and has speed. He has been only limited by the tricky car. If Mercedes manages to fix the problem, we can expect Bottas to deliver consistently. All he needs to do is, just stay close behind Hamilton on pace, if not ahead. I am sure Mercedes is pragmatic to understand that they are competing with a resurgent Ferrari and wouldn't be dreaming about a driver's 1-2 like past years. They would be happy to bag Constructors and Drivers' title. If they do it, Bottas is bound to stay. If Mercedes doesn't win the constructors title and Bottas doesn't keep consistency, then his survival would be very difficult. I am hopeful that he would put a good show for the entire season and continues at Mercedes for next year.