2019 Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

[RZS10]

The sad thing is, that there's enough people out there who actually believe that nonsense

Two buddies of mine are convinced that Merc just plays with the competition and just cranks up the engine over the season, even if no data would ever support that - and when it comes to that open letter conspiracy theory the only thing one of them wouldn't believe is that Rosberg was gifted the championship by Mercedes because he hates Hamilton so much he's convinced that he was beaten on merit .....

[Schuttelberg]

The sad thing is, that there's enough people out there who actually believe that nonsense

Two buddies of mine are convinced that Merc just plays with the competition and just cranks up the engine over the season, even if no data would ever support that - and when it comes to that open letter conspiracy theory the only thing one of them wouldn't believe is that Rosberg was gifted the championship by Mercedes because he hates Hamilton so much he's convinced that he was beaten on merit .....

I stopped reading that article mid way. I'm not one for the conspiracy theories. I definitely believe though that there is some truth in Mercedes playing games with their pace. They hardly every showed their hand until 2017 and 2018. Even on some weekends in those years, they were controlling the scheme of things. It's not a bad thing because in some races in 2017 and 2018, Ferrari was controlling things as well.

What is really eating at fans is this desperate attempt to sell narratives year after year that the competition is hot. The very fact that there are two categories in one sport is a shame and Ferrari and Red Bull are equally guilty for creating this rift. Mercedes are just smart enough to maximise it.

The reality in my opinion is that Red Bull will win some races this year. I think it will require a bad year from Mercedes for them to be in the fight for the WDC but if they drop the ball, Max can make it happen. I don't know what the whole situation is pertaining to Ferrari but I think Melbourne was an anomaly. They're the one's who should logically have the PU to challenge Mercedes. Honda, not yet.

If you really want to know how fast RBR are, just tune in to Lewis immediately after Oz. He was full of adrenaline and he twice said that he had Max covered. If Lewis tells me in that moment that he has it, with floor damage and far older tyres then the speed difference is there to see. I don't think Max had any issues in the race and his gap to Bottas is alarming in terms of title challenges.

If things get hot in the kitchen, I think Lewis will relish it and kick his level up a notch while Toto might again resort to table banging and various other accusations. It will end one day, and this reverse trolling that he has been indulging in for half a decade will bite him hard in the rear.

[Mr.G]

Yeah extremely badly damaged, i think Hamilton even tought about retiring.. Come on he mist 2square centimeter of carbon fibre. All this talking about it by media feels a bit pathetic imo.

The thing is that 2 square centimeters make a big impact on the car performance, it will affect balance left to right, as well as downforce (that particular piece is there to prevent rear tire squirt from having an effect on the diffuser)

It’s crazy that this cars are designed in a way that very small pieces can have a big effect on performance, but that doesn’t make it less true

There was worse damages... this was nothing...

Last year there were many cases where the much more damaged cars were able hold their pace. If somebody things that small piece was worth 20s+ over the race distance should study a bit more about F1...

[Sierra117]

The 20s happened because of the piece causing problems in balance and then turning the engine down.

Comparing damage effects of last year's cars to exactly predict effects on this year's cars doesn't make sense.

[PhillipM]

As explained earlier....it only needs to be worth a couple of tenths and then you may as well just turn it down and bring it home if your position isn't threatened, especially when you're unsure on whether the tyres will last.

[SmallSoldier]

The thing is that 2 square centimeters make a big impact on the car performance, it will affect balance left to right, as well as downforce (that particular piece is there to prevent rear tire squirt from having an effect on the diffuser)

It’s crazy that this cars are designed in a way that very small pieces can have a big effect on performance, but that doesn’t make it less true


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There was worse damages... this was nothing...

I'm not sure if this was worth so many down votes, however, last year there were many cases where the much more damaged cars were able hold their pace. If somebody things that small piece was worth 20s+ over the race distance should study a bit more about F1...

A 0.2 second difference per lap over 50 laps creates a 10 second gap... Add to that, that he made a way earlier stop than Bottas, therefore having to nurse his tires (which should have degraded faster due to the effect on the balance of the car) and the gap at the end of the race is more than justified... I guess you need to go back to your F1 classes


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[holeindalip]

These allegations of Merc toying with the competition got me thinking, if you had a massive advantage over your competition would it be worth while to get some race wins and stay within striking distance for a few races that you don't win..... And then after the summer break just demolish your competition , essentially making your competition think there is not enough time left in the season to respond to the speed increase delaying their time to switch to next seasons car or..... If you had a massive advantage just come out swinging for the fences and demolish from the start of the season?? Either scenario you would have ample time to divert resources over for the next year's car

[Phil]

Never underestimate the lengths some would go to succeed in an industry worth billions. We’ve had crash-gate etc; Mercedes helping out a competitor to ensure the formula they’ve invested billions is retained, isnt that far fetched and wouldnt surprise me in the slightest. En contraire; it makes strategic sense.

[Schuttelberg]

I have watched F1 for 25 years and I genuinely love it. The only time I had thoughts of not watching, was 2007 when Michael left but what started out as curiosity ultimately kept me hooked on because of this love for the sport. I'm now reaching that point again where if things don't change soon, I will need to catch a break. The gap the top 3 have to the rest is just ludicrous. It's just not sport.

[Just_a_fan]

Yeah extremely badly damaged, i think Hamilton even tought about retiring.. Come on he mist 2square centimeter of carbon fibre. All this talking about it by media feels a bit pathetic imo.

The thing is that 2 square centimeters make a big impact on the car performance, it will affect balance left to right, as well as downforce (that particular piece is there to prevent rear tire squirt from having an effect on the diffuser)

It’s crazy that this cars are designed in a way that very small pieces can have a big effect on performance, but that doesn’t make it less true


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There was worse damages... this was nothing...

Hamilton knew there was "a problem" straight away as he told his engineer that there was a balance problem (can't remember his exact words, but that was the gist of it). So there was a change in performance at the rear end and it was detrimental. It might have only been a tenth or two per lap but that's enough when you're racing your team mate who is in a healthy car and, crucially, is ahead in clean air anyway.

[dans79]

Hamilton knew there was "a problem" straight away as he told his engineer that there was a balance problem (can't remember his exact words, but that was the gist of it). So there was a change in performance at the rear end and it was detrimental. It might have only been a tenth or two per lap but that's enough when you're racing your team mate who is in a healthy car and, crucially, is ahead in clean air anyway.

Scarabs said the floor damage was worth 0.1s a lap by itself, and then you add the additional loss due to the imbalance caused by it. On top of that, you had his very long second stint that was always going to require tire management.

[cooken]

Would be really great to see Lewis' onboard footage to see what kind of adjustments he might have made to diff/BB settings for example to manage tire temps.

[Capharol]

new Cooling at Bahrain

[Morteza]

[cirrusflyer]

Great!
Listen at 4.10.
Explanation why there was bit of overstear dialed in at Q!