Quoted for truth.
Seeing the gaps RB and Merc pulled on the field yesterday shows how good those top 2 cars are.
But it’s apparent that RB’s hardware gains have given them tactical setup advantages.
Quoted for truth.
Yes, I do think that if they start banking on one driver more than the other, we'll see better results for them. I don't know when they'll start backing Hamilton now though. IMO they should start favoring him given how Bottas is down on the points.El Scorchio wrote: ↑21 Jun 2021, 17:18This is a problem for them. They are caught in no man's land trying to play the team comes first game against a team who is playing the driver comes first game which at the moment is forcing them into decisions ultimately proving detrimental to both WDC and WCC hopes. Sunday was a perfect example. They overreached for a 1-2 without really having the package to do so and ended up with a 3-4. I think the more they chase the WCC, the more the chances of either championship disappear.e30ernest wrote: ↑21 Jun 2021, 16:45Point 1, I think they wanted to get a 1-2. The undercut looked pretty powerful, so undercutting Verstappen with Bottas could have resulted to Bottas gaining track position over Max. They did not expect Max to catch up to Lewis though (maybe they could have pitted Lewis 1 lap earlier). Had the Bottas undercut worked, they could probably have had Lewis stay in front for a Merc 1-2. It was a gamble that didn't work.
Point 2, I agree.
They need to very quickly make a call as to what their priority is for the season. hate to say it given how people can react, but unless there's some significant upgrades coming, the WCC is gone. But they can still compete for the WDC. However that does require sacrifice from Bottas and I don't think he'd be willing. (Don't blame him)
Normally I would agree, but with the way the rules are written, if you get your basic design for 2022 wrong then you can spend years trying to catch back up.Hammerfist wrote: ↑21 Jun 2021, 14:45When you are fighting for the championship it makes no sense to abandon development completely for the final year before a big regulation change. I am pretty certain Redbull won't do that. You can clearly see that their car is getting stronger and stronger. Noone has any idea who will get it right for next year. It's a crap shoot. It could be a team like Mclaren or even worse, Ferrari and they might be untouchable. Moreover, with all the budget restrictions it's a big and a terrible gamble to give up on a strong base and focus on next year only.adrianjordan wrote: ↑21 Jun 2021, 09:32This is no normal season though. At some point each team has to switch focus to the new cars. I think Merc already has.Hammerfist wrote: ↑21 Jun 2021, 08:03Is there anything in the pipeline for Merc in terms of upgrades? I hear nothing. If that is the case, Redbull will leave them for dead as they usually develop aggressively throughout the year.
If this is true it could be a fairly big tactical play from them, but I somehow doubt it.littlebigcat wrote: ↑22 Jun 2021, 09:53Until the 1st of January 2022 I believe then it switches to the final 2021 season positions
I didn't know about this, so i went searching and found it in the sporting regulations. While it does seem a little far fetched it might explain why the team doesn't seem that worried!littlebigcat wrote: ↑22 Jun 2021, 08:54I'm not going to claim it is intentional, but likely as of Thursday next week Mercedes is about to get 2.5% extra wind tunnel time and CFD allowance and Red Bull is going to lose the same amount.
No offense but you keep predicting upgrades for Merc at every other GP (though I understand it comes from journos). Also, post-race, apparently Toto told Sky Italia that there won’t be any aero upgrades on the car given the focus on 2022.zibby43 wrote: ↑21 Jun 2021, 20:50I believe AMuS. It was during the run-up to French GP week, and they said no updates for Merc in France.
Austria has been a location for several large Merc upgrades in the past. If we don’t see one here, I just don’t realistically see how Merc can win on the basis of car performance.
They're not my predictions, as you pointed out.mkay wrote: ↑23 Jun 2021, 00:39No offense but you keep predicting upgrades for Merc at every other GP (though I understand it comes from journos). Also, post-race, apparently Toto told Sky Italia that there won’t be any aero upgrades on the car given the focus on 2022.zibby43 wrote: ↑21 Jun 2021, 20:50I believe AMuS. It was during the run-up to French GP week, and they said no updates for Merc in France.
Austria has been a location for several large Merc upgrades in the past. If we don’t see one here, I just don’t realistically see how Merc can win on the basis of car performance.
I will refuse to believe any ‘upgrade’ speculation until we see the car post-scrutineering or at FP1.
Very disappointing to say the least coming from Merc. I do wonder how RB is able to churn so many upgrades - are they somewhat sacrificing work on 2022?
You can argue it may not given RB has seemingly wrapped up the WCC (barring a massive dip in performance or reliability) and potentially the WDC as well, and that they know Merc won’t be bringing anything to their car. So best case, Merc gets a 1 or 2-month development advantage for 2022.