Dee wrote: ↑14 Jul 2021, 12:04
mkay wrote: ↑14 Jul 2021, 11:48
Juzh wrote: ↑13 Jul 2021, 20:59
Really curious to see whether of not mercedes can afford to run france-like rear wing in silverstone as well. This track really murders you on straights if you don't have efficient aero, kinda like Suzuka (maybe just a bit less). It'd really make them sitting ducks on any straight and possibly even unable to defend positions if necessary.
If they couldn't in France, they won't fare any better at Silverstone, unless those upgrades really are something else (which they most likely aren't).
I really don't understand the skepticism. When have Mercedes ever mentioned upgrades and exciting in the same sentence and not delivered?
The engine is there, the aero needs to match and this is an aero upgrade
He's got some valid points though. It is a point of concern, and Mercedes were on the back foot in France.
They also claimed they have stopped development for the 2021 car. They could offcourse decide to shift some resources and continue development after being unexpectedly pushed into that corner. They can also have been completely full of it and say they're not developing anymore yet are. Or they can speak the truth and really don't develop further.
Bringing a huge chunk of updates doesn't neccesarily mean they haven't stopped development. The updates could have been pre-simulated or pre-designed parts that were planned to be used at certain tracks anyway, perhaps even planned anyway if the first few GP's showed certain results - or perhaps parts they have already prepared in the case of RBR (or any team) being more competitive than expected.
This would mean that Mercedes have simply designed their 2021 car to a certain spec, but whilst designing that car, also kept in mind the possibility of being under bigger competetive pressure and that they have a solution for that too - which will be introduced now @ silverstone, for example.
Obviously Mercedes know what they are doing and i agree that it stands to reason that these updates will deal with a certain weaker points on the car.
However, one musn't also forget that RedBull won't sit still either and it's likely they will also bring improvements.
Which would mean that in the end we could see another France-like situation.
Thing is - imagine Merc would NOT bring these updates: that could end up disastreous.
Personally i think the Silverstone weekend will be a bit more important to focus on on other areas. The sprint Qualification i would be inclined to believe will be different enough to the normal race weekend that there is a bigger chance that RBR won't end up getting pole position. Since the sprint race is shorter than the normal race and no tire changes are mandated, either team can go with a completely different approach, especially since the friday 'qually' is also different to normal format due to the mandated soft tyre usage.
The shorter 'preperation' time for the 'general' qualification AND the mandated tyre, means the friday qualification session already will be having a variety of different elements compared to the other 'classic' race weekends - meaning there will be different tactics to be had.
For example, it could be decided that Mercedes could opt for focusing on getting the best out on friday so they start the sprint on pole, and build a gap so that they can start sunday race on pole too.
On the other hand, they could also decide to focus less on friday and more on saturday, making more use of DRS and starting P2 instead of P1 on saturday, to then use DRS on a tactical moment and beat the RB on saturday.
I do believe however that Mercedes will come out stronger in Silverstone than in the past few races. If Hamilton also manages to get pole position, win the qualification sprint race, win the Silverstone GP, and manage a fastest lap point, then that will boost the team's morale quite a lot, and at the same time give a little slap back to RBR.
Especially if for some bad luck, Max gets a DNF. If Max has a moment in the sprint race and crashes, OR has a technical issue - remember that Baku almost had Perez retire - then he will start at the back in the sunday race, and it's going to be really hard to then manage to make the podium.