PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑06 May 2023, 18:55
Miami looking to be their most dominant track yet... 7 tenths to next competitor in one lap pace in FP3.. Gulp.. Will race pace be 2 seconds faster?
It's a great bit of kit! Quite the superbly engineered race car.
In any case, the midpack behind RBR is very close indeed from P2-3 through to last place. Very tight!
There was only 0.9s separating second place Sainz to last place Sargaent in Q1. The midpack Mercedes team were P19-20 before taking their final run, showing how incredibly tight and competitive the midfield is: quite the testament to the
success of the FIA and FOM's regulations for a close field -- both technical and budget cap/wind tunnel hours.
AR3-GP wrote: ↑07 May 2023, 06:40
An extra mm of ride height could in theory be used to sandbag.
I don't see why Verstappen would sandbag such as to have a difficult car that snaps in Q3, leading to an aborted lap and P9 start. That seems illogical. RBR may choose to delay the release of upgrades w.r.t. budget cap, but to deliberately expose the results to risk from the second or third fastest Ferrari and Aston Martin teams seems most irrational.
You gotta take the poles and wins when you can, as the pendulum can soon swing, such as Red Bull's midpack 2014 season despite a competitive 2013 season.