2024 Mercedes-AMG | Petronas F1 Team

[AR3-GP]

Even after a fairly lacklustre session there is still a sense of calm in the team. They know where the car is and they're not panicking for setup answers or uncertainty. It's nice to have some stability.

I'll eat my words.

There's a Mercedes in third.

[Shrieker]

So despite all the doom and gloom, can we say Merc have effectively halved the gap to Red Bull from this time last year ? Best Merc in 2023 qualy was .632 off. Today Russ was .306 off.

So I guess that's progress ? There should be scope to work with, with this new concept as well. Max is very likely to walk away with the title still tho.

[K1Plus]

So despite all the doom and gloom, can we say Merc have effectively halved the gap to Red Bull from this time last year ? Best Merc in 2023 qualy was .632 off. Today Russ was .306 off.

So I guess that's progress ? There should be scope to work with, with this new concept as well. Max is very likely to walk away with the title still tho.

But I guess we could expect the post summer break to be closer than last year, in fashion to let's say 2019 albeit with more different cars competing for the podium and wins.
Red Bull will still win mostly, but Ferrari/Mercedes/Aston Martin/McLaren could each get a win and some poles.

[InsaneX_Badger]

So despite all the doom and gloom, can we say Merc have effectively halved the gap to Red Bull from this time last year ? Best Merc in 2023 qualy was .632 off. Today Russ was .306 off.

So I guess that's progress ? There should be scope to work with, with this new concept as well. Max is very likely to walk away with the title still tho.

The real progress will be how far behind they will be after the chequered flag.

[cheeRS]

So despite all the doom and gloom, can we say Merc have effectively halved the gap to Red Bull from this time last year ? Best Merc in 2023 qualy was .632 off. Today Russ was .306 off.

So I guess that's progress ? There should be scope to work with, with this new concept as well. Max is very likely to walk away with the title still tho.

The real progress will be how far behind they will be after the chequered flag.

Yes, this is what matters the most. Lewis seems really upbeat - if you watched his post-qualy pit-interview he seemed almost giddy, like back in 2019-2020 when he was getting pole. When he feels good he races a lot better, IMO.

Really looking forward to this race.

[Luscion]

So despite all the doom and gloom, can we say Merc have effectively halved the gap to Red Bull from this time last year ? Best Merc in 2023 qualy was .632 off. Today Russ was .306 off.

So I guess that's progress ? There should be scope to work with, with this new concept as well. Max is very likely to walk away with the title still tho.

The real progress will be how far behind they will be after the chequered flag.

Yes, this is what matters the most. Lewis seems really upbeat - if you watched his post-qualy pit-interview he seemed almost giddy, like back in 2019-2020 when he was getting pole. When he feels good he races a lot better, IMO.

Really looking forward to this race.

Yea noticed that as well, expected him to be downbeat and disappointed with p9 but he was all smiles and pretty positive

[Hammerfist]

The real progress will be how far behind they will be after the chequered flag.

Yes, this is what matters the most. Lewis seems really upbeat - if you watched his post-qualy pit-interview he seemed almost giddy, like back in 2019-2020 when he was getting pole. When he feels good he races a lot better, IMO.

Really looking forward to this race.

Yea noticed that as well, expected him to be downbeat and disappointed with p9 but he was all smiles and pretty positive

Imo this is an attempt to sound positive to the media. It doesnt take a genius to see hes going to struggle tomorrow This is not starting p9 with some Alpines and Lance Stroll in front of you. Youve got Alonso, Norris, Piastri, all in very competitive cars. Hes going to need a miracle to get to p5 or better imo.

[Luscion]

Yes, this is what matters the most. Lewis seems really upbeat - if you watched his post-qualy pit-interview he seemed almost giddy, like back in 2019-2020 when he was getting pole. When he feels good he races a lot better, IMO.

Really looking forward to this race.

Yea noticed that as well, expected him to be downbeat and disappointed with p9 but he was all smiles and pretty positive

Imo this is an attempt to sound positive to the media in terms of the team's performances. It doesnt take a genuus to see hes going to struggle tomorrow. This is not starting p9 with some alpines and lance stroll in front of you. Youve got alonso, Norris, Piastri, all in very competitive cars. Hes going to need a miracle to get to p5 or better imo.

disagree with that, Lewis is pretty honest with how he feels when talking to the media, when he expects to go nowhere in the race he says so and is pretty dejected when he thinks he didnt perform as much as he could. Even when people were hyping them up in 2022 and 2023 to catch RB he would always shut it down.

[AR3-GP]

Merc is not that strong down the straights with DRS but Hamilton will be fortunate that many of his rivals are no better (AM, Mclaren).

[AR3-GP]

I think Russell will go S-S-H tomorrow. He said during the post-qualy press conference that "a lot" of soft tires were going to be used tomorrow so drivers had to be careful not to damage them.

[Hammerfist]

Yea noticed that as well, expected him to be downbeat and disappointed with p9 but he was all smiles and pretty positive

Imo this is an attempt to sound positive to the media in terms of the team's performances. It doesnt take a genuus to see hes going to struggle tomorrow. This is not starting p9 with some alpines and lance stroll in front of you. Youve got alonso, Norris, Piastri, all in very competitive cars. Hes going to need a miracle to get to p5 or better imo.

disagree with that, Lewis is pretty honest with how he feels when talking to the media, when he expects to go nowhere in the race he says so and is pretty dejected when he thinks he didnt perform as much as he could. Even when people were hyping them up in 2022 and 2023 to catch RB he would always shut it down.

But the dynamic is a little different in 24’ isnt it? Its his last year with the team and he has to be more diplomatic if he wants to be treated on equal terms with his teammate. We shall see though…im rooting for him but i dont think it looks good tomorrow at all.

[TeamKoolGreen]

Lewis changed his set up to favor race pace over quali

That old chestnut

In all seriousness, they do usually converge on race day. GR goes backwards, and Lewis forwards.

That was in 2023. Not 2022.

[CHT]

Imo this is an attempt to sound positive to the media in terms of the team's performances. It doesnt take a genuus to see hes going to struggle tomorrow. This is not starting p9 with some alpines and lance stroll in front of you. Youve got alonso, Norris, Piastri, all in very competitive cars. Hes going to need a miracle to get to p5 or better imo.

disagree with that, Lewis is pretty honest with how he feels when talking to the media, when he expects to go nowhere in the race he says so and is pretty dejected when he thinks he didnt perform as much as he could. Even when people were hyping them up in 2022 and 2023 to catch RB he would always shut it down.

But the dynamic is a little different in 24’ isnt it? Its his last year with the team and he has to be more diplomatic if he wants to be treated on equal terms with his teammate. We shall see though…im rooting for him but i dont think it looks good tomorrow at all.

GR will be expecting a lot more from the team this year and if he can deliver the pace and result, there is no reason why Merc will still favor LH. (as we seen in Suzuka last year)

Lewis at the moment is 24 races away from becoming a Ferrari driver, and with every week that passes, he will likely drift further away from Merc and closer to Ferrari. Will be interesting to see how Merc manages the new dynamic within the team.

[Jdn1327]

Surely the 'sacrifice' of single lap pace couldn't be that bad...

[Matt2725]

Merc is not that strong down the straights with DRS but Hamilton will be fortunate that many of his rivals are no better (AM, Mclaren).

https://i.postimg.cc/gkZzy5zH/image.png

Worth nothing, the top speeds from the RBR and Ferrari were thanks to a monster tow down the main straight. Verstappen from Hulkenburg in Q2 was where the 322kph came from.