I don't think they care as such, its just differing pressures/issues when one or the other doesn't win. Some drivers are more vocal and potentially kick up more of a stink than others when they feel they have not been given the advantage via strategy, which is why they said the wouldn't vary strategies between the drivers. In relation to Merc's switch to a 3 stop, it just shows to me how inept they are strategy wise - and I have said this before - put them under pressure and they will lose a race. To not have the foresight to understand the implications of Hamilton's switch was amateurish and if they did understand it then that adds to the concerns some fans have. Merc have categorically stipulated that they will not split strategies and in the past have even threatened the leading driver that they will if they continue to compromise the 2nd place car on pace. I personally think they did the right thing, its a question of whether they would have done it if the drivers were the other way round and whether they should be doing that every race? Some may suspect not or the PR would have been too negative.
I think they would always try and do what they can to get a 1-2 no matter what the driver order is. In the end, Hamilton was so far off the Rosberg's pace this weekend they had to try something as there was no way he was going to get in front of Ricciardo on his own. He does seem to be going through another 'phase' where his race pace has deserted him again. Not the first time we have seen him do this with Mercedes or McLaren. Wonder if a new lady will shortly turn up in the paddock, does seem like his driving drops off when his attention is elsewhere........
I think you've hit the nail on the head in that they will/would do anything to get a 1-2, but on the flip side they don't appear to be so keen when it's for the win between their own drivers.
That's the criticism they have faced and when they talk about not splitting strategies. there is no reason why each side of the garage should be able to choose their own strategies, but I guess their concern would be if one side got it badly wrong then are they jeopardising that 1-2 if that altered strategy lost them 2nd place? If they weren't so dominant and had some real competition, I think you'd then see split strategies more often in the Merc camp.
It's pretty obvious which way the wind blows at Mercedes, and the BBC, if you take the blinkers off. Rosberg driving like Hamilton is 'unacceptable' to them.
Didn't see the race, heard it was a close finish.. Was it because Danny Ric was quicker due to Tyre life/compounds in use or was Rosberg pacing himself? Hamilton not in the battle it appears, issues with brakes? Certainly put in the shade by others, inc. his team mate here.. Had Vettel not started from the back, think he could of had him... maybe? Speaking of Vettel, superb drive from 22nd to 5th, more impressive given the circuit than Hamiltons drive to 3rd at Spa.
1: Both (if you are referring to Ricciardo's pace during his final stint). 2a: Yes. Unable to find a reasonable set-up during practice (further hampered by getting so little of it), he elected not to experiment during final practice, leaving the car unaltered. He was unable to find a reasonable balance and, given the nature of the circuit, its temperatures and his driving style, the brakes were always likely to be close to failure. 2b: Agreed, especially by Rosberg. 3: Agreed. 4: Vettel's drive was a superb. Comparison with Hamilton's performance at Spa is natural but I think both achieved the maximum under their respective circumstances. Both equally impressive, in my book.
I think what made this more interesting and pure for me was that there were legitimate differences in strategy and the Saftey car had zero effect on the outcome with it being deployed within seconds of the start. A legitimate ding ding, which would have been even more interesting if both Vettel and Max had been in the mix.
Malaysia could also be a decent race, yes its a power circuit but the middle sector, the Red Bull should be able to claw some of that back (besides, they're power unit isn't that much down on the Merc) and the Ferrari's/Vettel go well here, he's for a 6 way ding dong of a battle!
Not sure I'm following you? Merc Hamilton strategy was to rescue 3rd, surely. They had no chance of second without a failure to finish ahead.
I don't think they expected Ricciardo to pit, at the time he was only about 4 seconds behind Nico and closing by nearly half a second some laps. I think they honestly expected to jump Kimi and then close in on Daniel with fresher tyres. Their look of relief shows how they didn't expect Daniel to come in also by how they panicked with what to do with Nico when he did.
I don't buy that. Hamilton was further behind Daniel than Daniel was behind Nico. Once Hamilton and Raikonnen pitted, Riccardo was always going to have to pit to mitagate running out of tyres at the end and to give him a chance to beat Nico. Vettel's pace was also serving as a good barometer for all the teams that to know the potential power of the undercut.
I was referring that they are aggressive on strategy in an attempt to get the perfect 1-2 when a car is out of position - in general. They frustrate me when they neutralise their strategies when running 1-2 to effectively walk their cars home. They go from aggressive and proaticive - to very passive.
Just when you thought Ferrari’s season couldn’t get any worse… Scuderia team principal Maurizio Arrivabene is reported to have been taken into custody in Singapore and was held for ‘several hours’ after allegedly discarding a cigarette in the street. It’s claimed Arrivabene was only released after paying a fine of 1000 Singapore dollars (Full story – external site)
If Vettel had started somewhere near the front he would've had a completely different tyre strategy. He went deep on the softs, taking care of the much slower cars during that stint, so he was out of phase with everyone around him by the time he came across cars with similar decent pace he had far better tyres, (Ferrari getting his strategy right for a change). It was a great drive that really dispelled the 'can't overtake myth, but whether he would've had the pace on a different strategy, I dunno about that.