yeah, I think that'll be the case too, the Merc isn't so far ahead of everyone as it was, and I think they have the biggest variance between quali and race pace. about 6th or 7th I think, depending on strategy. Wouldn't it be ironic if he got stuck behind the McHRT's
Either 4th or 2nd depending on the pace and reliability of the Ferrari's. I don't think he'll have any trouble beating the rest.
I wonder if he might start on the Medium's, two stopping with the longer first stint basically letting everyone move out of his way. The top 10 will probably run SS-S-S-SS (3 stops, based on the first SS set lasting 5 laps, softs being capable of 18-22 laps, and the final softs lasting a little longer, so maybe 8-10 laps. It's a 56 lap race. The top 10 bar Rosberg will have to pit after 5 laps or so, and won't have built a significant enough advantage to come out ahead of Hamilton. They'll then come out on Softs, probably 5 seconds behind Hamilton. Even if he's giving away a second a lap on tyres, the advantage of that Mercedes should keep everyone but the Ferrari's from closing him down. There'll probably be other cars between them too, depending on how much progress he makes through the midfield runners. Within 5 laps I don't think the Ferrari's will have enough of an advantage to come out of the pits ahead of the Marussia's! Those starting 11th and back will most likely be on softs, and will probably run S-S-SS/S-SS, pitting first around lap 15. Hamilton will probably be past half of them on mediums, and the rest will come out of the pits behind him. So by lap 15 he could be running as high as 4th-5th, but on wearing mediums. With the frontrunners getting such crap life out of the super softs, they'll probably be making their second stop not long after Hamilton gets into the window for his first stop. That'll act as an undercut for Hamilton, and he'll be able to use the softs to really close the gap. Honestly, if he's not in a "genuine" top 4 position by lap 30 then he should be using me as a strategist...
Will probably end up on the podium, but may get lucky with a safety car like in Aus which may be enough to get him the win.
Raikkonen to take out Rosberg, Riccardo and Seb at the start, after that it's anyone's race, Hamilton wins and we'll be all home in time for kippers for breakfast. In reality, top 5, no higher than 2nd, if there's a bit of luck with safety cars.
Well he's had some decent recovery drives in the past, so gotta think he can do it if the car's fixed up.
