Here's the link . Merc bit posted below . What's going on with that Mercedes? Hamilton's results in Malaysia - pole position and second in the race - belie the reality that Mercedes struggled all weekend. The fastest time in qualifying was very much Hamilton and not the car - not for the first time this season - and the world champions went into the race expecting trouble. Hamilton said: "It is OK, but considering he [Vettel] started last, it is not that great. We should have won and we just didn't have the pace. "We knew going into the race we didn't have the quickest car - on our deltas [pace differentials based on calculations after practice], the Ferraris were 0.8secs faster than us, which they were at least, and the Red Bulls 0.5-0.6s, which they were." Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said it had been "a painful Sunday", despite the gain in the championship. "Benefiting from Ferrari's problems shouldn't hide that they have caught up 30 seconds this race," he said. There is an inherent contradiction about Mercedes this season. On average, the car is the fastest on the grid, and Hamilton has nine poles in 15 races. Yet his average qualifying advantage over Vettel - ignoring the outlier races in Monaco and Malaysia when outside factors intervened - is just 0.1secs, and the Ferrari is a far more consistent race car. While the Ferrari is quick everywhere, and has a much more level overall performance from race to race, the Mercedes is unpredictable and difficult to manage and, as a race car, it is probably on balance inferior to the Ferrari. And this is at least part of the reason for Valtteri Bottas' struggles to get anywhere near Hamilton in recent races. Wolff was quick to underline the team were leading the drivers' and constructors' championships, so the car is "not a lame duck" and is "on many occasions the quickest out there". But he added: "We have a capricious car that has a very narrow operating window with the tyres where the tyres generate optimum grip, and dipping in and out of the window is the fundamental story of 2017 for us. Driving style plays a role. Lewis was able to better adapt to the problem than Valtteri but changing driving style is not something that comes easy to anybody." Mercedes' problem in understanding this aspect of the car is complicated by a lack of consistency in terms of when it occurs. The longer the season goes on, the more confusing the picture, the less of a pattern to the type of circuits on which Mercedes struggle. For a while, it appeared to be exposed by circuits with predominantly low-speed corners and low levels of grip - Russia, Monaco, Hungary and Singapore, for example. But the car was also very quick in Canada and Azerbaijan, which also share those characteristics. And Malaysia is very different - there are long, fast corners and plenty of grip. Then again, Malaysia is hot, and the higher the track temperature, the more that seems to be a problem for Mercedes in terms of managing the tyres. All the team know for sure is they struggle to get the car to operate its tyres consistently, and that it is generally worse in low-grip conditions - but not exclusive to them. "There are definitely question marks," Hamilton said, summing up the weekend. "We have had a lot of problems - on track and back in the garage. There is definitely a lot of work to do to make sure that's not a problem in the next races."
Although the Championship has been decided in this Southern Hemisphere rugby tournament, there is still much to play. Both teams will want to win their final match before coming to Europe and stuffing the Six Nations sides. The conditions on the High Veld should favour a fast flowing game which is what the All Blacks would love and excel at, but at 5000 feet above sea level, the superior skills that the NZ contain could be cancelled out. If we consider what happened 12 months ago here, and just a few weeks ago, back in Auckland, then NZ should win this match handsomely. However, if they let their level drop then this South African team might just upset them. What I saw of the match, the Springboks certainly matched the might of the All Black machine up front, the difference being that NZ just attacked rapidly with ball in hand, something they didn't really do against the Lions. Whatever happens, it should be a fantastic game and will certainly beat the numbness that has afflicted international football. Players to watch out for: The best player on the planet at the moment, Beaudon Barrett, Aaron Smith, Read and the other Barrett brother, Israel Dagg, Sonny Williams.
God Almighty!! Loosen up fellow! Saints are not playing, this is one of the top matches of the weekend in any kind of sport featuring the World Champions against their fiercest rivals so if this not merit a special thread, I don't know what does.
But this is a football forum. People come on here to talk about football. Maybe change the title to include the phrase rugby cup or sth. I thought it was a World Cup qualifier.
What has happened? The site in previous years was very busy but now we seem to be resorting to dragging up old threads such as the ones about Cortese and Redmond.
Sets a precedent we don't need. Get it in general sports, that's what is for. I'd like a F1 thread but I respect the protocol, so should Ides.
Sets a precedent though imo. We've had much more topical threads shut/merged with Saints stuff etc. It's not even an England rugby match...
There seems very few new threads at the moment FLT. By Saturday evening, my match day thread will have run its course. And as there are so few new threads, and as there as quite a number of F1 fans on this site, I think you should have a specialist thread for F1, After all there is one for cricket.
Disagree.id you want to do that you should ask the modes who either gauge opinion or make a decision. It is football board.
The problem is that you can't really go in between. You either have it as we do where all off topic stuff goes in one thread bar other sports and politics which have their own threads, or you just allow off topic threads full stop like some boards do. I'd personally prefer the latter tbh, but we chose the way we were going a long time ago and need to stick with it imo, if this is allowed then it will cause arguments further down the line. Yes I know it's been moved now, but I spent a bit of time writing this post out so thought I'd post it anyway
Sadly I have had to merge this to the General football thread.........My in box was full of complaints............While the forum is a bit on the down side it is after all a football Forum...........Sorry Ides
