I all depends... last race Hamilton's car was losing a bit of power... even when you check the speed traps Rosberg was much faster. I dont think you will see that again. I believe by now Mecedes would have ironed out that little problem. You said if Rosberg fins himself behind it wouldnt be so bad.... it depends on how far behind, wouldnt it?...lol But anyway I hope we can see a repeat of the excitement of the last race..except I would like to see Ferrari and Red Bull right up there in the mix this time. What I am afraid of now though is how much more of a gap this Mercedes new nose will give them. If it does give them much more performance then I am afraid its a two horse race again.
Mercedes nose passes test on fourth attempt Mercedes could pull even further clear of the field in Shanghai, after readying for its debut arguably the most expensive new front nose in F1 history. Actually, the dominant Brackley squad wanted its ultra-short nose to be fitted to the silver W05 in Melbourne, but it had failed the mandatory FIA crash test. It then failed the test two more times. But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports from Shanghai that, on the fourth attempt, the constantly tweaked new design finally made the grade. The successful test was held on Wednesday -- yesterday. "Experts had doubted that Mercedes could ever meet the crash test standards with such a short nose," correspondent Michael Schmidt said in China. Schmidt added that the nose, so short that the tip is actually behind the main element of the wing, will now be raced this weekend. "The car will be easier to balance with this solution," said designer Aldo Costa. Team boss Toto Wolff explains: "The car was designed for the short nose. What we have had until now has been only a stopgap." If Mercedes takes another step forward in performance, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are likely to be left out the front of the field, possibly fighting wheel-to-wheel for victory as in Bahrain.
Another thing. Jenson Button needs to o a little bit more taking on the track... I like him but I dont think he is doing enough with the package he has. I would really like to see Grosjean in that McLaren car....
Delicate bits: please log in to view this image New and old noses for Mercedes: please log in to view this image
That was just DRS + a tow. They had near identical speeds in Quali Time for another McLaren sponsor: please log in to view this image
Maldonado...I think you could spoil racing all on your own bro! Pastor Maldonado says FIA penalties will spoil Formula 1 racing By Jonathan Noble Thursday, April 17th 2014, 13:12 GMT Pastor Maldonado fears that Formula 1 drivers could get too scared to battle hard wheel-to-wheel if the FIA continues to hand out penalties for racing incidents. The Venezuelan faces a five-place grid drop at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix for having tipped Esteban Gutierrez into a roll in Bahrain a fortnight ago. But after putting the Sakhir incident down to a simple misunderstanding, Maldonado thinks there is a danger of FIA punishments acting as a deterrent to hard battles. "The rules are the same for everyone, so you need to avoid incidents," he said. "But at the same time [the threat of penalties means] you cannot race, you need to only stay on track and wait for problems. "If you attack and your manoeuvre is not that clear, or the guy is defending the place and you have a gamble, and you are fighting, you can be penalised. "So they [the FIA] need to be slightly more flexible. "We are racing drivers and we are always taking risks. If you are competitors and you can overtake, you need to take risks - but at the same point the rules are going against the spectaculars. "Ten years ago everyone was fighting and touching each other, because there were no penalties. Now we need to adapt ourselves."
Horner thinks rain will be the great equalizer..what do you think? At this point mercedes could go half second slower Nd still beat the field so maybe the only way it would make things equal is if maybe the mercedes slide off the track and out of the race.
We haven't had the Mercs take each other out yet. It was great dicing in Bahrain but it only takes one error and suddenly there are no Mercs in the race. Especially if it's a bit wet and slippy.
Hmmm... Rosberg reportedly had an issue with one move that Hamilton made. Not with any of the rest of it though. Doesn't sound like he has too many complaints. 'Rosberg said there was only one occasion in their dice when he had any complaints about Hamilton. "The only example which I thought was above the limits was where I came on the radio," he said. "All the other examples were really tough racing but with the necessary respect." Asked which incident he had taken exception to, Rosberg replied: "The rate at which he was pushing me out, because if the rate is too fast I will struggle to avoid the accident. "If you're on the inside you're the boss, it's your corner as long as you're in front." But he underlined that most of the battle had been fair. "Let's go for the majority at Bahrain, which was tough but respectful racing," said Rosberg. "Let's stick with that rather than picking out one minor example." "We make sure everybody knows everybody's opinions and we review and then completely put it behind us and push on full attack."' http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/113495
I wouldn't exactly say Rosberg rolled over. He looked pretty determined to win, as he should... and was really making Hamilton work for it. Good racing from both drivers, even if I did watch through my fingers.
Anybody managed to get photos of any of the cars in China? Anything noticeable on any of the cars besides the mercedes short nose?
Is anyone actually awake and watching free practice right now (aside from because it's 5 in the afternoon)?
Maldo... Can't believe he drove off the track because he wasn't paying attention, and then crashed in the pits too!
