Forcing them to do equal number of stops in the same machinery to force overtakes on track won't work on every circuit because of the lack of overtaking opportunities, i.e on tracks like Singapore and Suzuka. Sometimes there has to be differing strategies to create excitement, especially if one of the two qualifies much lower than their team mate.
We need to see Lewis on pole more frequently.....if the equal pit stops is not a wind up then I would say Mercedes want Nico to win...that double points on the last race....let's see what happens....I reckon if Nico hasn't got the lead Mercedes will fix it...sorry but I do.
Can someone post details of where NR or LH achieved a better result than his team mate as a result of having more or less pit stops than the other?
I think they did the same number of pit stops, but in the last race I believe Lewis' side of the garage were going to do one less stop if Rosberg didnt have the gearbox problem. And I believe Rosberg's side might have protested that, hence the clearing up of the "Mercedes Rules".
you say that like a driver shouldn't be punished for qualifying much lower than their team mate the Mercedes drivers are already barely punished as it is, their car advantage is so large. Also they probably like to have their cars near each other on the track to make it easier to manage their obvious sandbagging and seem like there's some kind of interesting battle going on for the lead.
Are you saying if a driver qualifies lower than his team mate but during the race he drives well, conserves fuel and tyres, makes up lots of time...enough to overtake his team mate at the pit stop that he shouldn't be given the opportunity? I thought the races were won on Sunday not Saturday in qualifying. So you going to penalise a guy because he didn't qualify higher? That a load of crap. Also, I think the spit strategy will benefit Rosberg more if he qualifies behind Hamilton. In the nine races so far Rosberg has only beaten Hamilton once when he qualified behind. In the race Hamilton had a power failure and was out in the early laps while he was running off in the lead. Some sparkplug rubber had a leak. Hamilton has won two races starting behind Rosberg. One Bahrain, when he passed him before the pit stop and went on to win...with a good challenge from Rosberg, then in British GP Hamilton started 6th and won..when Rosberg had his DNF. So maybe it might be better for Rosberg to have the split strategy. I am quite sure if Hamilton stops making mistakes in qualifying then Rosberg will have a very tough time getting to the front. Also we have been seeing the lightning starts by Hamilton recently. If he is down in the pack he disposes of most within the first lap, I am not sure if Rosberg starts have been that good.
the problem i have is that the pace of the Mercedes varies by such a ridiculous amount it's hard to credit either of their drivers for "making up time" or "conserving fuel and tyres", you know there are engines modes they've been using this season to manipulate their pace, and especially increase it at will. I don't see the point in trying to analyse which of their drivers has done this or that better under such circumstances. All i know is when Hamilton's behind his teammate people will be adamant something needs to be changed to restore the supposed natural order, as if him being occasionally beaten is not so much interesting, but more like offensive.
Well I dont care who is behind.. I think the both sides of the garage should be free to use strategy to get their driver at the front.. Afterall it is a race. It makes no sense just running around behind each other. I think the one in front should use the best strategy that he thinks will keep him in the lead and the one behind should be free to use his to try to take the leave.. Just my opinion. Who wins in strategy will win the race.
somehow i don't believe that. I do find it entertaining how tyre/fuel conservation now seem to be accepted driver requirements, funny that kind of thing wasn't particularly popular last year, especially when trying to discuss which drivers seemed better at it than others.
Regardless of who it benefits, (if it even benefits anyone at all) I just don't understand the point of doing it and making it public. I don't understand what their point is.
I don't think it's particularly popular now is it? It's not as extreme as it was with previous tyre constructions, but who wants to see drivers unable to chase and pass because their tyres might go off too soon? Not I.
The thing is..if they say they are letting their drivers race then bridle their pit strategies then to me that's not letting them race. My idea of letting them race is giving them the tools and strategy and let them do their thing..may the better man win. That's letting them race.
Germany is looking wet on Sunday at the moment anyway so if its changeable then you're going to want to be first in the queue at pitstops As for number of pitstops I don't care, just let the drivers do what ever they feel is faster. I'm fairly sure what has been said about an apparent Mercedes rule isn't entirely accurate as it involves the cars battling on track and possibly colliding. I'm sure the team would be happier if an overtake happened in the pits as that'll rule out contact
i don't know, they have both championships wrapped up, i think it's more about trying to keep people interested, and watching, as obviously it's great advertising for their engines.
I'm hoping for a similar qualifying result to Britain, Rosberg on pole and Lewis further back, that Lewis will get through to 2nd is almost guaranteed unless he ****s up, but it'll make a battle for th lead which could go any way, something that won't really happen if Hamilton is in the lead from the start, Rosberg just ain't good enough to over-take Hamilton IMO. It would be nice to see what Rosberg will be like defending post Bahrain, something we've been denied due to some mechanical gremlin or other. As to this equal pit-stop rubbish, surely they are now favouring the person harder on their tyres, whichever one that is (Rosberg I think)
In theory it could back fire if the car in the lead (who picks the strategy) tries to 1 stop or something in an attempt to make the p2 cars tyres fall off the cliff. Yet more mind games now.
I doubt it. They will choose to be the typical (..Oh wait), reliable (...oh wait) Mercedes team (...oh wait) and go 2 stops every race from now on
Remember last race Hamilton went 20somethung laps on the first set of tyres. I think Rosberg went to about 15 or so? Yet Hamilton even though he then said the tyres were falling off his laps were that far off Rosberg's on new tyres. BrightLampShade... That's not necessarily so if it's wet. Suppose you are the first in the queue at the first pitstop you chose your tyres and the weather changes suddenly? I remember that happening before... You could find yourself running back to the pits while others might not have come in and you could find yourself way down in the pack. We have seen the in qualifying where a guy comes in because it looks too wet only to realize other parts of the track is drying quickly. Lol
Lewis Hamilton crashed in qualifying for the German Grand Prix and will start the race 15th with team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg on pole. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/28385732 Rosberg could finally win at home soil.
