I think that was more because it was a front limited track, I would imagine the Ferraris were also fine on their rears.
I always thought there might be more to his game... apparently not!He's fast, just can't race for toffee.
It could be that he's stuck in his ways, not able to adapt to a situation that might arise, for example a car in his way. It's always odd as he's undoubtedly blisteringly fast in many situations.
A question though... Why did Ferrari pit so early on the first set of softs? Were their tyres fading much quicker than the Mercedes? and then later on in the race on the second set of softs when the team asked Vettel if he could go any faster and he replied, not really, that he was going flat out. He wasn't making much headway so they called him in for the hards. Dont you think Ferrari strategy backfired a bit by pitting too early on the first stint instead of waiting to see if they could grind Mercedes in the first set? Somehow I think they came in a couple laps too early. I know they were trying for the undercut on Rosberg, but somehow you could tell that that wasn't going to happen, so they could have forced Mercedes to show their hand.
I think they were struggling or no better on tyre wear so the only thing they could realistically do was force Mercedes hand - they didn't have the pace and the undercut was the only thing that kept Vettel in touch. Lewis's decision to stay on the soft killed the race there and then, if he had gone to the medium it might have been different.....but that's all ifs and buts.
A perfectly controlled race, he stayed out ahead and drove conservatively until it came close to pit in time then he used up his tyres to pull out a bigger lead before starting the same process with the new tyres, much like Vettel used to in a similar situation.
am not so sure about what you said about the mediums. I think it might have hurt Rosberg but Hamilton was also very fast on mediums. It would be interesting to see what were the best times both teams did on mediums and compare them with the best times on to softs.
Another thing he is doing like Vettel is pulling out a gap off the line to keep out of DRS range early in the race.
tbh myu favourite part of his race was the way he lined up on the grid, it was a statement of intent towards Rosberg, I pointed it out to my mates kids I was watching it with, "that's how you do it, no mercy." I'm wondering what's going to happen at Bahrain when we return to the site of the start of the feud when Lewis slapped his glove into Rosbergs face at turn 1.
All depends on whether Rosberg can get close to him. Robserg will only have a chance if he gets pole, even then he blew that advantage enough times last year.
Well the feud has restarted just before, so I think we should see some real fireworks. I think Rosberg lets things boil under his skin like hot water and he doesn't let go so I am sure we will see something really interesting (if not desperate) soon..just a matter of time. He just cant keep losing to Hamilton without trying something crazy. He needs to offset Hamilton somehow..I don't know how he will do it but he has to try. Talking thrash isn't working so he has to do something on track (short of something that will give him a penalty) But something that will rattle Hamilton. Vettel did one right before the race when be blocked Hamilton preventing him from doing his practice race start, which Mercedes normally does to get the correct bite point for the race start. I thought that was smart of Vettel. (As I said..something just short of a penalty infringement) Let's see how Hamilton will react.. but he simply can't let hamilton run away with the championship without trying something. I want to see more action.
No matter how much you like or dislike Hamilton as a persona he's quickly and accurately earning his right to retain the title. You can point at that TV and go 'that's how you win titles like a ****ing champion' and point to Rosberg and say ' he doesn't deserve to be a world champion if that's all he can do'. So far only 2 other drivers deserve the title in performances like Lewis these 3 races and that's Verstappen and Vettel.
Everyone enjoy the race? – Just read the last few comments. Even though perhaps not the most scintillating race from an entertainment standpoint, clearly there is appreciation of what Hamilton is doing.
While i agree with most of what you said I still think it's a bit early to start elevating Verstappen. Yes, he is driving with experience beyond his years, but let's give him some more time and see how he goes before start to proclaim him the king apparent. He has the qualities though, and it is evident. Only sorry that the other rookies don't have a car capable of making some headway up the field except for Nasr and Ericsson in a "goodish" Sauber. I especially love his confidence when challenging and how he was able to outbreak other cars without the hint of a lockup in the China race.
http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/522029/Honda_preparing_to_power_up_McLaren_engine_in_Bahrain_GP/ Honda preparing to ‘power up’ McLaren engine in Bahrain GP And thank God, Horner has seen the light! Red Bull takes comfort from Ferrari's Formula 1 recovery By Ben Anderson and Lawrence Barretto Monday, April 13th 2015, 14:20 GMT please log in to view this image Red Bull boss Christian Horner says Ferrari's transformation back into a race-winning Formula 1 team is proof his team can turn its fortunes around too. Horner's team - which won all the drivers' and constructors' title from 2010-13 and was the only team to beat Mercedes to grand prix victories in '14 - has yet to finish higher than sixth in the opening three races of this year. In contrast, Ferrari ended a 30-race victory drought in Malaysia last month and has displaced Red Bull and Williams as Mercedes' closest challenger on outright pace. Horner said Red Bull was taking comfort from what Ferrari had achieved. "As Ferrari has demonstrated, things can be turned around pretty quickly when you've got a clear direction and a clear focus," he said. The quality of Red Bull's Renault engine has been a bone of contention this season, while Ferrari's power unit gains are considered crucial to its recovery. But Horner insisted the two companies will keep working together to find a solution. "If you look at the facts of where we are, we're not in a great situation," he said. "But [the Renault factory in] Viry has got a long history of success in Formula 1 and they've still got some very capable people there. "At the moment, for whatever reason, that's not working. "The solution is we get our heads down. We work hard. "Whatever we can do from our side, because we are reliant on each other, in order to assist Renault understand their current issues, there's no bigger priority."
Verstappen drove well, but if he'd tried some of those moves on other drivers, say Maldo or Massa, it would've been an early exit, a safety car and a trip to the stewards me thinks
