The more I think about it the more it seems a glaring error. It's going to need a rewording of the rules to match what actually happens in the real world
Okay... maybe I'm missing something here, but if Pirelli are testing tyre pressure prior to a race to ensure that they're within a safe operating window, why on earth are they not informing the teams of any concerns prior to the cars starting?
Mercedes should have US Postal as a title sponsor. Have they ever been punished for anything? Ferrari should turn up to Singapore and race on Bridgestones.
I'm pretty sure Mercedes have a special relationship with pirelli too. Just like Ferrari did with Bridgestone.
But that's my point, the Merc tyres weren't under inflated and kept hot to hide it. They were inflated correctly and ended up cooled lowering the tyre pressure. My point was if Merc were trying to pull a fast one under inflating the tyres they'd have to heat them up more which is what Pirelli warned teams not to do and what Mercedes didn't do as the tyres actually went cold(er). Whether they intentionally let them cool down to lower the pressure your guess is as good as mine but once they start the race if the tyres are cold and under pressure they will suffer more than being at optimal. Plus once they get the tyres back up to temperature in the race they would be at the correct pressure anyhow so it would defeat the point and mean they have a bad start for nothing. Maybe I'm understanding it wrong I don't know it just seems like they cut their nose off to spite their face if they did it deliberately in that manner.
FFS, Mercedes did nothing wrong. They had the tyres off the blankets longer than Ferrari, that's it. To have broken the rules in this case, Mercedes would have had to violate the laws of physics.
When did Ferrari get punished? Anyway, Mercedes have only taken the piss for a few years. Ferrari did it for far longer than that. Based on this, the only time there will be anything done about it is when there is a change in the presidency of the FIA. Todt is so anonymous you wonder what he is doing. Love 'em or loathe 'em, at least you knew what was happening when Balestre and Mad Max were in charge. Not sure that would be in Pirelli's interests to cosy up to just one team when there are no other tyre manufacturers in the sport. Was different with Ferrari as Bridgestone wanted to ensure their product beat Michelin and Ferrari was the obvious choice to mould their tyres with to give the best chance. Pirelli will get more coverage if the racing is close.
What a dire race, and even the Mercedes cheating with their tires couldn't make it interesting. I'm pretty sure that someone in Mercedes doesn't like Rosberg, first of all giving him a dodgy engine, and then telling him to turn up his engine that has already done 6 races. I know that on this board every hates Rosberg, but it would of been nice if Mercedes let them both race in equal machinery for a change.
This was the first race in a while that Hamilton has won by a margin. This season he's been very reserved and only ever won by the minimum needed. The team consistently asking for him to build the gap is the only reason for the winning margin, the car has probably been this dominant throughout. As for Rosberg and Hamilton having equal machinery? This is the only race in 2 years that they haven't, and it wasn't exactly planned. At least Rosberg will have a PU in Singapore that hasn't been subjected to Monza, he's 50+ points behind but look on the bright side hey!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/34171917 Why are people blaming Pirelli ? They are simply supplying what Bernie / the FIA want . If Bernie says build a tyre that will last an entire race , one that the drivers can push each lap to the max , I am sure Pirelli would be capable & happy to oblige !
The tyre manufacture have 'increased' the minimum tyre pressure. This means (and Lewis confirmed it in his interview) that they have been running the tyres lower all season - in fact he went as far as to say that Nico being 1.1 psi down was where they were in Spa! The lower the tyre pressure (within reason) the more performance gained, but at the expense of the tyre rigidity and longevity - often seen on slow mows with the tyre wall flexing. This is why rims have bead retainers to stop the tyre folding off the rim. Increasing the tyre pressure will 'reduce' performance but strengthen the tyre wall and that's why it was done. You would probably find that if they could they would run much lower than this - many formulas run in single digit PSI. This is fact and I know this because my son races - whether it was deliberate (on Lewis) who knows?.....but on Nico 1.1 psi is either deliberate or a puncture. So that would indicate that as a team Merc were deliberate in their actions.
Mercedes and their tyres, which have always been their biggest problem. accidental mistake? Again? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Which is where the problem in the rules lies, minimum pressure is irrelevant without being a pressure at a set temperature. Mercedes claim (verified by Pirelli) was that they were both set at 19.5psi at 110c in the garage. The FIA measured the tyres when they weren't at 110c and so the pressures will have fallen with the temperature. The FIA need to look at how gasses actually work and then relate this pressure to the temperature.
