The team had all the data on both their drivers plus more info on Perez's tyres time etc. So Max should have let his team mate through. We don't know what conversations the team had had about swapping places before the race. I think it would have been better to explain to Max if Sainz fails to pass within X laps he would give place back but that might take too long a radio conversation to be safe. I think for future Max must accept that the team should know best and accept their orders.
Bit more on the magnetic field: http://www.grandprix247.com/2015/09/19/magnetic-field-affects-hybrid-f1-cars-in-singapore/
Good to see a non-Merc winner.. Would have liked to seen Danny Rick or Kimi pickup the win.. But the boy Vettel did nothing wrong, fully deserved.. The race itself, f*** me it was boring! And now onto Suzuka, if dry, will be just has boring too given the lack of overtaking opportunities.. Will the "PSIs" play a factor here for the Mercs? Or was Singapore a one off? Can't see the Bull's being just has good here, its a power track and whilst they'll be decent in the corners, not sure they'll make up enough time in those sections to challenge Ferrari and Mercedes..
There is no one whining about Hamilton winning and the Hamelots aren't out in force crowing about his victory. Nobody therefore has anything to argue about and the race itself was a bit of a non-event anyway, except for matey-boy walking up the track which like a pitch invader, deserves little recognition.
I think what would have been really interesting ... when Hamilton was on the soft tyre he was keeping pace with Ferrari and Red Bull who were on Super softs and was really close to them.. the interesting would be when they make the next change which didnt come about because Hamilton had to retire with a failure. What I didnt understand was how was he able to keep up with them on the much slower tyre. I think we might have seen a really good three-way battle at the next pit stop as Hamilton might have been able to jump at least the Red Bull and then he would have been on the super soft while Vettel would have been on the slower tyre. That would have been what were all waiting to see all season...a good three-way battle..with three different teams, but the second failure by Mercedes in two races put paid to that expectation. At least it closed up the championship which makes it a little more interesting.
I think if you look at all the comments from within the pitlane Lewis was the only person who thought he could of legitimately challenged. Given that Vettle and Riccarfo were trading fastest laps on the "slower" tyre in the later stages unchallenged by any super soft driver, I don't think he would have shown anything different. That's before we get into the leaders turning their engines down or cars being able to pass. As with most races nowadays, without a safety car to neutralise things the leader often has it boxed off by the first round of pit stops.
Not sure Hamilton would have won even if the car didn't fall apart.. Like others have said, here and elsewhere, Vettel had everything under control, controlled the pace and just didn't do more than he had too.. Pretty sure he had a few tenth's if not the odd second up his sleeve should he have felt the need to unleash that performance. He may have got close to the leaders at the end but doubt he'd have been able to get past..
It wasn't the best race this year, but it wasn't the worst either, there were a few incidents (even without the wanderer), and Max showed, once again, he deserves to be there with some great overtakes, managing to get some points despite being a lap down after the start (or lack of). His petulance sadly detracting and overshadowing another great performance. If Hamilton's Mercedes hadn't broken he would've finished 4th, they simply didn't have the pace to challenge.
.....Nope. Having missed quali and the race I caught up on the race last night on iplayer. I was looking forward to the race when I saw how the grid was lined up but it wasn't to be. The BBC highlights jumped from lap 2 to lap 10 straight away so I should have known they didn't have much to show, especially given they covered almost all the safety car time... padding or what! This race sort of proved that F1's issues are not down to Mercedes, even when they're not in the equation theres still not really any fighting at the front. I got mildly enthused when Vettel started backing Ricciardo up, he was backing the front towards the Mercs which were on slower tyres at the time, I was hoping the presence of the mercs would liven up the front but it wasn't to be after Hamiltons PU went pop. Singapore isn't exactly an amazing racing spectacle so hopefully the drabness can get better. Otherwise it was just the same as the rest of the season, just with cars in different colours.
I really don't think Hamilton had the pace to challenge for victory. Vettel nailed it. It's that simple. The only way he'd have lost would have been to stick it in the wall or have a disastrous pit-stop. It was also clear Ferrari and Red Bull both turned up with a more compliant chassis than the championship leaders – especially when evidence suggests Red Bull are significantly under-powered. Mercedes no longer have it all their own way and I fear Rosberg might be beginning to regret his jocular remarks at the beginning of the season – which even at the time appeared to be tempting fate – when he said to Vettel that he hoped for a bigger challenge from him and Ferrari. I believe those words will yet come back to haunt him. Vettel is now a prospective title challenger and Mercedes appear to have a problem with what I believe has become an under-developed (relative to rivals) chassis. Whilst I doubt Vettel will catch Hamilton*, I believe he has at least a 50/50 chance of snatching runner-up from Rosberg and is very likely to take another victory (or more) this season. Another aspect to this is that Ferrari tend to favour a quite different philosophy to Mercedes. Team orders and strategic thinking for covering their main rivals on track in terms of maximising points for their lead driver has been, is, and I believe always will be the modus operandi for the red team. Of course, it might also be said that Mercedes may eventually feel sufficiently threatened to adopt a similar policy; but it is not the natural way of thinking at Mercedes. With such a dominant power unit, a degree of complacency within Mercedes was always likely whilst others worked hard(er?) to find incremental improvement. That might be unfair, of course; but it is a gut feeling they may not dominate at Suzuka either. This next circuit is the best test of a complete package on the calendar (slightly more so than the next best: Silverstone and Spa). Yes, it has two long straights – but most of the rest is fast flowing, high-speed curvy stuff which rewards a chassis much more than an engine. Fast curves are not limited by power, they are limited by grip. *Vettel may close the gap to Hamilton and the run-up to the end of the season could be far closer than most (including me) ever thought seriously about; but in the end I still expect Hamilton to win through. - - -o0o- - -I began here because of the discussion about what happened in Singapore but I hope I might be forgiven for copying this post into the Japanese Grand Prix thread, where it is perhaps more relevant.
Interesting BLS. Thanks for posting. What I don't get is why when Lewis was on slower tyre Vettel was maintaining a gap. Then when Lewis suddenly has a problem he puts his boot down? I would have thought he would have tried to increase the gap between him and Lewis as he knew Lewis would be on Super Soft at the end. OK so Vettel had to conserve tyres somewhat but still surprised that when Lewis slowed Vettel stepped up his pace. Any ideas why Vettel booted it when Lewis slowed?
It was probably a coincidence, or perhaps he was trying to build a gap to pit in case a safety car came out. I think Ferrari only had Red Bull to worry about, that turn of pace was way beyond anything Mercedes could muster.
A reason for the woes, or just simply dependent on when the photo was taken? please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
It would indicate that Ferrari had a softer front end and maybe more rake. Assuming that all the photos were taken at full race speed at the same point of the race it would indicate that Ferrari was much more compliant over the kerbs.
I agree the Ferrari has a more compliant chassis than the Mercedes. However, the photographs are not a true reflection of this. Please allow what is likely to be my laborious attempt to explain… Note that in the above photos, despite their similarity, the lines they've taken are not identical. In particular, Rosberg appears to have ridden the white lump in the kerb with his front right (which causes it to bounce) whilst Vettel has avoided it completely. On the other hand, Grosjean's line appears to have taken him across the kerb with slightly more side-slip than Vettel (evidenced by the slightly more loaded rear right wheel in the picture), which suggest that his front wheel will have also ridden higher on the kerb just before the shot was taken. I do not think this is the case for Vettel, whose car looks very well poised and (unlike Grosjean) appears not to have ridden so much kerb just before the shot was taken. Having said all that, I do believe the Mercedes has a more 'wooden' (stiffer and less compliant) front end (which would have benefitted from lower pressures(!)) – and now with less driver feedback through the tyres which might persuade a driver to take a different line in the first place! Indeed, this is why I feel Mercedes may also be under threat as the season wears on. Red Bull and especially Ferrari appear to have come on leaps and bounds with their respective chassis, with Mercedes left scratching their heads.
