Very quiet? Good job by Max, but I think RB have intentionally split strategy and setup - fair play. 3 stop fro Max, 2 stop for Ricc? Kimi feeling at home and a disappointing upgrade by Honda - still miles off but a stonker of a lap by JB! Watch him plummet backwards in the race.
I was thinking it was quiet too. RB having a split strat is a great idea. Tyres aren't holding up in the temps plus you have Lewis at the back so hedge your bets, could pay off for one of the drivers. I'm not sure about JB, it was a great lap from him but Honda have been suggesting that the upgrade is worth about 20bhp but the biggest thing is lower fuel consumption. I seem to remember Alonso not being able to push towards the end of the last couple of races due to being low on fuel. So I am hoping that JB wasn't just putting an amazing lap together and McHonda have taken a step forward.
JB was majestic in the twisty sector today- that's a real good sign for McLaren if they do have an improving chassis for future seasons. Honda have a lon way to go still but if they do close right up, at least it looks like McLaren are heading in the right direction with aero. Hope JB has a good race. Bit of a mad one with the tyres this weekend- who knows how it will pan out. Rosberg might end up in the distance but if he gets off to a slow one, it's a right lottery. Vettel seemed to be a couple of tenths off the pace thus far- Kimi might be interesting if he can go long on the stint, he's looked comfortable this weekend.
Kimi putting in a good fight against Vettel. Would have been more interesting and obvious if they were duelling for the title.
Another thing about Lewis and his PU change. Instead of having to do over 4 races on a PU (or its components) Lewis now has 3 new PU for 9 races!!! So that would suggest he may be able to use the higher power maps for longer. So while Spa might be difficult but the other races should be easy wins for him! Once again FIA fails to produce a reasonable penalty system for using too many PU components!
All here http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-championship/season-2016/event-timing-information-9
In my opinion this is as poorly thought out as the the current regulation. Even if they said 25 points per engine set, Merc can already afford 6 sets and still be in the lead of the constructors. Plus entry fees are correlated to championship entry costs, so it becomes an opportunity for cost saving by changing components to burn off unnecessary points (large margins) at the end of the season. I don't agree with the regulation of limiting components at all, but if it has to stay then it has to be 5 engine sets a season and that's it - run out, don't race - that way everyone will design for reliability first and pace second and it will never be an issue.
Have to say also, that I'm dissapointed that Merc have exploited this loophole to the maximum, handing Hamilton a big theoretical advantage over Rosberg for the final races. If Hamilton was fighting Ferrari/RedBull I'd agree this was the right thing to do, but given this isn't the case it looks like another example of "they are free to race fairly, unless we can find a way to subtly help Hamilton." Rosberg, sucking this up like the good little number 2 he is again, as well Should be channelling his inner Mark Webber and be all over the press about how unfair it is. Hopefully Hamilton gets a karmic engine failure in qualifying at some point to even this back up.
I guess thats what Rosberg has signed up for. I'm not that bothered about it to be honest, these will go down as the worst 3 years in Formula 1 history anyway so there isn't any delight in winning the championship in them. Roll on 2017 already...
Obviously upset at Alonso trying to out penalty him Hamilton is starting from the pits. Lewis Hamilton will start from the pitlane for the Belgian Grand Prix after Mercedes broke parc ferme rules following qualifying. The Briton had already been moved to the last row of the grid following a triple engine change over the Spa-Francorchamps weekend. And the team had admitted that it was toying with the idea of starting the world champion from the pitlane anyway, because it would avoid the possibility of Hamilton getting caught up in any trouble at the first corner. The matter has now been decided officially, however, with the FIA stating that Hamilton must start from the pits because an FIA seal has been removed from the gearbox. A statement from the FIA said: "As an FIA seal was removed from the gearbox of car 44, the competitor is required to start the race from the Pit Lane and should follow the procedures laid out in Article 28.8 of the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations."
The FIA are FIA-ing............. Lewis Hamilton will not start from the Belgian Grand Prix from the pitlane, after the FIA rectified its previous ruling. The stewards had announced that Hamilton would start from the pitlane after his Mercedes team broke a gearbox seal prior to the start of the race. However, that ruling turned out to be wrong, and the stewards said a five-place grid penalty will be imposed instead. Hamilton will thus start from 21st position, ahead of Fernando Alonso, who did not set a time in qualifying. "After hearing from the Technical Delegate that the seal was removed under supervision, the removal of the seal was therefore not in breach of the Pre-Race Parc Ferme regulations," the FIA said. "As per Article 23.6 e) the gearbox has therefore been changed, a five-place grid position penalty is imposed."
I think that's as they are going to be upgrading the engine so Nico will be running a better engine towards the end of the season but Lewis can push his harder. I'm guessing it's their "attempt" at balancing it out.
I'm awaiting the disappointment. Rosberg storming off in clear air and Hamilton getting taken out. It's set up to be interesting but we all know F1
