All this confusion over the regs is potentially helping Mercedes keep their advantage.... Unless McLaren are lying
Well, Mercedes may have finally brought a good car to the grid in China. It shouldn't take much work to fix tyre wear. 6 Years after his last win in 2006, I think it is not a dream that Michael may be able to make his first podium comeback... Or Nico's first win?
If the Mercedes team can use the W-Duct to their advantage then, in a race like Monaco where track position is key, then they could win it.
Yes. As things stand at present, Monaco should present the best opportunity for Mercedes; along with Cataluña.
Hmm, not so sure about this one. Ferrari (i think?) struggled throughout 2011 with tyre warm-up issues, and so could never really get the most out of them in qualifying, although they benefited in the race. Obviously Mercedes have this the other way around, but it seems to be that how 'hard' a car is on its tyres tends to be an inherent characteristic of the car, rather than something that is easily tuned.
This. I can think of a couple of tracks where there aren't enough overtaking opportunities so their lack of tyre wear won't hurt as much and both tracks need a lot of downforce, which the Mercedes lacks. (for the record, Monaco and Hungary)
We'll see, it's still to early to say that for sure. I for one think that they have a better chance of victory than they have had before, and if they get on top of their tyre issues, then they have got a good chance of getting a victory at some point.
With tyre wear so fundamentally linked to the car as a whole I think to fully get to grips with their tyres Mercedes will have to make some radical changes. They've made a good qualifier, but I think it'll only come good at races that are easy on tyres.
I don't think it's just about tyre wear. They have a very small window for setup according to Ross Brawn on formula1.com so they need to second guess race conditions when setting up the car on Friday and Saturday. If they're caught out with rain or cool temperatures then the tyres won't work; if it's hotter than they expected then the tyres wear out too soon. Eternal, I think you're a little optimistic to expect a good car in China. They won't have fixed their problems yet, as BLS says, and with unsettled weather expected it'll be pot luck if they hit the sweet spot on race day. Still, you can hope.
Paddy Lowe has changed his tune with the Mercedes DRS, now it is against the spirit of the rules. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17675184
And now theres no such thing as "Spirit of the rules" Ever changing world of miss quoting by the press...
But Lowe is ultimately, absolutely correct. An ongoing problem with the FIA's scripting of rules is that they all too frequently leave gaping holes (sic). Time and again, it is not sufficiently exacting; particularly when one bears in mind that the English wording may allow for slightly different translations and interpretations when one's first language is not English. - As an example (although on an entirely different matter), I believe Eric Boullier's recent clumsiness over the teams' options to pull out of Bahrain, is due to his incorrect, somewhat simplified choice of words, in what should have been a very much more carefully considered statement.
As expected. They're really going for a 'bad boys of F1' image, Lotus, aren't they? Cute. It's been christened at last. You can't argue that it's entire point is to be a system that reduces drag.
Maybe... Mercedes has come out of it quite well insofar as their IP remains unshared but I wonder at point #5: "The sole purpose of the "DRS" ... is to improve overtaking. The Mercedes design is completely consistent with this objective." What other systems, that could potentially be described as being designed "to improve overtaking," might be attached to DRS activation?
No one else think Lotus have a valid complaint? It's primary function is as a qualification device and has little to do with over-taking. I think it not banning it could open a can of worms.
That's what I mean. If the FIA had been very specific and strict in its ruling by declaring it legal on the basis that it acts solely to boost the DRS effect then I think the can would at least have been clingfilmed.
