Is this a joke? compare Webber v Vettel in Brazil and how hard he fought against his team-mate to Webber v Alonso, the title challenger, in Abu Dhabi, and how easily he gave the position with not the slightest bit of a battle. Webber is more like Alonso's team-mate than Vettels. And why do people think Mercedes, who have never built a 1.6 turbo before, will be a far better engine than Renault, Honda or Ferrari who all have?
Talking of engines: V6 engine and turbo [TABLE="class: thin"] [TR="bgcolor: transparent"] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]1.6l[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Engine capacity, down from 2.4l[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]6[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Number of cylinders, down from 8[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]100kg[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Maximum amount of fuel teams can use per race from 2014 (around 140 litres). They currently use around 160kg[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]100kg per hour[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Maximum fuel flow rate[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]500bar[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Fuel injection pressure limit[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #EEEEEE"] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]15,000[/TD] [TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Maximum rpm, down from 18,000[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] The Fuel rate will limit qualifying trim uber power whilst the total fuel will emphasise economy. They are also being reduced to 5 engines a season from 8 making reliability even more important. I think Renault have the ideal engines for these times, fuel efficient and drivable. Something which could be even more important with these new V6t's
Purely based on the rhetoric coming from the Mercedes camp. To me at least, it appears there whole strategy for their return was to use Schumacher to get comfortable in the sport, and him as a draw to build a team around, and then capitalise on the rule change to try and dominate. So far they appear to have achieved the first 2 aims.
maybe they should start working on their tyre wear, this is the thirs season they've had with the tyres and they're still no better, personally I think the new rules re going to favour renault, who've been building 1.6 turbo's for decades.
Hype - which keeps the shareholders happy. I also think Renault will have a good engine. The engines are supposed to produce 550-600hp but Renault's press release a couple of months ago said their V6 will produce more than 600hp. We don't know where Ferrari or Mercedes are in their development but I'd be very surprised if either have a massive advantage over Renault.
I agree. Renault seem to have done a very good job (assuming it's reliable), if Ferrari or Mercedes have bettered them it won't be by much, certainly not by the game-changing proportions Mercedes have talked about.
