remind me how much ahead of vettel in the cooler temp of china is hamilton? good grief if you believe in the rubbish your posting, bet on them then, i dare you lol
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...perceptions, perceptions........your reality and all that! Anyway, back to having a sensible discussions on the potentials of tomorrow. "Tyre degradation is going to be a big issue tomorrow as we are going to take the tyres right to the limit. So there are many opportunities,” the Mercedes driver added. “Ferrari are a threat for sure as they have good race pace – it is not just Malaysia, it is everywhere. So I hope we have a bit of an edge on them, but it could be close.” I'm sure this is what most F1 fans with an ounce of understanding are hoping for tomorrow, a Close race with differing equipment and differing strengths/weaknesses!
Personally, I expect tyres to be less of an issue than last time but, certainly, Ferrari have removed that dulling sense of predictability that hung over the season ahead. It's not going to be Mercedes running away with every race and Ferrari clearly have a strong basic car and the resources to close the gap over the season. Vettel seems revitalised and last year's bad season seems to have matured him too; I almost want to say that he seems quite likeable to me now but I don't think I can quite bring myself to do that just yet.
I am impressed with Button. I always liked Button but he isn't great when he has a car that he is not happy with. Where as Alonso has always been able to get a little extra from a car even when it's not great. I was expecting the McHonda to have been designed with Button and his driving style in mind. I was also expecting Alonso to beat Button by a few tenths. So I am currently pleasantly surprised that Button is consistently beating Alonso. Hopefully McHonda can turn up power and have reliability soon.
His second run was on new options. He wouldn't have used his Q2 set in Q3 because he has to start the race on those. The used ones he used for his first run just got him back on level terms with Mercedes who saved a set in Q1. If Vettel clears Rosberg at the start then I think it's nicely poised for a good fight between Hamilton and Vettel again, if Rosberg's able to hold him back Hamilton will be able to build too much of a lead. I genuinely think Seb's going to split the Mercedes tomorrow. Hopefully with his straightline speed advantage and superior tyre wear he'll be able to fight Hamilton, I think he'll need a late safety car to realistically threaten though.
The Merc's have a spare set of New Options too? They used Primes in Q1, one run on the Options in Q2, and used two new Options in Q3, don't they get one extra set of the faster tyre in Q3 which they give back? If so, both teams have new Options for the race... Now, the Merc's may prefer the Primes as their race tyre but why save a set of New Options if you don't plan on using them? You can bet that the Ferrari's will be using the Options for at least two stints, and most likely go Option-Prime-Option, if the Merc's are on Primes at the end, they better have a big gap otherwise with Ferrari's race pace they'll be had.. Either way, I think the race will be a cracker.. The Williams are usually fast starters, so Vettel needs to make sure he's not taken by one or both of the Merc's at the start, if so, that could ruin their game plan! Vettel gets a good start then its game on! Hope Kimi has an eventless first lap or two and doesn't get tagged, will be good to see him coming through the field, he appears to have even better race pace than Vettel!
Merc will own first stint as long as their tyres hold up, but expect to see Ferrari pull them back in slowly on the prime and watch out for the final stint. I reckon both Vettel and Kimi will be on the option at the end while Rosberg and Hamilton will be on the prime and we will have a fantastic finish to the end maybe.
Will be interesting to see if Ferrari can repeat. I think Mercedes plan on creating a huge gap from the get go. Ferrari has had some good starts so far so could try and jump them. I wonder what Williams can do too?
I think this will be a tough one for Ferrari, Merc just have that extra performance and that additional downforce. I said last race that Ferraris resurgence would potentially make Merc race harder and judging by the Merc drivers comments I think that will be the case. Kimi's poor quali has probably helped Merc out because they are most likely to be only racing Vettel, which will give them more options on strategy. It will be interesting to see what Merc do in relation to their drivers strategy, splitting their options may be the best way to ensure victory.
Ferrari are likely to split their strategy too, if Kimi gets a good start then he could easily be 4th in three laps or so. I think it's tough to call the podium at the moment.
Good response from Hamilton today - letting everyone know who is still boss. Rosberg clearly getting frustrated and I wonder if this boil over into something cynical like last year - I hope so as it was entertaining! 1. Hamilton 2. Rosberg 3. Vettel Although I would like to see Hamilton vs Vettel as I feel Vettel is a far better racer than Rosberg.
Actually, i did have a bet on a Ferrari win in Malaysia, if you want be to a bore and have a look back, i even tipped a Ferrari win during free practice on here. You're confusing one lap pace with race pace, 2 very different animals. In COOLER Australia, Ferraris race pace was actually slightly better than Mercedes in practice, the cars just got tied up in various parts and couldn't show it in the race itself. In China, (Which btw this year is actually HOTTER track temp wise than Australia, where Ferrari were bang on the long run pace) the two teams aren't far away in terms of pace, Mercedes do have an edge this time round in terms of pace on a long run, but that seems to be more track dependent rather than temp related as the majority of their advantage is in sector 2, where the Downforce matters most, the Ferrari isn't that far off in the other 2 sectors. The Ferrari is still however better on its tyres, i'm not sure by how much, so i'm not convinced they are truly in play for this one, The Mercedes seem a few tenths (yes, tenths.. to answer your misplaced question) faster a lap in long runs, but the Ferraris can go about 5 laps further... the key question there is, "is that enough to allow them 1 stop less than Mercedes?" If so, it becomes irrelevant that Mercedes are 2-3 tenths quicker a laps because they won't be able to run a stint long enough to pull out a free pit stop, assuming no safety car of course.
I like a good debate and thought i'd be nice about it haha I'm not expecting too much from Ferrari this time round, but i expect they'll have a go at one less stop on at least one car... they have to if they want to win here, so that in itself will be very interesting. If they can pull it off... who knows. All will be revealed later i guess!
I'm not sure if Rosberg is bluffing, but apparently he said Mercedes wouldn't be using the set of options they saved, whereas Vettel said the set he saved in Q3 would be an advantage. So option-prime-prime for Mercedes, option-option-prime for Ferrari. It's going to be a close one again, Mercedes 9/10ths up on raw pace, but Ferrari with better degradation and a stint where they've got a tyre 2secs quicker than Mercedes. That second stint on options - and I'm guessing they'll take them in the middle not the end - is going to be crucial because Vettel will need to pass on track.
Could it be possible that Vettel will be very aggressive, pit before the Mercedes and then control the race with the options on (Also bringing Kimi into play) then go to the Prime at the end. If he gets a good start, he could get ahead of Rosberg and then challenge Hamilton too?
Not a bad shout. Depends if he can stay close enough to Hamilton to get the undercut though, I don't think he'll be able to. And that's assuming he clears Rosberg at the start. His starts haven't been great so far, losing ground off the line and having to brake late into turn one to recover. Everything has to come together again. If he loses a place to Massa at the start, it's game over pretty much straight away.
When I heard that I said to myself Rosberg has got to be a nut. Now why would you save a set of soft unless you plan to use them up in the race. If the softs are 2 seconds quicker than the prime wouldn't it be better for the Mercedes to do soft/soft/prime? Wouldn't that be the best way of stretching the lead (especially with the 2 seconds a lap pace over the primes) in the first two stints and then run home on the primes? They could also spit the strategy for the two cars.. Hamilton goes option..option... primes. while Rosberg goes options...prime....option seeing that Hamilton is much faster than Rosberg on the primes. On another note I am getting to like the guy James Allison..I think he is genuinely very nice guy, always very polite with a endearing smile. I think he is a very cool guy and it seems like a little of him is starting to rub off on Vettel. Vettel's character seems to have changed a lot since coming to the red team, maybe some of that is down to the humbling experience of last season I guess.
