The 'Better Do It Now' Chinese GP Chat & Predictions

I honestly cannot see F1 as we know it being around in 2026. I hope I am wrong , but cannot see it .

 

And where exactly did you get that? Not by following what happen for the season so far? Hamilton got done in by the team in the first race, the second he had a five-place gearbox penalty started 9th and ended only 6 seconds from the winner. Even this 3rd race, why they didn't pit him when the safety car came out is beyond me. Wasn't he and Max very close to each other when the safety car came out? Maybe I am wrong.

 

The pit argument is irrelevant. His pace was poor all weekend compared to Bottas for the 2nd weekend running. This is my point. Im not talking results

Edit: I think its something to do with the contract stalling

 

Interesting listening to Brundles comments .
It seems , for whatever reason , on some weekends , Hamiltons mind just does not seem focussed .

Happened last year . It's as if he needs to struggle o give him impetus to really Fight ?

 

i do think Hamilton relishes the hunt.

 

It does seem like Lewis is not on top form. As others have said maybe contract negotiations but in reality where else could he go?
I do think Merc are very poor at strategy. It's almost like they have been so complacent or inexperienced in having to think on their feet they don't have the ability to make quick decisions. I think their strat tools need lots of work. Ferrari are as bad and they should be better as they have for the last few years only been able to use strat to take advantage of Mercs issues or mistakes.
Looks like Red Bull have had to work on strat tools as they haven't had a decent PU for a few years.

I thought it was a good race but could have been just as good without safety car as tyres would have been old and maybe someone would have taken the gamble to go soft and chase down the front runners.

 

We could have had three different winners in three different cars so far had things played out slightly different. Hope that keeps up so we actually have a contest that last throughout the season.

 

Me too, I genuinely hope the teams close up but let’s be real- there is a very big step from midfield to Red Bull.

Also, Ferrari and Merc were pretty comfortable in front of Red Bull batting the SC and softer tyres.

The Renault PU holds the key really- if it can get on a level with the Mercedes and Ferrari then we will have a right battle.

 

He could've made the decision to pit himself, he's as much at fault as the team.

 

The whole why didn't Ferrari and Mercedes pit thing is a classic media story before facts issue.

Red Bull had fresh softs, the others didn't. It wasn't the obvious backup plan if a safety car did appear.

 

Even if they wanted to put fresh mediums on, I'm not sure they could. Vettel and Bottas were already past the pit entrance when the safety car was called, and on lap 34 (1 lap before the safety car), Hamilton was only 1.2 seconds further back. His team probably had around a second in which to make the decision and call him in. Red Bull had a 3-4 second window (based on lap 34 gaps), so it's still a mightily impressive call, but presumably the full course yellow accompanying the safety car bought them a little extra.

I really don't think you can blame software or strategists for this one, other than to marvel at the Red Bull engineer who has made that call on instinct alone. They can't have even had time to discuss it with anyone, it's a split second decision which won them the race. Even if Mercedes or Ferrari could have made that call, they'd have been throwing away track position to equally fast cars. If the Red Bulls fell down the field, their car and fresh tyres would have been more than enough to secure them the 5th and 6th place finishes they were destined for anyway.

 

Vettel couldn't pit as he was past the pit entrance, Kimi had good tyres, he'd only stopped a few laps previously. It would've been interesting to see what would've happened, as I'm pretty sure both Mercs and Vettel would've needed to pit again without the SC

 

I can't remember about the Ferraris but for the race the Mercedes boys only had a new medium and new ultra left. So their choice by the time of the safety car was either a new set of ultras or used of something else.

 

Still think Mercedes will be the best car on most tracks, though they definitely not as good as they used to be and that's why Hamilton is now struggling more, not having the best car by a mile

 

Interesting Bottas is making more of the car at the moment. Is Lewis overdriving?

 

It is something he has done in the past, which would end up with him burning the tyres out.

He doesn't seem to be doing that at the moment, so it seems a mystery why he is not on the pace at the moment.

 

I think Hamilton is just going through one of his Phases . I think he just needs to feel he is in a battle .

 

Far from being Lewis’ biggest fan, I actually think he’s having a hard time of it for no reason at the moment. He was imperious in Australia, a little unlucky in Bahrain (bar his radio or lack of radio tantrums), and had an off weekend in China.

We’re 3 races in, he’s second in the Championship, and 9 pts behind Vettel.

He’s in the most reliable works PU, reigning 4 x Champs- he’s not bad off!

The cynic in me thinks this is F1 politics and that Merc have some time up their sleeve when they need it, unfortunately!!

Come on Renault, get on a level!!

 

This is what Lauda had to say:
Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda, instrumental in luring Hamilton to Mercedes, was typically candid regarding the stalemate, “It all depends on the moods, sometimes he is more expensive, sometimes cheaper. It always depends on how the last race went…”

Just a fool's questions:
Could it be a case of Hamilton holding out for more money, and Mercedes holding back his car (or the real Party Mode) to force his hand to take less??? Wouldn't it be interesting if he signs the Diva disappears into thin air?

 

[QUOTE="dhel, post: 11669076, member: 1008831]Could it be a case of Hamilton holding out for more money, and Mercedes holding back his car (or the real Party Mode) to force his hand to take less??? Wouldn't it be interesting if he signs the Diva disappears into thin air?[/QUOTE]
Hamilton gets out-paced by Bottas so it's Mercedes deliberately hindering Lewis by doing something to his car?
same old, same old, Lewis gets beaten, there's a conspiracy.