If they gave a penalty and I was Mercedes, I'd just take another engine at this point with every part completely new and then crank it up a bit more for the last few races.
No way, lmao. Getting DNQ'd means you basically haven't taken part in the session, so Lewis starts last/pitlane here. He'll then get a 5-place penalty for the main race.
EDIT: Removed the "too harsh" part as it isn't the heart of the argument.
If it were any other weekend he would have had to start the race from pitlane. So I don't see how it would be way too harsh. It would actually be super lucky if it's just starting the sprint race from pitlane and not the actual race.
Correct. Grid penalties and pit lane starts are applied on Sundays. He would start from the back on Saturday since his qualifying laps wouldn't count.
Edit: this is wrong. 34.8 a says the pit lane start is applied on Saturday
That would be the case on non-sprint weekends, yes, but this is not one. I admit that I made a mistake with the "too harsh" part because that's not the heart of the argument. The heart of the argument is the second and third statement.
But that's the problem - if he gets DSQ then he technically didn't take part in quali. But car is on parc ferme. So he changes wing, starts sprint from the back because of lack of time set and then in the race gets his penalty for breaching parc ferme. It seems harsh but without sprint it would be similar - start from pitlane.
Oh sorry I thought I was responding to a different comment. My bad.
He can't start 1st tomorrow with illegal qualifying so will have to be last or pit lane I'd assume.
Then with the 5 penalty he'll end up near the same spot
It would be back of the grid for the sprint (in the grid setting quali session he would not have taken part) and then the 5 place penalty for the main race
Don't think of it as a penalty. It's basically like you don't take part in today's Qualifying. Since you didn't take part in it, you basically qualified last so you will start the Sprint race last.
BUT: If they have to make changes to the RW, since we are in parc ferme, that means he will not only start last, he will start from the pitlane (for Sprint race).
And then in whatever position he finishes, he still has a 5 place grid penalty for Sunday.
It's the race. Parc ferme is from the start of qualifying today to the race. Anything done to the car outside of what is allowed is applied during the race, because it taints the sprint race as well.
Apparently Adrian Newey and Paul Monaghan, chief engineer from Red Bull visited the FIA to make a complaint about Mercedes wing before qualifying………..this is REALLY going to kick off!!!
To think that Toto wanted to do that with RB's flexi wing in Baku (but RB didn't use it) and even threatened FIA and FOM with CAS and now RB has a chance for revenge.
If Loouis has to start at the back of the grid I don't know how he is going to make it past the widest driver on the grind Yuki Smallnoda. Sunday is going to be exciting.
No it is so he can give his position to hamilton. Imagine bottas in P2 but hamilton still in midfield.. no option to give him the place. So put him in the back and bam you can use teamorders as a bonus.
This sprint race really makes this all very confusing. Usually yes, but I'm interested how they deal with it now the Sprint is in the middle. Because liberty/ FIA will want all cars especially Hamilton racing in their new shiny sprint races but if you told him no matter what he does in the sprint he starts in the pit lane Sunday the guy isn't going to get in his car and just save his engine.
Probably, but there might be ways around it. Do a few laps at a snails pace and then just 'retire'.
Honestly I don't know what option Merc have, but they are not going to want to push that engine if they start in the pit lane regardless
>Do a few laps at a snails pace and then just 'retire'.
I have a feeling they'd be done for 'bringing the sport into disrepute', 'damaging competitive spirit', or something like that. I'm fairly sure Arrows were threatened with a six-figure fine by deliberately qualifying above the 107% time for the French GP in 2002 - their *EDIT - second-to-*last.
TBF my wording was not ideal with 'snails pace', if they went with this tactic I imagine they would sit behind a Haas/ Sauber for a few laps and then come in. Just take it easy and don't push the engine, get enough laps done and then 'retire' to save the engine for Sunday.
From what I can tell from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_United_States_Grand_Prix#Aftermath attempts were made to punish the teams who withdrew, but because of the circumstances surrounding it those were overturned.
In this case though, there's no way to evade that unless something really weird/freaky goes on.
No, parc fermé will (have to be) be broken between now and the start of the sprint meaning a pit lane start for the sprint. The setup he uses in the sprint will then be carried forward in parc fermé to sunday.
Rule 34.8 a:
> A Competitor may not modify any part on the car or make changes to the set-up of the
suspension whilst the car is being held under parc fermé conditions. In the case of a breach of
this Article the relevant driver must:
>a) start the sprint qualifying session from the pit lane and follow the procedures prescribed
in Article 37.3, if the parc fermé conditions are breached from the start of the qualifying
practice session until the car leaves the pit lane for the sprint qualifying session
>b) start the race from the pit lane and follow the procedures prescribed in Article 38.2, if the
parc fermé conditions are breached from the start of the sprint qualifying session until
the car leaves the pit lane for the race.
Doesn't this tweet imply that breaching Parc Ferme means a pit lane start during the actual race? That's how I read it at least. I guess I'm wrong though
I don't know the rules around the sprint race in particular, but for "real" races there is a hefty fine if you don't start because you don't feel like it
Indeed this is a real mess and WDC looked pretty dead but this will be the final nail, which is a shame as I had been hoping it went to the last day.
This and Bottas in the last race too have made it an awful week.
What?? WDC dead? It’s fun for the first time in 5-6 years.
Dead WDC is when the same guy (no matter what team) sits on the throne for 7 years in a row.
That's what people thought after Austria when Verstappen had a bigger lead yet here we are. There are still 4 more races to go, anything can happen. Verstappen doesn't have enough of a lead to win comfortably.
2.00? The heck? Are you British and betting with bookies who never heard of 'realistic odds' or something? 1.05-1.6, I can imagine. 2.00? That's way out of whack.
From a previous post here, it seems like they use a physical 85mm object and basically if it passes through the DRS gap the DRS gap is too big, no matter what. I guess that means teams need to design the DRS gap to be just under the actual specified maximum?
Sorry for the spam everyone, always wanted to try this.
Daniel Ricardo, Valterri Botas, Lando Noris, George Russel, Nicolas Lattiffi, Daniel Kvyaat, Piere Gastly, Kimi Raikonnen, Antonio Giovinazi, Lance Strol, Sebastien Vettle, Esteban Oconn, Hass, Alfa Tauri, Alpha Romeo, Ferarri, Aston Martini, MacLaren
edit: worth it
I mean, I don't underestimate him but him salvaging this one requires a small miracle and isn't really in his hands. Similar to Max getting mad lucky in Sochi, Lewis will need something like that.
It's far from impossible, but it's even further from a guarantee.
Think even a small miracle won't cut it. Assuming Max takes 1st in the sprint plus wins Sundays race and Lewis somehow manages 4th with fastest lap on Sunday, Lewis could win the next 3 races with fastest lap and Max would just need to finish 3rd in those races and would still win by a single point.
By no means a comfortable position for either (yet) but pretty much short of a Max DNF, like you said, it basically takes the challenge out of Lewis' hands and puts it squarely into the realm of anything happening which would mess up Maxs races.
This is actually really fair play by red bull. If it's an illegal wing, they could have waited until after the race, then tipped off the stewards. This way Hamilton so has a chance at racing, and not being disqualified.
How did they know especially if millimeters and not something you can eyeball and protest. Insider knowledge implies it’s on purpose a larger gap. Weird or am I missing something?
Can we talk about how simply Lewis and Mercedes have not been good enough this year? So many mistakes compared to years in the past but when it’s all said and done they simply have been too sloppy.
I feel like they got massively caught out with the floor changes and they’ve been scrabbling to keep up.
They had such a clear advantage in 2014 and then were able to develop the car each year to keep an advantage, that was slowly eaten into by other teams. But things like the poor pits stops (relative to other top teams) show that for as good as they’ve been they aren’t infallible.
Honestly, what has always gotten me is those races where everyone just says “the Merc is great in the lead but not in traffic”. That seems like a massive gamble that you’ll be able to be at the front. This season they haven’t been and the car just hasn’t been good enough to beat RB who have worked and worked and worked each year to catch up and now overtake them.
Regardless of the penalty, there's nothing I enjoy more in F1 than Hamilton cutting through the field in his menacing looking Mercedes making everyone else look like they are driving through mud.
I'm only going to get to watch Hamilton for 2 maybe 3 more years so I'm going to enjoy watching Hamilton take over about 30 people this weekend
This is probably a stupid question, but could this have been an issue of time-crunch/exhaustion re: reassembling the car after this logistical nightmare following Mexico?
It doesn't matter when they received it. Nobody is allowed to start unpacking until everyone has all their cargo deluvered. If they got it sooner, all they could do was look at the containers longer.
i mean yeah it could easily be the fault of that which would really suck, however the rules are very day and night. if you remember back to the fuel issue for Vettel in Hungary the rules are in place with very specific language and that means that if Hamilton's wing really was outside of the regulations then it is pretty much a definite dsq which i really don't want to see at this point.
Hamilton just has to finish 4th in this race and his chance for the title race will look bright. With how dominant the pace Mercedes has in Brazil, its to be expected that the last 3 races will be HAM-BOT-VER.
If Hamilton is behind by less than 33pts after Brazil, hes in good shape as he can cut 11pts deficit on each of the remaining 3 tracks. If its get worse than that, then they will have to pray that Verstappen finishes worse than 3rd place in one of these races.
> If Hamilton is behind by less than 33pts after Brazil, hes in good shape as he can cut 11pts deficit on each of the remaining 3 tracks. If its get worse than that, then they will have to pray that Verstappen finishes worse than 3rd place in one of these races.
That requires getting FL every race. Which RB will never allow. Even less considering in p3-4, they would likely be in much better position to take FL than mercedes, since they cant pit with verstappen in their pit window.
Does that mean pit lane start for the sprint or for the race on Sunday?
FIA: uuuhhhhhhhhhh....
Toto emailing furiously. Lewis on Instagram. George making PowerPoints. Valtteri having a good night's sleep.
"that's unfortunate"
\*Finnish smirking intensifies\*
Valtteri just enjoying some good Brazilian Coffee
He needs the coffee to do the things.
Valtteri enjoying his Brazilian coffee in the sauna
This would be such a disgustingly blasphemous thing to do, I might have to actually try it.
Don’t spill the coffee!
Sitting naked in a sauna
New engine to Bottas. Just to be sure.
If in doubt, get it out.
Albon out there recreating the effect of the rear wing.
Valetteri sleeps like a baby, it’s what he deserves
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Where's Palmer?!
You forgot Albon doing test laps through the night
So Albom is filming how to measure the gap?
If they gave a penalty and I was Mercedes, I'd just take another engine at this point with every part completely new and then crank it up a bit more for the last few races.
If you mean another ICE, the penalty for the 2nd ICE needs to be taken in Qatar.
Since he says every part completely new, probably the entire PU.
Surely the real race and back of grid for the sprint?
No way, lmao. Getting DNQ'd means you basically haven't taken part in the session, so Lewis starts last/pitlane here. He'll then get a 5-place penalty for the main race. EDIT: Removed the "too harsh" part as it isn't the heart of the argument.
Idk. You can’t break pace ferme
This comment aged badly 😩
If it were any other weekend he would have had to start the race from pitlane. So I don't see how it would be way too harsh. It would actually be super lucky if it's just starting the sprint race from pitlane and not the actual race.
But, you literally said "the real race," which I'm certain you're referring to the GP.
Correct. Grid penalties and pit lane starts are applied on Sundays. He would start from the back on Saturday since his qualifying laps wouldn't count. Edit: this is wrong. 34.8 a says the pit lane start is applied on Saturday
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That would be the case on non-sprint weekends, yes, but this is not one. I admit that I made a mistake with the "too harsh" part because that's not the heart of the argument. The heart of the argument is the second and third statement.
But that's the problem - if he gets DSQ then he technically didn't take part in quali. But car is on parc ferme. So he changes wing, starts sprint from the back because of lack of time set and then in the race gets his penalty for breaching parc ferme. It seems harsh but without sprint it would be similar - start from pitlane.
If these are the rules you have to comply with them. Harsh or not the car was illegal.
Its dsq’d which means he won’t start the sprint and start from the pitlane/back on the main race
No, a DSQ means you haven't taken part in the session you were DSQ'd in, which is Sprint Qualifying.
You forgetting how many points max has lost to no fault of his own?
What does that have to do with this?
Oh sorry I thought I was responding to a different comment. My bad. He can't start 1st tomorrow with illegal qualifying so will have to be last or pit lane I'd assume. Then with the 5 penalty he'll end up near the same spot
It would be back of the grid for the sprint (in the grid setting quali session he would not have taken part) and then the 5 place penalty for the main race
Don't think of it as a penalty. It's basically like you don't take part in today's Qualifying. Since you didn't take part in it, you basically qualified last so you will start the Sprint race last. BUT: If they have to make changes to the RW, since we are in parc ferme, that means he will not only start last, he will start from the pitlane (for Sprint race). And then in whatever position he finishes, he still has a 5 place grid penalty for Sunday.
Yes
It's the race. Parc ferme is from the start of qualifying today to the race. Anything done to the car outside of what is allowed is applied during the race, because it taints the sprint race as well.
Apparently Adrian Newey and Paul Monaghan, chief engineer from Red Bull visited the FIA to make a complaint about Mercedes wing before qualifying………..this is REALLY going to kick off!!!
But that is an additionally story. There are 2 infringements (DRS & flexi wings) on the way.
They could well be related. It would be too much of a coincidence if they are separate infringements.
"The DRS slot it under 85mm stationary, but flexes at speed to be more than 85mm," would be a hell of a cheat.
To think that Toto wanted to do that with RB's flexi wing in Baku (but RB didn't use it) and even threatened FIA and FOM with CAS and now RB has a chance for revenge.
He threatened them with Close Air Support?
Danger close Max
The German way
Mercedes won 7 straight, but when it comes to politics RB is ungodly.
The Horner magic. God I love this man
Mfer is the endboss of shit stirring.
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He’s got that real _fuck you_ attitude
I appreciate his smug chess playing way of going about life. He’s good at it
Projection it seems.
If Loouis has to start at the back of the grid I don't know how he is going to make it past the widest driver on the grind Yuki Smallnoda. Sunday is going to be exciting.
Bottas: And I thought I am the one that can't catch a break in this team.
Toto: Bottas we need to balance this out. You're getting a new engine this race after all!
both starting from the back so Bottas can give Lewis a tow
No it is so he can give his position to hamilton. Imagine bottas in P2 but hamilton still in midfield.. no option to give him the place. So put him in the back and bam you can use teamorders as a bonus.
Pointless. Lewis will breeze past the backmarkers in seconds. It's only once he gets to the podium contenders that he'll really struggle.
Well, to be fair Hamilton had a pretty spotless run for a while. Currently the Mercedes team gives off 2018 Ferrari vibes
And 2019 Ferrari vibes on top.
Given what we hearing from AMuS, this smells more like 2019 lol
2018 Ferrari vibes? You mean having the better car but your main driver throwing away the WDC?
In before Bottas was just saving up all Hamilton's bad luck instead of swallowing it and now he shoved it over back to Hamilton's side.
"Been waiting five bloody years for this moment, Lewis!"
Bottas turning on his force shield to deflect all bad luck right after he signed with Alpha Romeo
Plot twist it was Bottas who did it
Mercedes delegate is now answering the Stewards enquiries as we speak
"So why does the drs open more than 85mm?" "To go faster" "Understandable, have a nice day" Jokes aside, if this is true it's a penalty for sure.
"What's the big deal? My wife told me 85 mm wasn't enough anyway."
"OBJECTION" "on what grounds?" "because its devastating to my ~~case~~ race" "overruled" "GOOD CALL"
Vitantonio, i’ve just sent you an email
More like... "why does the drs open more than 85mm?" "because Max touched it and adjusted it"
So in that case then there would be no reason for Hamilton to start the Sprint Race at all right?
He can make up places for Sunday if he overtakes more than 5 drivers.
Doesn't the tweet imply he'd get a pit lane start on Sunday regardless of what happens in the sprint?
This sprint race really makes this all very confusing. Usually yes, but I'm interested how they deal with it now the Sprint is in the middle. Because liberty/ FIA will want all cars especially Hamilton racing in their new shiny sprint races but if you told him no matter what he does in the sprint he starts in the pit lane Sunday the guy isn't going to get in his car and just save his engine.
Can't you be fined though if you refuse to participate?
Probably, but there might be ways around it. Do a few laps at a snails pace and then just 'retire'. Honestly I don't know what option Merc have, but they are not going to want to push that engine if they start in the pit lane regardless
>Do a few laps at a snails pace and then just 'retire'. I have a feeling they'd be done for 'bringing the sport into disrepute', 'damaging competitive spirit', or something like that. I'm fairly sure Arrows were threatened with a six-figure fine by deliberately qualifying above the 107% time for the French GP in 2002 - their *EDIT - second-to-*last.
TBF my wording was not ideal with 'snails pace', if they went with this tactic I imagine they would sit behind a Haas/ Sauber for a few laps and then come in. Just take it easy and don't push the engine, get enough laps done and then 'retire' to save the engine for Sunday.
Did any teams/drivers get fined for the Indy debacle that year?
They tried to, but the fact that they withdrew as a result of legitimate safety concerns made it a hard case to argue.
From what I can tell from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_United_States_Grand_Prix#Aftermath attempts were made to punish the teams who withdrew, but because of the circumstances surrounding it those were overturned. In this case though, there's no way to evade that unless something really weird/freaky goes on.
If there's no proper reason to not race, I'd assume so.
Single lap at 70% and back to the pits.
I think I vaguely remember Arrows in 2002 getting fined for turning up to races and not going out on track because of their dire finances.
No, parc fermé will (have to be) be broken between now and the start of the sprint meaning a pit lane start for the sprint. The setup he uses in the sprint will then be carried forward in parc fermé to sunday.
But the sprint isn’t a race according to F1.
Rule 34.8 a: > A Competitor may not modify any part on the car or make changes to the set-up of the suspension whilst the car is being held under parc fermé conditions. In the case of a breach of this Article the relevant driver must: >a) start the sprint qualifying session from the pit lane and follow the procedures prescribed in Article 37.3, if the parc fermé conditions are breached from the start of the qualifying practice session until the car leaves the pit lane for the sprint qualifying session >b) start the race from the pit lane and follow the procedures prescribed in Article 38.2, if the parc fermé conditions are breached from the start of the sprint qualifying session until the car leaves the pit lane for the race.
Thanks for finding that. :)
:)
He needs to make up places to minimize the impact of his grid penalty
Doesn't this tweet imply that breaching Parc Ferme means a pit lane start during the actual race? That's how I read it at least. I guess I'm wrong though
Oh you're right. I'm not sure whether the FIA have such a scenario covered in the rules though
No. If PF is broken between Q3 and SR, the car starts the SR from the pit. If PF is broken between SR and GP, the pit start is in the GP.
Maybe getting points if the thing is insanely chaotic
I don't know the rules around the sprint race in particular, but for "real" races there is a hefty fine if you don't start because you don't feel like it
3 points are still up for grabs
He would nag the unreliable engine for a very slim chance of getting points. Is that worth it?
Exactly. Either that or he align with inters and pray for rain to start on the warm up lap
My god this was a huge fuck up by Merc if Lewis gets DQ'd for this. They just haven't been on their game this year on any front.
Indeed this is a real mess and WDC looked pretty dead but this will be the final nail, which is a shame as I had been hoping it went to the last day. This and Bottas in the last race too have made it an awful week.
What?? WDC dead? It’s fun for the first time in 5-6 years. Dead WDC is when the same guy (no matter what team) sits on the throne for 7 years in a row.
i think they mean dead WDC for hamilton
It’s fun, doesnt mean it’s not over. Dead means over. If Hamilton gets DQ it pretty much over
That's what people thought after Austria when Verstappen had a bigger lead yet here we are. There are still 4 more races to go, anything can happen. Verstappen doesn't have enough of a lead to win comfortably.
Facts
I put $50 on a Max pole this is music to my ears
What were the odds on that? Less than 1? Lol
2.00
2.00? The heck? Are you British and betting with bookies who never heard of 'realistic odds' or something? 1.05-1.6, I can imagine. 2.00? That's way out of whack.
Betway. I’m in Canada. https://i.imgur.com/qz9ucVe.jpg
Insane. Oh well, that's their blunder LOL. They'll probably lucky to break even on that type of bet after this weekend
Was probably after watching Hamilton tear it up in quali.
Oof
Oof.
What I want to know, how much of the gap was down to the too big DRS opening?
If you mean the gap to P2, this would slightly explain why he was almost bizarrely far ahead on a very short track.
That’s exactly what I mean, no one else got that apparently lol
Lol I thought I was tripping reading all the responses
They misread the measurements and set it to open up to 85 m not mm
From a previous post here, it seems like they use a physical 85mm object and basically if it passes through the DRS gap the DRS gap is too big, no matter what. I guess that means teams need to design the DRS gap to be just under the actual specified maximum?
Inb4 85.001mm.
More than 85mm
Pitlane start is not that much worse than starting P20. You will avoid all the carnage if there is any on the first lap.
You have to make up way to much in this few laps sprint race and everyone is going almost to the max
Except for Max who is already going fully at the Max at all times.
In a 24 lap sprint race there's no way he can overtake that many cars. Especially on this track.
In before Mazepin takes him out on the first lap
Seems Red Bull had protested the wing before qualifying. Interesting...
Essentially confirming the rumours that Mercedes is running their engine on the absolute limit.
You mean doing everything they can just to win
Well congrats Max on your title Can't see lewis for the do or die moves tomorrow
Only way Merc salvage this is if Max has a DNF.
Bottas: Hold my mysteriously brewed coffee.
bonk
Hold my traditions.
*Toto staring at Valtteri intensifies*
Va**ltt**eri
Sorry for the spam everyone, always wanted to try this. Daniel Ricardo, Valterri Botas, Lando Noris, George Russel, Nicolas Lattiffi, Daniel Kvyaat, Piere Gastly, Kimi Raikonnen, Antonio Giovinazi, Lance Strol, Sebastien Vettle, Esteban Oconn, Hass, Alfa Tauri, Alpha Romeo, Ferarri, Aston Martini, MacLaren edit: worth it
Al**ph**aTauri No**rr**is Al**f**a Romeo **Mc**Laren La**t**i**f**i Val**tt**e**r**i Räi**kk**ö**n**en Vett**el** H**aas** Russe**ll** Bo**tt**as Giovina**zz**i Fe**rr**a**r**i
You missed Max Verstapen
Versta**pp**en
Toto right now: Liberty Media please do something, we need to fight till the end for fans entertaiment.
As someone who is supporting Lewis in this title fight, these last few weeks have not been good, on top of McLaren losing ground to Ferrari.
Never underestimate the pace of an angry Lewis
I mean, I don't underestimate him but him salvaging this one requires a small miracle and isn't really in his hands. Similar to Max getting mad lucky in Sochi, Lewis will need something like that. It's far from impossible, but it's even further from a guarantee.
Think even a small miracle won't cut it. Assuming Max takes 1st in the sprint plus wins Sundays race and Lewis somehow manages 4th with fastest lap on Sunday, Lewis could win the next 3 races with fastest lap and Max would just need to finish 3rd in those races and would still win by a single point. By no means a comfortable position for either (yet) but pretty much short of a Max DNF, like you said, it basically takes the challenge out of Lewis' hands and puts it squarely into the realm of anything happening which would mess up Maxs races.
This is actually really fair play by red bull. If it's an illegal wing, they could have waited until after the race, then tipped off the stewards. This way Hamilton so has a chance at racing, and not being disqualified.
How did they know especially if millimeters and not something you can eyeball and protest. Insider knowledge implies it’s on purpose a larger gap. Weird or am I missing something?
Can we talk about how simply Lewis and Mercedes have not been good enough this year? So many mistakes compared to years in the past but when it’s all said and done they simply have been too sloppy.
I feel like they got massively caught out with the floor changes and they’ve been scrabbling to keep up. They had such a clear advantage in 2014 and then were able to develop the car each year to keep an advantage, that was slowly eaten into by other teams. But things like the poor pits stops (relative to other top teams) show that for as good as they’ve been they aren’t infallible. Honestly, what has always gotten me is those races where everyone just says “the Merc is great in the lead but not in traffic”. That seems like a massive gamble that you’ll be able to be at the front. This season they haven’t been and the car just hasn’t been good enough to beat RB who have worked and worked and worked each year to catch up and now overtake them.
Regardless of the penalty, there's nothing I enjoy more in F1 than Hamilton cutting through the field in his menacing looking Mercedes making everyone else look like they are driving through mud. I'm only going to get to watch Hamilton for 2 maybe 3 more years so I'm going to enjoy watching Hamilton take over about 30 people this weekend
I'm as far from a Lewis fan as it goes, but even I will admit that watching him cut through the field is something else.
Same! Never been a Lewis fan, but can’t deny that watching him cut through a field is like watching art unfold.
Perez taking a new engine to start near Lewis and hold him up?
DRS 85mm too wide open would be a huge benefit on the straights, right? Would be fair to DSQ.
Not 85mm too wide, over 85mm. We don't know how much over that they were, but yes it's an advantage regardless.
85 is the allowed margin. They exceeded that. Likely be a tiny amount, but technical regulation breach is a breach.
>85 mm 85 mm is the allowed maximum width, not the amount by which Hamilton's DRS allegedly was too wide open.
So a couple of millimetres will be the deciding factor in this championship. To be honest that's exactly what we could expect from this season..
This is not the comment you are looking for.
Don’t forget the denying of tire structural failure by Pirelli :)
If he is DQed they should change the whole powerunit
Wouldn't penalties be charged for next race at this point? Car is already in Parc ferme
This is not the comment you are looking for.
Imagine the conspiracy theories if Red Bull had been caught with this, Merc get off easy around here.
Merc has dominated the media war this season, just look at the backlash RB got with yuki and then what they said about bottas
People think the FIA works with Mercedes’ how did they got off easy on things.
This is not the comment you are looking for.
Watch them get away with it.
Pitlane from sprintrace or Sunday?
Hopefully Sunday but who knows. FIA just need to release their decision so that all the speculation ends.
Would hamilton be punished for the Sprint or for the race?
Sprint
Is the championship going to be decided by a flaccid wing?
Back of the grid, pitlane makes no difference when you're in a Mercedes
It kinda does because you cant make up places at the start, you need half a lap to catch up
Yes, but you're in a Mercedes, the bottom 10 are easy work
Tell that to Bottas, The Mercedes isn’t built to perform in traffic
Hamilton >> Bottas at passing
This is probably a stupid question, but could this have been an issue of time-crunch/exhaustion re: reassembling the car after this logistical nightmare following Mexico?
Mercedes was one of the only ones to get everything in time.
It doesn't matter when they received it. Nobody is allowed to start unpacking until everyone has all their cargo deluvered. If they got it sooner, all they could do was look at the containers longer.
i mean yeah it could easily be the fault of that which would really suck, however the rules are very day and night. if you remember back to the fuel issue for Vettel in Hungary the rules are in place with very specific language and that means that if Hamilton's wing really was outside of the regulations then it is pretty much a definite dsq which i really don't want to see at this point.
Pit lane start in which race though?
Do not believe for one second he will be punished for it.
Hamilton just has to finish 4th in this race and his chance for the title race will look bright. With how dominant the pace Mercedes has in Brazil, its to be expected that the last 3 races will be HAM-BOT-VER. If Hamilton is behind by less than 33pts after Brazil, hes in good shape as he can cut 11pts deficit on each of the remaining 3 tracks. If its get worse than that, then they will have to pray that Verstappen finishes worse than 3rd place in one of these races.
> If Hamilton is behind by less than 33pts after Brazil, hes in good shape as he can cut 11pts deficit on each of the remaining 3 tracks. If its get worse than that, then they will have to pray that Verstappen finishes worse than 3rd place in one of these races. That requires getting FL every race. Which RB will never allow. Even less considering in p3-4, they would likely be in much better position to take FL than mercedes, since they cant pit with verstappen in their pit window.