Was almost shocked Seb was able to defend against Hamilton for almost 10 laps. I keep forgetting he's a 4 time Champ.

I just want to know why the Mercs are always so damn fast on race day

Is Lewis depressed

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/1191008/Lewis-Hamilton-Instagram-post-F1-news/amp

Can someone explain to me how much Ferrari got paid to let Lewis win in Mexico!

I have almost never seen such crap strategy!

budaatum:
Can someone explain to me how much Ferrari got paid to let Lewis win in Mexico!

I have almost never seen such crap strategy!

Lmaoooo it has reached joke status now. I feel for Leclerc. They cost him this race with their incompetence

Also something must be said for Mercedes and it's race pace. This is not the second, third or fourth time this is happening. Let nobody in the future come and tell me how Ferrari had the faster car and other sundry megedefegede.

A40:
Lmaoooo it has reached joke status now. I feel for Leclerc. They cost him this race with their incompetence

Also something must be said for Mercedes and it's race pace. This is not the second, third or fourth time this is happening. Let nobody in the future come and tell me how Ferrari had the faster car and other sundry megedefegede.

Ferrari did have a faster car than Mercedes. That was very clear yesterday. They threw it away on strategy! And I think someone must have taken a bribe!

Merc won this on superior strategy, and not with a faster car, which makes their win the more admirable, winning with inferior equipment!

budaatum:

Ferrari did have a faster car than Mercedes. That was very clear yesterday. They threw it away on strategy! And I think someone must have taken a bribe!

Merc won this on superior strategy, and not with a faster car, which makes their win the more admirable, winning with inferior equipment!

Ajakaja40 will call this megedefegede

A40:
Lmaoooo it has reached joke status now. I feel for Leclerc. They cost him this race with their incompetence
Also something must be said for Mercedes and it's race pace. This is not the second, third or fourth time this is happening. Let nobody in the future come and tell me how Ferrari had the faster car and other sundry megedefegede.

bro, they DO have the faster car lately, they are just FUCKING UP.... thats why during the race Mercs cannot catch and overtake them.....its only thanks to undercutting and using insane strategies that the Mercs can get in front.

anyway let us all wait for next year, and hope to see some of these others teams finally bring their A game.

6 yrs in a row.... it aint funny any longer!

MrBrownJay1:


bro, they DO have the faster car lately, they are just FUCKING UP.... thats why during the race Mercs cannot catch and overtake them.....its only thanks to undercutting and using insane strategies that the Mercs can get in front.

anyway let us all wait for next year, and hope to see some of these others teams finally bring their A game.

6 yrs in a row.... it aint funny any longer!

Those things you call "insane strategies" is what I call working smart. It is an integral part of the sport. Or were you not there when the master strategist Ross James Brawn OBE was winning with it in inferior cars?

budaatum:

Those things you call "insane strategies" is what I call working smart. It is an integral part of the sport. Or were you not there when the master strategist Ross James Brawn OBE was winning with it in inferior cars?

but in today's F1 where nothing new lasts undercover, by now most of these teams would have their own "Ross Brawn"... and rightfully have their own magic moments... maybe Nicki Lauda could have been Mercs own "Brawn" but the dude is gone now.

MrBrownJay1:


but in today's F1 where nothing new lasts undercover, by now most of these teams would have their own "Ross Brawn"... and rightfully have their own magic moments... maybe Nicki Lauda could have been Mercs own "Brawn" but the dude is gone now.

One team that most definitely does not have a "Ross Brawn" is Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. as seen by their abysmal performance in Mexico!

In fact, the closest they had to a "Ross Brawn" was disobey orders to pit Vettel who ended up second, as opposed to poor Leclerc who did obey pit orders and ended up off the rostrom from poll!

budaatum:

One team that most definitely does not have a "Ross Brawn" is Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. as seen by their abysmal performance in Mexico!

In fact, the closest they had to a "Ross Brawn" was disobey orders to pit Vettel who ended up second, as opposed to poor Leclerc who did obey pit orders and ended up off the rostrom from poll!

very true... but Leclerc did say after the race that he will now trust his instinct more, so hopefully next year they will have better chances in winning anything.

budaatum:

Ferrari did have a faster car than Mercedes. That was very clear yesterday. They threw it away on strategy! And I think someone must have taken a bribe!

Merc won this on superior strategy, and not with a faster car, which makes their win the more admirable, winning with inferior equipment!

Haba. So how come the Ferrari's were never able to pull away to make their gamble on Leclerc work?

What you call strategy was the fact that the Hard tyres lasted far longer than anyone could have anticipated, with little to no degradation and without losing any speed. Ferrari's error was putting Leclerc on a two stopper and then messing up his pit stop else they would have won the race.

Mexico is not exactly an ideal track for overtaking either so once Ferrari screwed up it was Mercedes race to lose.

MrBrownJay1:


bro, they DO have the faster car lately, they are just FUCKING UP.... thats why during the race Mercs cannot catch and overtake them.....its only thanks to undercutting and using insane strategies that the Mercs can get in front.

anyway let us all wait for next year, and hope to see some of these others teams finally bring their A game.

6 yrs in a row.... it aint funny any longer!

You don't catch and overtake anyhow in a track like Mexico. That's why Hamilton held off Seb with a 49 lap tire

At Suzuka you saw how Sebastian had to defend with every last inch just to keep himself ahead of Ham. Hamilton had literally caught him.

The Mercs always have race pace no matter what happens in qualifying, there is never a massive drop off come race day

budaatum:

Those things you call "insane strategies" is what I call working smart. It is an integral part of the sport. Or were you not there when the master strategist Ross James Brawn OBE was winning with it in inferior cars?

Those strategies don't sometimes work out as planned. They are and can be insane.
Take Sochi GP for instance, if that ain't insane strategy, then I don't know what it is.

And yes you are right on the money, it is an integral part of the sport.

A40:
Haba. So how come the Ferrari's were never able to pull away to make their gamble on Leclerc work?

What you call strategy was the fact that the Hard tyres lasted far longer than anyone could have anticipated, with little to no degradation and without losing any speed. Ferrari's error was putting Leclerc on a two stopper and then messing up his pit stop else they would have won the race.

Mexico is not exactly an ideal track for overtaking either so once Ferrari screwed up it was Mercedes race to lose.

Strategy only works if your input data is accurate, the the two go hand in hand. You get your data at free practise, and its your fault if you get it wrong.

As for which car was faster, the data never lies. Just check who qualified quicker. LeClerc's two stopper would still have left him where Vettel was with the need to overtake which ain't easy unless you're a second quicker which, considering who stopped first (LeClerc!), and therefore older tyres, I say good luck with that.

MrBrownJay1:


very true... but Leclerc did say after the race that he will now trust his instinct more, so hopefully next year they will have better chances in winning anything.

Yeah, next year he will tell them to go fuq themselves when they tell him to follow a strategy that might not work. Except, if he screws up once he's toast.

A40:
You don't catch and overtake anyhow in a track like Mexico. That's why Hamilton held off Seb with a 49 lap tire

At Suzuka you saw how Sebastian had to defend with every last inch just to keep himself ahead of Ham. Hamilton had literally caught him.

The Mercs always have race pace no matter what happens in qualifying, there is never a massive drop off come race day

bro, we all saw in Suzuka, even when Ham was right in Vettel's gearbox and had DRS at the last corner, he couldnt get anywhere near that Ferrari...same shiit that happened yesterday in Mexico with Bottas. that car's straight line speed advantage makes A LOT of difference.

yesterday's race was a bit funky (must have been the altitude) because Vettel never got within DRS zone of Ham... what i dont understand is why they pitted Leclerc so early? Ferrari had a split strategy (i get that), but yet none of their BS strategy was covering Ham. if Leclerc or Vettel had pitted at the same time as Ham did (to cover the undercut), there is NO WAY Ham could have won with a Ferrari in front.

budaatum:

Strategy only works if your input data is accurate, the the two go hand in hand. You get your data at free practise, and its your fault if you get it wrong.

As for which car was faster, the data never lies. Just check who qualified quicker. LeClerc's two stopper would still have left him where Vettel was with the need to overtake which ain't easy unless you're a second quicker which, considering who stopped first (LeClerc!), and therefore older tyres, I say good luck with that.

I'm saying this strategy was incumbent on Ferrari bungling their pitstop completely. Leclerc was pitted too early and his race compromised.

Even Vettel miscalculated and thought Hamilton would not be able to go on to the end of the race. Hamilton himself didn't think he would make it

Forget about qualifying and look at the fact that neither Bottas nor Hamilton came under any real threat from the chasing Ferrari's despite running on older tires. The Mercs had consistent race pace and were as quick as the Ferrari's

A40:
I'm saying this strategy was incumbent on Ferrari bungling their pitstop completely. Leclerc was pitted too early and his race compromised.

Is pitting not a significant part of strategy? Is pitting early not precisely a significant part of what screwed Leclerc?

Even without them screwing it up I doubt he would have beat Vettel not to talk of Hamilton!

"While Ferrari arguably sabotaged their own race by surrendering track position and the lead with both drivers at separate times, Mercedes, led by chief strategist James Vowles, made all the right calls, gambling on an early stop to grab the lead. And Hamilton made them work."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/50204141

MrBrownJay1:


bro, we all saw in Suzuka, even when Ham was right in Vettel's gearbox and had DRS at the last corner, he couldnt get anywhere near that Ferrari...same shiit that happened yesterday in Mexico with Bottas. that car's straight line speed advantage makes A LOT of difference.

Couldn't get anywhere near? Are you serious? For the last 3 laps he was half a second behind Vettel while Bottas was 15 seconds ahead driving into the sunset

Ferrari had no race pace and everyone knew that Japan race was between Bottas and Hamilton

MrBrownJay1:

yesterday's race was a bit funky (must have been the altitude) because Vettel never got within DRS zone of Ham... what i dont understand is why they pitted Leclerc so early? Ferrari had a split strategy (i get that), but yet none of their BS strategy was covering Ham. if Leclerc or Vettel had pitted at the same time as Ham did (to cover the undercut), there is NO WAY Ham could have won with a Ferrari in front.

Whatever the altitude might have been it had zero impact on the hard compounds. They lasted way longer than anyone could have realistically projected ahead of the race.

Unless they were worried about Leclerc's tires degrading alarmingly I fail to see why he was pitted that early without considering the possibility of the race being a one stopper instead of a two, and even worse they ensured that every Ferrari car that came to pit lost unnecessary time as well. Amateur hour by Ferrari

budaatum:

Is pitting not a significant part of strategy? Is pitting early not precisely a significant part of what screwed Leclerc?

Even without them screwing it up I doubt he would have beat Vettel not to talk of Hamilton!

I'm saying Ferrari's poor pitting turned a 1-2 to a 2-4. Even with a slower car it takes a spectacular fail for you to turn a 1-2 to a 2-4 in a race without safety car incidents

The initial screw up took Leclerc out of the equation. Ferrari, Hamilton thought Hamilton would not finish the lap on those tires. This was a big fail on Ferrari's part.

The myth that Ferrari were quicker was largely rubbished as neither car even sniffed DRS range of the Mercs even on fresher tires. That says it all really

budaatum:
"While Ferrari arguably sabotaged their own race by surrendering track position and the lead with both drivers at separate times, Mercedes, led by chief strategist James Vowles, made all the right calls, gambling on an early stop to grab the lead. And Hamilton made them work."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/50204141

Your article literally buttresses all I've been saying.

From the blunder on Leclerc, to the Mercs being quicker on race day.

To the fact that it took multiple displays of incompetence on Ferrari's part for the Mercs to be in position to capitalize

A40:
I'm saying Ferrari's poor pitting turned a 1-2 to a 2-4. Even with a slower car it takes a spectacular fail for you to turn a 1-2 to a 2-4 in a race without safety car incidents

The initial screw up took Leclerc out of the equation. Ferrari, Hamilton thought Hamilton would not finish the lap on those tires. This was a big fail on Ferrari's part.

The myth that Ferrari were quicker was largely rubbished as neither car even sniffed DRS range of the Mercs even on fresher tires. That says it all really

Someone has already shown how difficult it is to go faster than a car in front of you. So believe your "not quicker" if you want. Fact is the clock does not lie.

"“The pure raw pace, they [Ferrari] have the quickest package at the moment, but Sundays don’t seem to come together for them,” added Wolff. “We like it. And we are hungry to continue as we’ve done. Maybe getting these occasional slaps in qualifying helps us to improve."
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.wolff-mexican-gp-victory-shows-mercedes-strength-and-depth.6lkQoM3BgPDOoVxhEbMoXy.html

budaatum:

Someone has already shown how difficult it is to go faster than a car in front of you. So believe your "not quicker" if you want. Fact is the clock does not lie.

"“The pure raw pace, they [Ferrari] have the quickest package at the moment, but Sundays don’t seem to come together for them,” added Wolff. “We like it. And we are hungry to continue as we’ve done. Maybe getting these occasional slaps in qualifying helps us to improve."
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.wolff-mexican-gp-victory-shows-mercedes-strength-and-depth.6lkQoM3BgPDOoVxhEbMoXy.html

It's also true that the team behind, with less to lose, can take more risks. And that the Mercedes appears still to be a slightly faster race car than the Ferrari, even if the Ferrari has established a definitive edge in qualifying.
But it's equally true that a slower race car can win from the front - as Leclerc himself proved in both Belgium and Italy.

This is an excerpt from the article you posted. Bear in mind this is BBC we're talking about here, a notoriously pro-Hamilton, pro-Mercedes and anti-Vettel and Ferrari followership and even Andrew Benson the chief executive propagandist

There is a reason the Mercs are always in play every weekend no matter where they start on the grid. So if you like believe the master illusionista Toto Wolff and Hamilton who come to complain about Ferrari's speed every weekend

A40:

Couldn't get anywhere near? Are you serious? For the last 3 laps he was half a second behind Vettel while Bottas was 15 seconds ahead driving into the sunset
Ferrari had no race pace and everyone knew that Japan race was between Bottas and Hamilton

you mean that race where Ham asked his engineer to give him EVERYTHING they got...and still couldnt overtake that Ferrari?! if that car had no race pace, then i'll hate to see what they got when they finally DO have that elusive race pace....oh shiiit, we already saw it in Singapore, Italy and Belgium.

Whatever the altitude might have been it had zero impact on the hard compounds. They lasted way longer than anyone could have realistically projected ahead of the race.

but then if "everybody" knew that, why didnt they follow Merc's strategy and at least have ONE of their driver cover Ham?! makes no sense to me!

Unless they were worried about Leclerc's tires degrading alarmingly I fail to see why he was pitted that early without considering the possibility of the race being a one stopper instead of a two, and even worse they ensured that every Ferrari car that came to pit lost unnecessary time as well. Amateur hour by Ferrari

Leclerc's tyres were fine, as he confirmed after the race...and lap chart can easily confirmed that all top drivers (Ham, Vettel, Bottas and Leclerc) were lapping at the same pace... Leclerc pitted 10 laps too early for a 2 stopper, while Vettel pitted 10 laps too late for a 1 stopper....even a blind man could see that.
there is no way Ferrari should have lost that race....and if they did NOT then RBR should have been there to win it. all a bunch of AMATEURS!
i think they all are shaking in their boot when close to a Merc.

MrBrownJay1:


you mean that race where Ham asked his engineer to give him EVERYTHING they got...and still couldnt overtake that Ferrari?! if that car had no race pace, then i'll hate to see what they got when they finally DO have that elusive race pace....oh shiiit, we already saw it in Singapore, Italy and Belgium.

The more pertinent question should be why Ferrari even with a 1-2 were not a threat after the first corner where freaking Bottas passed them both. For 3 laps Ham was half a second behind Seb. I was surprised Seb was able to hold him off with some defensive driving I didn't know he still had in him especially on a track like Suzuka where overtaking is possible

Singapore is an overtaking driver's nightmare and we saw how hard Seb had to play defense for Leclerc in Spa before he was eventually passed. The Mercs are usually the faster car and have better pace on race day. This everyone knows including notorious Mercedes and Hamilton fanboys at BBC

In Italy Leclerc had to sweat with the Mercs breathing down his neck as well.

MrBrownJay1:

but then if "everybody" knew that, why didnt they follow Merc's strategy and at least have ONE of their driver cover Ham?! makes no sense to me!

The blame should go to Ferrari who were simply not paying attention. Ricciardo ran a lengthy stint with the hards and was still doing quick times. That tyre was bullet proof

MrBrownJay1:

Leclerc's tyres were fine, as he confirmed after the race...and lap chart can easily confirmed that all top drivers (Ham, Vettel, Bottas and Leclerc) were lapping at the same pace... Leclerc pitted 10 laps too early for a 2 stopper, while Vettel pitted 10 laps too late for a 1 stopper....even a blind man could see that.
there is no way Ferrari should have lost that race....and if they did NOT then RBR should have been there to win it. all a bunch of AMATEURS!
i think they all are shaking in their boot when close to a Merc.

This makes their decisions even sillier. You don't give up track position twice!! They didn't even give Leclerc a fighting chance to win the race. In a race you started 1-2 how could you fail both drivers so badly to the point where by mid race only one driver could realistically win and even he would have had to do it on the track

A40:

This makes their decisions even sillier. You don't give up track position twice!! They didn't even give Leclerc a fighting chance to win the race. In a race you started 1-2 how could you fail both drivers so badly to the point where by mid race only one driver could realistically win and even he would have had to do it on the track

Bad strategy, A40, lol!

IT'S COMING HOME, IT'S COMING HOME, IT'S COMING, F1 IS COMING HOME!...WORLD CHAMP BABYYYYY!

Congrats Lewis!...Well deserved!

Mercedes wraps up 1st and 2nd positions in the overall drivers standings 3rd position is between Verstappen,Vettel and Leclerc now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKuoZ1vIUE0

LH doing his thing. F1 World Champion for the sixth time. SIXTH TIME!

Take a bow Legend.