Why Horner was “very surprised” by Ferrari’s red flag tyre call

14 comments on “Why Horner was “very surprised” by Ferrari’s red flag tyre call”

1. 

   pcxmac (@pcxmac)
   30th October 2023, 12:07

   not surprising, had they been able to take Hamilton on the straight with Sainz (by backing up Charles mid-circuit). But the gamble half way paid off and they could contain Russell. Mercedes lack of straight line speed is destroying their ability to create strategies or progress through stints. As for Hamilton setting the fastest lap at the end, thats pretty much the case as he would have had no chance taking RBR on the straights. and thus pushing his tires like Russell did to catch RBR was pointless.

   If their straightline misery has anything to do with a secret deal to lower their fuel pressure, through mis-calibrated sensors, it needs to stop. And if not, Mercedes just needs to get with reality on their straightline performance which has been miserable since after 2021. Hopefully they can sort that car out for Lewis’ last two years.
   1. 

      George.be
      30th October 2023, 12:45

      Some qualifying data:
      Most of the data is pure, due to everyone chosing a clean-air run, except one…
      Mercedes was in the middle of the pack at the finish line, but dropped to a lower position at the end of the straight. This indicates a draggy car. Compare that to the Alpines, who are down on power: They’re slow on the main straight everywhere.
      The Haas’s were at the top of the speeds, but still slow over a lap, so there is more than just the straight line speed to be considered.
      Also noteworthy is that Ricciardo was slow at the finish line, but the fastest at the end of the straight due to the tow from Tsunoda. The others that were in a slipstream during the race went also a lot faster at the end of the straight, but lost on initial acceleration.

      What deal are you suggesting about a lower fuel pressure?
      1. 

         pcxmac (@pcxmac)
         30th October 2023, 16:18

         its just me trying to speculate about two seasons of very poor straight line speed, they had the fastest car by a long shot before 2022, especially early on after the PU formula. But now they can’t even really overtake Renaults or Hondas. Some of that is off the corner, but a good lot of that is straight horse power too, in conjunction with probably bad aero on top.
      2. 

         bosyber (@bosyber)
         30th October 2023, 21:24

         Mercedes themselves have said that especially when at max downforce, their car is very inefficient, ie. draggy @pcxmac
   2. 

      AlanD
      30th October 2023, 14:04

      Aston Martin, McLaren, and Williams are all running the Mercedes power units. If the Mercedes lack of straight line speed is purely down to engine power then I’d expect to see the same problem with the other teams too. Likewise, just as Merc couldn’t find the speed to pass the Ferrari on the straight, they should also be underpowered for passing the Alfa Romeo and the Haas. I don’t think that is the case, though I don’t have any data to verify that and will have to watch more closely for this next time. I thought though that the problem was Merc have insufficient floor downforce so they are adding more in rear wing, and that eats into their speed on the straights. If it was just that the Merc engine is developing less power than the others, would they be able to improve it under the “levelling up” rule that was previously used with Renault to allow the to catch up a bit of performance?
2. 

   Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
   30th October 2023, 12:24

   Yuki setting the 5th fastest lap of the race on lap 11 is quite interesting. That Alpha Tauri clearly had good pace. Will be interesting to see if they are now regular points contenders in the remaining races, as that will set more of a spotlight on the performances of the two drivers.
   1. 

      Nick T.
      30th October 2023, 15:21

      Yuki is fast. He just has zero discipline and poor race craft.
      1. 

         Shimks (@shimks)
         30th October 2023, 15:59

         Yeah, I think he’s had enough of a chance to prove himself in that team. I would drop him now and try another youngster.
3. 

   Billy Rae Flop
   30th October 2023, 13:07

   Ah another week, another redbull win, another Horner comment gloating about how a different team could have won if they did xyz differently. Must be boring winning like this all the time for them
   1. 

      Doggy
      30th October 2023, 13:42

      I don’t think Toto got bored during his/Mercs 7 years of domination. Totally the opposite.

      Nor did Jean Todd with Ferrari and Schumacher.
      1. 

         jojo8
         1st November 2023, 14:10

         Doggy,you have to compare eggs with eggs: Red Bull is totally Annihilating the competition on every front!
         Totally!
         That is not the same as Dominating as Mercedes was!!!
         In reality, whether you put it down to the regulations,the driver(ie MAX ex crash) or the potential cheating;
         Red bull is teaching the car manufacturers how to built,race;and win an F1 race car in a convincing fashion;period!
         One has to suspect,that Red Bull car in itself is responsible for this annihilation:
         The vast reduction in Max crashes;despite taking the same risks as in prior years ;is witness to that car superiority.
         As to Perez;he is was paid to be second at best but mostly to make Max look even better that he(Max)already is.
         dixit ?HELMUT MARKO himself!!!
         Anyways in conclusion Big Congrats to Red Bull and Max and the whole team:a true demonstration as to how it is done!!
         And quite honestly? next year will be exactly more of the same,with such maestra;Max is very capable of winning all the races by himself next year regardless of who his team mate will be.
         Red Bull has clearly and decisively shown that they are a ONE man team and said it ,shown it and repeated it over and over with Massive success.
         Long live the Bulls!!!!
         Ps as it may not show:I am not a bull or Max fan,very far from it.
         But facts are facts!!!
4. 

   Coventry Climax
   30th October 2023, 14:59

   I’m not surprised by anything that Ferrari does anymore, actually.
   That they didn’t even try to attack Red Bull is one, but defending from Mercedes, behind?
   Didn’t Leclerc even comment that a restart on hards was going to be a big mess?
   1. 

      pcxmac (@pcxmac)
      30th October 2023, 16:21

      I think Carlos said it best, they have issues with tire deg, probably due to the unbalanced nature of their car, and the hards were probably the best best to ride out the remainder of the race. I actually think Ferrari did pretty good after the restart, they just couldn’t keep Hamilton behind, which was very close.
      1. 

         Coventry Climax
         30th October 2023, 21:56

         I hope you’re right, for Ferrari’s sake.
         On the other hand, for how long have they had this high tyre deg already?
         And their strategic choices have been so erratic that they now seem to have resorted to making them all so lame, non adventurous, conservative.

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