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What is deeply concerning at this stage is that they are testing with 2013 cars which have significantly less torque than next yrs cars, if this years cars cant handle these tyres, then its time to get worried! No wonder Pirrelli made all teems agree to keep all details of the test confidential.
@Clinton, as far as I understand, Lotus want the test delayed by a week because they are behind schedule, but I understand that all other “top teams” have blocked such a move because presumably they are on schedule and want the cars on track as soon as possible.
@JamieFranklinF1, although Hamilton had tested in an F1 car before, the pressures etc of driving for the first time in a Grand Prix season is completely different to driving around testing, so yes he has comparatively more experience to a rookie nowadays, but he still was a rookie in nature. Lets for the sake of the argument say Hamilton was a driver with 1 yrs experience joining McLaren in 07, this can draw direct parallels to Riciardo’s move to RedBull although Dan has been in F1 now for 2 and a bit yrs. Can you imagine what would happen if Riciardo against Vettel performed like Hamilton in 07, what would that do to the reigning 4 times chapion’s “status”; as Vettel said back in Hungary talking about the prospect of Riciardo joining, i quote ” If Riciardo came and beat me, it would make me look a bit silly” @JamieFranklinF1, you honestly trying to tell me that if Riciardo beats Vettel next season, that’s not going to damage his “legacy”, I think not.
I rate Hamilton’s season a success. I think sometimes its easy to forget where Mercedes have come from, in the latter half of 2012 they were close to 2 seconds off the pace and at the start of 2013 they turned up with the outright fastest car (albeit a tyre muncher). I think Mercedes achevement of 2nd in the WCC must be applauded and they now must be taken as a serious threat. I think Hamilton generally has struggled to get the best out of himself and the car, but that is a very promising sign for the future as he still edged out his team mate. Overall, even Lewis would admit this season has been a lot better than anticipated and has been the perfect “bedding in” year for a serious title assault in 2014.
I think Mercedes as a team has got stronger and stronger on the technical front, and even if Ross Brawn leaves they will likely be championship contenders in 2014.I don’t know if its just me, but i find the off season very exciting as we are clueless as to who is building the fastest car as we speak. Roll on 2014!!
What does that mean?
@tmekt, that means that Hamilton is no God and cant be expected to outqaulify Rosberg by a second each time to prove he’s faster. The difference between the very top drivers in F1 is minute and as @freelittlebirds correctly pointed out, a margin of 0.1-0.2 seconds for Hamilton over Rosberg is enough to prove he’s faster.
Hamilton has done a brilliant job this season, he is going to finish 3rd in the WDC and Mercs 2nd in the WCC, that’s an excellent achivement given the teams state in 2012 and that for he majority of this season the W04 has been a tyre muncher. Regarding Nico, he’s proven his worth against Lewis, but that’s all he’s done, nothing to suggest he can consistently beat Lewis over a season, but still credit to him.
Lest go back 12 months, who’d have thought Mercedes would finish 2nd to RBR in the constructors and Hamilton would finish 3rd in the WDC behind Alonso and Vettel in a “mercedes”, i think none. Hamilton and Mercedes have always said 2014 was when they were going to make an impact, so lets wait!
I am a big Mercedes fan but must admit the team is underperforing of late. How a single podium place hasn’t been achiveved in the last 3 races is beyond me given the pace of the car. Korea as another example of sloppy strategy, not bringing Lewis in before Nico cost him his place to Kimi, thus it alomost certainly cost them a podium. As Gary Anderson rightly said, it is other teams underperforimng that is making RBR/Vettel look more dominant than they are. I believe this weekend the Mercedes will be very quick given its strenght in high speed corners and front end grip which gives excellent direction change. I believe with a perfect weekend, Hamilton could get pole and win, but given Mercedes recent performance as a team, that’s a long shot.
@Garns, “Alonso v Lewis in the same car??? Who’s fastest??” answer is Hamilton, look back at 07.
Team: Mercedes
Driver 1: Lewis Hamilton
Driver 2: Sebastian VettelAlonso unfortunately doesn’t have the 1 lap pace to trouble these 2, that’s why i didn’t pick him. Alonso is 33 and is not a very good qualifier, whereas Mark Webber is 37 and on the verge of retirement and is still a very good qualifier as he usually is within a tenth or two of Vettel, that’s something to think about.
The mood Hamilton was in after his podium suggests a man who is massively confident. He was happy that after a difficult weekend he managed a solid podium; he is now mature enough to understand that sometimes you have to settle for what the car is capable of and to not overdrive which in turn prevents mistakes. Mercedes are the favourites for Monza, and as long as Lewis can leave Monza less than 50 points behind, he still has a chance. We all know how quick the merc is, they have solved tire issues and have Hamilton who’s on fire. of course Vettel is favourite, but remember “in Formula one anything can happen and usually does”.
Dr Helmut Marko has confirmed that they will not be annoucing their 2014 driver line-up at Spa, which consolidates Jardine’s theory.
http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/461114/No_driver_announcement_at_Spa/I cant help but feel all this distraction for Lotus/RBR/Ferrari regarding driver line-ups is playing into the hands of Mercedes. They have 2 committed drivers and are just focused on nailing their 2014 car ahead of next season.
@magon4 you beat me to it, i was just going to post the news. I think it makes sense, Dan is a RedBull development driver, he’s young, quick, good enough to give RBR the constructors, and crucially and probably most importnatcy not quite good enough to beat Vettel, which is a win win situation for RBR. Kimi to Ferrari seems a long shot, but you never know.
Kimi is going to Ferrari, finish reports are claiming that a deal is done. Many people think such a move is stupid given his fallout with Ferrari in 07, but let me remind you of what Kimi said during an interview at the Hungarian GP; “There has to be an overall package that feels right to me. Whatever the decision, it might feel stupid to somebody else, but then it might just feel right for me”
Whatever happens in the silly season, one thing is for sure, we are going to have 2 top drivers in the same team whether that be KIMI-VET, KIMI-ALO, ALO-VET.
