I think Lewis checked out last year but needed a bunch of months to decide if he really, just needed to leave. I interpreted his revealing that someone in the team basically said they thought Lewis was being manipulative was a step too far. I have been in that type of business situation where it seems like a benign statement in isolation but in context it is a teamwork killer.
But he wants to still leave the team with integrity by helping them become Russell's team.
Regarding Red Bull I do think whatever happened with Horner and the suspended employees has broken the team in some part. They may start to lose people next year as their dominance comes into question for 26.
Alpine feels like Honda F1 before Brawn. In that they just seem to have lost any cohesive heart for the F1 series. I don't know where they may end up but wow.
Williams has the energy I see seeping out of RBR and lost in Alpine. They may only get to force India levels or they may return to awesome Williams era level.
Ferrari, I hope is ready for Lewis. They did the awfully bad radio thing of just not answering LeClerc's question of how much time he was losing on the straight. Every other team seems to answer the driver question first then gives them the coaching, "focus on carrying speed in corners and make switch changes on straight. Using up tires is ok."
Brembo’s report for the Spanish GP:
TENTH RACE OF THE SEASON FOR FORMULA 1.
The first of three consecutive rounds for Formula 1 starts with the Spanish GP, followed by the Austrian GP in 7 days, and the British GP the week after that. The Spanish GP has been held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya since 1991, the year the facility was inaugurated. However, Formula 1 had already raced in the Catalan capital from 1969 to 1975 before safety issues led to the relocation of the Spanish GP first to Jarama and then to Jerez.
The GP Data
According to Brembo technicians, the 4.657 km Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya falls into the category of tracks that are not very demanding on brakes. On a scale from 1 to 5, it has earned a difficulty rating of 2 because drivers brake for eight and a half seconds per lap. Only 2 of the 6 braking points require brake use for at least 1.4 seconds, and deceleration never reaches 5 g.
• Brembo Identity Card- PDF format: Brembo - Formula 1 - archive
• Hardest Braking Point video-.mp4 format: https://we.tl/t-S4XfyGTyne
• Hardest Braking Point YT link: https://youtu.be/dwTKdokepOQ?si=rnS4rh1ZcNlx4udk
• Web news link: https://www.brembo.com/en/company/news/2024-formula1-spain-gp-brembo-brakes
The Toughest Corner
The toughest corner for the braking system at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is turn 10, where single-seaters go from 303 km/h to 116 km/h in 2.08 seconds, covering 102 meters in the process. The effort required from the drivers at that moment is remarkable: the maximum deceleration they are subjected to is 4.9 g, and they must exert a 177 kg load on the brake pedal. The braking power is 2,499 kW.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Only 8.5 seconds per lap on the brakes?!? Unreal!
Ok, so the Mercs are "fixed" now?
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/40392441/mercedes-dumb-not-understand-problems-faster
In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :
There are some underlying issues with that team. Technically, I mean. Earlier this season, they talked about the old problem of correlation, too. Toto should put some serious resource into fixing those problems so that they come out of the blocks exactly how they think they should be.
In reply to alfadriver :
I agree with your assessment, I mean it's like they literally forgot how to build a competitive car over the course of 1 season (2021-2022). TBH the 2021 car wasn't head and shoulders better than the competition either IMHO, they just still had a small but measurable power unit advantage. Now the Power Unit is second best at best (Behind the RB/Honda and possibly the Ferrari on a bad day) and the chassis is midpack on a good day.
This is how things stand after the FP1 in Spain.
Anyone heading to the Spanish GP this weekend should add this meetup into his/her to do list to make the whole experience more fun. I always enjoy to be with knowledgeable fans to discuss the sport and I am sure it is the same for most of the fans.
06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to alfadriver :
I agree with your assessment, I mean it's like they literally forgot how to build a competitive car over the course of 1 season (2021-2022). TBH the 2021 car wasn't head and shoulders better than the competition either IMHO, they just still had a small but measurable power unit advantage. Now the Power Unit is second best at best (Behind the RB/Honda and possibly the Ferrari on a bad day) and the chassis is midpack on a good day.
A change in the regulations for 2021 was basically aimed at the low rake cars, aka Mercedes. It's why RB caught up with them...with a little help from the race director. Then 2022 was a significant redesign and they dropped the ball with some fundamental problems. That ESPN article makes it sound like they've finally figured out a core problem.
I kinda hope they bring back the zero sidepods at some point, that was a cool concept.
Lewis was flying in FP2, guess we'll see if this pace is real tomorrow. Max and Sergio did not look happy with the car today.
Flavio back to advise Alpine,I thought he was kicked out of all FIA events for life....had to google and refresh my old brain that the french had overturned that one.
In reply to kevlarcorolla :
Thanks for googling it for us. If anyone, he could fix his old team.
Anonymous messages to Mercedes and others in the paddock that Mercedes is intentionally sabotaging Hammy's car to the point they are playing with his life?
In reply to z31maniac :
Would they put more into George's car? Sure, possible. And even as a Hamilton fan, I would understand.
Would they sabotage Lewis' car to the point it would risk his life? No freaking way. That's just foil capped conspiracy area.
In reply to kevlarcorolla :
Yeah I thought he was banned by the FIA for life. Should have been banned for life IMO.
Nice pole, Lando! And Mercedes does appear to be figuring out their car.
Yeah, the Merc speed from last race seems like it might be real.
Bit sad for Carlos after FP3, but he was barely ahead of Lando, with 4 lap fresher tires then. Home race, you always want to do well.
alfadriver said:In reply to z31maniac :
Would they put more into George's car? Sure, possible. And even as a Hamilton fan, I would understand.
Would they sabotage Lewis' car to the point it would risk his life? No freaking way. That's just foil capped conspiracy area.
I agree 100%, I just found it interesting that someone would even do that.
Too bad Lando could not get past George at the beginning of the race. Should have won that race.
I really thought everybody but Lando and Charle were going 3 stop.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
Me too,how much more fun would the races be if they raced instead of managing tires.
Mandate 5 stops a race fine by me,give the strategists something to do right till the end :)
In reply to kevlarcorolla :
I am not sure it would be better. On my 125 GP bike you could cook the tires in 2 laps......it was a couple of tenths faster but then the tires would be done.
I think taking care of the tires shows who has that extra bit of finesse.
In reply to Tom1200 :
But you're talking a couple tenths not many seconds a lap off the possible pace.
I think most would agree the best races we've seen over the last few yrs is when changing weather required multiple stops.
Currently every race is run with a strategy of running just quick enough to do 1 or maybe 2 stop.
If they want to ramp up the entertainment factor(they clearly do) make the race itself entertaining start to finish.
They originally had Pirelli design high deg tires to make it more interesting,actually ended up making them more boring with all teams tire saving.
So mandate more stops so there's no reason to save 'em go ahead and use them up.
Instead of burning up set after set in practice and quali they get the same amount of tires to use for the weekend and mandate a min # of stops.
In reply to alfadriver :
It is all about the smallest of margins in F1.
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