The F1 thread

Emiel

fretmeister said:

"Karen Horner" is now trending on twitter again!!  

Horner was clearly surprised when interviewed by Sky this morning about the matter and stated he hadn't said anything about the Merc being illegal. And Red Bull just released a statement that "Christian Horner has not given any interviews regarding Mercedes' car".

Seems like that German source (Auto Motor & Sport) is simply trying to stir things up.

chillidoggy

I for one sincerely hope Horner continues to piss people off. I’m not remotely bothered by it, as I consider sledging to be part of the job. I also think that if Red Bull considers him to be shite at his job, he’d be out of the door tout de suite.

stickyfiddle

Emiel said:

fretmeister said:

"Karen Horner" is now trending on twitter again!!  

Horner was clearly surprised when interviewed by Sky this morning about the matter and stated he hadn't said anything about the Merc being illegal. And Red Bull just released a statement that "Christian Horner has not given any interviews regarding Mercedes' car".

Seems like that German source (Auto Motor & Sport) is simply trying to stir things up.

Or he was overheard chatting shit in the pitlane..?

melod

There has been a narrative pushed that RB innovation comes from a human genius holding a pen and paper whilst the Mercedes’ innovation is an evil German computer being fed money..

Mercedes has designers too and they too try to push the interpretation of the regulations. 

RB has been quite often involved in violating the letter of the law (engine mappings, wings etc.). No big deal if you ask me, as long as things are scrutinised.

Cols

Red Bull are backpedalling and claiming first that Horner's quote was "incorrect", before clarifying it was not "official".  Meanwhile Horner himself is obviously planning a second career as a comedian by saying "I was slightly surprised to be reading comments that I was supposed to have been making.  I haven't paid a great deal of attention to [the Mercedes car]."

We expect a certain economy of the truth from team principles, but these are stupid lies.

On the notion that the Merc design is not corresponding to "the spirit of the regulations", Adrian Newey's fantastic book 'How To Build A Car" is absolutely stuffed with examples of him having eureka moments and thinking "Ah, there might be a loophole in the rules that can help here".  He notably describes Ferrari and McLaren being furious about a front wing workaround he'd found for the 1991 Williams.

We'd found a loophole, fair and square, and while it was not the intention of the rulemakers, the FIA to allow bodywork in this area, there was no clause stating the intention of the rules; there was only what they say.

Williams stuck to their guns and the clever workaround stayed on the car.

stickyfiddle

Great set of photos from Racefans here: https://www.racefans.net/2022/03/10/2022-f1-pre-season-testing-day-four-in-pictures/

The Williams is actually very similar in side pods to the Merc, just a little less extreme. I wonder if they'll be able to step up properly into (at least) the midfield again. I hope so

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

stickyfiddle said:

Great set of photos from Racefans here: https://www.racefans.net/2022/03/10/2022-f1-pre-season-testing-day-four-in-pictures/

The Williams is actually very similar in side pods to the Merc, just a little less extreme. I wonder if they'll be able to step up properly into (at least) the midfield again. I hope so

Well the last day of testing hasn't started well...



Car on fire, caused by the brakes apparently. Hope they can patch it up and get back out there!!

stickyfiddle

Yeah.. I've had the stream on this morning. Looked like just rear discs overheating in an extreme fashion. 

Albon was in the comms box when it happened. He said he knew what they were testing (I assume smaller rear brake ducts) so didn't think it was necessarily a massive issue. Assuming it's only a brake temp issue that's probably correct and not a massive problem, though obv not ideal if it costs them testing mileage. 

stickyfiddle

They're doing a standing start before lunch. Looks like only 5 cars but Merc, RB and Ferrari are all there

Nope. Bottas has stopped somewhere. Red Flag. RUBBISH!

Cols

Either Mercedes are sandbagging like crazy, or they're genuinely slow.  Russell's 4 seconds off the pace.

I suspect all they're doing right now is correlating on-track aero performance with the simulated figures, and ensuring the engine cooling is working.

stickyfiddle

Cols said:

Either Mercedes are sandbagging like crazy, or they're genuinely slow.  Russell's 4 seconds off the pace.

I suspect all they're doing right now is correlating on-track aero performance with the simulated figures, and ensuring the engine cooling is working.

Agreed. All times are >5 seconds off last year's Q3 times so far, and there's no way the new cars are really that slow, so as usual we have no real clue. Merc look very solid on cornering though (in a good way), according to Brundle. 

I would assume all the expected front runners are correlating their sim data against the real car at 90% and 95% pace and if those make sense they'll be confident of where they will be on lap time when they really start to push. 

Only 8 days to Quali...

stickyfiddle

Quote from Sainz, having heard GR saying Ferrari is the benchmark: "Typical Mercedes, typical George, hype up the others and come to the first race and blow the competition away. If it was the first year, I might have believed them. Already on the GPS we can see what they are doing."

That last line is ominous. Game on!

chillidoggy

I do so hope we’re not going to see another year of a pair of Mercs driving into the distance.

stickyfiddle

chillidoggy said:

I do so hope we’re not going to see another year of a pair of Mercs driving into the distance.

Someone on reddit was looking at the data and suggesting that Merc is on a low engine mode - matching Ferrari in the corners but capping their top speeds on the straights to avoid setting show-stopping times. Assuming that's true they will probably end up fairly similar in quali/race trim. Let's hope

Boromedic

chillidoggy said:

I do so hope we’re not going to see another year of a pair of Mercs driving into the distance.

I hope the opposite, I hope Hamilton walks to his rightful eighth title that was stolen from him last year. I also hope Red Bull end up scrubbing around in the midfield just cos Horner is a bellend.

fretmeister

I really want LH to get his 8th as well. 

But I'd actually like RB to arse it up as well. Like never get on the podium unless it's Perez.
Merc, McLaren, someone not RB for the constructors in that order.

I want Marko upset with his own drivers rather than complaining about other teams.

Cols

If Merc do drive off into the distance, my hope is that Russell and Hamilton will be fighting it out tooth and nail rather than Russell slipping into the Bottas role of able rear gunner.

chillidoggy

Cols said:

If Merc do drive off into the distance, my hope is that Russell and Hamilton will be fighting it out tooth and nail rather than Russell slipping into the Bottas role of able rear gunner.

It's all we can hope for, because otherwise it'll be a boring season. 

stickyfiddle

Yeah, ideally I'd genuinely love to see a close battle in every race (preferably with Ferrari & McLaren) but Lewis win the championship anyway, then retire as the undisputed GOAT, and go on to do a tonne of charity work and foundation stuff etc etc. 

I would so love to see a 6-way fight between Merc, McL and Ferrari with RB a distant fourth (and preferably scrapping with a renewed Williams). I know it's unlikely, but I can hope. And I've structured my Fantasy teams accordingly  

chillidoggy

Boromedic said:

chillidoggy said:

I do so hope we’re not going to see another year of a pair of Mercs driving into the distance.

I hope the opposite, I hope Hamilton walks to his rightful eighth title that was stolen from him last year. I also hope Red Bull end up scrubbing around in the midfield just cos Horner is a bellend.

Is this just sour grapes because you were dead last in the Fretboard F1 Fantasy league?