senorgregster
Last Newbie Standing
It's definitely better qualifying and racing so far. Even the best of the rest is back and forth. If Mercedes figure out their issue we are in for a heck of a season.
Mercedes was smug with that tweet, but Mercedes isn't Hamilton.Hamilton so smug last weekend when the bulls retired and now he just sucks and doesn’t get past Q1. Priceless, and so good for the sport to not have a dominant Mercedes winning every season.
TBF I had a heavy as feck Xmas and New Year and I've not felt the same since3 months would be a hella quick decline.
Second to none He's fecking toiletThrilled for Checo personally - his racecraft is second to none on the grid so it'll be fascinating to see what he can do from pole tomorrow.
ffsSecond to none He's fecking toilet
TBF I had a heavy as feck Xmas and New Year and I've not felt the same since
Well isn’t this year’s thread shaping up to be another doozySecond to none He's fecking toilet
SMUG !! Not what I saw, far from it, he all but admitted he did not deserve the podiumHamilton so smug last weekend when the bulls retired and now he just sucks and doesn’t get past Q1. Priceless, and so good for the sport to not have a dominant Mercedes winning every season.
Isn't it just !Well isn’t this year’s thread shaping up to be another doozy
Second to none He's fecking toilet
I'm dying laughing because of these memes. Another one was the new safety car being an anti-air system.
I can't see it being an off day for Lewis. Definitely something wrong with his car, you could see it was all over the place in the corners. Mercedes overall are toast this year. I really can't see them making the gap up. Got to factor in that they also have the least amount of wind tunnel time and if the engine is indeed an issue, that's a long fix.Just re watched Q1, WTF have they done to Lewis's car.
The car has serious problems, ones that won't be solve by a couple upgrades.I can't see it being an off day for Lewis. Definitely something wrong with his car, you could see it was all over the place in the corners. Mercedes overall are toast this year. I really can't see them making the gap up. Got to factor in that they also have the least amount of wind tunnel time and if the engine is indeed an issue, that's a long fix.
6 races according to drive to survive fan boisThe car has serious problems, ones that won't be solve by a couple upgrades.
The biggest issue seems to be their floor and possibly their engine. We don’t really know how the radical lack of side pods have affected the car.6 races according to drive to survive fan bois
This has all the hallmarks of 2004 Williams with a radical design that was actually a piece of shit.
It's a tall order for any team to remain as dominant as Mercedes. Lots of people assumed they would be the best just on the basis that they've been the best for the last 8 years but history shows that in F1, no team is safe from a major regulation change.6 races according to drive to survive fan bois
This has all the hallmarks of 2004 Williams with a radical design that was actually a piece of shit.
1 and a 1/ 4 races in , the bitterness is unrealAh bless this thread, the crazies are coming out in left right and center
TBF I had a heavy as feck Xmas and New Year and I've not felt the same since
It’s all connected. The way down force works is contingent on how the air flow moves over the entire carThe biggest issue seems to be their floor and possibly their engine. We don’t really know how the radical lack of side pods have affected the car.
Come on they do deserve some credit plenty of time for others to catch them up, but they've always stepped forward.Merc were only the best for 8 years because the regs were so stagnant and they got the jump early on and just kept pace improving with every year with everyone else. Always had the best engine. Always the best or second best aero.
New regs, new fuel, new era.
Russell has said the porposing issue is killing them at the moment. Because of it they cant work on tuning the car properly for the circuit. Its holding them back massively.Come on they do deserve some credit plenty of time for others to catch them up, but they've always stepped forward.
The biggest killer for them has been the budget cap but more importantly the lack of wind tunnel time. I don't think people realise just how important that has been.
Haas for instance has had double the wind tunnel time that Merc has. Maybe they thought this was the right way to go, but didn't have time to completely cross every box and they've got it wrong.
Only real world performance now can give them the data to fix it.
Yeah I saw the interview, the thing is the Ferrari was doing it pretty badly too but it doesn't seem to be upsetting the car that badly.Russell has said the porposing issue is killing them at the moment. Because of it they cant work on tuning the car properly for the circuit. Its holding them back massively.
Also lewis and his crew pushed the setup from Q3 further but it went in the wrong direction and made the car unstable, with no backend.
I'll stick to my prediction that by race 6 we will see a more competitive Mercedes.
On the engine i agree. Russell was the only Mercedes engine to make q3. Theres something not right there. Luckily they can fix that for themselves and their customers soon hopefully.Yeah I saw the interview, the thing is the Ferrari was doing it pretty badly too but it doesn't seem to be upsetting the car that badly.
It's obviously difficult to say exactly what is wrong, probably a combination of everything. I definitely think the Merc engine is struggling this year though.
Merc were only the best for 8 years because the regs were so stagnant and they got the jump early on and just kept pace improving with every year with everyone else. Always had the best engine. Always the best or second best aero.
New regs, new fuel, new era.
Russell has said the porposing issue is killing them at the moment. Because of it they cant work on tuning the car properly for the circuit. Its holding them back massively.
Also lewis and his crew pushed the setup from Q3 further but it went in the wrong direction and made the car unstable, with no backend.
I'll stick to my prediction that by race 6 we will see a more competitive Mercedes.
You do realize you have this the wrong way around right? Stagnant rules mean convergence. To say "oh, well, Merc just kept ahead of everyone for 8 years" is not the diss you think it is, what it really means is "9 teams had 7 seasons to topple Merc, and no-one did".Merc were only the best for 8 years because the regs were so stagnant and they got the jump early on and just kept pace improving with every year with everyone else. Always had the best engine. Always the best or second best aero.
New regs, new fuel, new era.
Second to none He's fecking toilet
The engine is the biggest thing for me. Since 2014 they were streets ahead of everyone in the engine department. 2014-2016 was a write off for anyone not Mercedes powered. Ferrari caught up in 2017 with a 'suspect' engine. Only Red Bull with Honda, were able to compete in 2021, and even then the Mercedes engine was still dominant by the end of the season. Now we are finally seeing other engine manufactures catch up.It's exactly what I meant it as, which wasn't as a 'diss'.
Just a simple explanation as to why Merc are struggling now. They got ahead from the start of the last era and stayed ahead, which is still commendable, obviously. But unlike the other teams they never really had to innovate or problem solve or do a 180 on design ideas. Maybe except for last season where the FIA tweaked it back in favour of high rake.
It just shouldn't be as surprising to some as it is. The way even some pundits react to Mercedes being behind now you'd think there were drastic rule changes every season and Merc just kept pulling rabbits out of hats.
I love this thread, it’s the reason I’m logging onto the Caf daily. The madmen, the memes the saltiness from @James Peril keep it flowing!Ah bless this thread, the crazies are coming out in left right and center
Why would the engine be poor all of a sudden? I thought they made huge changes the aerodynamics of the cars before this season but did they make massive changes to the engine requirements too? If it’s still the same-ish engine then I believe Toto when he said that the engine won them 8 world championships in a row and they don’t see why it would stop delivering all of a sudden.The engine is the biggest thing for me. Since 2014 they were streets ahead of everyone in the engine department. 2014-2016 was a write off for anyone not Mercedes powered. Ferrari caught up in 2017 with a 'suspect' engine. Only Red Bull with Honda, were able to compete in 2021, and even then the Mercedes engine was still dominant by the end of the season. Now we are finally seeing other engine manufactures catch up.
These hybrid engines, in my opinion, have been terrible for F1. They are so expensive to make and it gave Mercedes such a sustained advantage that lasted 8 years. Mercedes undoubtably deserve to be recognised as one of the best teams in the history of F1, but I do believe a large part of their dominance was due to everyone playing catch up. Some of the reported numbers on how much Mercedes spent in preparation for the Hybrid Era are astronomical.
Come on dude, no need for that.Yeap. As my mum always says, eight times lucky.
They make shitty cars too. The Ladas of Germany.