Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 FP 1 Results....no real surprises: Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:33.999 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.458 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +0.476 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull +0.538 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.669 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.862 Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.179 Carlos Sainz Renault +1.617 Romain Grosjean Haas +1.719 Nico Hulkenberg Renault +1.801 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso +2.038 Fernando Alonso McLaren +2.045 Sergio Perez Force India +2.052 Esteban Ocon Force India +2.352 Sergey Sirotkin Williams +2.692 Charles Leclerc Sauber +2.724 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren +2.757 Marcus Ericsson Sauber +2.910 Lance Stroll Williams +3.278 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso +3.938 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 13 April 2018, 07:04 (CEST) - I am still not found of current qualification system, because - in terms of numbers - it is so misleading. Ferrari traditionally is testing two distinctly different race strategies, and until end of FP3 we might not get a sniff of what's the game plan. MB is of course strong on this track, that much is hardly any secret. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 13 April 2018, 10:16 (CEST) - Ferrari has some work to do on one lap speed in colder temp. It's not bad, yet not enough to own MB. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 12 hours ago, Sakae said: 13 April 2018, 07:04 (CEST) - I am still not found of current qualification system, because - in terms of numbers - it is so misleading. Ferrari traditionally is testing two distinctly different race strategies, and until end of FP3 we might not get a sniff of what's the game plan. MB is of course strong on this track, that much is hardly any secret. Yea, I have never liked the new qualifying system. Having qualifying on Friday forced the teams to actually run in anger and told you something. It also gave the spectators a reason to be at the track on Friday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 FP 2 results....still few surprises: World Championship, the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit. POS NO DRIVER CAR TIME GAP LAPS Tyre 1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:33.482 26 ULTRA SOFT 2 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:33.489 +0.007 26 ULTRA SOFT 3 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:33.515 +0.033 27 ULTRA SOFT 4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:33.590 +0.108 27 ULTRA SOFT 5 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL 1:33.823 +0.341 26 ULTRA SOFT 6 27 Nico Hulkenberg RENAULT 1:34.313 +0.831 30 ULTRA SOFT 7 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS 1:34.458 +0.976 26 ULTRA SOFT 8 55 Carlos Sainz RENAULT 1:34.473 +0.991 28 ULTRA SOFT 9 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL 1:34.557 +1.075 26 ULTRA SOFT 10 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN 1:34.632 +1.150 23 ULTRA SOFT 11 31 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA 1:34.792 +1.310 30 ULTRA SOFT 12 10 Pierre Gasly TORO ROSSO 1:34.849 +1.367 33 ULTRA SOFT 13 31 Esteban Ocon FORCE INDIA 1:34.874 +1.392 30 ULTRA SOFT 14 2 Stoffel Vandoorne MCLAREN 1:35.163 +1.681 22 ULTRA SOFT 15 28 Brendon Hartley TORO ROSSO 1:35.333 +1.851 38 ULTRA SOFT 16 35 Sergey Sirotkin WILLIAMS 1:35.340 +1.858 31 ULTRA SOFT 17 9 Marcus Ericsson SAUBER 1:35.624 +2.142 29 ULTRA SOFT 18 37 Charles Leclerc SAUBER 1:35.916 +2.434 26 ULTRA SOFT 19 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS 1:36.471 +2.989 26 ULTRA SOFT 20 18 Lance Stroll WILLIAMS 1:37.147 +3.665 19 ULTRA SOFT A few observations from the first two Free Practices: 1. Mercedes seems to be ahead of Ferrari who are ahead of Red Bull. 2. Haas and Renault are showing some speed among the "tier 2" teams. 3. Sauber and Williams seem to be slower than everyone else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 FP 3 results: Results (Classification): Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:33.018 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +0.451 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.743 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.951 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG +1.039 Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.311 Sergio Perez Force India +1.427 Esteban Ocon Force India +1.438 Carlos Sainz Renault +1.564 Sergey Sirotkin Williams +1.723 Nico Hulkenberg Renault +1.823 Fernando Alonso McLaren +1.833 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren +1.959 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso +1.973 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing +2.043 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso +2.061 Lance Stroll Williams +2.357 Charles Leclerc Alfa Romeo Sauber +2.479 Marcus Ericsson Alfa Romeo Sauber +2.661 Romain Grosjean Haas +2.738 Watched this one on TV. The new Sky Sports broadcasters that we are getting to annoy me. Kind of a constant drone in the background. The fastest time in FP 1 was 1:33.999, in FP 2 was 1:33.482 and in FP 3 was 1:33.018. This is not a lot of improvement. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 14 April 2018, 06:27 (CEST) - Reports are emerging about Ferrari testing in FP2 new parts, but Seb wasn't happy sailor. I'me not sure what's going on, but there is a lot of smoke all over the place. Haas, RBR, etc. Not sure what MB is trying to prove in FP3 by letting off some false baloons. Put us all into sleep in BELIEVING? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 14 April 2018, 07:02 (CEST) - Mercedes, specifically Allison, said in Barcelona it was not necessary for them to test soft tires in cold temperatures. Today in Shanghai conditions are almost similar (12 deg C, track 16), and his cars are all over the place. I am sorry to say this, but I am happy he is out of Maranello. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 14 April 2018, 09:03 (CEST) Sebastian gives new meaning, and redefines expression "pulling rabbits out of hat"; gave me almost heart attack until dying seconds, yes, seconds!! That's what Michael used to do on the last lap extending beyond 0:00 on the clock. Well done. F1 is, and was always about suspense. Predictability of MB winning all was killing the sport. They were allowed to stay too far at the front for too long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Master of his game 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 Looks like Ferrari has a good car this time around. Kimi looks confident with the car as well. Both drivers are happy. Mercedes , I dont know what's going on. They can't be 0.4 secs down suddenly. Is this something to do with lewis s contract. Something's not right. Interesting race I am sure. Max with the ultra and lewis on soft. It's going to be bahrain round 2. Vettel for the win. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 MB - W09 vs.Tires Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 Is Seb the one taking the smile off of Lewis' face ? Including Toto I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 11 minutes ago, radical-one said: Is Seb the one taking the smile off of Lewis' face ? Including Toto I guess. Add Sky and BBC "experts"... I am now waiting for Horner to start bit***g that Vettel's hairdo gives him unfair advantage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradSpeedMan 6 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 Merc circuit... If we can win here.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 It is refreshing and little strange at the same time to observe post-qualifying interview with drivers, and Hamilton's face is not there. Noises are getting lauder regarding McLaren's chassis which was lacking for past four years, and which is exactly contrary to what McLaren consistently claimed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 3 minutes ago, BradSpeedMan said: Merc circuit... If we can win here.... Yeah, race and points are planned for tomorrow. Ferrari has front row, but it may change in the race if track temp will change. (I do assume red cars have "cold temp" setup.) On positive note, Bahrain could be repeated, altho this track allows for overtaking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradSpeedMan 6 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 27 minutes ago, Sakae said: Yeah, race and points are planned for tomorrow. Ferrari has front row, but it may change in the race if track temp will change. (I do assume red cars have "cold temp" setup.) On positive note, Bahrain could be repeated, altho this track allows for overtaking. Agreed... but we are now fast on the long straights I am hopeful Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 Didn't watch qualifying (it was on at 1:55 AM)....but.....I gather it was a little cold. Going to be warmer on race day. This may make for a very interesting race. The seventh place car (the top Tier 2 car) is almost 1.5 seconds slower than the pole car and over a half second slower than the slowest Red Bull. Some of the team results were interesting: Hulkenberg over Sainz Perez over Ocon Hartley over Gasly There was been a lot of buzz over Sainz, Ocon and Gasly this last week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 7 minutes ago, Ruslan said: There was been a lot of buzz over Sainz, Ocon and Gasly this last week. ...just as Hamilton was going to wipe Vettel's smile of his face, Vettel might go through meltdown (I believe your prediction), yet look... so far so good. None of our predictions turned up as expected, which makes life interesting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 3 hours ago, Sakae said: It is refreshing and little strange at the same time to observe post-qualifying interview with drivers, and Hamilton's face is not there. Noises are getting lauder regarding McLaren's chassis which was lacking for past four years, and which is exactly contrary to what McLaren consistently claimed. ditto can't wait for the race tomorrow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradSpeedMan 6 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 Oh dearie me... http://gptoday.com/full_story/view/634429/Turning_point_in_FerrariMerc_battle/ As I predicted in another thread, domination in F1 with any team takes 4 years, and Merc might just slide. I'm still abit apprehensive, we don't know what the race tomorrow holds, especially with the swing in performances with the different car handling on different types of compounds between Merc and Ferrari. It seems I'm usually quite correct in my assesments. Don't you guys think. I'm probably right like... most of the times Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 14 April 2018, 15:13 (CEST) - Podium finish for men in red would be nice touch tomorrow, if they can make it. I am not however convinced (yet), that MB is on decline already. First two wins encompassed a lot of superb driving by Vettel, but this was not the sole factor in the game. This weekend Hamilton most likely committed some personal errors, and MB race engineering has to finish job they skipped in Barcelona, when they choose just medium tire as sole medium for contact with cold tarmac. Seb has told them then - in race proper, you need to change tires, so broader knowledge about tire performance was of essence, but did they listen? No, and now we see that it was mistake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradSpeedMan 6 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 33 minutes ago, Sakae said: 14 April 2018, 15:13 (CEST) - Podium finish for men in red would be nice touch tomorrow, if they can make it. I am not however convinced (yet), that MB is on decline already. First two wins encompassed a lot of superb driving by Vettel, but this was not the sole factor in the game. This weekend Hamilton most likely committed some personal errors, and MB race engineering has to finish job they skipped in Barcelona, when they choose just medium tire as sole medium for contact with cold tarmac. Seb has told them then - in race proper, you need to change tires, so broader knowledge about tire performance was of essence, but did they listen? No, and now we see that it was mistake. Yes, by decline I mean the dominating force of the pack. They now have competition Share this post Link to post Share on other sites