radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 12, 2018 2018 Season - The Battle of Mid-Field This is shaping up to be very interesting to watch. It is up for grabs between 5 teams in McLaren, Force India, HASS, TR-Honda and Renault probably more if Williams or Sauber get their equipment in shape. I expect to see seesaw battle in each race. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 12, 2018 12 April 2018, 09:50 (CEST) - Its difficult to predict who is best positioned for future development. For now Tier 2 absorbed some ground shaking by early success of Haas and TR Honda. I would think that FI is probably underperforming at the moment, and they have best chance to come up as a leading mid-field team. Having said that, both Haas and TR Honda will IMO improve their standing in comparison to campaign of 2017. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 12, 2018 Plus Renault and McLaren will fight till the end as well. The field might get a little spread out by summer depending on their resources reserves by that time. We will see who will be leading among the 5 teams by then. I watch this mid-field battle closely now than before. Interesting, Let's see what happens in China GP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 Should it be called the "The Battle of Mid-field" when the "mid-field" consists of 70% of the teams? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 Yes, this thread is about that 70% in the Mid-field competition. What do you suggest ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Master of his game 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 Haas and Renault looks close for 4th best team and McLaren and toro rosso looks close . Force india could chip in somewhere in between McLaren and toro rosso. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 49 minutes ago, radical-one said: Yes, this thread is about that 70% in the Mid-field competition. What do you suggest ? Tier 2? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 I'm fine whatever we call it, as long as we all understand what we are discussing about. English isn't my mother tongue so feel free to correct my grammar anytime. As far as China FP2, all the 5 teams are bunched up closely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 9 hours ago, Sakae said: Tier 2? Well, it is a nicer term than "also-rans." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Master of his game 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 McLaren has a gp2 chassis now I guess. They are nowhere near Renault. And they say they are targeting the bulls. Non sense. High ambitions and very little results. Renault looks like a much improved car and haas certainly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 Looks like it. Will be good to see who has the good race pace tomorrow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert Rick 0 Report post Posted April 14, 2018 44 minutes ago, Master of his game said: McLaren has a gp2 chassis now I guess. They are nowhere near Renault. This is actually quite like 2014 season where they struggled compared other teams with Mercedes PU. McLaren might not have had a class chassis for 4 years. Renault and Force India seem to be relatively stronger compared to Haas on this track. Those three are going to battle furiously this year I think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 At least according to Nico ; Nico Hulkenberg: Renault on top of midfield in Chinese GP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 Well, Alonso and Hulkenberg are tied in points among the best of the rest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 Hulk needs to replace Hamilton. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lipstick79 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Sakae said: Hulk needs to replace Hamilton. At what, exactly?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lipstick79 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 On 14/04/2018 at 9:23 AM, Robert Rick said: This is actually quite like 2014 season where they struggled compared other teams with Mercedes PU What did McLaren/Ron do?? Something BOLD and different. Ron brought Honda BACK into F1. If everybody IS goin left Go RIGHT !!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 BOLD? Sounds like one of those meaningless Brexit slogans. What was RD thinking after observing teams struggling in 2014 under restricted development regime, yet Honda jumping off the Dover cliff didn't make him think that something is not adding up? But then, why bring all of this up again? McLaren had issues as MB customer, they had issues as Honda works team, and they have (for now) issues as Renault's customer. No surprises then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 3 hours ago, lipstick79 said: If everybody IS goin left Go RIGHT !!! Yes....you will either look brilliant or a fool. No middle ground. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 5 hours ago, Sakae said: Hulk needs to replace Hamilton. Really?.....this is hardly germane to the subject.....and a pretty bizarre idea. We get it that you don't like Hamilton, I gather primarily because he competes with the driver that you have a man-crush on....but in the end, if Hamilton ain't at Mercedes, he will be collecting a large paycheck from another top team. He is one of the 2 or 3 best drivers out there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sakae 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2018 Rumor is floating around that Hamilton is quitting end of this season. Should he quit, I got the idea that Hulk - a German - should get a chance and drive for a German team in a good car, and prove for once his worth. Someone brought his name up (on this page) in relationship to Renault leading Tier 2 group. Anglo-media are handing that seat already to DR without a second thought that perhaps there are some other people who might be interested. As far as this forum goes, there is no need for reading tea leaves. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
radical-one 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2018 Brawn: Highly unlikely midfield teams will get a podium Date published: April 19 2018 Midfield teams will struggle to break the podium dominance of the top three this season, according to Ross Brawn. Unsurprisingly, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull have dominated the podium spots so far this campaign as they have made it nine out of nine. You have to go back to the 2017 Azerbaijan GP for the last time a driver from a different team finished inside the top three as Lance Stroll from Williams claimed his maiden podium on that occasion. In 2016, it happened three times as Sergio Perez in the Force India and Valtteri Bottas in the Williams made it into the top three, but chances of that happening again are pretty slim. "In less than two weeks, we'll be racing in Baku," Brawn is quoted as saying by F1i.com. "Which last year saw the only podium appearance of a driver from outside the top three teams. "Could the return to this very different street circuit throw up a result outside of the top three teams?" "On current form it looks highly unlikely." Brawn explained that the gap between the top three and the rest of the pack is "far too big" that not even the deployment of a Safety Car could upset the apple cart at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. "As was the case in Bahrain, and again in China, the gap between the first three and the rest of the pack was far too big," he said. "On lap 16, prior to the run of pit stops the gap from leader [Sebastian] Vettel to seventh-placed Kevin Magnussen was over 35 seconds. "The Dane was already trailing Ricciardo, the next man in front, by 20 seconds." He added: "The safety car mixed things up. But not enough to see a driver from the second group join the fight for podium places." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lipstick79 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2018 On 17/04/2018 at 5:38 PM, Sakae said: BOLD? Sounds like one of those meaningless Brexit slogans. What was RD thinking after observing teams struggling in 2014 under restricted development regime, yet Honda jumping off the Dover cliff didn't make him think that something is not adding up? But then, why bring all of this up again? McLaren had issues as MB customer, they had issues as Honda works team, and they have (for now) issues as Renault's customer. No surprises then. I think that, U R confusing the term issues with potential. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lipstick79 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2018 Just now, lipstick79 said: issues as MB customer They were NOT a Mercedes Benz customer, they WERE the Mercedes Benz WORKS team, until Mercedes BOUGHT Brawn GP, Ron would NOT sell out. Until he ultimately sold to Honda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ruslan 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2018 On 4/17/2018 at 2:08 PM, Sakae said: Rumor is floating around that Hamilton is quitting end of this season. Should he quit, I got the idea that Hulk - a German - should get a chance and drive for a German team in a good car, and prove for once his worth. Someone brought his name up (on this page) in relationship to Renault leading Tier 2 group. Anglo-media are handing that seat already to DR without a second thought that perhaps there are some other people who might be interested. As far as this forum goes, there is no need for reading tea leaves. The Hulk now suffers from having "been around for a while." I suspect this same problem is haunting Perez. While they are clearly both very good....the brand new fresh, up-and-coming driver is more desirable because 1) he may have more potential for growth, and 2) the unknown is always more exciting than the known and 3) they might be around a bit longer. So, the buzz for moving up is Ocon, Sainz, Gasly, etc. I would be surprised if Hulkenburg does anything other than stay with Renault. Perez may move up. I don't give much credence to the rumor that Hamilton is quitting at the end of this season. What else is he going to do with his time....join the Pussy Cat Dolls or the Spice Girls? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites