Poll: 70th Anniversary Grand Prix 2020, Silverstone - Race 5/?

[steve45]

It's a bit of a shame that if Pirelli bring. Softer and softer tyres they can pull the championship away from merc.

Imagine how different the championship could look if Pirelli just changed thier tyre choice to soft from the start

Maybe for a short while, but do you seriously think Merc wouldn't adapt? Might take a couple of races but they would find their way back on top.

Yesterdays race was an anomaly, extremely high degradation, very high temps, higher tyre pressures on softer rubber, on a track that was destroying harder tyres the week before. I would not expect the same to occur regularly elsewhere, maybe the odd round if the perfect storm happens again. Might make the odd race a bit less predictable.

On the whole I doubt softer tyre choices would cause a fundamental shift in the current situation.

 

[Quartz]

If Hamilton or Bottas had made the same tyre choice as Verstappen then they would have won.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

If Hamilton or Bottas had made the same tyre choice as Verstappen then they would have won.

How do you figure that? The Mercs were tearing up the hard tyres and didn’t seem comfortable on the mediums either. Neither of the Red Bulls were marking up their tyres and as Albon’s multiple outside passes showed, they were delivering plenty of grip throughout the race.

 

[Quartz]

How do you figure that?

Because they would have scampered off into the distance.

 

[pacegod]

Because they would have scampered off into the distance.

With hard tyres that blistered after 5-8 laps, no they wouldn't. Merc would not have won yesterday even they had gone. Hard, Medium, Hard. The high temps and pressures affects the Mercs more than other teams.

 

[UTmaniac]

Sounds as if Max could have a realistic shot at Barcelona and Mugello too, due to the expected heat and expected tyre degredation. But he needs miracles to stop Lewis winning the championship.

 

[pacegod]

I think it will depend on how ridiculously high the tyre pressures are.

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

The blistering on the Merc's tyres was very bad, reminiscent of a couple of years ago where they would be a lot heavier on tyres, before Pirelli brought in the pressure and rubber thickness changes.

I can't see Merc doing anything about it before next week, so I actually expect Max to be up there again.

 

[pepp77]

Just been looking at tickets for next years event. Thought £195 for a GA ticket for the weekend wasn't that bad. But then started adding on either travel and parking each day, or travel and accommodation (hotel or camping) and soon realised I would need £500 easily to make it worthwhile. Now having to seriously decide whether to or not.

 

[GravyMonster]

I can't see Merc doing anything about it before next week, so I actually expect Max to be up there again.

It's not just the heat, it's the track surface as well. Given how many laps the teams do around Barcelona in testing I'd be amazed if Merc, or any other team, has issues with the tyres this weekend.

 

[Danthus]

I didnt reliase Tracing Point were reprimanded for running the brake ducts.

https://www.racefans.net/2020/08/09...imand-for-running-disputed-brake-ducts-again/

The whole situation is a farce.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

With hard tyres that blistered after 5-8 laps, no they wouldn't. Merc would not have won yesterday even they had gone. Hard, Medium, Hard. The high temps and pressures affects the Mercs more than other teams.

Exactly. Verstappen’s car was far more settled and easier on every tyre compound they used on Sunday.

 

[Mr Jack]

With hard tyres that blistered after 5-8 laps, no they wouldn't. Merc would not have won yesterday even they had gone. Hard, Medium, Hard. The high temps and pressures affects the Mercs more than other teams.

It's not that simple. Hamilton was extremely fast and comfortable on that final set of hards, so Mercedes were able to run effectively on them under some circumstances. I also wonder whether running them in for a lap or two in Qualifying actually helped the tyres maintain performance in the race.

 

[Greboth]

Not really, even the last set of hard tyres were blistering by the end of the race (10 or so wasn't it?). Sure Hamilton was leaning on them to make up the time he lost pitting but that's still terrible tyre life.

 

[mjt]

It's not that simple. Hamilton was extremely fast and comfortable on that final set of hards, so Mercedes were able to run effectively on them under some circumstances. I also wonder whether running them in for a lap or two in Qualifying actually helped the tyres maintain performance in the race.

Toto said Bottas' criticism of the strategy was incorrect as they just didn't have the pace to match Verstappen. Is Toto lying to undermine his driver and save face for the strategy gurus?

 

[Mr Jack]

Toto said Bottas' criticism of the strategy was incorrect as they just didn't have the pace to match Verstappen. Is Toto lying to undermine his driver and save face for the strategy gurus?

Bottas, afaik, was talking about running a longer second stint - as Hamilton did - not running hard, medium, hard. And I agree with Toto - pitting Bottas to cover Verstappen was the right move and Bottas didn't have the pace to match Verstappen in the race. That's not the same thing as whether hard, medium, hard or hard, hard, medium would have been a better strategy or whether they'd have had the same difficulties on these strategies. For what it's worth I think Max in that Red Bull would have won regardless of the Mercedes strategy; but I don't think it's as simple as saying Merc couldn't work with these tyres. It was clear from the latter stages of Hamilton's longer middle stint - where he, like Max, picked up pace as the tyres aged - and the final stint from Hamilton that the Mercedes was capable of being quick on the hard tyre.

Some of that is hindsight, but I think that Merc will perform much better under similar conditions in a coming race.

 

[Locky]

Sounds as if Max could have a realistic shot at Barcelona and Mugello too, due to the expected heat and expected tyre degredation. But he needs miracles to stop Lewis winning the championship.

I don't think Lewis will. The Mercs have been found out.. Could very well be Max's year.

 

[Kenai]

I don't think Lewis will. The Mercs have been found out.. Could very well be Max's year.

Finding their weakness and being able to do anything about it are distinctly separate things.

Whether anyone can catch them is based more on whether or not they can find a better way to deal with their tyres in extreme/unexpected heat - if the weather doesn't hamper them, it doesn't matter how much they've been 'found out', that doesn't mean anyone will be able to do anything to exploit that.

 

[Steampunk]

I don't think Lewis will. The Mercs have been found out.. Could very well be Max's year.

Lol! No chance! One swallow does not a summer make. Unless all races are going to be on blisteringly hot tracks with soft toffee tyres that are run at 85 percent full throttle. The Mercedes are just better cars and Hamilton is a better driver, but they had an off day with the tyres because they pushed them hard, and Max drove a more steady race to keep his tyres. It was an exceptional set of circumstances that put the Mercedes into an extreme situation that allowed Max to get an advantage.

Sure, Max might get lucky and there are a few tracks where the Red Bull will be particularly suited and look good, but at all the other tracks I expect Mercedes to dominate. Short of Hamilton getting Covid-19 and being out of a couple of races, the Red Bull is just not good enough to beat Mercedes consistently. Even if Max wins three or four races this year, that's not enough if Hamilton is winning twelve and getting points from the others.

I think even Max knows this when he said that Hamilton was going to win the WDC. Some lucky wins here and there are just breadcrumbs from the table, you need to be consistently beating Mercedes to win championships, and we've not seen anyone doing that for a long time.

 

[Stu999]

I wonder if DAS was a contributor to the Mercedes' tyre wear issues? Haven't heard much more about it since the opening rounds.