FORMULA 1 SOCAR AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX 2019: RACE ▄▀▄▀ SPOILERS ▀▄▀▄

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/36347/11708617/f1-2019-karun-chandhok-on-the-azerbaijan-gps-big-talking-points - Nice review of the Baku race.

 

Ferrari themselves didn't say anything (until Vettel yesterday). It was here on the forum that as soon as Pirelli announced they'd be using the ''merc spec'' tyres for 2019, we knew.

It was the tyre Mercedes was utterly dominant on. Pirelli changed the tyre to suit the Mercedes, which seemed to be the only team with any real tyre issues at certain tracks. It is utterly despicable. No one had issues with the normal tyres only Mercedes. Mercedes was the team that was utterly dominant on the ''Merc tyre''. So Pirelli, amazingly, changes the tyre to Mercedes spec for the whole of 2019. Amazing.

 

Yap, competition has been rigged since 2014, of course Mercedes has been doing a stellar job, but with a regulation that was made for their demands and was known by them long before others, regulations that prevented others from testing and developing their engines, marshals that favour their drivers every other race, regulations that alow them to use whatever suits them while clamp down on the rest of the field, and tires that are made to solve their issues and then forced on everyone else, i must say that would take a lot of incompetence on Mercedes part not to be winning every championship....this is by far the worst era in f.1 history, and by far the most meaningless titles ever won by a team or driver.

 

Impossible- don’t you know it’s called Ferrari International Assistance? Lol

The fact that no in season testing is allowed tells you everything you need to know-FIA is afraid of real competition to MB dominance.

 

+1 emphatically agree

 

But Ferrari (and every team) knew this going into development and pre-season testing. Mercedes overcame their issues last yr with some 'innovative' (illegal) rims, so at least they adapted after they discovered they had a problem. Ferrari, despite knowing about the issue (from last yr running the 'Merc' spec in a couple races), is still trying to figure out how to get the tires into the proper temp range.

 

Yep and the MB special tires from last year are the standard tires this year. Of course it should have been prohibited; can you imagine if it been done to benefit Ferrari? The screaming from the Brit press would be deafening. That said F1 needs to bring back liberal in season testing or
Have a tire war.

 

I think this is a bit simplistic.
I prefer to stick to my theory that Mercedes initially built a better mousetrap than the opposition, and have a better overall organisation than other teams, with a larger budget too.
Since the hybrid formula started, I have seen that Ferrari, Honda and Renault (and their customer teams) have been rocked by instability, internal conflcts, change of management, drivers leaving, etc ...
The stability at Mercedes pays off, and it's the main reason of their success, IMO.

 

William if I'm not mistaken Ross Brawn was a member of the rules committee when the engine formula was being written--while still working for Mercedes. I find it curious that Mercedes had such an enormous leg up on every other constructor at the outset? That advantage coupled with the ridiculous token system ensured that they could maintain their advantage for a few seasons. Yes Mercedes is an incredibly well run organization but the FIA does seem to do everything possible to accommodate them. Why is that?
At this point it really doesn't matter how we got here, it just needs to be recognized that the WDC/WCC is a two car/one constructor championship; the cars are absurdly complex and expensive; and there is no spectacle the racing is a effing bore.

 

Mercedes wasn't the only constructor having interest in hybrid technology; Honda and Renault too.
Carlos Ghosn allowed Renault to maintain a presence in F1, on these grounds.
Honda said that they only re-entered F1 because of the new technology
I don't recall much resistance from Ferrari either.
They all supported enthusiastically the hybrid formula, even the token system.

I put the lack of spectacle and the racing being boring solely on the over-use of aero.
It's aero that are killing the show in F1, more than anything else.
I have never heard either Honda or Renault accusing Mercedes of manipulating the FIA.
.

 

So what you're saying is, Merc was the only problem with the issue, so Pirelli changed it for all teams....Mercedes didn't have to adopt their cars yet others do? And that's fair? Wouldn't it be more appropriate for Mercedes to continue adopting, not the other 9 teams? Especially considering their enormous advantage? Or are they afraid they start moaning again like, well, last year, when Toto Wolff accused Pirelli of helping Ferrari because both are italian (whilst not helping Ferrari at all, curiously).

 

I don't think I said anything like that. I merely pointed out that Ferrari has had ample time to figure out how to use these tires THIS season.

 

Considering Mercedes, with their vast resources and impeccable results in upgrading, struggled like made for years, it's a bit of a harsh ask to think Ferrari and the rest can easily sort it out in little more than a winter, in which no driving can be done.

 

Pirelli belongs to the Chinese !!

 

and probably sells a lot of tires to Mercedes!!

 

Apart from owning Pirelli; the Chinese have about 15% stake in Daimler-Benz too.

It's a plot by Xi-Jinping !!!!

 

Mercedes didn't look like struggling like mad for years to me !!!

Are you reading the right script here ?

 

they did struggle with their tyre issue.

 

Last yr they had a tire issue, but solved it within the course of half a season.

 

If you call struggling winning both championships year after year, that's the kind of "struggle" most teams would like to enjoy !!!

If there was any issue with tyres, Mercedes overcame them quite well, as they do with any technical challenge.

Throwing their hands in the air, looking for scapegoats and blaming others isn't part of Mercedes philosophy.

 

By using rims that where illegal, but only for certain teams .

 

How the rims were illegal ?

Explain.

 

They had holes.......just like the regulations (at least when mercedes is involved)

 

The ban on 'in season' testing is a complete joke when MB use the basis of the F1 engine in road car development prototypes at the Ring and Hockenheim . Albeit in a detuned state but piling on lap after lap then looking at wear ratios gives a tremendous advantage. The prototypes used will never hit the road in production form and are heavily disguised. The boast was made to me by a well lubricated MB test driver during an after test dinner. Whether he was grandstanding or not I'm not sure but it would answer a lot of questions as to why MB are the main reason the FIA banned in season testing.