Please do not adjust your TV sets..apologies for the strange happenings in Austria. Normal service will resume at Silverstone
Silverstone - This "should" be a strong circuit for the SF team, I thinkl they will get 2nd and 3rd on the grid with LH on pole. Will be interesting to see the quali time for this year! Go a feeling CL may just edge out SV and LH hopefully
SAdly I think this track has mercedes written all over it. Too many long, flowing high speed corners that'll suit the high downforce Mercedes perfectly. Unless it's really hot I can't see Ferrari doing much.
The Ferrari is not bad at fast corners, so at least it's going to be OKish at the 2nd and 3rd sectors. Also they're bringing new floor. But we'll need heat and some luck to win. If Bottas is in one of his off days, I'd settle for a 2nd. One thing is certain: we won't get any mercy from the stewards.
Hopefully (in a nice way) I hope you are both wrong Weather will be a big factor though. Their tyre selection for the race is ambitious with a full compliment of red tyres so it looks like they may follow last years strategy.
That’s mostly an issue of consistency on the part of officials, and admittedly, the optics are bad bc Ferrari were on the losing end of 2 decisions in a short time frame while being on both sides of the incident. Officials have to get on the same page and make decisions based in the spirit of what the rules purpose is, not trying to get it right by the letter of the rule.
Post race review and top weeks issues with ESPN F1 - https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/27110001/does-verstappen-need-leave-red-bull-secure-title
Hamilton is always in great shape at Silverstone so I agree with pole. Mercedes struggles with hot temperature so a lot will be determined by track temp. I expect Mercedes to be on point in typical weather conditions but wouldn't mind hotter temps and a more competitive race. Don't forget that Silverstone is 100 m above sea level so cooling less of an issue than at 700 m last week.
Kimi looks like he’s never seen a woman before. Strange pic . I met Giovinazzi last month and he was so normal, down to earth, comfortable in his own self.
Mercedes are direct with their issues and sharing with the fans - https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/144571/mercedes-reveals-how-car-design-caused-cooling-woe Mercedes has revealed the cooling problems that made its Austrian Grand Prix "painful" were a legacy of the fundamental design of its Formula 1 car being too "optimistic". Valtteri Bottas finished third while championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished off the podium for the first time this season in fifth, as Mercedes 100% winning start to the season ended in extremely hot conditions at the Red Bull Ring. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff referred to the car's cooling as its "Achilles' heel" after the race and said that the team was "carrying the problem" since the start of 2019. In Mercedes' regular post-race Pure Pitwall video, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has outlined how the pursuit of aggressive packaging has led to the W09 having a cooling system that has "underdelivered" in the hottest temperatures. "Fundamentally the car doesn't have big enough radiators," said Shovlin. "And that's something that we were a bit optimistic with how much we could get out of the cooling system. "It's underdelivered to what we hoped we could achieve, and it's meant that we are carrying this issue where in the very hot races we will be struggling to keep everything cool enough - principally to keep the power unit cool enough that we don't do any damage to it." Teams deploy various bodywork alterations in warmer temperatures to try to keep cooling under control. You can increase the amount of cooling you get out of the car by opening up the bodywork exits," explained Shovlin. "In Austria it was 35 degrees, that actually put us at the upper end of what we could achieve just by opening the car up. "So, we were on limit. When you get to that point you are really limited in your options." Bottas and Hamilton were hamstrung during the race and defeated by both Ferraris and the Honda-powered Red Bull of Max Verstappen. They were unable to attack as the grand prix developed because of the extent they were trying to manage temperatures. Shovlin said they were lifting-and-coasting for "around 400 metres per lap" - almost 10% of the Red Bull Ring layout. "That is why [Bottas and Hamilton] they were so compromised on performance," Shovlin added. "You can also turn the engine down a bit, then it will generate less heat, but you've got less power and you are slower on the straights. "So, it was definitely a significant limitation in Austria." After the race, Wolff said Mercedes was pushing to resolve the problem as soon as possible - indicating that despite the cause being linked to a fundamental element of the car's design, it does not have to be a permanent feature. Shovlin added: "We are working on systems - we were working on them before Austria - to try and improve this problem and we should be in a better position. "But, it all really goes down to the fundamental design of the car, where in the push for very, very tight packaging, we have ended up being undercooled overall."
I think it is more like, "St. Pauli Girls give me a sweater instead of beer? C'mon, where's the beer!"
That's what I like at Mercedes; the way they analyse problems and work to solve them. They are good at damage limitation when there is a spanner thrown in the work. They react with calm and methodically. That's far from the headless chicken scene so often seen in some other team I won't name.