"Ferrari has the best car in Formula 1" http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/695680/Hakkinen_is_adamant_Ferrari_has_the_best_car_in_Formula_1/ Ferrari's victory at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix proved that their car is now capable of winning on a range of different circuits, rather than just the fast power dominated circuits. In fact, they've won the last three races as their development finally appears to be on track. Because of all this, two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika Hakkinen is adamant Ferrari have the best car in F1. During the night race, Mercedes made some strategy mistakes as they failed to beat Max Verstappen for a podium place. "Singapore was proof that Ferrari now really has the best car in Formula 1. At Spa and Monza it was all about pure speed, in Singapore, it should have been different. A bumpy circuit with many different movements and a few slow turns. Many people had expected a fight here between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, but Ferrari surprised everyone," Hakkinen said in his weekly column. "Ferrari dominated in Singapore. There was already no doubt that their engine was by far the most powerful, the result in Singapore shows that the car as a whole also works well. New upgrades seem to work and suddenly it is Lewis Hamilton who believes that Ferrari will be hard to beat in all remaining locations." “The fact that Mercedes did not even occupy a podium place on Sunday came as a shock. Not only Ferrari but Max Verstappen also drove a sensational race for Red Bull and Honda to cross the finish line in third place." A Mercedes car has won just one race out of the last events with Verstappen claiming three podiums in the same time frame. Hakkinen ensures that Red Bull still need to work on their package to be level competitors. "It may be clear that Ferrari has taken considerable steps and it is also true that Red Bull and Honda work well together. Max Verstappen has grown up as a driver that year, but their overall package is weak in some places this year," Hakkinen added.
Toto has his own opinion https://www.racefans.net/2019/09/25/ferrari-tuned-car-for-one-lap-pace-in-singapore-wolff/ “They tuned their car for one lap, which was powerful [on Saturday]”, he explained. “You could see that they were nowhere in race pace but very quick from the get-go." “If we would have had less Safety Cars – ‘would have’, I guess you need to expect Safety Cars around here – I think the race rolling, we would have had a good car at the end and maybe even an opportunity to even win the race. But it wasn’t the right strategy today, it wasn’t the right calls.” ;-)
funny stuff. Spa and Monza are power courses which were always going to favor SF. Singapore was a fluke. Now suddenly they have the best car? Lol
best car? Meh. Best car+driver and a little luck thrown in for the last three races, yes. I am cautiously optimistic for Sochi however which is more than I was 3 races ago.
They probably had the best car all along, but were unable to unleash its potential. Binotto's *****-footing and him favouring Vettel may explain why it took so long. All that was needed were a few tweaks and a new front wing apparently, and no driver's mistake this time. The same could be said for 2017/18; Ferrari lost these 2 opportunities thanks to driver's errors or bad strategy.
IMO Mercedes is already shifting to next years cars so the championship this year is already won. Ferrari can finish strong: who cares ? The overall ranking matters and I think Mercedes is already on to next year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
+1 - the element of pressure is not on Mercedes as it is Ferrari and RedBull. They need to keep momentum now. Mercedes can observe those improvements and develop the next car already. Ferrari lack a good understanding of what the car is doing and have stated this week that is case. Super results but consistent is needed. The work begins as you start to win. Certainly a welcome state!!
Two power tracks won by a VERY narrow margin plus the weirdest track of the season after Monaco. Three wins in a row was pleasing but let's curve our enthusiasm.
This is a great point. Ferrari may be focusing their efforts on securing second place in 2019 rather than winning 2020, while Merc are focusing on getting the early season advantage they have enjoyed for the past few years.
They didn't have a good enough engine or reliability in 2017. 2018 was largely driver errors and strategy mistakes, then the development of the car went awry at Singapore and they were nowhere from that point on. They didn't have the best car either of those seasons
Elton’s fans just try to elevate him regardless of the facts. They live in a fantasy world. Forza Ferrari..... the only racing team and car marque that matters. Italia forever It’s easier to apologise than it is to ask permission
Cognitive Dissonance: Mercedes is the best car, and Lewis Hamilton is such a good driver he wins without having the best car.