Arrivabene thinks Ferrari is only one tenth behind Merc

Yes.... And it's your fault

 

Ferrari considers bold engine update plan for Russian GP

 

Thank you for the post. Good to see as sooner is better. I hope they show results.

 

Out of all this, I think it's a bit comical for RB to be talking the way they are. Danill has one good race and he's talking about racing Merc upfront. Ric, while first reminding everyone he won three races in 2014, thinks they'll be challenging. I think it's a bit early and has been a bit too chaotic to start sorting out the order. I like RB a lot, but the "believe your own hype disease" gets the best of them sometimes,

I wouldn't be surprised if Merc has a full second yet to show. And if they don't, they have plenty of tokens to make updates they already know are going to put the there. I think they're just that good as a team right now.

 

I meant that in a good way

 

In fact, Damon Hill wasn't slow at all; he was in fact very fast on his own.
He often qualified near the top and liked to lead the race.
His speed is what got him the job of tester at Williams in the first place.

His flaw was that he didn't like to race wheel-to-wheel and wasn't so good as some other drivers in these conditions.

Nico Rosberg suffers from the same syndrome, I think.

 

I know .

 

They haven't or Vettel wouldn't have been able to hold them for so long at Australia. Probably they have some tenths, enough to disappear into the distance if they start from front row (as they use to do) but not enough if they have to recover from a bad start.

 

I think they displayed a touch of reserve in China and Nico's lap on the Soft. That was eye opening. Their starts are somewhat weak and they have brake issues as well. Overall the package to beat thus far. I dont see a Ferrari running away or running them down just yet with full authority.

Did not it get published that Mercedes have the least amount of tokens avail for use this year compared to the rest?

 

Ferrari have the fewest I believe, then Mercedes.

The way to defeat Mercedes is to get ahead of them on the starts and control the race from there. It was possible in Australia but the SC ruined our day.

 

Then you need to qualify in front, and for that you must have a car superior to the Merc.

And that's not so easy ...

I think Mercedes will keep its advantage until new regulations come in 2017.

 

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it... I'm not sure much is going to change for 2017. It seems the politics is rapidly taking over. The four criteria for the PU that were imposed on the manufacturers have not been met apparently. I think the budget engine option will be forced back on the table, that will cause complete disagreement and as usual, very little if anything will get accomplished. I'm not even sure the aero changes are going to happen at this point due the to fear of even less overtaking.

 

qualifying in front is harder than getting the better start or put your nose in at first few corners. Mercedes single lap pace is much superior.

agree that the best chance at winning a title comes with the new regs. Again. 3rd time lucky?

 

Maybe the biggest story of the first three races is that Mercedes makes bad starts. The race where BOTH Ferraris jumped them, and then seeing Ricciardo pass Rosberg easily in China just might have ended in Ferrari and RB wins if not for the red flag and shredded tire.
After looking at the in-car of Hamilton in China though, he just flew past several cars at the start. Now that's the slowest cars on the grid he's passing, but I mean way before the first corner mayhem he was clear of at least three cars.

 

I expect Mercedes to stay ahead even after 2017. The company seems to have invested a lot of money, and is likely to stay in F1 until the end of the decade.
It's only when the accountants will say "enough is enough", and the marketing men will be satisfied, that their budget will be reduced and the development will slow down.
I think Mercedes will stay the dominant team until 2020, regardless of regulations.