FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2022....QUALIFYING.. ▄▀▄▀▄▀ SPOILERS ▄▀▄▀▄▀

Would think Ferrari are safe for 2nd in the WCC.

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12751099/abu-dhabi-gp-lewis-hamilton-surprised-by-mercedes-lack-of-pace-during-qualifying

The long straights of the Yas Marina were expected to trouble Mercedes and play into the hands of Red Bull, but the gap appeared bigger in Qualifying than it had done in any of the three practice sessions that preceded it.

Much of Mercedes' early-season problems, following the introduction of new design regulations for the 2022 season, were a result of the W13 suffering extreme bouncing or porpoising, generally in faster sections of the track.

The problem has largely gone away as Mercedes' form has improved during the second half of the year, but Hamilton said it was back with "a vengeance" in Abu Dhabi.

"Six tenths of that (deficit) is just on the straights," Hamilton said after qualifying almost 0.7s off Verstappen's leading time.

"Otherwise, I gave it everything, and looking forward to the end of tomorrow.

"Bouncing is back with a vengeance, and that's definitely losing us time. Otherwise we're just pretty slow on the straight."

Wolff joked that Mercedes' Qualifying performance belonged "in the toilet" but did express hope that a setup geared more towards Sunday than Saturday would pay off in the race.

Off the back of their dominant display in Brazil, Mercedes arrived in Abu Dhabi with hopes of overhauling a 19-point deficit to Ferrari in the battle for second in the constructors' championship, but the chance of that happening appeared low on Saturday's evidence.

"I just heard today is World Toilet Day, so I think that's one to put in the toilet," Wolff told Sky Sports F1.

"I think we just didn't get the job done. We went backwards and they (Ferrari) did a little step forward.

"We went on a high downforce, high drag concept in order to have a good race car tomorrow, and that was just so slow on the straights that it didn't give anything.

"We had the belief that for tomorrow it's much better to have more downforce to protect the tyres, let's see."

 

World Toilet Day- Mercedes will brush 2 extra times per Toto's orders!

 

The excitement is palpable….

 

I never know if it pays to believe anything Mercedes says...before and after a race. When the lights go out, we'll learn what they've got. As for Ferrari, there are no more races to save anything for. Crank those engines up to the max (pardon the pun) and drive to either win or break. And tie Binotto up and put him in a storage locker so he can't say anything to anyone until the race is over. Any more confirmation on his departure?

 

I fear cracking our engines to the max won’t be enough to win races.
Our aero and chassis are now second at best.
We lost something since Bahreïn clearly..

 

I'd do it...win a race, great, good to finish the season on a high. Both Ferrari's blow up? Doesn't matter, the financial incentive isn't worth it compared to the extra development hours/windtunnel time...

 

Mercedes saying they are more set up for the race. Possibly but they are far off the pace and suffering bouncing on the long straights. That car is hardly sorted yet. I still expect RedBull to be as strong and lead the grid. Mercedes need a new car concept but how far can they go given the budget limit.

Ferrari are saying next year the PU will be sorted. Possibly but team race management is as large a problem.

 

I feel like that a default answer now for MB, quali was terrible but nope we're setup for the race

 

They may be right trying to achieve a better race set up with a tricky car, rather than chasing a higher qualif position.

They are still near the front anyway, in spite of porpoising and low top speed.