I tell you what I dislike more than then watching the implosion of Ferrari and see Merc handed basically an uncontested 2nd half... it's Red Bull. I'm tired of watching these guys like little roaches coming out to pick up the scraps that are left after the owners are gone. I know, I know, I know... it's F1 and that's how things go but I just don't like the exuberance of winning or getting the podium that way. It sort of like if you were playing the Masters in the heyday of Tiger Woods. if it were the two of you coming up to the last couple holes and Tiger's putter broke and you ended up winning... would you savor that win as much as if you really did go head to head with Tiger and beat him on an even playing field? 1) I take nothing away from Merc. I've said many times, they just do everything right. They clearly have the best car, one of the best drivers who knows how to extract the most from it, and the team is meticulous. 2) I take nothing away from Red Bull. I like Ric, sort of like Verstappen, but at the same time we all wet ourselves every time Max makes a pass as if he's the only one able to do so. I like the team a lot. I was a big fan when Seb was there. I just want to see them win without an asterisk.
In isolation each single issue could be considered bad luck, that's the multiplication of them that cost a championship - and for which responsibilities should be taken. Mercedes had the issue of Hamilton's headrest in Baku - a stupid mistake in itself, but when it remains a single mistake the team is not blamed for that (although Mercedes has probably addressed the issue afterwards, that's how good work is achieved).
It's not like Mercedes have been that reliable. LH himself had a spark plug boot failure 2014 Australia that forced a retirement. 14/15/16 reliability wasn't great, they just had the pace so that it didn't matter. This season has been better but Bottas has still had 2-3 races where he's had grid penalties this season and at least one engine retirement dnf that I can recall. Unusually, LH hasn't had the bad luck of poor reliability he had the previous seasons. The difference is their issues have been less catastrophic and their driver lineup is significantly stronger.
@itschris, Mercedes were the team to beat after Red Bull , or actually Renault, got it all wrong with the new engine in 2014. Red Bull dominated that period up to 2014 with Seb winning 4 championchips. But then the new engine rules made an end to that period. Mercedes got it all working before any other did, and have dominated up to 2017. Now in 2017 we see the rise of Ferrari again, from the beginning of 2017. Red Bull, or actually Renault , were just slower to get up to speed in performance. The last few races you even in qualifying saw that Red Bull was much better than in the beginning of 2017. The fact that they are now faster than Mercedes nr 2 and Ferrari nr 2, is not just picking up the leftovers. That is called development. Ferrari will be back on top again, but not as a dominant force. Mercedes and Red Bull will see to that: 2018 will be a more level playing field.
I distinctly remember hearing on the NBC broadcast that Ferrari HAD changed one of Seb's spark plugs right before the race. If that's the case, and they still cite plug failure, then maybe he had a bad wire or ignition problem. Or, if he was fouling multiple plugs, maybe a fuel mixture problem due to a computer glitch? I'm in no way qualified to second-guess the multi-hundred-million-dollar Scuderia technical operation, but then, what the HELL kind of excuse is spark plug failure? That sounds like an excuse from the Opel or Citroen F1 team. The most legendary franchise in the history of the sport blowing a title shot because someone didn't check a spark plug? Is that code for: MECHANIC: "Signore Arrivabene, something is wrong with the power unit." ARRIVABENE: "I can't tell Sergio we didn't start Seb, so run it anyway." MECHANIC: "He won't make it five laps." ARRIVABENE: "We blame the Japanese spark plug." ??
...and yet the current best team is British. It might say Mercedes on the packet but there is a reason it is in Brackley Red Bull - Milton Keynes. I have had Bosch electrical systems in my modern Alfas and they are probably the most unreliable bit (though not really unreliable as such)
[QUOTE="MalcQV, post: 145617186, member: 13198 I have had Bosch electrical systems in my modern Alfas and they are probably the most unreliable bit (though not really unreliable as such) [/QUOTE] The plugs on the Ferrari were apparently NGK.
Ferrari paid price for ignoring quality control - Marchionne https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-paid-price-for-ignoring-quality-control-marchionne-963837/ … via @motorsport
Merc admits Ferrari has tighter (better) packaging in the rear. But it takes longer to repair. Merc needs 15-30 min for spark plug change.
Again. Renault was also slower to get up to speed when the V8s were around...they got special dispensation to develop due to their slow start then, but not this time. However, misery loves company and along came Honda. THEN the development rules (tokens) were changed to allow the field to level.
When you're not in the title fight & your contract's already renewed for 2018 so you travel to the American leg of F1....privately....Nice. Image Unavailable, Please Login
#Ferrari's last win at the remaining Grands Prix... Image Unavailable, Please Login 2006 (Indianapolis) Image Unavailable, Please Login 1990 Image Unavailable, Please Login 2008 Image Unavailable, Please Login Never Image Unavailable, Please Login
As a hard-core Scuderia Ferrari fan I was gutted that the mechanics did not manage to change the spark plug in time to save Vettel's race. As a 308-owner, whose had to change the plugs on the front bank of cylinders, I thought it was a fitting payback to the hours I've spent trying to change those ********
As a Mercedes owner and knowing a few, they might not take kindly to that comment. Rather Ferrari is Citroen and Mercedes is.. well Mercedes
i guess this pic is taken on the ground before take off,just for the missus..then the bottle comes out at FL 450 eh?
