F1 ROLEX SAKHIR GRAND PRIX 2020: Qualy *** SPOILERS ***

Mercedes has had WDC machinery(since 2014) with whom has a driver or drivers become WDC caliber as they progress their skills further.

Lewis was really lucky to have signed with Mercedes. He made his own luck.

 

Mazepin tested in the W10 in 2019 for the first time at Catalunya and did a 1:15 and change which would have gotten pole in 2019.

Mazepin is an F2 driver.

@freshmeat is correct in his post.

 

Russell is familiar with Mercedes. Recruited, tested Mercedes F1 cars, and placed by Mercedes and a known talent with a good past history in other formula. His performance is not a large surprise at all. He is familiar with Mercedes PU and systems. He was not in from the cold at all. Nor was Bottas when picked up by Mercedes. They both moved to a well designed machine with minimal weaknesses. They are both capable and did what they were paid to do. Take advantage of the capable car. They both controlled a car with a Mercedes PU and are managed by Mercedes. This is not a difficult calculus. Plus this track is an an outlier vs a true F1 track. The drivers are not taxed at the same physical level on this loop. Mickey Mouse per Bottas. Others with as negative a view. See Max' comments.

Coming from Renault power or Ferrari would be more difficult/take a bit longer to acclimate. Russell was slower today. Russell will need to be on the podium tomorrow as well or questions will be asked by all. There is no good outcome for him unless he win or podiums. If he is P4 this will not be good for him and if he does not podium in Yas the same. Bottas is a winner in the Mercedes. His contract is not in question for next year at all.

Russell actually has more to lose than Bottas. He needs to show Toto and others he can function consistently well in a top team. The pressure, the press and integration with the team etc. Thats not a problem Bottas has. Bottas has had a nice career for such a 'marginal' driver. Retained now for how long with Mercedes?? Bottas is in a top team and wins and podiums. Scores points and claims poles and is well within a tenth of LH vs MEDIOCRE drivers like ALBON LOL.

AGain- Mercedes are not about to upset the harmony gained with Bottas after Rosberg retired. The results show why. Toto was warned by others about the issues he faced once with 2 lethal drivers. Firing Bottas at all is stupid and very counter productive in the strategic sense. It matters zero what other drivers can or could do with the car. They are not there by design from Mercedes. The unique harmony with both current drivers, plus the best car is a dream other teams would like to be troubled with.

 

After you make your luck, you have to keep your luck. Great drivers perform to keep their luck. Vettel was part of Ferrari when they were a top team, now he is getting booted. Albon is with a top team, but he has not performed to keep his luck.

 

Prior to Friday, how many miles has Russell driven in the W11?

 

Errr. What?

Difference was 0.026. On a 53 second lap.

Longest lap of the season is Spa francorchamps I do believe (105 seconds), so almost exactly twice as long as the Mickey Mouse GP. The gap would've been 0.046. The difference would've been more obvious....Please save yourself the embarrassment!

"of course lewis would've beaten Bottas"

Based on what?

 

Law of averages (i.e. in this case both cumulative and 2020 season Hamilton vs Bottas head-to-head qualifying results, and associated average time delta comparisons).

 

Again, I say that’s akin to Ferrari replacing Schumacher with Kimi in 2003. So much would potentially backfire, not the least of which includes dumping a record-setting driver who has delivered 6 titles and broke the all-time record for wins. Super-consistent also...the day will come for Russell, for certain though.

 

Did you really mean Michael? Or actually Marco.....?

 

EPIC performance by Russell only been in the car for a few hours and was able to get 0.026 behind Bottas in Q. Side by side shows Russell made a few small errors it could have easily been a pole for Russell.

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Bottas doesn't have to worry about losing his seat, he will make a nice No2 for Russell in 2021/2022/whenever Lewis retires.

 

'Always has been, always will be. (Even spec cars.....best setup is still the best....) Nothing new there......

 

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difference between bottas and hamilton has been 0.081 IIRC. Hardly an overwhelming difference.

Tif12 said it as if it was a god given certainty that lewis would be ahead. Which it really isn't.

 

Prior to today (Sakhir), it was 10 vs 4 poles in 2020 (Lewis vs Valtteri).

 

He didn’t underperform in 2018 when he threw away multiple points chances with self-inflicted spins and was beaten by “old-man” Kimi at Monza?

He didn’t underperform in 2019 when they had the most powerful engine, he was nominated as lead driver by the team at the start of the season and got beat by a relative newcomer in Leclerc?

Don’t forget how he was made to look useless by Ricciardo in his first year at RBR. This year he’s been just plain useless and looking for excuses such as the team sabotaging him is really grasping at strays.

There’s a reason they didn’t re-sign him; they understood his true worth as a driver. The fact that other teams were not exactly tripping over themselves to sign him says everything you need to know about his reputation.

 

Yep. There is no way a driver suddenly loses that amount of time to his teammate that he was previously very close to...unless something fishy is going on.

Not saying that if Vettel had equal support he'd beat Leclerc. Just nowhere near the margin we're seeing.

 

erm, that's great? So you very clearly demonstrated that his lewisness is not unbeatable by his teammate. So where is the dead given certainty that Lewis would beat Bottas if he was qualifying this weekend?

 

Gro back in the car

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Great to see him back in the saddle. He had a lot of stick here over the years,all is forgiven now!

 

The car looks very fearful.

 

Yeah I know, I jumped a generation. To me they are all have-beens and never-weres, the endless parade of Andrettis and Fittipaldis. Same goes for Sheckter, Lauda, Piquet and Prost.

Only the fathers cut it. Which shows you what a superb talent and exception Villeneuve and Verstappen are.

 

and Nico
and maybe Mick (who just secured the F2 title in spite of not scoring any point during the last race).

 

Maybe. Time will tell.

Then there is Hill, who wasn't bad at all but also not that great.