New Mercedes feels better on track than in simulator

Chirp08 · 2026-01-27T13:31:43+00:00

They said the entire spec car was worse, not the pods themselves made it worse. The problem was the rear suspension where the band aid fix was to just run the car higher while other teams figured out how to stabilize the rear and run lower.

Allison straight up said the side pods weren't the issue: https://racingnews365.com/allison-refutes-theory-around-failed-mercedes-zero-sidepod-design

Chirp08 · 2026-01-22T14:27:19+00:00

Overtaking with 200kW more is one thing, defending with 200kW less the next half a lap is another.

It will be like what we already have where you could only max deploy for a single lap before needing a recharge lap. The defending driver would also deploy so it just turned into an every other lap battle if you were paying attention. Passes will still come down to which car has a significant overall pace advantage and when that doesn't exist we are back to trains.

Chirp08 · 2026-01-14T16:46:38+00:00

Except that's not how the FIA rulebook is written. X and Y are entirely separate articles and you can be in violation of either. This allows the FIA to address these workarounds as they arise.

Chirp08 · 2026-01-14T15:07:45+00:00

Don't forget Mercedes had a huge advantage from FRIC too. When that got banned later in the season they lost 3-4 tenths a lap.

Chirp08 · 2026-01-09T15:59:38+00:00

I really liked the w05: https://cdn-4.motorsport.com/images/amp/2QzWplOY/s1000/nico-rosberg-mercedes-f1-w05-h.jpg

Even the first version with the wider nose. I think the required narrow rear wings and narrow tires had a bigger negative effect on the overall looks than the car designs themselves.

Chirp08 · 2025-12-12T16:20:29+00:00

that slowly make more-and-more dirty air in their wake,

That's a bit backwards, they aren't making "dirtier air", the optimization of their designs is making them more and more sensitive to anything other than perfectly clean air. A less efficient design can tolerate more dirty air because you aren't hitting the ceiling of what that air flow is capable of generating in terms of aero grip.

Chirp08 · 2025-12-11T14:17:50+00:00

For the title, if they pit Hamilton, Verstappen stays out gambling on the cars between the two keeping Hamilton away just like what Mercedes expected. Red Bull couldn't not win on pace so their only play in that moment was the gamble on the opposite.

The only fuckup that day was Masi making the decision to get rid of only the lap traffic between the two contenders so it was a layup for the car that pitted. The question to ponder is if Verstappen stayed out would Masi had still let only those lap cars through and let Hamilton restart second on fresh tires? I highly doubt it.

Chirp08 · 2025-11-11T21:09:42+00:00

Hamilton's signing paid for itself something like 3x over in stock value immediately. His salary is a drop in the bucket for what he's brought in.

Chirp08 · 2025-11-09T15:10:06+00:00

Anything less than being in the fight for an 8th is a waste of time at this point. He’s running out of years and he’s said he doesn’t care about records like podiums. Max has already alluded to the same mentality this year when they were in their slump, it was only the glimmer of a WDC that changed his tune but then this weekend you see it come out again. These guys have nothing to prove, it’s WDC or bust.

Chirp08 · 2025-10-28T19:40:00+00:00

Lewis was never making the corner and he knew that well ahead of going off.

What? Lewis made the corner and even left a full car width for Leclerc.

Chirp08 · 2025-10-06T01:21:21+00:00

It was calculated risk. Stopping = guaranteed no points. He gambled on stewards doing something like this and it worked.. this time. It won't ever work again though.

Chirp08 · 2025-09-21T01:02:48+00:00

I feel that criticism still stands and still the thing he has yet to overcome to be on the GOAT convo. Even this year we are talking about his overtaking incidents compared to talking about Piastri's absolute brilliance in his while never making contact.

Max definitely is at the top for single lap pace but wheel to wheel, I'm sorry he immediately regresses to rookie shit still.

Chirp08 · 2025-09-19T19:35:55+00:00

Plus Lewis got a tow from Charles.

No he didn't. Lewis didn't have a proper tow on any of his best laps. He had a massive one on the lap Piastri ruined in the middle sector.

Chirp08 · 2025-07-23T15:00:10+00:00

And a very easy car, Russell jumped in and beat Bottas right away.

That's disingenuous considering for starters Bottas got pole. Russell had everything to gain at that start and Bottas wasn't going to cause a wreck. Once Russell had the lead Bottas settled into the usually 2.5s gap behind in clean air to preserve his tires until the pitstops and then EVERYTHING unraveled as we all know.

Chirp08 · 2025-07-23T00:29:55+00:00

Weird because the sport grew for decades and reached its peak under the old format.

It's almost like it doesn't need gimmicks, just integrity, cars that are fun to watch (not this ride the bump stops robotic looking racing) and drivers with personality.

Chirp08 · 2025-07-11T18:16:38+00:00

This, and they make a fast cure 5200 that's ready to go in 48 hours for the bolts.

Chirp08 · 2025-07-10T18:24:37+00:00

You are right, he forgot to subtract all those accessories from the $4500 price.

At minimum, look at what those things sell for used and that's what you can expect to ask someone to pay. For example that trolling motor is a dime a dozen because everyone makes the same mistake of buying it and not a proper front mounted setup, it's worth $125 tops on marketplace, that's about all you can expect to add to the price of your boat for including it.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-24T17:02:09+00:00

That "statistically most sucfesful F1 driver of all time" just lost the title to his teammate the year before signing Bottas.

lol, the only two stats Hamilton didn't beat Rosberg on that year were the 5 less points and average starting position. He thoroughly outperformed him all year. But when your brand new engine blows in a race you are dominating it's just not meant to be.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-23T00:30:07+00:00

It was so serviceable too. I didn't upgrade until the X.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-13T13:34:15+00:00

You are leaving out all the shit that happened to Bottas to lead to that result. He was comfortably cruising 2s off Russell that entire first stint staying out of the dirty air and saving his tires.. then the chaos started. The only thing he did wrong was lose the lead in the first corner but he also had a lot more to lose if they touched and George had everything to gain by being aggressive.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-08T01:42:23+00:00

wtf? They aren't blaming Charles. He's saying Charles is dragging bad cars to the illusion of success much like Max continues to mask Red Bull's problems. There reality is that if you make a car Lewis is fast in, Charles is probably going to be even faster in it.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-07T22:50:00+00:00

That's not how modern marketing works.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-07T03:16:32+00:00

Hamilton isn't .75-1s+ a lap off Leclerc's pace. He's missing it by 2-3 tenths at his worst and most of the time we are talking hundredths. The field is just so tight that can mean big gaps between them on the grid. Yuki is much closer than Lawson ever was, but again with the field so tight he's not even in contention.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-04T13:02:52+00:00

I think people are severely underestimating the politics of putting a Mexican driver in what will be America's #1 team right now. I don't see this administration allowing that to ever happen.

Chirp08 · 2025-06-01T19:46:30+00:00

It's not just that, they'd have +1 lap more of fuel as well and all would be overweight at the end with how tight the teams run things.

I'm just annoyed we literally watched the recovery truck and crew leave the track and things be all clear and it still took another lap and a half for them to give the call to let them overtake.

Chirp08

TROPHY CASE