FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[The Second Coming]

So, if I'm on the right page here, I see the Catalunya circuit to be very similar to Bahrain but without that looooong penultimate straight. The first and second sectors flow about the same with very few hard braking corners, lots of mid-speed corners where you drag the brake. Perfectly suited for Mercedes and Lewis' hands. (And he loves the place.) Barring a safety car, it should go the same way. And if it does, where he vanishes off into the distance, this may be the "statement race" for him…no, for the rest of the field.

I hate to look ahead (cuz Lord knows, I'm enjoying every bit of this season so far) but what I'm really curious about is Monaco. Tight, bumpy circuit that needs a hefty dose of B2 (Balls and Balance). This will truly tell us how perfect a car the W05 really is. Whadya think?

[racechick]

So, if I'm on the right page here, I see the Catalunya circuit to be very similar to Bahrain but without that looooong penultimate straight. The first and second sectors flow about the same with very few hard braking corners, lots of mid-speed corners where you drag the brake. Perfectly suited for Mercedes and Lewis' hands. (And he loves the place.) Barring a safety car, it should go the same way. And if it does, where he vanishes off into the distance, this may be the "statement race" for him…no, for the rest of the field.

I hate to look ahead (cuz Lord knows, I'm enjoying every bit of this season so far) but what I'm really curious about is Monaco. Tight, bumpy circuit that needs a hefty dose of B2 (Balls and Balance). This will truly tell us how perfect a car the W05 really is. Whadya think?

Well, Lewis is never lacking in the balls department, good at Monaco too, as is Nico. And maybe that smaller nose will help it squeezing round twisty corners.

[LewEngBridewell]

So, if I'm on the right page here, I see the Catalunya circuit to be very similar to Bahrain but without that looooong penultimate straight. The first and second sectors flow about the same with very few hard braking corners, lots of mid-speed corners where you drag the brake....

There may be similarities, but I personally think Bahrain is a much better circuit for racing. For a start, Bahrain is wider, and there are more opportunities for overtaking. Barcelona is a circuit better suited for testing I think, it rarely produces great racing.

It's a long while since Senna and Mansell were neck-and-neck down the straight!

[cheekybru]

So, if I'm on the right page here, I see the Catalunya circuit to be very similar to Bahrain but without that looooong penultimate straight. The first and second sectors flow about the same with very few hard braking corners, lots of mid-speed corners where you drag the brake. Perfectly suited for Mercedes and Lewis' hands. (And he loves the place.) Barring a safety car, it should go the same way. And if it does, where he vanishes off into the distance, this may be the "statement race" for him…no, for the rest of the field.

I hate to look ahead (cuz Lord knows, I'm enjoying every bit of this season so far) but what I'm really curious about is Monaco. Tight, bumpy circuit that needs a hefty dose of B2 (Balls and Balance). This will truly tell us how perfect a car the W05 really is. Whadya think?

Lewis always seems to have an extra couple tenths in the last sector here (as he does at many tracks) remember him being level with the bulls in 2012 qualifying in S1 and S2 and then getting an extra 2tenths out of the last sector every time, hopefully another nice clean weekend no reliability issues and a well deserved lead in the WDC afterwards

[The Second Coming]

So, if I'm on the right page here, I see the Catalunya circuit to be very similar to Bahrain but without that looooong penultimate straight. The first and second sectors flow about the same with very few hard braking corners, lots of mid-speed corners where you drag the brake. Perfectly suited for Mercedes and Lewis' hands. (And he loves the place.) Barring a safety car, it should go the same way. And if it does, where he vanishes off into the distance, this may be the "statement race" for him…no, for the rest of the field.

I hate to look ahead (cuz Lord knows, I'm enjoying every bit of this season so far) but what I'm really curious about is Monaco. Tight, bumpy circuit that needs a hefty dose of B2 (Balls and Balance). This will truly tell us how perfect a car the W05 really is. Whadya think?

Well, Lewis is never lacking in the balls department, good at Monaco too, as is Nico. And maybe that smaller nose will help it squeezing round twisty corners.

RC, he does like Monaco, doesn't he. Regardless of how suitable the car is for such a one-off circuit, just his large attachments and fondness may be enough to reward him with another handshake from Prince Albert. I'm a-tingle just thinking about it.

There may be similarities, but I personally think Bahrain is a much better circuit for racing. For a start, Bahrain is wider, and there are more opportunities for overtaking. Barcelona is a circuit better suited for testing I think, it rarely produces great racing.

It's a long while since Senna and Mansell were neck-and-neck down the straight!

Lew, agreed on the racing qualities being better in Bahrain but I was focusing on what we can anticipate in terms of how Mercedes and the chasing pack will go based on the layout. Catalunya suits the W05 based on what we've seen so far. I think the chasing pack are so close to each other now that we may see them tussle the way they did in Bahrain. That was pretty good TV too…I wouldn't mind that but it all depends on who was clever enough with their upgrades.

Lewis always seems to have an extra couple tenths in the last sector here (as he does at many tracks) remember him being level with the bulls in 2012 qualifying in S1 and S2 and then getting an extra 2tenths out of the last sector every time, hopefully another nice clean weekend no reliability issues and a well deserved lead in the WDC afterwards

Cheekybru, if that is your bright forecast for the eventual outcome, I'm onboard.

[LiamCatterson]

So, if I'm on the right page here, I see the Catalunya circuit to be very similar to Bahrain but without that looooong penultimate straight. The first and second sectors flow about the same with very few hard braking corners, lots of mid-speed corners where you drag the brake. Perfectly suited for Mercedes and Lewis' hands. (And he loves the place.) Barring a safety car, it should go the same way. And if it does, where he vanishes off into the distance, this may be the "statement race" for him…no, for the rest of the field.

I hate to look ahead (cuz Lord knows, I'm enjoying every bit of this season so far) but what I'm really curious about is Monaco. Tight, bumpy circuit that needs a hefty dose of B2 (Balls and Balance). This will truly tell us how perfect a car the W05 really is. Whadya think?

You know, I've never seen Bahrain looking similar to Spain...But now I get where you are coming from. There is an obvious difference in the track but you are right that it looks somewhat similar

[Cyril Sneer Racing]

How about a podium from Hulkenberg or Bottas here? Although way too early to make predictions, I think we'll see good improvements from teams. I think Ferrari will do well and Rosberg should compete well with the main man this time I think.

[The Second Coming]

How about a podium from Hulkenberg or Bottas here? Although way too early to make predictions, I think we'll see good improvements from teams. I think Ferrari will do well and Rosberg should compete well with the main man this time I think.

The Hulk is a good pair of hands at the wheel but I still wonder how much he brings to the mix. Is he squeezing everything out of that car? I am convinced that if he has a good car, he will ruffle a lot of feathers and have a good result…just not sure what he has now. The Force India car shines here and there but not with the kind of consistency that would afford us a clear call…me thinks. The immediate picture suggests that their upgrade package for Spain needs to be better than Williams'. Then they will have Ferrari and Red Bull to deal with. Podium? I dunno about any time soon. Same for Williams.

[Jabberwocky]

This is race 5... The last one that certain parts have to get to!!! Could this be the reliability race

Sent using NCC-1701

[The Second Coming]

This is race 5... The last one that certain parts have to get to!!! Could this be the reliability race

Sent using NCC-1701

Jabber, I'd like to think this circuit doesn't put the kind of strain on engines and therefore should hopefully not lead to any reliability issues. I would love to see everyone finish so we have a clear picture of who is really where now that we're in the European segment of the season.

[Cyril Sneer Racing]

You are correct on the consistency aspect, no doubt, but Perez already has a podium so it's not too far off.
I'd just like to see Force India and Williams do well is all. And I think Hulk is good enough. More hopes and guesses than predictions.

[The Second Coming]

Perez may have benefited from the safety car, though, he did have really good pace. I'm still not convinced who would have had that 3rd spot had we not had a safety car to upset normal proceedings. Hulk is good enough but is the car, for the long haul? Last year Force India flattered in a few races but the lower rate of development compared to the big teams, caught up to them. For 2014, time will tell.

[spankyham]

A return to any circuit closer to Bahrain should signal a big shift in favour of Mercedes. Given they introduced a new nose that they are happy with and, from what I read here, there are more upgrades coming from Mercedes, this may well be the race that "breaks the backs" of teams harboring hopes of raising a challenge soon.

Perhaps the shift will be to the competition between Lewis and Nico (although I just don't think Nico is in Lewis's class in that competition). Then, like last year it will be still interesting to see which team can move into the second position.

In 2014 it seems only one team can beat Mercedes - and that is Mercedes. It would take a massive blunder on their behalf for any other team to win. Put another way, Red Bull took a smaller advantage (IMO) than Mercedes now has and converted that into 8 titles. You'd have to think that given the tight rules and regulations Mercedes will have to be eying a similar result.

For me, I think this is a great chance for the likes of Fernando, Sebastian, Kimi, Daniel and Jenson to really highlight their absolute skills. Any of those that could, with their teams, orchestrate a win this year would have to consider that a brilliant result.

All I can say is, having sat though 4 races, 3 totally boring and 1 with a riveting last 10 laps, I will brake my agnostic ways and be praying for a safety car in the last few laps to hopefully give us a chance at a few laps of racing.

[IheartKimmi]

I have no issue with Hamilton winning; but as a relative neutral I'd prefer to have three or four teams battling for wins instead of one team running away with it. I found the Vettel dominance boring and I find the Hamilton dominance boring; I actually found the first six races of 2009 boring despite JB being one of my favorite drivers. I really enjoyed 2012 where we had six different winners in the first six races, it makes it interesting and unpredictable.

I could have written this, are you my long lost twin MOA?

[LewEngBridewell]

All I can say is, having sat though 4 races, 3 totally boring and 1 with a riveting last 10 laps, I will brake my agnostic ways and be praying for a safety car in the last few laps to hopefully give us a chance at a few laps of racing.

I wish you'd quit this repetitive nonsense about the last 10 laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix. I've mentioned this already, but I honestly don't know which race you were watching! What was uninteresting about the race prior to the safety car? Lewis and Nico had been battling for the lead LONG BEFORE the safety car ever came out! How the hell did you miss that?

You keep posting the same thing over and over again in thread after thread, it's SO BORING NOW, and so catastrophically incorrect. I know you dislike the new rules Spanky, but this repetitive !%$! about safety cars in Bahrain is really wearing...