28-07-2020, 10:54 AM
I couldn't really find a suitable thread to resurrect so time for a new one. Don't be afraid of new threads people, they don't cost anything 
Mark Hughes view on the Mercedes gap to the field this year
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/artic...-f1-rivals
Interesting he thinks that RBR have taken a backward step more than Mercedes moving forwards, particularly ironic considering the way Horner and Marko were bigging this years car up during winter testing. Hughes seems to indicate that the gap is mostly in the Mercedes low rake philosophy, but I'm not 100% sure I buy that. The regs haven't changed enough to suddenly make that a bigger advantage. Mercedes have always run a flatter car and good for them for not following Adrian Newey like a lot of other teams have. But I've seen some pictures this year (at testing IIRC) where I've thought the Mercedes was actually running higher at the back than normal. I guess it is somewhat circuit specific anyway, but so far the Mercedes and RP's have looked low rake (as expected really).
I have always admired Merc for sticking to their principles and bucking the trend. At the very least their way makes for a much better looking race car (in my view the RBR's have been ugly as sin for many years with their arses stuck up in the air). But I don't buy it being the main reason they are far ahead of rivals. It's clear there has been a performance step forward, otherwise the track records wouldn't be tumbling the way they have at the first two circuits.
The Ferrari bit I agree with. They were doing dodgy things with fuel flow and now that has been closed down the car is way too draggy for the power they have available. They either need a miracle way to restore the power they've lost or they have to redesign. I can't see either happening before the big regulation change / reset in 2022.
I think MH is one of the more level headed F1 analysts (it is not unknown for him to spout bollocks, but usually he's pretty good), so interested in others opinions on that article.
Mark Hughes view on the Mercedes gap to the field this year
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/artic...-f1-rivals
Interesting he thinks that RBR have taken a backward step more than Mercedes moving forwards, particularly ironic considering the way Horner and Marko were bigging this years car up during winter testing. Hughes seems to indicate that the gap is mostly in the Mercedes low rake philosophy, but I'm not 100% sure I buy that. The regs haven't changed enough to suddenly make that a bigger advantage. Mercedes have always run a flatter car and good for them for not following Adrian Newey like a lot of other teams have. But I've seen some pictures this year (at testing IIRC) where I've thought the Mercedes was actually running higher at the back than normal. I guess it is somewhat circuit specific anyway, but so far the Mercedes and RP's have looked low rake (as expected really).
I have always admired Merc for sticking to their principles and bucking the trend. At the very least their way makes for a much better looking race car (in my view the RBR's have been ugly as sin for many years with their arses stuck up in the air). But I don't buy it being the main reason they are far ahead of rivals. It's clear there has been a performance step forward, otherwise the track records wouldn't be tumbling the way they have at the first two circuits.
The Ferrari bit I agree with. They were doing dodgy things with fuel flow and now that has been closed down the car is way too draggy for the power they have available. They either need a miracle way to restore the power they've lost or they have to redesign. I can't see either happening before the big regulation change / reset in 2022.
I think MH is one of the more level headed F1 analysts (it is not unknown for him to spout bollocks, but usually he's pretty good), so interested in others opinions on that article.
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