[Other Sport] F1 2024

[Flounce]

I subscribe to a much simpler explanation: the Mercedes strategists got too excited about possibly using the soft tyre advantage off the start line to jump ahead of Max Verstappen. It didn't work.

I subscribe to the opinion that you listen to the tactics a seven time world champion wants when he has put the car in third place, especially given how short the run to the first corner is

Scrubbed softs is the icing on the cake though.

Call me a cynic but I don’t think they would have done the same if Russell had been in third at the start. Mercedes do not like the no 2 driver, who is leaving, beating the no 1 imo and fixed it so that he probably wouldn’t. They are winning nothing this season and are not going up or down in the constructors championship either.

 

[Audax]

TBH that was exactly what I thought, only I thought they might be trying to jump both Max and Lando with softs. I wasn't aware at the time they were scrubbed though!

Sometimes scrubbed is better. I think it was Aston Martin a couple years back who would deliberately scrub tyres during practice / qually because they were seeing that they got better in-race performance (mix of speed vs longevity) from scrubbed sets.

 

[A1X]

Probably hoping to get track position then get an early safety car, which almost always happens in Singapore

 

[Audax]

I subscribe to the opinion that you listen to the tactics a seven time world champion wants when he has put the car in third place, especially given how short the run to the first corner is

Maybe. But then, I can remember multiple occasions in the past where Hamilton has been on the radio questioning strategy calls and then been proven wrong and apologising after the race.

 

[Flounce]

Sometimes scrubbed is better. I think it was Aston Martin a couple years back who would deliberately scrub tyres during practice / qually because they were seeing that they got better in-race performance (mix of speed vs longevity) from scrubbed sets.

Interesting, did anybody start on scrubbed, by choice, from the front couple of rows when drivers used to start on softs? i seem to recall new softs was the preference of all teams back then.

 

[Flounce]

Maybe. But then, I can remember multiple occasions in the past where Hamilton has been on the radio questioning strategy calls and then been proven wrong and apologising after the race.

Often proven right too in fairness

 

[Audax]

Interesting, did anybody start on scrubbed, by choice, from the front couple of rows when drivers used to start on softs? i seem to recall new softs was the preference of all teams back then.

Starting on scrubbed tyres does happen occasionally. TBH it does seem very odd to start on scrubbed softs when the goal is use the extra grip that softs give you. Scrubbing the tyres does take away a little of the max grip (trade off being better longevity). It's possible that's all they had, though - I didn't check what sets each driver had available pre-race.