Anyone following the Mercedes squat game?
Horner and Helmut seemed convinced Mercedes were cheating at the last race as they suddenly had way higher top speeds. I believe they said Mercedes must have changed their engines mid season to produce more power. Well nope, just clever suspension.
I like the sweet irony that Red Bull couldn't pull this off and resorted to illegally flexing the rear wing to reduce drag but this is an old regulation which has been mastered by Mercedes now and basically lets them squat the whole car
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:02 pm
by duncs500
I love this kind of stuff, it's not often engineers become Kings, so it must be celebrated!
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 5:28 pm
by integrale_evo
Qualifying highlights not on c4 until 8:30 tomorrow morning? What the heck is that all about?
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:22 pm
by Mito Man
The quali is really late this year - 10pm so it’s going to finish near midnight.
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:24 pm
by Mito Man
Didn’t realise Americans actually pronounce Bottas as “Boat Ass” - thought it was just a meme
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:15 am
by Rich B
Mito Man wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:14 am
Anyone following the Mercedes squat game?
Horner and Helmut seemed convinced Mercedes were cheating at the last race as they suddenly had way higher top speeds. I believe they said Mercedes must have changed their engines mid season to produce more power. Well nope, just clever suspension.
I like the sweet irony that Red Bull couldn't pull this off and resorted to illegally flexing the rear wing to reduce drag but this is an old regulation which has been mastered by Mercedes now and basically lets them squat the whole car
so how does it work? As in, what's the physical mechanism that drops it?
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:43 am
by jamcg
There’s a heave dampener in the rear suspension to prevent the car squatting- I imagine they’ve found a way for the dampener to collapse under full aerodynamic load, therefore allowing the car to squat. Would make sense with the reduction in pace in qualifying relative to practice as drs will reduce the aero load stopping this working. I’m expecting the mercs to be quicker in race trim because of this
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 12:46 pm
by Mito Man
It’s also set to work above the speed of the fastest corner on the track. In Austin the esses in sector one are taken at over 160 mph therefore it only drops above that speed which makes it less effective compared to Istanbul.
Mexico with its massive straights will be good to see how well it works.
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:48 am
by duncs500
Looks a long way back for LH now IMO, particularly with a supposed further engine penalty on the way and a number of RB tracks to go. Not a big deficit so could change in an instant of course.
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:24 am
by duncs500
It would be amazing if we went into Abu Dhabi with less than 7 points separating them and the cars evenly matched. Wheel to wheel at the front with the WDC on the line in the last race would be spesh.
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:05 am
by JonMad
Level on points into the final race. Max leads Lewis but bins it on the last corner into the wall with the finish in sight. He has just enough drive to punt Lewis off as he passes. Max jumps out of his car, Lewis sees and follows suit. They race on foot, Chris Froome stylee, to the finish line. Lewis, who also grabbed his steering wheel, doesn’t have the pace of the younger man but his lead from where his car came to rest is sufficient and he takes the win on the line.
What are the odds?
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:18 am
by mik
JonMad wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:05 am
Level on points into the final race. Max leads Lewis but bins it on the last corner into the wall with the finish in sight. He has just enough drive to punt Lewis off as he passes. Max jumps out of his car, Lewis sees and follows suit. They race on foot, Chris Froome stylee, to the finish line. Lewis, who also grabbed his steering wheel, doesn’t have the pace of the younger man but his lead from where his car came to rest is sufficient and he takes the win on the line.
What are the odds?
Sounds awesome. Can we have them negotiate an escaped rabid pet tiger sporting a diamond-encrusted collar on the way to the line?
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:49 am
by GG.
duncs500 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:48 am
Looks a long way back for LH now IMO, particularly with a supposed further engine penalty on the way and a number of RB tracks to go. Not a big deficit so could change in an instant of course.
Yes even a Max DNF would now only bring them back into parity, plus the potential 5 place grid drop for the engine penalty you mention. I think the RB is just too quick this year but it is still so close that anything (well, not Jon's scenario ) could happen.
duncs500 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:48 am
Looks a long way back for LH now IMO, particularly with a supposed further engine penalty on the way and a number of RB tracks to go. Not a big deficit so could change in an instant of course.
Yes even a Max DNF would now only bring them back into parity
Unless I missed something, a Max DNF would put Lewis further ahead of Max than Max's current lead (assuming Lewis won the race).
duncs500 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:48 am
Looks a long way back for LH now IMO, particularly with a supposed further engine penalty on the way and a number of RB tracks to go. Not a big deficit so could change in an instant of course.
Yes even a Max DNF would now only bring them back into parity
Unless I missed something, a Max DNF would put Lewis further ahead of Max than Max's current lead (assuming Lewis won the race).
You're right - Lewis would then be ahead by 13. I though the gap to MV was bigger for some reason.
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 1:39 pm
by DaveE
The size difference between Shaq and everyone else on the podium was hilarious...
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 1:58 pm
by RobYob
The real pic was funny enough though tbh
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 2:09 pm
by DaveE
This is when Nick Heidfeld met Shaq...
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:09 pm
by Mito Man
A good race this ain’t.
Re: No F1 thread?
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:19 pm
by DeskJockey
No. First lap shenanigans aside, it hasn't exactly been an edge-of-seat experience.
I love this kind of stuff, it's not often engineers become Kings, so it must be celebrated! 
Can we have them negotiate an escaped rabid pet tiger sporting a diamond-encrusted collar on the way to the line?
