However, Wolff has warned those who believe Mercedes is now clearly the 2017 favourite.
"The moment you say that, you go to the next race and get a shock," he said
Lol Ferrari win incoming, again somethingfishy is going on. I have a feeling Mercedes is playing with everybody, and when they get to far ahead, they just let the competition to win some races and thats it. We have to up the pace guys! Everything is not lost yet, the seasons start again in 14 days.
No way. F1 does however have a way of swinging one way then the other. In 2000 Schumacher lookedvlike running away with it then had a bad middle to the year. 2006 Alonso was running away with it then had a hard 2nd half. 2007 Ferrari had a hard middle section of the year. The one thing I have noticed is the lack of tyre preassure changes from Friday to Saturday since Monaco and Merc have had a great run since. Dont be surprised to see tyre preassures altered from Friday to Saturday and Ferrari all of a sudden getting better.
In the end, it was the tyre problems for both Ferraris that put paid to any chance of a big points finish.
Pirelli says that the problems the two Ferrari drivers had were different, but I don't see it like that. Both left-front tyres had delamination problems, and when that happens you're in the lap of the gods as to the outcome. Will the tyre stay inflated, as was the case with Raikkonen? Or will it deflate, as with Vettel?
Raikkonen's tyres were actually six laps fresher than Vettel's, while Valtteri Bottas, albeit with a different chassis, had done 31 laps on the same compound with a heavier car. So, in general, tyre life should not have been the issue.
So why, on a chassis that has been so good on its tyres until now, has this problem suddenly reared its ugly head?
At the Red Bull Ring a week before Silverstone, Ferrari introduced a new front wing with a longer-chord main plane.
This will produce more overall downforce, but have very different airflow separation characteristics, which can be much more difficult to manage.
This sort of change could lead to Ferrari running the front suspension set-up stiffer to stop that front wing getting too close to the ground.
If this is what Ferrari did, then the front tyre will be getting more of a pounding. Not only that, it can lead to more lock-ups under braking, and these local hotspots can very easily lead to delamination.
From my observations at Silverstone, both Ferrari drivers want different things from the car. Vettel turns in on the brakes, so needs confidence in the rear, which a stiffer front suspension set-up will give him. Raikkonen turns in earlier and asks for more from the front end of the car mid-corner, so he needs a more positive front end.
There will be an in-depth analysis of what happened, and as it's Ferrari there will be a few days of shouting and throwing hands up in the air and looking to the gods for the solution.
What's gone wrong for Ferrari?
There were signs at Silverstone that Mercedes now has Ferrari on the ropes, and it looks like a change of development direction may be to blame
By Gary Anderson
Published on Tuesday July 18th 2017
So it's development that getting us caught again...
It sure looks that way (with regards to the front end of the car). I know this is Monday morning quarterbacking (NFL) but Ferrari "over-developed" the front end
(suspension set-up & front wing downforce) and it showed on both cars with tyre delamination and degredation(on the somewhat outermost part of the tyre due to camber).
Thats a little harsh Gary!and as it's Ferrari there will be a few days of shouting and throwing hands up in the air and looking to the gods for the solution.
Gary Anderson, the expert who can't get a job in F1 because his car's were never really any good apart from maybe a Stewart but he can write and tell us how Ferrari are doing things wrong...
Forza Ferrari
Seemed to be some merit to his ramblings - that all went out the window when I read the last sentence about the shouting & "throwing hands up in the air".
Nice work Gary.
Forza Ferrari !
"You need great passion, because everything you do with great pleasure, you do well." - Juan Manuel Fangio
So here is Pirelli's stance on Vettels tyre @ British GP 2017....Kimi's tyre investigation to come out in a few day.
Attachment 7251
Pirelli concludes test on Raikkonen's tyre from British Grand Prix
NO ISSUES CONNECTED WITH THE TYRE ITSELF NOR WITH ITS USE
Milan, July 26, 2017 – The results of the analysis on Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen’s front-left soft compound tyre, which experienced an issue at the end of the recent British Grand Prix, reveal specific damage in two places at the edge of the belt close to the internal shoulder area.
This damage is not present throughout any other areas of the tyre whatsoever. Furthermore, the belt and the structure do not show any signs of fatigue.
The possible initial cause of this damage is consistent with contact against an external body, leading to a partial separation of the belt from the carcass in the two affected areas. In one of these two places, as a logical consequence, part of the tread also became detached.
This damage did not however compromise the actual tyre structure, with Raikkonen able to make his way safely back to the pits on an inflated tyre.
A number of detailed tests have since been carried out, both destructive and non-destructive, on other tyres used by frontrunners at the British Grand Prix with a similar or bigger distance on them compared to the set used by Raikkonen (for 25 laps). On no occasion was there any sign of fatigue, detachment or laceration – or even the beginning of such problems – that affected the structure of the tyre.
In conclusion, Pirelli can confirm that no issues have emerged connected with the tyre itself.
http://news.pirelli.com/global/en-ww...ost_2017-07-26
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