[Official] Team of the race: Austrian Grand Prix 2014

[mikuni]

Originally Posted by JamesH

Really? The Merc is still clearly the faster car over a race distance. Not by much, but enough.

Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. The statistics don't necessarily back that up.

Williams went into this race starting on the front row, but aiming for 3rd and 4th. I firmly believe that they over-estimated Mercedes speed, and Williams had already written off the chance of a win. In F1 it isn't always the fastest car that wins the race, so many times over the years other factors have come into play and smart strategy it certainly one of those things.

I really hope that the rest of the field have seen how much ground has been made up in recent races and they all take it to Mercedes. In particular, Williams, because they have a very real opportunity here.

[JHamilton]

They lost track position in the pits due to poor strategy. At least make merc work for it.

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by mikuni

Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. The statistics don't necessarily back that up.

Williams went into this race starting on the front row, but aiming for 3rd and 4th. I firmly believe that they over-estimated Mercedes speed, and Williams had already written off the chance of a win. In F1 it isn't always the fastest car that wins the race, so many times over the years other factors have come into play and smart strategy it certainly one of those things.

I really hope that the rest of the field have seen how much ground has been made up in recent races and they all take it to Mercedes. In particular, Williams, because they have a very real opportunity here.

I think the Mercedes are the standard to judge by at the moment but the tracks make a difference. Red Bull was quick at Australia, and did well at Malaysia, China and Barcelona. They won in Canada but were nowhere at Austria. They have probably the best handling chassis, have good brakes, and are down on power so need a track that flows.
Austria is long straights and sharp corners so it is the antithesis of a place where they can maximise the car.

Williams have a car with excellent aero and engine. it handles well but have struggled where high speed corners proliferate because of tyre wear and balance, poorly thought out strategy and mistakes in pit work. so Austria suited them because it played to their strengths, Just as Germany and Monza may.

Silverstone has too many high speed corners. They will have the straight line speed but I think they will struggle to get on the front row. If my theory is correct, probably end up on row three or four.

[Kempi]

Let's see if Mercedes can really keep their advantage. Engine-wise the answer is clear, without development during the season.

But Brawn/Mercedes have a history of starting hot and not being able to keep up with the development speed of the other teams. So while they will take the title - like they did in 2009 - the races will likely be much closer by end of season.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

They lost track position in the pits due to poor strategy. At least make merc work for it.

Plus 1.

In fact I would give the Williams team "Plonker of the Race."

Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by wnut

Plus 1.

In fact I would give the Williams team "Plonker of the Race."

Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory!

I think "Plonker of the Race" or "Retard of the Race", as I like to call it, should be really be awarded to the driver. Maybe "Plonkers of the Race" might be a better category?

[Clive]

Williams!

[wnut]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

I think "Plonker of the Race" or "Retard of the Race", as I like to call it, should be really be awarded to the driver. Maybe "Plonkers of the Race" might be a better category?

I did run a quick debate about whether I should include the team as plonkers or plonker of the race.

I decided to include their collective effort as a singular under the team, given that I was looking for a superlative! Worsetist

Maybe plonker/s of the race is the way to go. Still a vital thread imo!

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by wnut

Plus 1.

In fact I would give the Williams team "Plonker of the Race."

Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory!

And yet, there they are, running an F1 team that put their cars on pole and second, and finished them 3 and 4th. That's better than, now, let me think...

Ferrari, Red Bull, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Caterham, Marrusia, Force India and Mclaren.

Not too bad for a bunch of retarded plonkers.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by JamesH

And yet, there they are, running an F1 team that put their cars on pole and second, and finished them 3 and 4th. That's better than, now, let me think...

Ferrari, Red Bull, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Caterham, Marrusia, Force India and Mclaren.

Not too bad for a bunch of retarded plonkers.

Great quali!

But let us face it, such a waste of a golden opportunity!

I was achingly disappointed with their effort, I really thought they could have done it, still do!

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by wnut

Great quali!

But let us face it, such a waste of a golden opportunity!

I was achingly disappointed with their effort, I really thought they could have done it, still do!

Well, they didn't think they could do it, and I presume they know what they are doing.

[chillibowl]

fair point but i still would have liked to see them split their strategy and have at least one driver cover at least one of the Merc stops when they had a chance too.

all things being equal that could have given them a shot at 1st and at worst 5th if they lost a place to a storming Alonso.

a worthwhile risk to take imo but then again thats an easy call to make from the comfort of couchwall.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by JamesH

Well, they didn't think they could do it, and I presume they know what they are doing.

After seeing that race, I'm not sure they know what they are doing. If you aren't going to try to win the race and put Merc in a position to have to pass you on track, why even enter the cars?

[IceMan_PJN]

Mercedes of course had the better race pace, but I'm going to dock them points for continuing to punish Lewis with slower pit stops versus those of Nico. I'm going to give the nod to Williams, however, for a valiant effort and being able to actually give the Mercedes cars a fight, even if it might just be a one-off.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by IceMan_PJN

Mercedes of course had the better race pace, but I'm going to dock them points for continuing to punish Lewis with slower pit stops versus those of Nico. I'm going to give the nod to Williams, however, for a valiant effort and being able to actually give the Mercedes cars a fight, even if it might just be a one-off.

Again, if Lewis stopped in the pit box; first stop; his stop would have been considerably quicker!

[JamesH]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

After seeing that race, I'm not sure they know what they are doing. If you aren't going to try to win the race and put Merc in a position to have to pass you on track, why even enter the cars?

I think they knew exactly what they were doing. They know the cars, they know what they are capable of. If they knew that the Merc were going to be spending lots of time trying to get past, but would certainly do so eventually, why put your cars at risk of an accident during an overtake?

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by JamesH

I think they knew exactly what they were doing. They know the cars, they know what they are capable of. If they knew that the Merc were going to be spending lots of time trying to get past, but would certainly do so eventually, why put your cars at risk of an accident during an overtake?

Seriously? If they are worried about the cars being damaged during a pass they shouldn't be on the grid at all! What's the point? You know what else might happen? They might win.