German Grand Prix 2014, Hockenheim - Race 10/19

[Westyfield2]

What's with all the empty stands? Massively noticeable during the coverage! According to Planetf1:

Mercedes' Toto Wolff is worried by the lack of interest from German spectators at the team's home GP. The crowds on Saturday were small and only 50,000 spectators are expected on Sunday - this despite a German leading the World Championship in a German car, a current German World Champion and four German drivers in the race. It was in stark contrast to the last two races in Austria and Britain which were sell-outs on race day.​

Also one LOL on PlanetF1 that I didn't notice as I was watching Sky instead:

BBC's commentator Three Times Le Mans Winner Allan McNish was feeling a bit shamefaced after his commentary for Radio 5 in Q1 which contained: "And Nico Rosberg is off! Nico Rosberg has left the track and hit the barriers hard...oh, sorry, that's Lewis Hamilton."​

 

[Flibster]

Didn't think they took one if it was due to damage?

You can only change a gearbox without penalty by failing to finish the previous race.

Other than that, you have to wait for the 5 races to be up to change it penalty free.

 

[Irish_Tom]

Just seen the crash on BBC highlights. It's a testament to the safety of these cars that Hamilton is ok after such a high-speed impact with such little run-off before the barriers.

 

[Django x2]

How anyone could think it was anything other than front right failure is beyond me. Please, never be let lose on fixing a car, will ya

Bad times for Lewis. I don't think he'll take Rosbergs brakes personally.

 

[Westyfield2]

How anyone could think it was anything other than front right failure is beyond me. Please, never be let lose on fixing a car, will ya

I hadn't worked out which brake it was during the first replay, but as the commentary team were going on about rear brake failure I was thinking "Call me stupid, but if the brakes can lock the wheel then they surely must be working!?"

 

[Mr Jack]

Terrible luck for Lewis. Just as he gets a bit of luck to close the championship up again, he gets this kick in the teeth. He'll do well to get good points tomorrow.

Poor show from Button and Kimi; both should have done much better. Delighted for Magnussen, he really showed what they McLaren can do.

 

[cuke2u]

Deluded in saying the lotus held him up then, destroyed by his teammate then put out by of qualifying by his ex one.

The only thing left was to cry about balance and sure enough he did.

Time to jog on old dog.

Oh I think JB won't be that bothered seeing as he's out qualified all his team mates at this track since 2003. This one only beat him by only 0.4 secs in q2...

 

[this_is_gav]

I hadn't worked out which brake it was during the first replay, but as the commentary team were going on about rear brake failure I was thinking "Call me stupid, but if the brakes can lock the wheel then they surely must be working!?"

Well the alternative is that the locked rear wheels caused the spin in the first place.

Though clearly if 3 of the 4 wheels are locked at the same time it suggests the 4th is at fault.

It was fun reading through the posts retrospectively though. Other than the basic physics we've had similar failures in the past causing the exact same results (Frentzen at Melbourne in 1997 being the first example to spring to mind).

Clearly everyone jumped on brake-by-wire being the cause, being relatively new. Or listening to whatever Crofty was feeding you rather than just thinking.


It'll make for a fun race tomorrow though, and Hamilton should still get a strong finish (given the pace Mercedes have shown when they needed it, Hamilton should still finish 2nd, assuming he gets through most of the non-Mercedes cars in a dozen laps or so, which on evidence of recent races won't be any issue at all).

 

[Regy53]

I am genuinely gutted for Lewis again. He has had zero luck for a long time now and just when you thought there nearly on even ground boom another problem.

Looking forward to his race tomorrow I hope Nico has trouble to be honest somthing I do not like about him since monaco.

 

[leaskovski]

Rosberg uses Carbon Industries brake discs and pads
Hamilton uses Brembo discs and pads.

Structural failure of the left front disc. *says Paddy Lowe... I thought it was the right tbh.*

They both use brembo pads, I thought?

 

[Skeeter]

Yeah that's what I thought. It was when Button was his team mate at McLaren that they used different ones, but I've heard nothing that suggests both drivers don't use Brembo at Mercedes.

 

[steve45]

I heard it mentioned when Lewis first joined Merc, but I wasnt aware that they swapped between depending on the track, interesting to know and kind of makes sense looking back.

 

[sunama]

The Williams team did very well today.
Merc dominated as per usual.
RBR just arent able to catch up.
McLaren are waiting for something to happen and I feel its the arrival of a new driver. At present they are merely treading water and content to do so.

And as for Ferrari - how long is Alonso going to continue driving for them?
Perhaps Button and Alonso should do a swap? Assuming that McLaren have finished playing happy families.

 

[~Mike~]

Bad luck for Lewis today.

 

[Vertigo]

Perhaps Button and Alonso should do a swap? Assuming that McLaren have finished playing happy families.

You what?! Button needs to jog on tbh. He's just coasting these days - he's never been good in a car that isn't perfectly to his liking and his championship was a lucky one that he made a right meal of.

Never rated him myself. Very nice guy and a decent driver but never anywhere near one of the best.

 

[utajoker]

There's still massive potential for Mercedes to screw up the strategy. At no point should Hamilton be told to manage or save anything other than fuel (if that). He's got a pile of fresh tyres and should just be told to go balls to the wall flat out all race and take an extra stop if needed.

i dont think he will need to be told.

 

[drunkenmaster]

So it sounds like if they want to switch the type of brake pad they have to start from the pit lane.... absurd frankly. It's hardly a drastic change and if the failure throws that type of brakes safety in to question I think it's a no brainer to change it.

If he does start from the pit lane then he's got even less chance. At least there would be less chance of jumping past 5 cars but running into someone who trying to avoid people ends up running you off the road.

Starting from the pitlane, he'd still get into the top 5 pretty damn quickly but to have any chance of a win he needs to get towards the top three and pray for a safety car, or a Rosberg failure.

 

[smr]

Ello guys,

Just caught up with qualifying as i was at the hospital with my newborn and the missus earlier.

Yeah, disappointed with Jenson a bit, obviously hasnt got the setup done right. At leasy we can play around with strategy tomorrow and chance of rain would be exciting. Well done to Kevin, brilliant to see us capable of getting 4th on a dry track. The upgrades are definitely working

 

[smr]

Yep think Kimi will be bored by the end of the season.

It is quite amusing how a British driver gets so much flack for complaining about balance, by british fans no less. Yet the most egotistical and arrogant driver in f1, kimi by name, doesnt get mentioned on here at all. Wasnt he hailed as one of the best drivers on the grid about 2-3 years ago by many armchair f1 "experts" on here?


Heh.

 

[this_is_gav]

So it sounds like if they want to switch the type of brake pad they have to start from the pit lane.... absurd frankly. It's hardly a drastic change and if the failure throws that type of brakes safety in to question I think it's a no brainer to change it.

What the heck are you reading?

It's plainly obvious it was a manufacturing fault and can be replaced under parc ferme regulations on safety grounds without any penalty at all.

Whether they chose to make other changes (change rear wing levels to potentially aid overtaking for example) and start from the pit lane remains to be seen, but I doubt it.

It is quite amusing how a British driver gets so much flack for complaining about balance, by british fans no less. Yet the most egotistical and arrogant driver in f1, kimi by name, doesnt get mentioned on here at all. Wasnt he hailed as one of the best drivers on the grid about 2-3 years ago by many armchair f1 "experts" on here?

Heh.

A decade ago, yes. 2 years ago he was OK, but not uprooting trees. 3 years ago he wasn't in F1. 5 Years ago he was barely in F1 and dreaming of pastures new.