I mean, looking back, they didn't even run into issues during their shakedown last year ☕ .
WTF 😲 Wait, what kind of game was McLaren playing with that shakedown last year? Because 🤷 the drivers are straight up saying they haven't even finished the floor, the gearbox doesn't fit the engine, and they won't even get a shakedown done—meaning the car will barely be ready for day one of testing in Los Angeles. 🤔
Either some kid made this story up, or they're lying about either the shakedown or the race series. 🤔
If it’s actually true that Ford knocked out 62 miles without breaking a sweat, then they’ve already blown past MCHondin’s mileage from last year's tests 😬
Where do you guys even live??? Suddenly, an Alfa Romeo running a Ferrari engine is some kind of massive shocker to you all 🤦
But I don't recall anyone throwing a fit when Red Bull was using a TAG engine or when Toro Rosso ran their own unit, right? 😁 And honestly, the most ridiculous part is that nobody even blinked when Renault (Lotus) was basically just a shell for a Mercedes engine 🙂
mellowtiger83 said:Nothing unusual here. It was bound to happen. It seems Adrian Newey just decided to copy Ferrari, likely because his creative well is running a bit dry in his later years. I am looking forward to seeing what Mercedes, Ferrari, and Alfa bring to the table.
What really interests me is whether Mercedes will follow suit and start copying Ferrari too, given that all three cars have essentially become Ferrari clones now.
Where are your glasses??? That car looks absolutely lethal already. Like, seriously lethal!!! If Renault manages to build an engine that’s even remotely reliable and has half the power they had last year, Lewis Hamilton is grabbing that title, no question.
Go check out the Formula 1 technical deep dives and see what's actually being hidden under that camo livery... I'll give it a few more days, but honestly? I think Ferrari can comfortably bank on finishing 3rd...
EDIT: https://www.f1puls.com/24841/poslusa...uci-novi-rb14/ Is it just the microphone 🤔 ??? To me, the sound seems noticeably louder and sharper than last year. It sounds beefier, like way more power.😁
mellowtiger83 said:@Tibi, you’ve missed the mark twice here. First off, Mercedes doesn't have a superior power unit compared to Ferrari. They might hold a slight edge, but it isn't nearly as significant as you’re implying. Second, you suggested that Adrian Newey is going to copy Ferrari 🙂, which is an interesting take. Copy what, exactly? I wasn't aware that Newey had any insight into Ferrari's unreleased designs. How is he supposed to copy them if Ferrari shows up again with brilliant aerodynamics?
Oh yeah, just a "tiny" edge... That gap turns into a canyon during qualifying, and it's massive when reliability comes into play. Unless, of course, you don't think it's a huge deal when Mercedes blasts off at the start only to have their power unit hit safe mode mid-race. 😬
mellowtiger83 said:@Tibi, you’ve missed the mark twice here. First off, Mercedes doesn't have a superior power unit compared to Ferrari. They might hold a slight edge, but it isn't nearly as significant as you’re implying. Second, you suggested that Adrian Newey is going to copy Ferrari 🙂, which is an interesting take. Copy what, exactly? I wasn't aware that Newey had any insight into Ferrari's unreleased designs. How is he supposed to copy them if Ferrari shows up again with brilliant aerodynamics?
Last year's Ferrari, I mean. Just like Haas and Williams... I expect Red Bull to pull a similar move, and honestly, I highly doubt Ferrari will show up with anything drastically different before they just bring a slightly tweaked version of last year's design.
If The Bear actually has any real competition, it’ll be Adrian Newey, no contest. I’d bet money he just copies Ferrari's designs and beats them to it by the start of the season. Not to mention Red Bull will definitely have faster development throughout the year; the only question mark is how reliable the Renault engine actually is. At the end of the day, what decides the whole Ferrari vs Red Bull showdown is basically just the reliability of the power unit.
It would honestly be a miracle if Ferrari can even keep pace with Red Bull, let alone Mercedes...
Mind you, The Bear is going to have a massive edge over Red Bull and Ferrari, not to mention everyone else.☕ There might be some fight between Red Bull and Ferrari, but fighting The Bear? Unlikely, unless things go absolutely sideways for them or their drivers mess everything up. Mercedes will probably just eat the competition alive thanks to a superior power unit—maybe not purely on raw power, but they'll definitely win on reliability. Plus, there's the little detail where they'll still hold a huge advantage in qualifying since they can crank the engine way higher than in the actual races. Meanwhile, everyone else will be forced to dial back the power and run conservative engine modes just to survive seven races without needing an engine swap. And don't even get me started on the nightmare Ferrari, Renault, and Honda will face with the MGU-H/K and the turbo...
The Bear is so damn far ahead of everyone else that the situation looks something like this: If Mercedes decided right now to just freeze power unit development and run today's spec all the way until the next rule change, here’s what happens:
Ferrari might catch them sometime in 2019, probably toward the very end of that season... Renault might catch them sometime in 2020, again, likely at the tail end... As for Honda, they probably wouldn't catch them ever.😬
Is this just leftover PTSD from the Honda days, or did they screw up with Renault too? 🤔 Nothing actually blew up, and it looks like the startup went fine... But looking at the faces of the McLaren crew, I wouldn't say anyone is celebrating. Honestly, it feels like this might not have been the "first" time either... They look pretty worried to me. Instead of expecting a smooth start, they look more like they're in disbelief that it even fired up. There wasn't even any excitement... just a total letdown. 😕
So, is that ugly, clunky Halo thing standardized? Does it have to be identical on every car? Or is there room for a few surprises if they start using the Halo as an aerodynamic add-on? 🤔
🙏🤣🤣🤣 If they actually manage to outscore McLaren, we might just be looking at the greatest underdog story in Formula 1 history 😁 But let's be real—with this driver lineup, even if Honda builds the greatest engine ever made, their chances are still basically zero...
mellowtiger83 said:Why don't I see any clear dominance from the Mercedes engine here?
Are these rough estimates including or excluding oil burning?
The data doesn't seem quite right to me either; both Ferrari and Mercedes were blathering about figures near 1000 hp last year, weren't they?
My prediction for engine power in 2018—specifically the Mercedes vs Ferrari ratio—is that it will mirror last year's table perfectly. In other words: equal!
Maybe that's why you've seen Ferrari outperforming Mercedes in almost every race lately, while Red Bull is right up there with them, posing a serious threat to the whole setup. Oh, look, it's Toto Wolff. I’m terrified. Seriously, I am very afraid! style...🙂😁
mellowtiger83 said:Why don't I see any clear dominance from the Mercedes engine here?
Are these rough estimates including or excluding oil burning?
The data doesn't seem quite right to me either; both Ferrari and Mercedes were blathering about figures near 1000 hp last year, weren't they?
My prediction for engine power in 2018—specifically the Mercedes vs Ferrari ratio—is that it will mirror last year's table perfectly. In other words: equal!
949 = 934 🤔 Is this some kind of new Wolff math or what?
According to this, here’s the horsepower breakdown for 2017: Mercedes - 949 hp Ferrari - 934 hp ( -15 hp) Renault - 907 hp ( -41 hp behind the Mecca and - 27 hp behind Ferrari) Honda - 860 hp (in a massive hole...)
Seriously, have you guys still not caught onto this? 🤦🤣
Those top-tier British experts over at Sky—who are always such geniuses, by the way—swapped Stroll and Massa's positions. It’s actually Stroll who is on average 0.594s slower than Massa, not the other way around. 😁
Dammit, that should have been obvious at first glance. 😉
