2015 Bahrain Grand Prix - Sakhir

I honestly think Ferrari is struggling to keep pace with the field... This isn't just a one-off thing during this race either—maybe it’s specific to today's setup, but it looks deeper than that.

We've seen this pattern before, like when it was Kimi vs. Vettel... Kimi claimed he was going to hunt him down, but then nothing happened—he couldn't even get within DRS range.

It was pretty much the same deal with Kimi vs. Rosberg... even when he got within a second, he couldn't manage to pull into the DRS zone for an entire lap.

The Vettel vs. Bottas battle shows the exact same thing... and right before that, Vettel had been gapping him by 6 or 7 seconds over just a few laps.

And even after Rosberg pulled off two overtakes, Ferrari still can't keep up until the gap shrinks down to about 1.5 or 2 seconds... and once it hits that mark, they just settle into the same rhythm—maybe even running a tiny bit slower.

It seems like every single car on the grid is struggling with following closely due to these latest aero regulations—though I’d say Ferrari is feeling the sting just a little more than Mercedes-Benz, mostly because of how they handled that nose design.

Did Nico Rosberg actually make a mistake that allowed Kimi Räikkönen to overtake him, or was it simply inevitable? Throughout that entire stint, he was consistently shaving off a second or even more per lap... plus, he had the advantage of fresher tires and those soft compounds. I can't help but feel like he would have made that move regardless of any single error.

jadeseal7 said:In that radio message to Bottas, once he found himself trailing Kimi following Kim's pit stop, the instructions were simply to push hard and overtake him since Kimi was struggling on slower tires. Yet, just two laps later, Kimi had already pulled ahead by three and a half seconds. 🤣

That is precisely my point... I remember that specific radio call quite clearly, and seeing how quickly Kimi slipped away makes this whole situation with Sebastian Vettel seem rather perplexing to me.
Edit: I am certainly not suggesting that Sebastian Vettel is a poor driver, per se, but rather that the entire sequence of events feels somewhat inconsistent. Does anyone happen to have a logical explanation for how this could occur?

One thing is certain: if Vettel had somehow managed to get ahead of Valtteri Bottas, he would have pulled away from him easily, just like Kimi did.

mellowtiger83 said:Oh, come on. You're saying Vettel had a car two seconds faster in Malaysia just because he passed Mercedes right on track? He almost caught the other guy too, if they hadn't pitted.👎, so yeah, totally logical thinking there. I mean, Kimi would definitely smoke Bottas, but for some reason Vettel isn't

To be a little tomorrow..
It was obvious even back then that Williams had way better acceleration than Ferrari.
In Australia, according to LT, Massa had a noticeably lower top speed than Vettel, yet he was still charging ahead in the DRS zone without any help.
I know, it blew my mind at the time that something like that was even possible, but clearly, Mercedes-Benz's ERS works way better than everyone else's when it comes to those bursts of speed.
They don't necessarily have a killer top speed compared to the other engines, but they hit it much faster and can basically dump all that power onto the asphalt instantly, while everyone else takes a second to get there.
That also explains why they don't struggle with tire overheating and why they crush the competition in qualifying but struggle in the race—they just juice up the battery and nail that one perfect lap.
It also explains why their rear tires get absolutely shredded compared to the rest of the field...

As for Malaysia, calling the car two seconds faster is an understatement.
Specifically 2.5 seconds during the overtake on Hamilton 🙂
The gap between fresh softs and tires that are 15-20 laps old is at least two seconds, sometimes even more.☕
Just look at the comparison in Bahrain... Vettel was faster than Hamilton by 5.6 seconds😳 on lap 15... the gap is honestly insane.😉

The gap was so massive he actually overtook Rosberg—and almost caught Hamilton too—but then Rosberg easily blew past Vettel for the exact same reason. It seems like these soft tires in Bahrain can only handle about a lap and a half at max pace before they just fall off a cliff and act more like the medium compound. After that, the degradation is basically the same as the mediums, which is probably why Kimi was able to catch up to them pretty easily for a few laps using newer mediums

Basically, he wasn't actually catching anyone; he was just clawing back the massive gap he created by staying out way too long on those softs during the first stint...
http://macofan.com/en/index.php?page...stian%20Vettel

Just look at how Sebastian Vettel shaved off about 8 seconds in just three laps (15, 16, 17). At lap 15, the gap was roughly 16 seconds. 😉
By lap 19, it was down to about 10 seconds. Before Vettel pitted, Kimi was right on his tail—maybe a second behind—but by the time Vettel exited the pits the second time, Kimi was trailing by about 4 seconds.
So, regardless of those faster lap times, Kimi effectively lost 3 seconds to Sebastian. All he got for it was a total disaster in the final stint, though whether that was pure bad luck or just the fallout from Vettel's second pit stop is debatable.

Anyway, long story short...
If Vettel hadn't gone in for that second pit stop and had stayed ahead of Nico Rosberg, Kimi would have been trailing him by about 20 seconds after coming out of the pits.

It was a massively stupid and expensive mistake by Vettel. Realistically, they could have finished 2nd or 3rd, maybe even 1st and 2nd in a perfect scenario.
Given the issues with Mečkin ERS, Sebastian probably would have caught Lewis Hamilton, and Hamilton likely would've lost time there too, potentially leaving them vulnerable to Kimi again.

Bottom line: a huge opportunity completely blown. 👎 😢

What are you even talking about? How could Sebastian Vettel have caught up to Lewis Hamilton and Nico if they were all running the exact same strategy? Nico overtook him three times—three! So, in that final stint, he would have ended up just a few seconds behind Rosberg. Besides, Kimi managed to hunt him down and pass him, so he would have done the same thing to Vettel a couple of laps earlier.

darkmarlin16 said:Purely pastoral 🙏

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns30615.html
The great pastor claims it's because he's got big balls 🤣🤣 🤣 😂 😂 😂

Crashtor Ballsdonado 😂

mellowtiger83 said:What are you even talking about? How was Vettel supposed to catch Hamilton and Nico when they were on the exact same strategy? Nico blew past him three times—three! So, in the final stint, he would've been maybe a few seconds behind Rosberg. Plus, Kimi caught and passed him, so he would've done the same thing to Vettel a couple of laps earlier.

Look, I said he stayed ahead of Rosberg...
Basically, if he could have just held on for that lap, or maybe one more, Rosberg probably wouldn't have had anything left in the tank. Fresh tires give you a massive edge for the first lap or two, but after that, the advantage pretty much disappears.
As for Vettel, he definitely had the pace to stay glued to Hamilton until the end. Whether he'd be close enough to capitalize on Hamilton's late-race issues? God only knows.

stormybadger8 said:http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns30615.html
Pastor Maldonado claims it's all because he's got some serious guts 🤣🤣—honestly, I can't decide if he's being brave or just reckless! 🤣 😂 😂 😂

Crashtor Ballsdonado 😂

A bit narrow-minded, if you ask me.

A really deep dive into the battle for the top four—definitely worth a read if you want the full picture.

I was actually wondering when exactly Vettel messed up during that first stint, and now it’s pretty clear—those 7 laps where his performance just tanked after easily keeping pace with Hamilton—and from what I can see, he probably made things tougher for Kimi too (sadly he couldn't pass him, or maybe he wasn't given the chance) because he likely slowed him down as well, maybe by a second or two overall

Go get 'em, Kimi! Show those guys who's boss.

Which commentator? 🙏🤣🤣🤣

stormybadger8 said:Come on Kimi, nail the bastards!

Which commentator 🙏🤣🤣🤣

I saw that yesterday—absolute legend. 🤣

autosport's driver ratings:
Rosberg 7
Hamilton 10
Fernando Alonso 9
Daniel Ricciardo 8
Daniil Kvyat 7
Sergio Perez 9
Nico Hülkenberg 7
Felipe Massa 7
Valtteri Bottas 9
Max Verstappen 5
Carlos Sainz 6
Sebastian Vettel 6
Kimi Räikkönen 9
Romain Grosjean 7
Pastor Maldonado 4
Ericsson, Nasr, Stevens, and Merhi 7, 6, 7, and 4

I’ll be the first to say it: they really don't like Rosberg.