Formula 1 United States Grand Prix 2015 (Los Angeles - Central Park) 03/15/2015

Looks like this season's cars are so tightly packed after all those aero tweaks that overtaking feels impossible... everyone’s been struggling with it, literally every single driver, even Sergio Perez with that weak Honda engine...
So it makes you wonder how much reason Hamilton actually had to be "scared" of Rosberg...

Anyway, regarding the whole Ferrari vs. Williams dynamic, there’s one thing that doesn't look great for Ferrari.
Basically, Sebastian Vettel was catching Felipe Massa easily outside the DRS zone, but once he hit the DRS zone, even the Williams would pull away from him—and that’s without even using DRS 😢
So regardless of having the faster car, he still couldn't do a damn thing about it...
But then again, he absolutely had to stay ahead of Felipe Massa, because based on this, I think Massa could have easily overtaken the Ferrari in the DRS zone...
Now, whether the same thing applies to Mercedes, I honestly have no clue. Maybe it isn't just about the Power Unit, since Sergio Perez struggled with the Honda too, even though he shouldn't have had issues even if he were running a Renault engine 🤔

Australia is such a weirdly specific track, honestly, you almost never see anyone actually making a move or attempting an overtake there.

Roger Wright94 said:The edge Lewis held over Rosberg during the race wasn't exactly a comfortable lead, was it? If anything, I’d describe it as razor-thin.
It is the kind of advantage that vanishes the moment you hit a single bump in a corner.
And frankly, I didn't see him making any real attempt to stretch that gap further.

So, we are left with two possibilities,
a) Hamilton is simply so supremely confident in his own pace that he felt no need to push harder, calculating that even if he suffered a minor setback, he could reclaim his position effortlessly. Perhaps he just possessed those ice-cold nerves and spent the afternoon playing psychological games with Rosberg.
b) He actually wanted to pull away, but he just couldn't find the extra tenths needed to build a buffer of at least five or six seconds—which, in my opinion, would have provided some actual breathing room.

Personally, I am leaning toward option B.
Though, if option A turns out to be true, I wouldn't mind being proven wrong 🙏.

if Hamilton had been able to break away, he certainly would have; I recall him managing to do exactly that a few times last season, specifically during the Grand Prix of Malaysia and the Grand Prix of China, if my memory serves me correctly.

graniteharbor502 said:that if Hamilton had the chance, he would've pulled away. he actually managed to pull that off a few times last season—I think it was at the Grand Prix of Malaysia and the Grand Prix of China, if I recall correctly.

Seriously though, why on earth would he just push the car to the absolute limit for no reason, especially during this part of the season when you really have to baby the engine and play it smart?

darkmarlin16 said:Why would anyone push the car unnecessarily hard, especially during this early part of the season when you really need to be careful with the engine management?

Is Lewis Hamilton actually Alain Prost? He certainly isn't.
Did Lewis Hamilton pull away from Rosberg during the second race of last season—while sitting on a twenty-five point deficit—by simply "pushing the car unnecessarily hard"? He did.
And didn't Nico Rosberg himself admit that he had the pace to win, yet found it almost impossible to overtake a car of identical performance on this particular track? He did.
So, was Lewis Hamilton merely copying Rosberg's setup? It seems he was.

darkmarlin16 said:The Grand Prix of Australia is such a unique track; you almost never see much overtaking there.

From a driver's perspective, though, the layout is incredible. It’s easily one of my favorite F1 tracks out there.

Roger Wright94 said:The edge Lewis had over Rosberg during the race wasn't exactly comfortable or substantial. I’d call it marginal at best.
That’s the kind of lead you lose with a single mistake in a corner.
And I didn't see him making any particular effort to stretch it further.

So,
a) Is Hamilton just that confident? Did he decide there was no need to push harder because he figured he could easily claw back the gap if something went wrong? Maybe he just has nerves of steel and spent the whole race playing games with Rosberg.
b) Or did he want to pull away but simply couldn't break clear by a solid 5-6 seconds—which, in my opinion, would have been a much safer cushion.

I’m leaning toward B.
But I’d happily take A (if true). 🙏

Hamilton was in total control.

stormybadger8 said:It looks like this season's cars, with all those aero tweaks, make overtaking harder than ever... everyone seems to be struggling with it, even Perez with that lackluster Honda power unit...

Tires and KERS.
In previous seasons, most overtakes happened because of those two factors.

stormybadger8 said:Which brings up the question: how much reason did Hamilton actually have to fear Rosberg...

Exactly.

stormybadger8 said:Regarding the Ferrari vs Williams dynamic, there's one thing that doesn't look great for Ferrari.
Essentially, Vettel could catch Massa easily outside the DRS zone, but once he entered the DRS zone, even without using it, the Williams would pull away from him.😢
So regardless of having the faster car, it didn't really help him.
Then again, he absolutely had to stay ahead of Massa, because if I'm right, Massa could have definitely caught the Ferrari in the DRS zone.

Me?

Red Bull used to grab titles with cars that were consistently the slowest on the speed trap, sometimes lagging by as much as 12 milesmph
.

The tires are even tougher than they used to be.
We’re going to see fewer and fewer pit stops.

A single pit stop can be all it takes... to completely ruin someone's race.. 🙂

Jason Campbell70 said:Me?

Red Bull used to win championships with cars that were consistently the slowest on the speed trap, sometimes trailing by as much as 12 milesmph.

It’s not that Ferrari has a worse speed trap; they're actually within a mile per hour or so...
But it's obvious Williams has way better acceleration and hits that top speed much sooner 😉

Motorsports driver ratings:
Rosberg 9
Hamilton 10
Sainz 8
Verstappen 7
Ricciardo and Kvyat 7
Kvyat 5
Grosjean 8
Maldonado 6
Massa 7
Bottas 8
Vettel 9
Raikkonen 8
Magnussen 5
Button 8
Ericsson 5
Nasr 10
Perez 3
Hulkenberg 9

stormybadger8 said:It isn't really that Ferrari suffers from a weaker speed trap; they are actually within about a kilometer per hour of the others...

Yet, it seems quite obvious that Williams possesses significantly better acceleration, reaching that top speed much earlier in the run.😉

In practical terms, does that imply more Newton-meters of torque?

rowdyrider12 said:So what does that mean in terms of extra torque?

It's possible there's some trickery going on with the pressure maps or just straight-up messing around with fuel flow. 😁
I honestly have no clue, but it seriously caught me off guard how much he was getting gapped in the DRS zone, especially since they were pulling practically identical top speeds on the telemetry...

Are we seriously going to sit here and debate this? 🤷
It was basically the second GP if you look at the reality of it. 🍿

Lock it down, baby! 👍