Imagine a great picture of Monza here please log in to view this image please log in to view this image (probably a crash) please log in to view this image Tyres: Yes. TV: Sky or Highlights on C4 (or stream it)
Vettel all the way. Ferrari have spent their summer holidays making a mega upgrade. Game on for Mercedes to reply now.
Did you read the cunning plan of Merc about oil burning? Any PU introduced before Monza is allowed to burn 1.2litres per 100km Monza or after 0.9litres per 100km! So Merc introduced their 4th PU at Spa, so as long as they keep using the original 4PUs they are allowed to burn 1.2l/km!!! Ferrari are not happy but rules is rules!!! So over the 300km Monza race they can use 3.6L of oil and 105kg of fuel. So total 108.6 kg (OK so 1L of oil isn't 1kg more like 0.9kg but you get the idea). Where as post Monza PU: 105kg fuel + 2.7L of oil = 107.7kg So close to 1% difference in 'fuel' which could provide 60hp average extra power(1%)!!! Nice little extra bit of power. Merc should have this in the bag!!
I did read about it. The engine manufacturers had a gentleman's agreement not to release a new engine before Monza but Mercedes broke it. Not breaking rules but stealing a sneaky advantage
Ferrari have said there was no agreement. If there was then the moaning leading up to this gp from them would be unbearable. Haas got a new unit in spa I believe so they could have done it if they wished. They're obviously working on a update which they feel is worth more.
Ferrari sand bagging? Oil burn rules kicking in to hurt them? Just running a old engine on low revs? Bit of an odd session really. Only just ahead of the bulls.
In his defence he did say that he had iffy sensor readings and the last time that happened the engine exploded!! But then again why not just let it explode to give Honda a bit more public humiliation! It must be so frustrating for him.
Renault showing Honda how to have a proper engine failure. Still no billowing flames though. If you're going to go at least go in style.
You'd have thought that the standard response now from McLaren to Alonso's shouts of 'no power' would be "yeah it's been 3 years like it, get used to it mate".
Alonso and Vandoorne p7 and p8 in FP2 really shocked me. Doing some reading, there's a consensus that peak power is not so much the Honda problem any more- it's the consistency of deploying that power. Basically they don't have the same longevity of power that Merc and Ferrari have, e.g something like they can only deploy for part of a lap or one lap every 10 during a race. Something seems to have turned a corner at Honda recently when you read deep between the lines. Unless McLaren are privy to information that Renault have built a monster 2018 PU, I think leaving Honda now would be the absolute worst decision they could make. Honda have hired external knowledge, they know they have the correct design to reach performance potential, and they appear to know what is holding it back. You might just see a much more consistent and competitive Honda next season as they seem to have the steps lining up.
I think they are making a mistake by doing anything at all to keep Alonso , if the Renault turns out to be unreliable , he's just a likely to throw a hissy fit and bugger off anyway . Then if Honda do come good , they will look like mugs .
I agree, if you look at Spa, Alonso got a great start and was battling with (Hulk/Palmer I think) and was doing OK, it was nip and tuck. Then next lap he was getting swamped by everyone. It was like he had no electrical power left. I mentioned it in the Spa thread and someone suggested that the ERS was a limiting factor for Honda at the moment and they couldn't deliver electrical power boosts very often. I guess the IC bits have been sorted by Ilmor and co so ERS and storage seem to be the last bit of the puzzle to sort. Fingers crossed they can pull it all together.