I interpreted it as "our current car doesn't have the development potential of Red Bull's so we did something drastic."Quote:
Originally Posted by Zico
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I interpreted it as "our current car doesn't have the development potential of Red Bull's so we did something drastic."Quote:
Originally Posted by Zico
Looks like it was Kimi & Seb.Quote:
Originally Posted by edv
Red Bull on another planet compared to others cars, but that has been the case since about the 7th race in 2009, so no surprise there.
Newey is an F1 titan.
Big surprises for me so far are McLaren & Mercedes; one on the downside and one on the upside.
The Ferrari is looking pretty good, but I think that was more or less expected. The Red Bull is looking pretty good too, obviously, but remarkable just how close Lewis and Nico are to Seb... and also remarkable how disappointing the McLaren seems to be. I didn't see that coming.
My guess is they stuck with the low nose too long, and were finding it a limiting factor. So they needed a shift in concept to a car that would make use of the airflow under a higher nose, and in terms of understanding it they are now trailing behind teams who have been using that concept for longer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zico
Regarding McLaren. I don't criticize them for the decision, obviously they knew, what they were risking with and had to make an uncomfortable compromise in their decision. Development potential is a very important aspect. Remember Renault in 2011. If you struggle to develop a car, there wouldn't be much use of it over a full season - even if you are fast in a couple of opening races, but drop to midfield for the rest of the year.
However, I am impressed that RBR never seems to hit a ceiling with their evolutionary designs. Shows that they have got the basics very right and the design philosophy has been worked out in harmony with the big picture. A contrast to McLaren, who seems to make a clean sheet design each season, but never manages to create a car with enough long-term potential and have to go to the beginning again.
That sums up the genius of Adrian Newey!Quote:
Originally Posted by jens
at least 6 tenths, what? :pQuote:
Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden
That's my Pickem down the drain.
(I gambled on changing my winner from Vettel to Button with a couple of hours to go...)
A few years ago starting with a clean slate to develop extra potential was probably the right thing for Mclaren, not so sure about now. Back then, they could start with a slower (by their standards) car and stil be the third best car (maybe behind Ferrari & Renault or Ferrari & Williams) and still get a descent points haul finishing a bit off the podium. Now, starting a bit slower puts them behind four or five teams, and they may be scratching for just a point or two. By the time they realize their potential, they could be too far behind.