- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
It seems that Toto Wolff agrees with you - he says that Hamilton "needs the enemy" to be at his very best. If Rosberg is being less antagonistic, it's a curious Achilles heel for Hamilton to have.
2016 Formula 1 Japanese Grand PrixFormula 1
- Thread starter SVT Cobra GT
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- 2,051
- Australia
I think that's just a coincidence to be honest.
- 3,264
- Salt Lake City,
They're just trying to sell a story or trying to rile Lewis up. A lot of people are blaming Lewis for the bad starts, but Mercedes has had them all year and admitted there's no cure. If Lewis had even a decent start to Suzuka, he could have challenged Nico. But he fell to 8th. That's a hard task for anyone to podium in these cars, especially at Suzuka. The gap was near 17, 18 seconds at lap 8. I think the upcoming tracks are easier to overtake on. The drs will probably be a lot more effective than at Suzuka.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
There's no cure from a technical standpoint.
The old system was to use a twin clutch. The driver could pre-set the second clutch to find the bite point, then use the first to feed the power in before engaging the second to get away cleanly. The new system is a single clutch where the driver needs to feed the power in to the bite point simultaneously, but unlike the old system, the bite point is not at a fixed position. So it's a very fine balancing act that needs to be done in the moment, and no two getaways are the same because the bite point moves around.
There is, however, a cure: the driver needs to get better. It's not an impossibility, considering that Hamilton is probably the worst starter on the grid (he is at best the most inconsistent starter).
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He said that in Monza as well and the team gave a statement close to what they said here at Suzuka. Classic case of driver taking one for the team. Im not saying he's without fault but it's not just Hamilton.
And no, he's not the worst starter. That's a ridiculous statement @prisonermonkeys
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- Hammerhead Garage
Exhibit A: Suzuka. He started second, and was eighth by the first corner. It was his seventeenth race with the single-pedal clutch, and given the difficulty in getting the car off the line, drivers rehearse the starts extensively, and so he likely would have done at least fifty starts this year.
So who would you say got a worse start in Suzuka?
- 29,985
- Bratvegas
- GTP_Liquid
I thought he just ballsed up his clutch release. Maybe he was overthinking the wet patch at the front of the grid but it seemed like he messed up the start for no particular reason, it just happens sometimes.
When did anti-stall become standard on all F1 cars?
When did anti-stall become standard on all F1 cars?
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Years ago. The engines cannot be started on their own, so if somebody stalls on the grid, race control would have no choice but to keep sending everyone off on formation laps until the stricken car can be cleared. A stationary car can also be extremely dangerous, so anti-stall allows a driver to get the car moving.
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- Cairo, Egypt
- GTP_SEMS
If Lewis had turned on SRF and TC in the pre race settings it would've been much easier.
- 3,264
- Salt Lake City,
You said "probably the worst starter on the grid". That's not "worst start at Suzuka". This year he has a team with a faulty clutch. But that doesn't make him the worst starter. He's made dynamite starts and usually keeps his position barring an issue.
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Suzuka was one example. There have been plenty of starts where he has struggled to get away cleanly. Compare that to, say, Marcus Ericsson, who hasn't lost a position on the opening lap all year. You can't really fault the equipment because Rosberg has the same clutch and - Germany not withstanding - has been getting away just fine; if anything, his poor start in Germany galvanised Rosberg.
But you are right about one thing: his starts have been dynamite. If he loses the title, it will be because of his poor starts, so in a sense his starts have been skin to setting dynamite around his title bid and watching it collapse.
- 8,835
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- AlexGibbo27
Nico can actually afford three 2nd's and one 3rd and still win.
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- GTP_daan
When you start 1st most of the time, it's hard to gain a position.
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- HamiltonMP427
Actually I believe f1 fantatic ran a report showing that Nico has lost more places and had equal faulty starts to Lewis this season. I think Lewis is just screwing up toward the end of season because of factors out of his hand and just over thinking when he should be just trying to get the best out of the day. Not the year. He's got 3 WDC sure a fourth would put him into even rarer territory but I feel he should focus on his drive like he use to and less on how it will effect him in the grand scheme.
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I haven't followed F1 Fanatic for years.
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- HamiltonMP427
Okay, like I said they have one showing that Nico has lost more places to Lewis but some of that should be chalked up to incidents like Malaysia.
