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A post that said that Ferrari should have retained Kimi, the link backing up what the poster said.

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‘Mercedes are not talking ourselves down’

Date published: May 7 2019

Toto Wolff insists Mercedes are not trying to downplay their form in their battle with Ferrari, adamant they still have a lot of room for improvement.

Although Ferrari arrived at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix looking to be the team to beat, the Scuderia have yet to claim a single race win.

Instead it has been Mercedes who have dominated.

The Brackley squad has claimed four successive 1-2 results, with Valtteri Bottas leading Lewis Hamilton by a single point in the standings.

The duo are comfortable 30 ahead of third placed Sebastian Vettel.

It has led to claims that Mercedes have been sandbagging and downplaying their form.

Wolff insists that is not the case.

“I’m sitting here [in Azerbaijan] and looking like appearing to be — what can I say? We are not talking ourselves down,” he told Motorsport Week.

“It is that we see a strong Ferrari on Friday and on Saturday, and I still believe that Charles was probably the fastest man on track [in Azerbaijan], but like in Bahrain, it didn’t come together.

“You can say now, ‘Yeah, stop saying these things – it’s the fourth one-two in a row’, but it is still very much our mindset.

“We still believe that there are so many things we need to understand better and improve.”

The Mercedes motorsport boss added that while Mercedes don’t have fastest car on the grid in their W10, it is their lack of mistakes out on track that have given them the advantage.

that doesn't necessarily mean he agrees. And regardless, that link was from a recent interview which just happened to coincide almost word for word with what the other poster was saying. What is so controversial about posting it?

I wasn't the one that questioned bringing forward an article from Villenueve.

A Vettel fan agreeing with Villenueve that Ferrari should have kept Kimi because it was a better working environment for Vettel?

But you were the one trying to make out that Covalent being a Vettel fan was somehow relevant to him posting the article. I don't see the connection, nor why it should make any difference.

I don't think it's always necessary to second-guess people's motivations for posting things and it might be better to focus on what was posted instead, particularly when the motivation doesn't really change the message in the first place

It probably doesn't hurt Mercedes' chances that they show up every weekend assuming they're going to have to work hard to be competitive. It seems to be working better than Cyril Abiteboul pronouncing last year that Renault is the biggest car company in the world and they have the resources to succeed or Ferrari thinking they can hold back Leclerc because they expect to make Sebastian Vettel compete for the championship.

FWIW I actually don't agree with him. IMO it was absolutely the correct time to bring Leclerc in.

And yes I often stumble across Villeneuve's thoughts and usually don't opt to ignore it just because it's Villeneuve. Sometimes he can make a good point and if not then there's always the comedy value.

But you were the one trying to make out that Covalent being a Vettel fan was somehow relevant to him posting the article. I don't see the connection, nor why it should make any difference.

I don't think it's always necessary to second-guess people's motivations for posting things and it might be better to focus on what was posted instead, particularly when the motivation doesn't really change the message in the first place

FWIW I actually don't agree with him. IMO it was absolutely the correct time to bring Leclerc in.

And yes I often stumble across Villeneuve's thoughts and usually don't opt to ignore it just because it's Villeneuve. Sometimes he can make a good point and if not then there's always the comedy value.

I agree too. I think my sarcasm was lost with Poker in this post.

Bringing forward an article that agrees with what a poster has said is not backing up that post, ok.

I understood the sarcasm in respect to Villenueve being someone you would largely ignore.

But you still missed the whole point and ended up discussing this in the last 10 posts??? The point being what Zoue said above about second guessing people.

Why bring forward an article that backs up what someone posted when you don't even agree with the article and we're supposed to know that?

It doesn't matter whether we know that or not. The article is relevant because it echoes what the previous poster had said. There's no rule that says posting a link means you endorse what's in the link and frankly the poster's own feelings on the matter aren't strictly relevant as they are simply quoting someone else.

You are trying to make out that Covalent being a Vettel fan is central to the point being made, whereas it's actually irrelevant

0.8 secs is pretty shocking gap. Ferrari are looking worse than previous years. Monaco they will do well to even get podium? Canada could suit Ferrari.

0.8 secs is pretty shocking gap. Ferrari are looking worse than previous years. Monaco they will do well to even get podium? Canada could suit Ferrari.

The biggest question now, is what happened to Mercedes in Bahrain

Good luck in answering this question.

Even if Ferrari managed to get an advantage in that car.. there is absolutely no guarantee that the drivers will deliver.

Ferrari have had several chances to bring more wins and solid points to take two titles but their mistakes, under performing Kimi and even driver errors really shot their chances away.

If by advantage you mean blowing the field away every single GP to make almost an easy 1-2... well... no idea on that one...