[Jody Barton]

You might be right Forza with regards Ferrari and the thinner tyres. I had it explained to me as in they could hear the surface up, but couldn't get and retain heat 'in' the tyre as I stated, so they just shredded the surface, and just ate through the tyres and caused graining. With rumours Pirelli have been asked to go back to the thinner gauge in 2019 by the FIA, Ferrari will need to sort it out.

Hesh, RBR said they needed the thinner tread in Spain as did Renault, Force India and McLaren. Toro Rosso Said they wished they could have the thinner tyres every race, so I think they liked them.

[forzaferrari]

You might be right Forza with regards Ferrari and the thinner tyres. I had it explained to me as in they could hear the surface up, but couldn't get and retain heat 'in' the tyre as I stated, so they just shredded the surface, and just ate through the tyres and caused graining. With rumours Pirelli have been asked to go back to the thinner gauge in 2019 by the FIA, Ferrari will need to sort it out

Yes Jody will be interesting to see how Ferrari fare in PR with these tyres, did they really get to understand and get on top of them during the test? also will the warmer ambient temps and different track make any difference? ....praying for a big fat YES to both

[Monster Hesh]

Its just a rumour. Mercedes wont have new engine for French GP.

It was just a comment someone fired at me on twitter, I thought that's nonsense, asked for source etc, no reply. However a few more outlets are saying the same, probably still a rumour. One thing the first guy did say which is just outright crazy, is new spec wont be used till Hungary. Which had me asking are they running their PU1 till Hungary, or introduce a new undeveloped spec engine.

[Jody Barton]

Its just a rumour. Mercedes wont have new engine for French GP.

It was just a comment someone fired at me on twitter, I thought that's nonsense, asked for source etc, no reply. However a few more outlets are saying the same, probably still a rumour. One thing the first guy did say which is just outright crazy, is new spec wont be used till Hungary. Which had me asking are they running their PU1 till Hungary, or introduce a new undeveloped spec engine.

I hate to say it Hesh, but I'm hearing Mercedes won't have the new PU available until Silverstone. That's the last rumour I heard late last week, that PU1 will be expected to do Paul Riccard, and Red Bull Ring also. Although Bottas' comments seem to suggest that he expects to have the new PU this weekend, interestingly Hamilton's comments suggest he doesn't expect to have a new PU this weekend.

We'll see. But if they don't, they will not be competitive this weekend.

[NeilP]

I cannot believe Mercedes would even risk running this engine for an 8th race, especially Hamiltons which was suffering heating issues at Canada albeit for more cooling issues. IF that is the case this would be an enormous set back for Hamiltons title ambitions and would even put huge pressure on the Constructors title.

As regards the comment about Hungary that is way too late to introduce a second engine and way too early to introduce a third. It will be interesting to see if the rumour has any substance to it.

[Jody Barton]

I cannot believe Mercedes would even risk running this engine for an 8th race, especially Hamiltons which was suffering heating issues at Canada albeit for more cooling issues. IF that is the case this would be an enormous set back for Hamiltons title ambitions and would even put huge pressure on the Constructors title.

As regards the comment about Hungary that is way too late to introduce a second engine and way too early to introduce a third. It will be interesting to see if the rumour has any substance to it.

Neither can I NeilP. Just seems like an amazing amount of work to expect one engine to do a full 8 race weekends, let alone a ninth in Austria. I could understand them cycling the engine back in for Hungary where quite frankly it won't do much work and overtaking is at a premium any way, might as well keep the mileage off of PU1, but if Mercedes are expecting it to do Paul Riccard as well, then yeah, I'd say they're in trouble and will be stuffed this weekend and it could call into question their ability to compete in both championship.

[Jody Barton]

Well... it seems that Mercedes are still waiting on whether or not they can run their spec 2 engine this weekend:

http://sport.bt.com/f1/lewis-hamilton-fa...4279133526

A few places are now saying it's looking like it won't be ready in France, and given there are three back to back races including Austria and Silverstone, those rumours about the upgrade not being ready until Silverstone make sense if it wasn't a minor issue found on the Dyno at all. If it was more critical a month turn around would place the upgrade in the Silverstone window at the earliest. We'll need to keep an eye on this story as it develops, this could be a turning point in the season, Montreal felt significant, it felt like Mercedes were starting to crack for the first time in 5 years, it felt like the relentless pressure had got to them. If it goes past Paul Riccard it could unravel.

[forzaferrari]

Personally I would be very surprised if indeed the new spec engine wasnt used in PR this weekend, 2 weeks has past since the unit was originally to be used, surely the might of Mercedes can rectify the issue (a part/piece that was a few thousandths intolerant) and prove out through dyno testing within this time frame...if the new pu is not at PR in my eyes this would suggest there is a little more to this issue than first thought/reported.

[Jody Barton]

That's exactly the point Forza. If the problem really is minor then the engine should be in France, if the rumours of it not being here in France are true, then it's a big problem for Mercedes, and those whispers of the engine not being ready until Silverstone at the earliest are probably true. There's no way a Mercedes PU can do 9 races, possibly 10. Especially when the tracks it has already done include Bahrain, China, Baku, Montreal. Hell, Spain and Australia aren't exactly easy on engines. Paul Riccard and possible Red Bull Ring as well? No bloody way. Throw in the possibility of Silverstone and maybe Hockenheim too? Surely they'll take a new spec 1 PU if spec 2 isn't ready. They just can't risk the mileage.

[forzaferrari]

Sorry bud really busy here and misread the post, absolutely, I read somewhere one of the Merc engines had over 5600km on it!