Was Overtaking too Easy at Silverstone?

[Paul Jeffrey]

Lewis Hamilton passed pretty much the entire grid today at Silverstone, but was it too easy, and why?

Lewis Hamilton performed a remarkable comeback from his lap one accident at Silverstone, however the ease at which the Mercedes managed to overcome his rivals on track leads to an interesting question - has overtaken been made too easy at Silverstone, or is the Mercedes really just that much better than the other cars in Formula One?

Passing is usually a game of driver skill and bravery, however the passing displayed by Lewis Hamilton for the most part didn't need either, the W09 Hybrid easily making light work of the cars ahead, leaving one to wonder if the challenge of passing another car at Silverstone is too easy, thanks in large part to not one but three DRS zones on the British circuit.

Do you think the ease of passing for Hamilton was down to a too generous application of DRS, or is that Mercedes that much more competitive than the current F1 grid?

Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[RobertGracie]

The overtaking was hard around the circuit in the latter part of the race but earlier on it was easier since the cars were closer together but Silverstone is a brute of a track when it comes to overtaking you need to have the balls to put your car into a corner and rub out the other guys line and hold it its an unforgiving circuit when you make a mistake in an overtake situation

 

[Jolero02]

Pretty simple- didn’t show overtaking was too easy, but showed how much faster the big teams are than the rest of the grid.

 

[farjam]

Pretty simple- didn’t show overtaking was too easy, but showed how much faster the big teams are than the rest of the grid.

yeah, overtakes were easy only for big teams on lower teams. just my personal opinion

 

[Giovaneveterano]

Nah, the top 3 teams belong to another category compared to the rest of the field.

 

[TrumpetReich]

Seriously? I'm at a loss for words. After all the criticism we've seen this season, now passing is too easy?

 

[Ernie]

There are only 6 cars in F1. The rest are extras to fill the grid.

 

[Leonardo Chaves]

Just one more downside of hybrid engines and fuel saving, if the guy "defending" isn't pressing the overtake button or changing engine modes the power gap multiplies exponentially.

 

[b)b]

This would not have happened if AI had been buffed to 110% with high agression and used a simplified tyre model.

 

[JayS]

Most ridiculous part is always when Hamilton specifically came from behind, there are wide open doors and no defensive lines from the mid field contenders.
But when a Ferrari has to roll up the field there is much more resistance.

Was a totally joke today, for sure the MB is a massive car but that was way too easy and I would not say it was caused by DRS - more the drivers ...

 

[farjam]

Vettel's overtakes on Ericsson-Leclerc-Magnussen - Grosjean one after another at french GP was very hard , they were defending like their lives depend on it lol , only lulu's overtakes here were so easy so they shouldn't count
just a sarcasm all of them were easy!

 

[XCalinX]

I find it a bit funny. Everyone complained about how hard overtaking was in Monaco now people are complaining that it was easy here? lol

 

[Koen Verlinde]

It's not F1:

It's F1P1 (Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull) and F1P2 (all the rest).

 

[Tberg]

And again we have to witness the Herbie-type fanboys going nuts over a much faster car overtaking he entire grid in no time, resulting in another smelly driver-of-the-day voting.

 

[JusTiCe8]

It's not F1:

It's F1P1 (Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull) and F1P2 (all the rest).

It's just the most accurate definition of motorsport ! Just replace the three brands by the top teams/manufacturers of the series.

Even in manufacturers' series (Porsche Cup, FR 3.5, GP2, ...), there is the bare car, there are many "optional" performance parts, and money (for spare parts for instance) + skill + talent.
Even the "super fair" GT racing with their flawed BOP work that way.

 

[Durge Driven]

Daddy Lewis bellowed it's too bumpy, mummy Seb cried it's just right ! p

 

[Diogo Goetz Brand]

Seriously? I'm at a loss for words. After all the criticism we've seen this season, now passing is too easy?

For the second time, they asked the same question here on RD after the Bahrain GP.

 

[ears]

Not for Kimi.

 

[SAGY31]

Have you guys seen Days of Thunder? In order to reach top speed you have to press pedal to the metal! It's got nothing to do with stronger Mercedes or Ferrari engine. All the joking aside I really have no idea where drivers outside top 3 teams are finding the motivation to compete with such huge deficits in top speed.

 

[Turk]

Was a totally joke today, for sure the MB is a massive car but that was way too easy and I would not say it was caused by DRS - more the drivers ...

That's what I thought, everyone just got out of his way.