[Jake]

I’d like to get everyone’s opinion on who has had the best car this season; FERRARI or MERCEDES

I think on balance, especially when the reliability and race-ability of each car is considered the MERCEDES W08 would be the one to have, however on pure speed (including race pace) it is a close run thing

Here is what I think (personal opinion & will be happy to debate) has been the fastest car at each event:

Australia – Ferrari
China – Ferrari
Bahrain – Ferrari
Russia – Ferrari
Spain – Ferrari
Monaco – Ferrari
Canada – Mercedes
Azerbaijan – Mercedes
Austria – Mercedes
Britain – Mercedes
Hungary – Ferrari
Belgium – Mercedes
Italy – Mercedes
Singapore – Ferrari
Malaysia – Ferrari
Japan – Mercedes

Ferrari 9 – Mercedes 7

Its a shame about the unreliability of FERRARI, as the title battle of 2017 could have been one for the ages! It does however indicate that they’ve had a very competitive car this year.

Please post your fastest car at each event and tally your scores

[magon4]

I won’t post them individually, but here as a general view which I would say applied to most tracks:

– Mercedes have the faster car, being able to seemingly “turn up the motor” in qualifying.
– Mercedes have more problems (a smaller window) finding the sweet spot with the tires.
– Ferrari and Mercedes have been very similar on race pace, in general.
– Pole position has often been converted into wins, so the quali advantage is crucial.
– In most races, it is difficult to overtake, even more so if cars have similar pace.

Therefore, I would suggest that Mercedes has had the advantage this year and overall the faster car.

But it is slight enough to make a championship out of it.

I would compare it, in terms of difference if nothing else, to the 2012 McLaren and Red Bull battle, which was a very close one, too.

[Michal]

It is difficult to compare the first few rounds, where you can put Ferrari and Mercedes in whatever way you choose and you are right. The closeness between them was underlined by the fact Hamilton was only three points ahead after Monza. Both were performing at their best, Vettel having Baku moment, while Hamilton had some off weekends like Russia, Monaco or Austria. Reliability-wise was similar: Hamilton’s gearbox failure in Austria and headrest in Baku, while Vettel had a puncture at Silverstone and contact with Verstappen in Canada.

Since then Ferrari blew it. Reliability in Malaysia and Japan is half of the deficit and Singapore is the other half.

[Mort Canard]

Australia – Ferrari
China – Mercedes
Bahrain – Mercedes
Russia – Ferrari
Spain – Mercedes
Monaco – Ferrari
Canada – Mercedes
Azerbaijan – Mercedes
Austria – Mercedes
Britain – Mercedes
Hungary – Ferrari
Belgium – Mercedes
Italy – Mercedes
Singapore – Ferrari
Malaysia – Ferrari
Japan – Mercedes

Mercedes 10 – Ferrari 6

Would agree that the battle for fastest car is pretty close and the some of my calls may be Hamilton outperforming his equipment.

-Would agree about he Mercedes being more finicky to set up.

Its a shame about the unreliability of FERRARI, as the title battle of 2017 could have been one for the ages! It does however indicate that they’ve had a very competitive car this year.

Would very much agree. This year’s championship is pretty much over. If somehow Seb does win the title, it will take even more quirks of fate to hand it back to him.

This is an ongoing battle that certainly equals the Prost/Senna rivalries of many years ago. It’s a career long battle for both Hamilton & Vettel and made more enjoyable by the fact that they both really like racing each other. Michael Schumacher had serious rivalries from Mika Häkkinen & Damon Hill but only for a few years each.

In the scheme of things this is very much a battle for the greatest driver of a generation. IMHO the ascendancy of Red Bull/Vettel years ago has now been matched by the current ascendancy of Mercedes/Hamilton. With any luck we will have several more seasons of Lewis and Sebastian testing each other.

Hopefully the progress of the Verstappen/Red Bull combination will only add to the quality of the battles and heighten the competition. All in all it’s a good time to be an F1 fan.

[glynh]

I think for the majority of races Mercedes is the fastest car, definitely over a single lap, but Ferrari is more consistent in races in terms of performance so it’s very close.

[Siben Croswell]

I think for the majority of races Mercedes is the fastest car, definitely over a single lap, but Ferrari is more consistent in races in terms of performance so it’s very close.

This, I would have to agree on. :)

[Author]

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