Re: Motosport General discussion tread --- Formula1, MotoGP, WTCC, ETCC, DTM.....
it's Merc 1 - 2 with Bottas in pole position. Put Verstappen, Leclerc, Vettel, maybe Ricciardo, maybe Raikkonen, maybe Perez, maaaybe even Norris in that Merc, they'll get pole.
Not convinced Vettel or Raikkonen would be up there, but agree with the others. Still, if they were partnering Hamilton instead of Bottas, they'd be fighting for second, not first 
I guess... But Merc's decision of the switching of engineers back and forth was a little sketchy imho. And 5 points is enough to prove that engineers do play a part, if all things being equal.
I think the main effect of the engineer change was in Hamilton's mind. Probably it had little to no actual effect for the races, but it certainly affected Hamilton's mindset. And a key reason for Rosberg's triumph in 2016 was that he was able to exploit Hamilton's mental state.