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As the title suggests, a place to discuss Formula One, and all other types of motorsport (excluding MotoGP, which has a section of its own).
PLEASE NOTE:-
To try and maintain some kind of logical order of discussion, if you start a new subject then reply to this post and remember to change the default subject header.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 28 Jul 14 at 01:30
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Wow!!! What a race. If only they were all like that.
I'm surprised Hamilton & Rosberg didn't get a firm telling off by the garage, but to their credit they didn't take one another off the track.
And well done to Perez for bringing home the Force India in 3rd place, and his team mate 5th.
Rotten luck for Button on his 250th race.
Looks like Red Bull have finally got a fight on their hands this year.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 7 Apr 14 at 01:48
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Some very good racing yesterday - does it matter the engines sound a little unexciting. The racing certainly is. I was glad the two Mercedes didn't come together - and some of the others too. Some very close wheel to wheel racing. Let us hope there are more races like that.
When they restarted after the safety car, and Rosberg was all over Hamilton's car, Hamilton said: "I've got no power" and yet the two of them sped away from the other cars :-)
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 7 Apr 14 at 09:58
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Yes it was a good race, or series of races - Hamilton and Rosberg were in one of their own. Despite a safety car about 10 laps from the end, and probably losing time racing each other, they still finished 24 seconds ahead of the field.
Their fastest laps of 1-37.0/1 were also at least 2 seconds better than the other big hitting teams, the only other car to better 1-39 being Hulkenberg's Force India.
Not to carp as it's early days, but the Mercedes' superiority is eclipsing that of the Bulls last year.
Alsonso does have a sense of humour - he punched the air when he finished ninth ahead of Raikonnen.
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Really enjoyed that race and I am getting used to the sound, especially all the other sounds that you now hear, the Williams especially seems to have a real whine from its turbo.
Although Merc are almost in another series it is different from the Red Bull years because the two drivers are so evenly matched, Rosberg isnt taking it lying down and I love that, much as I am a Lewis fan. This means we have a fight between the two top cars rather than one guy just driivng off into the sunset.
Really happy for Perez, he did a great job and proved he still has plenty to offer despite some writing him off.
Ricciardo is growing on me, his total lack of deference towards Vettel cant help but make one smile and I think fans will appreciate it.
Overall I think this season has been a step up from previous seasons and the reliability has actually been pretty good given how complex these new cars are.
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Bit surprised there's no comments here lately. I don't know much about F1, but I enjoy it.
Anyway, a question; How much do the teams change their car from one race to the next, solely according to the differing characteristics of each track?
Last edited by: No FM2R on Mon 21 Apr 14 at 22:58
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A surprising amount. The basic ones are aerodynamic downforce (trade off between cornering speed and straight line speed with higher drag) and gear ratios that mainly aim off for the amount of drag.
There's some stuff here on track set up, that mentions the main components and settings that change and the effects.
www.formula1-dictionary.net/set_up_track_specific.html
I talked (listened mainly)about the generalities of this a few months ago with somebody who was in F1 until about 10 years ago but is still very close to it. The decisions all revolve around trade-offs, starting with the obvious grip (=cornering speed) vs top speed, but every beneficial adjustment has a cost somewhere else - traction vs turn-in, rear vs. front tyre wear, or whatever.
DRS must have messed some of this up, as the teams now have to cope with different amounts of drag according to whether the DRS is activated or not. Gear ratios chosen for full downforce would leave the car running out of rpm on the straight with DRS open. This year the much higher energy recovery will also mean new algorithms.
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Are they allowed to test the car as much as they want, just so as they don't have their team driver in the car?
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>> Are they allowed to test the car as much as they want, just so as
>> they don't have their team driver in the car?
No. The limit for pre-season track testing is 15,000km per team and until this year there was a ban on in-season testing. It all has to be done under strict conditions and reported to the FIA who can have an observer present.
This year they are having some in-season test days either just before or just after some of the races, at the track used for that GP but the distance they can do is quite limited, it's more like extra practice sessions AFAIK.
There are limits on wind tunnel testing time and even on the computing power that can be used for simulations.
They can still develop and make stuff in season, and the main opportunity to validate that is Friday practice session before each race. Saturday practice before qualifying tends to be focused on set up.
It was all designed to limit indirectly the spiralling costs but it has always seemed to me a funny way to go about it, not that I have a better idea. Making something more difficult usually makes it more expensive surely?
It's a long way from when Tyrell could build car with 30 people in a shed and still win a race.
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I was surprised to see the gear ratios couldn't be changed during the season. Seems Red Bull may have got this slightly wrong as they appear to be the slowest through the speed traps.
I also saw somewhere the turbos are electrically driven to minimise lag.
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Don't know about the other teams, but Mercedes (Illmor?) still run the turbo turbine from the exhaust, but with the compressor shaft driven, to place it remote from the hottest parts and as near to the intake as possible. Gives a 40 hp gain due to cooler environment.
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The ERS can presumably still spool up the turbine? tinyurl.com/pulvpae
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>> I was surprised to see the gear ratios couldn't be changed during the season. Seems
>> Red Bull may have got this slightly wrong as they appear to be the slowest
>> through the speed traps.
News to me, but I'm sure you're right if you've read the regs. Maybe it's just the final drive that can be changed. Hard to believe they can run the same overall gearing at Monza and Monaco.
I suspect the reason Red Bull are slower is the drag, the trade-off for extra downforce and faster cornering. That seems to be their general approach. The Renault engine is also said to be behind the Mercedes on power.
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>> I also saw somewhere the turbos are electrically driven to minimise lag.
Yes I read that somewhere but it was a bit imprecise and I inferred that they are exhaust-driven but with electrical boost to overcome lag.
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The drag is caused because they use the rear wishbones to add downforce; something which apparently all the other teams investigated as well but discounted because of the increased drag.
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From VxFan's first link:
Gearbox - gearboxes have eight forward ratios - rather than the previous seven - which each team must nominate ahead of the season.
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Is there a final drive ratio which they can adjust per track as appropriate?
Last edited by: Focusless on Tue 22 Apr 14 at 16:28
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>> From VxFan's first link:
>> Gearbox - gearboxes have eight forward ratios - rather than the previous seven -
>> which each team must nominate ahead of the season.
yes, I didn't doubt it but I found it too. I will find out about the final drive - I suppose it would be possible to impose one set of overall ratios when you have eight gears, much as is the case with everyday cars, but it does seem unlikely.
Maybe the drivers just won't use all 8 at say Monaco - but the top speed difference between there and Monza is very large - probably something like 280/290 kph at Monaco to 350kph at Monza. That is a big difference and if top gear is chosen for Monaco then you'd be limited by rpm at Monza...
Sure I'm missing something here, I'll have to get to the bottom of it now. Perhaps it's as simple as not using all gears at every track. I wonder if the sequential changes can be programmed to omit gears...when 7 speed boxes were the norm there was a general belief that it was the maximum number that a driver could usefully cope with.
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It surprised me too that they couldn't change ratios now but as the gearboxes have to last six races each it does make some sense.
This is from the website in VxF's link.
"Each driver may use no more than one gearbox for six consecutive events. Every unscheduled gearbox change will require the driver to drop five places on the grid at that meeting. Every subsequent unscheduled gearbox change will require the driver to drop five places on the grid. Gearbox ratios are fixed for the season (for 2014 only teams may re-nominate ratios once), but teams may change gears or dog rings at any time during an event providing that the FIA technical delegate is satisfied that there is physical damage to the parts in question."
So they get one chance this year to re-nominate ratios.
Twenty five years ago I often spent a Sunday lunchtime sitting on the ground in a dusty paddock changing the ratios on my Formula Ford to try and find a marginal gain for the race. I don't think it made much difference but gave the impression you knew what you were doing!
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>> I also saw somewhere the turbos are electrically driven to minimise lag.
www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/26946444
" A motor generator unit attached to the rear axle (the MGU-K) recovers kinetic energy during braking, stores it in a battery and reapplies it during acceleration. The amount of energy that can be harvested and redeployed from this is limited by the F1 technical regulations.
A second motor generator unit attached to the turbo (the MGU-H) recovers energy from the turbo shaft, which is turned by the exhaust gases.
This energy can then be used to either spin up the turbo prior to the driver pressing the accelerator - removing the delay in power delivery, or 'lag', that is inherent in turbo engines - or applied directly to the rear wheels to increase power. "
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So it is an exhaust driven turbo with an electric booster.
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The more I think about the fixed gear ratios the more I think I must be missing. I can't find any mention of final drive in the regs, so maybe the gear ratios are "overall" and the f/d can't be changed, unless the cogs are changed at the same time to maintain overall gearing?
And where does it leave the teams in regard to developing the cars? If RBR for example come up with a significantly better aero package, they will be handicapped by the fixed ratios (which they would otherwise be able to 'lengthen').
Maybe the torque spread of the engines is such now that matters less than it did, but even with a flat torque curve power is still directly related to rpm. Not to (nearly) max the rpm at Monza would be a severe handicap; find another 10kph from aero improvements and you risk hitting the limiter unless you can change the cogs/final drive.
This would mean a team that has an uncompetitive car at the start of the season could be stuck down the order - any big improvements they make (engine or aero) will be of no benefit if their gearing becomes the limiting factor, unless they have all set 8th gear too long for every track to start with.
Last edited by: Manatee on Tue 22 Apr 14 at 17:10
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>> The more I think about the fixed gear ratios the more I think I must
>> be missing. I can't find any mention of final drive in the regs, so maybe
>> the gear ratios are "overall" and the f/d can't be changed, unless the cogs are
>> changed at the same time to maintain overall gearing?
I can't find any mention of final drive either. But the detailed FIA regs give a definition of the "gearbox" which includes everything from the engine output shaft to the driveshafts.
"9.5.1 A gearbox is defined as all the parts in the drive line which transfer torque from the power unit output shaft, as described in Article 5.3.2, to the drive shafts (the drive shafts being defined as those components which transfer drive torque from the sprung mass to the un-sprung mass). It includes all components whose primary purpose is for the transmission of power or mechanical selection of gears, bearings associated with these components and the casing in which they are housed."
All from this page -
www.formula1.com/inside_f1/rules_and_regulations/technical_regulations/8710/fia.html
Last edited by: crocks on Tue 22 Apr 14 at 17:55
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Thanks Crocks. It seems clear then than there really are 8 fixed ratios for the entire season.
I think this must be down to the torque spread and the fuel flow limits. The 8 gears are to cope with the fixed ratio brainwave, and the energy recovery has been mentioned as well.
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Racing cars used to change their gear ratios according to the circuit. Now they aren't allowed to. Engine management and fuel flow and turbo operation and damn KERS derivatives look after all that now. It's heavy and slow and a big PITA. Fewer rules are better rules.
I'm even starting to find the noise of the new cars too quiet. It isn't that bad in itself but you can't hear it over the screaming Murray Walker clone in the box.
The drivers seem pleased with themselves for coping with it but I'd lay money thy don't really like it.
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>> Racing cars used to change their gear ratios according to the circuit. Now they aren't
>> allowed to. Engine management and fuel flow and turbo operation and damn KERS derivatives look
>> after all that now.
Yes but no but...
The injun is still the main source of power and it makes no sense not to be able to use max power in a racing car, does it? You could make the response close to that of a DC motor by reducing the boost as the rpm goes up (constant power from 10,000 to 15,000 rpm say) - probably easier in theory than practice - but that would just be stupid wouldn't it?
Actually there may well be a degree of that given that the fuel flow limit applies between 10,000 and 15,000 - if you can use enough boost to max, or nearly max, the fuel flow (and power) at 10,000, then you would have to reduce boost at higher rpm so as not to break the fuel flow limit - is that what you mean?
>>Fewer rules are better rules.
It's certainly not simple now. Half an hour in the pub with Adrian Newey would be interesting.
Last edited by: Manatee on Tue 22 Apr 14 at 17:20
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I don't think anything should stand in the way of extra performance which should be under the driver's sole control. If refuelling has been banned for safety reasons so be it but cars should be able too carry different amounts, more if they need it, less if they don't.
Flow rates are neither here nor there except for conserving fuel when it's running short. Chassis and engine design, along with capacity and turbo/non-turbo layouts, should be free for constructors to choose. KERS has gained a hold so is OK I suppose, but as for these phenomenally elaborate and weighty drive trains I doubt that many would survive a loosening of the regulations.
I remember motor racing. It was better than Scalextric.
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Why do we need to legislate something into safety? Which is why I assume they pass rules to slow the cars.
Shouldn't we let people take risks if they wish to?
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Nigel Stepney, the former Ferrari mechanic at the heart of the 2007 "spy-gate" scandal, has died in a road accident, aged 56.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/27262470
He was run over by a lorry after stopping on the hard shoulder of the M20 in Kent and getting out of his van.
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It wasn't an Italian registered lorry was it?
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"For reasons yet to be established the man appears to have entered the carriageway and was then in collision with an articulated goods vehicle". So was this an accident, or 'suicide'? Strange, and a sad loss of a talented man, whatever the circumstances.
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Close race between Rosberg and Hamilton again. Had they not been allowed to race it would have been tedious indeed with third-placed Ricciardo nearly a minute back down the road.
Raikonnen seems to have got to grips with the Ferrari, Alonso passing him near the end on better tyres.
Grosjean did well to come 8th. Vettel 4th, having started 15th after a 5 place grid penalty for changing the gearbox.
Rosberg's smiles are looking a bit forced now, though he really has nothing to be embarrassed about, finishing 0.6s behind.
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Vettel was endearingly cheerful about having a slow car and being back in the scrum for a change. He seemed to be enjoying it all and managed to pull fastest lap too.
The late race for the lead was enthralling too of course. But the gap between Mercedes and the next best is really too big. Let's hope everyone cribs Mercedes's turbo design.
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Dozed off around lap 20, but woke up with 10 laps to go.
Did I miss anything?
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Dunno, I had my back to the TV!
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>> Did I miss anything?
Yes, Suzi Perry got her baps out.
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How babyish can you get? Apparently people don't think the current F1 cars make a dramatic enough noise.
Perhaps the skriking* of these critics could be recorded and played back to them through earphones at suitable volume to shut them up.
Modern F1 cars are much too wide for Monaco. In fact they're too damn wide period among their other faults.
*East Yorkshire or Tyneside term for ugly whinging.
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This is the one Grand-Prix I might actually take a butchers at.
I read after the Australian GP people complaining about the lack of noise but have not paid any attention to F1 since then. I loved the sport through my teenage years. The last ten years I've followed from a distance and always watched Monaco.
I went to Spa a couple of years ago, not for F1 but an Italian car day. Cracking day out, Au Rouge is a flippin' steep hill when you look at it from the car park/the old pit lane.
skriking - never heard of it. I'm not totally au fait with these southern dialects ;-)
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With the sound quality on most modern TV's it hardly matters what noise the cars make, they just sound like a swarm of bees in a biscuit tin.
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Even the tube in this room has hi-fi and stereo.
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I hope the Mercedeses won't take each other off in the race. I hope and trust that Teutonic discipline will prevail.
Speaking of which, I am increasingly impressed by Sebastian Vettel's genial and laid-back demeanour back there in the second row (nice symmetrical front end to the grid). Is he going to drive Porsche saloons or something? Anyway doesn't seem anxious or driven.
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Rosberg's off down the escape road, being the cause of the yellows that stymied Hamilton's attempt to grab pole, seems to have got to Hamilton.
He'd have been better to be gracious even if he thinks that Rosberg is at it.
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It's going to be a bit uncomfortable in their meetings now.
FiA declared Rosberg not at fault after Hamiltons complaint.
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No one is looking all that worried. OK, pole is a prize in itself but yellow flags, bit of bad luck, tant pis and the front row is useful in itself. Just hope they don't take each other off.
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Rosberg's German, ain't he?
ISTR another k**** 'parking' his car near Rascasse during a qualifying, years ago.
Wasn't there another German (driving a Red Bull) ignoring team orders, not to overtake?
Cynical, moi?
Edit. Seems the swear filter doesn't like the sour cabbage word without the sour.
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Sat 24 May 14 at 22:57
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Not sure about that AC.
Monaco is notorious for the difficulty of overtaking on track, and if Hamilton has a ghost of a chance to get his nose in front off the start he'll push it to the limit.
Rosberg will be equally unrelaxed about watching him go by after four second places behind him. No Claude and Cecil routine tomorrow.
I expect somebody like Lauda will have a word with them.
Last edited by: Manatee on Sat 24 May 14 at 23:11
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Whilst I agree him in this article that Hamilton/Rosberg can only be good for F1, people such as Coulthard and his informed comment are equally valuable. IMO, of course.
www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/27569594
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"It emerged in Monaco that one of the contributory factors to the dispute was that Hamilton had used a 'boost' mode on his engine during their battle for victory at the previous race in Spain when the drivers had been forbidden from doing so. That appears to have annoyed Rosberg."
Forbidden by ....?
Surely if it was F1 organisers this would (should?) have resulted in disqualification? And against the team interests.
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My take on that is the 'boost mode' is a Mercedes function. The overall fuel and the fuel flow limits are the organisers restrictions and as long as they are not exceeded, I thought that was it.
We already know the Mercedes is head and shoulders above the others in terms of engine output power and I can see them not wanting to reveal just how well their cars can go so that when the others think they've caught up - they haven't.
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Thanks for that explanation.
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The engines also have to last multiple races. Running them at maximum (within the regs) all the time is likely to hurt reliability. So with the two Mercedes cars well ahead of the field, it makes sense to set them both the same limit while they are fighting it out.
From www.formula1.com/news/features/2014/1/15408.html
As ever, reliability will be hugely important. Last year each driver could use eight engines before incurring a penalty. This year it’s slightly more complicated: the power unit is deemed to consist of six separate elements: (1) the engine, (2) the motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), (3) the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), (4) the energy store (ES), (5) the turbocharger (TC) and (6) the control electronics (CE). Should a driver use more than five of any one component during the season he faces a penalty ranging from a five-place grid drop to starting the race from the pit lane.
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Red Bull raced with Mercedes - Christian Horner
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/27582596
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>> Red Bull raced with Mercedes
Nothing to do with Hamilton having grit in his eye which impaired his driving, that subsequently allowed Ricciardo to finish ½ a second behind him then? Ricciardo was still 10 seconds behind Rosberg and it would have been a similar distance if Hamilton could have seen out of both eyes.
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Some good news - but none of the releases says he's conscious do they? The coma was medically induced, so if he's no longer in a medically induced coma, then he's not in a coma. Doesn't mean he's woken up does it. I'm not saying he isn't conscious - just not read it (yet).
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Several press reports suggest he's now responding to stimuli and possibly recognising his family. Still a long long way from anything recognisable as recovery.
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Bit boring this F1 lark, what? ;-)
I really feared for Massa after that impact, it was one hell of a wallop.
retitled, and moved to correct place, as per the "please note" request at the start of the thread!
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 01:22
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Bet the door mirrors on that are a bob or two.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 01:22
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>> Bet the door mirrors on that are a bob or two.
>>
You've become rather bitter and twisted over that, haven't you?
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 01:22
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Interesting race though ...and Ricciardo's win was deserved
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 01:22
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>> Interesting race though ...and Ricciardo's win was deserved
He's won once already, only for it to be overturned. Let's wait and see.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 9 Jun 14 at 01:22
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>> He's won once already
Not quite, he provisionally came 2nd.
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>>Not quite, he provisionally came 2nd.
Whoops, old age strikes again. Now my short term memory's going.
What did I come upstairs for?
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Returning Porsche poised to shake up Le Mans ?
A good summary from Alan McNish
( a been there, got the tea shirt write up)
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/27794190
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Bit late to this one. I returned to Le Mans this year after a 4 year absence too :-)
I was only there for three days but there was a lot of interest in the Porsche return, and in Webber's presence. Porsche had clearly spent a few bob on making sure their return wasn't missed by anyone too.
A good weekend, a good race.
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Bear with me. We went to London - this side of it fortunately - this evening for a book launch. Herself's late cousin, a lady with a fine heartless sense of humour, was a novelist who while dying of cancer dashed off three novels which are being published posthumously. Tonight launched the second which I must say sounds rather good.
One of her sons, an able fellow, used to work for a leading F1 team and in F1 journalism at a high level, so there were one or two F1 people at the launch. One looked so like Damon Hill that he turned out to be that very person. He was an absolutely sweet cat I thought.
Mind you the late novelist's other son has started putting it about that I lectured Hill on how to drive a racing car. Cheeky little brute (or rather big one, because he's a bodybuilder and fireman by profession).
The jalopy did nearly 47mpg on its last tank. I have been wafting without mimsing unnecessarily, but also using posh high octane juice. I don't think there's much advantage in it when the 97 costs 7p a litre more than the ordinaire. Comes out about equal. I will continue to experiment. But 47mpg isn't bad for a petrol 2 litre world car.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 18 Jun 14 at 01:33
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>> there were one or two F1 people at the launch
One, working for a team, was also a nice guy and decently informative. He confirmed one's obvious suspicion that the drivers don't much like driving the current hybrid cars with their incredible complexity, damn numbers and buttons all over the steering wheel...
But like everyone else he said hybrid stuff was coming whether we like it or not. F1 looks fearsomely expensive to citizens like us but it's just a laboratory to the great corporations. Costs peanuts by their standards.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Wed 18 Jun 14 at 01:45
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>> But 47mpg isn't bad for a petrol 2 litre
>> world car.
You should be ashamed of yourself. Think of all the people that were stuck behind you.
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Nuts to them, they aren't paying for my petrol!
Impressive though. Until i read that i was pleased with 46mpg from the Popemobile yesterday, on a 140 mix of A roads, motorway and urban.
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>> Nuts to them, they aren't paying for my petrol!
>>
>> Impressive though. Until i read that i was pleased with 46mpg from the Popemobile yesterday,
>> on a 140 mix of A roads, motorway and urban.
>>
I'm quite enjoying my 65mpg at the minute, as it's warm, which brings it up from 56. Not bad for a 1.5 petrol.
Few days ago I did a ten mile run as slow and easy as AC complains of, just to see. Nobody behind me inconvenienced, mix of quiet dual carriageway, two miles of town and country lanes. 83mpg. Was a bit tedious though.
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>> Until i read that i was pleased with 46mpg from the Popemobile
You can stay pleased Manatee. That 47 was a typo and should have read 37. Damn!
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>> Think of all the people that were stuck behind you.
I am overtaken sometimes Wp, but I nearly always expect it and try to make it easy. If there's a queue it's because I'm in the middle of it.
Driving very, very slowly ISN'T ECONOMICAL. Top gear, very light throttle if any, 1500-2500rpm - the jalopy is redlined at 6500 - is best and least annoying to me and others. Mind you Herself mimses and doesn't use much petrol. But she's special somehow (and a bit slow actually as even the nippers notice).
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I hope they can match that pace in the race. With (half) the Red Bulls also being competitive we may have a decent race.
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The last couple of GPs I haven't seen anything of Bernie Ecclestone.
I realise that he has a court case ongoing, but I thought that the authorities were giving him time off to do his F1 duties.
So, where is he?
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For a man with a reputation for being very sharp indeed, he has looked a bit confused of late.
I hope he isn't losing his marbles. It does happen.
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Wonder if he's doing an Ernest Saunders? (Google the name if you don't know what I'm getting at...).
Last edited by: Slidingpillar on Sat 21 Jun 14 at 19:45
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I wouldn't put it past him. But he is 83.
Saunders was in his early 50s when he got Alzheimer's, from which he made a full recovery after his early release.
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>> Saunders was in his early 50s when he got Alzheimer's, from which he made a
>> full recovery after his early release.
>>
Yes, and wasn't it the first and last recorded case of a patient recovering from 'Alzheimer's'?
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Yes, and wasn't it the first and last recorded case of a patient recovering from 'Alzheimer's'?
You perhaps could say that, although it's really a case of misdiagnosis. You certainly can get early onset Alzheimers at that age, but he didn't.
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>> For a man with a reputation for being very sharp indeed, he has looked a
>> bit confused of late.
>>
>> I hope he isn't losing his marbles. It does happen.
>>
He was interviewed by the Beeb a few races back and I thought the quick witted banter and rapid riposte that we have grown accustomed to, just wasn't there.
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I didn't see the start of the GP yesterday.
Was Bernie visible?
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>> Was Bernie visible?
I only saw the BBC highlights, but I don' think they showed him.
Towards the end there was a message overlaid onto the track (camera trickery) which had a thank you message from Bernie Ecclestone to Dietrich Mateschitz.
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Eventful despite the more or less predictable result.
I've heard it suggested that the Mercedes team is favouring Rosberg. Hamilton's pit stops were at least a second longer. Doesn't seem much, but it can count.
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Wearing my tinfoil hat, German (sort of) team, German driver winning. Makes sense you know!
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Mad, absolutely mad. Stooging around following a safety car, then stopping and restarting.
You could be leading the field by 15 seconds, fail to make as good a start as the number two and lose the lot due to some twonk lower down the field.
And, you don't get that many starts on a F1 clutch either.
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Ricciardo hits the nail on the head. Anybody who has built up a big lead on the track (which might well cost them another stop anyway) has already been "penalised" severely by the safety car.
The following car has been given another chance to challenge, regardless. I hate safety car interruptions, they already cause too much unfairness.
It's farcical. If there's to be a restart, they might as well just stop the race and deal with the problem more quickly - but then they wouldn't need Mercedes' mobile advert trundling round so we can't do that.
What next, shoot out a few tyres to make it more exciting?
Last edited by: Manatee on Fri 27 Jun 14 at 10:21
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One more step away from reality and from people like me, who used to take an interest...
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Considerably less aerodynamics and thinner tyres .. so the car behind can follow the one in front around a corner .. then there'd be no need for anything artificial like rear wings opening on straights or power boost buttons...and there would be less of a procession.
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Caterham team sold to Colin Kolles-led consortium
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/28129627
www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114744?source=mostpopular
Bernie Ecclestone wants big teams to run third cars in Formula 1, and says smaller outfits should quit the sport if they cannot afford it.
Just a week after F1's commercial boss said he would be happy if some of grand prix's backmarkers closed down, Ecclestone has revealed his vision for the future.
He reckons F1 would be better off if it was filled with fewer teams running more cars, rather than how it currently is.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport talking about what the current small teams should do since costs are out of control, Ecclestone said: "They must stop. If you don't have the finances, you quit.
"I'm ready for a Formula 1 with eight teams with three cars each.
www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114743?source=mostpopular
The future of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza is in doubt after Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Tuesday that the event was likely to be dropped after 2016.
The whole F1 scene is getting very very silly.
I am considering giving up watching such a lottery.
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Good race (with the exception of Raikkonen's crash causing a long delay)
Loads of wheel to wheel action. Shame that Rosberg's gearbox died otherwise we could have seen another good battle between him and Hamilton. Still, Alonso and Vettel made up for it with their battle.
The only downside was BBC's coverage. Way too long and too much waffle.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 7 Jul 14 at 01:13
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I never watch the waffle, always has bored me silly. However, five minutes before the race start, the pictures are the same no matter who you watch.
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Change four wheels in three seconds.
Change a section of Armco. How long? Need to practice a bit more ? :-)
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Lauda was a bit scathing. As he said, what were the chances of anybody else hitting the same bit in the same race?
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Which is true enough, but you imagine the lawsuit if they had.
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Exactly what Eddie Jordan said.
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www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28261960
The proposal is to give local authorities the powers to suspend speed limits and some traffic regulations, in certain conditions.
Speaking at the Williams facility in Oxfordshire, Mr Cameron said the move would be "great" for motorsport and would mean "more races, more events and more money coming into our country".
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Bahrain - VxFan