The Official Formula 1 Racing Thread

[dpantski]

The warning signs were there in 2007 at the Nurburgring (and on numerous other occasions I can think of) when cars were aquaplaning off at turn 1.

A car made gentle contact with the tractor here. The commentator in the video saying that the tractor shouldn't be out knows what he's talking about because he narrowly missed hitting one during his F1 career several years ago (also at Suzuka incidentally) .... and instead hit a marshal who suffered serious injuries to his leg.

Absolutely insanity bringing the vehicle out in this instance when you can clearly see that cars are out of control and just piling up in the same place. They're fortunate something more serious didn't happen here.

Also note in this vid how the safety car has to floor it to get out of the way of the car that eventually makes contact with the recovery vehicle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3t56uLqlVI&t=1m5s

Agreed, civilian vehicles shouldn't be on the track unless there's a safety car deployed. It can get very awkward for medical cars to get to the crashed cars though when it rains since they are deployed in the pitlane and will likely have to cross the racing line at some point.

I often wonder if the FIA needs to implement changes to make cars aquaplane less in very wet conditions, at the moment the cars use slicks when its dry, intermediates when its wet and if its wetter than that they usually stop the race and wet tires barely get used. I'm no expert in car aerodynamics or tyres though but I feel like it needs to be addressed if possible. If modern F1 cars can't safely drive in the wet then safety cars or red flags may need to be brought out sooner in the future. I'd rather see racing in the wet instead of race control taking action but it can't go on being as dangerous as it is.

 

[Supafly]

Maybe some new sort of track-cover could be an answer? With something like vertical thin grooves leading water off track. If I remember correctly, we have such segments on our Autobahn here in Germany. Not everywhere.

As those are areas with generally no speed limit, it could work

 

[Rey C.]

Houston, do we have a problem???

More teams could follow Marussia and Caterham into F1 oblivion, warns Mosley

Reuters October 28, 2014 at 12:26 pm

More Formula One teams could follow Caterham and Marussia into administration or failure, the former head of the sport's governing body Max Mosley warned on Monday.This week's U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas will have just nine teams on the track, the lowest number since 2005, and Mosley feared the number could fall further."It's not a fair competition any more," said the former International Automobile Federation (FIA) president. "The big problem is the big teams have so much more money than teams like Caterham and Marussia."In the end they were bound to drop off. And they may not be the last," the Briton told the BBC.Marussia were put into administration on Monday, a week after Caterham.Both teams were the 'paupers' of the paddock, struggling on budgets of 50 million pounds or less compared to 200 million or more for the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.Mosley tried and failed to bring a cost cap during his time at the FIA helm and said there should be some basic level of equality."From a sporting point of view, the sport should split the money equally and then let the teams get as much sponsorship as they can," he added."A team like Ferrari will always get more sponsorship than Marussia but if they all get the same basic money then they all start on a level playing field, particularly if you have a cost cap where you limit the amount of money each team is allowed to spend."Formula One has revenues of more than $1.5 billion, with more than half going to the commercial rights holders CVC. Teams share 47.5 percent as a prize fund but the distribution is based on performance.Certain teams, such as Ferrari, also get additional payments based on past achievements and to recognise their importance to the sport.Rising engine costs compared to last year have also made the sport more expensive, with a complex V6 hybrid turbo replacing the old V8 engines this year and an engine supply costing a customer team more than $30 million over a season."I'm in favour of the greener engines," said Mosley. "The mistake was not saying to the big manufacturers that you can spend as much as you want on research but the maximum you can charge per season is something like three to four million pounds."

I'm not sure what the answer is. F1 has had ups & downs since Day 1. But with the loss of the tobacco money (because of the politically correct Nanny World Order movement that is ruining societies from east to west), the fact that F1's owner, CVC, is only in it for the money and Bernie is creeping toward 90, what sort of future does the sport have? To me, it's beginning to look like CART - the best formula car series that North America has EVER seen... until it wasn't. Greedy, self-interested team owners, a distracted leader who is now past his shelf-life date, no "new media" strategy and a fanbase that is growing older, along with the rich teams only getting richer (just like CART)... yeah, it does sound troubling. Especially in Marussia's case, even two valuable points earned at Monaco can't save them? Seems like someone would step in and buy or invest in them just to get the money from those points.

 

[Supafly]

Houston, do we have a problem???
...

... , no "new media" strategy and a fanbase that is growing older, along with the rich teams only getting richer (just like CART)... yeah, it does sound troubling. Especially in Marussia's case, even two valuable points earned at Monaco can't save them? Seems like someone would step in and buy or invest in them just to get the money from those points.

The new media angle gets covered by the TV company that has the rights for news coverage since ages here in Europe, that is. How the situation elsewhere is, I can't say.

Alongside the whole race, from pre-start to afterwardas, there are chats, add-on info etc to cater to the people who want more than just sit in front of the TV

http://www.rtl.de/cms/sport/formel-1.html

And as if they knew you would mention Bernie's age, there is the article called "Bewegtes Jahr für Ecclestone" ("Moving yeear for B.") and the hilarious picture-comment: Formula-1-Boss: 84 years young

I think he will have both hands on biz for at least another ten years...

Regarding the struggling teams - I think other teams will step up, possibly AUDI and Porsche?

 

[Supafly]

 

[Rey C.]

The new media angle gets covered by the TV company that has the rights for news coverage since ages here in Europe, that is. How the situation elsewhere is, I can't say.

Alongside the whole race, from pre-start to afterwardas, there are chats, add-on info etc to cater to the people who want more than just sit in front of the TV

http://www.rtl.de/cms/sport/formel-1.html

And as if they knew you would mention Bernie's age, there is the article called "Bewegtes Jahr für Ecclestone" ("Moving yeear for B.") and the hilarious picture-comment: Formula-1-Boss: 84 years young

I think he will have both hands on biz for at least another ten years...

Regarding the struggling teams - I think other teams will step up, possibly AUDI and Porsche?

On Porsche and/or Audi, it's been hoped for years that one or both would come to F1. My guess is Porsche will take over Le Mans duty for VAG and possibly Audi enters F1 as an engine supplier (at some point). But even if either or both entered as manufacturers, we'd just be going back to where we were in the late 90's/early 2000's. We had Jaguar, Honda, Toyota and BMW. And they all spent big and drove up the costs. And then when they left, the costs kept going up. It's a miracle that Williams isn't in Sauber's shoes right now. I'm hoping for a balance. It's great to see our favorite brands in the sport. But we also have to have privateer teams. They're the ones who truly love the sport and don't just see it as a business.


Breaking News Flash: Being announced on CNBC right now... Fiat-Chrysler is spinning Ferrari off in an IPO that's expected to raise over $6 billion!!! No idea or word on what this means for the F1 team. The road show will probably begin next month. Sergio Marchionne wants this done as soon as possible. Wow!!!

 

[dpantski]

Houston, do we have a problem???

More teams could follow Marussia and Caterham into F1 oblivion, warns Mosley

Reuters October 28, 2014 at 12:26 pm




I'm not sure what the answer is. F1 has had ups & downs since Day 1. But with the loss of the tobacco money (because of the politically correct Nanny World Order movement that is ruining societies from east to west), the fact that F1's owner, CVC, is only in it for the money and Bernie is creeping toward 90, what sort of future does the sport have? To me, it's beginning to look like CART - the best formula car series that North America has EVER seen... until it wasn't. Greedy, self-interested team owners, a distracted leader who is now past his shelf-life date, no "new media" strategy and a fanbase that is growing older, along with the rich teams only getting richer (just like CART)... yeah, it does sound troubling. Especially in Marussia's case, even two valuable points earned at Monaco can't save them? Seems like someone would step in and buy or invest in them just to get the money from those points.

Its a very difficult situation, whenever they try to impose limitations on the big teams they got shot down because those teams have enough influence to veto any changes they don't like. Ferrari in particular are the most famous team in F1 and are all too aware of it. They've abused their position many times on various issues by threatening to quit F1 and start their own racing series if they don't get their way. I'm not sure if this is still valid now that de Montezemelo (sp?) has left but they still have a lot of political clout in the F1 paddock regardless.

I think we might see more B teams pop up in a similar vein to Toro Rosso, the richer teams can definitely afford to run a 2nd lineup its just a question of whether they feel they can get the personnel to make it viable. There's not a huge pool of obvious talent out there to fill out all the designing/engineering and mechanical jobs since F1 is a class or several classes above the next division of single seater racing.

 

[Rey C.]

Its a very difficult situation, whenever they try to impose limitations on the big teams they got shot down because those teams have enough influence to veto any changes they don't like. Ferrari in particular are the most famous team in F1 and are all too aware of it. They've abused their position many times on various issues by threatening to quit F1 and start their own racing series if they don't get their way. I'm not sure if this is still valid now that de Montezemelo (sp?) has left but they still have a lot of political clout in the F1 paddock regardless.

I agree. Not sure who here followed the old CART series, but this is how it went down. Weak leadership, greedy, self-interested team owners and only those at the top having their interests served (Penske, Ganassi, et al). And then, poof!... it was gone. Now we're stuck with the sad little IRL series, which is almost on par with GP2 on a good day.

Although I'd love to see Audi come to F1 as a team or a supplier, I think some sort of income redistribution is going to be necessary to make it viable for privateers to come in and remain in the sport. Manufacturers don't mind losing money. But privateers have to cover the bills out of sponsorship or out of their own pockets. And if Bernie is too senile or arrogant to recognize that, well, let him go make deals for his pals at CVC in some other industry. IMO, someone like Zak Brown should be put in charge of F1 ASAP. He's a sharp, younger version of Bernie, but he "gets it".

 

[Rey C.]

Man, I tll ya...what about that Lewis Hamilton, huh???!!! :clap:

That's a major part of why I enjoyed watching Senna and Schumacher back in the day. Even when they were behind someone, watching them stalk and finally pounce on their prey was just magic. Like watching a cheetah edging closer to a gazelle and then going for the kill. When Rosberg couldn't pull or expand a gap, I knew he was toast. He's a good kid. I've always liked him too. But I knew Hamilton was going to devour him sooner than later if he didn't/couldn't get away from him. Nico admitted that he didn't figure out his settings in the race until deep into the second (?) stint. Taking away the driver coaching from the pits seems to have really hurt Nico the most. More so than Hamilton (or anybody else), Nico always seemed to be asking the pits what to do and how to do it. Drive the race car, son... that's what you get paid to do. If they have to tell you, then they could put a trained monkey (or D@nica Patrick) in the damn car.

Hopefully bad luck or some fluke at that double-points race doesn't turn the ways of the world upside down. But the US Grand Prix was a primo race!

 

[The Identifier]

Hopefully bad luck or some fluke at that double-points race doesn't turn the ways of the world upside down.

For a driver to win 10 races in a season and not win the Championship would be nuts. I hope the double points thing is done away with before it does actually ruin a season.

 

[Supafly]

For a driver to win 10 races in a season and not win the Championship would be nuts. I hope the double points thing is done away with before it does actually ruin a season.

Absolutely. This idea was so random and ridiculous, they could really go on from there and add surprise obstacles on courses or roll the dice for the points the first three drivers get or shit. You can just see how desperate the rulers of Formula One were for adding extra drama.

Rey, sadly I could not rep you for summing up the situation of Hamilton racing Rosberg. And to take him in that corner was just sweet, when Nico surely was all set on keeping Lewis at bay in the stretch when he could hit the KERS button. THAT is racing.

 

[dpantski]

Its just been made abundantly clear this season that Hamilton is far better in wheel to wheel racing than Rosberg. Considering the top drivers he's among the weakest in that aspect if not the worst. Hamilton/Alonso/Vettel/Ricciardo/Raikkonnen/Button are just better at it than he is. Even drivers further down the order like Perez and Vergne can look more decisive. Hamilton made just ONE attempt to get past him and it worked, you can't tell me the difference in their pace was greater than when Alonso and Button were scrapping with tyres that were of a significantly different age. I really felt for Button in this race because he lost a couple of seconds having to wait for his teammate to stop and then with a car that was struggling for pace at the end he held on for longer than most drivers would in that situation. I really hope McLaren keep him instead of Magnussen because I don't think Magnussen has amazing potential and can really go much faster than he's shown already. He's good but he won't pick up as many points as Button will.

 

[Rey C.]

Fresh paddock rumors: Alonso to McLaren deal (courtesy of Honda, Santander and Movistar) all but done. Ferrari and Alonso fighting over who pays who for him to be able to leave - which is apparently why they can't announce Vettel (fire Alonso and he gets severance... if he quits, then he pays). Sutil maybe going to Haas F1 - definitely out at Sauber. CVC would rather see the smaller teams die and the bigger teams have to run third cars, rather than them have to give any additional money to the smaller teams (or anybody else). Remember folks, that's private equity for you. The best thing would be for F1 to fall in value or revenues, and then these bloodsuckers will sell it. They should be getting close the magic 5 year mark anyway.

 

[Rey C.]

I was just thinking, I need to attend a GP2 race some time soon. Why? Oh, I don't know. As long as it's a windy day, I'm good.

 

[The Identifier]

Hamilton/Alonso/Vettel/Ricciardo/Raikkonnen/Button are just better at it than he is. Even drivers further down the order like Perez and Vergne can look more decisive.

If they do insist on this double points thing at least make it an all-equal machinery race... then we'd really get to see who are the best out-and-out racers.

I really hope McLaren keep Button instead of Magnussen because I don't think Magnussen has amazing potential and can really go much faster than he's shown already. He's good but he won't pick up as many points as Button will.

As sad as I'd be to see Jenson go, I don't think the signs look good for him. I don't think Magnussen is guaranteed a place either though... he hasn't really done anything of note since 2nd place in the first race.

Fresh paddock rumors: Alonso to McLaren deal (courtesy of Honda, Santander and Movistar) all but done. Ferrari and Alonso fighting over who pays who for him to be able to leave - which is apparently why they can't announce Vettel (fire Alonso and he gets severance... if he quits, then he pays).

I officially give up trying to figure out where Alonso's going to go. Anything's possible as far as I'm concerned.

 

[knowone]

Someone going to take a Chance and sign with Gene Haas' new team.

 

[Anonyne#017]

This formula circus still going? They are supposed to have the fastest drivers in the world, but instead they have all these amateur drivers pay teams to drive their cars and teams choosing which one of their drivers get to pass the finish line first. I've seen couple races from the last years and all these newbies seem to be there just to play crush, crash and destroy -rally instead of driving formula 1...

Then there are those overpowered cars that keep winning each race, while those crappy mascot teams are just to add some entertainment values and tensions... When you never know when they are going to crash, crush and destroy those much faster cars who are already passing them by laps when pee is leaking out from their shoes as they panic...

That double points system is just pure comics and a candle on top of this already ridiculous show of blindfolded clowns running around... This show is a bigger joke than that American men in tights and silicone boobies battling show wrestling thing...

Then there is that teenage kid who is supposed to enter formula 1 next season. He already crashed his damn car while doing public appearance and trying to drive some circles...

Do people really find interesting to go watch that thing live and sit in a rain when cars drive past them at light-speed throwing dust in your face until you cry, when you could just sit at home all happily and watch that whole thing from TV screen with a beer and a hot chick on your lap...

 

[Rey C.]

This formula circus still going? They are supposed to have the fastest drivers in the world, but instead they have all these amateur drivers pay teams to drive their cars and teams choosing which one of their drivers get to pass the finish line first. I've seen couple races from the last years and all these newbies seem to be there just to play crush, crash and destroy -rally instead of driving formula 1...

Yep, still rolling along. Still the second most watched sport in the world.

Then there are those overpowered cars that keep winning each race, while those crappy mascot teams are just to add some entertainment values and tensions... When you never know when they are going to crash, crush and destroy those much faster cars who are already passing them by laps when pee is leaking out from their shoes as they panic...

That's just the story of Formula One since Day 1. There have always been periods of domination by one car/team/driver. It was true with Fangio, the Lotus-Cosworth cars up through the late 70's, the McLaren-Hondas of the 80's, the Schumacher era, etc. And it was worse when F1 allowed engine suppliers to give different spec engines to the various teams, depending on how much they paid up front. And little throw-away teams have littered F1 since Day 1 too. They actually do a better job of qualifying teams (prior to entry) these days than they used to.

That double points system is just pure comics and a candle on top of this already ridiculous show of blindfolded clowns running around... This show is a bigger joke than that American men in tights and silicone boobies battling show wrestling thing...

I agree. The double points race (and the medals idea) is a horrible idea. But my guess is it'll be one-and-done after this year. Hopefully it doesn't allow the weaker racer (Rosberg) to win the WDC based primarily on luck.

Then there is that teenage kid who is supposed to enter formula 1 next season. He already crashed his damn car while doing public appearance and trying to drive some circles...

I don't understand the fascination with getting babies in F1 cars either. Maybe Verstappen is hella talented. But IMO, he should have to develop and mature in a development series first. Otherwise these kids get into the F1 pressure cooker, burn out young and what could have been a major talent (if allowed to develop) is never heard from again. I think Toro Rosso has had the worst habit of doing this.

Do people really find interesting to go watch that thing live and sit in a rain when cars drive past them at light-speed throwing dust in your face until you cry, when you could just sit at home all happily and watch that whole thing from TV screen with a beer and a hot chick on your lap...

My (ex) fiancee and I were both HUGE Senna fans back in the day. And even when we were fighting, we could happily sit together and watch our man lay the smack down on Prost, Piquet, Mansell or whomever. For me, racing is the only sport that I find worth following now days - it's pretty much all I watch on TV (other than financial news). I used to also watch and go to CART races. But once it died and was replaced by the sad little IRL, with its reliance on DanicaMania and spec cars/engines, I completely turned my back on that. I will watch NASCAR every now & again, but it's just not a series that I can glue myself to. F1? I would sit in a lightning storm with a metal rod attached to my head to see an F1 race live. And any girl sitting on my lap would end up on the ground once I saw a pass that would bring me to my feet.

Unlike the Schumacher era, and despite the small handful of clowns the sport has on the grid, I can honestly say that the grids we've had over the past few seasons are the most complete and talented that we've had since the 80's and early 90's. We have Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso at the very top. We have developing young chargers in Ricciardo, Bottas and Kvyat. Rosberg and Button, though not top shelf, are certainly capable and damn quick when things are going their way.

I've been watching and going to all kinds of races (formula cars, sports cars, drag racing, stock cars, dirt track, etc.) for a long time. And looking back over time, I feel fortunate to be seeing what I'm seeing this year. Perfect? No, but it never has been. The idea that F1 was once upon a time more pure and there were passes for the lead every other lap, with 5 or 6 cars vying for the win... that's a myth that has never existed. All & all, this is a damn fine year. Well, unless my guy gets beaten for the WDC by Rosberg. If that happens, then this season sucked balls!

 

[Supafly]

Tomorrow they'll be racing in Brazil... Rosberg has another chance to catch up

Here's a taste of how F 1 used to be, well, we all didn't see THIS live, didn't we ^^

 

[The Identifier]

Well, here we are then. Down to the last race. I really hope double points don't come into play.

Lewis would no doubt have won the race had he not spun off whilst pushing it ahead of the pitstop. He would have come out comfortably ahead of Rosberg meaning Nico would had to have overtaken him on track which is something I can't remember happenning too often!

How Massa ended up finishing 3rd I don't know... penalty for speeding in the pitlane... pulling into the wrong pit box... Luckily he had some serious pace and always good to see him on the podium in front of his home crowd.

Button showed his worth once again with a great drive.

Confirmation (as if we needed it) that Alonso is leaving Ferrari... Raikkonen not ordered to get out of his way. That duel was one of the best bits of the race. Haha.

Anyone notice that Rosberg seemed a bit pissed off at the end of the podium ceremony? Swearing under his breath... My best guess is it was because of Nelson Piquet ignoring him at the end. Normal service is to interview the winner, 2nd place, 3rd place and then return to the winner once more. Instead he went back to Lewis. Then again, he may have felt obliged to go back to him considering the extent of his initial "interview" was for Piquet to say "I'm jealous of you because of your girlfriend Nicole. Where is she?" and for Lewis to reply "she's at home". That was it. He was a complete disaster and can barely speak English!

Maybe Verstappen is hella talented. But IMO, he should have to develop and mature in a development series first. Otherwise these kids get into the F1 pressure cooker, burn out young and what could have been a major talent (if allowed to develop) is never heard from again. I think Toro Rosso has had the worst habit of doing this.

Guys from the GP2 series must feel very cheated. They compete and win these championships in the hope of getting an F1 seat and then see a teenager fast-tracked onto the grid ahead of them. Once you win the GP2 championship, you can no longer compete in it - and we've seen a couple of examples in the past couple of years of clearly talented drivers not being able to continue racing in that category and not be given a seat in F1... leaving them in the cold. They lose out to the Pastor Maldonado's of this world who bring money over talent.