F1 2016

[pablo]

the fact they even had the option to do that shows that RB had it sewn up after the mercs departed

 

[pablo]

The crash was ruled a driving incident by race stewards, but Lauda has been one of those vocal in his assertions that Hamilton was responsible for the pair’s retirement. The Austrian has now asserted that Hamilton has admitted as much.

“Lewis looked us in the eye and took the blame,” Lauda told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

“He apologised. He took everything on himself. That’s fine with me. “(Team boss) Toto (Wolff) sees it differently, but I’m a black and white thinker. If someone says ‘Guys, I’m really sorry’ – if someone makes a mistake and realizes it – then that for me is history.”

However, Lauda’s comments have provided little solace to a disgruntled Rosberg.

“I feel no solace that Niki Lauda blamed him (Hamilton),” said Rosberg. “I have lost a win and 25 points.”

what an arrogant wee f**k assuming he was going to win. I still blame him squarely for the crash how much was stupidity and how much was red mist I don't know but karma bit him in the ass when he got taken out too. What Hamilton done was called RACING. We were robbed of a good fight between the two. I was so pleased to see Rosberg take 1st on the 1st corner as it was right, game on!

 

[K55]

Perhaps it's you're own bias towards Hamilton there Pablo?

 

[pablo]

Not at all, hamilton is a p***k and if I thought he had caused it Id be the first to say it. I like watching him race because he will RACE and its entertaining.

Like I said I was over the moon when Rosberg took the lead at the first corner. Last thing I want to see is Hamilton sitting in 1st and taking an easy win, boring.

 

[Dave..]

Last year Lauda stuck up for Hamilton, this year Rosberg - maybe he has been told/asked to do this.

 

[DC.]

Be interesting to see if Niki has changed his opinion on the matter, think the race was still on when he was asked about it.

The fact the stewards found no reason to punish either driver says it all for me.

I think Rosberg was surprised by the speed at which Hamilton attacked him going into turn 4. Both were entitled to do what they did, misfortunate that they both ended up off the track.

Monaco should be great, Red Bull will be strong again & both Mercedes boys will want to make up for last weekend

 

[stevyg]

Pretty good analysis.

 

[pablo]

looks fair to me. rosberg cocked it

 

[pablo]

looks fair to me. rosberg cocked it

 

[Wild Thing]

ffs its only f1 who gives a s-hi-t. has been so boring over the last few years. only way it will ever get good again is limit bhp and let the teams go mad at aero and driver ability

 

[DC.]

Ground affect would make a huge difference to F1.

 

[Wild Thing]

ground effect would end in fatalities the cars would end up just to quick in corners

 

[Phil_EK9]

It's the aerodynamics of the vehicles that are causing the problem. The mercs know that they can put their cars on the front of the grid without issue, so their aero works fantastically well in clean air, so they race away from the start, whereas the rest of the field knows they will be racing in turbulent air, so their cars aero is more biased towards this and can't catch up when the grid begins to separate.

Development restrictions would be the ideal method to bring the field closer together and bring costs down but something needs to be done about the engines because Merc have too much of an advantage, probably the standardisation of the units that has been discussed before.

 

[DC.]

If F1 introduced standardised engines, Ferrari would quit immediately. They've said that many times over the years.

Aero wake is the biggest issue with the current cars; everyone knows it but very little is done about. The inability of cars to follow closely is why F1 brought DRS in.

When you see the complexity of the front wings its no wonder they don't like turbulent air from the car in front. Reduce the amount of aero onthe cars & increase mechanical grip & it would be a lot better.

 

[Phil_EK9]

If F1 introduced standardised engines, Ferrari would quit immediately. They've said that many times over the years.

Aero wake is the biggest issue with the current cars; everyone knows it but very little is done about. The inability of cars to follow closely is why F1 brought DRS in.

When you see the complexity of the front wings its no wonder they don't like turbulent air from the car in front. Reduce the amount of aero onthe cars & increase mechanical grip & it would be a lot better.

Not necessarily a standard engine but certain parts and aspects are standardised, meaning their can still be some level of improvement but without the massive cost. Surely they could go for that considering their engines are still second hat to merc.

 

[surprising_skoda]

There used to be tyre supplier choice in f1. Some circuits worked with certain tyres, some didn't. They engineered as good as they could and it gave variance in who would hook it up.
Now we have a standardised tyre, and it's engineered purposely to not be good. F1 was always a development programme, any racing with manufacturers entering is for advertising and development, but you have a standardised part that has to be reduced in capability and longevity to facilitate artificial racing.

Given that the last race saw a red bull Renault and a Ferrari finish 0.6 seconds apart after 66 laps, there is no need for standardising, as two entirely different setups ran the same time lap by lap. As mentioned above the aero is what stops them getting too close, reduce the reliance on that and overtaking will be possible again.

 

[Wild Thing]

All valid points

 

[mrloaf]

I think it was approximately lap 6 before I stopped rolling around the sofa in hysterics. What a pair of complete and utter twoobs.
Showed pretty clearly the key to having exciting racing is just remove the Mercedes' out of it. The rest was superb viewing.
Liked Jos as a driver, could see more talent in him than the teams he drove for. When Max showed up I expected the same and he's delivered, and that youngest win record is going to be pretty hard to beat. A very consummate victory and could not be happier even though I'm ferrari through and through.
posts above - not sure what strings Papa Verstappen would have been able to pull? And Rosberg learning italian? i think they're smarter than that. More chance of them ringing Nick Heidfeld and seeing if he's free next year. Should have done that a few years ago tbh. He deserved a better chance.

Anyway, more of the same at Monaco please.
And seeing this is the times of dreams coming true (Verstappen and Leicester et al) I'd like to nominate Massa for a race win this year, Raikkonen to take a couple and Vettel to win the championship. If Button and Alonso could also get a swap to a different team and win first time out too that would be just swell. lol.

I read here Why did Red Bull replace Kvyat with Verstappen? that Jos has been engineering his sons rise to F1 as his manager, fair play he seems to be opening the doors for him rightly

It’s a familiar modus operandi in Jos’ management of his boy. He used a similar tactic to help get him into F1 in the first place. At the time Red Bull was showing an interest in having the then 16-year-old join the Red Bull roster of junior drivers, he was in his first season of F3. Jos insisted that if Max was to join the family it would only be in F1: they were not, he insisted, interested in just becoming one of several placed in junior categories vying for a possible F1 opportunity in the future. It was F1 or no thank you. Mercedes was interested in a long term deal too and Jos played this in his negotiations. In Max Verstappen’s stellar rise through the ranks, Jos’ shrewd, non-compromising management has been every bit as important as Max’s exploits on track. Max has created the sensations, Jos has parlayed them to maximum effect, keeping that vital perception momentum going. This latest promotion is just another example of that.

 

[Phil_EK9]

There used to be tyre supplier choice in f1. Some circuits worked with certain tyres, some didn't. They engineered as good as they could and it gave variance in who would hook it up.
Now we have a standardised tyre, and it's engineered purposely to not be good. F1 was always a development programme, any racing with manufacturers entering is for advertising and development, but you have a standardised part that has to be reduced in capability and longevity to facilitate artificial racing.

Given that the last race saw a red bull Renault and a Ferrari finish 0.6 seconds apart after 66 laps, there is no need for standardising, as two entirely different setups ran the same time lap by lap. As mentioned above the aero is what stops them getting too close, reduce the reliance on that and overtaking will be possible again.

I agree about the tyre thing, its been an awful idea from the start but Bridgestone managed to make a good tyre for for a couple of years on their own, this is just a result of messing from the guys up top. Standardised engine components don't have to be terrible.

Just because two cars finish close to each other in one race doesn't mean they're competitive, look at the tables.

 

[surprising_skoda]

I read here Why did Red Bull replace Kvyat with Verstappen? that Jos has been engineering his sons rise to F1 as his manager, fair play he seems to be opening the doors for him rightly

The post I was quoting has been stealthily deleted now but it was posited that Jos Verstappen was "pulling a few strings" to get Max a seat.
What you quoted was all the job of a good manager. I would expect no less. He used skill in management to get a deal for his son who showed skill on track. Pulling strings implies he used his own name as leverage and used influence to get ahead, something I doubt he has much of at least in Red Bull circles.
No doubting he deserves the seat, and he got it by merit, not by who his dad is IMO.

I agree about the tyre thing, its been an awful idea from the start but Bridgestone managed to make a good tyre for for a couple of years on their own, this is just a result of messing from the guys up top. Standardised engine components don't have to be terrible.

Agreed. Problem is once you go standardised, the regulatory bodies have free reign to mess with it. Refuelling hoses for example?

Just because two cars finish close to each other in one race doesn't mean they're competitive, look at the tables.

I never said they were competitive. I was answering this that you said

Development restrictions would be the ideal method to bring the field closer together and bring costs down but something needs to be done about the engines because Merc have too much of an advantage, probably the standardisation of the units that has been discussed before.

Two completely different cars/powerplants had almost exactly equal performance and results, showing that standardisation is not required to bring the field closer. 0.6 seconds after 66 laps was the finishing gap. How much closer do they need to be?

In BTCC they use a standard engine. The racing is very close. However there are no outright manufacturer teams pouring in vast sums - because it's not their motor and cannot be used for development, so it's simply a very expensive form of advertising.
F1 cars are still development tools, and thus the manufacturer teams can put in big money as they get technology that "has been forged by the crucible of motorsport" and can filter down into road cars. The list of parts that are now in ordinary cars because of racing is huge.
While I'm not inclined to fight either corner, what can be taken is that if you have an attitude of 'its up to the other teams to catch up' you get the development, the big investments, the best ideas, but at the cost of gaps between performance of different cars. if you have the attitude of making them more equal to facilitate closer grids and thereby more racing action, you give up manufacturer interest and the investment in development, thereby slower technological advance.

 

[weeloaney]

@surprising_skoda there is a standardized Toca swindon engine but the teams can also use there own. Honda use a engine based on the new civic type R, subaru use the own flat 4 engine.

 

[Crow555]

Also, to add. BTCC use ballast to keep the racing varied and unpredictable. It isn't a fair comparison to use in this case.

 

[impact]

I think if reg's were left alone all teams will naturally develop their cars towards the natural sweet spot that that set of rules will allow which will give the closest racing. The constant regulation changing only means the teams with the biggest development budgets just open up a bigger gap to the rest again.

 

[DEEJAY.B]

2017,s new car regs are a complete waste of time , keeping those stupid front wings
and not bringing back ground effect . .cars should look like this with a stepped floor and
the racing would be epic . .
Notehow the endplates stop at the inside of the tyre preventing damage ,next years are so
big and loaded up with small mounts any light touch will take them off resulting in punctures,
safety cars ,extra pitstops . .its ridiculous . .

 

[svensktoppen]

Ground effect will never come back, far too dangerous.