1%er
Well-Known Member
I bet the drivers hate that, they have to say something but are shitting themselves in case they say something wrong, keep it safe and only talk about the growing crowds
F1 2017
- Thread starter spitfire
- Start date
Indeliblelink
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Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Ax^
Silly Rabbit
Well he did keep complaining about temperatures soon after the start of the race.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
The Sky commentary in the race spoke about how much teams could adjust the cooling for engines and brakes. More cooling comes at the expense of drag. So they estimate how much they need based on track, location, temperatures, down-force and stuff.
The Sky guys were suggesting that Mercedes sailed too close to the wind, figuratively speaking, when they set up the cooling for Hammy's car. Which doesn't explain why Botty didn't have the same problem... Unless he did, but had clean air up front.
The Sky guys were suggesting that Mercedes sailed too close to the wind, figuratively speaking, when they set up the cooling for Hammy's car. Which doesn't explain why Botty didn't have the same problem... Unless he did, but had clean air up front.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Not that I recall, no.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Just realised I've not watched a single minute of this season.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I was asleep when it started so I missed the first corner action, but I agree the closing stages were interesting, more than the rest.
What happened to Alonso?
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Kin Ell, he must be frustrated ...He retired on the formation lap.
Ten million viewers simultaneously face-palmed.
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Apparently the chief executive of Honda now knows the Spanish vocabulary for "engine", "stick up" and "arse".
1%er
Well-Known Member
All the books I've read about F1 that have talked about this (including Ross Brawn's recent book) have put the blame for Honda and Toyota not having much success in F1 for they money they have invested over the years, is because of management style and company culture. They don't really manage the fast pace of change because things have to move up and down the management structure and they don't integrate/embed with the teams as well as other engine suppliers according to Ross Brawn (and he should know as he was the boss of the last factor Honda team). If you look at other racing series where they are involved they appear to do much better.
McLaren are talking to Mercedes it has been reported, but the team say they are staying with Honda, Eric Boullier denies reports that the team will switch back to Mercedes, but you'd expect him to say that. It really all comes down to what the break clauses in the contract say, I'm sure I read that McLaren had a break clauses that could be activated before the start of the 2018 season, but reports in the news about F1 team contracts are usually based on old contracts and what journalists think teams will put in any such contract, although a break clause is highly likely. I think the team will for sure be talking to other suppliers, but with Sauber having signed up for Honda power in 2018 and being only 4 races into the season it is early days. It seems that Sauber have also signed up to buy McLaren gearboxes to go with the Honda power-unit, which could be an indication that McLaren are planning to stay with Honda, but you can be sure there is a clause that if McLaren leave Honda the gearbox deal is off the table.
FOM and the FIA are already in talks about a new power unit coming in with the new Concorde agreement (2020), so while I think McLaren could well change, my thinking is based on what appears to be a lack of improvement with the Honda unit, if they can solve some of the problems and finish in the top ten a couple of times towards the end of the season things could change. I think it is highly unlikely that Honda will stay in F1 only supplying Sauber and I can't see any other team taking their engine as things stand at the moment.
Yes, I think Carlos Sainz made an overtake on track during the race after lap 1, but that is it as far as I can recall. The Russian race isn't know for overtaking really, but only one makes it all look a little silly. The next race in Spain is also a track where overtaking is difficult, iirc the most overtakes at the Circuit de Barcelona will be at turn one after the long straight.
In other news
1) There is talk that the Russian GP could be scrapped now that F1 is owned by an American company. Those of you who listened carefully would have heard Ted say "there are no support races this weekend", I thought that strange so I looked up to see why. Apparently the Formula 4 race that should have been the support race was cancelled because it is promoted by a Rotenberg company. It seems that Boris and Arkady Rotenberg are on a US sanctions list and therefore Liberty Media could not do business with them, so the race was cancelled.
2) Alonso and Renault, there are reports all over the Spanish and French press claiming that Renault have made a very strong and serious offer to Fernando for him to race for the works team in 2018, this was mentioned on here over the weekend, that Alonso will take Jolyon Palmer's drive and it seems reports have got a lot of traction. I can't see him getting a drive for Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull, so Renault would be his best choice unless McLaren make a massive step forward.
3) Will Ferrari extend Kimi's contract? If there is no news on this it could be because Danny Ric is in the frame to take his seat in 2018. Ferrari tend to sort drivers out early so it should be expected that they announce an extension to Kimi's contract before the summer, if no announcement is forthcoming it may well indicate that the seat is open and in my view Danny Ric is in poll position to grab it.
4) Those of you who live in or near London, Liberty Media are planing to have an F1 demonstration run. It is reported that F1 are talking to Westminster City Council in the hope they can run the cars past some of London's most iconic sights.
5) I've been watching live on youtube Alonso's first run in his Indy 500 car. Here is some that has already been uploaded.
A bit like the F1 Regent Street event they had some time ago.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Could Force India soon become Brabham F1
With Vijay Mallya facing extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering and Subrata Roy in jail, surely it can't be long before the Force India team is sold. The team has been up for sale for almost 2 years now but the owners want too much money for the team, it is reported that they are asking around £270m. A more realistic price would be somewhere between £150 to £200 million. The new owners of Formula 1 have listed it on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the USA and along with that come some very stringent rules. Liberty Media also want to make F1 a sports franchise with the teams being the franchisees and themselves being the franchisor, following the model used by most US sports.
If they are able to franchise the sport the price of an F1 team is expected to increase substantially, but they would not be able to give Force India, with its current ownership a franchise, with one of the owners in jail. I believe that would be a breach of US regulations. The latest reports on the sale of Force India are that a US based company is willing to buy the team and Re-brand it as Brabham F1, keeping the team at is current base in Silverstone and following the same model as McLaren, as well as using sponsorship money they would also produce super-cars to help finance the project.
One of the names behind the team is David Brabham the son of three-time World Champion Sir Jack Brabham and a racing driver in his own right. For the last few years he has been buying up the Brabhan trademarks with a company called "project Brabham". Nowadays the Force India team is financed mainly by prize money and sponsorship, as the owners are not in a position to invest in the team. It will be interesting to see if this latest rumor has legs, but one thing is for sure, the team needs new owners before Liberty Media can franchise the sport.
Romain Grosjean replaces Jenson Button at GPDA
Having decided not to race full time in 2017 Jenson has resigned his roll as a director of the Formula 1 Grand Prix Drivers Association and is being replaced by Romain who was elected, the Haas driver will join Sebastian Vettel and chairman Alexander Wurz in the leading roles at the GPDA. Ironically this means that Grosjean will be leading the campaign for better head protection for drivers, he has been vocal in his rejection of all the systems that have been put forward so far but says "We race drivers don't always hold the same opinion but we are united in wanting the best for our sport". He is spoken out against both the Halo and the new "Shield", but as the FIA is committed to introducing additional head protection in 2018 it is highly likely the shield will be introduced, The FIA will test it in a couple of races time, the problem is, they really need to test it in wet conditions to see if water on the shield effect the drivers vision. The FIA have already stated that they will introduce a head protection device for the 2018 season, so if the shield doesn't work for some reason the Halo will be used.
With Vijay Mallya facing extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering and Subrata Roy in jail, surely it can't be long before the Force India team is sold. The team has been up for sale for almost 2 years now but the owners want too much money for the team, it is reported that they are asking around £270m. A more realistic price would be somewhere between £150 to £200 million. The new owners of Formula 1 have listed it on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the USA and along with that come some very stringent rules. Liberty Media also want to make F1 a sports franchise with the teams being the franchisees and themselves being the franchisor, following the model used by most US sports.
If they are able to franchise the sport the price of an F1 team is expected to increase substantially, but they would not be able to give Force India, with its current ownership a franchise, with one of the owners in jail. I believe that would be a breach of US regulations. The latest reports on the sale of Force India are that a US based company is willing to buy the team and Re-brand it as Brabham F1, keeping the team at is current base in Silverstone and following the same model as McLaren, as well as using sponsorship money they would also produce super-cars to help finance the project.
One of the names behind the team is David Brabham the son of three-time World Champion Sir Jack Brabham and a racing driver in his own right. For the last few years he has been buying up the Brabhan trademarks with a company called "project Brabham". Nowadays the Force India team is financed mainly by prize money and sponsorship, as the owners are not in a position to invest in the team. It will be interesting to see if this latest rumor has legs, but one thing is for sure, the team needs new owners before Liberty Media can franchise the sport.
Romain Grosjean replaces Jenson Button at GPDA
Having decided not to race full time in 2017 Jenson has resigned his roll as a director of the Formula 1 Grand Prix Drivers Association and is being replaced by Romain who was elected, the Haas driver will join Sebastian Vettel and chairman Alexander Wurz in the leading roles at the GPDA. Ironically this means that Grosjean will be leading the campaign for better head protection for drivers, he has been vocal in his rejection of all the systems that have been put forward so far but says "We race drivers don't always hold the same opinion but we are united in wanting the best for our sport". He is spoken out against both the Halo and the new "Shield", but as the FIA is committed to introducing additional head protection in 2018 it is highly likely the shield will be introduced, The FIA will test it in a couple of races time, the problem is, they really need to test it in wet conditions to see if water on the shield effect the drivers vision. The FIA have already stated that they will introduce a head protection device for the 2018 season, so if the shield doesn't work for some reason the Halo will be used.
