F1 2018
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1%er
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If I were him I'd also go to Ferrari, as I mention above he beat Vettel when they were both at Red Bill back in 2014
1%er
Well-Known Member
Some proposals from the Strategy group
The Strategy group met this week to discuss a few things that seem to be a little confusing at first glance. The decision was taken to increase the fuel allowance for each race from 105 to 110 kg, so that the engines can be run at full power more of the time. This looks to be a positive thing that would allow the cars to run flat-out for longer periods during the race, but it isn't all it seems, in my view. Extra fuel means extra weight, I'd like to know what the off-set is for that as more weight means less speed. Also with the reduction in the number of power-units, can teams really afford to run at higher revs/speed or will this mean they will need more parts/engines and therefore more penalties? Also if the FIA do not mandate that teams must start with 110kg of fuel, teams will always run with the minimum fuel that believe they need. I'm not really sure of the logic behind this change
It was also discussed to change the rules to separate the weight of the car from that of the driver. I'm also not sure what this change is for? I could understand it if there was a maximum weight for the car and driver, but currently the rule specify a minimum weight of the car and driver Maybe I've missed something here.
There was further discussions about aerodynamics (and its effect on overtaking) with the goal being to reach some conclusions by the end of the month "once research programmes are completed". For the last 10 years (maybe longer) I have been reading about F1 making changes to the aerodynamics to make overtaking easier, why are there still "research programmes" looking into this? They have years of data and there was an "overtaking working group" set up back in 2009 looking to solve this "problem"?
The only thing that makes any sense to me that came out of this meeting is that drivers will also be required to wear biometric gloves in order to help the medical rescue teams. This seems like a good thing as it will send real-time data to the medical staff, so they will have more information about the condition of the driver before they even reach the accident.
It appears to me that this meeting came to 4 decisions only 1 of which makes any sense on the face of it. I'm guessing that the meeting had been arranged some time ago so they needed to talk about something and that something was anything that didn't cover the new rules and Concorde agreement to be put in place post 2021, they didn't want anything controversial on the agenda at this time.
The Strategy group met this week to discuss a few things that seem to be a little confusing at first glance. The decision was taken to increase the fuel allowance for each race from 105 to 110 kg, so that the engines can be run at full power more of the time. This looks to be a positive thing that would allow the cars to run flat-out for longer periods during the race, but it isn't all it seems, in my view. Extra fuel means extra weight, I'd like to know what the off-set is for that as more weight means less speed. Also with the reduction in the number of power-units, can teams really afford to run at higher revs/speed or will this mean they will need more parts/engines and therefore more penalties? Also if the FIA do not mandate that teams must start with 110kg of fuel, teams will always run with the minimum fuel that believe they need. I'm not really sure of the logic behind this change
It was also discussed to change the rules to separate the weight of the car from that of the driver. I'm also not sure what this change is for? I could understand it if there was a maximum weight for the car and driver, but currently the rule specify a minimum weight of the car and driver
Maybe I've missed something here.There was further discussions about aerodynamics (and its effect on overtaking) with the goal being to reach some conclusions by the end of the month "once research programmes are completed". For the last 10 years (maybe longer) I have been reading about F1 making changes to the aerodynamics to make overtaking easier, why are there still "research programmes" looking into this? They have years of data and there was an "overtaking working group" set up back in 2009 looking to solve this "problem"?
The only thing that makes any sense to me that came out of this meeting is that drivers will also be required to wear biometric gloves in order to help the medical rescue teams. This seems like a good thing as it will send real-time data to the medical staff, so they will have more information about the condition of the driver before they even reach the accident.
It appears to me that this meeting came to 4 decisions only 1 of which makes any sense on the face of it. I'm guessing that the meeting had been arranged some time ago so they needed to talk about something and that something was anything that didn't cover the new rules and Concorde agreement to be put in place post 2021, they didn't want anything controversial on the agenda at this time.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Is Ferrari's car legal
Reports in the Spanish press are saying that the FIA "are suspicions the SF71H is using special engine maps that blow exhaust to the rear wing of the car". It appears that during the Chinese Grand Prix FIA officials around the track claimed "the car sounded different in the corners" (is this what the new paddle on the back of Vettels steering wheel is used for?).
It will be former Ferrari designer Nikolas Tombazis who looks into this as he is now working for the FIA as their technical boss. There were concerns about the Renault earlier in the season because of the way their exhaust exited the car. The FIA has written to all teams about this, telling them "such flows should be the result of settings that genuinely increase the performance or reliability of the power unit, and not contrived to increase the exhaust flow. One of the objectives of the 2014 regulations was to eliminate once and for all any exhaust influence on the car's aerodynamic performance, and while this objective has been largely achieved, the 2017 rules brought back an exhaust effect on rear downforce, mainly because of the lower position of the rear wing" (this was the reason they banned the monkey seats).
Currently the teams can design their car in such way to have the most advantageous installation for their car's performance, provided this installation is indeed within the limits of the regulations (so can not be used to blow the rear wing). I did read that the FIA are looking in to setting the exhaust position to ensure that it can not be used to blow the rear wing but that is unlikely to come into effect before 2019.
Driver mirrors could be hung from the Halo
Drivers have been complaining that rear viability via the mirrors is worse because of the introduction of the Halo, so the FIA have said that from now teams can mount there mirrors from the Halo as long as they are with-in the current rules. Mirrors will also have to comply with the new rule on laminate parts that are within 20mm of the halo structure, which was written to cover aerodynamic fairings.
In a technical directive the FIA has told teams that the onus is on them to prove that the mountings are secure: "We expect that you will be able to satisfy us that the installation is sufficiently rigid to ensure that the mirror does not vibrate too much, which would limit driver visibility". Mirrors cannot be mounted both on the halo and the chassis, because such an arrangement would make it harder to remove the halo. Nikolas Tombazis wrote: "We will not accept a dual mirror mounting (Halo + traditional survival cell), as this could cause delays in the event a rescue team had to remove the Halo following an accident".
The FIA also pointed out that teams will not be able to fit working cameras in halo-mounted mirrors, and that this could become an issue should FOM request that a particular car run such cameras. "We will not accept a cable or connectors to run through the Halo fairing, hence in the rare case when a team is asked to mount cameras in the mirrors, that team would have to resort in using a mirror installation on the chassis or side pod".
Reports in the Spanish press are saying that the FIA "are suspicions the SF71H is using special engine maps that blow exhaust to the rear wing of the car". It appears that during the Chinese Grand Prix FIA officials around the track claimed "the car sounded different in the corners" (is this what the new paddle on the back of Vettels steering wheel is used for?).
It will be former Ferrari designer Nikolas Tombazis who looks into this as he is now working for the FIA as their technical boss. There were concerns about the Renault earlier in the season because of the way their exhaust exited the car. The FIA has written to all teams about this, telling them "such flows should be the result of settings that genuinely increase the performance or reliability of the power unit, and not contrived to increase the exhaust flow. One of the objectives of the 2014 regulations was to eliminate once and for all any exhaust influence on the car's aerodynamic performance, and while this objective has been largely achieved, the 2017 rules brought back an exhaust effect on rear downforce, mainly because of the lower position of the rear wing" (this was the reason they banned the monkey seats).
Currently the teams can design their car in such way to have the most advantageous installation for their car's performance, provided this installation is indeed within the limits of the regulations (so can not be used to blow the rear wing). I did read that the FIA are looking in to setting the exhaust position to ensure that it can not be used to blow the rear wing but that is unlikely to come into effect before 2019.
Driver mirrors could be hung from the Halo
Drivers have been complaining that rear viability via the mirrors is worse because of the introduction of the Halo, so the FIA have said that from now teams can mount there mirrors from the Halo as long as they are with-in the current rules. Mirrors will also have to comply with the new rule on laminate parts that are within 20mm of the halo structure, which was written to cover aerodynamic fairings.
In a technical directive the FIA has told teams that the onus is on them to prove that the mountings are secure: "We expect that you will be able to satisfy us that the installation is sufficiently rigid to ensure that the mirror does not vibrate too much, which would limit driver visibility". Mirrors cannot be mounted both on the halo and the chassis, because such an arrangement would make it harder to remove the halo. Nikolas Tombazis wrote: "We will not accept a dual mirror mounting (Halo + traditional survival cell), as this could cause delays in the event a rescue team had to remove the Halo following an accident".
The FIA also pointed out that teams will not be able to fit working cameras in halo-mounted mirrors, and that this could become an issue should FOM request that a particular car run such cameras. "We will not accept a cable or connectors to run through the Halo fairing, hence in the rare case when a team is asked to mount cameras in the mirrors, that team would have to resort in using a mirror installation on the chassis or side pod".
1%er
Well-Known Member
Has McLaren sacked its chief technical officer
There are rumors that McLaren has sacked one of their three most senior F1 engineers. Tim Goss who has worked at McLaren since 1990 and did have technical oversight of the car's chassis. A McLaren spokesman declined to confirm Goss was moving from his role but said "McLaren was undergoing a review of its technical operations as part of its programme to return the team to success. This is a proactive, ongoing process that addresses a broad range of factors across the organisation. More details will be given in due course. Until that time there will be no further comment".
We are only 3 races into the season and the team has scored more points already than they did for the whole of last season, Alonso has moved up to 6th in the drivers championship and scored 22 points which is more than he got last season, it seems that McLaren are judging themselves against Red Bull rather than Renault, who I believe would be a better yardstick. It is true that their car is about 2 seconds off qualifying pace but so is the Renault team.
Zak Brown was made chief executive officer of McLaren Racing, with direct responsibility for the F1 team earlier this month and this appears to be his first big decision. It seems strange to me that the first sacking is the man who has technical oversight of the car's chassis, as McLaren have been saying for the last couple of years that they have the best chassis in Formula 1.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has said that the reliability problems suffered in preseason testing delayed the introduction of upgrades that had been planned sooner (it is reported that they will come at the Spanish GP now). He said the problems were caused by McLaren being too ambitious with what they thought they could achieve while switching engines, but he also said at the last race in China that McLaren may have not been ambitious enough in setting their performance targets for this year's car (come on Eric you can't have it both ways).
There are rumors that McLaren has sacked one of their three most senior F1 engineers. Tim Goss who has worked at McLaren since 1990 and did have technical oversight of the car's chassis. A McLaren spokesman declined to confirm Goss was moving from his role but said "McLaren was undergoing a review of its technical operations as part of its programme to return the team to success. This is a proactive, ongoing process that addresses a broad range of factors across the organisation. More details will be given in due course. Until that time there will be no further comment".
We are only 3 races into the season and the team has scored more points already than they did for the whole of last season, Alonso has moved up to 6th in the drivers championship and scored 22 points which is more than he got last season, it seems that McLaren are judging themselves against Red Bull rather than Renault, who I believe would be a better yardstick. It is true that their car is about 2 seconds off qualifying pace but so is the Renault team.
Zak Brown was made chief executive officer of McLaren Racing, with direct responsibility for the F1 team earlier this month and this appears to be his first big decision. It seems strange to me that the first sacking is the man who has technical oversight of the car's chassis, as McLaren have been saying for the last couple of years that they have the best chassis in Formula 1.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has said that the reliability problems suffered in preseason testing delayed the introduction of upgrades that had been planned sooner (it is reported that they will come at the Spanish GP now). He said the problems were caused by McLaren being too ambitious with what they thought they could achieve while switching engines, but he also said at the last race in China that McLaren may have not been ambitious enough in setting their performance targets for this year's car (come on Eric you can't have it both ways).
1%er
Well-Known Member
Danny Ric getting more action off track than on
The rumors surrounding Daniel Ricciardo seems to have reached fever pitch, his contract is up at the end of the season and now Red Bull have given him until August to make up his mind or they they will make it up for him. Ricciardo who turns 29 this year, knows this decision will define the rest of his Formula One career. Getting it right would provide him with the championship contender he has craved since he rose to prominence in 2014, but the wrong step at this stage could doom him to more frustrating years in an uncompetitive car (yes he won in China but that was more due to circumstance than the Red Bull car).
Does he want to stay with Red Bull that could have a Honda power-unit in it next season and maybe even longer, while this would make Red Bull a factory team, can Honda sort out their problems by next season and keep Red Bull as competitive as they are now. Will Aston Martin or another manufacture join the game in 2021, giving Red Bull another option. What are the chances of a new manufacture joining F1 and being competitive from the get go, one only has to look at recent history to see that has never happens in the modern era.
He appears to have spent most of his time since arriving in Azerbaijan telling anyone who'll listen that he hasn't spoken to Ferrari or Mercedes and that the rumors he has already signed a per-contract with Ferrari are false, he says the only team he has spoken to to date is Red Bull. That may well be the truth, but who has his management team been talking too?
Ferrari;
Reports in Italy suggest Ricciardo and Ferrari have signed a deal providing exclusive negotiating rights for a couple of months, while this seems significant it is also nothing new. Ferrari often make such contracts with drivers only for those drivers never to end up at the team. But if the reports are true we could see Danny Ric rejoining Vettel in a team, I'd like to see that as he had the better of Vettle when they were last in the same team at Red Bull back in 2014. Ricciardo has Italian heritage it must be remembered, his Father was Italian (born in Sicily iirc) and both his Grandparents on his Mothers side were also Italian (while she herself was born in Australia, I believe), Danny also speaks Italian, I have heard him waxing lyrical on Sky Italy, so he'd be a great fit.
On the downside, Danny would only sign with Ferrari if he was guaranteed equal status, something I don't believe Vettel would accept and I'm not sure Ferrari would want to upset Vettel. As mentioned above, Ricciardo is the one teammate to have beaten Vettel over a full season and he did so having arrived at a team where the German was the established diver and 4 times world champion. Vettel has a contract with Ferrari until 2020 and for sure he would have some sway in the team's decision, he could hold the key to the whole situation. It would make for a great inter-team rivalrie the like of which hasn't been seen since Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna at McLaren in the late 1980's.
Mercedes;
This would seem to be his best option I believe, not only because he wouldn't have to be in the same team as Vettel, but because Mercedes have dominated the V6 turbo era and Ricciardo has said publicly a number of times that he really wants to race alongside Hamilton while Hamilton is at his prime (which he is now). Both Mercedes drivers are out of contract at the end of this season, although it seems clear that Hamilton will sigh an extension sooner rather than later, so Danny needs to convince Mercedes he is a better fit for the team than Bottas.
Ricciardo's career to this point suggests he would not be fazed by pairing with Hamilton. As well as the year alongside Vettel in 2014 he has consistently raised his game as current teammate Max Verstappen's results have improved. Although Mercedes has failed to win a race so far in 2018, the strength of its overall package suggests Ricciardo would have an immediate shot of winning a title driving the silver arrow, something he is unlikely to do in a Red Bull in the near future.
On the downside, the talk of Danny Ric moving to Mercedes have cooled somewhat since the start of the season, also Mercedes spent a number of years managing Hamilton's frosty relationship with Nico Rosberg, the arrival of the cool and unassuming Bottas has steadied the ship. But again like Vettel at Ferrari, would Hamilton want Ricciardo to have equal status and would he be a disruptive influence with-in the team. It is hard to overstate the influence Hamilton has had on Mercedes since arriving in 2013 and would Mercedes want to give him a reason to walk away. Maybe this is the issue that is holding up the talks between Hamilton and Mercedes.
In other driver news
There are reports in the Spanish press that Alonso may retire from F1 at the end of the season and that Lando Norris will get his seat. McLaren has been giving Norris drive time since last year. In 2017, Norris drove during the summer testing at Hungary and then again during the post-season testing at Abu Dhabi. He is scheduled to take part in most of the Pirelli testing this year to familiarise himself with the MCL33.
The rumors surrounding Daniel Ricciardo seems to have reached fever pitch, his contract is up at the end of the season and now Red Bull have given him until August to make up his mind or they they will make it up for him. Ricciardo who turns 29 this year, knows this decision will define the rest of his Formula One career. Getting it right would provide him with the championship contender he has craved since he rose to prominence in 2014, but the wrong step at this stage could doom him to more frustrating years in an uncompetitive car (yes he won in China but that was more due to circumstance than the Red Bull car).
Does he want to stay with Red Bull that could have a Honda power-unit in it next season and maybe even longer, while this would make Red Bull a factory team, can Honda sort out their problems by next season and keep Red Bull as competitive as they are now. Will Aston Martin or another manufacture join the game in 2021, giving Red Bull another option. What are the chances of a new manufacture joining F1 and being competitive from the get go, one only has to look at recent history to see that has never happens in the modern era.
He appears to have spent most of his time since arriving in Azerbaijan telling anyone who'll listen that he hasn't spoken to Ferrari or Mercedes and that the rumors he has already signed a per-contract with Ferrari are false, he says the only team he has spoken to to date is Red Bull. That may well be the truth, but who has his management team been talking too?
Ferrari;
Reports in Italy suggest Ricciardo and Ferrari have signed a deal providing exclusive negotiating rights for a couple of months, while this seems significant it is also nothing new. Ferrari often make such contracts with drivers only for those drivers never to end up at the team. But if the reports are true we could see Danny Ric rejoining Vettel in a team, I'd like to see that as he had the better of Vettle when they were last in the same team at Red Bull back in 2014. Ricciardo has Italian heritage it must be remembered, his Father was Italian (born in Sicily iirc) and both his Grandparents on his Mothers side were also Italian (while she herself was born in Australia, I believe), Danny also speaks Italian, I have heard him waxing lyrical on Sky Italy, so he'd be a great fit.
On the downside, Danny would only sign with Ferrari if he was guaranteed equal status, something I don't believe Vettel would accept and I'm not sure Ferrari would want to upset Vettel. As mentioned above, Ricciardo is the one teammate to have beaten Vettel over a full season and he did so having arrived at a team where the German was the established diver and 4 times world champion. Vettel has a contract with Ferrari until 2020 and for sure he would have some sway in the team's decision, he could hold the key to the whole situation. It would make for a great inter-team rivalrie the like of which hasn't been seen since Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna at McLaren in the late 1980's.
Mercedes;
This would seem to be his best option I believe, not only because he wouldn't have to be in the same team as Vettel, but because Mercedes have dominated the V6 turbo era and Ricciardo has said publicly a number of times that he really wants to race alongside Hamilton while Hamilton is at his prime (which he is now). Both Mercedes drivers are out of contract at the end of this season, although it seems clear that Hamilton will sigh an extension sooner rather than later, so Danny needs to convince Mercedes he is a better fit for the team than Bottas.
Ricciardo's career to this point suggests he would not be fazed by pairing with Hamilton. As well as the year alongside Vettel in 2014 he has consistently raised his game as current teammate Max Verstappen's results have improved. Although Mercedes has failed to win a race so far in 2018, the strength of its overall package suggests Ricciardo would have an immediate shot of winning a title driving the silver arrow, something he is unlikely to do in a Red Bull in the near future.
On the downside, the talk of Danny Ric moving to Mercedes have cooled somewhat since the start of the season, also Mercedes spent a number of years managing Hamilton's frosty relationship with Nico Rosberg, the arrival of the cool and unassuming Bottas has steadied the ship. But again like Vettel at Ferrari, would Hamilton want Ricciardo to have equal status and would he be a disruptive influence with-in the team. It is hard to overstate the influence Hamilton has had on Mercedes since arriving in 2013 and would Mercedes want to give him a reason to walk away. Maybe this is the issue that is holding up the talks between Hamilton and Mercedes.
In other driver news
There are reports in the Spanish press that Alonso may retire from F1 at the end of the season and that Lando Norris will get his seat. McLaren has been giving Norris drive time since last year. In 2017, Norris drove during the summer testing at Hungary and then again during the post-season testing at Abu Dhabi. He is scheduled to take part in most of the Pirelli testing this year to familiarise himself with the MCL33.
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1%er
Well-Known Member
As Limejuice is AWL I had to look up the sky F1 times myself 
as the F1.com site often seems to get the times wrong for where I am 
(I guess they are using Sao Paulo, Rio or Brasilia time, which are all thousands of Kilometers away), so I always use UK time less the difference to here 
According the Sky site (all times are UK);
Saturday
FP 3 is 11hours
Qualifying starts at 14hours
Sunday
Race starts 13.10hours
as the F1.com site often seems to get the times wrong for where I am (I guess they are using Sao Paulo, Rio or Brasilia time, which are all thousands of Kilometers away), so I always use UK time less the difference to here According the Sky site (all times are UK);
Saturday
FP 3 is 11hours
Qualifying starts at 14hours
Sunday
Race starts 13.10hours
Ax^
Silly Rabbit
Coultard bashing hartley for the mistake
whilst never mentioning his little Adventure in Spa
and a long safety car is going to make for a bit of a hairy restart I fear 
