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F1 2024

Hot diggidy dawg! F1 is back on, once again.

This weekend it's an immodestly-monickered locale called "Circuit of the Americas". I can't help but wonder if Canada, Mexico and Brazil concur in that grandiose claim.

"The Americas" seems a bit high fallutin' for "The arse end of Travis County, Texas". Apparently, the developer had wanted to call it, less prosaically, "Speed City", but shallower minds prevailed.

I suppose we should be grateful it actually is a circuit and not a hotel car-park, with a "Yee-Har Bar & Grill Chicane", a "World Series Pit-lane", and a "Bigly Coin Win-arium Straight".

Anyhoo, the UK telly times for this resuscitation will be:

Fri 18 Oct
Practice - 18:30
Sprint Qual - 22:30

Sat 19 Oct
Sprint - 19:00
Qual - 23:00

Sun 20 Oct
Race - 20:00

The only question that remains is how fast Nozza will throw away his pole position. If his past form is any indicator, it'll be on the parade lap.

:p
 

Engine penalty for Lawson at US GP​

Red Bull's Christian Horner has confirmed that F1 returnee Liam Lawson will take a grid penalty for Saturday’s Sprint event at the US Grand Prix. The grid demotion is simply the result of Lawson inheriting the power unit elements already used by Daniel Ricciardo, his predecessor at Visa Cash App RB. It’s unclear which fresh components RB has added to Lawson’s inventory or the extent of his grid drop, but Horner believes the penalty will provide the young gun with a low-key return to the F1 grid. "He will be taking an engine penalty anyway," Horner confirmed. "He's got a bit of a soft landing, or a soft re-entry."

While the penalty may offer some respite from the immediate pressure, Horner made it clear that Lawson will still be expected to perform at a high level. His performances will be closely compared to those of his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, as Red Bull assesses their plans for the 2025 season. "Of course, he is going to be gauged against his team-mate,” said the Briton. “He was very quick against him last year. I think Yuki has stepped it up a gear again this year. It is just going to be fascinating to see how quickly he adapts, how quickly he gets on with it."

In 2023, Lawson finished ahead of Tsunoda in two of the three races where both drivers finished, highlighting his potential. However, Tsunoda has grown into a more experienced and consistent driver, having now completed four seasons in F1. "We know that Yuki is a very, very fast driver," Horner remarked. "He can definitely extract a lap and as he has matured—because he is not a rookie anymore, he is in his fourth season of Grand Prix racing—he has got a lot of experience under his belt now."

Horner also emphasized the importance of using Tsunoda as a benchmark to assess Lawson's performance over the next few races. "Taking him as the data point, we saw where Daniel compared to Yuki, [so] it will just be very interesting to see how Liam performs over the remaining six races," he added. Although Lawson’s return to the grid will be marked by a challenging start in Austin, Horner remains optimistic about the young driver’s adaptability and resilience, although he admitted that “it’s difficult to say” when asked how he expects the Kiwi to perform. "Last year, Liam was quick from the outset,” he said. “He is a tough racer and he is very adaptable. Certainly, the testing that he has done for us in the Red Bull Racing car this year has been very encouraging."

With a competitive teammate like Tsunoda and the added pressure of an engine penalty, Lawson's performance in the United States Grand Prix will be closely watched by fans and experts alike. His ability to adapt and deliver results will be crucial for his future in Formula 1.
 

Argentina's F1 bid to gain steam at Brazil GP​

Two weeks ago, bolstered by improving economic conditions in the country and Franco Colapinto's meteoric debut, sports minister Daniel Scioli declared that "Argentina is ready for the return of Formula 1". It wasn't just hot air. Scioli told Buenos Aires radio station LR6 Radio Mitre that he has a meeting lined up with F1 owner Liberty Media and the FIA on the Friday of the Brazilian GP in Sao Paulo early next month. "We have a meeting scheduled in Brazil on the subject of Formula 1", he said. "On November first, I will be in Sao Paulo with the president of Liberty, who is responsible for organising these events, and with the president of the FIA. Argentina is prepared to bring F1 here, with private investments. We are going to explain why they should come to our country. We are going to move forward with this project since we have the conditions to host an event of such global impact and job creation", Scioli added.

He admits that Argentinean rookie Colapinto's impressive mid-season debut for Williams has added fuel to the project. "But for us, Formula 1 goes beyond Colapinto", he said. "The Buenos Aires race track is being modernised. We are already making progress on the necessary works to meet the requirements. Private companies want to cover all the expenses so that this event can come to our country. In addition, there is a strong investment from the city government". The bad news for Argentina is that Sauber does not appear interested in Williams boss James Vowles' suggestion that Colapinto be loaned to the Audi-owned team in 2025 and 2026. Vowles told Auto Motor und Sport: "If he doesn't get a place there, I'll have the best reserve driver in the sport. And we will continue to train him by testing him in old Formula 1 cars and letting him drive in the simulator".
 
Reports that in 2025 they're going to drop giving drivers a point for getting the fastest lap in the race.

 
Reports that in 2025 they're going to drop giving drivers a point for getting the fastest lap in the race.


That would be a shame, I quite like the whole Leroy Jenkins aspect of it.
 

FIA front bib clamp down will stop Red Bull winning F1 titles​

Lewis Hamilton hopes the FIA’s decision to monitor front bib adjustments under parc fermé will stop Red Bull from winning F1 titles after Christian Horner’s team admitted the device exists, but denied breaching rules. The story kicked off when the FIA put out a statement ahead of the 2024 United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas saying that they are aware of the allegations but that they have so far found no indication a team has been changing the part under parc fermé.

Then on Thursday, October 17, Red Bull admitted that the device does actually exist on their car but that it becomes inaccessible once the package is fully assembled, meaning in theory it cannot be accessed during parc ferme because the car is not disassembled. Such an advantage would allow teams to change the ride height of their car to optimally suit both qualifying and the Grand Prix, despite the different demands due to differences in fuel loads which affects how close the car sits to the ground. That’s because they would be able to run the car closer to the ground in qualifying to gain the benefits of additional downforce and balance improvements without incurring the extra plank wear that they would need to mitigate to pass scrutineering checks by Jo Bauer and his team.

This would allow Red Bull to find a performance advantage compared to their rivals in their quest for the titles, who have been looking to find a fixed balance between the front bib/ride height levels to avoid being disqualified as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc found out in 2023. However, whilst the seven-time world champion suspects that this is not the key to Red Bull’s success since the start of the ground effect era, he did ponder whether it was behind their triumphs in the races since 2022. “I think the name of our sport is all about innovation,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “Red Bull have been the leaders and they’ve innovated. Ultimately all the teams look at the rules and try to find how to massage those rules and get the most out of it. Even if it’s just over the edge a little bit and the FIA will I’m sure, or have, put out a statement but you just need to continue to evolve and be better policed. At the end of the day they did a better job. God knows how long they’ve had that, and they’ve been winning championships. Maybe that stops now, but I don’t think that’s the one thing that’s going to stop them. I think everyone else; we got to continue to be innovators and leading rather than try and catch up.”

Red Bull deny front bib changes in parc ferme
Red Bull admitted they are the team with the device as they realised they are already in communication with the FIA regarding “plans” going forwards, which would presumably be more openness and checks considering the part itself isn’t actually illegal. The team could, in theory, run it through Free Practice sessions in order to save time during the one hour events and they could even deploy it all the way up until they decide to leave the garage for qualifying.

But according to a spokesman from the organization and world champions, that is the extent of their use because once the car is assembled, they say it is no longer accessible, thus cannot be accessed in parc ferme curfew or before the Grand Prix. “Yes, it exists,” a member of Red Bull told BBC Sport. “Although it is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run. In the numerous correspondence we have with the FIA, this part came up and we have agreed a plan going forward.”
 

Mercedes 'substantial' United States GP F1 upgrade revealed​

Several F1 teams have brought major upgrade packages to this weekend's United States Grand Prix. Mercedes are introducing what is set to be their final "substantial" update of the year to their W15, while championship rivals Red Bull and McLaren will debut new parts on their respective cars in Austin. Here is the full list of updates each team have brought to the Circuit of the Americas.

Red Bull
Floor Edge:
Performance - Local Load. Revised edge wing camber over rearward third. With more local camber in the edge wing over its rearmost third, more local load is generated whilst maintain flow stability
Coke/Engine Cover: Circuit specific - Cooling Range. Sidepod upper surface lower and floor junction curve re-profiled. Continuing the steps previously taken, more efficient cooling can be attained with the geometric changes to minimise the louvre openings.

Mercedes
Front Wing:
Performance - Flow Conditioning. Change in flap twist distribution. Change in flap spanwise twist, reduces front wing wake which improves flow to the rear of the car and rear downforce.
Front Suspension: Performance - Flow Conditioning. Re-profiled upper wishbone fairing. Re-profiling has improved the attachment of the rear leg through an increased operating range, improving flow to the rear of the car.
Floor Edge: Performance - Local Load. Additional vane element added to floor edge wing. Additional vane element increases mass flow under forward floor, increasing vorticity shed from the fence system, increasing floor load.
Sidepod Inlet: Circuit specific - Cooling Range. Lower lip of sidepod inlet moved rearwards. Lower lip geometry change has improved the flow alignment through a increased range of operating conditions and cooling levels - ultimately improving engine cooling.
Coke/Engine Cover: Circuit specific - Cooling Range. Additional cooling exits local to rear suspension legs. Additional cooling exit added local to rear suspension to increase sidepod mass flow whilst minimising impact on downstream components such as the rear wing.
Floor Fences: Performance - Flow Conditioning. Reprofiled inboard fence. New fence profile has improved local pressure distribution and position of vorticity, improving both local and downstream load through better onset flow.

Ferrari
No upgrades.

McLaren
Front Wing:
Performance - Flow Conditioning New Front Wing Geometry. The new front wing geometry improves flow conditioning in conjunction with the updated front suspension geometry throughout various conditions resulting in improved aerodynamic load.
Front Suspension: Performance - Flow Conditioning New Front Suspension. The new front suspension is designed around the new front wing geometry aimed at maximising the improved flow characteristics introduced with it.
Front Corner: Performance - Flow Conditioning Updated Front Brake Duct Furniture The front brake duct furniture has been updated to complement the changes on front wing and front suspension, resulting in overall improved flow characteristics.
Front Corner: Circuit specific - Cooling Range Low Cooling Front Brake Duct. Suitable for tracks with low front brake cooling demand, a reduced cooling front brake duct has been designed, improving overall aerodynamic load at the expense of front brake cooling.
Rear Corner: Performance - Flow Conditioning Modified Rear Suspension Fairing. Small modification of rear suspension fairings with the aim of improving overall flow quality across multiple conditions, enabling aerodynamic load generation.
Rear Corner: Circuit specific - Cooling Range New RBD Cooling Exit. The reworked rear brake duct cooling exit has been designed with the aim of improving overall cooling performance of the rear corner assembly.
Beam Wing: Circuit specific - Drag Range. Single Element Beamwing for High Downforce Rear Wing. A less loaded, single element beam wing, which efficiently reduces drag in conjunction with the high downforce rear wing assembly, has been brought to this event.

Aston Martin
Front Wing:
Performance - Local Load. A new front wing with revised twist distribution alongside a new flap. The changes to the front wing and endplate modify the spanwise loading of the wing assembly to improve the performance.
Front Wing Endplate: Performance - Local Load. In combination with the front wing the endplate has revised tip details. The changes to the front wing and endplate modify the spanwise loading of the wing assembly to improve the performance.
Coke/Engine Cover: Performance - Local Load. Revised bodywork with a different coke line and simpler upper shoulder. The bodywork and floor in combination improve the flowfield under the floor increasing the local load generated on the lower surface and hence performance.
Floor Body: Performance - Local Load. The main body of the floor has evolved in most places with the floor edge development. The bodywork and floor in combination improve the flowfield under the floor increasing the local load generated on the lower surface and hence performance.
Floor Edge: Performance - Local Load. Small changes to the details of the floor edge wing and the main floor inboard of this. The bodywork and floor in combination improve the flowfield under the floor increasing the local load generated on the lower surface and hence performance.
Diffuser: Performance - Local Load. The roof and sidewall of the diffuser have a slightly modified profile. The bodywork and floor in combination improve
the flowfield under the floor increasing the local load generated on the lower surface and hence performance.

Alpine
Floor Body:
Performance – Local Load Re-profiling of various parts of the main floor. General optimisation of the floor geometry to improve under floor flow quality with the objective of increasing the load generated by the floor.
Floor Edge: Performance – Local Load Floor Edge Modification. Re-designed floor edge to improve under floor flow quality. This floor edge works in conjunction with the redesigned floor geometry.
Coke/Engine Cover: Performance - Flow Conditioning New Bodywork Shape. The bodywork has been reshaped to improve flow conditioning and to better interact with the floor and the rear of the car.
Rear wing: Performance – Local Load Re-profiled rear wing main plane and flap. This rear wing assembly is introduced to offer a gain in efficiency with more rear wing loading. This constitutes a suitable option for this track.

Williams
No upgrades.

RB
Floor Body:
Performance - Local Load. Profile changes to the main underfloor and chassis interface. Increased local downforce generation, and loss reduction of underfloor structures.

Sauber
Front Wing:
Performance - Flow Conditioning All FW elements have been updated. The updated geometries aim to improve the front tyre flow structures. This has a positive effect to the flow field further downstream on the car, improving both overall downforce of the car and the aero characteristics.
Front Suspension: Performance - Flow Conditioning. Combined with the new FW we have updated the front suspension covers as well - pullrod, track rod and lower wishbone covers. Together with the new FW the front suspension covers needed to be realigned based on the onset flow field to have clean flow features further downstream on the car.
Rear Suspension: Performance - Flow Conditioning Revised rear top wishbone cover. Rear top wishbone fairing upgrade with local flow conditioning improvements. Positive interaction with the updated rear brake duct brings a small efficiency increase.
Rear Corner: Performance - Flow Conditioning. Combined with the revised rear top wishbone cover the upper rear brake duct deflectors were updated. The upper deflectors were updated in combination with the top wishbone cover. Improved local flow and positive interaction with the updated component brings a small efficiency increase.

Haas
Sidepod Inlet:
Performance - Flow Conditioning Deeper Undercut. Increasing the undercut under the sidepod inlet favours clean air flow towards the rear of the car. Combined with the revised floor this allows a more balanced performance increase across the car.
Floor Body: Performance - Local Load Revised initial floor expansion and diffuser geometry. Increased front floor suction combined with improved rear extraction allows to increase the overall performance of the floor.
Floor Fences: Performance - Flow Conditioning Revised fence alignment The improved front floor extraction required a revised alignment of the front floor fences, as they must manage different flow features.
Floor Edge: Performance - Local Load New Edge Wing design. The revised floor allows greater extraction from the floor edge, hence an improved design allowed to extract higher performance from the car.
Rear Corner: Performance - Local Load Additional element on the IB cascade. The improved incoming floor to the rear of the car allows higher extraction from the rear corner, which is achieved with an additional upwashing component on the inner face of the rear drum.
Coke/Engine Cover: Circuit specific - Cooling Range. Larger engine cover central exit In case of additional cooling requirements, a bigger central exit on the engine cover is available.
Cooling Louvres: Circuit specific - Cooling Range. New cooling louver design on sidepod and engine cover. In combination with the new engine cover, additional cooling louver options are available, which increase heat extraction and try to minimize the drag penalty.
 
Reports that in 2025 they're going to drop giving drivers a point for getting the fastest lap in the race.


Not surprised they'll be removing the point for fastest lap.

FIA front bib clamp down will stop Red Bull winning F1 titles​

Lewis Hamilton hopes the FIA’s decision to monitor front bib adjustments under parc fermé will stop Red Bull from winning F1 titles after Christian Horner’s team admitted the device exists, but denied breaching rules. The story kicked off when the FIA put out a statement ahead of the 2024 United States GP at the Circuit of the Americas saying that they are aware of the allegations but that they have so far found no indication a team has been changing the part under parc fermé.

Then on Thursday, October 17, Red Bull admitted that the device does actually exist on their car but that it becomes inaccessible once the package is fully assembled, meaning in theory it cannot be accessed during parc ferme because the car is not disassembled. Such an advantage would allow teams to change the ride height of their car to optimally suit both qualifying and the Grand Prix, despite the different demands due to differences in fuel loads which affects how close the car sits to the ground. That’s because they would be able to run the car closer to the ground in qualifying to gain the benefits of additional downforce and balance improvements without incurring the extra plank wear that they would need to mitigate to pass scrutineering checks by Jo Bauer and his team.

This would allow Red Bull to find a performance advantage compared to their rivals in their quest for the titles, who have been looking to find a fixed balance between the front bib/ride height levels to avoid being disqualified as Hamilton and Charles Leclerc found out in 2023. However, whilst the seven-time world champion suspects that this is not the key to Red Bull’s success since the start of the ground effect era, he did ponder whether it was behind their triumphs in the races since 2022. “I think the name of our sport is all about innovation,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. “Red Bull have been the leaders and they’ve innovated. Ultimately all the teams look at the rules and try to find how to massage those rules and get the most out of it. Even if it’s just over the edge a little bit and the FIA will I’m sure, or have, put out a statement but you just need to continue to evolve and be better policed. At the end of the day they did a better job. God knows how long they’ve had that, and they’ve been winning championships. Maybe that stops now, but I don’t think that’s the one thing that’s going to stop them. I think everyone else; we got to continue to be innovators and leading rather than try and catch up.”

Red Bull deny front bib changes in parc ferme
Red Bull admitted they are the team with the device as they realised they are already in communication with the FIA regarding “plans” going forwards, which would presumably be more openness and checks considering the part itself isn’t actually illegal. The team could, in theory, run it through Free Practice sessions in order to save time during the one hour events and they could even deploy it all the way up until they decide to leave the garage for qualifying.

But according to a spokesman from the organization and world champions, that is the extent of their use because once the car is assembled, they say it is no longer accessible, thus cannot be accessed in parc ferme curfew or before the Grand Prix. “Yes, it exists,” a member of Red Bull told BBC Sport. “Although it is inaccessible once the car is fully assembled and ready to run. In the numerous correspondence we have with the FIA, this part came up and we have agreed a plan going forward.”

They caught and the usual PR statements given. If they've been using that all season then they'll have broken parc ferme rules possibly multiple times.
Hard to prove though. You are not allowed to change the front bib clearance in Parc Ferme as per the rules.
 
A bit of an eye-opener when Max went onto softs and set a time. Checo went onto softs at the same time and was waaay off the pace.

1729275207258.png


:eek:




Ok, maybe he had a compromised lap.

So he went for another fast lap and, er... improved?

1729275201172.png


:facepalm: :(

That's a big old gap.
 
Reports that in 2025 they're going to drop giving drivers a point for getting the fastest lap in the race.

I'd rather they kept the point but made it available to everyone, not just the top 10. When so much of the race is driven at 90% (as said by Alonso, recently) to manage fuel and tyres, let's have a flurry of late pitstops from outside the top 10 and a couple of laps with several cars showcasing what they can do at 100%.
 
A bit of an eye-opener when Max went onto softs and set a time. Checo went onto softs at the same time and was waaay off the pace.

View attachment 447458


:eek:




Ok, maybe he had a compromised lap.

So he went for another fast lap and, er... improved?

View attachment 447457


:facepalm: :(

That's a big old gap.

It's interesting info. But it's a sprint weekend, it's difficult to judge the performance differences between teams.
As for Perez looks like it's the same old story, either making mistakes or not making any but still being way off
Verstappen.
 

2024 US Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 results​

PosDriverTeamTimeGapLaps
1Carlos SainzFerrari1:33.602s25
2Charles LeclercFerrari1:33.623s+ 0.021s27
3Max VerstappenRed Bull1:33.855s+ 0.253s23
4Lando NorrisMcLaren1:33.868s+ 0.266s25
5Oscar PiastriMcLaren1:33.908s+ 0.306s26
6Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:33.963s+ 0.361s22
7George RussellMercedes1:34.093s+ 0.491s27
8Kevin MagnussenHaas1:34.096s+ 0.494s24
9Fernando AlonsoAston Martin1:34.112s+ 0.510s24
10Yuki TsunodaRB1:34.313s+ 0.711s20
11Nico HülkenbergHaas1:34.364s+ 0.762s24
12Pierre GaslyAlpine1:34.375s+ 0.773s24
13Liam LawsonRB1:34.443s+ 0.841s28
14Alexander AlbonWilliams1:34.618s+ 1.016s26
15Lance StrollAston Martin1:34.619s+ 1.017s24
16Sergio PérezRed Bull1:34.638s+ 1.036s24
17Esteban OconAlpine1:34.806s+ 1.204s24
18Valtteri BottasSauber1:35.041s+ 1.439s26
19Franco ColapintoWilliams1:35.248s+ 1.646s27
20Zhou GuanyuSauber1:37.219s+ 3.617s15
 

F1 driver slapped with 60-place grid penalty​

Liam Lawson will start the United States Grand Prix from the back of the grid after taking six 10-place grid penalties for new components outside of the regulations. The young New Zealander will make his sixth Grand Prix start on Sunday, and his first of the season after he was drafted in to replace Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. Unfortunately for Lawson, he will face an uphill battle from the outset at the Circuit of the Americas as he fights against a monster grid penalty.

The 22-year-old has taken a new internal combustion engine, turbo charger, MGU-H, MGU-K, energy store and control electronics for the United States GP, with all six components being outside of the permitted allocation for the season.
 
Horner trying to call the management on McLaren

and F1 is being mean to red bull by looking at the car

FGa-ZesWUAYuJvL.jpg
 

F1 Qualifying Results: US Grand Prix 2024​

1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
2. George Russell [Mercedes]
3. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
4. Lando Norris [McLaren]
5. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]
6. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
7. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]
8. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]
9. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]
10. Franco Colapinto [Williams]

ELIMINATED IN Q2​

11. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
12. Liam Lawson [VCARB]
13. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]
14. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]
15. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

ELIMINATED IN Q1
16. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]
17. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
18. Alex Albon [Williams]
19. Valtteri Bottas [Sauber]
20. Zhou Guanyu [Sauber]
 

Albon's penalty​

Alexander Albon has received a penalty and will start the sprint race from the pitlane. The Williams driver only managed to qualify in 18th place, so the drop isn't severe. Albon received the penalty because Williams altered the car during Parc Fermé conditions. Albon had a mixed Friday. The Thai driver spun during the session which meant he couldn't improve his time in SQ1. Meanwhile, his younger teammate Franco Colapinto reached SQ3. Williams changed Albon's rear wing and set-up while the car was in parc fermé. Teams are not allowed to make changes to the car during parc fermé, so it is a clear penalty. Albon had almost nothing to lose, but with the points-paying positions as low as P8, it was a tall order from P18 anyway. He will now be able to test his set-up before qualifying later on Saturday night. All teams can make changes to their car between the Sprint and qualifying.
 
 
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