I remember James Hunt's dong

Really?????

OK, a suggestion. I think there is aformula which fits the bill perfectly. KF1 katring! No driver aids, no tyre changes, no refuelling, no aero to speak of, engines all the same and extremely strictly regulated - all driver skills and chassis setup (stifness and geometry) and sheer amount of balls! I did metion it before but do you know that when F1 drivers were going round Monaco track in go-karts they were pulling more G's than F1 cars?

Mind you, I can see a point in argueing that with the tyres as we have them it is possible that DRS would not be needed. If the race was one lap longer Ham would not be on the box in China as he chewed through his tyres and was driving "on canvas" (exageration ) the last lap.

Mind you, I can see a point in argueing that with the tyres as we have them it is possible that DRS would not be needed. If the race was one lap longer Ham would not be on the box in China as he chewed through his tyres and was driving "on canvas" (exageration ) the last lap.

Lewis does "have previous" for driving round Shanghai on the canvas!

Of course ! He lost the DWC there lol.

So was I, but only because he was my hero!

I didn't mind schumi winning every week (sometimes by nearly a minute)

But was it interesting to watch?

No

My 'nodoffometer' was off the scale!

Given how dire the tyre wear is, I wonder if it's hurting Pirelli's global sales being forced to make a **** tyre that doesnt last?

Given how dire the tyre wear is, I wonder if it's hurting Pirelli's global sales being forced to make a **** tyre that doesnt last?

My guess would be not at all

Chris

On the matter of Pirelli's tyres; at least we may rely on Kimi Raikonen to be a man of few words and the voice of reason;-

"Kimi Raikkonen sees no reason for Pirelli to rethink its approach to Formula 1 tyres, as he dismissed the criticism the Italian firm has received following the degradation issues that characterised the opening rounds of the 2013 season."

Full article here;- http://www.autosport...t.php/id/106847

As to the DRS debate, its worth remembering that Malaysia and China both have almost the longest straights in F1, which improves the overtaking prospects in the first place. How many DRS influenced overtakes were there in Melbourne? Not that many IIRC.

Guy

Kimi is happy then that's good enough. Although the Lotus F1 Team Twitter hashtag this weekend is #LongerLastingRubber. I really hope it doesn't bite them in the arse bragging how they can make it last. Think it maybe more Kimi than the car. I barely noticed Grosjean last weekend.

Edited 18 April, 201313 yr by MartynVRS

Ref DRS, what if it's deployment was time limited just to get you so close you could carry on to overtake rather than handing the move on a plate?

I do not if you noticed how many DRS overtake attempts were failures.... Not all of them are just breezing past like those other cars was stationery...

Grosjean and Checo are nowhere compared to team mates.

There are other tracks (Monaco and Valentia spring to mind) where I don't think I've seen a DRS zone overtake (lapping slow cars clearly not included here.

FP1 results:

1 F Massa Ferrari 2 F Alonso Ferrari 3 N Rosberg Mercedes 4 S Vettel Red Bull 5 P Di Resta Force India 6 J Button McLaren 7 M Webber Red Bull 8 A Sutil Force India 9 K Raikkonen Lotus 10 R Grosjean Lotus

Here's an idea to mix things up a bit (about as likely as grids being the revers of the previous race result) - how about alternating types of race.

1 race can be a "marathon" - no refuelling, and a mandatory 1 (and only 1) pitstop to change to a different type of rubber. The next race is a race distance of sprints, with as many pitstops for fuel and tyres as you like.

And I would change qualifying too. 3 sessions, where everyone runs. Your quickest time in each session gets added together, and determines your grid position with pole for the person with the lowest total across 3 sessions.

Not so keen on the race changes but like very much your qually idea, I think it is excellent!

Or go back to a one-off Superpole shoot out - one out lap, qualifying lap, and that's your lot

Drivers to start race on fuel levels and tyres they choose for qualifying

That way everyone is guaranteed a clear track, and everyone has to set a time

Timed lap pro session, otherwise penalty +XX places back on the grid.

Even with a superpole, you could drive an easy lap to save your tyres.

Fuel level is not important as it is not allowed to fill up during the race.

But superpole is somewhat dull too.

Loved the times with Mansell and Senna. Always seemed to be able to better their times, no matter how much traffic there was.

Here's an idea to mix things up a bit (about as likely as grids being the revers of the previous race result) - how about alternating types of race.

1 race can be a "marathon" - no refuelling, and a mandatory 1 (and only 1) pitstop to change to a different type of rubber. The next race is a race distance of sprints, with as many pitstops for fuel and tyres as you like.

And I would change qualifying too. 3 sessions, where everyone runs. Your quickest time in each session gets added together, and determines your grid position with pole for the person with the lowest total across 3 sessions.

Great idea for qualifying. Makes every session relevant as Q3 is the only one that really counts and even then some teams dont post a time. Top teams just coast through first 2 sessions currently. Would love to see this qualifying adopted as it would certainly make for better viewing and is that not what its supposed to be about anyway?

Edited 19 April, 201313 yr by Jockdooshbag

^^Absolutely, suspense lasts for all three sessions! YOu never know till the end who is where, brilliant idea!

Couple of people have mentioned it's hard to work out what tyres drivers are on. What about building directional chevrons into the tyre that are the right colours for mediums, softs, etc. That way people could easily we what was what plus on the slowmo shots you could see when one tyre was spinning slower than the other or locking up easier.

Edited 19 April, 201313 yr by MartynVRS

So Hamilton will have to take a five place grid penalty for this race because Mercedes have had to change the gearbox at the end of the third practice session. The gearbox failure was the result of a Pirelli tyre failure, which also damaged the rear suspension.

Beginning to think these tyres are not up to the job.

After Massa having two give up in the race on him I'm starting to think the same.

Ferrari had terrible luck in general this race! But shame about those tyres - the slow-mo shot of Massa's giving way is pretty crazy!

Adding to the case against **** tyres and drs.... safety....this weekend shows just how terrible the tyres are, coupled with drs jamming open. The two features introduced to spice things up are surely at some point just going to lead to a very nasty accident. They've spent all these years improving driver safety and then pretty much thrown it all away by leaving all down to a game of chance of whether your tyres will delaminate at high speed or if your rear wing might not shut before the corner.... and its not the first time the wings have jammed open, only a matter of time before it leads to an accident. Other than that, it was a good race. The drs didn't didn't feel too fake in this one, ot did seem to get them in a position to overtake but they still had to work for it..... I still want to see the back of it though.

To be fair about the tyres though, I guess it could just be purely unlucky rather than unsafe, but hammys tyre and 2 for massa does seem strange....