Hulkenberg - Too big/heavy for 2014 cars -shame if that is it !

 

New 2014 spec, I gather, is car and driver together.

 

When this occurs in other forms of racing it leads to the Teams looking for freakishly small drivers/riders.

 

Not a good direction in my view.

 

I remember Berger being told he was too tall when feet could not be in front of the front axle and the Team did not want to make the car any bigger or different.

 

It is Height-ist, Weight-ist.

I heard the weight issues next season but it sounds like he has already signed to a team so doubt it. 

They have an upper driver weight and then work on the car & fuel so it'll be down to the teams to manage.

There will still be ballast weight for anyone under max weight as currently happens

They have an upper driver weight and then work on the car & fuel so it'll be down to the teams to manage.

There will still be ballast weight for anyone under max weight as currently happens

 

Sounds like the gap or expected driver weight might be only about 65 which is pretty low if you have to be strong enough to handle the G force.  It sort of rules out people around the 1.8M or more which is  great shame as they may have the talent.

 

 In MotoGP average weights have dropped from 65-70 Kgs to 50-60 Kgs and this is partly why Spanish and Italians have a head start as they tend to be smaller than Northern Europeans.  Dani Pedrosa is less the 50 Kgs ie less than some big dogs ! How he manages a 265hp bike is stunning. If there is a weight limit is should be something like Sigma 2 population deviations of world normal (Age 16-40 say) and have to make the rest up with ballast IMO.   

Saw an article where Jenson Button saying he was sweating it as he's around the "top limit" of 75-78kg.

 

The issue he stated was at the start of the season him and the car weigh in at 670-750kg (or whatever the exact value is).

Then during the season the engineers start adding develpoments and additional weight..... that push the combined weight up to the limit....

Very much a shame if we loose a good driver like Hulk.  Although Sniff Petrol are reporting a break through for the Hulk:

 

Nico Hulkenberg has confounded conflicting rumours that he would join Lotus, Force India, Williams or even Ferrari by accidentally signing for all four of them.

‘I don’t know what happened,’ the German driver admitted. ‘You know, people are always putting things in front of me to sign. To be honest, I stopped concentrating a long time ago. Only last month I accidentally signed a table, a spaniel and one of my own legs. So, for sure, it is no surprise that yesterday I accidentally signed completely watertight and legally binding contracts to drive for four different Formula 1 teams in 2014.’

 

Sources close to Hulkenberg say the under-rated racer is keen to dodge further embarrassment and is now working on a system to avoid letting down his multiple paymasters.

 

‘Nico is developing a sort of rota,’ confirmed manager Heinz Beenz. ‘So he will qualify, say, the Ferrari and then quickly run down the pit lane and jump in the Lotus and do a qualifying run for them, and so on. Whichever car he gets highest up the grid is the one he will drive on the Sunday and he will tow the other cars behind him.’

 

Although Hulkenberg’s plan is likely to be extremely tiring and presents a high risk of other cars getting tangled in his complex system of towing cables, the German racer remains upbeat about his contractual over-subscription. ‘Hey, it could be worse,’ he concluded cheerfully. ‘I could have accidentally signed for McLaren.’

 

There is no upper weight limit for F1 cars.

There is a minimum weight limit and for 2014 this has been increased from 642kg to 690kg to allow for the heavier turbo units / recovery system. The 690kg is the dry weight of the car + the driver.

Tall heavy drivers make life difficult for the design of the car and teams would like to be in a position where they have to add weight to bring the it up to the minimum. The heavier the car + driver means the car will be slower and use more fuel to lug the extra weight around the track. 

There is no upper weight limit for F1 cars.

There is a minimum weight limit and for 2014 this has been increased from 642kg to 690kg to allow for the heavier turbo units / recovery system. The 690kg is the dry weight of the car + the driver.

Tall heavy drivers make life difficult for the design of the car and teams would like to be in a position where they have to add weight to bring the it up to the minimum. The heavier the car + driver means the car will be slower and use more fuel to lug the extra weight around the track. 

 

I will be amazed if the lap times are slower than the naturally aspirated cars of this year as we know that despite the lower rev limit and capacity of the turbo engines the power can be much higher, I recall the 1980s 1500 cc turbo engines, not seen anything like it with them with well over 1200 hp, Keke Rosberg's Siverstone lap at over 160 mph average is still the most impressive F1 lap I have seen.

 

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/07/20/25-years-today-rosbergs-record-lap/

I will be amazed if the lap times are slower than the naturally aspirated cars 

I'm not saying that 2014 cars will have slower lap times than the current spec, but If a driver is 5 kilos heavier than his team mate the car will be slower. Mark Webber made a comment recently that he hasn't eaten for five years because he is heavier than his team mate Vettel.

In the Turbo era of the 80's Mansell was a lot heavier then Piquet and that cost him a few tenths a lap.

I'm not saying that 2014 cars will have slower lap times than the current spec, but If a driver is 5 kilos heavier than his team mate the car will be slower. Mark Webber made a comment recently that he hasn't eaten for five years because he is heavier than his team mate Vettel.

In the Turbo era of the 80's Mansell was a lot heavier then Piquet and that cost him a few tenths a lap.

 

Oddly in Motorcycle racing being heavier or taller can on some tracks be and advantage as you can more your weight around to good affect, not so in F1 it is logical I suppose unless they introduce so rails so the driver can do this, hmmm. 

Can they shoe horn me into an F1 ?

Can they shoe horn me into an F1 ?

 

Moto3 is 136 Kgs for bike and rider so I would need a bike weighing about 30 Kgs when in my bike gear, hmmm. Kind of thought that the Moto3s go quite fast enough (153 mph). 

Apparently McLaren discounted Hulkenberg because of this which seems nuts to me. Surely you're still better off with a driver of his talent who might be slightly sub-optimal in terms of weight than an average but light driver?

 

I really hope that if he gets the Lotus seat they are up to scratch next year, he's been pretty unlucky in his career so far and he seems like a really nice guy too. Would be good to have a German F1 driver not fitting the "evil kraut" stereotype.

Hulk is a top bloke, great ambassador for the sport and a really good driver. I agree that he deserves a good break to show his true potential.

As for stereotypes............the less said, the better.

Hulk is a top bloke, great ambassador for the sport and a really good driver. I agree that he deserves a good break to show his true potential.

As for stereotypes............the less said, the better.

 

Hopefully he will have a choice of either Lotus or Force India.  Good driver who deserves a decent car. 

It's sounding like Lotus have their deal done and he should be going there.

 

Knowing Nico's luck Lotus will probably produce a dog next year and Sauber will "do a Brawn" and find some magic trick which sends them up the grid