2016 F1 General Discussion Thread

[Paul007]

Point is it's more interesting....thought that was obvious!

[YellowCar]

That's as may be, nothing is stopping you watching it. Thought there was a thread for btcc?

[KenONeill]

Well, I'm sort of wondering if Lewis is now getting a bit of payback for his extreme gamesmanship in incurring an 80 place grid penalty in order to avoid several real penalties.

[camelspyyder]

I don't think all those new engines would be a decision made by the driver. Mercedes could have done it race by race but he would have started last seversl times.

I don't really know why MB felt they had to even the playing field though. You would have thought a Rosberg stroll to the title without team mate interference would be perfect scenario for a German team...apart from the fact that he's not even popular in Germany and they wont sell as many cars.

[KenONeill]

I don't think all those new engines would be a decision made by the driver. Mercedes could have done it race by race but he would have started last seversl times.

I don't really know why MB felt they had to even the playing field though. You would have thought a Rosberg stroll to the title without team mate interference would be perfect scenario for a German team...apart from the fact that he's not even popular in Germany and they wont sell as many cars.

At least some of the coverage I've heard/read (sources like C4, Autosport) indicated that the idea of cycling several engines through the car at once came from Hamilton, not management.

[Lady Elanore]

 I'm still optimistic for next year and the ones to come. Wider tyres and better use of aero should mean we start to get back to racing soon. New owners will want a better spectacle and if the teams buy shares they will have more input into the direction the teams take and they want less complicated powertrains and better engines  

 

 

I think every year is going to get better though :(

[camelspyyder]

Never seen a startline incident like that before. In relation to other events on today, btcc has had 12 different race winners so far...

 

Amazing just how infrequent they are.  

 

However Imola '94 springs to mind. Startline crash Lehto / Lamy -  wreckage in the crowd, debris on the track and a little later possibly contributing to the crash that took Senna.

[punyXpress]

Rosberg too I bet. Scary moment

 

My sympathy is with the monitor lizard 

[KenONeill]

That Marshall must have needed a change of pants

 

 

Rosberg too I bet. Scary moment

Post Chief and Clerk of the Course both in it right up to their necks though!

[gadgetman]

Post Chief and Clerk of the Course both in it right up to their necks though!

Heard they were blaming the Marshall as told to leave track and said he had, but then went back without authorisation?

[KenONeill]

Heard they were blaming the Marshall as told to leave track and said he had, but then went back without authorisation?

PC and CotC are both responsible for his actions under FIA (and national MSA) rules, and possibly national statutes as well (certainly in Europe and North America).

[tweenster]

I'm not a Rosberg fan but that was a Champion's performance over the whole weekend. I still can't warm to him, though, something about him makes me cringe.

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

I'm not a Rosberg fan but that was a Champion's performance over the whole weekend. I still can't warm to him, though, something about him makes me cringe.

 

He drove well but what pressure was he under? Ok, so Dan briefly pushed him for a few laps but it wasnt sustained, Lewis was on the back foot due to lack of running in practice and no one else was quick enough. 

 

If he had a car behind him the whole way pushing him then I'd agree but it was just a decent drive for me, he's certainly back on the ball again though. We just need them both at the front pushing each other for the rest of the season. 

Edited 20 September, 2016 by matt1chelski

[YellowCar]

He drove well but what pressure was he under? Ok, so Dan briefly pushed him for a few laps but it wasnt sustained, Lewis was on the back foot due to lack of running in practice and no one else was quick enough. 

 

If he had a car behind him the whole way pushing him then I'd agree but it was just a decent drive for me, he's certainly back on the ball again though. We just need them both at the front pushing each other for the rest of the season.

Totally agree, Lewis's brake issues and team's conservative strategy didn't help much either. I'll start calling Rosberg's efforts champion drives when his racecraft has improved consistently over a season such that he has actually become champion. Reminds me a little of Vettel, great race leader, poor racecraft, won afew championships with red bull? Who wouldn't at that time, he was rarely under much pressure, was almost like big deal when he won most of his races. Of course they still have to string the whole weekend together, but they should all be able to do that more often than not. Maybe I'm being unfair...anyway, I think the rest of the season is going to be interesting,just hope its not decided by bad luck. Or at least the luck balances out somehow.

[lol-lol]

 I'm still optimistic for next year and the ones to come. Wider tyres and better use of aero should mean we start to get back to racing soon. New owners will want a better spectacle and if the teams buy shares they will have more input into the direction the teams take and they want less complicated powertrains and better engines

 

I think every year is going to get better though :(

 

How can wider cars help when it is so difficult to pass now on many narrow and twisty tracks?

 

Perhaps we should have rolling starts as it is the fluffs on the grid that seems to be spoiling many races.

 

I think Dani R could have chased Nico down in Singapore but the Red Bull task is only to beat Ferrari now and not risk even going for a race win, sad.

 

Considering MotoGP has had 8 different winners in the last 8 races and all very close races there is no comparison in the excitement of F1 to MotoGP, even Niki Lauda says MotoGP is the better racing!   

[Lady Elanore]

How can wider cars help when it is so difficult to pass now on many narrow and twisty tracks?

 

 

Cars used to be wider on some of the same tracks and it didn't hamper overtaking. 

 

Besides as I mentioned wider tyres, the idea of of more mechanical grip and less reliance of over-body down force means more chance to follow a car in front and not burn your tyres out, hence potentially more overtaking. 

 

 

now if we can have V8s back (or V10 or V12s) the I might be a happy bunny again 

[lol-lol]

Cars used to be wider on some of the same tracks and it didn't hamper overtaking. 

 

Besides as I mentioned wider tyres, the idea of of more mechanical grip and less reliance of over-body down force means more chance to follow a car in front and not burn your tyres out, hence potentially more overtaking. 

 

now if we can have V8s back (or V10 or V12s) the I might be a happy bunny again 

 

Hope you are right about the wider cars as their is precious little overtaking at present.

 

In a world that is, and must be, more ecological conscious, then the fuel consumption must continue to improve.  That does not have to bar going back to 8, 10, or 12 cylinders, if they tweak the rules, but that capacity need to continue to reduce, as in road cars so perhaps a one litre V8, V10, V12?   We have had a V8 500 cc bike which did not sound too bad.........  

 

 

Not sure the Yuasa battery is standard and perhaps the should have blanked.

Edited 21 September, 2016 by lol-lol

[Lady Elanore]

The trouble is F1 is meant to be for petrol heads, not Ecogreenwhaleplanet types. I admire how they try and marry the two causes, but think they should sort themselves out and do a Clarkson, put a finger or two up to the establishment and crack on with V12 engines at 18,000rpms

 

I mean, chasing efficiency in an engine/package is one thing, but if we're really saving the planet, we wouldn't be going round in circles at 140-150mph for 90 minutes would we

Edited 21 September, 2016 by Lady Elanore

[Coops]

The trouble is F1 is meant to be for petrol heads, not Ecogreenwhaleplanet types. I admire how they try and marry the two causes, but think they should sort themselves out and do a Clarkson, put a finger or two up to the establishment and crack on with V12 engines at 18,000rpms

 

I mean, chasing efficiency in an engine/package is one thing, but if we're really saving the planet, we wouldn't be going round in circles at 140-150mph for 90 minutes would we

 

That's what Formula Milk Float (E) is for, surely?

[Lady Elanore]

That's what Formula Milk Float (E) is for, surely?

Well if they dropped of some Semi Skimmed and some cheese at my house I'd be in favour of it I suppose. But wouldn't it be nicer if a V12 milk Float delivered your dairy needs.....are we off topic yet? 

[lol-lol]

The trouble is F1 is meant to be for petrol heads, not Ecogreenwhaleplanet types. I admire how they try and marry the two causes, but think they should sort themselves out and do a Clarkson, put a finger or two up to the establishment and crack on with V12 engines at 18,000rpms

I mean, chasing efficiency in an engine/package is one thing, but if we're really saving the planet, we wouldn't be going round in circles at 140-150mph for 90 minutes would we

 

Racing improves the breed.

 

The breed, F1 or WEC, is hybrid and with 30,000 premature deaths in the UK and several million across the world each year due to air pollution something needs to be done.

 

I love the howl of a V8/V12 as much as any red blooded person but I also love to see absolute performance.  Seeing a Audi R18 wafting passed a yowling Ferrari V12 that looks like it is going backward at a WEC event sold it for me.  Also videos of Teslas in Ludicrous mode wiping the floor with petrol engined supercars makes me chuckle.

 

Formula E, like electric road cars, will be faster than petrol engined cars in the near future.  We can always take the Clio RS and other car approaches and have a sound generator so it sounds like a GTR.  Does not add much cost or energy use and ultimately it is being fastest that counts not the noisiest.  

[Lady Elanore]

I need to smell the petrol, hear the roar, thrill at the crescendo of immensely complex machines coming into the power band, the squeal of tyres going beyond maximum adhesion and marvel ow the driver balances the whole thing on this knife edge. Electrification is Scalextric :( 

 

lets improve the petrol breed and dump the hybridddy stuff to formula H1 or something.

 

H1, E1 and F1 I know which would be the most popular and the one I would watch religiously

[YellowCar]

Going eco in f1 is a fairly large hypocrisy when you think of the logistics required to run a season and cart stuff all over the world and burn through sets of tyres. Floodlit night races really help. I do however like the developments in hybrid technology from an innovation point if view, ultimately road cars will benefit. The way they dress it up as the sport going eco friendly is almost hilarious.

I do miss V eras and the fact that cars were pushed to their limits allowing drivers to race to the flag, and basically fall to bits as they cross the line. But cars these days reflect broader changes, I do wish they could come up with a tyre compound and fuel management regime that means the drivers aren't just managing perishables. Yes it opens different skills and thought processes, but Id rather see them racing flat out.

[moley]

The trouble is F1 is meant to be for petrol heads, not Ecogreenwhaleplanet types. I admire how they try and marry the two causes, but think they should sort themselves out and do a Clarkson, put a finger or two up to the establishment and crack on with V12 engines at 18,000rpms

I mean, chasing efficiency in an engine/package is one thing, but if we're really saving the planet, we wouldn't be going round in circles at 140-150mph for 90 minutes would we

There are two reasons why the big manufacturers are in F1 and why they want to control it. First is that it's good advertising, Mercedes don't really care if Hamilton or Rosberg wins the race, all they want is to finish first and second. Secondly there is a lot of development in F1 that eventually filters down in various forms into everyday road cars. Hybrid and EV is being used more and more, so the big boys don't want to make big multi cylinder petrol engines if they are trying to sell hybrids in their showrooms.

[lol-lol]

Best f1 gp of the season or what.