Sport The Formula 1 Thread

[Dom B]

Bit harsh on Dulwich there, its a lovely corner of south London, even in November.

[Sidewaysbob]

But would you want to stand and watch F1 cars driving round the estate for 2 hours .. ?

[merman]

I don't think anyone will want to be in Korea if the typhoon hits. Maybe this is the Act of God Hamilton wanted to stop Vettel!

[Sidewaysbob]

The last i heard it was heading for shanghai so it might be wet, but unlikely to be cancelled.

[Bacon Horsemeat]

It might cause heavy rain though

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24380139

here's hoping!

[kiroquai]

I'm not - if qualifying in Melbourne is anything to go by they'll red flag the thing if a puddle as much as dares to form on the racing line!

[SMD]

Better than a dry Red Bull procession, though.

[Sidewaysbob]

unless redbull do have a traction control system afterall.

[SF-02]

Only just heard about the traction control rumours as i don't follow F1 that closely these days. Interesting quotes from Lewis on the matter saying he could only drive like Vettel did when he had traction control, Giancarlo Minardi saying Vettel put his foot down 50 metres before anyone else could including Webber, and Vettel said - "We were playing around quite a lot with it in practice in Singapore, the first time it worked was in the race. We are pretty proud of the system we have because other people will never figure out how we've done it. Constantly we try to improve the car. It is part of the homework we have to do."

[Sidewaysbob]

It would explain an awful lot !

[Bacon Horsemeat]

Lewis has put his latest column up about his fans. And the weirdos.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24389863

The other day, I was having breakfast and a woman came over and said: "Are you a musician?" I said I wasn't. She said: "I know you're not a musician. Me personally, I like Jenson Button - can I have a picture of you?"

It's funny in one way, but obviously at the same time it's kind of awkward and you do find yourself thinking: "Why is she coming to see me?"

On another occasion recently, a guy noticed me, nudged me and stopped me, and was really loud and in my face. If something like that happens, I just continue walking.

Sometimes, there'll be a queue of people, you'll sign for the first guy, then you'll work your way down the line, get to the 10th guy and the first guy will be there again, trying to get something else signed.

also interesting how once he joined McLaren they turn his website into another marketing front

[merman]

BBC reporting that the weight limit is causing problems for 2014 - the new engines are heavier, and taller/heavier drivers would be a disadvantage. Button struggling with his weight and Mclaren ruled out signing Hulkenberg because he is tall.

[Sidewaysbob]

I think they're struggling to sign the Hulk not becuase he's tall, but because he dosen't have a Gazillion Mexican Dollars in his back pocket. They're a customer team until 2015, they need the money now.

[Bacon Horsemeat]

"It's nothing new," Webber said. "Especially since Kers [power-boost systems] arrived it's been a challenge for the heavy guys.

"Everyone asks me why I look so skinny but you have to be skinny because it's to your advantage to be as light as possible.

Finally Webber can eat some McDonalds!

[wev]

Yeah he was saying in F1 Racing that he his under his personal ideal weight

[probeater]

Interesting articles here about the weights

Jenson Button is among several drivers who believe next season's regulations will severely disadvantage the taller, heavier drivers on the grid and is expecting the Grand Prix Drivers' Association to address the issue before this weekend's Korean Grand Prix in a bid to ensure there is a level playing field in 2014.

Early development suggests the new power unit in next season's cars is heavier than expected and the drivers fear that their own weight could have a direct effect on lap times, McLaren's Button saying that every five kilos on the man behind the wheel could add 0.2 seconds to a lap.

Red Bull's Mark Webber, one of the tallest drivers on the grid at 1.85m (6ft 1in), suggested that next season the ideal weight will be between 60 and 65kg, saying: "You have to be skinny, because you are fighting for every tenth of a second. There is no advantage to being as large as Nico [Rosberg] or me."

Key to the situation is the minimum weight specified for car and driver by the FIA. This is currently set at 642kg, which the teams do not reach. Next season, with the new 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines and attendant energy recovery systems, the minimum weight has been raised to 690kg.

However, the new power unit means that weight is likely to be reached, at which point every extra kilogram the driver adds will matter.

Button, meanwhile, is already pushing the margins with this year's car, explaining that he is "about 70 kilos". He added: "I am on the limit in our car. I couldn't be heavier than I am so I fast before the race.

"In the past three years, I have probably had four races where I have lost half-a-tenth or a tenth of a second because I have been overweight," he continued. "It sounds small but in qualifying that could be a position or two and in the race it could be five or six seconds. It is a big deal and something that goes unnoticed."

Unnoticed it may be, but it also might yet prove to be detrimental to the sport in the longer term. "You could have a very talented driver who could be missed for his height and weight," said Button. "If he is over the weight by five kilos that is 0.2 seconds a lap and it is the end of your career."

F1 is brutal in its demands on drivers, and weight is an issue that affected David Coulthard, who admitted in his 2007 biography that as a young driver he suffered from bulimia in an effort to control his weight for racing, writing: "I stopped eating fattening food and, before I knew what had happened, I was bulimic." It's a problem that Button, at least, does not expect to encounter. "No chance for me because I love food," he said. "I love the food I don't eat. I would rather eat than become ill."

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who has gained a fair amount of weight in muscle, would be above the predicted ideal. "I weigh about 71 kilos," he said. "I was never 65 kilos. I was 68 kilos last year but I have put on three kilos since then." Although his team have yet to suggest that he lose weight, doing so would be no easy task.

The drivers' association will meet to discuss the problem on Friday and Button believes that it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. "It needs to change now," he said. "To be fair, we should have pushed harder. I think the drivers would rather have a level playing field. It is not a safety issue and it should be an easy thing to change: just put [the minimum weight] up five or 10 kilos."
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/oct/03/jenson-button-f1-2014-weight-regulations

and this one a few years back when kers was introduced http://formula1.about.com/od/drivers/a/Driver_Weights.htm

Tbh it shouldn't be changed, if your making a car as light as possible then it makes sense to make the driver as light as possible as well. They don't cater for massive people in Moto gp and the weight matters a lot more as the bikes are a quarter of the weight of an f1 car. Dani pedrosa at one point weighed under 50kg yet was still consistently beaten by Stoner and now Marquez who are both 10kg heavier.

Cars are going to be nearly 100kg heavier than a decade ago next year. They weighed 450kg 50 years back!

[zxcvbnm]

bugger - thought I was in time for qualifying.....then realised SKY were showing old footage in Korea.

[Sidewaysbob]

I got up nice and early settled down in front of the box. Then promptly fell asleep. Oh well..

[Bacon Horsemeat]

The swathes of empty grandstands that could happily seat thousands are noticeable, with Lewis Hamilton rather cuttingly observing: "You just have to try and draw inspiration from the empty seats. They could at least put cardboard cut-outs of people in there, so you could look out at them "

Right in there, Lewis does it best

Looks like no Korea for 2014 then

[MrPogo]

Smaller/lighter drivers have always had a marginal advantage (I think one driver's autobiography mentioned him being ordered to lose a couple of KG so they could put some extra ballast somewhere else in the car for better balance, so the lighter they are the more of that malarky can go on), but it does seem wrong to switch it to something that would really effect results and/or be a major factor in whether or not a seat goes to someone.

[Dandy_Sephy]

Looks like no Korea for 2014 then

As I'm sure we are aware, all Bernie cares about is the money, so empty crowds aren't necessarily a factor if the track owners manage to scrape the money together.

Although if no one turns up tomorrow Vettel won't need to worry about being booed if he wins.

[TehStu]

Off topic, do they clean a track after a racing weekend, or are the "marbles" off the racing line built up over time from many events?

[Bacon Horsemeat]

If it was the latter we would have skyscrapers!

[TehStu]

Well, I did wonder. There's similar crap buildup at a particular junction I use on the way to work, as there's spare road between people going straight ahead and people turning right. I guess motor racing crap builds up faster.

[Sidewaysbob]

They run a line of dust carts up the track at the end of each day.

[Sidewaysbob]

why am I up this early ?

[Sidewaysbob]

Actually, interesting race so far ..

[zxcvbnm]

You think? I'm considering going back to bed.....

[Sidewaysbob]

well Vettels won it .. but the podium isn't set and the Hulk has a good train behind him. There's still lots to play for.

[MrPogo]

Why the hell aren't they pitting Hamilton?