Sport The Formula 1 Thread

[McSpeed]

I think you've nailed it. Whatever happened to the days when sitting up someones chuff was an advantage? have these cars really made the air so turbulent that you can't do it? wing on the front, wing on the back, and fuck all aero inbetween.

Let this happen more often:

[marsh]

Back to the age old argument then!

You can't get rid of aero and still have F1 be the pinnacle of automotive engineering. You might as well just use go-karts.

You watched a gokart race recently? the last one I saw was a damn sight more entertaining than the shite I was subject to yesterday.

[JPR]

I've never been convinced that tyre wars are a good idea. The last one was rubbish, although that may just be because Ferrari were the only decent team running Bridgestones. At any given circuit, one tyre manufacturer always had a sizable advantage over the other so if Bridgestone provided the better tyre, Ferrari were guaranteed to win. The outcome was a forgone conclusion before the race even started.

I agree, I hated the previous tyre war, just seemed wrong that you could potentially have the best car but if you're on the wrong tyres then you'll get nothing. Something needs to change, a single supplier has no incentive to be aggressive with their tyre design and actually if they came up with one that could last the whole race could be better for them for marketing. With some competition it might change things though, maybe remove the restrictions on the compounds, brings in the strategy choices of super super soft and fast but not durable vs super hard and slower but durable etc.

[zxcvbnm]

They should also start the drivers from the pits - make them run to their cars!

[morcs]

You watched a gokart race recently? the last one I saw was a damn sight more entertaining than the shite I was subject to yesterday.

Yeah that's my point. It's easy to make the racing better, but would you really want F1 cars to be slower/less advanced than say GP2 or GT cars?

[reani_]

I was so bored of the race that I felt asleep after 5 or 6 laps...

Seb would have won the race for sure.

[McSpeed]

Here we go: http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/formula-1-news/2...tory-pit-stops/

[davejm]

Guys, any idea for a retirement gift for a lady at work who is massively into F1?

I don't wanna spend too much on a work colleague, but we have some great Monday morning chats after the race, so it'd be nice to get her something.

[zxcvbnm]

get her pregnant.

[metallicfrodo]

I was never a fan of refueling, especially the effect that it had on qualifying where the slower teams might low fuel for quali just to get a bit of TV time for their sponsors. Also the fact that you ended up with the race being about fueling strategy rather than racing.

Okay we've got rid of fueling to mess up the qualifying but then they bring in the tyre rule for the top 10. Why oh why, just let them all qualify on the best tyres for qualifying and they change them for the race. I want to see all the cars set up in the best possible way to get that perfect banzai lap. Basically to get the best qualifying they all have to qualify on the same softer tyres so all end up with exactly the same strategy of when they change to the harder compound.

Personally I'd favour a return to having every compound available at the race and allowing the teams to have as many stops as they want (including none). This mandatory two tyre compounds is just stupid, I really don't understand what the point of it is.

[mexos]

Okay we've got rid of fueling to mess up the qualifying but then they bring in the tyre rule for the top 10. Why oh why.

Because they were scared of the fastest driver putting it on pole & just driving off into the distance. Which is what happens in a 100% 'pure' F1. Which is all well & good but provides zero racing.

[myoozikk]

well that was pretty fucking dull.

and i balls up the fantasy F1 by only picking 2 drivers. FFFFFUUUUU

[Agent L]

Okay we've got rid of fueling to mess up the qualifying but then they bring in the tyre rule for the top 10.

It was the differing fuel levels during qualy that resulted in interesting/messed up start grids. Now they all qualify on new tyres and as little fuel as possible we see true pace from the end of qualifying and nothing will change during the races. It's a total balls up in my opinion.

[reani_]

get her pregnant.

that has so much to do with F1

[dayte]

that has so much to do with F1

Draw her favourite team's car on your erect cock along with skidmarks at the back.

[rafaqat]

Draw her favourite team's car on your erect cock along with skidmarks at the back.

Tell her you can make her come faster than the guys do pit stops but you'll need several hundred attempts as the pit stop crews have been practising all winter and it would be unfair on you to attempt it from a cold start

[sonic_shuffle]

Yeah that's my point. It's easy to make the racing better, but would you really want F1 cars to be slower/less advanced than say GP2 or GT cars?

If it meant that it was televised, I wouldn't mind.

There is feck-all motor racing on TV. It's sucks that the motor racing that's actually shown is the super boring kind!

[morcs]

ITV4 do some pretty serious BTCC coverage, and most of the support races too on Motorsport UK (although the latter are usually televised way after the event)

Last year's BTCC season was a good one, and the Carrera Cup has some great racing in too.

[marsh]

Is anyone in the BTCC this year?

Motors TV on sky for all aspects of four and two wheeled activity. If you can race it, those cunts have filmed it.

[GwiDan]

Motors TV is actually really good. They have a fair bit of V8 supercars racing, so lots of Holdens smashing into each other jostling for position.

[morcs]

Is anyone in the BTCC this year?

http://www.btcc.net/html/drivers.php

Looks like that's a no

[Rev]

I rarely watch F1. I watched it yesterday. It was pretty much the worst race I have seen in my limited viewings. The only rule change I approve of is the option for drivers to deploy Wacky Racers style weapons, such as the smoke cloud by Webber. That is a genius change.

(That is a change, right?)

[marsh]

No, sadly not, they've allready been told if it happens again they'll be in random act of ban hammer territory.

And I wasn't slating Motors TV, I've lost many hours to watching fat redneck americans racing lawnmowers down open stretches of tarmac*

*this last bit may very well be a lie, but you get my drift.

[metallicfrodo]

Because they were scared of the fastest driver putting it on pole & just driving off into the distance. Which is what happens in a 100% 'pure' F1. Which is all well & good but provides zero racing.

Yes but it doesn't stop that though does it. Basically anyone with a chance of getting pole is going to run on the softest option, which is likely to be the top 6 to 8 who'll run away at the start from anyone on the harder options anyway meaning there is no room for strategy anyway if you only have a choice of 2 compunds and had to use both.

Also if you let them change setup you can still easily get situations where a fast qualifying car isn't that great in race set up.

[Sidewaysbob]

So the 2010 Formula One season kicks off not with the hoped for BANG, but a rather dull processional whimper. Livened up only by Adrian Newey once again showing that he can build a very fast car, but he can’t build a very strong car. Not helped by Renualt giving them a rubbish engine

Redbull were all over this place like a rash. They had a few problems on Friday, giving the mechanics their first all nighter of the season, but they came out on Saturday morning with a car that flew through the desert. Ferrari was expected to take pole with ease, but Vettel storms the middle section to leave Alonso behind Massa. Not the expected result. Although Redbull did have a fast car during the testing season, it always got piped by the bigger boys. Maybe Redbull have been sandbagging somewhat.

Meanwhile down at the Mercedes end of the pit McLaren where rather surprised to be so far behind Redbull and the much heralded return of the prodigal Micheal had turned into a wake as first Nico went faster than him and then everyone else improved. “it’ll all be different come the race” said Ross.

McLaren were happy that their car wasn’t as awful as the car last season, but winter testing had put them fighting for pole, not scrapping around with the Merc and Nico. The Hamilton/Button love in was still in full swing with much back slapping and “we’ll be better once the race starts” but there were a few worried faces in the pits during Quli 3.

Meanwhile the rest did their best not to be too embarrassing. HRT got one car out on Friday and the second just made it into qualifying 1. But they were woefully slow. Lotus got their cars out all nice and clean and made a good job of fighting the Virgin boys. This time Glock beat Trulli to the Tail End Charlie pole, and made sure he pointed it out to Trulli during the BBC interview. Lotus might not have the fast car, but they have got a solid car however.

Of the others the Renault looked half built and slow in Petrov’s hands. Kubica did alright but was nothing special. The Hulk and Barrichello were comfortable in the best of the rest crew, Barrichello almost stopping the current world champions from making Q3. Sauber did not live up to their testing promise, the car looked slow and very twitchy in the Mickey Mouse new section.

Most pundits said that qualifying was going to be the important bit of the weekend. With new tire regs no one was quite sure if the tires would last a full distance, so were edging on 1 stop strategy but had a 2 stop if the need arouse. If they one stopped then they had to be high on the grid to avoid losing spots to faster cars on 2 stops.

Come Sunday and that’s exactly what happened. Vettel made a nice clean start off the line followed by Alonso sneaking past Massa. Hamilton made a good start to get to second by turn 3 but got edged out by Alonso and dropped back to 5th behind Nico. ..... and that was the excitement over with. Webber tried to escape everyone by using a smoke screen as his engine appear to lunch itself in turn 1 and 2. But nothing else happened and he continued on his merry way. HRT and chandhok was the first driver out after 2 laps. Apparently after only doing 7 laps all weekend, he found a new bump on lap 7 and speared off into the wall. The Virgins dropped out next leaving Lotus to cruse to an unopposed Tail End Charlie Challenge win.

The rest of the field pretty much held station. Hamilton sneaked passed Nico during the pit stops and all continued as before. Until the curse of the Newey design office struck and Vettels exhaust started burning a hole through the body work and then the Renault engine developed a faulty spark plug. He dropped back allowing Alonso to sail off into the sunset.

So a fine first win in a Ferrari for Alonso, well done I suppose to him. The Ferrari might not have the legs of the Redbull in qualifying, but it’s race pace is going to be hard to beat I suspect. He says he had the measure of Vettel all race. I’m not too sure that overtaking is any easier than it was last year.

Massa make a superb come back with 2nd. But he lost the race to Alonso in the first corner and he’ll know he can’t afford to let Alonso through so easily next time.

Hamilton gets good solid 3rd, he wasn’t on the pace of the Ferraris or the Redbulls. But he beat Button comfortably and that’s what he’ll be most positive about.

Vettel makes it to 4th in the end in a race he should have won. Like the championship he lost last year, reliability robbed him of the result.

Nico in 5th does a good job of being M. Schumacher’s team made. He beat the 7 times world champion all weekend and then drove away from him in the race. Lot’s of smug pundits said he struggle when Mickey hit the track on Sunday. But Nico held his nerve and did a very creditable job.

Not the dream return for Schumacher in 6th that we expected. He looks rusty and conservative in the car. He’ll get better, but how long will that take.

The Current world champion Button in 7th had a lack lustre weekend, scrapped into final qualifying, but never looked like challenging the top 5.

Webber, didn’t hit anyone and made it to 8th

9th Liuzzi did alright from a long way back.

10th for Barrichello.

A pretty dull race all in all and not the race we hoped it would be. With Ferrari winning with ease, i can't see too many changes coming any time soon either.

[JohnC]

I see there's an official WTCC iPhone app out now. And unlike the official €25.99 F1 App, it's free. I don't know how features compare as I'm not paying for the F1 app, but it does have live timing, news, pictures, maps, etc.

[myoozikk]

link?

[JohnC]

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/wtcc/id358795125

[myoozikk]

thank you.

[morcs]

There's a free F1 app from formula1.com, live timing 'n' that.