F1/ Formula E/ Motorsport Thread

Discussion in 'General Football & Other Sport' started by hornmeister, Nov 14, 2010.

  1. zztop

    zztop Eurovision Winner 2015

    What a debacle that final session was. It was bad enough watching it on TV, but the crowd should get a refund.
     
  2. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    It seems the 2nd guy involved in that crash which killed the French guy at Spa is still in Intensive care in the UK.

    Sad news.
     
  3. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

  4. miked2006

    miked2006 Premiership Prediction League Proprietor

    I like Leclerc, but he clearly drove Lewis off the road and should have been punished. He only wasn’t because it was Ferrari in Monza.
     
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  5. The undeniable truth

    The undeniable truth First Team Captain

    I heard he only avoided punishment through disguise.

    [​IMG]
     
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  6. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

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  7. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    With a little more time than usual to spare from work I came across a character. A funny, charming and dedicated doctor from Northern Ireland. John Hinds. An individual who pushed the boundaries of intensive care treatment and was no mean biker himself. Sadly at the time his passing seemed to pass me by back in 2015 doin what he loved as emergency doctor at the Skerries 100. I'm sure Norn would know of him. He was also dedicated to getting a rescue helicopter based in Northern Ireland to evacuate seriously injured and gravely ill people to hospital and his campaign led to one with his call sign Delta 7 being funded. A wonderful human being. A couple of the videos are not for the squeamish so be warned.



     
  8. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

  9. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Tazio Nuvolari pre war was the greatest driver of all but there was no formal F1 championship. Moss missed out in 1959 at the US GP. Brabham won the title after having his car pushed over the line. Tony Brooks had to race one GP in the dreadful Vanwall instead of his normal team Ferrari due to a strike at the company. He would have won the title but for Brabham being allowed to have team engineers push his car to the finish.

    Moss regarded Fangio his team mate at Mercedes as the greatest driver of all. When you consider how negligible safety was at the time one mistake could easily have been the last. A great innings and a great driver. Well worth watching again.

     
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  10. hornmeister

    hornmeister Tired

    Flicking arounbd the TV channels last night and picked up on Sky's coverage of the eSports Virtual F1 GP.

    Feck me the technology has got good in the last couple of years. 10pm tonight on Sky Sports F1 if anyone is interested.
     
  11. Cassetti's Beard

    Cassetti's Beard First Team

    8 races in 10 weeks is going to be interesting
     
  12. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

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  13. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    That was a dramatic ending after a dull race.

    Hamilton just about holds on.
     
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  14. Next week I think its Silverstone again but soft and supersoft tyres, can see it being very interesting
     
  15. scummybear

    scummybear Reservist

    I hope Pirelli don't bottle it and change compounds, I'd love to see how the teams work around the tyre uncertainty.

    Also, does this mean the obviously dominant Mercedes has an achilles heel? Considering Hamilton is known for being one of the best at tyre management, him having a failure must be setting off alarm bells. As much as I'm critical of him, he did a great job of remaining composed at the end - plenty would've pushed too hard and spun, or played safe and lost positions.
     
  16. There was time before the last lap for Hamilton to come in and change his tyres, he had 30+ seconds lead at that point. Mercedes have never been that great at strategy. Next week could be a 3 or 4 stopper if the tyres are that bad here, add in a couple of safety cars and I'm hoping for a right mix up.
     
  17. The Voice of Reason

    The Voice of Reason First Team Captain

    I bet Red Bull are kicking themselves for pitting Verstappen just to give him the chance of gaining an extra point for the fastest lap. This practice seems to have caught on at the moment, but I think teams might start to think twice about using it after what happened yesterday :oops: Whoops!
     
  18. Cassetti's Beard

    Cassetti's Beard First Team

    Verstappen had a chance to win that but there's no way Red Bull were to know what was going to happen next.

    The heat could play a part next weekend, potentially 30c+. Hopefully an early safety car and we could see a very interesting race.

    Puts Hamilton 30 points ahead already which is a bit boring but expected.
     
  19. scummybear

    scummybear Reservist

    Verstappen and Hamilton both pitted on Lap 13 and Max was complaining of vibration, sure he might've made it without his tyre going but there's absolutely no guarantee. Tactically speaking I think RBR actually got it right, whilst Mercedes messed up - it was just pure luck Hamilton's didn't go a corner or two before it did, as they'd have thrown away a certain victory.
     
  20. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Amazing what a car can do for a driver. Suddenly Stroll is running in the top order of races instead of chasing the field. I'm afraid to say F1 has become a bit laughable with the power of the big teams. Yet again the power of finance is ruining competition.
     
  21. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Not often Hamilton doesn't win...or even come in the top 3.

    Maybe give him a time penalty each race?

    And even rarer to not see a Red Bull, Mercedes on Ferrari on the podium.
     
  22. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Still a bit sad to see a series of unfortunate incidents are needed to make a race 'interesting'. In the BTCC drivers have a weight handicap. I would like to see a universal chassis for F1 and let them get on with it. Frank Williams and Clare are leaving the F1 team he built and led to great success. Success that seems a distant memory. They simply cannot get the funding to compete against as it were the works teams. Although it was pleasing to see McLaren do well it has been years since they won a race. I think so many people have become bored of the procession F1 has turned into.
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2020
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  23. scummybear

    scummybear Reservist

    Every year has an element of predictability to it, even if there are two competitive teams the rest of the field are nowhere near them. I think it's a fundamental flaw in the Formula 1 concept, so Mercedes can't really be blamed. Although, I think the past few years the gap between Mercedes and the other top teams has been so extreme that it's killed the theatre of racing.

    If you want overtaking the likes of BTCC are the way to go, the reverse grids add to that. But sometimes watching BTCC I feel the opposite, it can feel a bit too manufactured. It's like watching a 0-0 draw compared to a basketball game, the sweet spot is somewhere in between. Maybe Ferrari failing miserably is good for the sport, usually the big boys stop any major rule changes but now that it's in their interest to make changes perhaps something will actually happen.
     
  24. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Used to watch every race. Haven’t even looked at a result now for about 3 seasons so dull has it become. I’m sure I miss the odd good race but 90% of the time I’m right not to bother I imagine.
     
  25. Cassetti's Beard

    Cassetti's Beard First Team

    Great race at the weekend and nice to see Gasly doing well after his stint at Red Bull last season, gives hope to Albon when he inevitably gets the chop.
     
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  26. miked2006

    miked2006 Premiership Prediction League Proprietor

    It's still better than the Schumacher days, but agree it's generally pretty boring.

    I do think the slipstream changes they are making for next(?) year will make it a much better sport, but I'm not sure it can ever recover the tactical complexity it had before they banned mid-race refuelling.
     
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  27. Jumbolina

    Jumbolina First Team

    Yes you are right. Couldn’t put my finger on it but the refuelling made for compelling viewing. The cars also seem bullet proof now. In the old days you might be a lap ahead Mr Hakkinen but I can see a few puffs of blue smoke out the back of your motor.
     
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  28. With very few exceptions F1 has always had a team dominate. It’s only a problem it seems when it’s not Ferrari.
     
  29. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    Reverse grids and sprint races to decide qualifying and spice things up.

    Mercedes seem to be the team most against the idea ..

    Seems a bit forced and manufactured tbh doing it like that.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/54063417
     
  30. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Back in the day when Enzo was complaining about the garagistas there three to four teams in the hunt. Even to the time Renault claimed their titles four teams were competitive. In some years notably from 1990 onwards it has become more of a two horse race. I sometimes wonder why some of the teams at the back even bother competing. Is it for prestige because being 3-4 seconds off the pace per lap is hardly enervating for anyone. In recent years the budgets of Mercedes, Ferrari and RB have completely dwarfed all the other teams. Which makes the possibility of a privateer team entering impossible. It has to be a manufacturer looking to make a name for itself. You can see Williams being rebranded and partnered with one of the big companies in the near future.

    They need to curtail budgets and the spending power of the triumvirate. It would make it more competitive, get more teams involved and allow more drivers a crack at the top. With just twenty seats available it is a far cry from the grids of the past. Some nostalgia here and for Geoff Crammonds legendary racing games.

    And it's yet another pole for Ayrton Senna.......



    A look at Frank Williams and how he set up his privateer team and turned it into a success.

     
  31. I'd say be careful what you wish for.

    There are already plenty of series out there where every driver and every team has a chance and there are opportunities for garagistas - British Touring Cars for example or pick any of the spec single seater series. The question you have to ask is if that is really what people want then why aren't any of them a global sport like F1?

    British Touring Cars was huge when manufacturers were throwing crazy money at Super Tourers, as soon as it became a cost controlled spec series it nearly died.

    The way to fix F1 imo is to stop bringing in stupid ideas like DRS and cheese tyres, none of them work. The latest reverse grid idea will destroy the series.

    1. The cars are too big. An F1 car is bigger than a Transit Van. Smaller cars will allow more side by side racing.

    2. Cars must be able to follow each other closely and race wheel to wheel. They can't at the moment because of the sensitivity to dirty hot air. The answer is bring back ground effect cars and simple perhaps spec upper aero.

    3. Proper tyres that allow drivers to push hard lap after lap instead of cheese tyres that last 10 laps. Plus several mandatory pit stops regardless of tyre condition.

    4. Track design. Analyse where most overtakes occur and redesign tracks to increase overtaking opportunities.

    5. Scrap the concorde agreement, or rather the parts of it that afford Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes special privileges.

    6. Allow the open transfer of technology. Ferrari or Red Bull or Mercedes might currently be spending £££s on R&D, but if you let every team has access to designs, perhaps last seasons designs, it will soon become a waste of money and stop.
     
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  32. scummybear

    scummybear Reservist

    I've always thought sprint races are better for fans than long races. Personally I'd rather a 30 minute sprint race and a 60 minute feature race, just to kill off that lull you get in a lot of races. But saying that, compared to some series 90-120 minutes isn't too bad (I've sat at Donny in the cold watching a national series for 4 hours, 3.5 of which f-all happened).

    I think F1 just needs to get back to racing. There's too much management - tyre management, engine management, temperature management - hardly any of the race is flat out any more, it's all about long-term strategy. So many drivers hand over a place without a fight, how often does an out of position Merc (or previously Ferrari/RBR) have to do a legitimate overtake, rather than being let through?

    Which brings me onto bloody DRS. What a load of crap. Sure, it has increased the overtake statistics, but gliding past on a straight because you have an artificial aerodynamic advantage isn't overtaking!

    And as previously mentioned, refuelling really mixed things up - bring it back.
     
  33. wfc4ever

    wfc4ever Administrator Staff Member

    8 cars out and 2 red flags..

    No so much F1 but wacky races!
     
  34. Smudger

    Smudger Messi's Mad Coach Staff Member

    Hamilton doing something useful in opposing a new circuit supported by that enormous ***** Bolsonaro which involves levelling and destroying more precious habitat.
    https://f1i.com/news/386340-hamilton-opposes-new-rio-circuit-over-environmental-impact.html

    If F1 is not careful it will be seen as a dinosaur of no use. It's pretty boring anyway and Honda are pulling out of engine manufacture to concentrate on creating more environmentally friendly powerplants for the future. Amazing that Mercedes and Ferrari have for so long continued to oppose any changes in the sport that are detrimental to themselves ignoring the bigger picture of an uncompetitive dull as ditchwater spectacle that has huge environmental concerns. I find Formula E far more appealing.


     
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