The 2014 Formula1 Thread!

[felang]

i looked into going to the montreal race a couple years ago. it seemed to be a great place for eating, drinking, gambling and such. there's probably plenty of art for your wife to enjoy, but i certainly wouldn't bring the baby to the race.

Exactly, I went a couple of years ago and had a blast. The whole downtown area becomes a huge party.

 

[cbrsurfr]

i looked into going to the montreal race a couple years ago. it seemed to be a great place for eating, drinking, gambling and such. there's probably plenty of art for your wife to enjoy, but i certainly wouldn't bring the baby to the race.

Exactly, also factor in that a lot of stuff will be closed or close early, especially on Sunday. I remember trying to hit some of the smaller museums and they were closed. There's street fairs and such but I would think that would be too noisey for a 1 yr old.

 

[_Rick_]

Maldonado selects number 13. I'm pretty sure that's a fitting number, from the other driver's points of view...

 

[norseamd]

what do you guys think about the regulations. i would watch but this sport has been regulated down to every bolt. the management and politics also bother me. why can they not make a league with turbocharged v12s energy recovery ground effects and such and then run a cheaper leagure for the smaller teams. because other teams then can not say they run in f1? would f2 be that bad? seems like fiat and vw should have enough money to run with red bull.

 

[punjabiplaya]

what do you guys think about the regulations. i would watch but this sport has been regulated down to every bolt. the management and politics also bother me. why can they not make a league with turbocharged v12s energy recovery ground effects and such and then run a cheaper leagure for the smaller teams. because other teams then can not say they run in f1? would f2 be that bad? seems like fiat and vw should have enough money to run with red bull.

Ehhhhhh. While I'm still a big F1 fan, all the bullshit has gotten me more interested in WEC.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

what do you guys think about the regulations. i would watch but this sport has been regulated down to every bolt. the management and politics also bother me. why can they not make a league with turbocharged v12s energy recovery ground effects and such and then run a cheaper leagure for the smaller teams. because other teams then can not say they run in f1? would f2 be that bad? seems like fiat and vw should have enough money to run with red bull.

they were supposed to run a 2-class formula in 2010 - there was non-stop complaining, fighting and confusion so it was cancelled, screwing over the 3 teams (hrt, virgin/marussia, team lotus/caterham) that signed up with the understanding of the new low-cost rules coming in.

the 2nd incarnation of f2 died in 2012, leaving gp2 as the main development series for f1. for a few years after ww2, f2 cars ran in f1 races, but as the economy got better so did the f1 cars, and they needed the track to themselves. multi-class races are fine in sports cars but bad news in open wheelers.

Ehhhhhh. While I'm still a big F1 fan, all the bullshit has gotten me more interested in WEC.

WEC is already has a lot going for it, without f1 pushing people away with their stupid crap. unfortunately, watching all (or any) of the 8 races is going to require some creative internetting.

prototype 1 is very progressive and fast as hell, i'd just like to see more entries. p2 seems to be a very well-sorted cost limited series. the GT classes are different every damn year, and i'd really like to see them stabilize around cars that are closer to production.

 

[punjabiplaya]

they were supposed to run a 2-class formula in 2010 - there was non-stop complaining, fighting and confusion so it was cancelled, screwing over the 3 teams (hrt, virgin/marussia, team lotus/caterham) that signed up with the understanding of the new low-cost rules coming in.

the 2nd incarnation of f2 died in 2012, leaving gp2 as the main development series for f1. for a few years after ww2, f2 cars ran in f1 races, but as the economy got better so did the f1 cars, and they needed the track to themselves. multi-class races are fine in sports cars but bad news in open wheelers.



WEC is already has a lot going for it, without f1 pushing people away with their stupid crap. unfortunately, watching all (or any) of the 8 races is going to require some creative internetting.

prototype 1 is very progressive and fast as hell, i'd just like to see more entries. p2 seems to be a very well-sorted cost limited series. the GT classes are different every damn year, and i'd really like to see them stabilize around cars that are closer to production.

My only complaint is the classes. At least with the ALMS series, they are merging it with the Rolex Sports Car so there will just be one big ass sports car series. I'd love to see WEC have a much closer to production category like GT-something. WEC also definitely needs more manufacturers/teams especially in P1. But going to the race this year at Austin got me hooked. They some really great fan access to everything. And the racing is great, there's always traffic and everyone fighting throughout the whole race.

 

[Skurge]

My only complaint is the classes. At least with the ALMS series, they are merging it with the Rolex Sports Car so there will just be one big ass sports car series. I'd love to see WEC have a much closer to production category like GT-something. WEC also definitely needs more manufacturers/teams especially in P1. But going to the race this year at Austin got me hooked. They some really great fan access to everything. And the racing is great, there's always traffic and everyone fighting throughout the whole race.

Well now that Porsche is joining P1. We may see others too.

 

[_Rick_]

I wonder if Porsche joining was a concerted VW move to make LMP1 interesting again. After Peugeot dropped out, there was no real competition for Audi, so there was little benefit to winning. And Le Mans is all about media impact. Having in-house competition is probably a benefit for VAG, even though initially the expenditure is quite high.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

we're forgetting toyota in lmp. they took 2nd at le mans last year and 5 WEC wins since 2012.

also, anthony davidson had this amazing crash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvAyZeSaIt0

 

[boomhower]

what do you guys think about the regulations. i would watch but this sport has been regulated down to every bolt. the management and politics also bother me. why can they not make a league with turbocharged v12s energy recovery ground effects and such and then run a cheaper leagure for the smaller teams. because other teams then can not say they run in f1? would f2 be that bad? seems like fiat and vw should have enough money to run with red bull.

i think they have it backwards. The thinking that making the regulations tighter means less development and lower costs. It doesn't work that way. The higher end teams are just going to go to extreme ends to find new materials or ways to exploit those tight regs to the nth degree. Open up the regs a little and the lower budget teams would have the ability to think outside the box a little and come up with something to be more competitive. Mercedes and the blown diffuser is a prime example.

 

[_Rick_]

i think they have it backwards. The thinking that making the regulations tighter means less development and lower costs. It doesn't work that way. The higher end teams are just going to go to extreme ends to find new materials or ways to exploit those tight regs to the nth degree. Open up the regs a little and the lower budget teams would have the ability to think outside the box a little and come up with something to be more competitive. Mercedes and the blown diffuser is a prime example.

Well, on the other hand you want an even playing field, so that driver skill becomes more of a decisive factor.
Generally the more exciting motor sports either use a balance of power type approach, or are one-make series.
Even LMP1 has balance of power limitations (remember the last minute modification to the Toyota's fuel cell size last year?) to make things more exciting.
F1 (and WRC) are the two only motor sports where you can truly gain an advantage on technical merit alone. This makes the individual races often boring, but turns it into a sport that is very exciting over a full season, as car development balances change (or in the case of WRC, as surface conditions are better suites to some design decisions).

Oh, btw, is anyone following the Dakar this year? There too balance of power struck, and the winners of last year were dealt massive penalties this year, so that the racing tightens up again.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

remember the last minute modification to the Toyota's fuel cell size last year?

well, that has more to do with huge rules imbalance, favoring diesel over gasoline, than anything else.

i don't like the idea of success penalties (equalization by handicapping), nor do i want a situation like f1's 2012 tire lottery (equalization by dumb luck). either one diminishes the value of competition.

 

[_Rick_]

Yeah, I think a tire spec freeze should go along with an engine spec freeze.
That, or go back to competing tire companies, and a restrictive tire formula.

The advantage of the Pirelli situation is, that the tires are a resource that needs to be managed, and CAN be managed. They will give you good grip at the cost of increased wear.

I'm not convinced that competing tire companies would create a tire that can offer both momentary high grip, and limited endurance over a longer stint, to the same extent the Pirellis currently do, because there would be no gain. Which in the end would make racing worse, because the ability to take some life out of the tire to pass or catch up will be gone, at least in the way it is now.

One thing to note though, for this season: Tire "maintenance" driving will become even worse, as pit stops will be slower, due to the 80kph pit lane speed limit during the race and practice. So any additional pit stop will cost more, making cruising more time-efficient.

If the 2014 rubber works well enough, I would like to see it used with no modification in 2015 though, because the tire lottery has indeed made for some funky racing..

 

[Ancalagon44]

If you think about it, the companies involved in F1 only do it for the marketing. If the rules forced everyone to use the same engine and chassis, companies like Ferrari would probably pull out. Its a major sales tactic for them.

Still, its a big problem. They want to make the rules lax enough to allow some diversification and innovation, but tight enough so that at the end of the day, the driver matters more than the car. Its a difficult balance to strike if you want to allow for technical innovation.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

plenty of news to catch up on:

john button, father of jenson button, has passed away at 70.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25719879

ron dennis is sick of martin whitmarsh fucking up his f1 team, resumes role as mclaren group CEO and soon to be team principal
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula-one/25766407

pielli extends deal through 2016
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25762121

bernie tries to buy the bankrupt nurburgring, just ahead of being dragged into german court
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25749464

fia might have found 3 suckers to enter f1, although only 2 are legit
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/01/17/f1-fanatic-round-1701/

bbc to dumb down their coverage even more, fire gary anderson
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/01/14/f1-fanatic-round-1401/

 

[tweakmonkey]

So glad to see Dennis back in things. IDK if Martin was to blame but Mclaren's made so many blunders in the past few years even when they had a great team. I basically wrote them off as soon as Lewis left even though I was a huge Mclaren fan for years. But with Dennis and maybe Ross Brawn, maybe even Lewis will return.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/2013/12/30/toro-rosso-factory-tour-video-images/#more-4012

 

[punjabiplaya]

Kamui is back! yay

Love seeing those factory tours.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Force India first to release photograph of 2014 F1 car

not a fan of the black, the white/green/orange looked good

also,
Caterham: Owner Tony Fernandes threatens to pull out of Formula 1

i don't want to see them or any team quit, but i completely agree with his position. as the boss, it's time to see some results or pull the plug. either way, you can't keep blowing up mountains of money for absolutely nothing.

 

[_Rick_]

I like the black-orange, but I hope that Sauber gets away from the all-black.

A blue car is sorely missing from the grid, if Sauber where to go white, I'd love a blue Williams.

And it's great that Kobayashi is back. Hopefully he can get that Caterham working. This first season under the new regulations is going to be unpredictable, despite what Fernandes believes. I don't think F1 fans want it to be unpredictable, as this is against the very nature of the sport. F1 is all about straying from perfection and errors. Those decide the races, and not the flawless performances.
Not to mention, that there always is some amount of unpredictability in F1, and personally, I don't watch it so much for the results, as to see the decision making of both team and driver.

I do hope the field will be closer than over the last few seasons, where there were a good 5% difference or more, between #1 and #22/24

 

[punjabiplaya]

I like the black-orange, but I hope that Sauber gets away from the all-black.

A blue car is sorely missing from the grid, if Sauber where to go white, I'd love a blue Williams.

And it's great that Kobayashi is back. Hopefully he can get that Caterham working. This first season under the new regulations is going to be unpredictable, despite what Fernandes believes. I don't think F1 fans want it to be unpredictable, as this is against the very nature of the sport. F1 is all about straying from perfection and errors. Those decide the races, and not the flawless performances.
Not to mention, that there always is some amount of unpredictability in F1, and personally, I don't watch it so much for the results, as to see the decision making of both team and driver.

I do hope the field will be closer than over the last few seasons, where there were a good 5% difference or more, between #1 and #22/24

well, Martini is rumored to be a title sponsor for Williams.
http://www.diariomotorsport.com.br/...liams-em-2014-segredo-sera-revelado-em-jerez/

 

[foghorn67]

well, Martini is rumored to be a title sponsor for Williams.
http://www.diariomotorsport.com.br/...liams-em-2014-segredo-sera-revelado-em-jerez/

:awe:
Oh Lord, please be a throwback to those IMSA/LeMans Martini livery.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns27180.html

Zanardi returns to racing
Alex Zanardi will be back under engine power in 2014.

In 2004, three years after losing his legs in a horror Champ Car crash, the former F1 driver defied the odds by racing full-time for BMW in the European touring car championship.

But he then turned to hand cycling, soaring to the top of that sport with gold medals at the 2012 paralympic games in London.

Now, at the age of 47, Zanardi - who last raced in F1 in 1999 with Williams - is returning to four wheels once again.

He has been signed to drive a modified BMW in the Blancpain Sprint Series.

"Even after leaving the sport in 2009, I was still a racing driver at heart," said Zanardi.

BMW motor sport chief Jens Marquardt said: "From both a human and a sporting aspect, Alex is a role model to all of us."

 

[_Rick_]

...and the Wulilliams IS blue...underneath the sponsoring.
Nice.