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[operon]

Best wishes to subzero, hope he'll be back soon

 

[TylerD]

Great to hear from SubZero. I guess I can stop working on my tribute.

+1 sign petition for SubZero's permaban to be lifted so he can return when he wants. Good luck on your studies!
--------------------------------

I hope Force India can start managing some podiums. The more the merrier for the 2010 championship. I don't know what it is about the car and the team particularly but I really like them. One of the best looking cars on the grid IMO.

 

[duckroll]

Please don't turn these threads into a petition or anything, that's not how it works. Don't worry, I'm not ignoring the issue.

 

[h3ro]

...And they chant in the streets of Monaco... "Duckroll the benevolent!" Duckroll the merciful!".

 

[AndyD]

Hiding evidence, eh ?

I already work in the field he appears headed into and he is just fine. I didn't see any issues with what he did.

...And they chant in the streets of Monaco... "Duckroll the benevolent!" Duckroll the merciful!".

So true.

 

[DrM]

Dennis: McLaren initiated Mercedes split

McLaren was the party that initiated the end of its exclusive tie-up with Mercedes-Benz at the end of last season, former team principal Ron Dennis has revealed.

Mercedes-Benz ended its long-running partnership with McLaren at the end of 2009, so it could shift its main focus into taking over the former Brawn GP outfit.

And although at the time there were suggestions that McLaren losing its exclusive arrangement with Mercedes-Benz could hurt the team's future prospects, Dennis remains adamant it was for the best - especially since his team continues to receive a supply of customer engines.

Furthermore, he has also claimed that it was McLaren – and not Mercedes-Benz – that wanted the relationship to change.

"It was completely and utterly amicable," Dennis told Arabian Business magazine about the split with Mercedes-Benz. "They continuously over the years wanted to have control of McLaren and we continuously told them we did not want them to have control of McLaren.

"The more they wanted it, the less we wanted to give it to them. Because you look at what happens... the influence they [car manufacturers] control is not always productive. CEOs change overnight. I have got 30-odd years of my life in this company, huge quantities of friends and people who have been through thick and thin with me, and I made it very clear to Mercedes-Benz, as did the other shareholders, that we are not for sale. They hankered always."

He added: "We initiated it, we wanted to be independent. This wasn't something which we weren't party to. I mean engine supply to Brawn in 2008 [for the 2009 season] required our consent.

"At the end of the day we were a fully integrated partner of Mercedes-Benz, and we still are. We are fiercely competitive on circuit, but off circuit we are still firm friends. I wouldn't call it a sweetheart deal, but it was a win-win situation.

"They got exactly what they wanted: a grand prix team they had complete control over – and we had continuous engine supply and the ability to promote our product and build the McLaren brand.

"It was just a win-win situation. In the end, obviously, when we all realised this was going to happen, it was all very logical."

Source

Massa: I WANT THE F-DUCT!!!! ;(

Felipe Massa fears McLaren's F-duct system could make life complicated for the rest of the field in this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, with the Woking squad set to have a crucial advantage on the Shanghai track's long back straight.

The straight between Turn 13 and the Turn 14 hairpin in China is one of the longest in Formula 1, and sees top speeds in excess of 300km/h.

The F-duct - which allows the team to increase its top speed by 'stalling' the rear wing on straights - helped McLaren set the practice pace at Sepang, which also features long straights, although the weather then disrupted the rest of the team's weekend.

Massa thinks Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button's straightline speed will be a huge boost for them in China, and that rivals might have to compromise their set-ups to try and contain the McLarens on the straight.

"It's a nice circuit to drive and the extremely long straight leading into a tight corner means there is a real possibility to overtake," said Massa of the Shanghai circuit.

"However, we will need to be careful on that straight this year, because we have seen that the McLaren in particular has a very high top speed, so in case of a close battle with them we will have to be careful and ready to defend position."

Hamilton acknowledged that the length of the straight was good for McLaren's chances at Shanghai.

"Overtaking is possible at this circuit, particularly at the end of the long back straight, so I'm pretty confident we'll have another competitive weekend," he said.

Sauber has also now introduced an F-duct, and AUTOSPORT understands that Williams has a device in the advanced stages of development.

Ferrari is working on its own system too, but team boss Stefano Domenicali said in Malaysia that it would not rush the F-duct into use.

"For sure we are working flat out at home, because we saw the benefit that seems to be very, very big on the main straight in certain conditions - with the stalling of the rear wing," he said.

"We will bring it as soon as everything will be reliable, and we will be 100 per cent sure that the system works."

Massa is optimistic that the new parts Ferrari already has scheduled for introduction in China will keep it in the fight with McLaren and Red Bull.

"I'm also looking forward to the fact that we will have some new components on the car, aimed at improving performance and I hope they prove to be successful to help us in our fight, especially with the Red Bulls and the McLarens," he said.

Source

Lenght of mentioned straight between corners 13 and 14 is 1175 meters (Abu Dhabi longest straight is 2 meters shorter). F-Duct should work here like a dream, Mclaren could have almost 15 km/h top speed advantage before braking into corner 14.

 

[Leunam]

I'm curious how the Sauber F-Duct works since it's not in front of the driver.

 

[h3ro]

I'm curious how the Sauber F-Duct works since it's not in front of the driver.

Most likely, they take their hands out the cockpit and cover the duct on the sidepod. Or at least, that's what Kobayashi has been doing these last few races.

I think Ferrari are going to struggle to keep pace this weekend. The engine package is frail and the car doesn't have the top end speed of the Macca nor does it handle the curves like the Red Bull. Damage limitation until the new parts are on.

 

[navanman]

OK then, time to start looking at the F1 race manager ideal GAF team for this weekend as we want to keep team NeoGAF on top of the league.

Again as its so early in the season I would forget about the drivers and pick and choose them depending on your remaining budget.
This weekend I'm planning Renault chassis, Force India engine & Total for fuel.

I expect Renault to be strong again this weekend, their straight line speed was 2nd only to McLaren & new aero upgrades will make a difference.
Force India should go well too with Sutil, 2 long straights & some fast corners should suit their chassis.

 

[Steppenwolf]

It's gonna be interesting to see how well McLaren does this weekend. F-duct could be a big advantage. I'm not sure tho if this alone will help them to be the fastest over a lap. The McLaren also has a very long wheel base and that could be a disadvantage in the couple of tight corners of the China track.

So in the end everybody could be roughly at the same lap times again. I would bet my money on Red Bull tho. They were very strong last year and Vettel was also extremely strong in 2007. This seems to be his track.

 

[DrM]

Also, F-Duct should only work well in dry or drying conditions. It looks like Melbourne revisited, if we check current weather forecast.

Weather for this weekend:
Friday : sunny and dry, around 13 degrees Celsius
Saturday: sunny and dry, around 15 degrees
Sunday: Rain (50% chance), 10-15 degrees

 

[Pimpwerx]

Glad to see subzero is reporting from beyond the grave. Seems like we'll all have to chip in to pick up the slack. I'll try and post more news in this thread. The motorsport thread, I don't read as often.

I expect McLaren to be at the front of the grid this weekend, unless RBR makes some serious advances. We'll see. I'll give my fantasy breakdown around FP3. PEACE.

 

[duckroll]

Sadly Subzero will not be returning to us. Declaring the intention to make a dupe account in future is a bad move. But hopefully his time away from GAF will allow him to study harder and improve his understanding of the law. :lol

 

[Leunam]

So who is going to take the initiative and make a post for the upcoming race in China? I'd love to do it but I don't remember the formatting very well and I wouldn't be very good at writing a summary of what to expect.

 

[Dead Man]

Sadly Subzero will not be returning to us. Declaring the intention to make a dupe account in future is a bad move. But hopefully his time away from GAF will allow him to study harder and improve his understanding of the law. :lol

Hilarious. :/

 

[DieselRainbow]

Good luck to Subzero! It's been good "working" with him. Sad to see him go though!

I shall try to keep people updated on the MotoGP side of things on the Motorsport thread.

 

[DrM]

Auto, Motor und Sport is reporting that we will see several teams testing their F-Duct systems tommorow. Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes will try their versions. (Translated version is quite funny, but you will get the idea)

Ross said that their system works in wind tunnel and in simulator, and they will use it on Sunday if it will bring similar results tommorow. As it seems, they have been working on this for several months now.

Weather - heavy rain predicted for 2 pm on Sunday, when the race will start (80-90% chance)

 

[navanman]

Auto, Motor und Sport is reporting that we will see several teams testing their F-Duct systems tommorow. Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes will try their versions. (Translated version is quite funny, but you will get the idea)

Ross said that their system works in wind tunnel and in simulator, and they will use it on Sunday if it will bring similar results tommorow. As it seems, they have been working on this for several months now.

Weather - heavy rain predicted for 2 pm on Sunday, when the race will start (80-90% chance)

Wow, it will be interesting to see how the other teams versions look as with chassis homologation, they have limited areas they can add in the inlet and exit ducts. Also the teams will have to have the rear exit vane like McLaren that joins the bodywork to the rear wing.

And a wet race would be great as long as all the the top team qualify near the top of the grid.

 

[moojito]

I was watching some of the old grands prix on the bbc site the other day, one in particular was that classic Imola from 2005 where Schumacher was chasing down Alonso for the last 10 laps or so, literally nose to tail. More stuff like that would be awesome! I suppose Button/Webber in the last race last year was similar, but it would sure be nice to see more of that going on.

Anyway, my prediction for this weekend will be Hamilton/Alonso/Rosberg. Both Red bulls dying from exhaustion on that long straight.

 

[skybaby]

Sadly Subzero will not be returning to us. Declaring the intention to make a dupe account in future is a bad move. But hopefully his time away from GAF will allow him to study harder and improve his understanding of the law. :lol

wow...

 

[Dead Man]

Subzero asked me to post this in here for everyone:

=========================================================

Okay, I guess I should say my goodbyes, but before that, I'll give a few tips on doing the previews;

I've always felt that the following format is the best way to go, and provides all the info needed for a good, thorough preview.

=========================================================

Banner.jpg

(The text preview)

Circuit.jpg

Key.jpg

(Circuit info)

Onboard lap

(Youtube link)

Google maps view

(http://www.mapmash.in/f1circuits.htm)

2009 recap

(Description and race order)

Previous winners

(Going back at least five years)

Championship standings

(BBC F1's standings are pretty good)

News

(Various bits relevant to the GP)
=========================================================

I uploaded my 2010 F1 folder to filefront, it includes all of the circuit diagrams, keys, and banners, as well as the previous GP's high-res images. So, whoever takes up the responsibility of making the previews has all the tools needed.

Here; http://www.filefront.com/16125381/Formula-1.rar/

For the atmosphere building images visit;

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/
http://www.motorsport-total.com/

For the high-res images post-Grand Prix visit;

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wallpapers/

=========================================================

The rally images I posted in the motorsport thread are available here;

http://www.ewrc.cz/ewrc/fotomain.php

Make sure you visit the archives, as there are some wonderful images in there.

=========================================================

Finally, it's been an absolute pleasure to converse with all of you guys, and discuss our passion for F1 and motorsport together. I hope I've done a good job of introducing the various disciplines to newcomers, and reinvigorating the passion in jaded veterans. I will miss you all, and as Pimpwerx's would say, PEACE.

I have an AIM account, my username is subzero9285, also my PSN username is Sub-Zero9285, feel free to add me, it would great to keep in touch with you guys outside of GAF.

Goodbye gentleman, enjoy the rest of the season and keep the passion alive.

subzero9285

=========================================================

I think he should not have been perm'd, but hey, that's just me.

 

[moojito]

Aye, since the account was banned not for a violation of any rules, but as a precautionary measure against being hacked, I think keeping it banned because the guy said he didn't want to create a new account is a bit... well, following the letter of the law and not the spirit would be the polite way to say it.

Cheers for all the work anyway subzero, should you be keeping up with the thread!

 

[DrM]

Prodrive rules out entering F1 in 2011

Prodrive has ruled out attempting to enter Formula 1 next season, as it has decided to focus on the World Rally Championship, the company announced on Thursday.

Prodrive was one of the teams that applied to enter the sport in 2010, but it didn't get one of the three new entries, which went to Manor, Campos and US F1.

The FIA has re-opened the selection process for the 2011 season, inviting teams to submit their applications to become the 13th entry.

Prodrive boss David Richards said on Thursday, however, that his company will not be looking for an entry for 2011.

He said the struggles of the new teams this year have proved how hard entering Formula 1 is, and that Prodrive would only be interested in joining F1 to be competitive.

"Our current focus is on Prodrive's return to the World Rally Championship in 2011 and that alone takes significant resource to design and develop a totally new car," said Richards.

"Taking on the challenge of starting a brand new Formula 1 team, finding the necessary funding and developing the car from scratch is a massive undertaking and not to be under estimated.

"As expected, we've witnessed the financial and technical challenges that the new teams have faced this year in just getting to the grid, let alone being competitive and whilst I have enormous admiration for their efforts I don't believe this is an appropriate strategy for Prodrive or Aston Martin to adopt."

He added: "We've enjoyed a successful involvement in F1 in the past and respect the value it can create; we will therefore keep a close eye on developments in the championship.

"However, I have always made it very clear that the timing for a Prodrive entry would be judged on two criteria: that we could be competitive and that the business case would make it a financially viable proposition. Today, if we were to adopt the strategy of starting a new team, I don't believe it is possible to meet these two conditions."

Prodrive is yet to announce its exact WRC plans, but has been strongly linked to a project to bring the Mini brand back to top level rallying.

Source

Lola will not apply for 2011 F1 entry

Racing car manufacturer Lola has announced it will not try to enter Formula 1 in the 2011 season.

The company joins Prodrive in deciding not to apply for a slot for next year, feeling there is no sufficient time to be ready for the start of the season.

Lola applied for an entry for this year, but the Huntingdon-based squad wasn't granted one.

The deadline to submit a formal expression of interest expired today.

"A 2010 entry under the cost capped and performance balanced criteria was perfect for Lola," said Lola owner Martin Birrane.

"We already have F1 standard facilities at our headquarters in Huntingdon. Sadly our well-developed 2010 F1 project, which included a significant wind tunnel programme, had to be frozen in June 2009.

"The recently announced applications for 2011 has left us with insufficient time to prepare for what would be a quite different programme."

Lola's managing director added: Robin Brundle, added: "Lola looks forward to strengthening its working partnerships with existing F1 Teams and the rich variety of customers throughout the Lola portfolio."

Source

Autosport updated weather report

They say that a picture paints a thousand words, and today at the Shanghai International Circuit - as the track cleaning machines washed the surface ready for serious running tomorrow - the Formula 1 family was given a quick glimpse of what conditions could be like on Sunday.

In the lead-up to the seventh Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai has experienced some cold and wet weather over the past few days. Today has seen the rain clear away to the east and the theme is one of improving conditions for Friday and Saturday.

Temperatures are still very much on the low side, reaching just nine degrees Celsius today. Overnight the mercury will dip to a chilly four degrees as the skies clear.

Practice and qualifying: A place in the sun

Tomorrow will dawn dry with clear skies, but quite cold. An area of high pressure - and with it a warmer air mass - will push in from the south-west gradually. Both practice sessions will be dry with the afternoon temperature during second practice peaking at 12 Celsius.

Saturday will begin to slowly herald a change - especially into the evening. It will remain dry throughout, with the final practice and qualifying sessions taking place in mainly sunny conditions, but patches of cloud will become more prominent during the afternoon as the beginnings of the change comes in from the west. The temperature will rise once again, with a maximum of 16 Celsius.

Sunday washout?

Then, as most of you know by now, we are set for a big change. On Monday when we first published a forecast for Shanghai, the warning signs of a shift to wet weather were beginning to surface. Over the last 72 hours the forecast models have shown significant evolution of a low pressure system bringing showers and some heavy spells of rain.

The latest prognosis is that Shanghai can expect the showers and prolonged rainfall to arrive shortly after dawn on race morning, with the window of wet weather lasting at least until the end of the day. The flow of warm air will continue as this system is driven across eastern China, with a maximum air temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius.

It will be a difficult situation for the teams if the current forecast becomes reality, with the prospect of four dry sessions that could prove nothing if Sunday is wet.

We will keep a close eye on developments and look again at the Sunday prospects in our next update tomorrow, but before then we have two 90-minute sessions of free practice to enjoy. AUTOSPORT Live's minute-by-minute coverage of first practice begins on Friday at 01:45 GMT. We hope you can join us then.

Bring it on

 

[navanman]

Your updated money should be available to play around with on the F1 race manager website.
I would hold off on final changes until after FP2 or FP3 if you in a "nice" timezone for that.

 

[Chris R]

McLarens are 1/2 atm. F-Duct looks like it will pay great dividends this week if it stays dry.

 

[TylerD]

Alonso lost an engine on his installation lap. It was most likely the one that overheated in Bahrain.

Oh my God. Sebastien Buemi's front left and right suspension disintegrated and his wheels flew off when braking for the hairpin after the back straight.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Holy shit! Someone gif that. The front end of Buemi's tire just exploded under braking. Fucking ridiculous. What's up with the fragile cars this year? PEACE.

 

[Dead Man]

Racemanager.com under maintenance. :|

 

[TylerD]

That was nuts. They will definitely show that for the FP2 show on SPEED later.

 

[bbyybb]

It is on youtube already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cL7ppUwKVE

 

[ExtraKr1spy]

Holy shit! Someone gif that. The front end of Buemi's tire just exploded under braking. Fucking ridiculous. Q: What's up with the fragile Newey cars this year? PEACE.

*fixed*

A: Business as usual for Adrian.

 

[Mastah]

:O

 

[magnificent83]

That's amazing, how does that even happen?

 

[Dead Man]

:O

But yeah, scary shit. Looks like total component failure.

 

[Mastah]

So true :lol.

Sebastien Buemi's spectacular accident in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix was caused by the failure of the front right upright.

Both wheels flew off Buemi's car under braking for Turn 14 near the end of first practice in Shanghai - pitching him into the barriers.

An investigation by the team has concluded that the incident was caused by a front right upright failure - which was a new design introduced for this weekend's race. Exactly what went wrong to cause the malfunction has not yet been established, however.

Once the right upright failed, the load on the left side component was too great for it to handle which is why that failed simultaneously.

The team also concluded that the wheel tethers did not work, with the tyres being pitched over the spectactor fences. The tethers were attached to the part of the uprights that broke off.

Toro Rosso will fit uprights from a previously used proven design to both its car from second practice in Shanghai.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82899

 

[Funky Functionality]

Holy shit. :O

 

[Aegus]

*fixed*

A: Business as usual for Adrian.

Toro Rosso isn't a Newey car this year.

 

[navanman]

Jenson Button set the early pace for McLaren in first practice for the Chinese Grand Prix, but it was Sebastien Buemi who ended the session counting his blessings after surviving one of the most bizarre accidents in modern Formula 1 history.

With 75 minutes of the session gone, the Swiss driver crashed at the end of the Shanghai circuit's long back straight when his front suspension appeared to shatter in the braking zone and both his front wheels simultaneously flew off his Scuderia Toro Rosso car.

Buemi's machine then tobogganed off into the gravel trap where it came to rest - having unsurprisingly caused a red flag period.

STR sensibly kept Jaime Alguersuari's sister car in the garage for the rest of FP1 as the team began its investigation into the incident.

Button's time of 1m36.677s was set halfway through the 90 minutes as the Australian Grand Prix winner took full advantage of the extra straightline speed afforded to him by his McLaren F-duct.

For a while it was a McLaren 1-2 at the top of the order, with Lewis Hamilton two tenths behind until Nico Rosberg split the pair with his Mercedes to lap just 0.071s slower than Button prior to Buemi's shunt.

Hamilton eventually ended up third having improved his time to a 1m36.775s.

Michael Schumacher was fourth fastest after setting his time when the track re-opened to move ahead of Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull.

Vitaly Petrov just missed out on sixth position as the chequered flag came out when his Renault team-mate Robert Kubica stole his thunder with a 1m37.601s.

Mark Webber was eighth fastest ahead of Adrian Sutil and Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
The only other significant incident in the session happened when former world championship leader Fernando Alonso pulled off the circuit on the exit of Turn 6 with what appeared to be another engine failure - flames licking from the exhaust ports on the Ferrari. The Spaniard had yet to set a time in the session.

1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.677 15
2. Rosberg Mercedes 1:36.748 +0.071 17
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.775 +0.098 19
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:37.509 +0.832 14
5. Kubica Renault 1:37.601 +0.924 20
6. Petrov Renault 1:37.716 +1.039 17
7. Schumacher Mercedes 1:37.745 +1.068 25
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.980 +1.303 17
9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:38.008 +1.331 13
10. Massa Ferrari 1:38.098 +1.421 19
11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:38.161 +1.484 19
12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.375 +1.698 21
13. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.421 +1.744 19
14. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:38.569 +1.892 20
15. di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:38.618 +1.941 26
16. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:38.678 +2.001 17
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:39.939 +3.262 5
18. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:41.531 +4.854 22
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:41.779 +5.102 23
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:41.830 +5.153 20
21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:42.181 +5.504 27
22. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:43.875 +7.198 23
23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:43.949 +7.272 20
24. Alonso Ferrari no time 6

 

[Lucius86]

Looks like the maccas and Rosberg are to beat here today - Rosberg from Hamilton from Button atm in FP2...

 

[navanman]

The Ferrari pace looks terrible at the moment and the RBR isn't too hot either.
Either they are all on race simulation fuel loads and optimisation or the F-duct system on McLarens and Rosberg car are making a huge difference for this circuit.

 

[Dilly]

Rosberg is driving brilliant this season.

 

[navanman]

Flipping hell, Hamilton on new soft-tyres goes nearly a second quicker than Rosberg in 2nd, then Button improves on his time also and moves into 2nd. The McLarens are looking really strong this weekend.

 

[navanman]

Session has 30 minutes left and all the top teams bar Ferrari do quick laps and its really close at the top now.
The top 6 are seperated by 0.5s, order is Hamilton, Rosberg, Button, Schumacher, Vettel & Webber.

 

[navanman]

McLaren and Mercedes looking very strong this weekend and may break the RBR grip on the first row of the grid for qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton made it two out of two for McLaren as the 2008 world champion recorded the fastest lap of the weekend so far to top the times in the second free practice session in China.

Hamilton, who is bidding to become the fourth different winner of a grand prix in 2010 this weekend, bumped Mercedes' Nico Rosberg from the top spot half way through the 90-minute session on a set of option tyres en route to a 1m35.217s lap.

No one else managed to get within 0.2s of that mark for the rest of the day.

Rosberg came closest, improving on his own time when he switched to the options, to set a 1m35.465s, just over a tenth faster than Jenson Button, who was third.

Michael Schumacher improved to fourth in FP2, and was as close as he has been to team-mate Rosberg this year, with a 1m35.602s laps. Though on occasions, the seven-time champion looked lurid.

Sebastian Vettel was more than half a second away from the ultimate pace for Red Bull, in fifth position just ahead of team-mate Mark Webber.

Adrian Sutil was seventh, Jaime Alguersuari eighth (in the sole running Toro Rosso - team-mate Sebastien Buemi remaining pit-bound following his morning shunt), Robert Kubica ninth and Fernando Alonso tenth.

The Ferrari man looked lurid for much of the session as he worked hard to recover the time he lost this morning, lapping just over 0.3s faster than team-mate Felipe Massa.

 

[DrM]

Ferrari tested F-Duct only in FP1.

Also, Alonso blew his engine he used in Bahrain free practice, and now he is using engine from Bahrain race.

 

[Orgun]

:O

Wheel release - ENGAGE!

 

[Chris R]

What a wreck. Why did the cables holding the tires to the car fail?

Also, SPEED has finally got their full time pit reporter on the scene. I guess that Westbury was a fill in until Will Buxton's wife/gf/whatever had a baby or something (IDK that is just a guess on my part).

Looks like I'll have to pick between one of the Britons with the speed this week as my choice for poll (unless it rains :lol )

 

[spoon!]

It's the new bat-pod

 

[Ghost]

Favourite bit about this gif is the dash lights going crazy after the wheels have come off, time to change down Sebastian!

 

[navanman]

ScarbsF1 blog has a good article on the Ferrari tests of their version of the McLaren F-duct system.

In the first practice in China, Ferrari unveiled their new rear wing, which features a blown flap in a similar manner to McLaren. Mclaren have infamously produced the F-Duct which uses a duct controlled by the driver to alter airflow around the rear wing to stall it at high speed to gain more top speed. Is this an F-Duct as used by McLaren, may be not?

Unlike the McLaren and Saubers set ups, the Ferrari solution does not appear to have the driver interacting with the duct. Instead the wing is fed with airflow coming from an inlet high up on the engine cover, well away from the drivers reach. It is possible that the there is additional ducting inside the car that does allow the driver to control airflow through the duct. But so far no signs of a driver controlled inlet around the cockpit are evident. It could be Ferraris set up uses pure aerodynamics to affect the duct, by choking at high speed (safely well above the maximum corner speed).

We will update this post as more info emerges over the weekend.