more ride height fun on its way
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/01/has-lotus-renault-found-this-years-must-have-gizmo/
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The Formula 1 2011/2012 Off-Season Thread |OT| The Year of the Red Bull
- Thread starter Leunam
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Wax Free Vanilla
Member
Jake Humphrey
Yeah for some real news. This thread has been been a little mad with the drought in F1 news since December.
Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
Yes, indeed.In that case I'll put his faux-pas regarding the ongoing awesomeness of Mclaren down to a recent knock to the head, or overabundance of alcohol, either works
But in defence of my drunken self, there is previous precedence to suggest that wholly British F1 teams eventually do fall be the wayside and join the great graveyard of former F1 teams; full of the great, the good, the mediocre and the downright laughable. The likes of BRM, Cooper, Tyrrell, and Brabham have all joined the annuls of F1 history and Williams may well join them soon. We're witnessing the demise of a once great team right now. They're tumbling down the constructors standing, they haven't got a major sponsor, their liveries are becoming ever increasingly sparse, they're resorting to pay drivers who (and no offence to Senna or Maldonado) the Williams of yesteryears wouldn't have even looked at. Did anyone in nineties ever see this happening to Williams? Did anyone doubt Sir Frank Williams, I think not.
I feared them in the nineties, but now I pity them and yearn to see them at the top again. If it can happen to them, it can happen to McLaren. When the inevitable happens and McLaren part ways with Mercedes for good and partner with another engine manufacturer or create their own engines and if they suddenly find themselves in a situation of prolonged uncompetitiveness, what then? Will they ride the tide or will this create enough discord for their major sponsors to leave and then their other sponsors too. Then with less money and less exposure, will the great drivers of the future see themselves driving for McLaren? Will they even be able to attract those kind of drivers? From that point on, it's a downward spiral that many have experienced and failed to do anything about.
Only one team seems impervious to this; Ferrari. Could McLaren go twenty years without a drivers title and still attract the kind of drivers and sponsors that Ferrari did during that era? Would they survive? I have my doubts.
McLaren are bucking the trend right now, but they must be careful especially when the time comes when Ron Dennis hands over the reigns of power of the McLaren Group to whoever he's grooming for that position.
I've rambled on long enough and taken the worst case scenario at each juncture of my argument, but I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from.
Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
Rubens is a current F1 driver (for now) and a race winner.
I think that's the idea behind the roadcar division. Gives them some more independence and its working for them now due to there decent on track performance but I'm not sure they could survive a drought like the one ferrari did. Plus you have to remember that ferrari had the support of FiatEdmond Dantès;34153931 said:
Wax Free Vanilla
Member
So, Gary Anderson (ex Jordan/Stewart/Jaguar designer) is joining the BBC team.
Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
A good addition and will certainly add some engineering expertise to proceedings, something that has been sorely lacking in the BBC's otherwise brilliant coverage.
Osiris
I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
Edmond Dantès;34153931 said:
I can't disagree with any of this really, in fact I posted a similar analysis of Williams situation in the 2011 season thread, kind of heartbreaking to watch if I'm honest, and I truly do believe Williams have passed the point of no return with respect to their demise.
I just refuse, adamanantly, to see the same happening to Mclaren F1, call it fanboy blinders if you want
Although I'd revisit that blindness if Mclaren do make what I'd see as an utterly foolish move and go down the self-made engine road, that'd be a massive risk that would be their undoing IMO.
I think the biggest difference between McLaren and Williams (plus other British racing teams from the past) is that McLaren has a backup reserve for money - it produces extreme luxury road cars that already have a 2.5 year waiting list.
If they keep that up, I can't ever see McLaren facing a similar demise. They may have a crap few years, but they will never go the way of Williams.
If they keep that up, I can't ever see McLaren facing a similar demise. They may have a crap few years, but they will never go the way of Williams.
Betta Lines
Member
Agreed. I've always enjoyed the parts where they get Mike Gascoyne to do a bit of work for them, but not everyone enjoys the technical chat so they need to be careful with the balance.Edmond Dantès;34154463 said:
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
As someone whose understanding of cars goes something like "engine rargh, wheels spin, cars go blurry" I always thought the tech for dummies stuff on BBC was pretty good. They broke down the complicated stuff rather well and it didn't seem like they had restricted conversations about the technical aspects of the sport. Then again, as someone who knows laughably little about the tech side, maybe that's not true and just comes from my ignorance!
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
Rossi considering retirement in 2014
good riddance
EDIT: wait.. hes saying after 2014! why even announce that you might retire after 3 full seasons? ... attention whore
good riddance
EDIT: wait.. hes saying after 2014! why even announce that you might retire after 3 full seasons? ... attention whore
That might be difficult. Mclaren already have the best engine on the grid, so using the Ferrari engine, which is less powerful, less fuel efficient and requires a bit more in the way of cooling needs, would be a step backwards for them.
Mclaren should count themselves very lucky they've got such a good engine, cuz they probably wouldn't be as competitive without it.
You're quickly turning into my least favorite poster here.
MotoGP without Rossi will continue on, but it will be worse off for it. Pedrosa has no character at all, Stoner is a whiny bitch, Lorenzo has turned out well after being trained in the ways of Rossi(character-wise) and Spies is a nice, but dull guy at times.
Can't help but think this will be banned due to the driver input required to make it work, if it was automatic it would have more chance of being allowed. Could they not link the hydraulic system used for the brakes into this to remove the driver actively needing to do anything to activate it?
This is the big question though:
Hopefully the FIA clarify the legality of this sooner rather than later. Although you would have thought Lotus would have asked them if a system like this would be legal before commenting time into it. Either way, if this system exists I expect protests to come from other teams until they can get a similar system up and running.
from the sound of it, it's linked into the breaking system - unless i understand it wrong.
press brake -> brake + push the car up on the uprights. could be even in the same hydraulic circuit i guess.
The article says it's driver activated like the F-duct, I interpreted that as the driver actively having to engage the system, although you could be right. Although if it was possible to work it into the braking hydraulics I imagine they would do that.
Big Takeover
Member
So it's manual active suspension. I'd expect Charlie to put the kibosh on that pretty quickly.
Guess who's got dinner with Lotus Renault GP on the 17th*? This guy - boo yah!
* I fear my own company's marketing budget may not be enough and I don't want to lead them on.
Back to normal.
So my idea of two gears facing each other? Well Gucci already has that. Hmmm, I need something else creative for GreaseandGears.com
* I fear my own company's marketing budget may not be enough and I don't want to lead them on.
Back to normal.
So my idea of two gears facing each other? Well Gucci already has that. Hmmm, I need something else creative for GreaseandGears.com
God I hate that. Modern F1 technical rules are a shambles. They need to start over from scratch.
I dont think they are that bad. Its hard for the FIA to out-clever these F1 designers and engineers, ya know? Cuz thats what they'd need to do to stop loopholes from existing. I think they should be given a bit of slack in some cases. People are too quick to bash the rules instead of just giving credit to clever engineering by the teams.
Yea, on both fronts, its sounds quite illegal.
A slight power advantage doesn't always imply the best, by many accounts the renault engine is lighter, easier to cool, has a smoother power curve, more usable torque and far far more fuel efficient then the merc lump.
mclaren have been buying back shares for some time so this move has been planned for a whiel.
That's exactly what I mean though. Not the rules themselves, but the current 'squash all innovation if it is not specifically allowed' mentality that has created the mess of technical rules we have now.
Let the teams innovate, let them create new solutions, let them have freedom. If the cars are too fast, just give them a set amount of fuel for the race. If they are still too fast, reduce the amount of fuel. Or something. Stop banning every damn thing people come up with. It doesn't save money either.
Satanic Saint
Member
Edmond Dantès;34154463 said:
A good addition and will certainly add some engineering expertise to proceedings, something that has been sorely lacking in the BBC's otherwise brilliant coverage.
Unforunately he's a pretty bad commentator. He commentates for ESPN Star Sports F1 coverage in India. He makes mistakes a lot of times(once they mistook a driver for more than one whole lap) and mumbles a lot. Also I just feel like punching him in the face.
Agreed, Formula 1 is a sport of innovation not regulation. (That sounded good)
I hate to see all of these innovations fall by the way side.
Its more than a slight power advantage, though. Its far better with regards to fuel efficiency and cooling needs over the Ferrari, too. These are extremely important, especially fuel-efficiency nowadays with no refueling. All combined, its by far the better engine. I dont like saying that, either, as a Ferrari fan. But its true.
As for the Renault, it is NOT far more fuel efficient than the Mercedes. Just slightly. The Ferrari is the engine that is far back in this aspect. Graded on a 1-10 scale, it would be something like 7 for the Ferrari, while the Merc a 9 and Renault a 10. The other advantages of the Renault over the Mercedes are marginal, as well, and dont make up for the power advantage the Merc has. There's a reason that Red Bull and co were very eager to get a Mercedes engine not too long ago and bitter when they were told no. The Mercedes is pretty much the agreed-on class of the field.
It does save money, though, and this is the primary reason for the restrictions. Open up freedom to develop and with modern technology, there's whole heaps of areas where they could start pouring money into to find advantages.
Banning already invented technology early on stops not only that team from pouring further resources into it, but also stops other teams from having to spend money to develop their own version of it. Its a preemptive sort of thing.
It does suck, though, I agree. I'm in favor of restrictions as I know the importance of cost-cutting, but I dont like the areas where the restrictions are placed. Open up engine regulations a bit and clamp down on the aero R&D. There's pros/cons to this, too, but I think the compromises are worth taking.
Right, it's not as if Button, Alonso, Hamilton and Webber have ever spoken about their ideal retirement time period.
I agree with that bit as does.......Luca di Montezmolo. Aero plays too much of a part and negates some of the engine gains & technology.
From the source (via Google translation):
Seems to be legal under the current regs related to active suspension. It could be considered a moveable aerodynamic device though which would be illegal.
It is linked in to the braking system so the driver has no active role in the system other than braking as normal.
These two regs appear to make it illegal though. We'll find out in Australia...
Seems to be legal under the current regs related to active suspension. It could be considered a moveable aerodynamic device though which would be illegal.
It is linked in to the braking system so the driver has no active role in the system other than braking as normal.
Technical Regulations said:
These two regs appear to make it illegal though. We'll find out in Australia...
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
Not that I care, but just to clarify, I used to like Rossi a lot, and really wanted to see him in F1, but in 2009/2010 he said that Kimi wasn't that fast. So his stock plummeted with me
Time for some fun gentlemen
Lewis doesn't either, if it makes you feel any better.
And since when are highwaters back in style? lol
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
I can find out and give you guys the inside scoop if you like. Because, you know, I'm going to the Melbourne GP in a few months. In case I hadn't mentioned it in this thread already. That I was going to the Melbourne GP.
Ahaha, I thought exactly the same thing when I read Leunam's post. That's the difference between him and Button, is that Button can do things while genuinely having a laugh, while Hamilton always looks like he's trying to have a laugh... but putting too much effort into not giving a shit.
But isn't he already back with his missus?
^ Yes, so true
In that awful head & shoulders advert that button did, he looked like he was probably having a laugh doing it & didnt care that it was terrible.
In these pictures lewis just looks unconfortable.
& i thought he was back with her aswell
More Ferrari hires, looking like Pat Fry is really shaking things up and identifying areas where he believes the team needs improvements.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96940
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96940
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Fucking LOL at those Lewis pictures.
Oh man, whoever cleared them to be fit for public consumption should be fired. Wow. Hahaha.
Oh man, whoever cleared them to be fit for public consumption should be fired. Wow. Hahaha.
Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
Lewis needs dressing tips from Benedict Cumberbatch and Idris Elba.
Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
Nico's featured in GQ as well and Sebastian.
Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
But we all know who the best dressed F1 driver is:
brotkasten
Member
Lewis got like two or three good pictures, but the rest is garbage. Man.
Former Bridgestone people are hot stuff inside F1 right now, Mclaren started this trend last year, Mercedes also snatched someone from Bridgestone in December...
also, CQ should go after Webber for some 'artistic photo shooting'
Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
Interesting.
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