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[S. L.]

Isn't that what they're doing? KERS, DRS, HERP, DERP...

Maybe they should just have one type of tyre... including the wet. Ultimate excitement!

wat?

 

[Ark]

All that needs to be done is to drastically reduce the cars' reliance on aerodynamics. Job done.

Doesn't matter, the designers will find some way around it. They banned the DDD, yet they worked out a way around it and we've got almost the same levels of downforce, almost a diffuser and a half.

 

[AndyD]

wat?

I think he means they are making it overly hard by introducing a lot/too many mandatory technologies. THe opposite of eliminating technologies. Still difficult but in a different way.

 

[Ark]

I think he means they are making it overly hard by introducing a lot/too many mandatory technologies. THe opposite of eliminating technologies. Still difficult but in a different way.

For this year, they need more than one zone for the DRS for sure. Just watched some of the race again and Massa was saving at least 50% of his KERS to use when Button used his DRS, so they had equal speed each time.

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

Doesn't matter, the designers will find some way around it. They banned the DDD, yet they worked out a way around it and we've got almost the same levels of downforce, almost a diffuser and a half.

Of course, but it's the only approach that's going to help, and not something that should be given up on.

The FIA had the chance to outlaw the double defusers before they were even used, they didn't take it. They had the chance to outlaw them after they'd been used - they didn't for ages. Same with the F Duct, blown diffusers and all manner of other things.

It's for this reason that I'm completely against a loosening of the regulations - it will only invite more bollocks that's going to harm racing (and make it more difficult for the less-well-off teams to compete). They need to be tightened further, and ruled with an iron fist.

P.S. And KERS is going to be shit until it's one standard unit that's designed and built by an independent contractor and used by all teams

 

[S. L.]

For this year, they need more than one zone for the DRS for sure. Just watched some of the race again and Massa was saving at least 50% of his KERS to use when Button used his DRS, so they had equal speed each time.

well it was the first race, everybody was vary of their tyres - we will see more aggressive racing in the coming races.

Anyways, get rid of KERS and allow DRS freely during the race. as seen DRS can be difficult to handle (Sutil), when drivers using it during battles it will inevitable lead to mistakes and subsequently to overtaking. effective free use of DRS will require balls and skill, KERS is just pushing a button

 

[Shaneus]

I think he means they are making it overly hard by introducing a lot/too many mandatory technologies. THe opposite of eliminating technologies. Still difficult but in a different way.

Yeah, this. Adding too many technologies is a roundabout way of making driving harder but is less "pure".

S.L's last point is perfect. Unlimited DRS, turn it into a skill rather than restricting it, ditch KERS. IT was shown well enough over the weekend that it won't always prove to be advantageous.

 

[Ark]

well it was the first race, everybody was vary of their tyres - we will see more aggressive racing in the coming races.

Anyways, get rid of KERS and allow DRS freely during the race. as seen DRS can be difficult to handle (Sutil), when drivers using it during battles it will inevitable lead to mistakes and subsequently to overtaking. effective free use of DRS will require balls and skill, KERS is just pushing a button

You want to make the sport more dangerous? That's a step in the wrong direction. We need the 2008 specs back, or something similar. The DRS is a gimmick that shouldn't be in F1 all together, I was on the fence about it before the season, but now that I've seen it in action, it just looks 100% artificial. Although I'll leave my total judgement on DRS until after China.

P.S. And KERS is going to be shit until it's one standard unit that's designed and built by an independent contractor and used by all teams

That goes against what Formula 1 is. Wheres the competition if everyone has the same unit? At least with the KERS now, they're all separately designed, even if some teams do get a KERS unit from their engine supplier.

 

[S. L.]

You want to make the sport more dangerous? That's a step in the wrong direction.

Racing will always be dangerous. It all comes down to how much you are willing to push the limits.
Of course anything that relies more on driver skill and judgement than regulation will always be more dangerous than some regulated wing downforce spec or whatever.

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

That goes against what Formula 1 is. Wheres the competition if everyone has the same unit? At least with the KERS now, they're all separately designed, even if some teams do get a KERS unit from their engine supplier.

All the cars have the same ECU. When they were refuelling, all the teams were using the same fuel rigs. All the teams use the same tyres.

 

[Ark]

Racing will always be dangerous. Free DRS isn't any more or less dangerous then any other tech. It all comes down to how much you are willing to push the limits.

Racing may well be dangerous, that's just a fact of life, but there is no need to make it more dangerous. It's like metal blades on football/soccer boots.

The cars are just going to get more downforce year on year, it's a shame that the cars from 2004 still hold most of the lap records on the calendar.

All the cars have the same ECU. When they were refuelling, all the teams were using the same fuel rigs. All the teams use the same tyres.

And this proves..? The last thing F1 needs now is another tyre war.

 

[S. L.]

Racing may well be dangerous, that's just a fact of life, but there is no need to make it more dangerous. It's like metal blades on football/soccer boots.

i'm all for making racing safer in the sense of crash tests of the driver cell and stuff like that. but a lot of overtaking of cars with similar pace relies on the car in front making a mistake, if you try to make racing safe by eliminating ways of making mistakes it doesn't really help the racing/overtaking and you need to introduce, like now, artificial ways of making it possible to overtake (KERS, current DRS implementation), which IMO is the wrong direction to take.

eg: rain races. everybody makes more mistakes, pure driver skill gets more important - there is more overtaking, but also it is more dangerous. Cars spinning out etc. Would you say rain races are undesirable since they are too dangerous?

 

[gunther]

im all for drs being used at all places under the one second rule.

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

And this proves..? The last thing F1 needs now is another tyre war.

That there's a place (and a need) for standardised parts in F1. You can just as easily say that the last things F1 needs is a KERS war, given what such a dire state its usage is currently in.

Similarly, you could argue that there was room for competition in the design of fuel rigs (what if Ferrari could develop one that filled up their tanks in half the time of the others! PROGRESS!), but the fact is that the standard platform was the best option everyone. As, I believe, is the same with KERS.

 

[Articate]

I dunno with KERS anymore. Seeing Red Bull do so well without it makes me wonder if we'll see the same thing happen AGAIN as we did the first time KERS was around.

Btw, does anyone have a good technical run-down of how KERS actually works?

 

[Articate]

Like many drivers, who have lost weight to allow for the KERS weight gain in the cars, Button looks stick thin, [...]

Oh wow, I never thought of that. That's crazy. They're as badass as they come atlethes and and they have to drop weight? Man.

 

[S. L.]

racemanager database unlocked
as expected prices for STR rose, but also Virgin from their good result

 

[Dibbz]

Quick question. I thought that KERS was a mandatory system that teams had to use, so how did RBR get away with not having it on their car?

 

[operon]

Quick question. I thought that KERS was a mandatory system that teams had to use, so how did RBR get away with not having it on their car?

As far as I know it optional, pikey teams like HRT won't be using it

 

[operon]

racemanager database unlocked
as expected prices for STR rose, but also Virgin from their good result

Aye, with the bonus question I should have enough to upgrade chassis from force india to sauber

 

[Massa]

Quick question. I thought that KERS was a mandatory system that teams had to use, so how did RBR get away with not having it on their car?

It's optional but they increased the minimum weight requirements, which means there's really no point of not using it. RBR didn't use it for reliability reasons, the car would have been faster with it.

 

[Articate]

Apart from McLaren's surprising pace, the current hot topic is again Red Bull's flexing front wing. Last year there were similar worries after which the FIA introduced a beefed up front wing flexing test at the Belgian GP. However, even with the changed test, Red Bull still appear to have a major advantage at high speeds, hence allowing Vettel and Webber to gain a massive amount of time through quick turns.

It is evident that Red Bull passes each and every test, but the team have devised a new way to gain an advantage by allowing the nose cone to flex as well. As it bends down slightly, the front wing is tilted forward slightly and moved closer to the ground, creating more downforce. In fact, the central part of the wing - which has a mandated shape and usually created lift - can also create 'marginal' downforce when tilted.

Evidence of the flexing nose can be seen at the following video. Please look carefully at the nose camera position at top speed and after braking for the first corner.

http://www.f1technical.net/development/321

Video on the page

 

[S. L.]

http://www.f1technical.net/development/321

Video on the page

honestly i'm not seeing it, if anything the McLaren nose cone looked 'wobbly' to me

 

[navanman]

WHY WHY WHY, that's the end of his career anyway.

Former Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen will make a surprising move to NASCAR this year, the Finn joining the series with a new team.

According to the Turun Sanomat newspaper, Raikkonen - the 2007 world champion - will be racing with the new ICE1 Racing team in the Truck series before moving on to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series.

He is expected to join the championship from this summer, although no dates are yet confirmed.

Raikkonen will be joining forces with Foster Gillett, who will be a major partner of the team, having worked with Richard Petty Motorsport in NASCAR last year.

Foster's family owned the Montreal Canadiens' NHL franchise and are also former co-owners of the Liverpool football club.

"I'm really looking forward to get there to familiarise to the world of NASCAR," Raikkonen was quoted as saying by Turun Sanomat.

"I have been following it for a long time. I know, it's a very tough and open top racing series. I just love the American spirit of racing. It feels just great to get involved with that. Obviously, it will be very challenging and great fun for me."

According to the newspaper, the negotiations about which car the ICE1 Racing team will run are about to be completed.

Raikkonen will continue to compete in the World Rally Championship this year, where he has a deal for eight events.

Autosport

 

[S. L.]

WHY WHY WHY, that's the end of his career anyway.

massive MEH
who will replace Webber next season then!?
Was looking forward to the ultimate Kimi Vettel winning combo

 

[Igo]

WHY WHY WHY, that's the end of his career anyway.

What the fuck... His rally career is over?

 

[Dibbz]

Nascar, seriously? What a waste of talent.

 

[navanman]

Is the money that good? How much is Montoya making, he is average, good Nascar driver?

 

[SunhiLegend]

I don't get it. He was one of my favourite drivers and definitely one of the best modern F1 drivers. Why go Nascar, he should have come back to F1, would have been more exciting to have another world champion on the grid.

 

[clemenx]

I has a sad thanks to the Kimi news

 

[Articate]

honestly i'm not seeing it, if anything the McLaren nose cone looked 'wobbly' to me

Put your mouse just under the nose-camera. There's definitely a downward movement at higher speed. You see it at braking to T1.

On a different note - is there any way for me to stream the BBC commentary track of Martin and David? I don't care how - I just know I have an HD stream already, but with ridiculously poor commentators (I'm sorry Atle Gulbrandtsen). Aside of wishing I could watch BBC HD (damn you BBC HD Scandinavia for not being the same channel) to see the pre- and post-race fun, having the commentators would at least ramp it back up to super-awesome. Crossing my fingers!

 

[S. L.]

Put your mouse just under the nose-camera. There's definitely a downward movement at higher speed. You see it at braking to T1.

On a different note - is there any way for me to stream the BBC commentary track of Martin and David? I don't care how - I just know I have an HD stream already, but with ridiculously poor commentators (I'm sorry Atle Gulbrandtsen). Aside of wishing I could watch BBC HD (damn you BBC HD Scandinavia for not being the same channel) to see the pre- and post-race fun, having the commentators would at least ramp it back up to super-awesome. Crossing my fingers!

well you can see the RBR nose flexing a bit here on these earlier posted gifs

Look at the flex on McLaren!! Makes me so happy after last year.

but the McLaren looks a lot more wobbly to me

 

[AndyD]

well you can see the RBR nose flexing a bit here on these earlier posted gifs


but the McLaren looks a lot more wobbly to me

I wonder if the McLaren lowers more as a whole and the RBR tilts more instead. So they actually do very different things in terms of aero changes, and visually they would also appear different.

Interesting either way.

 

[Articate]

The two gifs are bobbing up and down in tempo to the song I'm listening to - it's a sign!

 

[Aegus]

WTF with Kimi. Wasn't his whole reason for leaving F1 that he didn't like going round in circles?

 

[Flo_Evans]

Looks like its going to be another season of Red Bull leading the pack with the rest of the cars waiting for them to break.

Did they ever say what was wrong with Webber's car? Why didn't he take the parade lap?

 

[S. L.]

Did they ever say what was wrong with Webber's car? Why didn't he take the parade lap?

Webber was probably wrong with the car

 

[Dibbz]

It did look like there was smoke or something coming from his car when he parked it up.

 

[Articate]

It did look like there was smoke or something coming from his car when he parked it up.

That's just overheating brake-disks.

 

[Leunam]

So it turns out Sauber will NOT appeal the disqualification ruling:

“It did not bring us any performance advantage, but the fact is that it was a deviation from the regulations,” explained Sauber’s technical director James Key. “We take note of the stewards’ decision. We have since found that there was an error in the checking process for the relevant dimension on this component. We have already put measures in place to ensure that nothing of this kind occurs again in the future.”

 

[S. L.]

It did look like there was smoke or something coming from his car when he parked it up.

yeah, he braked hard before parking it - that's what caused the smoking

 

[Dibbz]

Ah ok my bad.

 

[Ark]

WTF with Kimi. Wasn't his whole reason for leaving F1 that he didn't like going round in circles?

His whole reason for leaving F1 was that Ferrari fired him, and allegedly paid him to not race for any other team during 2010.

People need to accept that Kimi is never coming back to F1. He's exploring around, getting a feel for all the major motorsports, I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in Le Mans next.

That or he's sick of being on an exercise scheme and just wants to get fat whilst driving fast cars (Seriously, look at Montoya now compared to 2004).

who will replace Webber next season then!?

Ricciardo of course!

 

[TylerD]

That or he's sick of being on an exercise scheme and just wants to get fat whilst driving fast cars (Seriously, look at Montoya now compared to 2004).

Yeah, just look at this fat ass...

Carl Edwards

Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin and probably a lot more drivers look about the same.

So it looks like only 3 people had Sauber as an engine or chassis pick on their F1 fantasy team. I was one of them and am the highest ranked of the 3 at 57/105. Damnit! At least I don't have to pay a broker fee to sell someone else and pick them up now!

 

[Psychotext]

Yeah, just look at this fat ass...

Carl Edwards
*IMGOFHARDBODYIHATEHIMSOMUCH*

Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin and probably a lot more drivers look about the same.

I could do the same with football (soccer) players. Some people just like the pies a bit more than others.

Not really any room for that in F1 these days though.

 

[Massa]

Kimi probably just had enough of all the BS that goes around F1, like being fired by Santander. If he enjoys NASCAR I say good luck to him!

 

[Shaneus]

Ricciardo of course!

So fucking pumped to see him making inroads into F1. A joy to see him during practice for TR in a real car, hopefully by the end of the year he'll have subbed in for a full race with them.

 

[AndyD]

yeah, he braked hard before parking it - that's what caused the smoking

But why did he park it? Was there not some controversy with McLaren last year parking it instead of driving the extra lap? I forget.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

That was Hamilton after qualifying, so I'm not sure if the rules are the same with the race.

 

[AndyD]

That was Hamilton after qualifying, so I'm not sure if the rules are the same with the race.

Oh yeah. He did not have enough gas to drive around, so he parked after qualifying. I guess in a race its different but still.