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[Zeknurn]

Valsecchi is supposed to be a decent driver, but jumping into a big team mid season would be tricky. I don't see any of the other teams letting their drivers switch. Di Resta comes to mind, but that wouldn't be until the end of season.

It would have to be someone outside of the current grid of drivers. Is old man Barrichello available? Or maybe Senna?

Petrov.

Edit: To back that up (I'm only half-kidding), they need someone who can bring the car home, ergo someone who has experience with F1 and not another potential accident-prone GP2 driver. Not wins, but to get Constructor's points.

I could see Petrov getting the seat if he brings lots of money with him. I don't however think he's the right driver.

Kovalainen. He has already driven in few practices this year for Caterham, so he also has experience from this year unlike the others. And he has always been a quite stable driver excluding the early years in McLaren. Though at least Finnish media is sure he will replace either Pic or Garde in some point of this season, so I'm not sure if he could just jump to Lotus.

Kovalainen would indeed be a great choice. He is a reliable albeit somewhat slow driver. Also he would be a great team mate for Räikkönen. The only problem is that he isn't willing to bring sponsors with him. Which is probably key for Lotus to sign a driver replacing Grosjean and all that french money.

 

[DrM]

Two thristy Finns in one team? No sir, cannot comply

 

[Ark]

Lotus has the reining GP2 champion as their third driver, presumably they'll bring him in.

 

[Addnan]

 

[AcridMeat]

Kobayyyyy ah that is great to see.

agreed: v

 

[RomanticHeroX]

I would love nothing more than to see more of that.

 

[dubc35]

Kobayashi's potato in Ferrari red? Yes please.

 

[jey_16]

James Allen has a great piece on the Testgate saga and if you look at reaction from the F1 press, most agree with his take on the situation. As usual in F1, its not as simple as its appears.
News this morning is saying that Red Bull were invited to take part in the same tyre test as Mercedes after Barcelona and turned it down. They are now pissed that Mercedes took up the invite instead.

James Allen

Everyone was under the impression you can't test with your 2013 car though during the season including Ferrari and Lotus....that seems to be the issue

 

[Psychotext]

...and more to the point, Pirelli were the ones supposed to be handling the test, not Mercedes.

 

[Adamm]

Fuck yes! Its like a dream.

Koba to replace Massa, please!!

 

[Psychotext]

Possibly could have happened if Massa had seriously injured himself.

 

[PdotMichael]

James Allen has a great piece on the Testgate saga and if you look at reaction from the F1 press, most agree with his take on the situation. As usual in F1, its not as simple as its appears.
News this morning is saying that Red Bull were invited to take part in the same tyre test as Mercedes after Barcelona and turned it down. They are now pissed that Mercedes took up the invite instead.

James Allen

Ferrari, Red Bull and Lotus not asked about secret Pirelli F1 test
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107733

And there is no real explenation why it was a "secret" test.

 

[Juicy Bob]

I'm so torn. Half of me is saying FUCK YEAH, KOBAYASHI and half of me is saying FUCK NO, FERRARI

 

[Adamm]

I'm so torn. Half of me is saying FUCK YEAH, KOBAYASHI and half of me is saying FUCK NO, FERRARI

Any Kobayshi is good Kobayshi!

 

[Deadman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4WzgPHF8ho

I hadnt heard the full version of vettels "but satisfaction" comment before. I guess they didnt want to broadcast the champion complaining about the race whilst its still happening.

 

[Mobius 1]

Fuck yes! Its like a dream.

Koba to replace Massa, please!!

Yes!

No!

I'm so confused.

 

[Addnan]

Kamui Kobayashi had his first test in a Ferrari Formula 1 car on Monday when he tried the Italian squad's 2010 machine at its Fiorano test track.

Former Toyota and Sauber F1 driver Kobayashi is now part of Ferrari's GT driver stable in the World Endurance Championship.

He tried the Ferrari F10 in preparation for driving it at a promotional event in Moscow on July 21.

www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107732

 

[Psychotext]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4WzgPHF8ho

I hadnt heard the full version of vettels "but satisfaction" comment before. I guess they didnt want to broadcast the champion complaining about the race whilst its still happening.

Poor Rocky. I must say I feel for all of the engineers who have to (try and) handle the more headstrong drivers (Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen).

 

[Shaneus]

www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107732

Any Kobayshi is good Kobayshi!

 

[Dead Man]

Everyone was under the impression you can't test with your 2013 car though during the season including Ferrari and Lotus....that seems to be the issue

Eh, how do you test the tyre safety with the current cars without doing that? It may be a breach of the rules, I don't know, but it's not like it didn't serve a valid safety purpose as well.

...and more to the point, Pirelli were the ones supposed to be handling the test, not Mercedes.

What do you mean by 'handling the test'? I didn't see any details of the testing posted anywhere.

 

[RaySpencer]

Wow this was a shitty race. I used to like Perez, but watching him basically abuse the rules of the track to force people to drive either off the track, or just give him the place is pretty stupid.

Then he blames Kimi? Kimi was on the driving line, and Checo is the one who drove into the back of him, but some how thats Kimi's fault? insane.

I wasnt too happy about the weird delayed safety car that just HAPPENED to come out RIGHT after Vettel's pit was done. But I mostly chalk that one up to me being a Lewis fan, and not a Vettel fan, haha. The Sergio thing I think was a actual no biased (on my end) bull shit, I like both of the drivers, and both of the teams.


Im so happy Montreal is after Monaco, its great going from the most hyped race thats actually really boring, to a race thats actually one of the best races of the year.



edit: reading peoples live commentary it looks like most of you felt the same way about Perez, haha.

 

[Shaneus]

edit: reading peoples live commentary it looks like most of you felt the same way about Perez, haha.

I can only imagine what it must be like to watch a race unspoiled while reading the GAF thread. I can never control myself one way or the other.

I just might have to do it for Montreal. Fuck waking up at 2:30 or whatever. Already did that once last week and we all saw how that fucking well turned out (the One presentation).

 

[Psychotext]

What do you mean by 'handling the test'? I didn't see any details of the testing posted anywhere.

Was in an autosport article. Basically Pirelli were supposed to be the ones telling the driver what to do and dealing with the telemetry etc. They weren't in this case, Mercedes were.

 

[Addnan]

Massa's suspension failed in the race.

 

[Ty4on]

I'm so torn. Half of me is saying FUCK YEAH, KOBAYASHI and half of me is saying FUCK NO, FERRARI

Yes!

No!

I'm so confused.

Kobayashi to replace Alonso!

 

[Dead Man]

Was in an autosport article. Basically Pirelli were supposed to be the ones telling the driver what to do and dealing with the telemetry etc. They weren't in this case, Mercedes were.

Ah.

 

[jey_16]

Eh, how do you test the tyre safety with the current cars without doing that? It may be a breach of the rules, I don't know, but it's not like it didn't serve a valid safety purpose as well.

Completely agree....there should be testing with the current cars but the rules don't allow it unless all the teams were asked which were not sure happened

 

[Orgun]

Perez and Sutil were the only things interesting about that race. Fuck all this tyre management bollocks, put some proper feet on these cars and let the drivers go all out.

I was all aboard with the idea at the start but it's become too much about managing the tyres and not pushing the limit.

 

[Dead Man]

Completely agree....there should be testing with the current cars but the rules don't allow it unless all the teams were asked which were not sure happened

Yeah, bloody mess, for sure.

 

[Zeknurn]

Michael onboard lap at the Nordschleife
http://youtu.be/rsclF-mUksQ

 

[duckroll]

Was in an autosport article. Basically Pirelli were supposed to be the ones telling the driver what to do and dealing with the telemetry etc. They weren't in this case, Mercedes were.

Uh oh. RIP Mercedes.

 

[Wax Free Vanilla]

Mercedes definitely need banning like BAR-Honda were when they breached the regs, will this hasten the departure of Brawn?

 

[Dead Man]

Mercedes definitely need banning like BAR-Honda were when they breached the regs, will this hasten the departure of Brawn?

LOL, calling for blood before you even know what happened. The passions are strong in this one.

 

[Psychotext]

It's all basically hearsay as it stands. I guess it'll all come out in the wash.

 

[kharma45]

Wow this was a shitty race. I used to like Perez, but watching him basically abuse the rules of the track to force people to drive either off the track, or just give him the place is pretty stupid.

Still, it's sort of what Senna did and yet gets hero status for it. Funny world.

Massa's suspension failed in the race.

Makes sense now then, I knew it was too odd a mistake to happen twice to purely be driver error.

 

[operon]

Still, it's sort of what Senna did and yet gets hero status for it. Funny world.



Makes sense now then, I knew it was too odd a mistake to happen twice to purely be driver error.

The rules have changed now, Schumi found that out with barricello

 

[Mobius 1]

Michael onboard lap at the Nordschleife
http://youtu.be/rsclF-mUksQ

Bit conservative with the throttle there, I think. I was expecting a flat out assault.

 

[Addnan]

Bit conservative with the throttle there, I think. I was expecting a flat out assault.

Car was limited, they weren't aloud to push.

 

[navanman]

More news on the Pirelli testgate saga from Adam Cooper.
Good and bad news for Mercedes.

This blog can reveal that since the start of the season some teams have routinely being swapping the left and right rear tyres, having discovered – in some cases as early as winter testing – that they found an overall performance advantage by doing so.

The 2013 steel belt tyres are ‘handed,’ meaning that they are marked left and right and are intended by Pirelli to be used on that side of the car.

However there is nothing in the rules to stop teams from using them on the ‘wrong’ side, if they find it works better. However it’s not something that can be done without a considerable amount of attention to set-up and so on, in order to make the change work effectively.

Indeed in the case of some teams it even goes back to the design stage as they worked with data during the winter, having run prototype tyres in Brazil and decided – in effect – that Pirelli had got its sums wrong in defining the left and right side tyres.

Intriguingly sources have told this blog that in Monaco Mercedes used the swapping technique for the first time – or at least it was the first time that it was spotted by keen-eyed observers.

Kevlar belted tyres are not ‘handed’ meaning they are identical on both sides – in other words there is no point in swapping them around.

And that means the teams that have been routinely swapping will lose the advantage they currently have, and that in turn explains why they a) they are now fighting with Pirelli and the FIA over the planned change and b) why those teams who have not been able to make tyre swapping work, or have general tyre issues, are only too happy for it to go through…

It’s also clear that the change of belts represents a change of specification, which usually has to be cleared by all the teams.

Inevitably the speculation is that Mercedes didn’t just try tyres in Barcelona, but also its own components. It’s even been suggested that the team ran a gearbox with revised suspension geometry in attempt to get to the bottom of its tyre problems.

 

[Dead Man]

More news on the Pirelli testgate saga from Adam Cooper.
Good and bad news for Mercedes.

Interesting about the handedness. I knew they were designed that way, didn't know teams were gaining advantage by reversing them.

It’s even been suggested that the team ran a gearbox with revised suspension geometry in attempt to get to the bottom of its tyre problems.

They'll be in the shit for sure if they did that.

 

[Wax Free Vanilla]

Intriguingly sources have told this blog that in Monaco Mercedes used the swapping technique for the first time – or at least it was the first time that it was spotted by keen-eyed observers.

Mercedes were kind enough to supply a photo of this tyre swapping:

Who else is using this technique?

Fuck Pirelli. Is it true that Todt wants Michelin back?

 

[Psychotext]

Nice. lol

 

[Ark]

Fuck Pirelli. Is it true that Todt wants Michelin back?

Michelin were in the running for the tyre deal in 2010 with Pirelli. I'm not sure what swayed the FIA to go with Pirelli but I was reasonably confident that Michelin would get the deal.

 

[DBT85]

Michelin were in the running for the tyre deal in 2010 with Pirelli. I'm not sure what swayed the FIA to go with Pirelli but I was reasonably confident that Michelin would get the deal.

I think Michelin only wanted to come back if there would be two suppliers, and the FIA don't want that.

 

[Adamm]

I think Michelin only wanted to come back if there would be two suppliers, and the FIA don't want that.

Is this because the FIA dont want a tire war because it will just lead to much faster cars?

Surely if they can force Pirelli to make these tires complete crap, then they can force Two tire companies to make crap tires too?

 

[Hooky]

Michael onboard lap at the Nordschleife
http://youtu.be/rsclF-mUksQ

he is driving using bumper cam

 

[Ark]

I think Michelin only wanted to come back if there would be two suppliers, and the FIA don't want that.

Any source? I struggle to believe Michelin would want a new tyre war.

Is this because the FIA dont want a tire war because it will just lead to much faster cars?

Surely if they can force Pirelli to make these tires complete crap, then they can force Two tire companies to make crap tires too?

F1 having more than one tyre supplier is an era that will never return. The FIA are constantly trying to cut down costs; a tyre war is unbelievably expensive.

 

[DBT85]

Any source? I struggle to believe Michelin would want a new tyre war.

From what I remember reading at the time, a tyre war is exactly what Michelin want. They want to use the element of competition to drive their technology.

This is from Autocar for a return to the sport in 2011
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/f1-2010/michelin-ponders-f1-return

Michelin’s return is dependant on a number of provisos: it wants to be paid for its supply, it wants to be in competition with another tyre manufacturer and it wants a switch to 18-inch diameter wheel rims from the 13-inch rims currently used to make its F1 tyres more relevant to its road and sports car programmes. It also wants F1 to promote its 'greenness'.

“We are interested in it but it must be right. Who know what will happen," a Michelin spokesman told Racing Engineering. "Certain things have to be done, we must have competition, and we do not want to be the only supplier."

“Also we need to be able to use the opportunity of competition to improve our tyre technology. For example, our new Pilot 3 road tyres had technology developed for Le Mans in them.

“We need this from Formula One. Finally it must have the possibility to improve the greenness."

This was them talking about supplying WRC in 2010
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88562

"We want more than to be a sole supplier of tyres, some people might be happy with that, but that's not Michelin's position. Competition is the perfect laboratory for us to prepare our tyres and I can't think of a better place to compare yourself against other manufacturers than the 13 rounds of the World Rally Championship."

 

[Psychotext]

Can't fault the attitude.

 

[Zeppu]

But if the FIA force both Pirelli and Michelin to produce the same quality tyres and the teams aren't allowed to test them off season then what advantage would any team gain by choosing one over the other?