Support NeoGAF

[RukusProvider]

So did people really think a lot of that race then? My missus fell asleep about half an hour in and to be honest I was having more fun chatting about various bits and bobs on the internet than I was watching the action.

Seems like aside from Bottas nothing really happened past the first 10 laps. Had he not screwed up his tyre then he would have likely found a slot around 4th and we'd have probably heard no more from him.

Noticed exactly the same problems as last year to be honest. One car storming away at the front, a lot of other cars catching each other and then driving in procession because they lacked the straight line speed to pass.

Mercedes has a sizable advantage. The best bet is RedBull getting their act together and making it a close 2nd half.

That's really the best you can expect. Anything thinking it'll be some magical season of 4-5 teams running at the front and dicing it out are living in fantasy land. I'd love to be proven wrong but I'm practical.

 

[Xun]

Engine sound quiz, match the noise to the engine. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...4-Do-you-know-your-cars-Name-that-engine.html

Spoiler

8/8

3/8

I feel so ashamed.

Anyway is there anything that could be done to make the engines louder? It's a shame I've never been to a race before, and thus never had the chance to witness the older engine sounds.

 

[Ark]

I don't know which is the lesser of two evils. Having races won and lost in the pit lane, or won or lost because there is so much needlessly complicated shit on the cars that they are likely to break down.

Then of course there is the tiresome verbal cock sucking that the Sky TV team constantly give Hamilton. Seemingly forgetting there are other British drivers on the grid, and of course other drivers there, period.

As soon as Rosberg crossed the line the commentators had to take the shine of it by immediately coming out with the "what ifs"....yeah, lets not give Rosberg credit for his win! Sigh.

I wish I could tune into another country's commentary so I could watch the race without the constant Hamilton references even when he is out of the race.

Because Sky aren't like the BBC who are obsessed with every British thing ever. Which I admit is one of the reasons the BBC shines over others, but it always irks me whenever they mention Chilton just because he's English when Bianchi is clearly the one we should be watching.

They mentioned Hamilton immediately because he's the only person that could have challenged Rosberg; he also beat Rosberg last year and we all know how quick he is. We know the Mercedes is quick, but we won't know it's true potential until Hamilton & Rosberg finish an entire race with no problems 1 + 2.

Why is Hamilton always getting shortchanged here? He handled the change to the Pirelli just fine (when people were predicting his demise/rise of the smooth and intelligent drivers like Button).

Hamilton has been really quiet since his shenanigans in 2011. People have forgotten that he's 29 and that if it wasn't for McLaren's unreliability, he'd more than likely have won his second title in 2012 purely on merit. He's a smart racer, he's proved that over the last two seasons. He's mentioned plenty of times how he looks at Alonso, I think that coupled with Button as a teammate for 3 years has allowed him to be a far more adaptable, smart driver than he was in 2008.

He's in his prime right now.

The track audio is worse than I had imagined: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4Dh_EAfJI

I actually think that sounds fantastic (I've even heard the old V10's in person). I was already used to the sound difference on TV but they sound much better track-side. Put me in the 'I like them' camp.

 

[theignoramus]

Engine sound quiz, match the noise to the engine. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...4-Do-you-know-your-cars-Name-that-engine.html

Spoiler

8/8

6/8, messed up the Lambo and Enzo.

 

[jey_16]

Hamilton gets a lot of hate but I think he and Alonso are the best drivers on the grid at the moment

 

[IISANDERII]

Engine sound quiz, match the noise to the engine. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...4-Do-you-know-your-cars-Name-that-engine.html

Spoiler

8/8

Heh, not a petrolhead anymore but I got 5/8. Trick was to listen to the gearbox.

 

[Nicktendo86]

Hubris. they probably thought a minuscule advantage, which is probably what it was, wouldnt result in a DQ because theyre RBR and hot shit.


and when the FIA in 8 years try to ram 4 cylinder engines down everyone's throat, I hope the works teams split off and do just that

Mercedes say that by complying to the FIA request to turn down fuel flow and comply with the sensor readings they were losing 0.5 seconds, so RB could have been getting half a second advantage. They were trying it on.

 

[DBT85]

Mercedes say that by complying to the FIA request to turn down fuel flow and comply with the sensor readings they were losing 0.5 seconds, so RB could have been getting half a second advantage. They were trying it on.

Mercedes were asked to turn down during the race also?

 

[Nicktendo86]

Mercedes were asked to turn down during the race also?

Yep, and they complied.

 

[Caramello]

I dont understand these talking points about costs when the costs of overhauling everything for the new formula were enormous anyway. if the goal is cutting costs, then give the less wealthy teams a choice about what type of engine they want, and fix the engine regs around turbos and normally aspirated cars

But of course that didnt happen because FIA's main goal was about marketing F1 as an eco-friendly sport. (as if the sort of fans that would watch F1 are just burning with rage about excess CO2 emissions) As for this talk of F1 technology being compatible with roads cars: Im sure there will be a few cars that roll out such tech, (doesnt La Ferrari use Kers? gee, what an affordable car for the family)but let's not pretend that car manufacturers will be mass producing a car like that for the next 15-20 years.

Last year's Mazda 6 uses KERS, no pretending needed

 

[Psychotext]

Last year's Mazda 6 uses KERS, no pretending needed

Tons of normal cars use KERS these days. Have done for years.

 

[NHale]

Hamilton gets a lot of hate but I think he and Alonso are the best drivers on the grid at the moment

I believe 90% of the paddock would pick a combination of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel if they had to chose a pair of drivers on the grid.

In my opinion, Hamilton's hate comes from some strange behaviour he had in his dark years after his 1st championship and now his twitter account. While Alonso tweets about riding a bike or his samurai mantras, Hamilton records music and hangs out with rappers, so everyone jumps to the conclusion that one cares about his job and the other is fascinated by Hollywood.

At least that is the perception that is being created. Meanwhile when it matters Hamilton continues to show his raw speed under pressure while others make mistakes. Melbourne Q was another perfect example of what he can do and in my opinion since 2012 he is driving at his best. He's not a race manager like Alonso or Button but he is faster than both of them.

 

[jambo]

Nah, as good as the Adelaide GP was, I think my fellow South Aussies are quite happy with the Clipsal, thank you very much!

 

[DD]

 

[DrM]

Lewis twitted that he is not engaged to Nicole

#drama #swag #roscoe

Yep, and they complied.

Are you sure that you did not mixed up Mercedes and Mclaren?

 

[DrM]

DP, sorry, early morning :x

 

[Cyborgmatt]

The track audio is worse than I had imagined: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4Dh_EAfJI

I wonder if this will start to hurt the ticket sales at tracks. Honestly it sounds terrible.

 

[Caramello]

Tons of normal cars use KERS these days. Have done for years.

My point exactly

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

I wonder if this will start to hurt the ticket sales at tracks. Honestly it sounds terrible.

I find it really hard to believe that anyone attends F1 races solely for the noise, let alone enough to have a noticeable financial impact.

But of course that didnt happen because FIA's main goal was about marketing F1 as an eco-friendly sport. (as if the sort of fans that would watch F1 are just burning with rage about excess CO2 emissions)

Make no mistake, the eco-friendly initiatives are for the direct benefit of the participants, not the fans. (although we all indirectly benefit from the extra research that's subsequently made in these areas)

 

[Chris R]

Was watching an engine noise progression through the years... holy shit, was the Silverstone remodel really done 4 years ago already? Oh man, time fucking flies.

edit: And I might be the only one, but I'd love to attend a race now because I wouldn't need ear plugs. The old cars (well, 2012) sounded great in person but I had to plug my ears after just one lap (edit 2: by love to attend I mean I can't wait to go to my next race maybe as soon as next year)

 

[Ark]

ITV4 will be broadcasting all 10 Formula E races completely free in the UK.

Awesome news

 

[Jezbollah]

I wonder if this will start to hurt the ticket sales at tracks. Honestly it sounds terrible.

The same was said about the change from V10s to V8s... and from V12s to V10s...

 

[Zeknurn]

ITV4 will be broadcasting all 10 Formula E races completely free in the UK.

Awesome news

Good stuff. This means there's a high chance that I'll watch all of them rather than if they had been locked up by Sky.

 

[Ark]

Good stuff. This means there's a high chance that I'll watch all of them rather than if they had been locked up by Sky.

I might try and go to the London GP next year if the series looks good, I imagine tickets will be pretty affordable.

EDIT: If your curious about the TV broadcasters already announced for Formula E, Fox has the deal in the US. http://www.fiaformulae.com/television

 

[DBT85]

Still crazy to see Rosberg set the fastest lap of the whole race on lap 19. Bottas and Alonso did their fastest laps (1/10 and 1.5/10 slower than Rosberg) on lap 56.

If you say that the fuel usage was linear at 1.7kg a lap (100kg/58) (clearly not as later laps use less fuel for the same speed as there is less weight, also safety car), Rosberg had about 63kg of fuel on board for his lap. Bottas and Alonso about 3.4kg. Mental. Though there is a rumour that Merc started with only 94KG for the race. to compensate for their car being 6kg heavy. Ferrari apparently 18kg overweight!

Though Rosbergs fastest lap was still slower than Charles Pic managed in his Caterham last year.

Also only just found out what the red light under braking was on some cars. Flashing red light means the car is harvesting but not braking. Indicating to other cars that there might be a speed differential they might not expect.

Also just saw this for us Hamilton fans

Hamilton has had 17 retirements from 130 starts, or 13%.
Alonso has had 33 retirements from 218 starts, or 15%.
Vettel has had 19 retirements from 122 starts, or 16%.
Button has had 48 retirements from 251 starts, or 19%.
Räikkönen has had 44 retirements from 195 starts, or 34%.

Yep, and they complied.

Literally the only place I've seen this mentioned is by you here, and I'm all over the twitters and other sites.

 

[Shaneus]

Also just saw this for us Hamilton fans

Hamilton has had 17 retirements from 130 starts, or 13%.
Alonso has had 33 retirements from 218 starts, or 15%.
Vettel has had 19 retirements from 122 starts, or 16%.
Button has had 48 retirements from 251 starts, or 19%.
Räikkönen has had 44 retirements from 195 starts, or 34%.

Webs doesn't rate a mention on that list?

 

[Juicy Bob]

Rosberg was cruising pretty much the entire final stint.

He even asked the team on the radio in the later stages if he could do anything else to help make it less likely for the car to break down. Total domination.

 

[MrKaepora]

Also only just found out what the red light under braking was on some cars. Flashing red light means the car is harvesting but not braking. Indicating to other cars that there might be a speed differential they might not expect.

.

I was wondering about this during the race when I saw the red light flashing in the back of some cars when there wasn't any rain.

 

[Psychotext]

I find it really hard to believe that anyone attends F1 races solely for the noise, let alone enough to have a noticeable financial impact.

Solely for the noise, no. But I'm genuinely concerned at how bad the atmosphere is going to be at the more "corporate" tracks.

Like I've said before though, a massive part of the excitement building for me was walking towards the track in the mornings and hearing that wall of sound building. It's also pretty much the main thing I've told people about the race experience.

Because lets face it, since Kangaroo TV was killed off, you're far better off watching a race at home.

Edit - Funnily enough, a post from a couple of minutes ago on another site:

At the end of the day the lack of noise isn't going to stop me watching on TV. I'm just glad I waited before buying tickets to an actual race.

 

[Fisico]

Webs doesn't rate a mention on that list?

Only world champions

Spoiler

or so it seems

May be relevant to only count the seasons where the drivers weren't in a shit car (like how many times Alonso was DNF with Minardi in 2001 ?)

EDIT : Apparently with a quick search it's 8 out of 17

 

[Hammer24]

Only world champions

Spoiler

or so it seems

May be relevant to only count the seasons where the drivers weren't in a shit car (like how many times Alonso was DNF with Minardi in 2001 ?)

8 times

 

[Fisico]

8 times

Well that makes 25 retirements from 201 starts, or ~12.5%.

 

[KillerMan91]

Still crazy to see Rosberg set the fastest lap of the whole race on lap 19. Bottas and Alonso did their fastest laps (1/10 and 1.5/10 slower than Rosberg) on lap 56.

If you say that the fuel usage was linear at 1.7kg a lap (100kg/58) (clearly not as later laps use less fuel for the same speed as there is less weight, also safety car), Rosberg had about 63kg of fuel on board for his lap. Bottas and Alonso about 3.4kg. Mental. Though there is a rumour that Merc started with only 94KG for the race. to compensate for their car being 6kg heavy. Ferrari apparently 18kg overweight!

Though Rosbergs fastest lap was still slower than Charles Pic managed in his Caterham last year.

Also only just found out what the red light under braking was on some cars. Flashing red light means the car is harvesting but not braking. Indicating to other cars that there might be a speed differential they might not expect.

Also just saw this for us Hamilton fans

Hamilton has had 17 retirements from 130 starts, or 13%.
Alonso has had 33 retirements from 218 starts, or 15%.
Vettel has had 19 retirements from 122 starts, or 16%.
Button has had 48 retirements from 251 starts, or 19%.
Räikkönen has had 44 retirements from 195 starts, or 34%.

Heh. Those Mclaren years really skew these statistics for Kimi.

 

[Cyborgmatt]

I find it really hard to believe that anyone attends F1 races solely for the noise, let alone enough to have a noticeable financial impact.

The Australian Grand Prix chairman thinks otherwise.

Australian Grand Prix chairman threatening to sue F1 because new 2014 cars are too quiet.

https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/445885155136532480

 

[Nicktendo86]

Still crazy to see Rosberg set the fastest lap of the whole race on lap 19. Bottas and Alonso did their fastest laps (1/10 and 1.5/10 slower than Rosberg) on lap 56.

If you say that the fuel usage was linear at 1.7kg a lap (100kg/58) (clearly not as later laps use less fuel for the same speed as there is less weight, also safety car), Rosberg had about 63kg of fuel on board for his lap. Bottas and Alonso about 3.4kg. Mental. Though there is a rumour that Merc started with only 94KG for the race. to compensate for their car being 6kg heavy. Ferrari apparently 18kg overweight!

Though Rosbergs fastest lap was still slower than Charles Pic managed in his Caterham last year.

Also only just found out what the red light under braking was on some cars. Flashing red light means the car is harvesting but not braking. Indicating to other cars that there might be a speed differential they might not expect.

Also just saw this for us Hamilton fans

Hamilton has had 17 retirements from 130 starts, or 13%.
Alonso has had 33 retirements from 218 starts, or 15%.
Vettel has had 19 retirements from 122 starts, or 16%.
Button has had 48 retirements from 251 starts, or 19%.
Räikkönen has had 44 retirements from 195 starts, or 34%.




Literally the only place I've seen this mentioned is by you here, and I'm all over the twitters and other sites.

Been reading it in the Autosport forums and comments on James Allen's site. Maybe I shouldn't take it as gospel but I've deffo read it.

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/...ied-from-australia-podium-red-bull-to-appeal/

 

[DBT85]

Everything from here http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/03/16/2014-australian-grand-prix-lap-times-fastest-laps/

Great radio transmission transcript http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/03/18/2014-australian-grand-prix-team-radio-transcript/

Hamilton broke his new wheel.

A switch has just come off my steering wheel… I don’t know where it is! My numbers, pit numbers and all those, just came off.

Lap times from the race

Rosberg = Grey
Alonso = Red
Bottas = Dark Blue
Ricciardo = Light Blue
Magnussen = Orange

On lap 16 (first after the SC came in), ROS was 1.4 sec faster than RIC and MAG, 2.5 faster than ALO and 4.5 faster than BOT.

However ROS pit lap (only one not under SC) was the slowest of all 5 by about 2.5 seconds.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I find it really hard to believe that anyone attends F1 races solely for the noise, let alone enough to have a noticeable financial impact.

it's part of the unique atmosphere. I've only ever been to NASCAR races, but if they got quieter people would be mad too.

I just got into f1, but have known about the screaming cars and distinct sound my whole life. It's disappointing.

 

[DrM]

I will finally get new cable provider so I can watch races on Slovenia 2.

You will enjoy Miran Ališič very much, i can guarantee you this

Also, ORF (Austrian national TV) is also good choice for watching, they have no commercials at all during the race.

 

[Big Takeover]

To not understand why the 2014 cars have the systems they do, and sound they way in which they do is to be completely out of touch with the direction the automobile is going. Manufacturers are not going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on F1 with no technical return on investment.

There is no future for lovely noises from exploding gasoline. It's over. There's also no point in being upset about it like there could be some kind of recourse. It's never coming back. A casualty of progress, and I've got no problem with that.

 

[Psychotext]

With that said, all the hybrid supercars sound like rough sweaty sex... so it's hardly impossible to make one sound good.

 

[Blablurn]

The track audio is worse than I had imagined: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4Dh_EAfJI

i would like to vomit now. thats just lame.

 

[Klocker]

Don't understand the outrage in that sound issue.. listening to the video it sounds fine and a large quantity of people in the stands in 2013 had to wear ear protection and didn't hear it anyway... ear protection... tells me it was too loud anyway

Oh well count me as a joykill I guess

I hope they dont submit to this suit

 

[Psychotext]

You feel the sound. Or at least you used to, it would vibrate right down to your soul.

You could hold a glass of water and literally see the noise the cars were putting out by watching the movements on the surface of the water.

 

[Massa]

I guess that's why Hamilton's engine is now a V5, he wants to silently sneak attack everyone else. Smartest driver on the grid!

 

[Tubie]

The track audio is worse than I had imagined: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4Dh_EAfJI

I knew it was bad but when put side to side like that... damn it I miss those V8s!

 

[Dutch Gronk]

Formula 1 is dead.

It is known.

 

[TCRS]

The track audio is worse than I had imagined: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4Dh_EAfJI

screaming eagles vs. vacuum cleaners.

 

[Wax Free Vanilla]

World champion Sebastian Vettel said driving in Melbourne felt more like being at the wheel of “a vacuum cleaner than a racing car”.

Dat Gran Turismo experience in real life. The FOM need to hire some sound boffins and fix this shit for TV viewers.

 

[Nicktendo86]

Men, I like the new sound. Has a raw mechanical sound, love the spinning turbo, and you can actuallynhear other things like the tyres and crowd. More atmospheric than the engine drowning everything out IMHO.

Edit: and he would say that, his car has sounded like a broken dyson all winter.

 

[Myoclonic Jerk]

Men, I like the new sound. Has a raw mechanical sound, love the spinning turbo, and you can actuallynhear other things like the tyres and crowd. More atmospheric than the engine drowning everything out IMHO.

Edit: and he would say that, his car has sounded like a broken dyson all winter.

It's F1, you're not supposed to hear crowd, you're not supposed to hear tyres, your not supposed to hear yourself talking..

For TV viewing? I think it makes no big difference