2018 Forum F1 Challenge, who's in?

All set.

My god, that scaffolding round the driver looks ridiculous.

I'm in but I've lost interest in F1 a little since the introduction of halo which to my mind look ridiculous

I'm in again but agree that there is more chance of F1 imploding in the next couple of years than there has ever been before: it happens to nearly all businesses that venture capitalists get involved with.

I hear there will be a lot of nice sounding engines, in the car park sadly.

Woo hoo, I'm in!!

Thanks Mark.

It only takes two minutes!! How much sleep does one person need, anyway?

It will be interesting to see where the top teams stack up in Melbourne. I think the testing might be a tad skewed, because the track was resurfaced prior to testing. The cars were always going to be massively faster, so any usual ill-handling characteristics might have been masked by the super-grippy asphalt.

Mercedes of course look brilliant, I’m not sure about Ferrari. I really hope they have improved their care aerodynamically, so they can challenge Mercedes at tracks like Silverstone and Suzuka. Vettel’s laptimes on the Hyper Super Soft compound were amazing, but perhaps too amazing, because it looked like they were running lower fuel compared to others. Mercedes didn’t really do mock qualifying runs.

F1 is very good at shooting itself in the shoot, and the 3-engine limit for 2018 might be another good attempt. I just don’t see what F1 gains from only giving each driver three engines for twenty-one races. It’s quite worrying that the FIA don’t realise where the cost is coming from. Since 2014 the R&D into these engines has been astronomical, then factor in further engine restrictions, which just drives up development costs. I actually agreed with Ferrari at the end of last year, they vetoed an attempt to allow greater engine allocation for 2018. Why should the engine manufacturers throw away a load of development, because people suddenly realised how ridiculous the 2018 allocation was? 
I fear Red Bull will be hampered by more Renault unreliability as the engines age, which would be a shame, because the Red Bull looks like a competitive machine. The reduction in engine allocation actually gives Mercedes a bigger advantage, because they have the most reliable power unit by some margin.
 
Nobody is suggesting going back to fresh engines for every race, every qualifying session and every practice session. However, the engine allocation has gone berserk quite frankly. The sport needs to stop tinkering here and there with pretend cost cutting measures. Conveniently, nobody suggests cutting back on aerodynamic development….I really don’t see what wing development actually achieves.

I was watching some of the testing earlier last week, and following another car looks more difficult than ever before. If I were running things, I would prioritise that, and solely that. I believe if you lessen that problem, other aspects such as more competitive racing will emerge. If front wings need to go, or be standardised, so be it. Ross Brawn wants to reduce the level of turbulence that drivers currently experience, and his point was valid. F1 has never really tested cars in a wind tunnel to see the actual impact of turbulence. If Ross is allowed to do his job without interference, I am hopeful we can see a racier F1. 

Liberty is changing the promotion and marketing of Formula One, but the acid test will be the new regulations in 2021. They will encounter a lot of vested interests, from engine manufacturers wanting to keep the status quo, or teams who insist on high downforce levels. Liberty needs to set out its stall, this is F1 in 2021; a racing car with a proper engine that excites people, and no more front wings. If teams threaten to race in Formula E, its worth risking for a better F1. FE is barley watched, so teams can race in their own quiet bubble if they wish. FE is extremely popular with manufacturers, but less so with actual fans. The viewership and trackside attendance hasn't really grown, despite the hype around it. 

These are also the fattest F1 cars I can remember, halo included. I want the return of 600kg F1 cars.

Pirelli deserve a lot of credit for trying to shake things up. The 2018 cars will have even more downforce, so overtaking is unfortunately going to be difficult. However, if Pirelli’s new compounds deliver more degradation, perhaps races won’t be such a slam dunk every time. F1 won’t be shedding its vast aero anytime soon. Therefore, the only realistic way to neutralise that aero is to introduce greater levels of varying mechanical grip.

I was watching the IndyCar season opener yesterday, what an eye-opener it was. They have massively reduced downforce, and it was so much better for it. Drivers were squirming under braking, and sideways out. IndyCar is effectively a spec championship, except for the engine. However, with racing so entertaining, and drivers grappling for control at every turn, the lack of technical development is worth sacrificing for an outstanding on-track product. 

Sav, we had an improvement in aero balance but have gone backwards. The engine limit does seem a little daft considering the greatest impact of F1 on the environment is the bloody cargo aircraft taking the teams around the world. They could limit this by making the calender more sensible. I hope they sort the financial side without Ferrari and others crying, that would make it easier for smaller teams to remain solvent which might extend the appeal long term. Messing about with regulations and stuff like fan boost could well be an end to F1 for me at least. Fingers crossed that McLaren can end their uncompetitive streak, it's been long enough.

Yeah, because Mercedes are really setting the example of fairness and level playing field aren't they?

Motorsport is about the ability to use your advantage to the full: it's why in MotoGP Rossi has just signed another 2 year contract that will take him to 41: it's nothing to do with the fact that he won one race last year and hasn't won a title in years it's because he has the commercial pull to be able to do that. Ferrari are the same in F1. They "get away with it it" because they can justify doing so.

All the more reason to stand up to the big teams, if they leave, will the racing get worse?  Merc are making the most of the current rules in the same way others do but a budget cap would level the field and I think it should be all the better for it.  The biggest quote in F1 that I recall clearly is the oft quoted Ferrari justifying their hold on the rules by saying "Ferrari is good for F1, better than F1 is good for Ferrari".  Ferrari will not leave while they are less competitive, just as they will not leave when they are winning. Addiction?

I watched about 5 minutes of the Formula E race from Uruguay at the weekend.
That was enough for me thanks. I'm sure the track - a narrow and twisty street circuit with barriers all the way - didn't help but there was no aural drama and it reminded me of a Formula 3 race.

F1 needed to make a change a while back as in cost terms they were going crazy, I remember reading Williams' qualifying spec exhaust manifolds that were made of some form of unobtanium, cost a load of money and were only good for about 5 laps, all in the name of saving something ridiculous like 500 grammes.
I expect most of the current engine cost comes from the development of them rather than the manufacture?

As well as a reduction in downforce I'd like to see an increase in braking areas - hitting the brakes for a hairpin at the 100m board from 200mph doesn't leave much margin, that's the reason they had to create something artificial like DRS.