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Post by ChrisM on Mar 15, 2018 20:53:25 GMT
Will be out most of this Saturday and am away next week-end so here we go for 2018.....
Please post your best guesses for top 10, pole, fastest lap and bonus question in the "Predictions" thread and everything else related to the unmentionable 4-letter word here.
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Post by Tim on Mar 16, 2018 10:09:32 GMT
......and everything else related to the unmentionable 4-letter word here.  Thanks Chris!
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Post by Sav on Mar 24, 2018 0:34:22 GMT
It is a shame that the halo has rendered one of the best cameras rather useless. The camera that sat to the left of the driver was at their eye-level, but now, that rather ugly thing blocks that angle. It was concerning to hear the drivers saying that visibility was an issue around Albert Park, other circuits will be worse in that case.
The Alfa badges on the Sauber look lovely, but the car still looks dreadful. Leclerc was sideways pretty much everywhere that was traction-limited in FP2. The nervousness of the rear just looked plain nasty, and I think both drivers will be hoping that the expected rain arrives, which will cool the track temperature and maybe give the rear of the Sauber an easier time. The car gave the driver little confidence under braking either.
I’m lost with Williams. I fully respect they need extra funds to survive and develop their car, but at this cost? Stroll looked a bit lost last year, and although he was faster than Sirotkin in practice, I think someone Massa would have been faster than both. Paddy Lowe is a fantastic Technical Director, but ultimately, Williams needs a driver who can offer guidance as to where to develop, set-up direction being one area. Sirotkin was reasonable enough in F2, but hardly outstanding. We see more of this now, with drivers turning up in F1 who were not outstanding in F2, and unfortunately get they shown up in the big league. Nasr, Palmer….
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2018 18:22:15 GMT
I agree with the Williams points, the would have benefited from having Felipe in one of the cars. Whether he would have made a complete difference is an unknown. He was at least a safe pair of hands. Not exactly impressed today anyway. That overtaking and following closely was identified as a Merc problem and not a general problem made the ch4 commentary rather pointless. Come on F1, get the aero rules right ffs.
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Post by johnc on Mar 26, 2018 13:55:41 GMT
Williams look as though they still have a lot of work to do and Haas look as though they may get some good results this year. Apart from that it is pretty much business as usual. I was disappointed for Torro Roso though because I secretly hoped that their Honda engines would somehow come to life and deliver the kind of performance fitting of a company like Honda. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2018 14:36:08 GMT
McLaren made the right move, judged on this result.
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Post by Eff One on Mar 27, 2018 9:04:44 GMT
ultimately, Williams needs a driver who can offer guidance as to where to develop, set-up direction being one area... They've got one. |
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Post by Big Blue on Mar 27, 2018 9:07:03 GMT
ultimately, Williams needs a driver who can offer guidance as to where to develop, set-up direction being one area... They've got one. Quite. Williams are far too tied into pay-drivers given their history, a history that is now suffering due to that policy. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2018 10:35:10 GMT
ultimately, Williams needs a driver who can offer guidance as to where to develop, set-up direction being one area... They've got one. Who? |
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Post by PetrolEd on Mar 27, 2018 10:58:09 GMT
Some Polish Rally driving dude
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Post by Tim on Mar 27, 2018 11:39:57 GMT
They could also call on someone recently retired with a lot of experience and a former driver to boot.
In fact there are 2 people who spring to mind - JB & FM
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Post by Sav on Mar 27, 2018 22:05:36 GMT
I’m not sure about Kubica’s ultimate competitiveness. By that, I mean his ultimate ability to nail hot laps in Q2 and perhaps Q3. That is the acid test for any F1 driver. Evidently, his testing has gone extremely well over the past 6 or so months. However, as 2018 winter testing illustrated, certain teams who excelled a few weeks ago didn’t look so good in Melbourne last week. I’m not saying his testing performance is meaningless, but neither does it tell us how race-ready he is.
He hasn’t actually raced anything on regular asphalt circuits for years. Imo, he should have tried some GT3 or LMP2 racing last year. That would have proven a lot, on a more visible stage than a closed test session.
If Williams didn’t need pay drivers, they could nurture drivers like Red Bull. Initially anyway that won’t cost much, because those youngsters will be starting out in karting etc. I’m sure Verstappen was cheap in 2015….not anymore!
Williams have a potentially great prospect in Oliver Rowland. I like the way he raced in F2, very methodical and strategic. Unlike a fair few in F2, I could see him in F1. But, Mr Rowland presumably doesn't come with a big blank cheque. A shame.
However, in the meantime I think Williams need someone who has solid experience and can immediately get the most out of that car. I suspect Stroll is still struggling; it’s just that Sirotkin is struggling even more, so the former’s deficiencies are masked to an extent. It is a rather sorry pairing.
Yesterday I was watching the 2003 Australian GP. The sound of those V10’s was just spectacular, just wow. However, it struck me how comparatively slow they looked, which sounds ridiculous. During the chicane of turns 11 and 12, the drivers braked, took a downshift and didn’t get full throttle until the exit. In 2018, the Merc drivers were not even braking into turn 11, merely taking a small lift, then they were flat before they even approached turn 12. It is mighty impressive, but people scream about overtaking. Well, these amazing cornering speeds have a price. I’m not sure I want the cars to go this fast, I would trade much better racing for lesser cornering speeds.
Reducing aerodynamic turbulence can’t just be something to consider, it has to be an absolute priority. Ferrari doesn’t sell road cars with 15-element front wings, the development has little relevance, and downforce produced like this continues to harm the sport. To compound that, the sport keeps coming up with sticking-plaster solutions like three DRS zones. If you can’t stay with someone during a corner and on exit, so much momentum is lost, that the DRS makes little difference. Last weekend, every straight could have been a DRS zone, but it wouldn’t have made much difference.
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Post by Big Blue on Mar 28, 2018 12:54:52 GMT
Reducing aerodynamic turbulence can’t just be something to consider, it has to be an absolute priority. Ferrari doesn’t sell road cars with 15-element front wings, the development has little relevance, and downforce produced like this continues to harm the sport. To compound that, the sport keeps coming up with sticking-plaster solutions like three DRS zones. If you can’t stay with someone during a corner and on exit, so much momentum is lost, that the DRS makes little difference. Last weekend, every straight could have been a DRS zone, but it wouldn’t have made much difference. This by the bus load. When these guys lose a single element of the front wing they lose out. If the wing was doing less we'd have cars staying more competitive after a minor tap compared to now. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 16:33:11 GMT
Thing is, this is all logic so will not be allowed to get in the way of a business plan that isn't. When large automotive businesses are happier to get involved in twatting e racing, it all goes to pot.
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