F1 2020 Thread

[flatbutt]

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[Deschodt]

Wow- this thread sank to the bottom of pelican already, sadly....

Since everything is on hold, I was listening to a french magazine's online interview of Grosjean done yesterday... Not really one of my favs but I gotta say the interview changed that. He seemed like a very nice guy, well spoken, with interesting opinions and a good head on his shoulders. Not the mad dog or subject of ridicule from Netflix... Covered the I-racing stuff (nowhere near as good as our team simulators, better graphically amusingly, but a totally different "job", he was saying kudos to the pros but it would take 10x more free time than he has to become any good at conquering the inaccuracies and taking advantage of them, and it'd be bad for him)...

Interesting points I thought, he was asked who he was friends with among pilots... as president of the GPDA he said all of them are actually pretty good friends with each other, and often travel together and rotate rental planes at times, it's way closer than TV would have you believe in terms of getting along, the one exception seems to be Hamilton who apparently does his own thing and has very little contact with the other guys... not saying he disliked him at all, just saying he's the only one that doesn't really make the effort to join...

Another Q was about performance and passing. He made the point that the glory days of the 80s-90s were *not* all that glorious in his mind (mclaren domination among others), results varied because cars broke down or ran out of gas, or physical driving and exhaustion allowed more errors, but nowadays cars do not break, do not run out of fuel, driving is in some respects less physically demanding but in others more (conditioning for Gs, pedal pressure), but overall pilots are top flight athletes now so nobody on the grid is gonna make a mistake due to fatigue...

He pointed out that DRS was not all that evil in today's aero problems, the issue with passing is that on a modern F1 at Barcelona's Turn 1, you brake at 55 meters. The car is, say, 5 meter long. You'd already need a 10% error in judgement from the guy in front just to get alongside if your nose was in his gearbox (which it cannot be due to aero issues). So say you need 10 meters of advantage, really, a 20% of braking distance error, modern drivers are NOT gonna **** up that bad. So no passing.... If you want passing, reintroduce crap steel brakes and manual shifters... More stuff but I didn't write it all down.. all in all it's nice to see the human side of the guy, I have more appreciation for him now... (if there are any inaccuracies they are mine, due to translation)

[Rtrorkt]

[sammyg2]

‘Toto Wolff will join Lawrence Stroll at Aston Martin’
Date published: March 27 2020


Toto Wolff’s days at Mercedes are numbered, at least according to Bernie Ecclestone who believes the Austrian will be moving to Aston Martin in the not-too-distant future.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/toto-wolff-to-aston-martin/

[stealthn]

Can’t see it, Mercedes has been winning for years, unless he is seriously bored why would they or him want to leave?

[legion]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Wow- this thread sank to the bottom of pelican already, sadly....

Since everything is on hold, I was listening to a french magazine's online interview of Grosjean done yesterday... Not really one of my favs but I gotta say the interview changed that. He seemed like a very nice guy, well spoken, with interesting opinions and a good head on his shoulders. Not the mad dog or subject of ridicule from Netflix... Covered the I-racing stuff (nowhere near as good as our team simulators, better graphically amusingly, but a totally different "job", he was saying kudos to the pros but it would take 10x more free time than he has to become any good at conquering the inaccuracies and taking advantage of them, and it'd be bad for him)...

Interesting points I thought, he was asked who he was friends with among pilots... as president of the GPDA he said all of them are actually pretty good friends with each other, and often travel together and rotate rental planes at times, it's way closer than TV would have you believe in terms of getting along, the one exception seems to be Hamilton who apparently does his own thing and has very little contact with the other guys... not saying he disliked him at all, just saying he's the only one that doesn't really make the effort to join...

Another Q was about performance and passing. He made the point that the glory days of the 80s-90s were *not* all that glorious in his mind (mclaren domination among others), results varied because cars broke down or ran out of gas, or physical driving and exhaustion allowed more errors, but nowadays cars do not break, do not run out of fuel, driving is in some respects less physically demanding but in others more (conditioning for Gs, pedal pressure), but overall pilots are top flight athletes now so nobody on the grid is gonna make a mistake due to fatigue...

He pointed out that DRS was not all that evil in today's aero problems, the issue with passing is that on a modern F1 at Barcelona's Turn 1, you brake at 55 meters. The car is, say, 5 meter long. You'd already need a 10% error in judgement from the guy in front just to get alongside if your nose was in his gearbox (which it cannot be due to aero issues). So say you need 10 meters of advantage, really, a 20% of braking distance error, modern drivers are NOT gonna **** up that bad. So no passing.... If you want passing, reintroduce crap steel brakes and manual shifters... More stuff but I didn't write it all down.. all in all it's nice to see the human side of the guy, I have more appreciation for him now... (if there are any inaccuracies they are mine, due to translation)

Hamilton is an introvert. As an introvert who pretends to be an extrovert for a living, I get it. After a tough day at work, I can't wait until I can get some alone time and recharge. I got stuck in a large, noisy room at work the last two years and I've found it draining and tough to get work done in that environment. I'd say that a lot of the people who criticize Hamilton don't understand how introverts function.

[yellowperil]

I agree with the above on Hamilton.

[Won]

Based on my interactions with Lewis, albeit very limited, I tend to agree with legion.

No racing but teams have been busy. Here is just one example but all the teams are on it at the moment:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52087002

Meanwhile...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52091905

[yellowperil]

Those were the days, right Eddie?

[herr_oberst]

[stealthn]

The Skysports group is still having broadcasts on YouTube with the answers to some of these questions.

[astrochex]

Sad news, Sir Stirling Moss has died. https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/18375128.british-formula-one-racing-legend-sir-stirling-moss-dies-aged-90/

A true legend and gentleman.

[sammyg2]

Not sure why, but this really cracks me up:

How Alonso wound-up Dennis…with a peach
Date published: April 27 2020

You may remember Fernando Alonso and senior management at McLaren not seeing eye-to-eye with each other back in 2007…

Alonso was at the heart of a bitter inter-team battle with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren in first spell with the team back in 2007 and McLaren’s former head of communications, Matt Bishop, has revealed how Alonso would wind up McLaren boss Ron Dennis in particular as their relationship deteriorated beyond repair.

“[Ron’s] very precise about everything equal,” Bishop said via Natalie Pinkham’s ‘In The Pink’ podcast.

“He admits to being ‘OCD’ about cleanliness.

“And one of the things he absolutely loathes above almost everything else is people who eat juicy fruit without a knife and fork.

“So if you’re eating a nectarine or a peach or plum, Ron wants you to put it on a plate, have a sharp knife, steady it with the fork, cut it with a sharp knife and then put small, neat pieces of the fruit into your mouth with the fork.

“Fernando arrived with, I think, the largest and ripest peach I have ever seen.

“And he just sat next to Ron [slurping] like that and letting all the juice run down into his beard and leaving the bits of fruit pulp in his beard.

“Not everybody present would have known quite how painful Ron would have been in finding that but believe me, Fernando did. Fernando was definitely on a number then with Ron.

“But that’s Fernando. Fernando is a great driver. Great driver. He’s also an operator.”

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernando-alonso-mclaren-2/

[rfuerst911sc]

If the chatter on the net is accurate the season opener will be 7/5 in Austria . Looks like a 15-18 race season . Captain Ahab any inside scoop on this ?

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

If the chatter on the net is accurate the season opener will be 7/5 in Austria . Looks like a 15-18 race season . Captain Ahab any inside scoop on this ?

This is the word on the street, actually on the street right outside my house last week when a F1 team Chief Information Officer stopped for a chat while out for a run

Races I think will be behind closed doors with strict rules for the teams to keep everyone safe

F1 teams will be on shutdown until end of May

Will be great to get the racing going again, should make for some well overdue distraction to the strange times we're living in now

[sammyg2]

F1 reveals revised 2020 plans with July start
Date published: April 27 2020


Formula 1 has officially revealed its plan to host a 15-18 race season, starting with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

The original record-breaking 22-race calendar has been left in tatters by the global health crisis but, Formula 1 are growing “increasingly confident” that the season can finally get underway in July in Austria.

Races are set to be initially held behind closed doors with the hope that fans can return to the grandstands later in the year.

“Although this morning it was announced that the French Grand Prix, due to take place in late June, will not be going ahead, we are now increasingly confident with the progress of our plans to begin our season this summer,” F1 CEO Chase Carey said in a statement.

“We’re targeting a start to racing in Europe through July, August and beginning of September, with the first race taking place in Austria on 3-5 July weekend.

“September, October and November, would see us race in Eurasia, Asia and the Americas, finishing the season in the Gulf in December with Bahrain before the traditional finale in Abu Dhabi, having completed between 15-18 races.

“We will publish our finalised calendar as soon as we possibly can.

“We expect the early races to be without fans but hope fans will be part of our events as we move further into the schedule.

“We still have to work out many issues like the procedures for the teams and our other partners to enter and operate in each country.

“The health and safety of all involved will continue to be priority one and we will only go forward if we are confident we have reliable procedures to address both risks and possible issues.

“The FIA, teams, promoters, and other key partners have been working with us throughout these steps and we want to thank them for all their support and efforts during this incredibly challenging time.

“We also want to recognize the fact that the teams have been supporting us at the same time that they have been focusing enormous and heroic efforts to build ventilators to help those infected by COVID-19.

“While we have been moving forward with our 2020 plans, we have also been working hard with the FIA and the teams to strengthen the long term future of Formula 1 through an array of new technical, sporting, and financial regulations that will improve the competition and action on the track and make it a healthier business for all involved, particularly as we engage the issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All of our plans are obviously subject to change as we still have many issues to address and all of us are subject to the unknowns of the virus.

“We all want the world to return to the one we know and cherish, yet we recognise it must be done in the right and safest way.

“We look forward to doing our part by enabling our fans to once again safely share the excitement of Formula 1 with family, friends, and the broader community.”

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-2020-calendar-4/

[rfuerst911sc]

Ferrari has announced that Sebastian Vettel will be leaving the team after 2020 . Pretty big news and now a silly season will immediately start to fill the seat . Does someone slide over from Alpha Romeo ? Does Riccardo or Sainz make a move ? Does Mick Schumacher get moved up ? Will be interesting to watch it unfold.

[URY914]

What about where he will go?

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by URY914

What about where he will go?

All rumors or speculation at the moment . Anything from retirement to driving for another F1 team or another series . Just need to see how it plays out . Unless Captain Ahab has some inside info 😁

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

All rumors or speculation at the moment . Anything from retirement to driving for another F1 team or another series . Just need to see how it plays out . Unless Captain Ahab has some inside info 😁

No inside info, but my guess is Sainz will replace Vettel who will go to Renault to replace Ricciardo who will go to McLaren

Ferrari don't need a WC but 2 young drivers they can nurture to put the team in the strongest position possible for when Hamilton or/and Mercedes retire