It's all about the money, follow the money, that's what led Gene to Russia in the 1st place

…,,but are they solid now without those funds?

None of us knows what's going on behind the curtain . If Haas is really comfortable with the current $$$ situation then there isn't much incentive to share a piece of the team .

I personally think he doesn't want to give up a controlling share of the team and I think Andretti would want that . And if it turns out this year's car is competitive the value of the team will rise . I guess for now we sit back , grab some popcorn 🍿 and see how this plays out .

I know many people inside Hass but wouldn't feel comfortable about asking

Haas ran under Uralkali as title sponsor last year to bring into F1 a 'nobody' ie just to pander to another billionaires son's dad. As a serious F1 team with any real ambition you just don't do that unless you need the money

Haas spent nothing on developing last years car in what I presume was an approach to save money, time and resource so they could concentrate on the new 2022 car to hopefully make a meaningful step up the grid

In Maranello they've got a really good bunch of hard working technical guys, I had high hopes for the team this year, at least scoring a few points but I don't see this happening unless someone comes in with enough money so the team can compete the season on a full budget

I think Gene Haas is seeing the potential financial return from his team, and is willing to spend to realize it. Until this season or next, the money was poured down a rathole.

You have to wonder how or maybe IF on the other end of the grid will the spending cap tighten the field up, or will they use some inter company trickery to get around it? How does RBR get around the cap?

Gene Haas is stating they prefer to replace Mazepin with a driver with F1 experience . If that is accurate how many unemployed F1 drivers are there ? Obviously Giovinazzi and Hulkenberg come to mind but who else ? Yes I know both of those drivers are currently employed .

Let's say it's a list of 5 names , how many can bring $$$ to the table ? And then there are the longshots , several Indycar drivers have a super license. Can any of them bring money ? It's all quite interesting .

I'll be waiting for his call. ;):D

Good luck Paul 😁

Looks like they want the sponsorship money spent on Haas back. Money spent already. I wonder maybe they ask Russia for the funds.

Well they just brought back Magnussen as their other driver... Yawn.
Guess it's hard to resist the lure of F1 - I'm surprised he went for it though. I mean they could pull off a Brawn, but the odds aren't great.

How does it feel to be Mags? Dumped by the team one season, and then a little over a year later that same team comes calling again. But I guess the allure of being an F1 driver is too much to decline. Well, good for him. Hope the car is better this time around.

I was pulling for the Hulk.

Hulkenberg has done some stellar stand in drives
he deserves a full ride....

Not sure why, but I do feel a bit sad for Mazepin.

No real fault of his own.

K-mag is back. How long until he starts telling the world how good he is and we all can suck his balls? I was happy to see him go, actually. F'in Gene Haas.

It would have at least been interesting for Colton Herta, or Alexander Rossi to get a shot.

Reality however, is I doubt either one is interested in being a back-marker in a non-competitive car (highly likely for Haas).

I think every open wheel driver dreams of F1 and even the slowest F1 car is what, 10-20% faster than an Indy car?

I completely agree with you about every open wheel driver having dreams of F1 (I certainly did). :D

At this time in Herta"s and Rossi's careers though, I expect it's also about maximizing the income potential of a limited number of competitive years, in addition to the dreams of youth. Perhaps less so for Herta, as he is younger. Maximizing the career income means victories and championships, which require a competitive car.

Personal sponsorships can significantly affect the income however, and one would think F1 participation should provide more opportunities than IndyCar

Merc's odd looking car:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1646899333.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1646899333.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1646899333.jpg

LeClerc drifting https://mobile.twitter.com/FiftyBucksVT/status/1501848145575174145

I’m excited that the cars are different between teams and that they appear to be less stable than in 2021. The Mercedes looks wild.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YRKjKH2Ymq0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I think Rossi's F1 days are long over. He needs to stay in Indycar.

The way Rossi is currently underperforming he's lucky he has an Indycar ride . Last year he and the team performed poorly . Let's see what this year brings . The old saying your only as good as your last race comes to mind .

I saw an ad for F1 TV yesterday. They are discounting the full package to somewhere around $65 for first year. The lesser package is about $25 per year. (edit: after first year, the big package returns to about $75 per year)

I remember at least one of you have a subscription. Anyone care to give an opinion and explanation of the two subscription levels?

After last year with ESPN, I'm seriously considering getting a subscription.

It is sad how poor the coverage is from "the premier sports channel" ESPN, but their name does not imply sports, it is the Entertainment business, and cover lots of games. I personally don't understand why anyone would want to watch some random people play a game of poker, darts, horseshoes, bowling or basketball and football. ESPN treat F1 racing, which is a true sport, like a game and a low ranking game. When they cut away from the interviews with the drivers to show a womens basketball game from 1971 they show how little they care about sports.

Don't forget cornhole.

It's amazing how they can leave a live, worldwide event, on a Sunday morning when no American based sport is being played just to show a rerun of anything.

Merc needs to rearrange the sandbags. Someone's gonna get hurt.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cK9yGbiYQSo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

OK, I hate to let all you guys know how stupid I am (if you don't already know) but
what's missing in the above photos, that makes it "No sidepod". Just what exactly is the sidepod suppose to do.
Isn't the sidepod right below the mirror on the above photo? (2 or 3 back)

Please be gentle.

From what I can tell, the sidepod is "supposed' to cover the top and bottom side impact bars and also create the shape of the snorkle at the leading edge. Merc has gotten around this by providing a sort of mini barge board that covers the top impact bar, and there's a blister on the bottom impact bar. The snorkle is now shaped a bit like a trapezoid, and apparently there are diffusers inside to direct airflow to the much narrower radiators.

The result of all of this is to expose a much larger portion of the floor to the airflow, thereby generating downforce, and having greater opportunity to generate vortexes to seal off the edges of the floor to prevent porpoising.

But, I'm not even smart enough to stay at a Holiday Inn Express, so I'm sure my interpretation of what I've been trying to learn is cockeyed.

No I think you got it right, that and a sort of "running board" for Ham to hop in and out of the cockpit. (My '29 chevy has running boards too!")

Are those arrays of pitot tubes behind the front wheels for testing only?

^ I think they're correlating the wind tunnel and computer (CFD) software data with real observed data at the track, so yes.

I was hoping to see the Red Bull. They said that it would look different each time it goes to any track.

Testing and practice. And check out the flow-vis they glob all over the car to determine airflow patterns. Sort of a modern version of yarn tufts...





http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1646942965.jpg

Nice to see the Haas car has pace . Yeah I know it's early but not being at the bottom must be a boost for the team .

https://racingnews365.com/which-teams-were-fastest-through-the-speed-trap-on-day-one-in-bahrain

I know it's just practice and who knows if anyone is really showing what they have . But how about K Mag setting fastest time for today ???!!!!


https://racingnews365.com/magnussen-shocks-by-setting-fastest-time-after-extra-hour-of-testing

Ricciardo tested positive for Covid? Who is the McLaren test driver?

I did a quick internet search and found nothing . I think Lando is doing all the driving this week and weekend .

Wow that is a shocker, and I hope it is means they might be in the fight this year. And lots of cars are not doing well,

Looks like Lando is going to have to drive both cars if Riccardo can't suit-up:

McLaren is the only team with a To Be Confirmed!

https://racingnews365.com/every-f1-teams-reserve-driver-ahead-of-2022-season

wonder how much evening temps both add power and grip yes hot tyres but not tooo hot

but they did spend all last year on this car and were not so bad before the kids