F1 2006........here we go

bell · bell's Garage

the F1 season is right around the corner, march 12 in bahrain .
the new rules also come into effect, the qualifying is interesting, but i see it frustrating many teams.
tire changes are back, and we'll be listening to v8's rather than the v10's.

here is a short of the new rules for those whom are interested.

details at http://www.formula1.com/insight/rulesandregs/13/995.html

Qualifying
For 2006, the single-lap system used in recent years is replaced be a new three-part, knockout format, with multiple cars on track throughout the qualifying hour, which is split into two 15-minute sessions and a final 20-minute session, with five-minute breaks in between.

Part one: All 22 cars may run laps at any time during the first 15 minutes of the hour. At the end of the first 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill the final six grid places.

Part two: After a five-minute break, the times will be reset and the 16 remaining cars then will then run in a second 15-minute session - again they may complete as many laps as they want at any time during that period. At the end of the 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill places 11 to 16 on the grid.

Part three: After another five-minute break, the times are reset and the final 20-minute session will feature a shootout between the remaining 10 cars to decide pole position and the starting order for the top 10 grid places. Again, these cars may run as many laps as they wish.

In the first two 15-minute sessions, cars may run any fuel load and drivers knocked out after those sessions may refuel ahead of the race. However, the top-ten drivers must begin the final 20-minute session with the fuel load on which they plan to start the race. They will be weighed before they leave the pits, and whatever fuel they use in the 20 minutes may be replaced at the end of the session.

If a driver is deemed to have stopped unnecessarily on the circuit or impeded another driver during the qualifying session, then his times will be cancelled.

Engines
For 2006, engines are reduced in size from the previous 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s. The aim is to reduce costs and improve safety. With similar engine speeds, the change is expected to cut peak power by around 200bhp, which in turn is likely to add around three to five seconds to lap times at most circuits. The FIA may allow some teams to use 2005-spec V10s if they do not have access to competitive V8. The FIA will enforce a rev limit on any V10s to ensure performance is comparable with that of a V8.

Tyres
After a season’s absence, tyre changes during races return to Formula One in 2006. The thinking behind this is that the reduced engine size will offset any performance gain. Drivers also have access to slightly more tyres than in 2005 - seven sets of dry-weather, four sets of wet-weather and three sets of extreme-weather. Drivers must make a final choice of dry-weather compound ahead of qualifying.

Weekend schedule
In a slight change to the Grand Prix weekend format, Saturday morning now features a single, one-hour practice session, as opposed to two, 45-minute sessions. It takes place between 1100 and 1200. Qualifying is an hour later than before, commencing at 1400.

johncj8989 · 02-17-2006, 08:36 PM

Bring it on!

masraum · 02-17-2006, 09:43 PM

What TV station do I need to watch? Speed?

Jared at Pelican Parts · 02-17-2006, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by masraum
What TV station do I need to watch? Speed?

+1

trj911 · trj911's Garage

Will this be the last yeat for the USGP? I would guess yes.

bell · bell's Garage

there is talk from bernie that if indy isn't renewed for 2007 then he wants a road course in las vegas

oldE · 02-18-2006, 05:41 AM

And if you think that is fun, just think of what Max Mosley talked about with the Italian press, this week. In 2011, assuming there is still a F1 series, Mosley says they would like to run the series "engines free". ie: run anything you like, but you have to do it with a specified amount of fuel. There were no specifics about where the fuel had to come from, or even if they would be restricted to gasoline. Can you imagine 22 diesel F1 cars motoring down the straights?!!!

Les

plain fan · 02-18-2006, 08:29 AM

By that time Audi will have perfected the technology for racing diesel engines with several LeMan wins in their back pocket.

scottmandue · 02-18-2006, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bell
there is talk from bernie that if indy isn't renewed for 2007 then he wants a road course in las vegas

There are so many great tracks in America... why doesn't F1 pull their head out of their a$$.

Love to see them run Laguna Seca.

bell · bell's Garage

i think the FIA has pretty "high standards" as far as the facilities needed to support an F1 race, i know indy did a massive makeover to fill these "needs".
monaco surely doesn't meet any of these needs but it's monaco so there certainly are exceptions.

i'm hoping this will be either jensons or rubens year, ferrari is having better success with their rev limited v-10 from last year then their new v8, BAR honda so far has been showing great reliability with their new v8 in testing........but we can't forget kimi or fernando......
should be an interesting season

bell · bell's Garage

first race is here
qualifying on speed 6am est saturday morning
race is on sunday early.....set your tivo's

911carrera1984 · 03-09-2006, 12:33 AM

i.m all set! fri 6am, sat 6am and of course sun 6am.

not sure about the new qualifying though. i like to see and hear one car at a time. hope the v8 sounds as good as the v10's did.
steve

oldE · 03-09-2006, 03:54 AM

It seems Red Bull is persuing an engine deal with VW/Audi. With the overheating they've been having with their Ferrari V8, I figure he's taking the long-view.
I think it's going to be hard picking out which car is in the middle of the dust storm, when they go off-track. So many of the cars have a mostly-white color scheme, this year.
I'll go out on a limb here and pick Rubens to take the first race of the season.
Les

livi · 03-09-2006, 03:56 AM

I´ve been thinking of buying the McLaren outfit. Should be fun.

Hey, free tickets for everyone !

austin552 · austin552's Garage

Jims5543 · 03-09-2006, 11:25 AM

Do you think Ferrari will show with the 248 or a detuned V-10 from last year? I mean the restricted V-10 has been soundly whooping up the the V-8 in testing during the off season. Since the rules allow for the V-10 to be used I would not be suprised to see it for the 1st few races.

NICKG · 03-09-2006, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scottmandue
There are so many great tracks in America... why doesn't F1 pull their head out of their a$$.

Love to see them run Laguna Seca.

it won't happen. Laguna has some stupid community clause that only allows them to operate a few races a year...last i heard, motogp had the big race there(it was a great race too) and if they added F1 (and i am all for it) they need to drop some of the vintage races...and they make almost all their $ from them. I would love road america or even mid ohio personally, but places like VIR and Barbour would be great too. I go to the F1 race in Canada(6 hours away) already...you must see them once in your life!

scottmandue · 03-09-2006, 02:32 PM

Well, I suppose a road corse in Las Vegas wouldn't be that bad.... and only a 45 min. flight for me.

Jeff Higgins · 03-09-2006, 04:49 PM

Aren't they back on slicks again this year? Or is that still a year or two away?

I realy like the "engines are free" idea with the total fuel allotment for the weekend. Diesels? Rotaries? Turbocharching? Supercharging? Two cycle or four? Larger normally aspirated? The possibilities. I think it will really serve as a development series once again, with the best milage/power balance trickling down to us.

austin552 · austin552's Garage

Pick Your Team:
http://www.formula1.com/insight/technical_analysis/team/2006/7/230.html