F1: 2019 thread

[chapo]

Ferrari needs to hire a pit strategist from Joe Gibbs or Rick Hendricks, there pit strategy has been horrible for years. They always seem to get caught out and outfoxed by Mercedes and Red Bull

[CurtEgerer]

Kubica gets credit for being very upfront about his struggles. It sure seems like something is just not right with his car when compared to his teammate.

"As I said, probably last year I ended the season saying I definitely had to improve something on single-lap new tyre [pace], but one thing I was not worried at all was the race pace. Actually it was one of my strongest points, but [now] I have no race pace."

He added: "I have no race pace against my teammate. And when you see exiting corners you are wheel-spinning and losing the car and he's pulling away.

"I'm not saying it's the car, but there's something we have to understand. I have very poor traction and actually after the debrief George said the traction was not so bad. As I said, it's not only the car. There are different factors, but that's how it is."

Kubica Feels He Has No Race Pace

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by chapo

Ferrari needs to hire a pit strategist from Joe Gibbs or Rick Hendricks, there pit strategy has been horrible for years. They always seem to get caught out and outfoxed by Mercedes and Red Bull

Heck, they could hire one of us on this thread and do better than what they've done historically.

[CurtEgerer]

Stefan Johansson addresses many of the criticisms repeatedly expressed in this thread regarding the current state of F1. And how to turn it around.

Johansson’s radical proposal to make F1 awesome again – Part 1

A small sample:

' ... Adding the hybrid component to the powertrain has done more damage than all the other rule changes combined in my opinion. It seems that in order to meet the politically correct agenda that is now creeping in to every facet of life, it’s somehow been decided that this is the future of automotive engineering and needs to be part of Formula 1 as well. Pushed by the manufacturers (under the premise of wanting the formula to have relevance to the manufacturer’s production lineup) who put pressure on the FIA, Formula 1 had to follow, along with the WEC. Interestingly, both series are now completely controlled and dominated by the OEMs and would not survive in their current formats without the money being poured in by the manufacturers competing. The privateer or independent teams are now just the clowns that make up the show in both series and have no realistic chance of ever winning a race.

So, this means we are stuck with three teams in F1 and currently only one team in the WEC that have any chance of winning. This seems an incredibly high trade-off just to be doing the politically correct thing ....

[astrochex]

Anyone else looking forward to the Baku race? The race always produces something out of the ordinary.

[Neilk]

Originally Posted by astrochex

Anyone else looking forward to the Baku race? The race always produces something out of the ordinary.

Already has, poor George Russell. Check out the video and don't cut it short. You will see why so many people in the former USSR have dash cams.

LINK

[cairns]

That's it! Potholes! Real roads! Time to put the spark back in F1.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by Neilk

Already has, poor George Russell. Check out the video and don't cut it short. You will see why so many people in the former USSR have dash cams.

LINK

Claire must have been born under a bad sign. Of all teams for this to happen to.

[aston@ultrasw.c]

Originally Posted by astrochex

Claire must have been born under a bad sign. Of all teams for this to happen to.

I've been watching youtube shows on the history of F1.

I never fully appreciated the genius and contribution of Frank Williams.

If I were Claire I would find a new vocation.

Yes, it would be *nice* if Williams could be great again under her leadership but it's just not happening.

I couldn't stand at the helm, blab on about Williams' rich heritage and finish one more race DFL.

[rfuerst911sc]

Team Williams appears to be cursed they need to step back , perform an exorcism or swing a dead chicken round and round and regroup . They have no clue why both cars are slugs , they have no clue why Kubica's car specifically is more of a slug than his team mates . Stop the bleeding and pull out for this year . Fix the damn cars and be ready with spare parts for next year ! Driving around the track 15 seconds off the pace if not more is a hazard to their drivers , other teams drivers and possibly spectators and track workers . Right now Williams makes Minardi look like world champs

[Rtrorkt]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Team Williams appears to be cursed they need to step back , perform an exorcism or swing a dead chicken round and round and regroup . They have no clue why both cars are slugs , they have no clue why Kubica's car specifically is more of a slug than his team mates . Stop the bleeding and pull out for this year . Fix the damn cars and be ready with spare parts for next year ! Driving around the track 15 seconds off the pace if not more is a hazard to their drivers , other teams drivers and possibly spectators and track workers . Right now Williams makes Minardi look like world champs

There was an article in BBC.com I think focused on Claire and her brother. Seems he has successfully run F2 and other racing teams successfully. I can't find the article but basically it was saying the wrong Wiliams is in charge of the F1 team.

[aston@ultrasw.c]

I think the brother is in charge of the historic racing shed and they don't talk much.

Claire is the go-to person if the media needs a negative quote on the current state of F1.

This does not say much for her leadership skills.

[javadog]

I recently watched a documentary about Williams on Netflix and Claire struck me as exactly the wrong person for the job. She’s had her time at the helm, I think it’s time to give it to someone else.

Hard to believe that they didn’t inspect the drain covers more thoroughly. It’s nothing new, it’s something they have to do prior to every street circuit Grand Prix. I’m equally surprised to see that the crash truck couldn’t make it around the circuit without hitting the underside of the bridge. Complete amateur hour. Charlie Whiting must be spinning in his grave.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Team Williams appears to be cursed they need to step back , perform an exorcism or swing a dead chicken round and round and regroup . They have no clue why both cars are slugs , they have no clue why Kubica's car specifically is more of a slug than his team mates . Stop the bleeding and pull out for this year . Fix the damn cars and be ready with spare parts for next year ! Driving around the track 15 seconds off the pace if not more is a hazard to their drivers , other teams drivers and possibly spectators and track workers . Right now Williams makes Minardi look like world champs

They can't pull out for a year. They have a contract with F1 to field cars for the entire season.

[rfuerst911sc]

Milt yeah I know that it's just crazy how far out of the mix they are . I just hope someone doesn't get hurt due to their slow race pace .

[CurtEgerer]

Does it really make any difference if Williams were running as well as they possibly could? Being not-MB and not-Ferrari, the best they could possibly dream of is midfield. Sure, more money for the team, but still just field-fillers. This is a 2 team series with Red Bull lingering to take advantage of any misfortune.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

Does it really make any difference if Williams were running as well as they possibly could? Being not-MB and not-Ferrari, the best they could possibly dream of is midfield. Sure, more money for the team, but still just field-fillers. This is a 2 team series with Red Bull lingering to take advantage of any misfortune.

It does matter since points / position means more payout at the end of the season.

[DaveE]

It’s really just a one team series so far this year. Like the last few years. I’m actually considering watching golf.

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by astrochex

It does matter since points / position means more payout at the end of the season.

Yes, that's what I said. But it makes no difference at all to the fans/spectators.

An argument could be made that Williams - being 2-3 seconds off the pace - have received more press in the past 2 months than they have cumulatively in the past 10 years.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by CurtEgerer

Yes, that's what I said. But it makes no difference at all to the fans/spectators.

An argument could be made that Williams - being 2-3 seconds off the pace - have received more press in the past 2 months than they have cumulatively in the past 10 years.

missed that, ooops. True, they have gotten a lot of ink. I’m bummed for RK, though.