China F1

[yellowperil]

This dude ran across the track to the Ferrari pits because he wanted to test one of their cars. Nothing wrong with that. Seems reasonable.

[legion]

Yeah, they're just going to let anybody give them a test drive...

[motion]

It's China. That guy has already been executed.

Why isn't Mercedes dominating? Have the Ferrari and TR teams really advanced that far?

[yellowperil]

Looks like the other teams have caught up and we could be in for an exciting year at the front. If they (Merc) give Vettel an inch, he'll take a mile. He's smart and fast.
Seems to run the team from his car seat.

Ham is capable too, so I'm hoping to see some good racing.

[URY914]

Man arrested after crossing Shanghai pit straight | FORMULA 1 news | Motorsport.com

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by motion

It's China. That guy has already been executed.

Why isn't Mercedes dominating? Have the Ferrari and TR teams really advanced that far?

They are. HAM far ahead. ROS focusing on long runs for now. Normal service resuming this week (yawn). Hope I'm wrong though.

[turn9]

That guy looks like FA to me....[img]

[yellowperil]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

They are. HAM far ahead. ROS focusing on long runs for now. Normal service resuming this week (yawn). Hope I'm wrong though.

Ham is quite fast and way ahead of Rosberg. We'll see what quali brings. Noted that Nasr in the Sauber is in the top ten again., in practice. Good for a rookie, see how he quails tonite.

Hope we have a good one.

[legion]

Is t McLaren or Manor at the bottom?

[Deschodt]

Macca 10+12 for now - not too bad. hopes for Q2 ;-)
But once the real pace comes in quali I bet they are 15-16 or so !

[legion]

Qualifying Spoilers!!!












As long as Mercedes doesn't screw up this race on tire strategy, it is Hamilton's to lose. Rossberg seems resigned to being #2. I kind of wonder what Hamilton's open contract might have to do with this...

McLaren seems to be making improvements commensurate with the mileage they are putting down. They may make Q2 next race.

[legion]

Race Spoilers!!!










Well, three races, same three guys on the podium.

Renault-powered cars dropping like flies...

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by legion

Race Spoilers!!!










Well, three races, same three guys on the podium.

Renault-powered cars dropping like flies...

Hate to say it, but viewership is going to fade away if Mercedes keeps up this level of domination. And Ham at +5 to Nico? Jeez. I'm going to have to find an underdog to root for - but all my prior underdogs have let me down. Only reliable one is Maldonado for mishap du jour.

[Craig T]

Originally Posted by techweenie

Hate to say it, but viewership is going to fade away if Mercedes keeps up this level of domination. And Ham at +5 to Nico? Jeez. I'm going to have to find an underdog to root for - but all my prior underdogs have let me down. Only reliable one is Maldonado for mishap du jour.

I agree. I've been a die hard F1 fan for two decades and I'm so bored with the sport I actually fast-forward the race today. I watch the first 10 and last 10 laps. BORING!

…Now Moto GP, that's racing.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by motion

It's China. That guy has already been executed.

Why isn't Mercedes dominating? Have the Ferrari and TR teams really advanced that far?

Not even. They have an extra second per lap in reserve.
A month ago other teams were calling for restrictions against Mercedes. Red bull even threatened to quit.

So mercedes turned it down to 9 so they wouldn't get punished for being too good. Barely loose baaa-rain, barely win the next two, barely looose the next one after that, and so on.
They'll be just fast enough for the rest of the year to stay on the podium and win the championship(s).

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

So mercedes turned it down to 9 so they wouldn't get punished for being too good. Barely loose baaa-rain, barely win the next two, barely looose the next one after that, and so on.
They'll be just fast enough for the rest of the year to stay on the podium and win the championship(s).

I know better than go along with conspiracy theories, but... I like that one.... I really do ;-) Only caveat would be enforcing it via software/hardware because if you leave it to the drivers, it won't work. You really do get the feeling Mercedes is toying with Ferrari.

It's probably not true though. Then again after all those years Ferrari makes a decent car ? I wonder what kind of cheating they're up to ;-) Arrivabene strikes me as a tatoo'ed Briatore ;-) Not complaining though, it's been slightly more entertaining...

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by techweenie

Hate to say it, but viewership is going to fade away if Mercedes keeps up this level of domination. And Ham at +5 to Nico? Jeez. I'm going to have to find an underdog to root for - but all my prior underdogs have let me down. Only reliable one is Maldonado for mishap du jour.

I agree with you and I also fear this might become boring, but this is nothing compared to the Ferrari era with Schumi. For about 7 years you knew who was going to win with higher certainty than an IMS non-failure rate ;-)

What bothers me is that it's such a simple fix.... Let the manufacturers test. Period, Done. Good for young drivers, for sponsors, spectators, the show (eventually). $ wise it's false economy to restrict it, they have the $ (check out MacLaren's HQ!) and will spend it on CFD or sims instead. If you wanna restrict it to engine testing, fine, use old chassis.... But they must test so that we have at least a shot a engine parity....

Yes Mercedes did a better job and deserved a WC, they will even get 2.... But witht he current token system, it'll take a cluster**** on their side and 5 years for Renault, Honda and Ferrari (who did a better job) to equal them. I know Ferrari is closer, but I get the feeling Mercedes is just playing with them.

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

What bothers me is that it's such a simple fix.... Let the manufacturers test. Period, Done. Good for young drivers, for sponsors, spectators, the show (eventually). $ wise it's false economy to restrict it, they have the $ (check out MacLaren's HQ!) and will spend it on CFD or sims instead. If you wanna restrict it to engine testing, fine, use old chassis.... But they must test so that we have at least a shot a engine parity....

Yes Mercedes did a better job and deserved a WC, they will even get 2.... But witht he current token system, it'll take a cluster**** on their side and 5 years for Renault, Honda and Ferrari (who did a better job) to equal them. I know Ferrari is closer, but I get the feeling Mercedes is just playing with them.

I think we can agree on the engine token system, however, I wouldn't re-instate testing. Sure, the bigger teams use the money on CFD and sims, but I think the returns / $ spent is much smaller on lab work than testing. Re-introducing testing will just widen the gap between the bigger and smaller teams.

[Deschodt]

Fair enough, but I was thinking more about letting the *engine* manufacturers test more (in a chassis, on track). Nobody cares how much they spend in order to not make a fool of themselves (like Renault and Honda at the moment). The goal of cost cutting was for F1 teams to survive, so it would be simple to set an engine supply cost in the rules ("you cannot charge more than 20 mil per year") and let the engine makers spend whatever the $#$ they want as long as they respect the contract price. Nobody gets hurt.

It just bothers me to see companies like Renault (best V10 for how many years, how many WC?) and Honda (despite a whole year of engineering) made to look stupid because of the impossibility of fixing things in a timely manner. (tokens and lack of testing). They used to have an old Toyota F1 used for engine tests, easy enough to buy a Caterham and do the same... Zero chassis testing, just motor/kers integration in an actual car - clearly bench testing and CFD don't work 100% ;-) All supplied teams win, even Mercedes which is not 100% bulletproof. Cost to teams: 0 (except for mercedes and ferrari but that's their choice).

Those rules were set to protect teams, the Sauber, Williams, etc..and avoid more caterham situations... Don't you guys think Renault and Honda (and Ferrari to a lesser extent) would be ecstatic at the thought of spending $$ to test their engines in more realistic scenarios, to stop looking like dolts on TV ? I'm not saying Mercedes cannot maintain an advantage - but at least give the other guys a shot. It's gonna be years before anyone matches Mercedes' engine. And we're gonna lose manufacturers - Lauda is shortsighted when he says they could supply the whole field ;-)

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by TheMentat

I think we can agree on the engine token system, however, I wouldn't re-instate testing. Sure, the bigger teams use the money on CFD and sims, but I think the returns / $ spent is much smaller on lab work than testing. Re-introducing testing will just widen the gap between the bigger and smaller teams.

The bigger teams are Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren & Red Bull.

McLaren is teamed up with Honda and right at the bottom of the pile with embarrassing times. It is astonishing two major companies with lots of experience can even be that bad.

Red Bull is saddled with Infinity's Renault engine and sucking mud.

The rest of the field pretty much uses a Ferrari or Mercedes engine or the Renault POS engine.

Unlimited engine testing would only hurt Mercedes and help ever other team. Ferrari has unlimited budget, I am sure McLaren-Honda have deep pockets.