LariatTom Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Well, that was a rather fun night of practice sessions. I'll admit that I haven't really been feeling that excited by the start of the new season with most of my motorsport enthusiasm directed at sportscars and focusing a lot of attention on Sebring this weekend and trying to get a job working for a sportscar series in Germany. But once the cars rolled onto the track, I enjoyed it. I might be in the minority but I really like the sound of the new power units. It's refreshing to be able to hear the different parts of the car working together, the tyres screeching when they lock up going into corners. Mercedes look to be ahead of the field in terms of outright pace and perhaps unsurprisingly, Red Bull aren't a million miles away in terms of pace. It's just a case of reliability for them, but it certainly shouldn't be the disaster that many expected. Not expecting much from FP3 apart from Lotus needing to get some track time. These cars look to be taking a while to set up and repair, so if you get a problem in FP3 then there's a good chance a team could miss qualifying and be starting from the pits on Sunday. Expect minimal running in FP3, which is great since I can get more sleep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windoesnot Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Watched FP2 this morning and I think you might well be in the minority in liking the engine sound Tom, honestly I think on TV they sound dreadful, there just doesn't appear to be any proper noise coming from them. It might be less of an issue at the track but for the vast majority that isn't an option. Maybe they need to get some 1980's Ford Escort tin pot exhausts on them to increase the volume a bit. The engine note itself isn't bad but its just far too quiet. The look of the new nose on the car didn't seem as bad to me as it might of though. Red Bull's pace was both a surprise after their testing woes and also no surprise considering who they have designing the car. Should they last the distance they should do well, not necessarily challenging for a win yet (unless others ahead have problems) but certainly well within the points. Mercedes looks to be the quickest car and I'm happy with how McLaren looks so far too, Button has a great record at the track and a podium finish after last years disaster looks possible. Not sure if the timing screen at the end was incorrect but it showed he did his fastest lap on the slower tyre compound which if true bodes very well for their short run pace. Agree with lower if any FP3 running bar Lotus and Caterham with it taking much longer (currently) to fix engine issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Healys Chutney Spoon Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 They should make it a tag race - you do 20 laps, then your teammate jumps in the car, does the next 20. And for the last 10 - you both have to sit in the car a la Top Gear - one does the steering and the other the acceleration and breaks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Hmmm. Interesting race. Pleased that both McLaren and Williams seem to have emerged with better cars, but Ricardo's performance suggests that once Vettel steals all the good bits from the number 2 driver's car, he'll be back in business. My boy Kobayashi had a good start too. Who needs to turn left or right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 As a Hamilton fan, I was not a happy bunny at 6:30 am! Ferrari had electrical issues on both cars, but I was still impressed that Alonso tidily outperformed Kimi. It is just a shame we did not see a straight fight between Lewis and Nico in race trim. I like D.R, so I was gutted when the news came out that he had been excluded. K-Mag had a cracking debut, 18 points and a clean sweep over his World Champion Teammate, both out-qualifying and finishing ahead of Button. That is impressive for any driver, let alone a rookie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windoesnot Posted March 17, 2014 Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 Really enjoyed the first race (especially as a McLaren fan) and from a racing point of view it looks good for the season ahead. Plenty of on track action and talking points throughout the race and cars no longer being 100% reliable to mix up the running order a bit more. Would certainly have been more of a fight at the front had Lewis not had problems so early. Mercedes certainly look to have a good advantage currently and thankfully unlike Red Bull previously have two top line and closely matched drivers who can race each other at the front. Behind them it looks close between McLaren, Williams, Red Bull, Force India and Ferrari. Toro Rosso did much better than expected for the minor points placing. Felt sorry for Ricciardo but rules is rules and Red Bull have always been pushing the limits and this time they got caught out. Can't say that I felt sorry for Vettel though Very impressed with Magnussens debut, especially with the wet qualifying as that had the potential to go horribly wrong for any rookie driver. Button had a typical race for him, taking full advantage of race strategy to get further through the field and out thinking everyone else. After no podiums last year at all, getting 2nd and 3rd in the first race is a brilliant start. I think if Bottas hadn't hit the wall he would have ended up 3rd in the final placings, that Williams looks an excellent car and they've scored more points from that one race than the whole of last season. Roll on Malaysia which is usually a good race, expect more reliability problems with the heat and humidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Apparently Kamui's brakes failed off the line, so when he tried to brake for the first corner, nothing happened. Worrying failure really, could have been a lot worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LariatTom Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 That's the only reason he got away without a penalty. There were some concerns that the brake by wire system could fail and we'd see something like that happening. Hopefully it isn't something that crops up throughout the season, or there'll need to be an overhaul of the braking systems to prevent it. Cracking little race though. K-Mag put in a belting drive considering he's a rookie and proved that he deserved that seat. That Mercedes has got a lot more speed in it. One of the F1 journos posted something noting that Rosberg's fastest lap was on lap 19. Virtually everyone else set their fastest lap in the last few laps. Best story of the day is from the organisers of the Australian Grand Prix, who reckon their contract with FOM has been breached because the engines are too quiet. http://www.speedcafe.com/2014/03/17/quiete...tract-friction/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windoesnot Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Its round 2 and Malaysia this weekend. Often a good race at this track and the weather can always be changeable (may be storms around), last years race will be remembered for Red Bull and the 'Multi 21' team order fall out. Will Mercedes be as far ahead as they were in Australia? Will McLaren, Williams and Ferrari be in the hunt for a podium? How will the fuel flow arguments pan out and will Red Bull show their genuine pace? Will the heat and humidity play havoc with the cars? Also remember the clocks change on Sunday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 So... Canadian Grand Prix! This is my favourite race of the calendar and it didn't disappoint. The speed of the circuit is always a real tester, and all the mechanical issues that pundits were predicting for this new era turned up yesterday. I feel sorry for Hamilton, who looked likely to get past Rosberg and did everything by the book this weekend. And gutted for Perez and Massa too - that was a heartstopping crash and they'd both raced so well. It's always good to see a new GP winner and I think this is the first of many for Ricciardo. Also, they didn't show it on the Beeb, but Jenson Button must have pulled off some amazing last lap shenanigans as he ended up 4th! I need to see footage of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Also, they didn't show it on the Beeb, but Jenson Button must have pulled off some amazing last lap shenanigans as he ended up 4th! I need to see footage of that. I have read sketchy details, but Button is meant to have picked the bones when Alonso tried to overtake Hulk. As a Lewis fan, I did not enjoy the race as much as I should. Do not get me wrong it was a thriller, and Danny Ric underlined himself as the newest star in F1. But, Lewis is really in a hole now. 22 points down, and without DNF's/Mechanical problems, he probably has to win 4 races in a row to get the lead back from Nico (it is a 7 point differential between 1st and 2nd) Lewis needs Nico to DNF. I cannot see him beating Nico 4 times in a row again. F1 2014 has been amazing so far though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Thesz Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Hopefully there soon will be positive news regarding Marussia driver Jules Bianchi. Going off at a site of a recent incident brings a danger of collision with track officials, other cars, drivers or rescue equipment. Unless I picked it up wrong I'm sure they said it was Adrian Sutil who had been injured. Edit: It seems he collided with the recovery vehicle which was removing Sutil's car. That brings back memories of the horrible María de Villota incident in 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 BBC did not mention the incident for sometime after it happened They thought the medical car was meant for Sutil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 It doesn't sound good, the F1 cars are so low they practically disappear under those large tractors. F1 is overdue a death: despite all the incredible advancements in safety, it's still a very dangerous sport particularly in adverse conditions, and it underlines how incredible overtakes like Hamilton's on Rosberg are. That was one of the most astounding moves I've seen in a long time, I was on my feet as he disappeared into the spray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenryck Pilchards Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/29499545 Bianchi is out of surgery and is now in intensive care and breathing without any apparatus which is a positive sign. I haven't seen the incident but I can envisage what has occurred, it is miraculous that Bianchi hasn't broke his neck. Questions will be asked why the crane was allowed to be on track-side in the first place. Surely there should have been space on the perimeter of the tyre wall for it to reach over and move Sutil's car. Hopefully Bianchi can make a full recovery, it must have been a horrible sensation hurtling towards the crane without the power to move out of the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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