Official Formula 1 thread

[Superhatch]

I think Ricciardo had some pretty awesome passes as well. As usual the back of the pack was more exciting than the front of the race.

The only thing that disappoints me this season is the engine freeze. The idea of not allowing any changes on a totally new powerplant during the first season of that powerplant just seems like one manufacturer will likely be better off for the whole season. Surprise! That's what happened.

Otherwise the soap opera that is F1 delivers as always.

[Superhatch]

Originally Posted by Gixxersixxerman

I've never seen any series that treats accidents like F1.. This is my first year watching every race, but I've seen cars on the side of straights blown apart and the driver walking down to a gap in the fence and the cars racing right by.. Now stuff like this.. Wow.. When a car is sitting off the side of the track why does F1 just throw a local caution and not a safety car??

WEC, Tudor and other endurance series all do this as well. The idea is that unless there is a specific danger the race should continue. In fact F1 has been criticized of late for pulling the SC out in instances that could have just been a local yellow. The fact that a SC means that you will have 4 laps behind the SC due to the stupid catch up rule needs to be changed imo. That would limit the impact of the SC.

In this specific instance the stewards should have called a SC for sure as soon as Sutil went off. It was a tricky corner, increasing rain, a car off already and needing to be removed. Terrible call in that case.

[Superhatch]

Originally Posted by Teseo

I still dont get how you guys still watching this crap
Dont mind me, i just miss ol days

I watch WEC, WRC, MotoGP and F1. Until WEC or the like becomes more popular F1 will still be the pinnacle of racing on the world stage. There are some other open cockpit series out there that have great competition (see Japan's SuperFormula), but it's hard to see them here in the states much less in an English translation.

It's still the most accessable form of open wheel driving in the world, and it's still entertaining in some regards from the off-track drama, to the middle of the pack driving. Sure, the front 2 are pretty much locked in, but even then the battle is somewhat exciting at times.

In years prior people complained that it was only the rich teams that could compete. When Ferrari was spending almost 500 MILLION on a season, how could anyone else compete with them? At the same time an Indy car budget was about 15 million a season. There was a lot of complaining that the spending needed needed to be controlled to have a competitive field, especially having the chance of current mid pack teams to perform and compete with the current 1-2 front running teams.

Were really in the infancy of a BOP idea in F1. It started with budget caps in 2009, then X number of engines/transmissions, and now fuel regulation. I think that eventually they fill find a formula that works, and I think currently if Mercedes didn't have a run-away engine this would be one of the best seasons in a while. 3-4-5-6 placed teams are all pretty close points wise and many of them often make the podium now.

I think everyone should consult with whatever group does the BOP spec'ing for WEC. You have three main P1 mfgs., two different fuel types, 3 different energy recovery systems, 5(?) different engine types and often each of the teams has a car competing for 1st after 6+ hours of racing.

[cfusionpm]

WEC isn't even televised here. Or at least I've not seen it. The only event we get is 24 hours of Le Mans, which I love, but it only happens once a year. Part of the allure I have with F1 beyond the racing, is the fact that it's just about every week or every other week and there's always drama between drivers and teams.

That being said, I would love to see the fights between Toyota Porsche and Audi in their LMPs....

[alxtheoreo]

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

WEC isn't even televised here. Or at least I've not seen it. The only event we get is 24 hours of Le Mans, which I love, but it only happens once a year. Part of the allure I have with F1 beyond the racing, is the fact that it's just about every week or every other week and there's always drama between drivers and teams.

That being said, I would love to see the fights between Toyota Porsche and Audi in their LMPs....

You can stream the WEC events online from their webpage.

[White64Goat]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Wowwww........lifted the crane off the ground......that is hard to believe

Something I just noticed.....the dude in the flag stand is waving the GREEN flag.....WTF? That should have been a local caution at the very least.......someone done messed up.......



F1 wanted to start the race early, but race track (promoters) wanted to make sure that people in traffic got there is what I thought I heard them say.........

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by alxtheoreo

You can stream the WEC events online from their webpage.

But they're often all over the world at weird hours. It's easier to just set the DVR and watch at my convenience like I do with F1. :/

[Tgionet]

Originally Posted by White64Goat

Wowwww........lifted the crane off the ground......that is hard to believe

Something I just noticed.....the dude in the flag stand is waving the GREEN flag.....WTF? That should have been a local caution at the very least.......someone done messed up.......



F1 wanted to start the race early, but race track (promoters) wanted to make sure that people in traffic got there is what I thought I heard them say.........

The marshal waving the green flag was 100% in the right. That was the first marshal's post after the incident and indicated the end of the waved double yellow area.

[torqdork]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Difficult to watch...felt a little queasy afterward knowing from other pics that the impact splintered his helmet.

Jean Todt launched an investigation, asks Charlie Whiting for a report before the Russian GP next weekend. Interesting comments from Villeneuve that will sound familiar from other posts here. Disgraced Max Mosley should keep his comments to himself and just go away. They flew in Gerard Saillant, Schumi's neurosurgeon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mot...rand-Prix.html

[rice_classic]

[Gixxersixxerman]

Imo and I may be wrong, it looks like he had a lot of speed when he hit that JCB.. I hope he does recover, but after watching the impact, it looks like he was going to fast, other cars with worn inters made except one, that said I don't agree with everyone saying the race shoukdve been canceled.. When they are running inters and not full wets then the track conditions were not that bad.. Again I hope he recovers fully, I personally don't know much about him, but even the guy in last place has more talent in their pinky then I have total.

[Gixxersixxerman]

Imo and I may be wrong, it looks like he had a lot of speed when he hit that JCB.. I hope he does recover, but after watching the impact, it looks like he was going to fast, other cars with worn inters made except one, that said I don't agree with everyone saying the race shoukdve been canceled.. When they are running inters and not full wets then the track conditions were not that bad.. Again I hope he recovers fully, I personally don't know much about him, but even the guy in last place has more talent in their pinky then I have total.

[Martinius]

It was a freak accident unfortunately, which could have been prevented if FIA had thought out the car removal process years ago. Here you have the most technologically advanced impact absorbing barriers, and you put a 6.5 tonne monstrosity with head-level clearance IN FRONT of them, completely negating the purpose of those barriers. It's a bit of a head scratcher, and a shame that one of the drivers had to get gravely injured to start a discussion about it.

[rice_classic]

This isn't unique.

Montoya hit the Jet-Dryer truck
Hiedfield crashed into an emergency vehicle
Not too long ago, the safety car crashed into a race car in WTCC

Anything on a hot racetrack is subject to impact: racecars, safety vehicles, response personnel and unfortunately sometimes... fans in the stands.

If he had that impact in a 1980's or even a 1990's era car, he wouldn't be fighting for his life today. Time of Death would have already been announced.