Official Formula 1 thread

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by ayau

First time watching F1. Not sure why I didn't start earlier. Have a question.

Obviously Mercedes has the better engine. Will teams be allowed to modify their power units to equalize the playing field, or will it be Hamilton/Rosberg winning podiums for the rest of the season?

Engines are sealed for the season. possibly only another team with a merc engine will catch up to the merc team.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Engines are sealed for the season. possibly only another team with a merc engine will catch up to the merc team.

Can teams make non-engine mods throughout the season? Maybe better aero? Less drag on straights and more downforce on corners?

[alxtheoreo]

Originally Posted by ayau

Can teams make non-engine mods throughout the season? Maybe better aero? Less drag on straights and more downforce on corners?

Yes. Only the power unit (engine/ERS) & gear ratios are sealed for the entire season. Areo mods are made almost every race weekend. Check out F1technical.com & Formula1.com for up-to-date information.

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[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by ayau

Can teams make non-engine mods throughout the season? Maybe better aero? Less drag on straights and more downforce on corners?

Yes, developing the car over the course of a season is essential, there's also suspension settings and setups that can be modified throughout the weekend, similar to NASCAR it's very unlikely that two drivers will have identical setups and if they did it may benefit one driver more than the other due to their personal style.

In 2009 Brawn GP dominated the first half of the season, however due to their limited budget they could not develop the car as much as their competitors, by the end of the season the Red Bull & Mclaren were the cars to beat with Ferrari improving massively from non-points finishes to podiums.

You picked a good weekend to watch, the first two races were rather forgettable, the only reason I saw it was because my gf turned it on and took a nap, I probably would have skipped it until I saw this thread.

Edit: Also you will see them making aero adjustments during the race, I believe either this race or the previous one Vettel came in and took a turn out of the front wing. Basically there's a screw in the front wing that adjusts the angle of the wing elements to increase or decrease downforce. Like Alxtheoreo said they can bring new components to a weekend as long as they are approved beforehand.

Great example is the 2010 British GP:

2010 – “Not bad for a number two driver”. Who can forget Mark Webber’s radio message after the 2010 Santander British Grand Prix. Red Bull brought new aerodynamic package, which included two new front wings, to Silverstone for Sebastian Vettel and Webber to race with. During FP3 Vettel’s wing came off and was destroyed. Having no spare front wing, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner decided to take Webber’s wing and put it on Vettel’s car for qualifying and the race. Having qualified a very close 1-2 Webber overtook his team mate into the first corner and never looked back. The infuriated Aussie went on to win the race in dominant fashion.

http://thejudge13.com/2013/06/24/f1-...stone-round-8/

[rice_classic]

Above, while defending the new fuel efficient regulations, I speculated that Mercedes and not just Renault had plans for exodus without a renewed focus on fuel efficiency.

But, It wasn't just speculation, I knew I heard it somewhere but alas, speculate no more. Without the new regulations there would have been no Merc and Renault.

http://www.planet-f1.com/driver/1822...t-over-engines

[alxtheoreo]

Does anyone think that Ford or Toyota will hop in with these regulations?

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[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by alxtheoreo

Does anyone think that Ford or Toyota will hop in with these regulations?

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Only if Honda is successful relatively quickly. If Honda can't make it work they won't bother. Caterham and Marussia are starting their FIFTH season and still haven't scored a single point, zero top ten finishes. Cosworth tried for four seasons with no notable results. It is very difficult to be successful and if you can't be successful there's no point in spending the money.

Who would their top teams be? The top five teams are pretty tied up with the current manufacturers, Mclaren is partnering with Honda, that would leave Williams, Sauber, maybe Force India and Lotus capable of delivering results to those manufacturers, it's not promising.

Even if Honda is successful another manufacturer would be behind the ball on these regulations and likely wouldn't catch up until another major revision, they would probably wait for the next big change that puts everyone back to square one (different displacement, elimination of current KERS, etc.)

Edit:

Going back to your question about engines, the teams can make changes outside the block, the ECU, fueling, intake, exhaust and I'm sure some other components are modified throughout the season, they can make improvements to their power output over the season.

Edit 2: when dafuq did Boullier move to Mclaren? I missed that memo, Grosjean in a Mclaren when Button retires? And what's up with Enstone putting 'businessmen' in charge of their racing team? Fernandes to follow in the footsteps of Briatore...

[The Racers Line]

Assumed they had done something drastically different, and was correct.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuBB2F6IutQ"]Sky Sports F1 2014: How Mercedes become so strong in 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

[overlookedx]

Originally Posted by WiebTech Performance

Assumed they had done something drastically different, and was correct.

I saw a story on this but never read it. But seeing it graphically represented in that video, wow... this is freaking cool. Kudos to Mercedes on developing this. Makes me love the rule changes even more.

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by overlookedx

I saw a story on this but never read it. But seeing it graphically represented in that video, wow... this is freaking cool. Kudos to Mercedes on developing this. Makes me love the rule changes even more.

I think what is helping with people complaining about MB dominance is at least Lewis and Nico are fighting eachother. When it was Vettel, it was nothing but Vettel. Mark never got as good of control of EBD style driving, whereas Vettel LIVED it. Ironically, I think Mark would have done pretty well in the current cars... much more so than the last four years. Oh well. All the gremlins and mechanics errors are still there while Mark laughs his head off in his new Porsche LMP.

[overlookedx]

American Team Coming to Formula 1?
http://jalopnik.com/theres-an-americ...1562394379/all

Hope this doesn't turn out like US F1...

[Silver Ignition]

Originally Posted by overlookedx

American Team Coming to Formula 1?
http://jalopnik.com/theres-an-americ...1562394379/all

Hope this doesn't turn out like US F1...

That'd be interesting…wonder who the driver will be, and who will be making the chassis/engine

[White64Goat]

How bad are things at Ferrai? Guess this sums it up: http://news.yahoo.com/ferrari-formul...110046851.html

[alxtheoreo]

Originally Posted by White64Goat

How bad are things at Ferrai? Guess this sums it up: http://news.yahoo.com/ferrari-formul...110046851.html

I bet Luca di Montezemolo forced him out!

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