Official Formula 1 thread

[Martinius]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

My point being that there's likely an open seat available at Ferrari unless he beats the pants off Alonso next year and they actually want him to stay in which case Alonso might not stick around. Doubly so with Montezemolo gone, they (fiat) may gut the organization as we know it.

@headlikeahole

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/10/sp...ri-retirement/

Alonso might be going back to McLaren next year. That would be an awkward conversation with Ron Dennis..still, Ferrari have stolen his prime years with nothing to show for it, I wouldn't mind it at all if he gave them the finger.

[strat61caster]

Rambling inbound based of martinus's comment, I'm not cruel enough to ping him about it...

Alonso would not have had a better chance at a title sitting in a Mclaren seat for the past 7 years with the exception of '08. I could see him going back though I don't think it would be the smartest move, I can't see him partnering with Button so he'd be partnering with a rookie using an untested engine package from Honda who's most recent stint in F1 was less than stellar...

Edit: I could see Alonso in a Mclaren for 2016 assuming the Honda can challenge and come out on top of the Merc and Ferrari has another lackluster year. Unless Mclaren have an ace in their back pocket I think Button will sign another 1 year deal to bring Magnusson up to speed and develop the Honda, they have a good relationship already. After that my money is on an attempt at Bottas or Hulk to partner Magnusson (assuming he is at least as fast as Button for the next year) with an outside chance at Grosjean, and all of those guys before Alonso gets considered.

I think the gap between Merc and everybody else will shrink dramatically next year, most teams have probably already given up on this years package and out of the current top six teams (Williams, RB, Ferrari, FI, Mc) I'd put money on RB or Ferrari to bring it together.

[Martinius]

Fair point. in 2010, the Ferrari and the McLaren were pretty even, maybe a slight edge to McLaren. In 2012, McLaren had the better car, so there's that. I guess I'm just slightly annoyed at Ferrari for making that strategic blunder in 2010 in Abu Dhabi, and then building a dog of a car in 2012, despite which Alonso almost stole the title with.

In the end, you're right about McLaren being a risk with Honda coming in. There's been rumblings that the engine Honda has developed has fell short of expectations, but they're just rumours until this point...
I think people that think Mercedes can be caught next year are in for a rude awakening, it's not like they've been sitting there twiddling their thumbs...I hope I'm wrong though. I'd love for Alonso to win a title at Ferrari, but looks like patience is wearing thin, between both parties.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Martinius

I think people that think Mercedes can be caught next year are in for a rude awakening, it's not like they've been sitting there twiddling their thumbs...I hope I'm wrong though. I'd love for Alonso to win a title at Ferrari, but looks like patience is wearing thin, between both parties.

There are exactly 2 constructors with more points than the lowest scoring Mercedes powered team. (Which coincidentally is Mclaren)

That's not acceptable from a sporting perspective, if there's anything that's painfully obvious it's that the FIA's top priority is to attract viewers, one engine manufacturer dominance is not entertaining to most viewers. Ferrari will close the gap, hopefully Renault sees the value in doing so as well, Red Bull is already publicly cracking the whip that will be interesting as well.

While looking this up I missed out on big news, Marussia scored points. I bet I can find myself gambling that Caterham would beat them to the punch, eat my own words.

[Martinius]

Yeah man, that engine freeze is absolutely ridiculous, we have to suffer through a year long utter domination by one team.

[mike the snake]

SOOOO many things wrong with F1 right now.

The new Turbo V-6 configuration (the one that Renault threatened to back out of F1 if not implemented) sounds like shit.

Fuel limits don't match the power or the engines, so RPM's are limited to 10-11k, making the shitty sounding engines sound even worse. This makes no sense to me.

I could really give a crap about "hybrid power units" really. I love the awesome, wasteful nature of racing, and F1 is the pinnacle.

Development locks on engines allow total dominance by Merc ALL YEAR LONG.

Tires designed to fall off so different strategies used, which ends up with drivers managing tires instead of racing at 100%.

Refueling is just cool, nothing wrong with a little fire here and there.

If F1's main driving force is viewership, then IMO they need to bring back the 22,000 V-12's and V-10's, give the cars the big power and sound that everyone wants, and then RACE!

I could go on and on.

[Aznsky]

Not sure if anybody saw this yet, but a good read on Toyota Motorsport GmbH history with really cool pictures:

http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/09/...rom-the-flames

[FnFast]

Well I am sure the v10's were awesome to watch. The new v-6's may not sounds good, but you have to remember, the racing seen feeds where the automotive industry is going.

I agree that they should bring back refueling and let these guys put these cars to the limit. I think the FIA will bring the sport back.

[Martinius]

what they really need to do is give them rock hard tires with no grip, milk bottle caps for brakes, and a fully manual transmission. That'll separate the men from the boys

[headlikeahole]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

SOOOO many things wrong with F1 right now.

The new Turbo V-6 configuration (the one that Renault threatened to back out of F1 if not implemented) sounds like shit.

Fuel limits don't match the power or the engines, so RPM's are limited to 10-11k, making the shitty sounding engines sound even worse. This makes no sense to me.

I could really give a crap about "hybrid power units" really. I love the awesome, wasteful nature of racing, and F1 is the pinnacle.

Development locks on engines allow total dominance by Merc ALL YEAR LONG.

Tires designed to fall off so different strategies used, which ends up with drivers managing tires instead of racing at 100%.

Refueling is just cool, nothing wrong with a little fire here and there.

If F1's main driving force is viewership, then IMO they need to bring back the 22,000 V-12's and V-10's, give the cars the big power and sound that everyone wants, and then RACE!

I could go on and on.

The current V6 turbo configuration is not the problem. The problem is purely how fast they rev. F1 has had V6 turbos in the past and they sounded just fine, in my opinion even better then the v10.

[alxtheoreo]

Originally Posted by headlikeahole

The current V6 turbo configuration is not the problem. The problem is purely how fast they rev. F1 has had V6 turbos in the past and they sounded just fine, in my opinion even better then the v10.

Maybe they should revert to a traditional turbo layout. To alleviate the sound issue.

Or create an equalization system so suppliers can run NA power plants.

Either way, the FIA will mess it up. Lol.

[headlikeahole]

Originally Posted by alxtheoreo

Either way, the FIA will mess it up. Lol.

Thats the heart of the issue right there. The FIA seems to have no sweet clue what racing fans want to see. Engine freezes, standing restarts...double points! Getting new rules from Bernie is like getting presents from your grandparents; you just know its going to be way off the mark and out of date.

[torqdork]

Bernie certainly has his share of faults, #1 being failure to equitably distribute franchise earnings throughout the field, but I don't think he has much if any input into FIA rules. If anything, he's been more critical of the new rules than expected.

FIA rulemaking is Jean Todt's turf.

[mike the snake]

I agree. Anything wanged out to 22,000rpm sounds good!

V-6's just sound crappy unless spun really high, and they'd probably sound OK at the present 14k rpm limit. Rules are keeping the rpm's down around 10K where V-6's are in the sour zone sound-wise.

Originally Posted by headlikeahole

The current V6 turbo configuration is not the problem. The problem is purely how fast they rev. F1 has had V6 turbos in the past and they sounded just fine, in my opinion even better then the v10.