Official Formula 1 thread

[mike the snake]

I really hope they wake up and bring back the loud NA engines. I hate to say it, but the new changes I think will seriously hurt attendance.

You can't even hear the cars on track. Maybe if no one shows up for the races they'll bring back the 23,000 rpm V-12's? After a year or two of these new, quiet, turbo V-6's, I know I'd be scrambling for tickets if they brought back the good sounding engines.

Give the people what they want!

[cfusionpm]

I never heard any of the old engines live, and on TV it's not different enough to make a big deal out of.

But from what I hear over at PlanetF1, there's a lot of people saying how changing engines is just part of F1. All of them sound different and we gotta just get used to engines sounding different every couple of years. People hated the V10s after the V12s, people hated the V8s after the V10s, and now people hate the V6T after the V8s. Just like the others, we'll get used to it.

[Superhatch]

I wonder if people hated the V10/12 era after the turbos were banned in the early 90's? :P

I'm planning my next race trip to go see the Formula E series in Miami next march, so you can guess my take on race cars needing to be loud to be exciting.

[GTB/ZR-1]

Wow--what a difference. I agree w/ team Force India owner Maglia when he stated that 'we need the sound back', while he was standing right by the track by a pit-board section.

REALLY disappointed in the sound--like Mike says above--they sound like Indy cars now...

I was fortunate enough to see some races live in thee glory V10 days & the NOISE was GLORIOUS--RIP...

The GOOD news is that the drivers really need to DRIVE these things w/ the lower downforce & power delivery. Manhandling is mandatory.

AND... Because of that--we're seeing c hinks in the Red Bull armor--FINALLY!

FORZA Ferrari & Alonso!!!

[strat61caster]

Agreed with @cfusionpm

Engine regs change all the time and people will bitch about it no matter what because we seem to be creatures of habit. Some of the best motors in F1 were Turbo I4's after all.

Introduced in 1961 amidst some criticism, the new reduced engine 1.5 L formula took control of F1 just as every team and manufacturer switched from front to mid-engined cars. Although these were initially underpowered, five years later average power had increased by nearly 50% and lap times were better than in 1960

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_engines"]Formula One engines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

The early 90's V10s sounded boring compared to the screaming turbos and the late 90's V12s sounded whiny compared to the V10s and the V8s after that lacked the presence and gravitas and now the turbo/kers V6s. Five years from now people will bitch about the new I3s or whatever and how they sound even wimpier than the outgoing V6s.

Only thing that matters is how exciting the racing is, how many fans it'll draw and no change can be a bad change if it prevents record breaking winning streaks.

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by GTB/ZR-1

The GOOD news is that the drivers really need to DRIVE these things w/ the lower downforce & power delivery. Manhandling is mandatory.

AND... Because of that--we're seeing c hinks in the Red Bull armor--FINALLY!

FORZA Ferrari & Alonso!!!

That's really what I'm looking forward to. Now, I'm plenty a Vettel hater, and don't nearly regard him as high as many people do. But if he can pull it off this season, I will happily change my mind. Watching Alonso wrestle that POS Ferrari the past few years has been awe inspiring. Much more so than seeing the fastest car start from pole and lead every lap. If Vettel can do something with his RB10, I think I might actually be able to see him as "a great." It's going to be a struggle though, because his driving style really needs lots and lots of grip and aero... something he definitely does not have this year. Let's see if he can adapt.

[mike the snake]

I feel exactly the same way. Tired of "the Vettel show", but if he pulls off another championship with a lesser car, I'll become a believer.

If change is just a part of F1, I hope they change, quickly, back to something that sounds good!

Whoever makes these decisions is certainly not the fans, or the drivers, or the teams, or the manufacturers I don't think.

In any case, I'm eagerly awaiting Qualifying tonight, and the race tomorrow!

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

That's really what I'm looking forward to. Now, I'm plenty a Vettel hater, and don't nearly regard him as high as many people do. But if he can pull it off this season, I will happily change my mind. Watching Alonso wrestle that POS Ferrari the past few years has been awe inspiring. Much more so than seeing the fastest car start from pole and lead every lap. If Vettel can do something with his RB10, I think I might actually be able to see him as "a great." It's going to be a struggle though, because his driving style really needs lots and lots of grip and aero... something he definitely does not have this year. Let's see if he can adapt.

[rice_classic]

Vettel's domination was/is boring, but really... it's not Vettel's domination, it's RedBull's. If Vettel won 2, then switched teams and won another 2, I'd be really impressed.

For those 4 years RedBull had both engineering and aero superiority. So 4 WDC's were won in RedBull's car but here's where I give credit to Vettel.. Webber is a damn fine driver and I think if Vettel wasn't as good as he is, Webber would have at least 1 maybe 2 WDCs.

What I'm saying is if Webber's teammate at Rebull for those 4 championship years would have been Massa, Button, Hammy or Alonso then Webber would have at least 1 WDC (maybe 2). That's the "Vettel Difference" IMHO.

The ink in the water... The tint in the otherwise perfect glass... Is the car. The RedBull was... always... the... best... car. So when it comes to measuring Vettel's true brilliance, when declaring his greatness in the face of 4 WDCs, I feel there's still an asterisk next to his name.

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Vettel's domination was/is boring, but really... it's not Vettel's domination, it's RedBull's. If Vettel won 2, then switched teams and won another 2, I'd be really impressed.

For those 4 years RedBull had both engineering and aero superiority. So 4 WDC's were won in RedBull's car but here's where I give credit to Vettel.. Webber is a damn fine driver and I think if Vettel wasn't as good as he is, Webber would have at least 1 maybe 2 WDCs.

What I'm saying is if Webber's teammate at Rebull for those 4 championship years would have been Massa, Button, Hammy or Alonso then Webber would have at least 1 WDC (maybe 2). That's the "Vettel Difference" IMHO.

The ink in the water... The tint in the otherwise perfect glass... Is the car. The RedBull was... always... the... best... car. So when it comes to measuring Vettel's true brilliance, when declaring his greatness in the face of 4 WDCs, I feel there's still an asterisk next to his name.

I remember doing some number crunching a while ago and I came up with that from 2010 to 2013, a RBR car took pole 65% of the time (50/77) and won 53% of the time (41/77).

I remember doing some more crunching on Newey designs and that his cars have won 10 world constructor's championships with 6 different drivers on 3 different teams in just 21 years. The only thing that really stopped him in the middle was the Shumi domination, but he was a God among men (who also had the fastest car a few of those years). So the X factor with Vettel isn't as much the driver or team, it's Newey. It still takes a good driver to win a championship, but when your car drives like a traction-controlled videogame and everyone else struggles with wheelspin.... well we all know how I feel. LOL. It was fun seeing Vettel kick the back out accidentally and go off roading a little during free practice. All those little quirks that everyone else is used to dealing with will be new to him.

[mike the snake]

Almost as good as the qualifying are the commercials. Male Dependz diapers for washed up football players, catheters, testosterone supplements.

The best part was Vettel's qualifying performance! lol

[cfusionpm]

Watching qualifying live right now and Vettel just got knocked out in Q2 and will be starting 13th. I'm playing the world's smallest violin in his honor.

In other news, Ricciardo is killing it in the new car. I'd almost root for Red Bull if it's Daniel!

[Bigmaxy]

The crowd reaction to Vettel getting knocked out in q2 was brilliant and then even more so every time ricciardo regained the top spot. Great work by Lewis too in difficult conditions.

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[FnFast]

I think this year will be truly a drivers year. And who can adopt to the new car. I think Hamilton has a good chance to win. Even though in P1 he was out in less than a few minutes. Nico is hungry and Hamilton is determined.

Should be a great year. Can't wait till tonight/tomorrow.

[mike the snake]

I agree. This year, the playing field seems to be more even, so the better drivers will rise to the top.

I'm a big Hamilton fan, so I hope he gets another championship.

In qualifying, the cars looked more skiddish, no doubt due to the lack of downforce and extra torque.