The Official 2010 F1 Megathread

[myhui]

James Allen had some kind words for Alonso:

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/

Barcelona is his home race and his first in the Ferrari, so Hispanic expectations are likely to be off the charts. All the teams will have major development steps by then and it may redraw the pecking order.

But for Alonso to be 3rd in the championship, with 49 points, just 11 adrift of Button and ahead of Vettel is quite an achievement, given what he’s been through in the wacky races of the first part of the season.​

Considering what Alonso had to go through to get to 4th today:

He was third on the grid, ahead of Button but jumped the start taking the lead. He was one of the many who pitted for intermediate tyres on lap 2, dropping to sixth place. Realising that he was on the wrong tyre and that a penalty was heading his way, he pitted again on lap 5 for slicks, rejoining in 12th place.

Now on the right tyre, he served the drive through penalty on lap 6, his third time through the pits, while Button and Rosberg had yet to make a single one.

Each tyre stop was taking around 23 seconds today and a drive through is 5 seconds less than that, so Alonso had dropped almost a minute and was in 17th place by lap 6.​

 

[enigma]

Jenson Button, another brilliant call on tires and excellent race, same goes for Nico Rosberg. Jenson proved once again that he's easy on the tires and is championship material. Where are all those naysayers that said Hamilton would embarrass Button this season and that it would be a mistake for him? oh yeah...



And in regards to Alonso and Hamilton's drives... Yes, they were indeed very impressive, you can't take that away. However, we all need to remember that there were two SC periods that allowed the field to get bunched up again. Without that second SC period, I'm not entirely sure Hamilton would've finished in second to be honest. IIRC, the leaders were about 30+ seconds up on the folks who initially made stops for inters.










Maybe not hall of fame status, but he's certainly doing better than LH. Yeah it's still early in the season, but you don't have to wait a year to see that LH is not embarrassing JB. In fact, LH is embarrassing himself.

Thank you. My thoughts exactly. I have all sorts of friends here that were ragging on my for even thinking JB had a shot and they're now eating their words.

 

[Hrant]

Not sure if it is the "rain" factor per se, but I must admit - after the really boring Bahrain race, I am back to watching F1 as this is what racing ought to be!

 

[ChopsJazz]

I get all tingly when I think about rain and F1! :biggrin:

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Jenson Button, another brilliant call on tires and excellent race, same goes for Nico Rosberg. Jenson proved once again that he's easy on the tires and is championship material. Where are all those naysayers that said Hamilton would embarrass Button this season and that it would be a mistake for him? oh yeah...




Maybe not hall of fame status, but he's certainly doing better than LH. Yeah it's still early in the season, but you don't have to wait a year to see that LH is not embarrassing JB. In fact, LH is embarrassing himself.

Dont get me wrong, Im a fan of JB and was last season. I hope he does amazing this season. That caption'd pic was merely for the lolz.

Not sure if it is the "rain" factor per se, but I must admit - after the really boring Bahrain race, I am back to watching F1 as this is what racing ought to be!

Than what would it be? The adaptability to rain has been the key contributor to the high entertainment value we've seen from F1 this season. You have drivers who make the call themselves when to switch (Jenson) and you have others who listen to their engineers (Hamilton). Makes for a high amount of variability during the race and stirs up the peking order.

 

[Ponyboy]

What a great race! Couldn't stay up to watch it live on Speed (jeez, I'm getting old) so I watched it during the afternoon.

Jenson, Hambone, and Caterpillars all drove great. I was just happy to see some great action for once instead of the procession.

 

[Hrant]

Than what would it be? The adaptability to rain has been the key contributor to the high entertainment value we've seen from F1 this season. You have drivers who make the call themselves when to switch (Jenson) and you have others who listen to their engineers (Hamilton). Makes for a high amount of variability during the race and stirs up the peking order.

Speaking for myself, in any competitive event, the fun factor is in the actual competition and in this case the actual opportunity to duke it out as in passing. Others will argue pit crew stops and tactical strategies re tires, refueling, etc. are all part of the competition too. True, but if you don't see racers trying to pass each other, then that is not "fun" racing in my book. I'd rather watch spec Miatas duke it out than see a procession as Ponyboy stated it. And if rain is the factor in this case, so be it

 

[69XSN]

Speaking for myself, in any competitive event, the fun factor is in the actual competition and in this case the actual opportunity to duke it out as in passing. Others will argue pit crew stops and tactical strategies re tires, refueling, etc. are all part of the competition too. True, but if you don't see racers trying to pass each other, then that is not "fun" racing in my book. I'd rather watch spec Miatas duke it out than see a procession as Ponyboy stated it. And if rain is the factor in this case, so be it

My thoughts exactly, thank you.
That's the reason I like drivers like Alonso and Lewis. With only four races so far, I still believe Hamilton is the better McLaren driver and will end the season with more points. Sure, Button is a good tactical driver, But with four stops Hamo finished only 1.5 seconds adrift. Then again, I have been wrong before. I really wanted Schumacher to show the young boys a thing or two, but that has not materialized. I also don't believe the problem is solely with the car. Come on Spain, bring some rain and let the racers race again.

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: it's a little early........

to be drawing any season long conclusions, isn't it?

Where are all those naysayers that said Hamilton would embarrass Button this season and that it would be a mistake for him? oh yeah...

Rain and other wild cards ain't gonna be a factor forever. So, let's just revisit your post in October and see what's what then. :biggrin:

(Well, nice to see a little smack thrown down, it was getting a bit too civil around here.)

 

[NSXrebel]

Re: it's a little early........

My thoughts exactly, thank you.
That's the reason I like drivers like Alonso and Lewis. With only four races so far, I still believe Hamilton is the better McLaren driver and will end the season with more points. Sure, Button is a good tactical driver, But with four stops Hamo finished only 1.5 seconds adrift. Then again, I have been wrong before. I really wanted Schumacher to show the young boys a thing or two, but that has not materialized. I also don't believe the problem is solely with the car. Come on Spain, bring some rain and let the racers race again.

Yeah, that was with 2 Safety Car periods, that Hamilton and Alonso were able to catch up, otherwise, Rosberg and Button were clearly 30+ seconds ahead of the rest of the pack that went in early for intermediates.

to be drawing any season long conclusions, isn't it?

Rain and other wild cards ain't gonna be a factor forever. So, let's just revisit your post in October and see what's what then. :biggrin:

(Well, nice to see a little smack thrown down, it was getting a bit too civil around here.)

If you had read my post, you would have seen that I did mention that it was a bit early in the season. I was just stating the fact that Button wasn't being embarrassed by Hamilton, and has qualified better as well, unlike what some of you believed.

 

[docjohn]

indeed if it had'nt been for the safety car bunching them up(to clean debri) JB would have trounced the field.Hami again used up his inters before JB did. Good race though.I was surprised how quickly the two front row starters faded as the raced progressed.

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: Rain and other "whackiness" aside,

How much longer can the usual suspected favorites continue to shoot themselves in the foot?

So is Macca's F-Duct, that everyone seems to be copying, going to have a positive effect w/ China's long straight?

So, Shawn, what was the F-duct outcome? Who all had a Macca copy and who besides Fezza had a different version? And were they all installed and working? And why didn't Ferrari run theirs?

 

[Ponyboy]

Re: Rain and other "whackiness" aside,

So, Shawn, what was the F-duct outcome? Who all had a Macca copy and who besides Fezza had a different version? And were they all installed and working? And why didn't Ferrari run theirs?

Meh, I dunno.

Let me go ask Monte and Newey?

 

[docjohn]

3 wk break.....:frown:....What do you guys think of petrov? From what I heard the broadcasters saying some of the lower placing teams are being subsidized by the drivers,ie no direct pay to the driver

 

[Jack Sparrow]

The Malaysian GP was kinda boring to be honest. Without rain, it was pretty predictable and procession like.

Speaking for myself, in any competitive event, the fun factor is in the actual competition and in this case the actual opportunity to duke it out as in passing. Others will argue pit crew stops and tactical strategies re tires, refueling, etc. are all part of the competition too. True, but if you don't see racers trying to pass each other, then that is not "fun" racing in my book. I'd rather watch spec Miatas duke it out than see a procession as Ponyboy stated it. And if rain is the factor in this case, so be it

Well the procession comment was first stated by yours truely...:biggrin:

I agree I want the drivers to duke it out but would Australia have been as fun to watch if it hadn't rained? The rain adds another factor to the race which makes things even more difficult on the driver. Malaysia was boring, once everyone settled into their respective places, nothing happened, no one was duking it out.

I'm not asking for rain at every race but I will give it credit for adding to the entertainment value of the races so far.

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: The old saying on T-shirts worn by skydiving instructors was...........

"You'll be fine as long as you don't do something...............STUPID !!"

What do you guys think of petrov?

I was thinking of Renault's surprise pace when I asked how much longer the big teams will continue to shoot themselves in the foot. Renault has made big strides this year, but they are finishing where they are not because they are so brilliant, but because they just haven't done anything stupid like so many other drivers or teams we know.

I think what we've seen so far is not indicative of the next 15 races.

But more to the point, Petrov has shown some cool and good hands. I just hope he's the real deal and not a flash in the pan. I guess what that really means is that the Russian money will be delivered as promised.

 

[Hrant]

Well the procession comment was first stated by yours truely...:biggrin:

Touche' :redface:

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: This will look wierd

So, if I understand this correctly, with Bridgestone going away, Bernie and Co. are casting ideas about for getting more companies interested in supplying tires. Going to an 18" rim would supposedly open up the tire competition, be "greener" (love that ubuiquitous but vague cliche) and provide some actual tech transfer to street tires.

Did someone say cheaper too? Like radically re-designing the chassis will be easy and free, right?

I think we got used to the wing size change pretty easily compared to the look of "low profile" tires on formula cars.

Anyone want to photshop 18" rimmed tires on to an F-1 car? I'm betting wierd will be an understatement. :wink:

 

[myhui]

670bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged engines from 2013

Article from autosport.com:

With teams closing in on plans to use 670bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged engines from 2013, Felisa believes the sport should be even bolder in embracing the latest knowledge - and pursue the more economical Gasoline Direct Injection concept.​

Now is the time for Honda to get back into F1 as an engine supplier, starting with McLaren as a customer team.

 

[lightguy]

I was surprised how quickly the two front row starters faded as the raced progressed.

Without adjustable ride height whacha gonna do ?

 

[lightguy]

Re: This will look wierd

So, if I understand this correctly, with Bridgestone going away, Bernie and Co. are casting ideas about for getting more companies interested in supplying tires. Going to an 18" rim would supposedly open up the tire competition, be "greener" (love that ubuiquitous but vague cliche) and provide some actual tech transfer to street tires.

Did someone say cheaper too? Like radically re-designing the chassis will be easy and free, right?

I think we got used to the wing size change pretty easily compared to the look of "low profile" tires on formula cars.

Anyone want to photshop 18" rimmed tires on to an F-1 car? I'm betting wierd will be an understatement. :wink:

The 13" tires ARE the suspension.
18's are going to kill them.

 

[lightguy]

Merc is going to give MS a stretched car for Spain.
Supposed to lessen understeer.
As MS slowly builds the team around himself.

 

[NSXrebel]

Re: This will look wierd

The 13" tires ARE the suspension.
18's are going to kill them.

13 inch tires are small, 18 foot tires are HUGE! :biggrin:


He's talking about 18 inch diameter rims, not tire height.

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: And the conclusion is??

Without adjustable ride height whacha gonna do ?

Maybe I'm not doing my homework, but I still have not come across anyone with certain knowledge or even a 2nd plausible theory of how Red Bull's suspected system actually worked. I only heard about the "slow pressure leaking" shock theory, which the scrutineers should have been able to find/confirm. Apparently they have not.

Whitmarsh was seemingly quite forthcoming in saying they were working on one and have stopped based on the FIA statement reinforcing the intent, if not the detail of the rule. But last I heard, Christen Horner flatly denied they had any such system.

And Red Bull had some vague but somewhat believable explanation of tire wear(probably setup?) and strategy that scuttled their race chances. Which holds some water when Bridgestone noted a huge disparity in tire wear amongst the teams and from one driver to another in the same team, with JB and Hamo being the most glaring example.

So the quesiton is still hanging AFAIK. Anyone have a link to a reliable source and definitive explanation?

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: Watch out, Schumi's coming back

Merc is going to give MS a stretched car for Spain.
Supposed to lessen understeer.
As MS slowly builds the team around himself.

Saw this on another thread about Schumi's new chassis:

Yes! It will be a two-seater featuring nose gunner to help MS get rid of rivals.

Schumi-haters everywhere are getting ready to get fired up once again. :wink: Should get interesting. :tongue: