2014 Formula 1 Season

[ol' boy]

[Bigfella237]

~ and a "Multi-31" incident yet again ~

BTW, that wasn't a typo, I infer from the commentary that the numbers in "Multi-21" referred to the car numbers from that year and the order in which they were supposed to finish (ie Webber in car #2 ahead of Vettel in car #1), so the commentators reasoned that the incident in this race would have been called "Multi-31" since Daniel's car is #3.

Andrew

[weirdo]

Haven't watched F1 for a while but really noticed the marbles on the track at this particular race, even on the straights

[ol' boy]

Yep, there was one camera angle that looked more like a scene from the WRC Rally than F1.

[myf360f1]

My observation of this season is particularly focused on Ferrari and with the exception of Alonso driving the crap outta his car, I am again dissapointed at their lack lustre performance much like last year. After watching a video on all the development work that went into this new car and the Gazillions spent...... I am left with the question WTF are they doing. Its obvious that Mercedes did their homework and to some extent Red Bull, but Ferrari with all their spin have created a barge and an ugly one at that. I can only hope that they start some mass sackings in the team and recruit some innovators.

On another point good to see Daniel giving Seb a run for his money...keep it going buddy

[ol' boy]

Maybe Merc has a bit more experience with Dual Energy Power-plants than a pure race car building company like Ferrari?
(Although Ferrari have a full blown petrol/electric car now)
It was a pretty tall order to build what they have, its nothing like any other engine.
Venture into the complete unknown for all of them, someone just got closer to the mark than the rest, i think that was bound to happen.
The question is, how fast can the others make the catch up? And why does that Merc just drive away into the distance?

Personally i like it, as the winner on the day is development. And with a powerplant concept that could be used in passenger vehicles

[weirdo]

yeah it definitely has moved the goal posts
another amazing feat is the Mercedes did it with best fuel economy as well

[myf360f1]

I hear what your saying and for the most part I agree but it wasnt like they were given a box of nuts and bolts and told to build a racecar. Full credit to Merc ( I'll wash my mouth out later) for getting the chassis and powertrain right and that economy. I suppose we have to wait and see if the reliabilty is there given that they have to last 4000Km.

Damn you Ferrari, stop eating pasta and get back to work.................

[Tiny]

Some good news for the sound of the new cars, the commentators announced that the FIA is nutting out rules for a new slightly louder exhaust system to make the cars sound better.
I hope they meant for use this season.

[ol' boy]

I understand what you are saying though my360f1.

Surfres dont compete in uncompetitivie waves
Skiers dont compete in shit snow

So to have the ultimate motor car racers have such different equipment, some being sub-standard is hard.
I guess its the same as MotoGP or Superbikes. Some guys just have to push their equipment harder to be competitive, while others can be 8/10th's with some room to spare.
If anything, this year has shown to me just how important the equipment is, take Vettel for example.
It is a shame its not more about the drivers! So their individual skills can shine..... but its all about chassis, powertrain and tires.

[myf360f1]

Thanks Tiny, the story goes that alot of the countries hosting the F1 season have complained to the FIA and Bernie saying numbers are down because the F1's sound is crap and is putting people off so they better sort something out, I cant imagine what all the fuss is about, I like the sound of turbo charged vacuum cleaners...........

@ Oceanboy The days of pure driver skill winning are well and truly over, especially when the FIA are promoting technology and energy saving developments. Gotta love watching the old days when the drivers were drivers and there was no substitute for skill. Who knows we may end up with solar powered F1 cars soon wont that be fun............

[Uncle Fester]

If anything, this year has shown to me just how important the equipment is, take Vettel for example.
It is a shame its not more about the drivers! So their individual skills can shine..... but its all about chassis, powertrain and tires.

I think not.

Seb pointed out in an interview that his car and Ricciardo's car are identical!

So it must be down to Ricciardo's driving skills that shine more than Seb's (which includes making best use of the available technology these days that goes beyond just pressing a pedal, flipping a paddle and turning a wheel).

It appears to me that Alonso must be getting the knack too, despite having to deal with a 'crappy car' if I were to believe above mentioned rant over Ferrari.

Hulkenberg is fourth standing in the list. Is it his driving skills? Force India is not known to consistently out perform Red Bull and from the Melbourne race we know that the Red Bull does not perform that bad if it weren't up to the stewards.

I wonder if the stewards even bother to take a closer look if everything is totally legit with Mercedes, outperforming everybody else by miles.

[Bigfella237]

Thanks Tiny, the story goes that alot of the countries hosting the F1 season have complained to the FIA and Bernie saying numbers are down because the F1's sound is crap and is putting people off so they better sort something out, I cant imagine what all the fuss is about, I like the sound of turbo charged vacuum cleaners...........

~ Who knows we may end up with solar powered F1 cars soon wont that be fun............

I could actually see this developing into a much bigger problem for the path F1 development seems to be taking, the simple fact that everyone is complaining about the sound (or lack thereof) now has significant consequences for the future of Hybrid technology, which by nature is moving away from internal combustion altogether.

What's the reaction going to be when an F1 engine shuts down completely to run half a lap on battery power alone?

Will they install big 'doof doof' sound systems to artificially make noise? (BTW, there are some road cars that actually do this already, it's either Mercedes or BMW, I can't remember which?)

Andrew

[Tiny]

I could actually see this developing into a much bigger problem for the path F1 development seems to be taking, the simple fact that everyone is complaining about the sound (or lack thereof) now has significant consequences for the future of Hybrid technology, which by nature is moving away from internal combustion altogether. What's the reaction going to be when an F1 engine shuts down completely to run half a lap on battery power alone? Will they install big 'doof doof' sound systems to artificially make noise? (BTW, there are some road cars that actually do this already, it's either Mercedes or BMW, I can't remember which?) Andrew

I hired a Toyata Prius once & it did exactly that, I could not tell by feel, when the engine was running or not; it was weird. The acceleration of the electric motor was impressive.

I ended up playing with the dashboard info screen & had it showing me when running on fuel or electric & when it was harvesting, got so interesting I nearly crashed it.

Edit: the easy solution if they go that way is to use a Formula 1 V8 sound emulation controlled by throttle response versus speed.

[ol' boy]

I think not..

So Lewis Hamilton just became a better driver over the off season?

[Tiny]

So Lewis Hamilton just became a better driver over the off season?

I think we need to look at the whole picture, as I've observed in all forms of motorsport; it's not just the driver or the car or the team or the rules or the control tyres, it is the best combination of all 5 that shines.

[Uncle Fester]

So Lewis Hamilton just became a better driver over the off season?

I never said it was only about the driver.
I just do not agree with your claim that it is only about the machine and not the driver.
In my former post I gave examples where driver skills still show a lot of influence.

It is all about getting the formula right of machine and driver.

[ol' boy]

Not sure i agree, i think all the top 8 drivers are so close, that its just down to equipment to give them a margin.

Great Driver in a Slow Car, will be a slow car.
Any of the top 8 drivers in a Fast Car, will be Fast.
Put any 1 of the top 8 in the quickest car out there, and he has an advantage that driving skill alone cant make up.

But like in the case like Alonso, he has to drive what he is given to 11 tenths, to make up for a mechanical short fall.

[Godzilla]

I think whats being missed here is the best or greatest drivers have the ability to adapt and compensate for a cars issues or characteristics.

Rule changes to vehicles change their characteristics, drivers need to adapt, to relearn the vehicle, some find it harder than others, they are still in the zone of what worked on the old car and cannot break out of what they knew was right, does no longer work on the new cars.

The ones that stand out in the pack are the ones that can communicate with the engineers, every change can be transmitted back verbally, however what feels right to one driver may not feel right to another.

Drivers like Senna and Schumacer spent a lot of time at the factories learning engineering details, at the track every little change could be felt and relayed back, their thirst for engineering knowledge and understanding combined with driving skills and the ability to communicate everything back to engineers made the cars they drove fit like a old glove on a hand, it just felt right and comfortable, they could play with the car the way they wanted to, when things were not quite right they drove around the issues.

Winning drivers are even known to get bored eventually and need a challenge, so go on to other lesser teams to find that change, and to prove it was not the old winning car they drove but themselves and their skills that brought on the wins.

It was even happening on the GP bikes....

[Bigfella237]

Just to wander off the F1 path here for a second, Casey Stoner was a prime example of that, yeah sure he could ride the wheels off anything he threw his leg over, but what made him so good was his ability to develop a bike.

If you need proof just look at Kawasaki, they never really did much until Casey put a year of R&D into them and after that they were an absolute rocket, then after he'd left they were back where they started. Of course there are some financial considerations thrown into the mix but basically speaking most of it comes down to the rider being able to explain what he or she is feeling on the track and knowing what's needed to improve.

Andrew