The F1 (Formula One) Thread

Ok so at least F1 was proven wrong about that idiotic idea for a qualifying setup. . . That was madness. The most boring qualies in years.
Thankfully it had been decided to revert to the old style of qualies.

As for the race, that start from Vettel and Kimi was just pure brilliance. It was truly stunning to watch them stream by the Mercs. I think they would have stood a chance to stay in front if they didnt make bad tire choices as well as Kimi's problem (aka fire).

I think I was most dissapointed with Max Verstappen - he sounded like a whiny kid the whole race through. Rosberg did well to manage his break issues, I was happy that lewis struggled a bit behind other cars that he couldnt pass. It was sad to see the Ferrari catching the mercs at the end but not having the downforce to pass them.

Well done to Grosjean and Haas for the 6th place - that was well done. And then hat's off to Alonso, he survived an epic accident, and it really does go toe show how much the cars have improved in the last 3 years. That would have most likely have been an accident where he would have had been broken and bruised, where as he walked away with a slightly hurt leg. And the fact that he had the presence of mind to crawl out of the car was astounding.
 
As for the race, that start from Vettel and Kimi was just pure brilliance. It was truly stunning to watch them stream by the Mercs. I think they would have stood a chance to stay in front if they didnt make bad tire choices as well as Kimi's problem (aka fire).

I think I was most dissapointed with Max Verstappen - he sounded like a whiny kid the whole race through.

Yeah I agree with those points right there.
 
F1 owes Alonso a debt of gratitude

The day after the season opener and F1 is back on the front pages, and while some of the coverage refers to Nico Rosberg's win and Ferrari's strategic error, it is the crash involving Fernando Alonso that dominates.
Even the broadsheets join the tabloids in their coverage of the incident with headlines proclaiming "horror", "smash" "escapes death" and "200 mph".
Of course, the Spaniard has thoughtfully provided much of the script, admitting that he was "lucky" to escape unhurt, that his life flashed before him and that his first thought afterwards was of his Mum who would have seen the crash on TV and feared the worst.
However, imagine if the accident hadn't happened.
If the sport had made it on to the front pages today it wouldn't have been in relation to Alonso scoring a couple of points for McLaren, Haas' fairy-tale debut, the petulance of Max Verstappen, the "fire in the airbox (disco?) of Kimi Raikkonen or even Arnie's return... as promised.
Instead, the media would have been rightly mocking the decision to drop its controversial new qualifying format after just one race.
After all, Sunday's headlines looked a lot more negative for the sport, with words like "farcical", "anti-climactic" and "rubbish" leading the way.
It wasn't just the high paid technical gurus who had, according to the likes of Lewis Hamilton, predicted that it was the wrong way to go, on message boards and forums fans knew the sport was making a mistake, pointing out what would go wrong in various scenarios.
Low and behold, within hours, following a call from Bernie, the team bosses agreed unanimously to return to the old format, not a single voice of dissent. "They wouldn’t have dared," Toto Wolff is quoted as admitting.
However, qualifying wasn't the only volte-face from the sport's powers-that-be over the weekend. Almost unnoticed the rules on radio communications were eased, with some predicting they will be made even less severe in the coming months.
Then there was a U-turn on the late introduction of a rule which prohibited drivers from throwing their rip-offs on to the track, presumably they were to either leave them in place on their visors or put them in the relevant receptacle… next to the cup holder.
While drivers were running wide and spinning, the powers-that-be were performing an equally impressive number desperate of U-turns.
Thankfully however, Fernando clashed with Esteban Gutierrez and gave the mainstream media what it really craves from the sport...
Meanwhile, as we ponder the farce that was qualifying, one wonders who the hell is steering the good ship F1 at present... and where they are taking it.
Fernando was indeed lucky at the weekend... but so was Formula One.
 
Ok I am slowly loosing more faith in F1 and the powers that be that rules it... For this weekend they are sticking with the mess that was qualies in Melbourne....

And then you see this:

CePVPDxWwAAbOfP.jpg
 
Race 3 of 21 from China this morning. Another decent race with lots of varied strategies and constantly change order. Only the 6th (?) time in F1 history that there were no race retirements - all 22 starters finished the race.

Rosberg a comfortable winner, well over 35 seconds ahead of 2nd place Vettel, and 3rd place for Kvyat.

Here's the race results, and Drivers and Constructors World Championship standings after today's race:
china race.JPG
drrv.JPG
cnst.JPG

And Ted's Notebook Race report:

Next up is the Russian GP in Sochi on 01 May at 2PM
 
It really is difficult being a Kimmi fan with all the shitty luck being thrown his way...and by his own teammate! so you kinda don't want vettel PUNISHED for it coz that would hurt the team

sigh:(
 
Red bull making the best choice . . . .
Red Bull replace Kvyat with Verstappen

MAX VERSTAPPEN DANIIL KVYAT RED BULL
05 May 2016 Share
Max Verstappen will replace Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull from the forthcoming Grand Prix in Spain onwards, with Kvyat moving back to sister team Toro Rosso.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the switch would allow Verstappen to showcase his ‘outstanding' talent, and also help Kvyat ‘regain his form'.

The move comes just days after Kvyat was heavily criticised - by Horner included - after twice coming together with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in Russia.

"Max has proven to be an outstanding young talent. His performance at Toro Rosso has been impressive so far and we are pleased to give him the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing," Horner said.

"We are in the unique position to have all four drivers across Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso under long term contracts with Red Bull, so we have the flexibility to move them between the two teams.

"Dany will be able to continue his development at Toro Rosso, in a team that he is familiar with, giving him the chance to regain his form and show his potential."

Kvyat was promoted to Red Bull ahead of the 2015 season, in place of the departing Vettel. He out-scored team mate Daniel Ricciardo in his maiden season with the team, by 95 points to 92. This year the Russian secured the second podium of his F1 career in China, but then cost the team a chance to score points with his double-collision with Vettel.

Verstappen, meanwhile, is widely regarded as one of the best talents on the grid. The youngest driver to compete in the sport, and the youngest points-scorer, he twice came close to scoring a podium during a superb debut campaign with Toro Rosso last year.

Source
 
Good call, IMO. Might be a little early for Max, but he's got a great deal of talent and certainly deserves a tier A drive.
 
I think Verstappen stands a chance to prove himself now. He is good, lets see how he does with the pressure
 
Schumacher Jnr. to become next Mercedes F1 driver?

mickschumacherrosberg-430x286.jpg


Germnay - Mick Schumacher could now be on the cusp of becoming Mercedes' next official Formula 1 junior driver.

With Esteban Ocon stepping up to Force India next year, and Pascal Wehrlein on the cusp of replacing world champion Nico Rosberg at the works team, Kolner Express newspaper suggested 17-year-old Schumacher is next in line.

Schumacher returns to Mercedes

The son of F1 legend and seven time world champion Michael, young Schumacher is poised to move into the European F3 series in 2017, which was the springboard for Max Verstappen's meteoric early F1 career.

Express has published a photo showing Mick wearing a Mercedes F1 team jacket during an end of year celebration event in Sindelfingen, Germany, near Stuttgart.

The tabloid report said: "It will soon be official, but no one wants to confirm it yet."

Source:
 
For me the scary thing is they want to put a newbie who has been in the sport for 1 year in a seat with that ass hat lewis. That is dissapointing because they will break the kid before he reaches any potential - not that he has much. I am talking about Wehrlein....

We always knew Mick Schumacher was going to join a racing team, he has been racing for a long while now.
 
To add to [MENTION=2530]Wyvern[/MENTION]'s news post, here's the 2017 car reveal/launch schedule:

February 17: Williams FW40, Online preview
February 20: Sauber C36, Online
February 21: Renault RS17, London
February 22: Force India VJM10, Silverstone
February 23: Mercedes W08, Silverstone
February 24: Ferrari, Fiorano
February 24: McLaren MCL32, Woking
February 26: Red Bull RB13, Online
February 26: Haas VF17, Online
February 26: Toro Rosso STR12, Barcelona

As promised, Williams did release a brief preview video of the FW40 today, but not the real one, just a render. Even so, it gives a fair idea of the shape this seasons cars are going to be taking:

And here's the dates for the 2 pre-season testing sessions:

27 February - 2 March: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
7-10 March: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
 
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