Yes they are, and other tyre manufacturers are not playing in F1 because of the sidewall issue. Like the engine manufacturers they'd like a showcase for their latest product, and small rim diameter and huge sidewalls are not what they're making.
Is that the new rear wing as well? Looks ****ing awesome!
Anyone noticed the sliding skirts too?
The wing and skirts on that car are to simulate 2017 downforce levels. The skirt won't be legal, but there will be more ground effect from the diffuser.
Full 2017 specs here - basically longer, wider and swept front wing...
http://www.formula1.com/en/latest/technical/2016/1/future-vision---the-f1-car--2017-style.html
and here...
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/video-analysis-how-different-will-f1-cars-be-in-2017-739541/
Fat tyres looking good on the Red Bull - can't wait to see what next years cars look like...
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In German, but a nice gallery of some rather amusing F1 wings over the years!...
Oooh Haryanto makes way for Ocon. It'll be interesting to see how he rates against Wehrlein
Yep, Manor is definitely becoming one of the more exciting teams to watch!
Hamilton starting from the middle of the forest then!... 😀
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/37188288
...wise move by Merc. 4th could be a realistic result from there and if it rains who knows what will happen. And he can set the car up just for the race.
Manor finished 11th in 2nd practice with genuine pace in the 1m49's with McLaren and Haas. Ahead of both Williams' as well.
Be interesting to see if that continues in the race.
I'd expect Lewis will just cruise a 107% lap in q1 then park it, no point in burning tyres or engine mileage for no gain.
The engine rule is a bit of a joke really. 3 new engines for hamilton is a bit much and realistically only something works team could do. I hope his mechanics get a bit of a reprieve next race!
I think Williams should be up to speed in 3rd practice as they have a habit of not showing their cards early on.
Werhlein put in a decent shift and maybe Ocon's arrival will push him a little. I hope Kvyat gets the rub and and gets a good result.
Money is on either rosberg or vestappen if I were a betting man
Bloody hell! Magnussen took his hands off the steering wheel as the car spun round, I assume he knew there was going to be a heavy impact. Now that keeping your head under pressure.
Yes! This got very interesting.
Alonso for the win
Or Hamilton.
Verstappen is a disgrace. He might be a good one lap driver but as a racer he stinks.
He never thinks twice about thumping someone else and is shocked when it goes badly for him.
Maybe he's used to just resetting the Playstation.
Is it going to rain? If not I will switch off now....
do Arnold Schwarzenegger and Toto Wolfe have time share on the same accent?
the safety car was good for hamilton, the red flag was good for Britney.
Kimi calling Max a Red Bull bastard on the radio 😆
K Mags Renault looked a bit worse for wear, glad to see him walk away from that. Great stuff to see Lewis on the podium, didn't expect Britney to cop some flak on the podium but most amusing nonetheless.
Fair play to Webber drinking out of Ricciardos shoe.
Fair play to Webber drinking out of Ricciardos shoe.
I mostly like Australians and I have a lot of respect for Webber, but I don't get the drinking out of a shoe thing. If I was running a school to train farm boys how to behave when they move to the city, one of the graduation tests would be to pour some beer into a glass and some into a shoe, then see which one the lad drinks from. If you can't get this right, best to stay on the farm.
Awesome stuff. All good fun and Rosberg must be thinking when's it his turn for engine malady now..
Rosberg must be thinking when's it his turn for engine malady now..
It's a shame that such convoluted rules are so influential on the drivers championship, I guess it's always been the same to some degree though.
A lot of boos for Britney! Poor fella, even when he wins he just can't win lol
nickc - Memberdo Arnold Schwarzenegger and Toto Wolfe have time share on the same accent?
Yes, it's called "Austrian" 😉
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[url= http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/felipe-massa-column-why-i-m-retiring-from-formula-1-813646/ ]Massa to retire at end of the year[/url]
So JB to Williams? Though the word is he's still not sure about that himself.
I think Button would stay at McLaren if they'd have him.
The company car is pretty good!
But Williams to see his career out would be a fair move once Vandoorn is confrimed.
Sadly I think Williams would be better off with Perez (pun intended). They need the money his sponsors bring. Stoff has got to go to McLaren, would Force India be interested in JB?
So that would leave Felipe Nasr as the only Brazilian driver? Assuming that he's still there next year...
Not entirely unexpected, but I assumed that Massa would carry on for at least another year. There has been a lot of speculations linking Button with Williams, he's an experienced guy who knows how to set up a car. Williams are known to be investing heavily in 2017 and will want key personnel in place to ensure they lift themselves beyond fourth in the Constructors' championship.
I'd be amazed if Button somehow scrapes into 2017 in a McLaren. He's been there seven seasons already, Alonso will likely move on himself at the end of 2017 so it makes sense for Vandoorne to gain a year's experience with Alonso beforehand. Unless Hamilton somehow decides upon off a shock return to a resurgent McLaren in 2018, I can't see any young and hungry headline drivers heading their way.
I'm confident it's already a done deal; JB has a lot of credibility to bring to a team like Williams.
I've said before that LH could go back to McLaren. But not while he's winning championships relatively easily. If Merc are no longer so far ahead of the pack I'm sure Ron will make him an offer to be utter and complete No. 1
JB has a lot of credibility to bring to a team like Williams.
No doubt, but he is expensive.
And Williams have nothing like the budget of Merc, Ferrari, Red Bull or McLaren.
I fear they might go the pay driver route or at least someone who brings sponsorship with them. Perez being a good shout as mentioned.
JB seems like a top bloke and if he does retire I'm sure he find plenty of other potential opportunities
What definitely wouldn't be fair is the undignified spectacle of one of the sport's longest serving drivers and former champion driving around in the final race of the season not knowing if it was his last race in the sport or not. So hopefully McLaren will have the decency to sort out their driver line up before the final race of the season
I read on Twitter (James Allen or someone like that) that Nasr to Williams is almost a done deal as a) he brings loads of cash b) Jenson doesn't think Williams are going to be competitive
No disrespect to JB,but is he in a position to turn down an offer from Williams if he received one based on their performance? I'd have thought he'd snatch their hands off.
Vandoorne mentioned the other day in an interview that there aren't any company cars at McHonda so JB won't loose out there.
And if JB did get a company car he'd only complain it understeers anyway.
Amongst all the discussion of what Massa retiring means for the driver merry go round, is there no speculation on whether he jumped or was pushed? Or is it just a given that he was getting dropped by Williams and that this isn't a voluntary retirement?
Jenson doesn't think Williams are going to be competitive
It'll seem eye-wateringly fast after the McHonda.
What's the big whoop about having a Brazilian driver? There's no Italian driver in this years line up. Does any one (outside Italy) really care?
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Alonso will likely move on himself at the end of 2017
The only teams he would want to move to are Merc and Red Bull, but both those teams already have top-class drivers. Honda have made a huge step forward in the last couple of months, by 2018 they should have a very competitive engine. Aero rules are changing next year, staying with McHonda is Alonso's best option.
It was a shame that Jenson Button didn't finish in Spa, those 7 tokens that Honda had spent has made for a much more competitive car. We prob won't see much of them on Sunday as Monza is such a power circuit but maybe they'll be able to put in some impressive results from Singapore onwards...
Nearly half a second between Britney and Hamilton.
What are the chances of Hamilton getting to swap his oval tyres?
So Button is "retiring"
it all sounds a bit Mika Hakkinen .. clearly to appease sponsors and also hedging their bets if Alonso thows a wobbly mid way next season when he gets beaten by Stoffel
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/37268226 ]I'm not retiring yet[/url]
