the-mcmuffin-man 😉
I was surpised they didn't just build up roll hoops either side of the drivers head, because I cant see how this central bar can guarantee any more safety as it still leaves the driver as open to smaller objects coming from the front (i.e. spring that hit Massa).
On that second pic of Raikkonen, the Ferrari logo on the air box looks suspiciously like the old Marlboro red chevron...
...hmm that's funny, anyone would think they were still sponsored by them!
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Anyone seen any speed trap stats of late?
McHonda doing a lot of running on softs this week and whilst lap times look like they're in the mix I'd like a view of the speed trap. They must still be 20kmph down on the Merc engines?
Vision through the Halo doesn't look too bad at all...
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That Halo thing looks proper sh*t, either leave it open or close it in, this '3rd way' is the worst of both IMO. Looks rubbish and reducers viewer visibility of the driver, and reduces driver visibility, yet still doesn't offer the full protection of a fully enclosed canopy.
Vision through the Halo doesn't look too bad at all...
Apart from looking at the start lights / flags / marshalls etc
Ferrari have said this is just a non structural mock up to test the concept - I thought the original concept had the rear mounts higher up so it was flatter. Apparently redbull are going to try a canopy concept some time later this year too.
Well Hamilton (& Hulkenburg) doesn't like the Halo and the drivers are no fans of the new proposed qualifying, what a mess.
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35722163 ]http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35722163[/url]
Flags (mostly screens these days anyway) all duplicated on their steering wheel anyway.Apart from looking at the start lights / flags / marshalls etc
So the testing ends, and what have we learned?
Basically its the same order as last year but everyone is going a bit quicker!
I'll be amazed if there are any shocks at the first race.
We've learned that reliability has taken a big step forward all round.
We've learned that halos divide opinion.
We've learned that the new quali system will be used in Oz.
We've learned that the drivers don't like it much.
Looking forward to P1 to see how they shake out when they're all running legal cars and trying to achieve more or less the same thing at the same time.
having drifted off from F1 for a few years its the first time ive seen that Halo concoction - I must say it looks utter crap. Fully enclosed fighter plane style cockpit is the way to go I reckon.
Like this?
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Oh, er wait...
also kimi might like the new ferarri and give it a go this year. I'm not sure what to make of haas, manor or suaber to be honest.
Renault have made up some bhp but mchonda seemed to have fixed the ers but none of the extra bits.
Rio looks painfully slow and I know it is his first experience of an F1 car but surely it highlights the need for a more progressive path from the other formulas.
Top dogs in the intra teams battle
Vettel
Ham
Botta
Ricciardo
Perez
Grosjean
Werhlein
Alonso
Magnussen
Nasr
Sainz
seems like Hamilton would of quite liked to have a super/ultra soft run but the team though otherwise which is a little surprising because you'd have thought some data on how the car fares with a completely new tyre might be useful, may come back to bite them in the end.
Indeed. Might be interesting in the first qualifiers that they run the super/ultra softs.
Intra team battles: I agree with all of the above apart from RB, I have a feeling that Kvyet is going to have a really good run of it this year. Also Sainz over Verstappen? Interesting....
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Mixed bag then.
Murray Walker is back (occasionally) but...
Steve Jones as lead presenter?
Nicholas Hamilton?
Bruno Senna?
Awesome. I've long been a fan of his. I recall seeing a youtube vid of him on pedalling away no-handed a turbo trainer, whilst playing CoD on his Playstation.
Damn it C4, you had a great opportunity to rid our TV's of DC and Jordan, yet you've given them another gig. Webber, Chandhok, Edwards - good, The rest are terrible. Whats Nicholas Hamiltons done to deserve a slot?
I didn't realise quite how short Alain Prost is.
[quote=bombjack ]Damn it C4, you had a great opportunity to rid our TV's of ... Jordan
You do realise this isn't the only TV he's doing now?
Murray!!
The production company used by C4 is part owned by DC. (I think)
You do realise this isn't the only TV he's doing now?
Yeah, but I've long since given up on Top Gear. F1 was a bit of an indulgence on a Sunday afternoon, he really got on my tits with his constant bickering.
I didn't realise quite how short Alain Prost is.
Tiny little feller - a lot of them are like jockeys.
I reckon the "winter testing is a notoriously unreliable guide to form" line is starting to wear a bit thin. I reckon come Australia everyone will be just where everyone thinks they are now, which is pretty much what's happened the last couple of years IIRC.
Whats Nicholas Hamiltons done to deserve a slot?
He competes in the BTCC despite being disabled with cerebral palsy, which makes him pretty cool in my book 🙂
Well I'm pleased Lee McKenzie has been confirmed.
Well I'm pleased Lee McKenzie has been confirmed.
Yeah, I thought she should have had the chance to step up rather than Perry being brought in.
Haas employs small child as development driver (sporting some nice new jeans his mum bought for him!)...
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I'm thinking it could be fun this year with reduced team radio and drivers being able to choose different sets of tyres to each other. Hamilton and Rosberg have chosen different sets to each other for the first race.
One thing the radio restrictions will do is get rid of all the lift and coast messages, so average Joe watching the race won't be so aware of all of the fuel and tyre management that the drivers are doing, just as it was in the olden days when team radio wasn't invented.
Hope we'll still get some comedy gold from kimi and nando though. I feel that rosberg was one of the people who made most use of info from the team so it'll be interesting to see how his performance is affected.
I'm getting annoyed with the C4 adverts - they keep getting me excited for F1, then I remember I haven't got excited during a F1 since that race in Canada...
Sneaky ****ers used a car with an exhaust note - blatant false advertising!
Whys that Haas fella got a knob sewn into the front of his jeans????
Some colour in F1!...
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Sponsored by B&H?
Renaults in F1 should only ever be black and yellow, IMHO. 🙂
That Renault looks great!
Looks really good, really hoping it's quick so KMag gets a decent chance.
It would be great if they beat Red Bull!
It would be great if they beat Red Bull!
I'm really really hoping they do
Looks like it's been through the same paint bay as Renaultsport Clio. The Clio has a 1.6 turbo engine as well.
Looks nice!
Im liking the idea of run minimum 2 of 3 compounds for the race. Should provide a bit more interest than everyone on the same sets, maybe teams throwing on a set of ultrasofts or something for the middle stint to get infront of traffic or beat someone on the undercut. Or perez driving with hards all race then sticking some really fast tyres on for the last 3 laps and driving round everyone 🙂
Just hope Pirelli take a few chances and force the drivers to have a few slow sets or bring a wider range of compounds to races.
In a rare change for me I've decided to throw off my mildly xenophobic shackles and support a non-brit Driver this year after supporting LH since '07.
This year I will be cheering for Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean, they seem unburdened by ego and genuinely happy to be an F1 driver, possibly the best job in the world.
It would be great if they beat Red Bull!
Not a chance. The chassis was designed for the Merc power unit before the Renault buy-out. They've had to chop it up to make their in house Renault lump fit, so it'll be compromised in a whole heap of ways. If anything I'd be more worried about Manor and Hass beating them in the early races.
Pretty sure Jolyon Palmer could do with some support in his first year and he seems a nice enough fellow. Wonder how long DR will keep smiling after a disappointing season last year and the possibility of another great season from Max & Carlos.
Not a chance. The chassis was designed for the Merc power unit before the Renault buy-out.
The Red Bull was designed for a Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, Honda or any other unit there was a slim chance they could get their hands on! 😀
What's your predictions for this weekend then?
I'm going for a Merc front row, Rosberg on pole but Hamilton will win on Sunday and Vettel 3rd.
I've really no idea about the rest, just hope Button and Alonso can compete, with Button doing slightly better 😉 Although truthfully expect them to be in the rear of the mid-pack.
vettel to deny merc a front row
carnage of the new quali rules to see a couple of biggish name that you'd normally see nearer the front, missing out by not getting their fast laps in early enough. Massa probably. Maybe Button not making it through due to bad timing rather than having the pace of a mobility scooter.
Rosberg to cause Hamilton to drop out early due to hindrance, after Hamilton has to go for a 2nd fast lap after flatspotting on the first whilst up on time.
Haas to be the best rookie team for a very very long time
Quali will be as you were, with all drivers going out for a quick lap, then pootling saving tyres and fuel waiting to see if they need to put in a quick on for the final cut off. I don't expect the McHonda to be anywhere near the pointy end of the grid.Merc front row and 1-2 finish in the GP. Vetell 3rd, Bottas 4th.
Also there'll be some kind of shunt between both the Renault drivers resulting in neither of them finishing the 1st lap.
Oh, and [s]Ferrari mk2 [/s]Haas to get points on debut.
Not a chance. The chassis was designed for the Merc power unit before the Renault buy-out. They've had to chop it up to make their in house Renault lump fit, so it'll be compromised in a whole heap of ways
Stranger things have happened, remember Brawn GP?
Stranger things have happened, remember Brawn GP?
Yeah, but that chassis had 1)A massive wedge of cash put into the development by Honda before they pulled out, 2) A very fancy double diffuser which gave them huge amounts of down force, and 3) A decent engine from Mercedes (which Brawn somehow managed to secure as it was the best fit for the chassis)
The Lotus was poor last year and they had no money to develop it throughout 2015, yet alone look towards 2016. If Renault hadn't had bought them out I doubt they'd have been on the grid at all, especially given Maldonados dodgy cheque.
Am I right in thinking this round is only being shown on Sky? anywhere else I can watch without having to remortgage my house for a sky subscription.
Highlights are on channel 4 both days
Hamilton to win.
Rosberg to moan a bit about how things went wrong and they weren't his fault.
Raikkonen will be a lot closer to Vettel now front suspension is changed.
McLaren - no idea, mid-pack at best.
Ferrari - they will really hope they are a lot closer to Merc after todays reports that they have used a lot of engine tokens. So a shit-or-bust start.
Haas - will struggle with reliability and won't finish.
[url= http://sniffpetrol.com/2016-formula1-guide/#.VuqzieY6-Yi ]http://sniffpetrol.com/2016-formula1-guide/#.VuqzieY6-Yi[/url]
Hamilton for the win, probably Rosberg second.
Button to be interviewed whining before the race has finished.
So much like last season really. I cant see anyone beating Hamilton to the WDC this year unless there was some spectacular sandbagging at the test sessions.
Rosberg just nurfed the barrier and broken his wing it is a bit wet though
interesting comments from the honda engineer about the engine 😯
"not good!"
"Should be better next year"
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The love child of Bananaman and Condorman. (only folk of a cetain age will know either)
Thanks Klunk - that pic brought a smile to the start of the day!
I do hate a wet practice day though, always a bit of a downer as nothing can be learnt.
Well, looks like we're having the halo system next year.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/123314/cockpit-halo-set-for-2017-green-light
Surely they'd be better with a fully enclosed cockpit rather than that half-arsed compromise? It looks ridiculous 😕
Cockpits can have visibility issues, even LMP type cars can have issues keeping them clear so the radius on an F1 car would be even harder to work with. Would look pretty awesome though
legend - MemberCockpits can have visibility issues, even LMP type cars can have issues keeping them clear so the radius on an F1 car would be even harder to work with. Would look pretty awesome though
Do you mean clear from rain, oil etc? There must be something like rain-x but better that could be used.
The main issue I think would be extraction from the cockpit, I suppose they could use a small charge to blow the canopy off like on a fighter jet.
I remember they did these tests a few years back, not sure why they didn't go ahead:
looks like we're having the halo system next year.
That's it I'm out. We now have this fudge coming in some lame attempt to pretend it is an open cockpit type of racing. It hasn't even been risk assessed properly and currently has only been tested against loose wheels, which is odd as I can't remember them killing anyone in the last 30 years in F1. So we have a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
Why not close in the cockpit and cover the wheels, improves safety and we get this, far more relevant to the cars we buy as well.
Do you mean clear from rain, oil etc? There must be something like rain-x but better that could be used.
they do use it, still need a wiper though even at the likes of Le Mans and Daytona where they're really cracking on
legend - Memberthey do use it, still need a wiper though even at the likes of Le Mans and Daytona where they're really cracking on
Can't be any worse than a helmet visor though?
Moot point anyway, since Vettel, Massa and the other wimps all start crying to Charlie Whiting at the first sign of a shower and get the race red flagged. They don't even bother making a proper monsoon tyre any more, only inter and wet.
Can't be any worse than a helmet visor though?
You do know the visor is layered with rip off strips don't you? Not quite as easy to have a windscreen tear off.
dooosuk - MemberYou do know the visor is layered with rip off strips don't you? Not quite as easy to have a windscreen tear off.
How many tear offs do you think there are on there? They're to clear bugs, smudges etc, not rain.
How many tear offs do you think there are on there?
There's usually 2, so you have a clear visor 3 times during a race.
Dragon - I hope you're not suggesting we buy Audis?
It has to be said that when you're sitting in a carbon bathtub, with limited visibility over the wheels, 900+bhp, no windscreen or roof, sharing a narrow racetrack with 21 other cars, being driven at the limit and it starts raining then most of us here - myself included - would need an urgent change of underwear before the start lights went green.
Regardless of whether we feel cheated of gladiatorial entertainment or not, Vettel, Massa et al have my utmost respect for saying "screw it, it's wet" and not wanting to risk the lives of other drivers and spectators. Les we forget how poor Jules Bianchi was lost.