Just for the entertainment value of seeing more Red Bull and Alonso meltdowns, I'd like to see both engines turn out to be equally hopeless. I do feel sorry for Alonso at times, he's a brilliant driver, but he can be a bit of a dick.
Renault will still be a lemon.
Maybe a bit harsh, given their late season results, but point taken.
I’d like to see both engines turn out to be equally hopeless.
I'd like to see them both be equally great. 2018 has the potential to be the most competitive season in a long time. Haas and Sauber will get competitive engines, McLaren may well finally get some podiums, the top three may close up slightly, Paddy may have fixed some of Williams's issues, Force India will be fighting tooth and nail… I mean, unless the Honda yet again turns out to be a bag of spanners or Sauber somehow build a total golf buggy, there may turn out to be no obvious tail-enders. I suspect the top three will still have a slight edge and I suspect Merc may well still rule the roost, but it's easy to be optimistic.
I’d like to see them both be equally great. 2018 has the potential to be the most competitive season in a long time.
I agree with this - Merc certainly didn't run away with it last year, Ferrari just dropped the ball at crucial moments and Red Bull started from behind by going in the wrong aero direction. It should all be a lot closer this season.
I think Torro Rosso will be the tail end team this season. Shite engines and a so-so driver line up. Sauber will get Ferrari input now so should make a decent step forward.
Agreed, should be super tight at both the podium and the sharp end of the mid pack
> I suspect Merc may well still rule the roost, but it’s easy to be optimistic.
I'm not sure if they really ruled it last year tbh, a Ferrari driver was leading the drivers championship from the start until September!
Well, Mercedes won both championships and I don't know how you define ruling the roost but second place isn't most people's idea of it 🙂
Well, Mercedes won both championships and I don’t know how you define ruling the roost but second place isn’t most people’s idea of it
Merc were lucky in the fact Vettel imploded on a couple of occasions.
Merc were lucky in the fact Vettel imploded on a couple of occasions.
And for that and other reasons Ferrari won neither championship and thus, I would suggest, can't reasonably be said to rule the roost.
Aaaaaaanyway…
My point was simply that Mercedes won last year and I suspect they may well win next year. I apologise for not being so dry and literal as to have said precisely that in the first instance.
Toro Rosso will be interesting to watch, given that Renault have given parent team Red Bull notice that they won't be supplying them engines in 2019. Second chances are extremely rare in F1, so Honda will either produce a relatively competitive engine this year or will throw in the towel.
McLaren's recent talent for self-promotion will mean that any perceived deficit to Red Bull and Renault proper will be laid bare. They absolutely have to be competitive, or an exodus of engineering talent is likely.
>My point was simply that Mercedes won last year and I suspect they may well win next year. I apologise for not being so dry and literal as to have said precisely that in the first instance.
Fair point! I guess everyone's feeling a little twitchy because they were soooooo dominant 2014-2016 and we're all a bit sick of it lol!
Looking forward to a nice close fight this year, I reckon it's gonna be pretty much nip and tuck between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull with McLaren and Renault stealing a few podiums also 🙂
>Toro Rosso will be interesting to watch, given that Renault have given parent team Red Bull notice that they won’t be supplying them engines in 2019. Second chances are extremely rare in F1, so Honda will either produce a relatively competitive engine this year or will throw in the towel.
Agreed, the ramifications for F1 are pretty big as it may ultimately result in Red Bull flouncing and taking their insane amount of cash with them! I think the combined team spend is half a billion a year? Plus the young driver support program?
the real battle is sauber v haas. I recognise that Rogo and Kmag have the ability to drag the car up the points but who will win the development race? I reckon Sauber will make their move late on in the season
the real battle is sauber v haas
Yes, I imagine F1 revenue will be through the roof with people queuing up to see that.
Sauber looking smart from the back!...
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[url] https://www.racefans.net/2018/02/20/saubers-2018-f1-car-backed-alfa-romeo-revealed/ [/url]
And people are moaning about the ugly halo - this sidepod/barge board development is getting crackers!...
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That Alfa Romeo styling looks super nice!
Sauber looking smart from the back!
Will be something nice for the Torro Rosso drivers to look at.
I for one approve of Alfa Romeo branding in the sport.
They missed a trick with that Sauber though, there's no dirty great fan glued to the back.
I dunno why, but I am really looking forward to this season....
Merc & Ferrari will hopefully be under pressure from Red Bull (erm, and McLaren or is that wishful thinking?)
I'm in two minds about Honda. I really hope they produce a belter of an engine to lay the last couple of seasons embarrassment to bed and say 'IN YOUR FACE....' to the Merc & Ferrari power units.
But, then I don't want Alonso to go into complete melt-down having made the jump to Renault, just as Honda start to come on song!
It'll be interesting to see how the Halo actually looks out on track. The renders and artful pics are very good at hiding ugly-ness.
It'll be the last season I'll probably be watching F1. We don't have Sky & no way I am stumping up for it just to watch the F1. Unless there are any other ways of watching it? Is C4 gonna have a highlight show or anything? I really like their coverage & think that the presenters keep a good balance between entertaining & informative....
They missed a trick with that Sauber though, there’s no dirty great fan glued to the back.
Nah that would be innovation and that's against the rules these days 🙂
Agree that aero development is getting too bitty and fragmented now - it won't be fixed until sponsors feel their logos can't be seen any more due to being spread over half a dozen wierdly shaped surfaces rather than just stuck on the sidepod.
Hoping we get some decent racing throughout the field this year - wonder if Ferrari would talk to the press if they started winning, or if the press might just give them some payback for being twunts over the past couple of seasons.
I doubt Marcus Ericsson will ever win an F1 race, but he could win best helmet design this season - proper retro, uncluttered and easily identifiable...
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Errr - have Renault just given last years car a new paintjob? They seem to have missed the memo about the sidepod development...
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[url] https://www.racefans.net/2018/02/20/renaults-new-f1-car-2018-revealed/ [/url]
the-muffin-manSubscriber
Errr – have Renault just given last years car a new paintjob? They seem to have missed the memo about the sidepod development…
Sand-bagging I hope! Livery looks good though, and for me that's probably the least detestable implementation of the halo so far.
Livery looks good though, and for me that’s probably the least detestable implementation of the halo so far.
I agree.
I think removing the massive shark-fins has helped the look of the Halo. The lines of the Halo now follow the lines of the airbox on the 2018 cars.
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Isn't that just Renaults testing livery, similar to what they did last year. Don't think that much black is tv friendly enough to race, though that never bothered jps lotus.
II'm not finding the halo particularly offensive any more, it's like when the regs changed to lift and narrow the rear wing, the first time you saw one it looked odd but stick a few together and you don't notice as much.
>Is C4 gonna have a highlight show or anything?
Sky is only contractually obliged to supply highlights on a 'free-to-air' channel (apart from Silverstone- that will be on Channel 4 live and in full), they get to choose which channel that is so it is unlikely to go to their main rivals (Channel 4). Apparently Sky has a couple of free-to-air channels of its own so we can expect the highlights to be on one of those, however I don't know what they are or how to access them. Anybody have any ideas?
>I’m not finding the halo particularly offensive any more
Me neither
There have been reports that Liberty Media are launching a F1 live streaming channel in some markets this year. No idea if the UK will get it though. I think this is your last year of free F1 though.
No the sky deal means liberty can't sell their OTT service in the UK. If only there was a way to fake a different ip address...
Shock picture of a Torro Rosso Honda going fast enough to throw up some spray
Narr, that’s probably oil being burnt.
What was that about aero being fragmented?
<span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">And yeah, Haas v Sauber is interesting at least in terms of seeing what Ferrari do.</span>
Cheeky glimpse of the Macca, looks like it might be orange...
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We'll see what happens at the proper launch shortly - but the Merc so far looks the same as last years car with a Halo stuck on top...
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Cheeky glimpse of the Macca, looks like it might be orange…
McLaren test livery has been orange in the past, then they ruin it
Edit: now I can see the photo, looks orange and black I think
I suspect Mercedes have the luxury of an almost "if it ain't broke don't fix it" policy; they even said they weren't bothered about making the car less nervous to drive—after all, Hamilton seemed to cope just fine (Brazil the one possible exception). If they can just run the engine so that race mode is closer to quali mode I'd guess they're looking pretty good.
BezI suspect Mercedes have the luxury of an almost “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” policy; they even said they weren’t bothered about making the car less nervous to drive—after all, Hamilton seemed to cope just fine (Brazil the one possible exception). If they can just run the engine so that race mode is closer to quali mode I’d guess they’re looking pretty good.
Personally I think Merc are slightly on the back foot against Ferrari this year despite winning the champs.
The suspension their car was designed around last year was outlawed just before the season began, so I think they will have had a fairly large change in that area at least. Whereas Ferrari's car I would imagine is most likely an evolution of last years design. Plus the clever sidepods vs long wheelbase thing.
Also it doesn't seem if there's much between them engine wise either (so they can't rely on this to keep them ahead).
The Merc engine was still the most powerful and most reliable last year. The qualifying mode shows that Merc understand the technology better than anyone else. This year, each car will be limited to three engines, so reliability will be even more important. I suspect Merc might even have a bigger advantage this year than they did last year because Ferrari and Renault will have to turn things down a bit more for reliability.
PMSL! 🙂
Bloke seen pushing steps against the car so Bottas can get out over all the sidepod gubbins and halo!...
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<div class="bbp-reply-author">hols2
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<div class="bbp-reply-content">The Merc engine was still the most powerful and most reliable last year. The qualifying mode shows that Merc understand the technology better than anyone else. This year, each car will be limited to three engines, so reliability will be even more important. I suspect Merc might even have a bigger advantage this year than they did last year because Ferrari and Renault will have to turn things down a bit more for reliability.
<span class="bbp-reply-post-date">Posted 39 seconds ago</span></div>
When you say 'most reliable'...IIRC Ferrari's only engine related retirement last year was from a fault spark plug. I don't think they'll have any reliability issues.
Here are the number of units they used:
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What's the McLaren doing in Bulgaria? Assuming that the plane is in its own country of course
Ferrari were worried enough about their engine problems to sack people.
http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/20932119/ferrari-gives-details-malaysia-failures
http://en.f1i.com/news/288137-former-ferrari-engine-guru-sassi-heads-mercedes.html
Lorenzo had been working on a new piston design that was expected to be a big step forward. That failure and his sacking and move to Mercedes is not a good omen for Ferrari.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/127947/ferrari-counting-on-piston-innovation
>Ferrari were worried enough about their engine problems to sack people.
OMG Ferrari love sacking people so much lol
Hamilton's interview was odd - he seems to have picked up a bit of an accent from somewhere, my guess is he's picked up a Bajan slur to the end of his words, he does like it out there...
Ferrari are sticking wings everywhere - even the wing mirrors!...
New McLaren is out - I like the orange, but the lack of swooshy graphics really highlights the lack of sponsors. It looks like Chandon have lowered their sponsorship too as they were prominent on the airbox last season...
New mclaren looks ace....although seemed to not get the memo about the side pod winglet super aero bits
It's quite surprising there is a huge difference between the teams on the treatment of the sidepods. We've got 'conventional' from Merc, Renault, McLaren and Toro Rosso. And intricate sidepods from Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams, and Haas to bat-shit crazy from Sauber!...
My guess is that the teams are still working on a lot of the details and will turn up to the first test with a bunch of different aero stuff to try. The cars will probably look quite different by the time they get to the first race.
<div class="bbp-reply-author">hols2
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<div class="bbp-reply-content">Ferrari were worried enough about their engine problems to sack people.
http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/20932119/ferrari-gives-details-malaysia-failures
http://en.f1i.com/news/288137-former-ferrari-engine-guru-sassi-heads-mercedes.html
Lorenzo had been working on a new piston design that was expected to be a big step forward. That failure and his sacking and move to Mercedes is not a good omen for Ferrari.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/127947/ferrari-counting-on-piston-innovation
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I don't think that tells you anything at all. Mercedes had one off problems too:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-discovers-new-problem-on-f1-engine-909151/
That he was sacked doesn't tell you much other than Ferrari are a bit licenziato-happy .
And who do you think these regs are targetting?
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-discovers-new-problem-on-f1-engine-909151/
Read between the lines on what they're banning. It sounds to me like a team with a very good quali-banzai mode were running a naughty oil spec that was different to the one used for the race...
Unrelated, a quote from PH member regarding the sound of the cars...
DazzledSo having been up to the circuit today to see the Mercedes running it just confirms how awful the halo is.
It’s been hard enough in recent years to identify the drivers as they sit so low in the cockpit. Now it’s next to impossible. It’s also incredibly ugly.
On the plus side the noise is back. Considerably louder and more purposeful.
One step forward, two steps back.
Quite interesting...get to see what they see.
The colour scheme on that McLaren has completely vindicated my controversial choice of blue anodized components on my old bright orange Marin Wolf Ridge.
Aren't all new Mclarens painted pre-season test orange?
Not always. There's speculation (draws excited breath) that McLaren are making the colour change permanent. One would assume that the blue hues are a nod to Renault's corporate colours, but equally that might just be pure unwarranted speculation on my part.
My orange and blue Marin was a complete dog, BTW. I hope for better things for McLaren.
I'm 99% sure that will be McLaren's livery this season - it's pretty much the same as their Indycar from last year. And the blue is from their Can Am days.
And re the Halo - from some angles it looks broadly acceptable, from others downright ungainly. Unfortunately I think we will be stuck with it until the regs are completely changed in 2021.
I'd bump that 99 to 100.
Don't think I've seen that much blank space on a car since the Brawn, though.
Dunno how to link the vid but the mclaren's livery looks great when the car is on the move
https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/status/966979280814133248
oh, that sounds good, did it last a lap?
Probably already done more test laps than the last couple of seasons
@the-muffin-man To deviate slightly of piste
I dont mind the drama on the rally cars as much.Properly haulin.
And we're off!
Apparently the Honda engine has started up. I predict 27 laps for Toro Rosso today. 🙂
Alonso has crashed the McLaren already.
He's not used to going so fast!
Looks like the wheels have already fallen off this season
hello darkness my old friend
honda still sounds like a bag of nails
red bulls are in their race livery
merc sounds brutal, the renault a bit tinny
I noticed ear-defenders were being used again in the pitlane.
Recap of the 2018 liveries
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that honda engine sounds shit
Aesthetically the Renault wins IMO, Williams second. The McLaren looks nice but I think that can largely be attributed to the huge space they’ve left for a title sponsor once the trophies come flooding in… fingers crossed, Zak.
The Sauber looks great from some angles but a bit hmmm from others. All the others, meh. The Force India graphics are a bit of a mess.
the renault car looks good on the track early doors too, getting on the power earlier than most
My first prediction of the year fails!
Toro Rosso has already done 33 laps. 🙂
Latest lapcount:
Hartley 41
Hulkenberg 38
Bottas 37
Raikkonen 32
Stroll 29
Ricciardo 24
Ericsson 23
Grosjean 18
Mazepin 15
Alonso 6
The McLaren problem seems to be tyre related on the clip I have just seen.
Zac Brown said it was a wheel nut problem.
Renault are looking good early doors! 🙂
Ah ok, thought it wasn’t related to engine or drive train.