Forum menu
TWITTER.COM Richard mille jumped ship from mclaren?
Nah, they're one of RoGro's personal sponsors and have been on the Haas for a while
RACEFANS.NET Halo neatly disguised against a dark background in that pic. No shark fin, no TV wings - good riddance to both.
Williams tomorrow innit? Will they go for a white halo?
Re Grand Prix Driver on Amazon.
Did they plan to cover the whole season, but stopped when it was clear the car/engine was rubbish?
I loved the carbon measuring stick to space out the board room chairs. Bet I know who's idea that was!
There's a video online of the new TR-Honda making vroom-vroom noises and Honda have reported that all the problems have been fixed and they expect to challenge the front-runners this year.
Didn’t they say that last year too? Wonder if they borrowed someone else’s engine for the video....
Can’t see the front wing properly in the Haas photo - not interested unless someone can confirm it has at least 2,351 elements
bet it still sounds like a bag of nails on feb 26 and they only manage about 10 laps though i hope I'm wrong
Scarbs has some tech analysis of the Haas...
And have Honda been smoking Black Mamba!? All the problems fixed - err, yes right-oh then!
Didn’t they say that last year too?
Yes, but last year they had Alonso driving for them, total loser who just made them look bad. This year they have signed up a couple of real champs.
That Williams looks stunning...
...without the Halo .
No shark fin,
Apart from the one hidden by being black against a dark background
Halo looks gash...
Member
There’s a video online of the new TR-Honda making vroom-vroom noises and Honda have reported that all the problems have been fixed and they expect to challenge the front-runners this year.
As unlikely as it is that Honda have made a good engine, I would quite like to see Alonso's face if he gets passed by a TR
I would quite like to see Alonso’s face if he gets passed by a TR
Yes, that would be something to see, although I think it's more likely that he'll drop off a couple of deck chairs for Hartley and Gasly to use.
Re Grand Prix Driver on Amazon.
Did they plan to cover the whole season, but stopped when it was clear the car/engine was rubbish?
I loved the carbon measuring stick to space out the board room chairs. Bet I know who’s idea that was!
I just started watching last night. Weird programme, unprecedented access indeed, right the way to the decidedly lukewarm reception the shitty livery got
It did have the premise of 10 episodes, then finished abruptly with a whimper just like their actual season. I assume they were contracted to let it go out on air, because I assume the choice would have been not to do so.
I did think the McLaren factory speech was contrived - "Everything the McLaren team did was right, it was Honda's fault" smartly forgetting that the late floor, nose and brake ducts delayed there own testing program.
The halo is pretty gopping. While I completely agree that driver's safety is the paramount concern, I much prefer the aesthetics of the Indy screen.
I managed three episodes of the McLaren documentary last night before boredom prevented me from watching any more. That said, I did enjoy the thinly disguised exasperation on the part of a McLaren engineer as he tried to get the specification sheet for the engine mounting bolts from a Honda employee. The whole documentary seemed devoid of humanity and the jaunt to the horologists conference to showcase a million dollar watch was borderline offensive.
I guess that's progress, but thirty-two years ago you still had people in anoraks making cars with engine block moulds carved from blocks of wood.
Just finished the programme now - it just turned into a McLaren propaganda piece
Another observation about the McLaren programme...
• Closed room
• F1 engine starting up
• And no one is wearing ear defenders or ear plugs, not even those stood next to it.
If you started a lawnmower engine in a closed room H&S would require ear defenders! 🙂
A lawnmower engine can function for extended periods with a power output measurable in the hundreds of watts.
That is a performance/reliability level that McLaren could only dream of.
New Red Bull is out and it appears Red Bull really does give you (sidepod) wings!...
[img]
RACEFANS.NET 
...and a complete lack of sidepods too. 🙂
It's impossible not to be sceptical about Honda's claims, but if you believe in The Curse of Fernando then the Honda's going to turn out to be a real contender and the Renault will suddenly be a lemon. Which would make for an interesting season at Red Bull Towers 😀
Renault will still be a lemon. Which would make for an interesting season at Red Bull Towers
FIFY
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.
RACEFANS.NET And people are moaning about the ugly halo - this sidepod/barge board development is getting crackers!...
[img]
RACEFANS.NET 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...
[img]
