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Silverstone will be the place where we see if Mercedes can fight back or not. If they get trounced there then the championship is Max's to lose.
^ love that, really shows where each car is better.
As much as I wish to see F1 cars that aren't proportioned like a street luge, I'd be amazed if that insta pic was accurate.
The cars will be even heavier too, approaching the weight of a 1980s Fiat Uno hatchback. While it's hard to argue against safety led improvements in crash structure that necessitate extra mass, I have little faith that two of next year's cars placed end to end will measure less than one time zone in length again.
2022 you have my attention
(Hoping this is accurate)
Looking at that picture the bit between the back of the cockpit and the rear axle is much shorter next year. I thought they were carrying over the engines and gearboxes more or less, and presumably fuel tanks. How much of what is there now is empty space? I thought they were pretty tight in there. Am I missing something, how is that bit getting smaller, they cant move everything out to the sidepods can they?
I think the engine and gearbox are actually quite small, the teams put a lot of work into making them really compact (that was one of the main reasons that Honda's first engine was so terrible). There's a fuel cell behind the driver and a battery pack, plus radiators for the engine coolant, intercoolers, and oil coolers. Some of those things can be moved around. The total volume of the car behind the driver will be the same, just located differently. Under the current regulations, getting space for airflow through the rear suspension and around the gearbox is key to getting the rear diffuser to work, so the 2021 car is longer and slimmer at the back. The 2022 car is shorter but fatter at the rear. All the same parts will be in there, just packaged differently for the new aero regulations.
I don't really care too much what the cars look like, so long as the changes to the cars makes the racing closer.
I hope it will do, but am not convinced. I think initially there might be tighter racing until the designers get enough data to start tweaking things & pushing the limits of the regulations.
The 2022 cars were going to be even smaller at one point, the wheelbase was going to be 340cm and they've changed it to 360cm.
I have little faith that two of next year’s cars placed end to end will measure less than one time zone in length again.
Missed this, the wheelbase is actually specified in the tech regs next year so fingers crossed ...
I don’t really care too much what the cars look like, so long as the changes to the cars makes the racing closer.
I think IndyCar is what you need.
Just looking at the tech regs - the wheelbase is indeed 3600mm, but the 2019 Merc W10 had a wheelbase measuring 3698mm. By comparison, a 1990 Ferrari 640 had a wheelbase measuring 2830mm, a 2007 car had a 3135mm wheelbase.
Oh God, I've become a pub bore. Just give me a car that looks superficially like a Ferrari 640 or a Jordan 191 and I'll stop moaning for a while.
Just give me a car that looks superficially like a Ferrari 640 or a Jordan 191 and I’ll stop moaning for a while.
Damn it's strange seeing an F1 car with no halo. What's to stop the driver's head being decapacitated from his body if he crashes?
Damn it’s strange seeing an F1 car with no halo. What’s to stop the driver’s head being decapacitated from his body if he crashes?
Mansell looks horribly exposed in that car, to be clear I'm in no way anti-halo or against any other safety device that prevents death or injury to a driver.
I've learned to live with the Halo, but that Indycar aeroscreen is an abomination.
Might be time to drag this out if we're looking at gorgeous Ferraris!
Hoping the cars are a little smaller, even if they are heavier, the reduced size should help make them a little more agile. Anyone looked to see if they're staying the same width? obviously they went from 1.8 to 2.0mm in 2017, be interesting to see if that's changed also.
I don't think we'll go back to cars the size of MP4-4's or even the late 2000's. The weight may come down a little bit as battery tech gets better, plus if more power is coming from the electric motors from 2025 as seems to be the plan along with 100% biofuels, they may use less fuel and need smaller tanks so be lighter/smaller that way. Can't wait for next year, hopefully the racing will live up to the hype.
Mansell looks horribly exposed in that car
I drove a Formula Renault many years ago, the top of my helmet was above the roll hoop 😬
Yuki needs to wind his neck in.
Agreed in the Indy Car screen looking just ridiculous, even on the cartoon-like cars they use. I just can't look at them without mentally drawing eyes on them like in the Cars films!
I drove a Formula Renault many years ago, the top of my helmet was above the roll hoop 😬
I got to sit in a few different F1 cars a few years ago thanks to a friend of the family, a Williams FW13, a McLaren MP4/6 and the Tyrrell Jean Alesi used in 1991. It was scary how fragile and exposed I was in them and I'm not exactly tall! The Le Mans Group C Jaguar felt like a tank in comparison even though they weren't exactly great in a crash. The Lotus 21 felt tiny though.
Lewis staying for another 2 years
There's retirement plan there. If it doesn't work out he can blame the new cars albeit he's uber experienced for some input into them, at the same time he'll like be mentoring Russell, its good news and good news for Mercedes.
Damn it’s strange seeing an F1 car with no halo. What’s to stop the driver’s head being decapacitated from his body if he crashes?
Unfortunately there wasn’t. 😢😢
https://f1.fandom.com/wiki/Helmuth_Koinigg
And that’s just two of them. 😢
I’ve seen enough death and carnage over 40 years of watching F1 - and I didn’t even watch it before that in the 60s and 70s - to fully support any safety measures they build in.
.
After saying Koinigg was killed instantly did they need to add
No medical procedures or hospitalization were given to Koinigg because the accident was so severe.
?
Get in George! In Q3, on the mediums, beating both Ferraris!
The interview before, when he said there was no doubt that he will be in a Mercedes engined car next year, the way he said it, I think the deal has been done for him to take the 2nd Mercedes seat, probably just holding off announcing it until closer to the season end.
Mighty laps from Norris.
The interview before, when he said there was no doubt that he will be in a Mercedes engined car next year,
If I was Merc, I'd be looking at offering McLaren a discount on engines in exchange for Lando, with Russell in a McLaren until Hamilton retires. Russell is impressive in qualifying, but Lando just seems to get better and better.
Russell is impressive in qualifying, but Lando just seems to get better and better.
The same Russel that was sitting 8th before mechanical issues last time out, and would’ve plain won Bahrain last year if not for other issues outside of his control? They are both very well rounded drivers imo, probably splitting hairs between them at the moment, but I think Merc will just pick one to try and commit to long term
Norris! Russell! <waves rattle>
Awesome performances from both. Just look where their sister cars are.
the way he said it, I think the deal has been done
I didn’t watch that but I did see Coulthard’s interview with Jost Capito and think, yeah, he knows he’s got to sign a new driver.
Two more years for Hamilton at Mercedes.
You’d imagine there’d be some headlines to be had if a team were to run up to Silverstone with two freshly signed red-hot British drivers…
Jesus tf Christ. Russell's car has something wrong
maclaren have something wrong.. it'll be the stewards with messing with the racing
warwick trying to make a name for himself.. geez a bit trigger happy today.
Shame for George, he did a decent job though.
Thought the penalties were a bit silly really, as Karun says, it just means you can stick it round the outside and the person inside will pretty much have to lift yield the place, because there's no way you can tighten your line at that point.
I can't remember a race with more penalties dished out. It's easy for armchair experts like me to dismiss the stewards, but I've never sat in a racing car much less driven wheel to wheel at 300kph.
Lando Norris deserved the DotD accolade, it's good to see a McLaren racing against the Mercs and Red Bulls thanks to strong pace. Really gutted for Russell that he missed out on that point too.
Verstappen has made a run of four wins in a row, had Perez waited a couple of laps before challenging Norris, it could've been a Red Bull 1-2 result.
Red Bull running Shimano brakes?
Local radio news saying Melbourne GP will be cancelled...formal announcement later today?😞
Sadly I don't think it'll be the last race to fall this year. A pity though as it would be great to see the cars running there later in the season, but then that's my old fuddy head that still thinks that the Aus GP should be the last one for its party vibe!
What will they replace Oz with? From the calendar and for logistics my guess is it'll either be S America or Middle East - another trip to Bahrain?
I cant Brazil going ahead given the covid situation there so Bahrai again seems more likely.
It's unlikely that we'll see a race in Brazil given that Covid is running rampant there. With a gap of five weeks to Saudi Arabia, there will no doubt be an opportunity for another European track to host a race.
For entirely selfish reasons, I'd like to see an F1 race happen on a cold, greasy and autumnal Brands Hatch circuit.
There's a fairly good chance that Japan will be cancelled too, depending on how big a debacle the Olympics are. It would make sense to me to plan extra North American races as a contingency, plus I'm sure Abu Dhabi or Saudi Arabia would be happy to host an extra race. Japan had a spring surge, declared a state of emergency and partial lockdown, the numbers dropped so they opened up again, but now the numbers are rising again. The Japanese vaccine rollout has been slow, but is well underway now. Mexico and Brazil are much worse off than Japan, Brazil is an enormous mess. Would not be surprising for some or all of those races to be cancelled.