[Closed] The F1 2015 thread...

yep a simple problem like the MGUK digesting the gears under the front cover.

mchonda say a seal has gone on the MGUK and it will take until saturday to get it replaced, oh and we took the engine out…oh and the engines fine we are just going to use another one because er because er errrrrrrrrrr.

From the BBC today (21 Feb 15) covering the 3rd day of testing in Barcelona

"Alonso admitted the team were unlikely to be ready for the first race. 'We will arrive to Australia hoping Australia was in June or July, but it's in March and I don't know if we will arrive completely ready, but we will arrive in the best conditions we can,' the Spaniard said.

Another red flag as Jenson Button brings his McLaren to a halt at the edge of the track at Turn 7...

"That is not what McLaren wanted - the car stopped by the side of the track less than 90 minutes into the day's running.

Thinking of a £10-er on Alonso/Button for 2015 World Champion

I do think Honda/Mac are holding back a great deal. When they turn the wick up on the engine it'll be a revalation.

Another big change this year is the blown front axle. Sky F1 did a fair piece on it last week. Ferrari and Mac have it and it looks an intriging development.

Nicole Sherzwingherneger to turn up to a race with two Rapper boyfriends and lewis spins off as a result?

blown front axle is old hat. 2013 williams FW35 and Redbull RB9 ran it.

doesn't really work that well. plus if a team go down the blown axle front route all the rear is developed around the front being blown, if as usual the FIA then ban it you haver to start from scratch again as the rear won't work without front.

i do like the look of the ferrari though and the RB is looking quite sorted, but its the dark horses you need to watch. Williams are being very low key. they are stalking the competition.

So much for the simple fix McHonda! Tried this?

[img] [/img]

The thing I love about testing is the way everyone tries to second guess how much everyone else is trying. So at the moment, Sauber are on glory runs with Lotus, McHonda aren't going to make the grid, Ferrari are the new Merc, RedBull are struggling for performance, Williams and Merc are looking solid on long runs but not setting the timing screens alight.

The only thing that's certain is that it'll look nothing like that after P1 in Oz.

We may see some pace on the last day of testing in a week's time but it'll depend how well they've got through their program and if they're interested in bluffing, so we won't really know either way who's got it 🙂

What it will tell us though is who is poor.

Thinking of a £10-er on Alonso/Button for 2015 World Champion

You've got good looking odds there:

[url= https://mobile.coral.co.uk/sportsbook/eventDetails-json?id=2066937 ]20/1[/url]

Been thinking about doing the same myself!!

Red Bull definitely look on the back foot again.
A set of sorts only lasted 10 laps with a cold surface and cold ambient, no idea if they were trying something but they'll struggle if that sort of deg is representative.

Alonso off to hospital after a big crash.

Eek
Hope he's OK?

All very vague at the minute as to what was the cause.

Latest gossip is he fainted in the car before the crash which is what caused him to go off (pure speculation I should add!). Whatever the cause it looks very odd. All the pics show a very minor crash. Just a lost from wing and scuffed front right wheel.

Guessing he'd eaten the same food as Lewis who either barfed or poo'd his overalls. Dehydration/fever?

Continued silence is odd, along with Vettel's statement that he wasn't going very fast then veered off and bumped along the barriers.

Heard all sorts of theories from chemical fumes (from batteries) causing him to pass out to electric shock to just a straight fainting.

[img] ?20150222175228[/img]

They've said he's ok but I hope that really is the case.

Well McLaren have released a statement

http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/inside-the-mtc/further-update-regarding-fernando-alonso/

Still seems odd but if it was a fully sideways impact as they detailed I suppose hitting his head on the cockpit padding could be enough to bring on concussion

A gust of wind- why didn't it affect Vettel behind him? Or vettel mention this when he stated what happened from his cockpit?

Kept in- a young and fit man isn't kept in. 🙁

Well, Vettel was close time-wise but could have been some distance behind at 150mph and wind does tend to gust through gaps so it's quite possible that it could affect one car and not another.

The keeping in bit though still seems odd to me given people I know with concussion (though relatively mild maybe) have been let go same day.

Just a crash according to McLaren - nothing wrong with the car...

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2015/02/23/alonsos-crash-not-caused-by-car-fault-mclaren/

https://mobile.twitter.com/lsgrcbd/status/569875788524347392

maybe the new car was so slow he fell asleep at the wheel...

It's a bit weird to get 'concussion' without hitting anything. If he'd have taken the wheels off maybe he could have impacted the wall, but it doesn't look likely. It made me think of Richard Burns when he passed out driving to the Rally GB, but he's been scanned and cleared. Odd, though.

blown front axle is old hat

But not combined with the extra narrow rear body which is where the real benefit is felt.

Last test starts today, with FA.

Looking forward to Manor F1 making the grid.. I know they will probably not make the 107% rule seeing as the cars at the test are already up on the qualifying times and Manor are running the old 2014 spec engine.

I reckon they could get a decent amount of equipment from Caterham in the sales. In an ideal world I hope they beat Force india 🙂
... and mercedes looking like they have reliability and speed this year which cant be said for the rest bar ferrari

Lewis! Lewis! 😀

McLaren just had a press conference at short notice. From the BBC

"McLaren chairman Ron Dennis has said at a news conference that Fernando Alonso was unconscious for 'just a few seconds' after his crash on Sunday.

"Dennis says Alonso has got no injury. He should be fine to race in Australia and in normal circumstances he'll be racing. This is recovery time.

"I asked Dennis what Alonso remembers of the accident, and he said they had not had that conversation yet. He says every input by Alonso in car was normal up until the crash. The radio stayed on and they heard breathing but no contact."

errr. make that Williams up there for speed and reliability. Get in there Massa!

Alonso's silence is deafening.

there is something amiss, either in his Health, or something in the car - rumours are of electrical shock.

if the FIA have decided to do a crash investigation, and the reasons are being covered up by McLaren, it could be very bad for them when it concerns the safety of a driver.

Agree. Something isn't right. For a start it was a very weird accident. My spider sensors are tingling.

Hes not twitted since and he was a daily twitter user before.

it'll be a big kick in Rons face if he doesn't start the season.. although with K-mag they have a decent number two.
I wonder if the cracks are appearing the Ronando relationship.

I wonder if the cracks are appearing the Ronando relationship.

Or there could be another possibility other than that or a mechanical issue with the car - and I hope to heck that this isn't the case...

...it's entirely possible that Alonso may have a neurological condition that caused the crash and has been flagged up during his hospital stay. His three day stay in hospital and absence from social media may simply be under doctor's orders to rest.

As I say, I sincerely hope that this isn't the case.

I think Alonso's just worked out that he can feign injury and have a nice break while jb and kmag endure the reliability nightmare of the flyaway races, then hop back in the car in Europe when it might stand a chance of finishing.

Wonder if mchonda will manage a full race sim by Sunday.

What sort of race simulation? Egg & spoon?

McLaren would need to reengineer Honda's spoon to make sure it didn't fail. They could use a carbon fibre/spoon expert for that, but they're hard to find...

[quote=thepurist ]McLaren would need to reengineer Honda's spoon to make sure it didn't fail. They could use a carbon fibre/spoon expert for that, but they're hard to find...

.. not if you know where to look.

Lotus have a new development driver.......

What is being developed? PR?

Manor/Marussia are likely to be bailed out by the man behind Ovo energy.

Manovo to the grid in Australia? They claim to have built a new car from eBay finds and the bits that fell off Max Chilton's car last year.

Looking forward to Manor F1 making the grid

I would be, IF they had paid of their creditors from last season rather than renaming the company and acting like nothing happened.

They have agreed to repay creditors through a voluntary arrangement. All legal. How much the creditors will get though is another matter.

If they went bankrupt and started as a new team they wouldn't have been eligable for last years prize money.

I quite like the look of lotus' development driver. [img] ?20150226181413[/img]Is it better to have more teams on the grid than less? I'll be rooting for the underdog and I suppose that includes Mclaren 🙂

Although stranger things have happened like Brawn GP I'm sure all the guys in F1 work their nuts off no matter where they are in the pecking order.

Please stick it to Farce India and relegate them to the bottom !

From the Beeb...

Jorda, who finished 29th in last year's GP3 feeder series

Logically then, there are at least 28 better drivers who don't get a look-in because they are less photogenic?

Watch out Merc, Lotus are coming!

They have agreed to repay creditors through a voluntary arrangement. All legal. How much the creditors will get though is another matter

Logically then, there are at least 28 better drivers who don't get a look-in because they are less photogenic?

In recent times F1 hasn't always been about who is the best driver. The ability to bring money either via direct cash injection or attract new sponsors is also very important.

Whaddya mean, in recent times...?

Lotus are coming!

...the Lotus mechanics may be coming! 😉