The plank is there to stop cars scraping on the ground. That teams may have worked out ways to reduce how much it wears is incidental.
Yep, they reduce the wear by adding lumps of metal to the bits that touch the ground under the ruse of "mounting plates". These plates are highly resistant to wear so they can run the plank on the ground all race long and it won't wear down. These "mounting plates" will now have to be made of titanium which wears at a similar rate to the composite plank so will force the teams to raise the height of the floors. It was all triggered by the infra-red pictures showing the Red Bulls dragging the leading edge of the floor along the ground sufficiently to heat it up to 100 degrees but still not wear over the 1mm allowed.
Bernie and CVC are screwing F1 over. Advertisers want coverage. Sky coverage although its good quality doesn't give complete market coverage for sponsors.
Tiny teams go to the wall all the time and tbh not a bad thing as most of the time its a joke trundling around the back of the grid. The problem is attracting sponsorship- this affects most of the field.
I know about the RB tea tray but the real reason to suddenly 'solve' the problem is to get sparks, not to ensure plank wear.
[quote=andyl ]Looks like Button is out of F1 unless he can find another drive.
Is there any more news on that, or still just the same rumours? He is certainly one of the classiest drivers in F1, but suffers from not seeming to be as fast as he is. But then I'm a fan, and I'd have to admit that he's probably not ultimately quite as fast a driver as LH and Alonso in most situations. It's always so good to see a head to head battle between him and Alonso (who despite what failings he might have is also very classy on the racetrack) as we briefly had this weekend - you know both of them will push things to the limit but never in a way which is dangerous or unfair.
[quote=hora ]I remember a wheel coming off a certain racing drivers car which benefited Damon Hill
Well apart from Hill not needing the help because he was already winning and JV wasn't going to get near him.
People say that but do the viewing figures actually match that?
Yes globally even F1 noted a 10% drop between 2012-13 (obviously 2014 figures aren't complete yet) mostly seen in China and Brazil, but also Germany and UK.
Some interesting analysis of the recent US race viewing figures here:
[url= https://f1broadcasting.wordpress.com/ ]F1 Broadcasting blog[/url]
Viewing figures in the UK are definitely down, although I'd suggest mostly due to it being on Sky as opposed to free to air. The worry is that as cricket is finding, you don't bring new people into the sport by hiding it on pay per view, unless it is something as big as football.
Then look at this graph to see the rising costs to the UK broadcasters. I'd say it's unsustainable as it is.
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lets also put some blame on the big teams wanting bigger piece of the cake and not caring / blocking rules that make the whole field 'fairer' . they have a lot to answer for.
since the Ferrari / McLaren battles of Schumi v Hakk/Rakk its gone down hill - probably around the time Bernie sold it to the "Banks" and all interest for them was maximizing profit - and the way to do that is to squeeze it all out of the billionairs of the middle east and the cash-rich governments who fund the new circuits....
and of course keep the TV rights holders happy with viewing figures, and the way to do that is more overtaking and championships going to the wire....
funnny though the FIA also approved these rules....
Tiny teams go to the wall all the time and tbh not a bad thing as most of the time its a joke trundling around the back of the grid.
But they do provide an entry point/stepping stone to new drivers, such as Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso getting drives at Minardi. If all you have are the mega teams, that won't happen.
I think the idea is that the third car will have a rookie driver. Although I'm not sure how long that will last for!
[b]aracer[/b] Is there any more news on that, or still just the same rumours? He is certainly one of the classiest drivers in F1, but suffers from not seeming to be as fast as he is. But then I'm a fan, and I'd have to admit that he's probably not ultimately quite as fast a driver as LH and Alonso in most situations. It's always so good to see a head to head battle between him and Alonso (who despite what failings he might have is also very classy on the racetrack) as we briefly had this weekend - you know both of them will push things to the limit but never in a way which is dangerous or unfair.
Just this source so not confirmed: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/9549099/-Alonso-closing-in-on-McLaren-move-
Button did say at the weekend he would drive with Alonso which might be a sign of desperation.
He does suffer from not being very noticeable in races and this year a woeful car and poor strategy decisions by the team seem have screwed him over. But when he gets a chance to fight it out with people the class of his driving is obvious. Firm but respectful and no silly moves.
He is certainly one of the classiest drivers in F1, but suffers from not seeming to be as fast as he is
Agree Button seems to be perpetually underrated, him and Alonso going at it was one of the highlights of the US race. On his day he's as good as any of them IMO, although it's probably true to say that his day doesn't come round quite often enough to put him up there with the top few. That still makes him one of the best on the grid though so it'd be a shame if he wasn't there next year.
I reckon Button and Alonso would make a great pairing, but that said I guess McLaren need to think about where they'll be in a couple of years when Alonso's gone and Button will be thinking about retiring if he hasn't already.
Honda are keen on Button as he is a Japanophile and his experience will be valuable as they come back in with McLaren
IMO Button is already out he will be at Porsche next year WEC.
McLaren will give K-Mag another year if he doesn't turn out good he will get the boot and be replaced by Vandoorne for 2016.
F1 clearly has money worries and I don't feel that Eccleston has been a good stuard of F!
But there seems to be some rose tinted spectacles about the old days
There was time when a genuine place change in race was rare and a proper over take a notable event
The cars were so heavily Aero loaded you could see any car any where near the back the car in front grind to a hault
I've heard it said before that if Button can get his car set up 100% spot on for him then he's as fast as anyone else, but he struggles more than the likes of Hamilton and Alonso when the car is less than perfect and needs to be wrestled round.
The interesting thing coming out of the small team situation is that we're seeing CVC come to the fore. CVC have realised that this us potentially damaging their investment and clearly don't have confidence that Bernie is handling it appropriately. Maybe caterham will do what the German courts couldn't and take him away from his job.
Though talking of rose tinted specs about the old days, we shouldn't forget what f1 was like when Bernie took over. Poorly organised races, terrible TV coverage -he got a lot sorted out but maybe lost sight of where to stop.
@thepurist - totally agree - and i stated in my post Bernie swung from "let the teams die and the bigger teams do 3 cars" to towing the CVC line of "helping them because its good for the sport"
I often wonder if Bernie has some pictures/evidence over CVC because i thought they would have fired his ass by now!!!
It would seem bernie is as much or a liability as he is a dinosaur. Those shady deals dont cut it anymore and clearly those deals are being brought into the light.
To save F1 they should sack Bernie and use his salary to bolster the back field. Clearly F1 is just mirroring the premiership haves and have nots as well as the ppv tv rights model. And look how the gap between the top and bottom has grown. The problem is f1 doesnt have promotion / demotion parachute payments.
I think CVC thought(hoped!) Bernie may have popped his clogs by now.
Re the money - if the small teams were prepared to go racing on a budget of $40 million dollars then why not set that as the minimum revenue for TV rights (for a max of 12 teams). Any monies above this would be down to the team to raise and if they can't run a team on that then tough.
It would be good to see at least 2 or 3 top teams battling it out properly for supremacy, since the rule change when Brawn jumped head & shoulders above everyone else it's been massively dominated by just one team, which is a shame.
F1 has always been a rich mans plaything, but it does seem like it's becoming less accessible to your average fan which in the long term will cost it as interest declines.
Some interesting stuff on [url= http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/11/us-grand-prix-how-ricciardo-beat-williams-pair-and-the-curious-case-of-sebastian-vettel/ ]James Allen on F1.[/url] Looks like Bottas and Massa were let down by strategy and Vettel, well...
A good breakdown of the finances in F1 and makes clear why Williams/Lotus are unlikely to mount a serious challenge in the near future
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/29905081
Oh and the post above about CVC coming to the fore seems to be right:
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/29888406
Donald MacKenzie, co-chairman of F1's largest shareholder, CVC Capital Partners, phoned Lotus boss Gerard Lopez and promised to address their concerns.
A good breakdown of the finances in F1 and makes clear why Williams/Lotus are unlikely to mount a serious challenge in the near future
I wonder if Benson pulled those figures from where he usually does.
🙂 Possibly but they roughly seem to tie in with what I've heard elsewhere
Hmmm, not sure if i believe Andrew Benson's figures
He's trying to describe the Concord Agreement, an agreement which team bosses will not disclose to avoid serious litigation from the FIA and CVC
I used to be a F1 fan, avidly watching all the races, getting up at silly o'clock to see the Japanese GP etc. etc.
About five years or so ago I started to fall asleep on the sofa 'watching' the races, in the past two years I haven't watched one all the way through and now I don't even bother setting the recorder to wizz through the dullness for any action.
So I guess I am an ex-fan. Most of this is down to the personalities involved, their arrogance, the politics (both internal F1 and the way they suck up to dodgy regimes)and the lack of real racing.
If I am typical, then Bernie has a real problem on his hands
I don't even bother setting the recorder to wizz through the dullness for any action.
You've missed a lot of action this year then - there have been some cracking races!
Meh
If you want to see real racing, attend an Historic meet, such as a VSCC event or Goodwood Revival
I agree with muffin man, I have really enjoyed this season. I'm feeling weirdly indifferent about it now- especially because I'm a LH fan. I think it may be the double points, it kind of makes a lot of the effort at the end of the season seem a bit pointless (almost literally)
If you want to see real racing, attend an Historic meet, such as a VSCC event or Goodwood Revival
Yep - I do that too.
the problem with the Goodwood Revival is it doesn't really capture that "carry on racing while your fellow competitor burns to death in his crashed car" atmosphere.
Sorry about the meh line, it's just that I cannot summon up any interest at all in it any more, the drivers I used to admire seem to be coming to the end of their careers (Button, Massa, Raiikkonen) the others (esp. LH) irritate me with their attitude. I'd rather spend the time and energy on something else now.
I can see that others enjoy it, that's great for them, it is just that, with a small tinge of regret, it's not for me anymore
If you want to see real racing, attend an Historic meet, such as a VSCC
Done that and while it's great as a one off, I find that I just don't really care about the results of the races enough to find it exciting/interesting longer term.
Done that and while it's great as a one off, I find that I just don't really care about the results of the races enough to find it exciting/interesting longer term.
Ah, you see for me, the fact that you can get up close to the machines, chat to the drivers, see them race hard and then go back and discuss the good/bad outcomes face to face makes it so much more involving as an experience. With a very few exceptions, they are enthusiasts as well and are very willing to talk. Also, for me it has always been as much about the engineering as the racing.
To me now, this:
Is much more interesting than this:
The first taken from 3 feet away, the second with a very long lens
Look how dull this season is, 14 races won by Mercedes and the other 3 by Red-Bull. Jesus what a yawn fest. Even in the Vettel years there was more variety of winners than now. You have to go back over 10 years to find such a dominance over a whole season. The new engine rules have spun everything so much towards Mercedes power, that anyone not using their engines with the exception of Red Bull may as well pull out and forget turning up.
I'm not sure that the number of winners defines good racing though. For me, there have been some brilliant races this year and good racing for the podium for the non-Mercs.
Senna/Prost is considered a classic season and one mishap aside, would have had only two winners.
To me now, this:Is much more interesting than this:
The first taken from 3 feet away, the second with a very long lens
You'll be able to get up close to the current Merc F1 car in around 20 years time when it's racing in a classic F1 series!
You'll be able to get up close to the current Merc F1 car in around 20 years time when it's racing in a classic F1 series!
Actually you can already, but somehow to me it doesn't have the same atmosphere, don't know why.
[quote=jimw ]About five years or so ago I started to fall asleep on the sofa 'watching' the races, in the past two years I haven't watched one all the way through
Most of this is down to ... the lack of real racing.
Does not compute. How much "real racing" was there 5 or more years ago? Personally I'd stopped watching F1 due to the lack of interesting racing, but have started watching again over the same sort of timescale.
[quote=dragon ]Look how dull this season is, 14 races won by Mercedes and the other 3 by Red-Bull. Jesus what a yawn fest. Even in the Vettel years there was more variety of winners than now. You have to go back over 10 years to find such a dominance over a whole season.
Over 10? Look at this thrill fest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Formula_One_season
While I accept 2004 was dull it at least had 6 individual winners of GPs, so far this season we've had 3!!
Maybe people with rose tinted glasses do think 1989 was great, but I never did, I completely gave up watching around that time as it was a dull fest.
For me ultimately an exciting season has a variety of winners and you don't know who will win when you turn on the TV. Sure more passing lower down keeps things interesting during the race, but I don't think many people turn on to see a great overtake to move from position 10th to 9th.
Don't get me wrong - I think 2010 was the most amazing season where we had 5 drivers in it until near the end and even then we didn't know who'd come out on top but variety in winners isn't the only criteria for a good season, for me at least.
2008 season, 7 drivers won races, 6 different pole setters, 6 fastest lap setters, 6 different constructors won races
2009 season, 6 different drivers won races, 8 different pole setters, 10 different fastest lap setters, four constructors won races
So far, 2014 season, 3 drivers have won races, 3 different pole setters, 7 different fastest laps, two constructors won races
2008 season, 7 drivers won races, 6 different pole setters, 6 fastest lap setters, 6 different constructors won races
2009 season, 6 different drivers won races, 8 different pole setters, 10 different fastest lap setters, four constructors won races
So far, 2014 season, 3 drivers have won races, 3 different pole setters, 7 different fastest laps, two constructors won races
I'm not saying this year is perfect. Hopefully as the tec' beds in the teams will be more balanced
But your stats don't show that once the race had started the order could remain fairly static
Sort of makes my point
[url= http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2011/5/12039.html ]Linkyy[/url]
The highlight of this year has been Ricciardo making Vettel look very ordinary.
I'm not sure I'd call that THE highlight but it's certainly brought Alonso's comments about Vettel into sharp focus.
http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/140447.html
"Time will tell us, but I think when he will have a car like the others, if he wins he will have a great recognition and he will be one of the legends of Formula One," Alonso told the BBC."When one day he has the car like the others and he is fourth, fifth or seventh then these four titles will be bad news for him because people will take these four days even in a worse manner than what they are doing now. So there are interesting times for Sebastian coming."
Mind you I don't buy into him being rubbish - many drivers have had bad seasons when the car just didn't suit them - but I do think he has been fortunate to some extent with his four titles in that he had the best car most of the time but also a team mate who while quick, couldn't adjust to the exhaust blowing style to get the same speed as him and therefore didn't really provide much competition (compare to Rosberg for example)