F1 2021 – spoilers here

Get in line – Knockhill first! Could even do a double-header and run Knockhill in reverse for one race

Actually that car looks/sounds a bit of a handful, even accounting for how green the track must be.

Is that not the horrible SUV they roll out as a safety car sometimes?

Would explain why the track looks narrower too.

For comparison, a masterclass in smooooooth from Prost –

I was wondering whether the safety car just makes it LOOK narrow, as it’s so big – then I thought, “I bet a current F1 car’s not that much smaller….”

PS – Bring back manual boxes! 🙂

PS – Bring back manual boxes!

Can you imagine the extra workload of manually shifting an 8 speed box while fiddling with all the other widgetry they have these days? IIRC one argument against the original F duct was that it required the driver to take their hand off the wheel, and that was when they were going in a straight line.

Actually, that begs a trivia question – what’s the highest level of motorsport that still uses a manual gearbox?

Actually, that begs a trivia question – what’s the highest level of motorsport that still uses a manual gearbox?

Nascar?

I was wondering whether the safety car just makes it LOOK narrow, as it’s so big – then I thought, “I bet a current F1 car’s not that much smaller….”

True, but its an awful lot lower then the roof of an SUV

Nascar?

Yep

Can you imagine the extra workload of manually shifting an 8 speed box while fiddling with all the other widgetry they have these days?

Sure, bring it on! 🙂

Is that not the horrible SUV they roll out as a safety car sometimes?

Yeah, I think you’re right. The way it moves around on turn-in it looks very top-heavy. Either way, it’s not screaming “buy an Aston” to me 🙂 (not that there’d be much point aiming that at me anyway of course 😉)

Edit: actually, no… just seen a picture on another page, it is definitely the car, not the tractor 😳

Isn’t the Aston safety car a Vantage. The medical car is the SUV DBX

I see Lewis has borrowed some bins from Drooper 😂

judging by the F3 practice the perfect transport for this weekend is a gravel bike

Dear Drooper

I am getting a lot of hassle because you are quicker round my home track than me, and everyone knows I am supposed to win this one.

Love Max

Shouldn’t he be leaning the scooter the other way on the banking?

The marshals seem really on the ball don’t they?

The marshals seem really on the ball don’t they?

A lot more so than the FIA/Race control – we only found out the session was restarting after Vettle’s Engine failure from the TV…

Too late to edit my post – the marshals were also possibly waiting for race control before going to help??

Trolling level: GOAT 😂

Hopefully just a Friday glitch, but potential major problem for Merc teams.

As I said earlier, banked corners and oil tank pickups can cause a few headaches. Vettel and now Hamilton had oil pressure problems – and both use the same engine and oil tank

— Gary Anderson (@GaryAndersonF1) September 3, 2021

Can you imagine the extra workload of manually shifting an 8 speed box while fiddling with all the other widgetry they have these days?

my suggestion would be to use a 6 speed and take all the buttons off the steering wheel.

What a bizarre comment. Desperate to find someone to have a fight with?

Really didn’t mean to come across like that. Beer may have occurred before my post.

Can you imagine the extra workload of manually shifting an 8 speed box

I get the idea of reducing driver aids to make it a test of skill, but all it would do is lead to expensive engine blow-ups when drivers got downshifts wrong under pressure. Obviously, you could use sequential shift boxes to prevent that, but teams would quickly find workarounds to replicate the functioning of automatic shifting. It would be fairly trivial to set up a sequential shifter to preload the gear selection then use an auto throttle to trigger the shit using a dual-shaft gearbox. Except that would be just as expensive as the current transmissions. There’s zero support among the teams for going back to manual shifting using old fashioned gearboxes, teams don’t want to pay for scrapped engines because of misshifts.

I get the idea of reducing driver aids to make it a test of skill, but all it would do is lead to expensive engine blow-ups when drivers got downshifts wrong under pressure. 

How often did that happen back in the day? Have a bit of faith in their ability! 🙂

No-one’s seriously advocating for it, but regulations could be written to make gearboxes entirely manual, no sweat.

A manual box would be seen as a step backwards by the driveline suppliers, they want to be able to sell their turbo hybrid semi auto to the public.
H gate gearboxes are long in the past for performance cars.

I take it all back – semi-auto is best and makes the racing GREAT!!

Edit – just to reiterate again (as the frivolity was seemingly missed when previously mentioned), no-one’s seriously advocating a return to manual boxes.

i am.

i want to see them driving brutally demanding cars. i want them to be safe, but i want them to be difficult to drive. i understand that this isn’t F1 (F1is what it is), but it would be great to watch expert drivers wrestling cars with more power than grip, but with excellent handling

it would be great to watch expert drivers wrestling cars with more power than grip, but with excellent handling

Put some sprinklers round the circuit with random timers. Except that’s already been suggested and nobody likes the idea.

The current cars already have more power than grip, but they have incredibly complex engine control electronics to balance the power split between the ICE and electrical side of things, and to manage the lag from the turbos. Those electronics make the cars drivable. What you are really asking is for the engine manufacturers to program the electronics to make the cars harder to drive. They aren’t going to do that, they want to win races.

I think speedway sprint cars are what you want to see.

but i want them to be difficult to drive.

Just because they make look easy, doesn’t mean it is.

i want to see them driving brutally demanding cars.

watch on Sunday then

Just because they make look easy, doesn’t mean it is.

That Alonso helmet cam cottage was quite revealing. Coping with that for two hrs let alone the mental energy of keeping the thing on the road and racing other people must be hugely fatiguing and difficult.

Kimi has covid, Kubica called up.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-raikkonen-ruled-out-of-dutch-gp-after-positive-covid-19-test-kubica.2Z6iYWiBCeqIzDVvIhVBBx.html

Raikkonen, 41, is currently isolating in his hotel, with the team saying he is “displaying no symptoms and is in good spirits”.

I bet he’s in the spirits!

And Max under investigation for passing stroll under red flags. How brave are the stewards feeling?

Not sure there’s much in the red flag incident, beyond a trip to the stewards and a slap on the wrists anyway

Well he got away with it, but earlier this year Norris was penalised for not diving into the pit lane when he was passing the entrance as the red flags came out. So, stewards not brave enough to apply the same standards to the Dutch protégé at his home race…

Norris was confusion with the team wasn’t it? On this occasion Max was on a fast lap passing someone on a slow lap and lifted off as soon as he saw the lights flashing – seems fair to have no penalty

Lando received a grid penalty in Baku for a red flag infringement double standards.

That Alonso helmet cam cottage was quite revealing. Coping with that for two hrs let alone the mental energy of keeping the thing on the road and racing other people must be hugely fatiguing and difficult.

Yep, 90kg+ load on the neck though the corners, I had a gander at the driver fitness stand at silverstone a couple of years ago. I could just about pass the grip test with my right hand, I’m way too heavy though.

Russell: Watch this!

Latifi: Hold my beer.

Is it just me, or is this a soulless track with all the character of a run down go-cart track on an out of town industrial estate. I thought the banked corners was going to create some drama and interest, but it is just leaving me cold.