F1 2014 thread

[HapticSimian]

Worldcarfans has an article up that covers most angles and opinions. I tend to share the view that it was but an unfortunate confluence of circumstances.

 

[thestaggy]

Worldcarfans has an article up that covers most angles and opinions. I tend to share the view that it was but an unfortunate confluence of circumstances.

Interesting article and also some hard opinions there from multiple sources; Bianchi may have been at fault as well due to speeding in an unsafe area.

 

[Agent_Smith]

Interesting article and also some hard opinions there from multiple sources; Bianchi may have been at fault as well due to speeding in an unsafe area.

That should be very easy to prove as the team's telemetry would reveal all that an investigating authority would need to know about his speed in that sector under waved yellows. Also, looking at some of the pics, it looks like he was on inters. Now if reports are to be believed, it was raining as hard as it had been during any stage of the race. So it seems full wets would have been the correct tyre to be on. If he had been left out on Inters, that is a serious error in judgement from the team.

 

[HapticSimian]

That should be very easy to prove as the team's telemetry would reveal all that an investigating authority would need to know about his speed in that sector under waved yellows. Also, looking at some of the pics, it looks like he was on inters. Now if reports are to be believed, it was raining as hard as it had been during any stage of the race. So it seems full wets would have been the correct tyre to be on. If he had been left out on Inters, that is a serious error in judgement from the team.

Far as I have it there was a mix of inters and full wets through the field - it's not so much a judgement error, as much as they were at the tipping point of having to go for full wets.

 

[Dave]

Up in the lookout tower. The idiot is still waiving the green flag more than a minute after Bianchi's crash. Only when somebody runs up the stairs and the camera pulls back, does he change over to a yellow flag.

Around 0.06 or 0.07, before Bianchis crash and the flags are definitely double yellows from the tower.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=818_1412603603

View attachment 156106


watched it further, that marshal has going to have some explaining, why would he change from double yellows to a green like that?

Having said that, Bianchi should be taking his cue from the steering wheel LED, which would undoubtably still have been flashing yellow.

 

[ponder]

watched it further, that marshal has going to have some explaining, why would he change from double yellows to a green like that?

This will haunt the poor guy and Harakiri would be another terrible thing.

 

[thestaggy]

Not good news.

The devastating extent of the brain injuries sustained by Formula One driver Jules Bianchi after he crashed into the back of a tractor were revealed on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old Frenchman was diagnosed with diffuse axonal injury — a catastrophic head trauma from which he may never fully recover.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...iffuse-axonal-injury-horror-110mph-crash.html

From Wikipedia;

Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is one of the most common and devastating types of traumatic brain injury,[1] meaning that damage occurs over a more widespread area than in focal brain injury. DAI, which refers to extensive lesions in white matter tracts, is one of the major causes of unconsciousness and persistent vegetative state after head trauma.[2] It occurs in about half of all cases of severe head trauma.

The outcome is frequently coma, with over 90% of patients with severe DAI never regaining consciousness.[2] Those who do wake up often remain significantly impaired.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_axonal_injury#cite_note-Vinas-3

 

[thestaggy]

To clarify the green flag being waved by the marshall at the scene of the accident;

Questions have been asked, however, as to why the marshal at post number 12, above the vehicle, was initially waving double yellow flags, warning of danger ahead and that drivers must slow down and be prepared to stop, but, while the vehicle and Sutil’s car were still outside the barriers, switched to a green flag, used to indicate that the track is all clear, that the driver has passed the potential danger point and that prohibitions imposed by yellow flags have been lifted. The video shows the marshal waving the green flag when Bianchi’s car left the track and crashed.

After the incident the FIA issued a statement saying: “The marshals displayed double waved yellow flags before the corner to warn drivers of the incident.”

However, the Japanese marshal may have been correct to wave the green flag at that time because, when the recovery vehicle reversed behind the position of the marshal in post 12, the sector he was overlooking became a green-flag zone.

The on-track lights that led into the corner were clearly yellow and the marshal posts leading into the corner would have been waving double yellows over the sectors they controlled. Marshals’ boundaries are strictly defined and once the recovery vehicle and Sutil’s car had gone backwards beyond point 12 his sector would have been acknowledged as clear.

This was the case in the opinion of Adam Prescott, who has been a marshal since 2003 at many motorsport events, including F1 at Silverstone, the first A1 GP race at Brands Hatch and sportscar racing. “As a marshal who has spent many years at motorsport events, the green flag is being shown correctly,” he said. “You see double waved yellows while the recovery is taking place past the flagging point. Once the recovery unit had passed the flag returning to behind the barriers, the marshal changes to green as per the FIA regulations.

“Also before this flag point there would be steady yellows and waved yellows for at least two flag points prior to this point. There would also be high intensity flashing yellow light boards warning drivers and marshals working,” he added.

The flag the marshal was supposed to wave would have been defined by race control, directed by Whiting. Drivers also have notification in the cockpit identifying the flags that are being waved on the circuit.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...-bad-luck-not-race-organisers-fault-spokesman

TL;DR - The marshall was correct to wave green as his zone extended beyond the accident scene. He did not cover the zone in which Sutil and Bianchi crashed. The marshalls before the accident scene would've still been waving yellows. Drivers were free to speed up and pass after passing the tower from which the green flag was waved.

I hope there is not a witch hunt launched against the marshalls. It was a freak accident that will probably never happen again. There is also the hard truth that Bianchi may have made a mistake himself.

 

[satanboy]

1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Bottas

As I predicted on Superbru....Awesome.

 

[satanboy]

Lewis Hamilton dedicates F1 Russian Grand Prix win to Jules Bianchi

Lewis Hamilton dedicated his victory in Russia’s first Formula One Grand Prix to Jules Bianchi, who remains in a critical condition in a Japanese hospital after his high-speed crash at Suzuka last Sunday.

Hamilton, who extended his world championship lead to 17 points over Nico Rosberg with his ninth win of the season, said: “All week there has been just one person on my mind, and that’s Jules. Without a doubt every time I’ve got in a car this week, and coming here, and being here, I’ve been thinking about him and his family and keeping him in my prayers.

“Whether it means anything or whether it does anything, it would be great to dedicate this to Jules and his family. It will make a very small difference to them, for sure. But every bit of positive energy hopefully will help. All you guys, and all us teams, are sending him our positive vibes that way because positive energy is actually real.”

The accident that befell Bianchi in Japan has deeply affected the other drivers and a clearly upset Jenson Button said: “Before the race and after the race, the national anthems, it’s horrific, but when you put on the helmet and get in the car and you are racing it is a nice place to be because you are in another world.

“On the grid was emotional for everyone and we, the drivers, had our time together. We were there for Jules. Then getting back into the car was the trickiest bit. Every driver feels the same pain but when we get into the car and close our visors we get on with it. It is good we drive our hearts out. Different things go through your head and you have your emotional moments. For us drivers, we weren’t thinking about the national anthem, we were thinking about Jules.”

Marussia’s team principal, John Booth, remained in Japan with Bianchi over the race weekend. But the president and sporting director, Graeme Lowdon, said: “It’s difficult because there’s a team-mate missing. Your thoughts are certainly elsewhere. But equally, there’s a race to run and that focuses the mind, because that’s why we’re here and why Jules has been with us all year. It’s helpful for the guys to focus on their job.

“Everyone was very happy with the decision to run one car [Max Chilton, their solitary driver, failed to finish] and we think it helped the guys in the team. Hopefully it’s helped Jules and the family.”

At the back of the grid, before the race, Marussia team members held up a sign which read “Racing for Jules”.

Hamilton received his trophy from Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, whom he appeared to keep waiting for a couple of minutes after the race. “He didn’t say anything to me. He was talking to those girls behind. Then I realised he was there and came over and shook his hand.”

Talking about his win, the driver said: “It’s a very positive feeling to have points and be finishing ahead of Nico but history has shown this year that a gap can never be enough. The most important thing is that the gap is at the end of the year.

“At the moment nothing changes. I’ve got to keep on fighting and pushing as hard as I have been up until now.

“There is never a comfortable feeling. I never did have a comfortable feeling when I was in a championship in my life. It’s tense all the way to the end and this is a championship that is going to go to the end. I just hope that the future is bright for the next three races.”

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/oct/12/lewis-hamilton-f1-russian-grand-prix-jules-bianchi

 

[satanboy]

Mercedes will block move to relax F1 engine development rule

Mercedes say they will block any move to relax the rule restricting in-season engine development.

Rivals of the new world champions are pushing for at least one development step during a season, in the hope of reducing Mercedes' advantage. But Mercedes say they cannot do that and continue to provide engines to customer teams at their current cost. Christian Horner, boss of Renault's works team Red Bull, says relaxing the rules is in the sport's interests. Horner pointed to Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg's climb from the back of the field to finish second in Sunday's Russian Grand Prix, in which cars with Mercedes engines finished in the first five positions, as evidence something needed to be done to equalise the performance across engine manufacturers. "Mercedes' true performance is they can drive through the field, and I think it's too out of kilter - five Mercedes-powered cars in the top five," Horner said.

This is the first season in which F1 cars are using turbo hybrid engines. In order to keep costs under control, a complicated formula restricting development was imposed, with changes only allowed mid-season for reliability and cost-saving purposes and increasing restrictions on the parts that can be changed ahead of subsequent seasons. Horner said: "This technology is still quite raw. Mercedes shouldn't be afraid of competition. They're doing a super job but I think it's healthy for F1 that Ferrari, Honda and Renault should have the ability to close that gap, otherwise we'll end up in a very stagnant position." But Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he had pointed out to his team's rivals that a relaxation of restrictions on development would not necessarily lead to an equalisation of performance between manufacturers and that it would increase costs. "We still think it is the wrong thing to do because it is going to increase the cost massively," Wolff said. "And who says the margin is not going to stay the same? "So we all spend much more to find it is the same. "But there are certain regulatory contradictions. We were asked to guarantee engines at the time at the same spec to all customers at the same price and we can't do that if we are having in-season development."

Horner acknowledged the possibility of Mercedes maintaining or even extending their advantage if restrictions were relaxed. "Quite possibly," he said. "But at least you've got the ability to try and improve because at the moment you're frozen with what you've got. You're running with your hands tied behind your back."

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier, whose team are starting a new partnership with Honda, added: "We all believe we will learn from our mistakes." Horner said Wolff had initially backed the idea of a relaxation of the engine freeze at a meeting last month only to backtrack later. Wolff said this was because of "changing circumstances" and the increased costs of such a step and he rejected claims by Ferrari that engines could continue to be provided to customer teams for no extra cost if in-season development was allowed. "I don't know how they make their calculations but probably I need to send them a calculator because there is no way you will not spend more," Wolff said. "You will spend considerably more and every other argument is because they don't think they are where they should be [competitively]." To be passed for 2015, the engine 'unfreeze', as it is known, has to go through several regulatory steps.

It was passed by a majority vote in a recent meeting of F1's strategy group, which comprises commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone, the president of governing body the FIA Jean Todt and the Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, Williams and Lotus teams. But to be in the 2015 regulations it must receive unanimous support at the next meeting of the F1 Commission, on which sit Ecclestone, Todt, and representatives of all the teams, as well as some sponsors and circuit owners. Wolff, who is under pressure from Ecclestone to change his position, said: "We have already voted against it in the strategy group. I don't think we will change our mind in the next month, whenever the commission meeting is going to take place."

BBC

 

[satanboy]

Mercedes spent $517m to develop 2014's F1 worldbeater

Britain's The Independent reports that Mercedes increased its Formula 1 budget by 17 percent last year to a record £324.6 million [$517m].

The report cites company documents for Mercedes' F1 engine manufacturing division as showing that in 2013 it spent £133.9m [$213m] to develop its new 1.6-liter turbo engines. That is nearly double Mercedes' engine budget from three years earlier and of the current engine budget of the Caterham team, according to The Independent. Mercedes F1 engines are also sold to customers as well as supplying the works team.

Beyond the engine costs, Mercedes spent £190.7m [$304m] just on running the F1 team, the report claims.

The report comes amid increasing pressures on Mercedes to drop its opposition to relaxing F1's current engine freeze. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff – whose team is the only one standing in the way of the unanimity required for such a move – said during the Russian Grand Prix weekend that the current regulations were key to controlling out-of-control costs...

Meanwhile, Britain's Daily Mail reports that Mercedes F1's 700 employees are also in line for a bonus of £10,000 [$16,000] each following the team's clinching of F1's Constructors' championship at the Russian Grand Prix, adding another $11m to the bottom line.

racer.com

 

[Dave]

The report cites company documents for Mercedes' F1 engine manufacturing division as showing that in 2013 it spent £133.9m [$213m] to develop its new 1.6-liter turbo engines. That is nearly double Mercedes' engine budget from three years earlier and of the current engine budget of the Caterham team, according to The Independent. Mercedes F1 engines are also sold

The way I read that, Caterham have an engine budget of around $100m, so Mercedes aren't outlaying a huge amount considering they are supplying 3 other teams who would have a higher engine cost/budget than Caterham.

Merc spending $500m and then getting a return of >$300m from the other teams looks like a pretty good investment considering all the good PR and advertising Mercedes is getting this season.

 

[satanboy]

Luca di Montezemolo: Fernando Alonso will leave Ferrari F1 team

Outgoing Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says Fernando Alonso is definitely leaving the Maranello Formula 1 team, and is doing so because he has "suffered" amid its lack of success.

AUTOSPORT revealed earlier this month that Alonso and Ferrari had agreed to part at the end of 2014 following intense talks about their future together, although the team has yet to formally announce the double F1 world champion's departure.

Sebastian Vettel, who has already been confirmed as leaving Red Bull, is set to replace Alonso, whose most likely 2015 destination is McLaren.

Di Montezemolo officially left Ferrari on Monday, and in an interview with Italian television station RAI, he said Alonso needed a different environment and had grown frustrated at not winning any further championships during his five years with the team.

"Alonso is leaving for two reasons: one, because I understand that he wants to try to experience a different environment, with new motivations, and then because he is at an age when you can't wait too long before trying to win again," said di Montezemolo.

"He has suffered not winning these years and I think he wants to try to go for it elsewhere.

"Racing drivers sometimes need new motivations, new environments, new stimulus.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/116370

 

[sox63]

I'm with Merc on the opposition to mid season engine development. If the other engine manufacturers want to catch up, they should invest as much, if not more, as Merc did.

They pumped the money in and let them reap the rewards IMO

 

[satanboy]

Job fears as Caterham Formula 1 manufacturer hits the skids

The company which designs and builds the cars used by the Caterham Formula 1 team has been put into administration.



The Formula 1 manufacturer which designs and builds the cars used by the Caterham team has gone into administration, casting doubts over the team’s future and potentially hundreds of jobs. Accountants Smith & Williamson have been appointed as administrators to Caterham Sports Limited (CSL), which is based Leafield, Oxfordshire, in Britain’s “motorsport valley” where many of the world’s leading motor racing companies are based.

CSL provides services to 1 Malaysia Racing Team (1MRT), the Malaysian company which operates the Caterham F1 Team in the Formula 1 World Championship. Administrators said they have been engaged in “positive” talks with the racing team to see if CSL can continue to supply it but said that if an agreement cannot be reached they will begin discussions about selling the company’s assets. Administrator Finbarr O’Connell said although the around 200 staff working in CSL’s factory had their contracts transferred over to 1MRT in the past few weeks, he said their jobs could be at risk if an arrangement is not struck soon. “As administrator I control the machines they are working on, the computers, the factory, the intellectual property. If I don’t do a deal with 1MRT then they will have nothing to work on and their jobs could be at risk.”

Mr O’Connell was appointed as administrator to CSL by the company’s bank. Constantin Cojocar, CSL’s sole director, had applied to put the company into insolvency through a court order. Mr Cojocar said in legal papers he expected to receive £2m a week from backers which would be used to pay creditors but when this money did not arrive he had no choice but to request the company be put into administration. The administration places further pressure on the Caterham racing team which is currently standing in last place with zero points this season. Earlier this month bailiffs turned up at the Leafield factory, driving the team to put out a statement ahead of the race at Suzuka on October 5. In it the racing team condemned “unfounded and unsubstantiated rumours concerning actions against 1MRT, the entrant and owner of Caterham F1”. “An action was threatened against a supplier company to 1MRT. This company is not owned by 1MRT and it has no influence over the entry of Caterham F1 or the entrant,” it added. “Contrary to uncontrolled rumours, all operations are currently in place at Leafield.”

A spokesman for the racing team said: "CSL going into administration does not affect the Formula 1 team in any way, as we are not part of it."

telegraph

 

[MickeyD]

Safety car already... 2nd lap

 

[Hectic]

Watching girly rubbish with my wife.

 

[Bryn]

My Supersport coverage is cutting out every few seconds. Anyone else having problems?

 

[sand_man]

Yes. Me!!!! Complete dead now!!!!