F1 2014 thread

Halfway there guys, another 2 weeks so its as if we just had one.

They should entertain the F1 fraternity somehow during the breaks.
 
Formula E completes full race simulations

Formula E has completed two full event simulations as it gears up for its first race in Beijing in September.

Both events took place at Donington Park, where a temporary pitlane and pits were assembled to mimic those that will be in place at the street circuits the series will visit.

Accreditation procedures, operational and IT infrastructures and even television broadcasts were also meticulously tested.

During the second simulation, for the first time the ten teams ran all four of their cars as the two non-qualifying sessions, qualifying and an endurance test were completed to the schedule that will take place at the races.

This meant that all of the teams and drivers had the opportunity to simulate the unique car change pit stops - and at the second simulation - a full standing start.

While a number of issues were encountered, which was the reason for running the simulation, overall the events were considered to be a success.

"Putting on a major sporting event in the heart of cities around the world is a massive undertaking and requires careful preparation," said Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E. "We want the Formula E Beijing ePrix to a fantastic spectacle, which is why we're leaving nothing to chance by rigorously testing all the systems beforehand. Overall we're very pleased with how things went."

Organisers have also revealed the race day timetable for each Formula E event, which takes place all in one day. The 10 teams and 20 drivers will have two non-qualifying sessions in the morning - lasting 45 minutes and 30 minutes - followed by a qualifying session split into four groups of five cars with the order selected at random beforehand. The race itself will last approximately 60 minutes with the race distance (exact number of laps) determined on the day.

The final Formula E pre-season test takes place at Donington Park on August 19 with free admission to the public. Some 4000 fans have already pre-registered their interest for the last opportunity to see the cars and drivers before the season opener.
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www.pitpass.com

Excellent news this, I'm as excited for this as for F1 itself.
 
[video=youtube;MrF5U3Wduv4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MrF5U3Wduv4[/video]
 
rakabos3 said:
Grooved tyres?
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Yes.



Official Tyre Supplier: Michelin

Tyres are one of the most crucial elements in modern day motorsport which is why, following a tender process, the FIA has chosen leading French company Michelin as the Official Tyre Partner for the FIA Formula E Championship.

Michelin is the world's largest tyre manufacture and as well as boasting a long and impressive motorsport pedigree, it is also highly committed to sustainable mobility and improving safety on our roads. As such, Formula E will give Michelin the opportunity to showcase all its core values; innovation, performance, energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.

Drawing upon its many years’ of experience, Michelin has developed a bespoke 18-inch treaded tyre that is unique to the FIA Formula E Championship and usable for both wet and dry conditions (so no separate wet and dry tyres or different compounds). Michelin will supply tyres that will not only deliver exciting racing but also cope with the demands of the abrasive street circuits and all weather conditions. Of course, the tyres will still provide competitors with maximum grip together with reduced mass and optimised energy efficiency to help improve battery life.

To aid with sustainability and with cost-saving key to Michelin and the FIA Formula E Championship, the Michelin tyres will also be extremely durable, able to last throughout an entire race event. Drivers will be supplied with three sets of tyres to cover both their cars for a full race day including practice, qualifying and the race itself. Teams will also not be permitted to change tyres during the race, meaning expensive pit stop equipment is not necessary, helping to reduce running costs even further.
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www.fiaformulae.com
 
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Max Verstappen joins Red Bull Junior Team

Max Verstappen - the son of ex-F1 driver Jos - has joined the Red Bull Junior Team.

Sixteen-year-old Verstappen is highly rated and is currently second in his first season in the Formula 3 European Championship. In recent weeks he was also linked to the Mercedes F1 team driver programme, but on Tuesday it was announced he had signed for Red Bull.

"We are very pleased to announce that Max Verstappen has accepted our invitation to join the Red Bull Junior Team," a statement read. "This is effective immediately and the 16-year-old Dutchman will continue his FIA Formula 3 European Championship campaign at the Nürburgring this weekend as a Red Bull Junior in the Van Amersfoort Racing team and additionally will compete at the Macau Grand Prix in November."

Verstappen won six rounds of the Formula 3 European Championship in a row earlier this year when he took victory at all three races at both Spa-Francorchamps and Norisring. It has been rumoured that Verstappen could make the jump to F1 as soon as next season, but progression through Formula Renault 3.5 is more likely.

He joins the Red Bull Junior Team alongside Formula Renault 3.5 championship leader Carlos Sainz Jr, GP3 Series leader Alex Lynn and Pierre Gasly, who is currently third in the Formula 3.5 championship.
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http://en.espnf1.com

Nice one, the legacy lives on. May not have achieved all he wanted in F1 but the dad was a remarkable and likeable driver.
 
Polish said:
Max Verstappen joins Red Bull Junior Team

http://en.espnf1.com

Nice one, the legacy lives on. May not have achieved all he wanted in F1 but the dad was a remarkable and likeable driver.
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Meh, what legacy?

Jos Verstappen scored a handful of points in his entire F1 career, best finish was 3rd IIRC, might have been likeable, certainly not remarkable in F1.
 
Dave123 said:
Meh, what legacy?

Jos Verstappen scored a handful of points in his entire F1 career, best finish was 3rd IIRC, might have been likeable, certainly not remarkable in F1.
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True, but he had two podiums, which positions... cannot remember, though I think he was driving in the Benetton stable at that time, don't know how long and when. He is a Dutch star though, praised driving Formula 3, but he sucked in other motorsport. Hope his kid do more than Formula 3...
 
Fulcrum29 said:
True, but he had two podiums, which positions... cannot remember, though I think he was driving in the Benetton stable at that time, don't know how long and when. He is a Dutch star though, praised driving Formula 3, but he sucked in other motorsport. Hope his kid do more than Formula 3...
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If he had 2 podiums it must have been 2 3rds, I know he didn't score many points.

Edit

Just looked it up

107 races 1994-2003, 2 podiums, best finish 3rd, best qualifying position 6th, career points 17.

Edit 2

Actually my opinion went from meh to under performing driver.

In the year he managed to get his 2 3rd place podiums his team mate won the World Championship (1994).

Verstappen was actually dropped by Benetton for the last 2 races of that season in a bid to win the Constructors Championship.

Schumacher: 14 starts - 8 wins 2 2nds - 92 points - World Champion
Verstappen: 10 starts - 2 3rds - 10 points - dropped and replaced by Johnny Herbert
 
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Still, he was part of the F1 grid when I got into F1 and to me he will always be a Legend, albeit possibly a small one.
 
Several reasons behind Vettel's struggle - Horner
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says a number of factors have contributed to Sebastian Vettel's disappointing performances this year, including fatigue from five years of fighting for the title.

The defending four-time champion has scored 88 points this year, but has struggled to match the performances of his new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who has scored 131. Horner said the energy exerted in the past five years - in which Vettel won four titles - has taken its toll on his driver, who has also struggled to adapt to the new regulations.

"It is a combination of several things," Auto Bild Motorsport and Reuters reported Horner as saying. "First, when you have fought for the title for five years, it does wear you out a little bit, but that is not the fundamental problem. The way Sebastian brought out those extra tenths from the car in recent years was quite unique. He is very sensitive to the behaviour of the car, especially when braking."

Horner believes Vettel has "lost part of his feeling for the car", adding that his star driver used to drive "like a ballerina, dancing on the throttle and the brakes".

"The driveability was really bad [at the start of this year], so Seb could not look after the tyres in the way that he always has done. His pace in Hungary showed he is getting the feeling for the car back again."

Red Bull and Renault struggled to get the RB10 running, let alone performing, during pre-season testing and the majority of reliability issues have afflicted Vettel's car. Horner believes the reduced track time is also a factor in Vettel's struggle.
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http://en.espnf1.com

Tsk tsk tsk fingerboy, big daddy has to make excuses for you........
 
Dave123 said:
If he had 2 podiums it must have been 2 3rds, I know he didn't score many points.

Edit

Just looked it up

107 races 1994-2003, 2 podiums, best finish 3rd, best qualifying position 6th, career points 17.

Edit 2

Actually my opinion went from meh to under performing driver.

In the year he managed to get his 2 3rd place podiums his team mate won the World Championship (1994).

Verstappen was actually dropped by Benetton for the last 2 races of that season in a bid to win the Constructors Championship.

Schumacher: 14 starts - 8 wins 2 2nds - 92 points - World Champion
Verstappen: 10 starts - 2 3rds - 10 points - dropped and replaced by Johnny Herbert
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Pretty much proves that the B194 was not as illegal as everyone tried to make it out to be and shows just how good Michael was. JJ Lehto also got a few drives in the B194 (he was originally the #2 driver before a preseason injury) that year and he too blew chunks, bagging 1 point in 6 starts.
 
F1 2014 Driver salaries revealed From iafrica.com

According to figures from Business Book GP2014, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel earns almost 29 times as much as teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

Business Book GP2014, which is billed as an independent publication that investigates the business of Formula 1, recently released its annual list of driver salaries.

According to the figures, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen each take home the same amount of money as Vettel — around €22-million (about R312-million).

By comparison, Ricciardo, who is currently ahead of Vettel in the championship standings, is paid €750 000 (about R10.6-million) a year.

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes slots in at four overall, while McLaren's Jenson Button rounds out the top five.

So, who are the worst-paid drivers in the sport? Caterham F1's Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayshi prop up the table with an annual salary of €150 000 (about R2.1-million) each.

Drivers' salaries for 2014:

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari): €22-million
= Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): €22-million
= Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing): €22-million
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): €20-million
5. Jenson Button (McLaren): €16-million
6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes): €12-million
7. Felipe Massa (Williams): €4-million
= Nico Hulkenberg (Force India F1): €4-million
9. Romain Grosjean (Lotus F1 Team): €3-million
= Pastor Maldonado (Lotus F1 Team): €3-million
= Sergio Perez (Force India F1): €3-million
12. Adrian Sutil (Sauber): €2-million
13. Kevin Magnuseen (McLaren): €1-million
= Valtteri Bottas (Williams): €1-million
15. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing): €750 000
= Jean-Eric Vergne (Scuderia Toro Rosso): €750 000
17. Jules Bianchi (Marussia): €500 000
18. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber): €400 000
19. Daniil Kvyat (Scuderia Toro Rosso): €250 000
20. Max Chilton (Marussia): €200 000
21. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham F1): €150 000
= Kamui Kobayshi (Caterham F1): €150 000
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Salaries are clearly no indication of team pecking orders this year...
 
Sjoe, what a huge difference between the first and the last.

Laughable actually, somewhat unfair.
 
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