F1 - General discussion and 2016 Season

[chromedome]

That definitely favours the teams with the best aero package over those with bigger power units.

Except for Hamilton

 

[thestaggy]

True, a huge portion of the WC hinges around the engineers - way more than the drivers. An average driver in the right car will whip the ass of the best in an average car.

In today's F1 I'd agree, but I'd disagree when talking about F1 10+ years ago.

Classic example is 1996 when a finicky John Barnard-designed Ferrari (a car both Irvine and Barnard labelled a POS) in the hands of Michael was able to beat the Brawn-Byrne Benettons of Alesi and Berger.

Post-Alonso Renault as well. Alonso leaves Renault and heads for Macca and Renault goes from 1st to third literally overnight.

 

[Agent_Smith]

True story regarding Alonso. Was it in his last year at Ferrari that he was able to extract every ounce of performance out of a dog of a car and challenge Vettel in the Red Bull?

 

[Willie Trombone]

In today's F1 I'd agree, but I'd disagree when talking about F1 10+ years ago.

Classic example is 1996 when a finicky John Barnard-designed Ferrari (a car both Irvine and Barnard labelled a POS) in the hands of Michael was able to beat the Brawn-Byrne Benettons of Alesi and Berger.

They were properly whipped by the Newey designed Williams that year but I think the demise of the Bennetons was more to do with the split up of the Schumacher-Brawn-Byrne combo. I don't believe the 96 Benneton was special in any way. Williams also pretty much caved after Newey and Hill left.

Post-Alonso Renault as well. Alonso leaves Renault and heads for Macca and Renault goes from 1st to third literally overnight.

Absolutely the driver counts, but I think it's more about the relationship the driver/engineer enjoys. It takes time for a driver to settle in with a new team (MS at Ferrari for example). Button als came 2nd in the WC in a BAR and won in a Brawn and yet is consistently beaten by his team-mate in an identical car.

 

[thestaggy]

They were properly whipped by the Newey designed Williams that year but I think the demise of the Bennetons was more to do with the split up of the Schumacher-Brawn-Byrne combo. I don't believe the 96 Benneton was special in any way. Williams also pretty much caved after Newey and Hill left.

Absolutely the driver counts, but I think it's more about the relationship the driver/engineer enjoys. It takes time for a driver to settle in with a new team (MS at Ferrari for example). Button als came 2nd in the WC in a BAR and won in a Brawn and yet is consistently beaten by his team-mate in an identical car.

Ferrari were miles behind both Williams and Benetton in 1995 though. Taking that in to account, Michael hit the ground running. Ferrari had won 2 races in the previous 5-years and Michael proceeded to win 3 in his first season, hauling in the most points by a Ferrari driver since Prost in 1990. Keep in mind that Byrne and Brawn were not at Ferrari in 1996, so everything was new to him. In his second year he was competing for the championship. All things considered, I don't think you could ask for a quicker ''gelling'' of team and driver.

Nothing was a match for the dominant Williams in 1996, but the shift between Benetton and Ferrari had one common denominator; they switched their drivers. Senior engineers were all the same, they just swapped the German kid for an aged Austrian and mercurial Sicilian.

Now it is a bit harder as the influence of the engineers can be heard in every radio transmission. Your engineer pretty much dictates how fast you can go and tells you what you should be doing. Not saying Brawn's race strategies had nothing to do with Michael's success, but back then a good driver could make a tangible difference and haul a car up where it usually didn't belong.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Yes but don't forget that Michael brought a ton of new IP to the team when he joined. The switch between Benetton and Ferrari had two things in common, they switched their engineering team and driver so perhaps it's not a good example either way other than to say that Hill and Villeneuve were superior in the good car... illustrating my point.

 

[caroper]

[video=vimeo;187070412]https://vimeo.com/187070412[/video]

 

[Zyraz]

[video=youtube_share;PkSaJsr1wj4]https://youtu.be/PkSaJsr1wj4[/video]

Driving School – Button, Alonso, Vandoorne & Coulthard On Karting

Go-Karts are often labelled as the foundation of motorsport, a platform on which young drivers get their first exposure to racing.

Mobil 1 The Grid spoke to current McLaren F1 drivers Fernando Alonso & Jenson Button, along with 2017 driver Stoffel Vandorne, and former racer David Coulthard to find out how significant Go-Karts have been for the development of a driver’s career.

 

[Polish]

Lolz, i'd love to have a spin on those little machines.

 

[caroper]

Lolz, i'd love to have a spin on those little machines.

Well I got a nice Little Machine.
Having Sold My last Merc and bought a Honda I feel totally let down by McLaren-Honda and am going back to Mercedes.
Signed the papers for an SLK 200 Kompressor yesterday, should be delivered on Tuesday and I am driving it to Robertson on Wednesday.

p.s. Still love my Honda and will keep it for when we need a saloon car - the SLK is 2 persons only and no luggage space to talk of.

 

[Willie Trombone]

AMG GTR or nothing!

[video=youtube;YfNP2xizKFs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfNP2xizKFs[/video]

 

[caroper]

AMG GTR or nothing!

No I want an open Roof to better enjoy the Cape Winelands in Summer.
And the SLK 200 is already too fast, you would need a race track to get the GTR out of 3rd gear

As it is they pointed to the Traction Control and said "Never Turn That OFF".

 

[Willie Trombone]

No I want an open Roof to better enjoy the Cape Winelands in Summer.
And the SLK 200 is already too fast, you would need a race track to get the GTR out of 3rd gear

As it is they pointed to the Traction Control and said "Never Turn That OFF".

Yeah, it's not for the sunday drives!
That green is amazing though.

 

[Zyraz]

Mallya confirms Hulkenberg exit

Force India team boss Vijay Mallya has confirmed Nico Hulkenberg’s departure from the Silverstone-based outfit to Renault in 2017.

Speculation has been surrounding the Le Mans winner for a number of months, with drives at Williams and Ferrari being touted.

However, the Indian businessman has now confirmed the development and wished him well for next season, with four races still left in 2016.

“Everybody at Sahara Force India wishes Nico well as he embarks upon a different path in Formula One," Mallya said in a statement.

“Having spent five years with us, Nico has become a great friend and contributed a huge amount to the team’s success.

“He’s an outstanding driver, who has scored more points for this team than anybody else. While it’s true we will miss Nico, we respect his decision to explore fresh opportunities and it would be wrong to stand in his way."

Hulkenberg entered the sport after signing for Williams for the 2010 season, but left a year later and joined Force India in 2011. Between his first year at Force India and now, he also had a stint at Sauber in 2013 but returned to Force India the year after.

After the confirmation, there is only one seat left at Renault, with current drivers Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen included in the names of possible options.

Manor drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon are now linked with a move to Force India now that the German’s seat is vacant.

Source

Renault confirms Hulkenberg arrival

After Force India confirmed Nico Hulkenberg will be leaving, Renault have announced that the German will be racing for them in 2017.

Renault Sport Racing Chairman Jerome Stoll confirmed the development after the Le Mans winner has been linked with a move to the French Manufacturer all week.

Stoll also revealed that the 29-year-old has signed a multi-year deal at the reformed franchise and is a great addition to their project.

"2017 will be the second season of Groupe Renault’s return as a manufacturer entry in Formula 1 and the next step in our journey," said the Chairman, who has now put doubts on the future of current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer.

"This season has been about putting the foundations in place for future success.

"For our next step we required an experienced driver who is still hungry for podiums. Nico Hülkenberg fulfils this role perfectly and is an excellent complement to what we want to achieve. He is a highly talented, dedicated and motivated driver.

"Nico will enable us to harness all the hard work completed this season and translate it to improved results on track in 2017 and beyond.

"We look forward to seeing him in our new car for 2017."

Source

 

[Polish]

Eish, good luck Nico.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Eish, good luck Nico.

Eish indeed. We need a serious curveball next year to make this all interesting again...
Something like:
Mclaren 1
Lotus 2
Redbull 3
.
.
.
.
Mercedes
.
Ferrari

 

[Polish]

Yes

 

[Polish]

So who now to FI?

 

[Dave]

So who now to FI?

Supposedly one of Wehrlein or Ocan from what I've seen reported.

 

[Willie Trombone]

So who now to FI?

Some poor sod