The F1 thread

boogieman

Majorscale said:

boogieman said:

Sat down to watch the race last night and then realised I'd set the virgin box to record the one hour F1 build up program instead of the actual race itself. Bollocks!!! 

Catch up on All4... 2017 and all that ;-)

Yeah I did look but it didn't seem available at the time. Wasn't sure if it was too soon after the race or whether they weren't showing it due to contract restrictions. Same as they don't repeat Match of the Day on iplayer

Heartfeltdawn

Fretwired said:

OK .. I see what you're saying. My angle was more Mercedes approaching Verstappen or Ricciardo .. Mercedes approached Horner after Rosberg quit but got rebuffed. Bottas is on a one year deal, so I think Mercedes want to keep their options open. There's also speculation that the Red Bull boys will fall out big time .. I can't see Max wanting to leave for anything other than a top manufacturer like Mercedes or Ferrari .. Renault and Honda could get their act together and the likes of VW or BMW could join when the new regs come into force. BMW has lost out to Mercedes in the luxury car sector and have noticed the boost in car sales that F1 has brought. The new regs and lower costs may tempt the likes of BMW and VW/Audi to enter F1.

Audi would be the name to enter. The decision to move away from diesel-hybrid technology was partly down to the emissions scandal. Petrol-hybrid and electric are the way forward, with Formula E being the first step. The full Audi team will be racing in that series starting from October this year, and it doesn't take much imagination to think they'd be looking to enter F1 in the future after that. 

Of the big three teams for 2018, really it's only Vettel who you'd say is a cast-iron certainty to stay where he is now. Hamilton might move on away from F1 (some of the stuff this week from him online was surprising: one wonders if Rosberg's move to go and enjoy life away from the F1 churn has hit home with the Hamster). Kimi must surely go from Ferrari at the end of the season. 

A Hamilton-Max Mercedes team would be insane. Trying to keep those two under control would involve cattle prods and stun guns. A Vettel-Max combination are Ferrari would be equally ridiculous. So really Verstappen needs to look at the long game. He's in a position that you see countless young footballers in, early success, the offers are there, cash and fame await. He might want to remember that Senna put up with a fairly average Lotus in 1987 and that Senna's patience was rewarded as he developed a relationship with Honda that year that bore fruit once he signed for the Honda-powered McLaren team for 1988. He isn't going to go in as number 1 at Mercedes with Hamilton there nor would he do so at Ferrari with Vettel in prime position.

Ricciardo to Ferrari to pair up with Vettel would be a good combination in my book. 

simonk

Heartfeltdawn said:

Fretwired said:

OK .. I see what you're saying. My angle was more Mercedes approaching Verstappen or Ricciardo .. Mercedes approached Horner after Rosberg quit but got rebuffed. Bottas is on a one year deal, so I think Mercedes want to keep their options open. There's also speculation that the Red Bull boys will fall out big time .. I can't see Max wanting to leave for anything other than a top manufacturer like Mercedes or Ferrari .. Renault and Honda could get their act together and the likes of VW or BMW could join when the new regs come into force. BMW has lost out to Mercedes in the luxury car sector and have noticed the boost in car sales that F1 has brought. The new regs and lower costs may tempt the likes of BMW and VW/Audi to enter F1.

Audi would be the name to enter. The decision to move away from 

Ricciardo to Ferrari to pair up with Vettel would be a good combination in my book. 

Ric and Vet would make a strong line up no doubt... I wonder if Vet would veto it though in light of their last season as team mates.

Fretwired

Heartfeltdawn said:

Audi would be the name to enter. The decision to move away from diesel-hybrid technology was partly down to the emissions scandal. Petrol-hybrid and electric are the way forward, with Formula E being the first step. The full Audi team will be racing in that series starting from October this year, and it doesn't take much imagination to think they'd be looking to enter F1 in the future after that. 

Of the big three teams for 2018, really it's only Vettel who you'd say is a cast-iron certainty to stay where he is now. Hamilton might move on away from F1 (some of the stuff this week from him online was surprising: one wonders if Rosberg's move to go and enjoy life away from the F1 churn has hit home with the Hamster). Kimi must surely go from Ferrari at the end of the season. 

A Hamilton-Max Mercedes team would be insane. Trying to keep those two under control would involve cattle prods and stun guns. A Vettel-Max combination are Ferrari would be equally ridiculous. So really Verstappen needs to look at the long game. He's in a position that you see countless young footballers in, early success, the offers are there, cash and fame await. He might want to remember that Senna put up with a fairly average Lotus in 1987 and that Senna's patience was rewarded as he developed a relationship with Honda that year that bore fruit once he signed for the Honda-powered McLaren team for 1988. He isn't going to go in as number 1 at Mercedes with Hamilton there nor would he do so at Ferrari with Vettel in prime position.

Ricciardo to Ferrari to pair up with Vettel would be a good combination in my book. 

Agreed - Audi would be the name to enter or Porsche.

Woolf and Lauda know that Hamilton's a great racer, but he makes mistakes and goes off the boil. They also know that Rosberg pushed him hard and beat him last year and that they managed a difficult relationship. They will want two top drivers who can push each other. Bottas hasn't impressed yet. If Ferrari get Kimi's car hooked they way he likes it you could be looking at regular double podiums for Ferrari and Mercedes losing their crown. The Ferrari and Mercedes are evenly matched which means you need two top drivers in each team. Throw Honda and Renault into the mix (some stretch of the imagination I know) and F1 could be in for a golden period. So I wouldn't rule out a Hamilton/Vestappen or Hamilton/Ricciardo pairing at Mercedes.

Heartfeltdawn

Four years ago, a lot of articles were printing that insider talk was of Porsche being the LMP1 sportscar marque and Audi to be something else. That is now being realised with Audi in Formula E and Porsche looking like they will dominate LMP1 and getting more Porsche involvement in GT3 racing in Europe.

F1 has clearly helped Mercedes sell more cars to a wide range of punters. You only have to look at the number of Mercedes taxis and vans in London now compared to a decade ago to realise that. Porsche wouldn't get the same boost because their range of cars don't have the spread that Mercedes do. There is no Porsche van for instance and the notion of a Porsche taxi must surely be restricted to Dubai or Qatar and not Balham Audi on the other hand do have a better variety of vehicles so that marque would be best served by being involved in F1. 

"Bottas hasn't impressed yet"

Pole position in his third race and then gets stuffed by a defective tyre compressor on the grid, third place in the CC ahead of an ex World Champion in possibly a superior car... he's done alright so far. 

Heartfeltdawn

simonk said:

Ric and Vet would make a strong line up no doubt... I wonder if Vet would veto it though in light of their last season as team mates.

He'd veto it a lot less than he'd veto Verstappen coming in. Sergio Perez would be a decent call but Ricciardo fits better as a Ferrari driver to me. From a PR point of view, he'd be a great pick and he's clearly got enough ability on the track. 

hotpot

I see the McLaren Honda managed just two laps today in Bahrain testing, where on earth do Honda go from here!.

fretmeister

Mallya's been arrested!

http://www.planetf1.com/news/mallya-arrested-in-london/

simonk

fretmeister said:

Mallya's been arrested!

http://www.planetf1.com/news/mallya-arrested-in-london/

Good!

hotpot

Can Force India survive without him!

Fretwired

Oh dear ... it got quickly deleted .. ;-)

Heartfeltdawn

fretmeister said:

Mallya's been arrested!

http://www.planetf1.com/news/mallya-arrested-in-london/

About fucking time too. 

McLaren were testing today in Bahrain. Ooops. Expect to see an orange and black horse and cart line up at the back of the grid for Russia. 

Fretwired

FIA to help Honda? I think it would be good for F1 ..

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/formula-1/rules-breaks-to-help-honda-set-to-be-discussed_sto6141322/story.shtml

Garthy

Fretwired said:

FIA to help Honda? I think it would be good for F1 ..

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/formula-1/rules-breaks-to-help-honda-set-to-be-discussed_sto6141322/story.shtml

Honda could have gone to the FIA about this at any time in the last three seasons yet chose not to.

stickyfiddle

Fretwired said:

FIA to help Honda? I think it would be good for F1 ..

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/formula-1/rules-breaks-to-help-honda-set-to-be-discussed_sto6141322/story.shtml

I think they need to, but I'm not sure how they can. 

Clearly without help Honda would be better off without the shitty PR, and with new regs in 2021 it's barely worth Honda investing beyond this year if they're not vaguely competitive

Fretwired

Ferrari 1-2 in FP 2 with Bottas third and Hamilton in fourth having been off the pace all day. Looks like Ferrari are the team to beat at the moment.

Heartfeltdawn

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39747878

"It was another difficult day for McLaren-Honda. Stoffel Vandoorne suffered an engine problem at the end of the first session which required a change of power-unit.

That has resulted in the Belgian receiving a 15-place grid penalty because he has already used too many of the six constituent parts of the engine. Vandoorne is now on his fifth turbocharger and fifth MGU-H, the part of the hybrid system that recovers energy from the turbo, when only four changes are permitted in the entire 20-round season."

Finally McLaren have found an engine shitter than the Peugeot in the MP4/9. 

Fretwired

Alonso has permission from FIA to drive a Honda Civic in Sunday's Russian Grand Prix .. Alonson said "I'm pleased with the Honda Civic - more power, reliable and it corners better than my McLaren"

Heartfeltdawn

Fernando doesn't mind crashing in a McLaren. The lift back to the pits on the back of a moped helps him remember what speed is like. 

cj73

I think the reg plate means Fast Honda 2031