Alonso and Bottas are both planning to race this weekend, but they're both still technically uncertain until they pass their official medical checks on Thu. The teams would be stupid to not bring potential reserve/backup drivers, just in case. I assume Magnussen will be there for McLaren, haven't seen who Williams decided to call up as a backup.
I've always liked a wet race, it lets the drivers talent shine more than their equipment. Jules Bianchi’s crash does make one think about high speed racing in the rain, but crashes do happen & to my mind the largest component in Jules crash was the track side crane. I hope FIA doesn't do something stupid like stop the race or parade around behind a safety car be it real or virtual if it rains.
That is interesting that there isn't testing with the rain tires. I wonder what the average number of laps per year that the intermediate or wets were used over the last several seasons is?
True, but I would bet that there are automotive test tracks that can simulate wet conditions. Testing wouldn't have to be completed on a F1 track and could be limited to using previous years car and only using reserve drivers. One of the reasons I like F1 is that they do continue to race in the ran (unlike other series...), so it would make sense to have some dedicated testing to keep it from being a series of saftey car led parade laps.
Noce long article on good suggestions to fix F1. Gordon Kirby - Auto Racing - The Way It Is It's a bit long to quote here, but the tl;dr summary is that he thinks that reducing downforce, changing tire size, and restricting wind tunnel testing would increase the braking distance, and reduce cornering speed, thereby allowing drivers to pass more and show off their skills better. It's worth reading the whole thing.
I was going to say they should at least have some rain to test tires in during practice. Better than nothing. Then found this.
Kimi, calm down! [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xRFSJOxKdE"]Kimi Raikkönen videoüzenet - Nagy Futam III - YouTube[/ame]
When a married couple starts acting like this, I figure divorce proceedings may be inevitable. Renault: It’s hard to have a partner [Red Bull] who lies (grandprix247.com)
Alas nothing good will come of this, when two sides start blaming each other it usually means neither one has a solution, and one will hardly be found with a team divided... As bad a start as McClaren has had, perhaps Alonso knew what he was doing after all... :'(
There was got to be something more going on. How can you expect any kind of season when the 2 sides hate each other starting in the first race?
What do Alonso and McLaren have to do with the Renault and Red Bull finger pointing? edit: After thinking about it for a few seconds more, I thinking you are saying that if he had been considering Red Bull then he probably made the better decision by going with McLaren. Sorry, I'm not connecting the dots well this morning.
Aaaaand Alonso is saying everything McLaren said about the crash was a lie. And so it begins..... :mad2: BBC Sport - Fernando Alonso says crashed McLaren had 'a steering problem'