F1 Most liked posts in thread: F1 - 2013

Steve · May 14, 2013

mrntd said: ↑

Does any one remember Canada a few years ago when Schumi pushed hard, did 4 stops and won?

It will be interesting to see if anyone just decides to go balls out and make the extra stops in Monaco.
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We probably will, though there is another potential limiting factor for the longer, more abusive races. They only get so many sets of tires to use throughout a race weekend, and the harder they run, the more tires they need...I assume. Most drivers in Spain ran on at least one used set during the race. All of Raikkonen's 4 sets were used, Alonso and Massa each used 3 used sets (of 5), Vettel 2 (of 5).

I'm sure none of those used sets had been heavily abused before the race but any team with a car that's easy on tires will not only be able to run longer in a race on less stops, they should also have the luxury of more unused tires to make it work. I hope they don't start running less during practice again and running even less during quali in order to preserve tires for these bolder race strategies.

mrntd · May 15, 2013

Looks like (hopefully) Bernie's going down.

Bernie Ecclestone has been charged with bribery and corruption by prosecutors in Munich, according to a report in Germany's SÃ¼ddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

The Formula 1 supremo, 82, has long been under investigation for his payment of $44 million to banker Gerhard Gribkowsky during the sale of the sport to CVC in 2006.

Ecclestone, whose job is said to be at risk, has countlessly repeated that he is not guilty of any wrongdoing in the corruption affair, claiming he was bribed by Gribkowsky to make the confirmed payment, the equivalent of almost 29 million pounds.

Gribkowsky was later given an eight and a half year prison sentence for his role, while a lengthy investigation began as to Ecclestone's full involvement in the sale.

"I would be (worried) if I was guilty, but I’m not!" Ecclestone told Corriere della Sera in January. "Are they trying to entrap me? I don’t know and I don’t care! All I know is that people try anything when money is involved! It won’t get to me appearing in court."

The district court is due to determine whether or not Ecclestone will be put to trial.
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Nathan · May 15, 2013

Alonso and Webber sit down and chat

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2--FD1g0W34]BBC Sport F1 2013 - F1's Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber interview each other - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · May 15, 2013

This one just won't go away...maybe there's some truth to the rumors...

Honda set to announce Formula 1 return (GPUpdate.net)

15 May 2013

Honda is on the verge of announcing its return to Formula 1 as the engine supplier of McLaren, Japanese publication Nikkei has claimed. The deal, set to commence from the second year of the new powertrain regulations in 2015, will allegedly be confirmed by Takanobu Ito, the President of the car manufacturer, in the near future.

Speculation has been rife over a potential reunion of the Honda and McLaren parties in recent months, with the latter's Mercedes engine contract due to expire at the end of next season. As the sport heads into the hotly-debated 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 era, the Woking-based outfit is expected to remain with the German marque through 2014, before switching to the Japanese manufacturer for the following campaign.

Honda opted to pull out of Formula 1 as a works team at the end of the 2008 season, before Ross Brawn led the squad to double title success under the Brawn GP guise. Its involvement in the sport began back in the 1960s, although it is arguably best remembered for its formidable partnership with McLaren from 1988 to 1992, a period which yielded four Drivers' and Constructors' world titles plus 44 race victories.

The environment-focused outlook of the new regulations is said to be a key factor behind Honda's move towards a return to the top echelon of motor racing, with the manufacturer able to apply its Formula 1 technology to future road car creations.
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Nathan · May 16, 2013

Is it too soon to create the F1 -2015 thread?

Honda confirms 2015 F1 return as McLaren engine supplier (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107442)

Honda has confirmed that it will return to Formula 1 in 2015 as engine supplier to McLaren.

The Japanese manufacturer has not competed in F1 since shutting its works team at the end of 2008, but has decided to return as a result of the change to 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines.

Honda president Takanobu Ito said it was a "joint project with McLaren" and that the team will be renamed McLaren-Honda.

Honda has been known to have been in talks with McLaren for some time and has already made significant progress with its all-new 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 Formula 1 engine, working out of its R&D facility in Tochigi, Japan.

It previously supplied McLaren with engines from 1988-1992, winning both the drivers' and constructors' championship four times.

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh hailed the new deal, saying: "Together Honda and McLaren have a great legacy; we formed a uniquely successful partnership that took on and beat the world.

"Together, we created some of the greatest, most iconic Formula 1 moments of all time which are still being talked about today all around the world.
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Steve · May 16, 2013

...and the other engine suppliers suddenly realize they need to work just a bit harder...

Steve · May 16, 2013

McLaren says Honda engine deal not exclusive (AutoSport.com)

By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, May 16th 2013, 11:12 GMT

Honda will be ready to supply more teams in Formula 1 in the future if called on to do so, with McLaren confirming it does not have an exclusive arrangement with the Japanese manufacturer.

Ahead of Honda's return to F1 for 2015, there have been suggestions that it may seek another customer team in a bid to fast-track its technical knowledge and maximise its mileage.

Furthermore, the regulations demand that if a team requests a supply of engines then a manufacturer must be willing to provide them if they are not already supplying too many outfits.

Speaking during a teleconference on Thursday, McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said that Honda was aware it could be called on to supply more teams.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if there was a chance of there being more Honda-powered teams in 2015 or 2016, Neale said: "It is better if Honda answers that directly, but all engine suppliers coming in to F1 know they are doing so with the expectation that should they be required, they are prepared to supply more than one team.

"We have no illusions; and we have a lot of work to be ready for 2015. But should the FIA or Bernie [Ecclestone] request, then Honda is aware of that situation.

"It is not exclusive in that respect."

Neale reiterated that the relationship with Honda was a 'works' deal though, which would ensure it had the closest relationship with the company should it also supply another team.

Although Honda will be able to spend a year evaluating rival manufacturers' success and frustrations with the new 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines, Neale did not think it would be a huge advantage.

"I think if you were delaying it three or four years (in to the new regulations) then it could be - as who knows what will happen on inter-cooling technology," he said.

Neale also said that there were no current plans for McLaren and Honda to embark on any track testing in 2014, even though in theory they could do so with an old car that was not covered by the current testing regulations.

"No, there are not plans for that at the moment," he said. "There are constraints in doing that.

"The whole issue of track testing is one that is going around in various quarters at the moment â€“ but it is all up in the air right now. We don't currently have a plan to test."
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Steve · May 17, 2013

Ferrari also criticises Pirelli tyre changes (GPUpdate.net)

17 May 2013

Ferrari has added its name to the list of those opposed to the recent tyre compound modifications announced by sole supplier Pirelli, criticising the Italian manufacturer's decision to succumb to the intense pressure applied by rival outfits.

Following on from Fernando Alonso's victory in Spain, where the two-time World Champion made four pit-stops, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz launched a stinging attack by arguing that Formula 1 is now simply about tyre preservation.

Pirelli subsequently confirmed that it would be making significant changes to its slick compounds for the Canadian Grand Prix onwards, in reaction to both the negative comments and a string of tyre failures at Sakhir and Barcelona respectively.

Using the 'Horse Whisperer' column published on its official website, Ferrari hit out at the changes by explaining: "These are difficult times for people with poor memories. Maybe itâ€™s because of the huge amount of information available today that people are too quick to talk, forgetting things that happened pretty much in the recent past. Or maybe the brain cells that control memory only operate selectively, depending on the results achieved on track by their owners.

"A classic example of this is the current saga regarding the number of pit stops. Voices have been raised to underline the fact that various teams, some of whom got to the podium and others who were quite a way off, made four pit-stops in the recent Spanish Grand Prix, making the race hard to follow."

The outfit added that four-stopping victories are not a modern creation, alluding to Sebastian Vettel's similar triumph in Barcelona two years ago and referring to the strategy ex-Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher adopted at Magny-Cours in 2004.

"Itâ€™s a shame that these worthy souls kept quiet two years ago when, at the very same Catalunya Circuit and on the Istanbul track, five of the six drivers who got to those two podiums made exactly the same number of pit stops as did Alonso and Massa last Sunday in the Spanish Grand Prix," the writer added.

"In fact, thereâ€™s nothing new about winning a race making so many pit stops, even discounting those where it was down to changeable weather. One only has to look back to 2004, when Michael Schumacher won the French Grand Prix thanks to what was a three stop strategy, later changed to a four stopper. That was the key which allowed the multiple championâ€™s F2004 to get ahead of the then Renault driver, Fernando Alonso, who made three stops. And on that day and we remember it well, our strategy and the tyre supplier were showered with praise for allowing us to get the most out of the car."

The Maranello-based outfit summed up: "Today however, it seems one must almost feel ashamed for choosing a strategy that, as always for that matter, is aimed at getting the most out of the package one has available. On top of that, if this choice emerges right from the Friday, because all the simulations are unanimous in selecting it, then why on earth should one feel embarrassed when compared to those who have gone for a different choice, only to regret it during the race itself?"
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Steve · May 17, 2013

INSIGHT: Formula 1 teams' race to secure engines hots up (Racer.com)

Jonathan Noble | May 17, 2013

Formula 1 could be set for a dramatic shakeâ€“up as the race to secure engine deals for the future hots up.

Honda's return to Formula 1, Mercedes' push to find another customer, plus Renault's desire to supply fewer teams, has opened the way for plenty of changes over the next few years. There is now even the prospect of a renewal of some iconic F1 partnerships from the past, with both Lotus and Williams leading contenders to land Honda deals.

HONDA SEEKING MORE

It has been known for several months that Honda would be linking up with McLaren in 2015, with this week's confirmation coming just a few days after the team allowed an option it had with Mercedes for that season to lapse.

But while a deal with McLaren has been Honda's main target for some time, it has already been evaluating other teams it could link up with on its F1 return either for its first or second seasons back. Such is the effort that will be needed to get ready for 2015 that it may elect to focus solely on McLaren for that season, but by 2016 it will definitely be ready to expand its program.

Inquiries about customer partnerships have been made to at least one top team, with Lotus and Williams believed to be its favored choices. Options elsewhere at Sauber and Marussia appear unlikely, with both teams believed to be closing in on deals for Ferrari customer units.

While the prospect for Williams or Lotus of joining the Japanese manufacturer on its new F1 push is attractive, securing a customer supply deal for 2015 or 2016 would mean that they would need short-term engine deals for the next one or two years. F1's current manufacturers previously made it clear that they would prefer longer-term contracts â€“ for at least five years â€“ which will make it far from easy to get agreement on something much shorter. However, sources suggest that Lotus and Williams supplier Renault's stance on its plans has now changed, with the company now determined to trim its partners.

RENAULT WANTING LESS

Before Honda's F1 return became a reality, there was the possibility that Renault could supply up to six teams on the grid, with Ferrari and Mercedes both eager to limit their supply to just three.

The arrival of a fourth manufacturer, however, and a change of approach from new management, means the French manufacturer wants to reduce its involvement long term to just three teams. It currently has no formal contracts in place for next year, but is in negotiations with Red Bull, Lotus, Williams, Caterham and Toro Rosso.

Renault Sport's F1 president Jean-Michel Jalinier told AUTOSPORT: "It is known in the paddock that we are negotiating with five teams, but I am not sure we are going to go through with five teams. With three teams we would be happy, and we can run the business nicely.

"But, there will only be three suppliers in 2014, so it is not possible that all of us have just three teams. So probably we will have to go with more. My guess is it will be between three and five. Not less than three, because that doesn't make sense, but five, I don't know..."

While long-term deals with Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Caterham appear to be a formality, Renault's longer-term ambitions could well result in it being more amenable to short-term contracts with either Williams or Lotus if they want to pursue the Honda route.

MERCEDES ANOTHER OPTION

The engine choice for those two teams is not just restricted to a Renault or Honda future, for Mercedes is also an option as the German car manufacturer now pushes to find an extra partner. High-level sources at Mercedes have confirmed that it wants to supply a fourth team next year beyond its works team, McLaren and Force India. Its key targets are also Williams and Lotus, although it would prefer a longer-term deal for up to five years.

While such a deal would then rule either outfit of an early switch to Honda, one of the key benefits over sticking with Renault would be financial, as the Mercedes package cost is believed to be below the $25-30 million figure per year that the French manufacturer is currently proposing.

There appear, then, to be three options for Williams and Lotus: commit long term to Renault; commit long term to Mercedes; or go the Honda route and agree a short-term contract extension with their current partners.

Jalinier believes the picture should become much clearer in the next couple of weeks.

"We expect that by Monaco, with another two weeks work, we can have something ready â€“ or at least have a better view of what will be the situation," he said.

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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Steve · May 18, 2013

FIA: Tire tweaks can only be for safety (Racer.com)

Jonathan Noble | May 17, 2013

Pirelli's planned midseason Formula 1 tire tweaks are set to be much smaller than originally anticipated after the FIA ruled that changes will only be allowed on safety grounds.

Sources have revealed that the governing body has told Pirelli that it is happy to accept â€“ and indeed wants â€“ alterations aimed at preventing a repeat of the rear tire delaminations that have struck at the last few events. But, in a blow to teams like Red Bull hoping further tweaks would help them overcome tire difficulties they have faced, the FIA has made it clear it will not tolerate further changes aimed at reducing the number of pit stops or decreasing degradation.

Sorting out the issue must also not lead to a change of specification back to the 2012 tires, as some had suggested could happen. Instead, Pirelli has been instructed to solve the matter by modifying the current specification of tires. It is now close to finalizing tweaks in this direction.

The FIA is basing its stance on Article 12.6.3 of the technical regulations, which has also been cited by teams to Pirelli amid questions about the legality of a bid to change the specification.

The rule states: "Tire specifications will be determined by the FIA no later than Sept. 1 of the previous season. Once determined in this way, the specification of the tires will not be changed during the championship season without the agreement of all competing teams."

Although another clause in the regulations says that changes can be introduced if the tires are deemed by the tire supplier and technical delegate as 'technically unsuitable', the FIA does not believe that the current high-degrading nature of the tires that sometimes requires four stop races falls under that banner.

An FIA source said: "Discussions between the FIA and Pirelli are ongoing regarding the tire failures and making changes to prevent them happening again. These talks do not involve the subject of degradation or the number of pit stops."

CHANGES NOW SET TO BE MINOR

Pirelli has not yet settled on what changes it is making to the tires, but its motorsport director Paul Hembery (LEFT) suggested on Friday that revisions were likely to be small.

"Let's wait and see exactly what changes we will be making, but we are doing everything we can to minimize what will be different," he told AUTOSPORT.

The stance from the FIA, allied to Hembery's suggestion, looks likely to be good news for teams like Lotus, Ferrari and Force India that had been concerned a wholesale change of tires could hurt the advantage they currently have.

Lotus boss Eric Boullier aired his frustration earlier this week at Pirelli planning midseason changes, but expressed his hope that any tweaks would be minor.

"That there are changes to come can be seen as somewhat frustrating, and I hope they are not too extreme," he said. "It's clear that Pirelli have found themselves in a difficult situation and under pressure from different quarters."

This article originally appeared in Autosport.com
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Steve · May 18, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2hkj-WyUbo]Cutaway Insights - Episode 5: Team Radio - Sauber F1 Team - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pREgFVRXeDI]Tech Bites: CFD - side wind, spinning car - Sauber F1 Team - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · May 18, 2013

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k100A8Gri2c]Full size LEGOÂ® model Ferrari Formula One car made out of LEGO bricks - YouTube[/ame]

CHKMINI · May 18, 2013

Steve said: ↑

Full size LEGOÂ® model Ferrari Formula One car made out of LEGO bricks - YouTube
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Finally, something in F-1 that I can understand!

minirab · May 19, 2013

How I should have spent my summer vacation!

mrntd · May 21, 2013

Steve said: ↑

Full size LEGOÂ® model Ferrari Formula One car made out of LEGO bricks - YouTube
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I've some big logo project before with the boys but nothing like that. I'm even sure I have enough. Certainly not all the red ones.:eek6:

Zapski · May 21, 2013

Bernie Ecclestone proposes chassis share to reduce costs | City & Business | Finance | Daily Express

BERNIE Ecclestone has proposed that Formula One teams be able to sell chassis to each other, a shake-up that would save tens of millions of pounds.

The use of so-called â€œcustomer carsâ€ reflects the situation with F1â€™s engines, which are built by Cosworth, Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault and sold to nine teams. However it would require the agreement of all of the teams and the sportâ€™s governing body the FÃ©dÃ©ration Internationale de lâ€™Automobile (FIA). Frank Williams of the team of the same name is said to be against it.

Ecclestone said: â€œI believe that customer cars will be a good thing. Everybody needs to agree to that but Frank Williams is the one who is against it.â€

The current requirement for teams to be a â€œconstructorâ€ comprises the bulk of their research and development costs. These averaged Â£41.4 million across eight of the F1 teams in 2011. The proposed change from the F1 supremo would give the chassis sellers additional income while the weaker outfits would save development costs and gain a more competitive car.

Ecclestone says the new rule would particularly benefit Marussia, F1â€™s worst-performing team, by allowing them to run a McLaren chassis, for example, but Williams is said to be against buying in as it prides itself on having achieved success through building up its talent internally.
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Minidave · May 21, 2013

F1 seems intent on moving away from it's core values and into a spec series....F1 used to be about innovation and new ideas, every year it gets more and more restrictive to the point where there is simply no room for real innovation - and if someone did come up with something that was somehow within the rules, it would be either copied to every team immediately, or banned. Spec series.

Really unfortunate.

In the past I've thought despite all the criticism that Bernie had been a positive force to keep F1 moving forward, now I think his version of F1 may have run it's course.

Of course, if his hand chosen replacement will simply follow the same blueprint as what he's already laid down, then you might as well have everyone driving the same chassis and engines, just like CART and INDY did, and look how well that served them.

Alan · May 21, 2013

There are successful spec racing series:
NASCAR, Australian V8 Supercars, Moto3, and Moto2

MotoGP is ahead of F1 with their CRT bikes.

Racing is a business. The purists (like me) detest this fact, but we have to deal with it. If they don't make money there will be NO racing. The cost has to be controlled and "the show" has got to fill the grandstands and command a big TV fee.

In the old days with who knows how many car manufacturers (100+?) in the world racing could be the innovation driver. Today with maybe a dozen manufacturers racing - less than half that in F1 - and an ultra competitive retail car market failure is not acceptable. So innovation is negotiated and tied to retail sales.

Minidave · May 21, 2013

Sorry, but I disagree that F1 is promoting car sales of anything but maybe Ferrari and McLaren........and that's what, 5000 a year total?

I agree that costs must be controlled and that there are successful spec series, but the point of F1 was to be the pinacle of engineering - not a spec series, and while it is in some very small ways the top of the heap, very few of those designs are applicable to today's automotive needs.

Alan · May 21, 2013

Did you read the Honda statement about rejoining F1?

Why they have an energy recovery system now?

The rationale for going to the V6 turbo?

Rhetorical Questions - Manufacturers want to make it relevant to their road cars. ie Negotiated Innovation applicable to (future) retail sales.

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