Formula 1 2014

[Draco-REX]

Watching the practices I recorded now.

 

So much different. Not only are the engines completely different, but the aero is changed, and all of the tires are different. Even how the on-screen info and drivers are presented to the audience is different.

 

The new engine note is both disappointing and very cool. I miss the high screaming noise the older engines had. To me, a F1 car should sound like an angel... plummeting to earth at Mach 3. The new low pitch almost sounds like a motorcycle. But on the cool side of things, the turbos sound fantastic. The exhaust pipe is a big bore and very short, so you can hear the turbo clearly. Overall, while the cars don't sound like what I'd expect a F1 car to sound like, it is an unmistakable noise and very futuristic; almost like something you'd hear in a sci-fi movie.

 

No team has really pushed the tires yet, so no idea how those will shake out. Hopefully they won't be yet another issue to llump on top of everything else.

 

The new noses.. yeah, there's already been a thread on them. Don't like them, hope they'll go away soon.

 

The media had jumped right on to the dedicated numbers thing. Driver pictures are presented with the number in the background in a style unique to the team, much like NASCAR. Good thing? I think so, but we'll see. Also on the standings list that displays on the left of the screen, the primary color of the car is presented next to the driver's name to improve recognition. Not sure how effective it will be, but I have trouble identifying small swaths of color so it might be more effective than I think.

 

Best P1 time was 5 seconds off last year's, but top speed is higher. So all the lost time is in the corners. The commenters are put it mostly on exit, but the lack of downforce and heavier weight are where I think the bigger issues lay.

 

I'm not sure how all this will translate on Sunday, but we'll see. Must as I thought the new rules would make for more interesting racing, I'm worried now it will have the opposite effect. I hope to be wrong and we'll see great racing, but I'm not banking on it. If anything, I think the year will be heavy on technical drama.

 

Qualifying tomorrow, 2am.

Race Sunday 1:30am.

[AudiOn19s]

Watched p1 and p2 as well. As with most I can't stand the sound. I thought the Force India team owner comments were spot on

 

I also hate going slower for more green technology and managing fuel to not run out.

 

I hope the racing makes up for the changes, like you I'm not convinced it will.

 

At this point we might see half of the cars or less finish the first race.

[mrs.cos]

IM A DRIVER!!

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2010/03/15/article-1268669512264-08B728D5000005DC-230085_636x300.jpg

[Draco-REX]

Watched p1 and p2 as well. As with most I can't stand the sound. I thought the Force India team owner comments were spot on

 

I also hate going slower for more green technology and managing fuel to not run out.

 

I hope the racing makes up for the changes, like you I'm not convinced it will.

 

At this point we might see half of the cars or less finish the first race.

And yet, is it appropriate for a racing series this day and age to have no regard for efficiency?

 

I think the FIA found themselves in a "Damned if you do..." conundrum. To us enthusiasts, the idea of conserving fuel in a race is silly. But the media and the bulk of the viewers is not made up of enthusiasts. So the question becomes, how relevant is F1? Better fuel efficiency and hybrid drivetrains are things the average person can relate to. They may have a hybrid in their garage, and everyone deals with fuel efficiency. Now in all reality, the amount of money being thrown around makes the fuel savings a moot point. But the average person doesn't think about that. However, they DO know about watching the gas gauge get closer and closer to E and trying to get to the gas station before that needle gets too low. That's where the FIA is trying to find their relevance.

 

I'm not sure I can think of a way to satisfy both sides of the argument. You could split the race into speed and efficiency stints, but that would seem very gimmicky.

 

Personally, I'd like to see F1 regulate the tires, overall dimensions, driver safety, and total budget (with an army of accountants) and then let the teams do whatever they want. But that will never fly in this day and age.

 

 

IM A DRIVER!!

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2010/03/15/article-1268669512264-08B728D5000005DC-230085_636x300.jpg

 

lol, the guard was probably a fan of Alonso.

[AudiOn19s]

I'm quickly turning into a grumpy old purist. I can appreciate the technology I just resist the temptation to adapt. PDK gear boxes, electronics that optimize traction, hybrid systems to increase performance...all of it is fantastic just not for me...at least not yet

 

I drove a Tesla Model S P85 last week and liked it but hated it on principal. Left me really torn after the drive.

 

So I get what they are trying to do, just wish the rules were different.

 

I'll watch and enjoy the racing no matter what.

[AudiOn19s]

Qualifying was pretty crazy, can't wait for the race tomorrow.

[El Karacho1647545492]

It's gonna be great to watch teams and FIA panic at some point this year. I forsee a lot of issues with the 5 powerplant limit on teams. I understand and appreciate the need to limit the insanity of spending discrepancies but I think everyone will suffer for it. Not enough testing with such a drastic change.

 

 

I think 5-6 weeks in the FIA will change the rules to go back to 8-powerplant limit from last year, if not more.

 

I hate the new noses; it's a disingenuous, it's pointless, and needs to be completely wiped clean.

 

Interesting to see Herr Vettel left out of Q3 yet Riccardo doing incredibly well.

 

Most importantly though, does anyone know where I can get some Williams Martini swag? I want to give them all my money.

[Smokey]

Qualifying was entertaining and I'm looking forward to the race. I'm going to create a t-shirt that says "the 2014 F1 cars sound like poop"

 

I'd like to see Williams fighting at the front again.

[Fubar231]

2014 "Spotters" Guide

(Dates and Track Listing, Tire Type, Etc.)

http://www.spotterguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2014_f1_guide.jpg

(Huge JPEG so i didnt link the image)

[Draco-REX]

Just finished watching the race. Spoilers below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, not a bad race. If you look at position changes and retirements, it could be considered a good race. But I'm not as enthused by the reality of the new regs. I was all for them in theory, but in practice.. not so much. On the positive side, there seem to be more competitive teams. Mercedes is looking very good, Red Bull of course, and McLaren is finally looking better. But there's also Williams, and we can't forget Ferrari. So hopefully more teams will find their way onto the podium to keep things interesting.

 

Being a fan of Vettel, I wish his race could have gone better. But Ricciardo did an amazing job, proving that when the RB10 works, it can be competitive. Unfortunately, I just found out that the RB10 was a bit too greedy and exceeded the max fuel flow rate at some point in the race and Ricciardo was DQ'd.

 

Mercedes power plants are where people expected them to be, but a Renault up there is surprising. I think Renault needs to get their act together however, or they're going to see their customers start looking to Ferrari, Mercedes, and Honda for engines in 2015. I think a lot of teams are going to consider Honda.

 

But early races aren't always indicative of how the season will end, so here's hoping things get better.

[Fubar231]

Anybody know where I can watch the race online?

[Versluis]

Not a fan of how they sound now. I couldn't get enough of that high pitched exhaust while they screamed around the course.

[bdhill]

Bottas and Williams look super strong...best driver out there today when not rubbing against walls

[AudiOn19s]

The fuel flow thing is stupid on top of already limiting them to 100L of fuel. If you can back off and conserve fuel in the middle of the race to insure that you can make it to the end on fuel but get penalized for turning the thing up to defend your position at the end I find that ridiculous. The penalty should be you run out of gas...and if you don't then you've done a fair job of fuel management if you ask me.

 

Williams could be the sleeper this year I'm excited to see if they can keep up as the year progresses.

 

Red Bull isn't as far off as many imagined them to be.

 

Mercedes made it look EASY...25 seconds after a safety car in the middle of the race and you have to imagine he wasn't even going as hard as he could. Had Hamilton's car not crapped out we may have seen those two really push each other for the win and gap the field even more.

 

Upset Ferrari didn't do any better than they did. DRS never worked on Kimi's car the whole race. Though it was never released there was good theory that his ERS was not functioning properly causing brake bias issues. Fernando seemed to have a pretty uneventful race but neither car had much pace they just survived.

[Mallard]

The fuel flow thing is stupid on top of already limiting them to 100L of fuel. If you can back off and conserve fuel in the middle of the race to insure that you can make it to the end on fuel but get penalized for turning the thing up to defend your position at the end I find that ridiculous. The penalty should be you run out of gas...and if you don't then you've done a fair job of fuel management if you ask me.

I agree, it's total BS especially when they're trying to derive new calibration offsets for each sensor during the race weekend. This is also one way Red Bull could prove that the fuel flow sensor was faulty, by showing how much fuel was actually left at the end of the race. Either way, they may still be screwed because they defied a direct order from the FIA on only one of their cars while choosing to play it safe with Vettel.

[bdhill]

should be a lot of parity this year...I think there will be 6-7 different winners. Kimi will make the Ferrari work assuming they get the mechanicals right.

[CRed05]

I like the new sound. Deeper, more mechanical, 80s like, and I like to hear the sound of the turbo.

 

Obviously not everyone is a happy about the new sound...

 

Organisers of the Australian GP think the quieter noise produced by the new V6 engines could be in breach of their F1 contract and have complained to Bernie Ecclestone.

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12515/9218561/australian-gp-organisers-say-the-quieter-engine-noise-could-breach-f1-contract

[El Karacho1647545492]

I like the new sound. Deeper, more mechanical, 80s like, and I like to hear the sound of the turbo.

 

Obviously not everyone is a happy about the new sound...

 

Only in Australia would they formally complain that the noise generated by auto racing isn't loud enough.

[greg1647545532]

Loved qualifying, finally watched the race last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Say what you will about the new regs, but we had 5 different teams in the top 6. Williams is back, Toro Rosso was competitive, McClaren is back, and Force India might actually be competitive. It's nice to have some variety again, and the podium was all #2s (prior to Ricciardo's DQ). To me, that says a lot -- Hulkenberg, Bottas, Magnussen, Kvyat, to a lesser extent Rosberg -- there's a lot of young talent that was able to shine through in a race that was more about driving and less about pit stop strategy. Once some of the bugs are worked out I think the racing will get even better.

[El Karacho1647545492]

I just watched the full race last night.

 

I don't know, something about it just wasn't exciting. The only part I was really interested in was Bottas' drive.

 

Good for Nico though.

[mrs.cos]

I just watched the full race last night.

 

I don't know, something about it just wasn't exciting. The only part I was really interested in was Bottas' drive.

 

Good for Nico though.

 

http://www.racer.com/index.php/f1/item/101982-f1-australian-gp-officials-unhappy-with-new-f1-sound

 

Australian Grand Prix officials told the Australian Associated Press that they are unhappy over the sound generated by the new turbo engines, to the point that they are considering taking legal action for breach of contract.

The quieter cars, under this season’s new F1 rules, detracted from the “sexiness” of the race and meant Melbourne did not get what it paid for, said Australian Grand Prix Corp. chief executive, Andrew Westacott.

“One aspect of it was just a little bit duller than it’s ever been before and that’s part of the mix and the chemistry that they’re going to have to get right,” Westacott told Australia's Fairfax Radio on Monday. “Ron [Walker, longtime chairman of the Australian GP] spoke to Bernie [Ecclestone] after the race and said the fans don’t like it in the venue.

“We pay for a product, we’ve got contracts in place, we are looking at those very, very seriously because we reckon there has probably been some breaches.”

Westacott added that he did not need earplugs in pit lane at the start of the race, and described the sounds as being "like harpsichords in a chamber orchestra."

[CRed05]

http://en.espnf1.com/PICTURES/CMS/24700/24763.3.jpg

 

 

 

 

:gabe:

 

 

:lolguy:

[greg1647545532]

Bumping this thread, I'm not sure about anyone else but I'm loving this Rosberg/Hamilton rivalry. Rosberg was burning more fuel this weekend and still couldn't pull away from Hamilton; sketchy qualifying and lack of passing opportunities are the only thing that saved him. Oh, and the "I don't care about Ricciardo" irony. Hamilton's got the talent to win, but mentally he's a train wreck. If he loses the WDC to Rosberg this year, it's going to be his own fault.

 

And Vettel's "Come on guys! <pause> I mean, I'm sure you're all doing your best." I actually feel bad for him now.

[AudiOn19s]

I think the media and the drivers themselves know that this year has been pretty boring and they're grasping at every opportunity to make a story out of nothing. I'm sure there's a rivalry there but it's not what they are making it out to be. I'm sure every team mate is in the same situation. If Kimi and Alanso were battling for first and second every week instead of mid pack they'd blow that out of the water too.

 

Make no mistake what Nico did in qualifying was calculated not a mistake. Is what it is.

 

I've enjoyed the couple of battles that Nico and Lewis have had but the fact that it happens so far in front of the rest of the field is crazy. Ferrari is getting lapped? 5 cars on the lead lap? We have a form of racing that is supposed to be the pinnacle of technology and development and people are running to a pace to conserve fuel in cars that are MUCH slower than they were even 10 years ago. The whole direction of the sport drives me crazy.

[greg1647545532]

Did you watch Monaco? Ricciardo was 4 tenths behind Hamilton at the checker, and had Vettel's turbo not failed I think he could have done even better. I don't think the Red Bulls could have gotten past the Mercs at any point, but it's still early in the season.

 

Others have said it better, but fuel conservation has always been a part of F1. So the fastest lap at Monaco was 4 seconds faster in 2004, but 20 years ago it was 3 seconds slower. The 2014 cars aren't nearly as slow as everyone is making them out to be, and you can't tell me that raw lap times are what make F1 interesting. The cars are undoubtedly harder to drive now, and while the FIA's obsession with rapidly dissolving tires is pretty annoying, most of the changes for this year have been for the better. The fastest lap at Monaco last year was less than 2 seconds faster, but now they're doing it on a fraction of the fuel used, because it's the pinnacle of technology.

 

That's my 2 cents at least.