Formula 1 2017

[micklner]

You can buy a road car with carbon brakes. Not your average family saloon, admittedly, but a high end GT/ supercar will have carbon brakes, and I wouldn't be shocked if things like the new civic type R could be specified with them.

 

As for the engines, in terms of efficiency (thermal efficiency, not mpg) they are way ahead of any modern road car. And things like electric turbochargers are making their way into modern road cars. It's applications like F1 and Formula E that will help push forward automotive batteries so that you and I will be able to buy an electric car (if we want to) with a dependable 300 mile range. Tech developed for extreme applications is eventually applied to consumer goods. GPS, for example.

 

You want old school F1 cars? That's why things like the Goodwood revival exist. I went last year, and it was terrific.

 

Even better than Goodwood is the Brands Historic in July ,full access to pits etc and better viewing too and  without the Toffs element too !!

[Gareth Collier]

Yawn, changes to the cars have done nothing to improve the racing and strategy won the race rather than ability.

[Pannier Tank]

It doesn't look as though Hamilton's attitude to his team mate has changed.

[trisonic]

I dunno. It was interesting to see the podium drivers all smiles with each other...

 

Best, Pete.

[gismorail]

Decent race. Seemed more of a shakedown than previous years. Ricciardo had a disastrous “race”! Poor chap, in front of his home crowd too.

If onlys? Sending out from the pits the #1 driver of the #1 team just behind Verstappen.......

The best man on the day won.

 

By the way, excessive turbulence from the rear of every car made over-taking harder not easier... Ross Brawn is already taking views on this.

 

Best, Pete.

 

I think that getting Ross Brawn involved in this capacity is a real master stroke by the new owners shows good open door policy in my view, be interesting to see what he comes up with 

[micklner]

Worth a read, F1 if what is suggested it is/will getting a long overdue makeover . Bye Bernie !!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39396820

[micklner]

It doesn't look as though Hamilton's attitude to his team mate has changed.

The teammate is always enemy no 1, if they are luvvy duvvy mates they are not racers.

[ess1uk]

Thought it was a bit dull apart from the overtake on Alonso just before he retired.

[Re6/6]

I reckon that it's going to be much of the same through the season. Nice to see Seb winning with good humour!

 

I always like Melbourne as my late uncle was a duty doctor back in the nineties.

[Ashcombe]

Disappointing to hear some booing for the driver who came second.

[Andrew P]

Disappointed  of Swad,

 

Very little action, and as Lewis alluded to very spread out field.

 

Also disappointed at the booing at the end.

 

Ho well, never mind, I wanted Lewis to win, but at least now he can do what he does best, FIGHT BACK.

[njee20]

Yeah, not overly excited. Clearly way more life in the tyres at the end than previously - lap times tumbling among several drivers after long stints.

[trisonic]

The teammate is always enemy no 1, if they are luvvy duvvy mates they are not racers.

Not when I used to race. We used to work out team tactics between us.

 

Best, Pete.

Edited March 26, 2017 by trisonic

[Oldddudders]

ISTR a decade ago was Lewis's first F1, first podium. The racing hasn't improved in that time. The C4 coverage seemed to show about one real overtaking maneouvre. Too many ad breaks. Too much irrelevant rubbish. And the crowd booed Hamilton. I have no idea why. Liberty Media have some hill to climb.

[Zomboid]

I'm no fan of LH, but I don't see what he did that was worthy of booing.

I hope Seb can keep on making it interesting - to follow, if not to actually watch.

[skipepsi]

I'm no fan of LH, but I don't see what he did that was worthy of booing.

I hope Seb can keep on making it interesting - to follow, if not to actually watch.

I found it boring to watch to be honest by about lap 30 I was working how much longer it would be on for....

[trisonic]

I’m not about to write it off after one race   -  as I said before it felt more like a “shake down" than anything else after the short practice sessions previously. I simply cannot understand why the teams are so limited prior to the season starting. Issues like the “unexpected turbulence” should have been figured out before time and not reliant on computer simulation testing. The effect  of multiple cars on the atmosphere (in the “bubble” around the track) is still not clearly understood, obviously.

 

On the mechanical side the failure of a top team (Red Bull/Ricciardo) in the first race is simply unacceptable.

 

Too many limitations - though nothing that cannot be cured, it just should have been done first.

 

Cheers! Pete.

[Edge]

Interesting historical footnote, Red Bull have failed to have one of their cars take the start of the Australian GP for each of the past three years. Kvyatt in 2015 & 2016, and Ricciardo in 2017. 

 

The cars looked faster and its always nice to see a different team competing for the win on pure pace instead of freak circumstances. Still, it doesn't seem to have improved the racing at all...

[Oldddudders]

Extended testing had long been regarded as the province of the rich teams, who could afford it, so limiting it to mandated specified days and tracks was part of levelling the playing field. And now with only 4 engines per car in-season, we are seeing teams rein in their lappery. Another example of well-intentioned change reducing the spectacle. But we are still a very long way from the 'start-line specials' of the good old days, when if your car started the race you got a payment.

[Smiffy2]

Ah! Good old Horace Gould!

[81C]

Carp 

[trisonic]

Ah! Good old Horace Gould!

 

I wonder why he changed his name from Horace Twigg? He may have been better advised to change his first name to, say, something like: Jack.

Jack Twigg seems acceptable.

 

Best, Pete.

Edited March 27, 2017 by trisonic

[Smiffy2]

If you've seen pictures of Horace you can see why he could never be described as twiggy...

[Andrew P]

Not surprised but I agree.

 

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/19014463/mark-webber-suggests-fernando-alonso-quit-mclaren-2017

[EddieB]

If so, I don't think Alonso will be the only change this season.  With only twenty seats available, I think the pressure for places - particularly on the new drivers - will be intense.  Who will take the second seat at Sauber - will Wehrlein come back, if so I can see Giovinazzi being targetted by some of the bigger teams having more than acquitted himself in a poor car at no notice?  As I've said before, I think several teams will be finding large gaps between their two drivers, which could be enough to lead to some being dopped as the season progresses.

 

On another point, I don't think Ricciardo's problems were really unreliability - more that the replacement of the gearbox damaged in Saturday's shunt was given enough time/laps to be checked out fully.  Or at least I hope not and that the Red Bull package is competitive against Mercedes and Ferrari - they have two exciting drivers that deserve a chance to scrap with the top four.  Which is also a preamble to a question (academic, as it turned out): with Sunday's aborted start, second formation lap and consequent reduction in race distance, how many laps would Ricciardo have needed to do, starting from the Pit Lane?  The full complement (in other words to make up the second formation lap) or just the shortened number of race laps?