F1 (Formula 1) Racing Topic

[GatorGolf]

Any Formula 1 fans here?

It's been a pretty good season so far. Vettel leading every race as usually, and some major tire failures especially at the British GP have really hurt some drivers.

What has been some of yall's favorite moments from the season so far?

[Chilli Dipper]

It's been a good season so far, but not as great as last year. The same dynamics are at hand now as they were in 2012.

• Red Bull has the most balanced package and most efficient organization, yet Sebastian Vettel somehow feels eminently beatable.
• The Mercedes-engined cars are the fastest on the grid, but they eat up tires, and the teams don't seem to know what they're doing behind the pit wall.
• Lotus, on the other hand, is very good on its tires, and Kimi Raikkonen is able to maximize the car's potential at every race. It's just not quick at all, though, and it's hard for Kimi to make up ground in the championship when he's only qualified on the front row once all season.
• Fernando Alonso, again, is piloting the Ferrari to heights it doesn't deserve to be. Like Raikkonen and Lotus, though, Alonso's ceiling is hampered by the fact that his car doesn't have the qualifying pace Red Bull and Mercedes have.

The primary difference between this year and last is that Vettel is off to a much better start now than he did in 2012. Halfway through last season, Vettel had only scored one victory; this year, he has four. If he can roll off four wins in a row like he did in the latter half of last season, Vettel will take his fourth championship running away. However, I feel like Lewis Hamilton is going to make a big push. Hamilton's the more consistent Mercedes driver by far, yet Nico Rosberg has been the one winning races this year. My gut says the gap between Vettel and the field is going to tighten before the circus flies away to Asia at the end of September.

[GatorGolf]

It will be interesting to see who Red Bull chooses to fill the seat of Mark Webber, maybe Kimi or Toro Rosso's Ricciardo?

It's amazing how Ferrari has been in the back of the pack for the past few seasons, Force India is starting to put pressure on them during races.

Like you said, if Vettel keeps winning like he has he will be a 4 time (in a row) champion.

[Chilli Dipper]

I don't think Raikkonen would go to Red Bull. He chose to spend two years out rallying instead of playing teammate to Alonso. I can't see him taking a backseat to Vettel unless Lotus' financial problems are way worse than they're letting on. A more plausible move would be Kimi replacing Perez at McLaren once their Honda contract begins in 2015: being a Honda man from their last stint in F1, Button's likely to stay put, and McLaren is more open to giving its drivers equal status than most on the grid.

[JaapB]

Well while some races are good I think in total the whole drs, tyre manamgent didn't do formula 1 any good.

Sure it is nice to see cars overtaking eachother but in a lot of races it just took the fun away, in the past if you were 3 or 4 of a tenth quicker each lap you could get closer but didnt mean you could easaly overtake the person before you. Now it just looks like you're watching fast and furious and they just press the nitro button and say see ya.

Same for fuelling, they say they did it for safety but looking at some of the pitstops in last year with wheels running of the car and causing unsafe releases the guy in one of the last gp was very lucky he didnt get injured too badly else they might say pitstop is unsafe and remove it totally.

If they really want to make f1 fun again they should add other things to the sport where the smaller teams also benefit more from. Why do they get blue flags, if they are that slower then just use your drs and overtake them i see no use for the blue flags with the current system.

Short the trainings and add a minirace on the sunday and also give a couple of points for minirace and qualifing. Reverse the startingorder so that last person in qualifying start as number 1 on sundaymorning in the minirace.

[jbest]

The season is a wash w/Vettel - boring...reminds me of the time Schumacher won every race.  Can't even get a bad pit stop to shake things up.  Sterile races are not going to keep Americans entertained IMO.

[iacas]

Official F1 video doesn't allow embedding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ7_En2xEm4 (Graphic content as a near-death occurs)

 

[saevel25]

Wow, super lucky to be able to crawl out of that wreck. If he went unconscious it would be all over. It's not hard to get knocked out. 

[Groucho Valentine]

Hmmm.. rare to find F1 threads on a non racing forum...

Grosjean really was lucky. The accident could have been fatal without the halo device on the cars, which most drivers hated when it came 2 years ago. But the but the dramatic optics of the accident made it look worse than it appeared. The car did its job exactly like it was supposed to aside from the fuel line bursting. They're designed to disintergrate on impact. 

Initial investigation suggest the halo In grosjeans case actually escalated the indecent by turning the drivers tub of the car basically into a spear. The front of the car wedged itself into the guardrail and the back end ripped off from sudden stoppage at the front. So it made the accident worse but but likely saved his life at the same time.  Without the halo, the car most likely would have stayed intact and just bounced off the retaining rails, but it also could have knocked him unconscious or worse. It's impossible to know if the car would have still exploded if the engine housing didn't become severed. On track fires like that in F1 cars are extraordinarily rare. A car hasn't exploded as a result of an impact since the 1980s. F1 stopped in race refueling of the cars over 10 years ago so pit lane fires are a thing of the past. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Groucho Valentine

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Without the halo, the car most likely would have stayed intact and just bounced off the retaining rails

I don't think so. I think the Halo only saved his life, it didn't make the accident worse. He hit the guard rail at 137 MPH and experienced ~53G force.

[Groucho Valentine]

15 minutes ago, iacas said:

I don't think so. I think the Halo only saved his life, it didn't make the accident worse. He hit the guard rail at 137 MPH and experienced ~53G force.

It certainly did. But it also probably saved his life. F1's initial findings say the top of halo device wedged itself between a gap in the guardrail and instantly stopped the front end of the car. That 50 or so G of force ripped the back end off as its momentum continued and ignited an explosion in the exposed fuel lines going to the engine compartment. Without the halo, Grosjean could have sustained massive head injuries or worse, but the car most likley wouldn't have exploded. 

[iacas]

32 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

It certainly did.

Yeah, no. I'm going to quote a friend I showed your post to, and he said "The idea that it would’ve bounced off the guardrail w/o the halo is preposterous."

The Halo got into the guard rail after the monocoque pierced it. It wasn't the Halo piercing it, it was the part where his legs are.

The shell, the monocoque with the driver's legs and stuff, took a bunch of the impact.

[Groucho Valentine]

7 minutes ago, iacas said:

Yeah, no. I'm going to quote a friend I showed your post to, and he said "The idea that it would’ve bounced off the guardrail w/o the halo is preposterous."

The Halo got into the guard rail after the monocoque pierced it. It wasn't the Halo piercing it, it was the part where his legs are.

The shell, the monocoque with the driver's legs and stuff, took a bunch of the impact.

K... believe whatever you want... Maybe your friend will put me and F1 investigators in jail to boot! 😄 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Groucho Valentine

[iacas]

19 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

K... believe whatever you want... Maybe your friend will put me and F1 investigators in jail to boot! 😄 

I choose to believe in actual facts.

The survival cell sticks out several feet ahead of the halo, and is similarly sturdy.

[Groucho Valentine]

8 minutes ago, iacas said:

I choose to believe in actual facts.

The survival cell sticks out several feet ahead of the halo, and is similarly sturdy.

Dude.. you don't know WTF you're talking about.... Just stop. Stop. Read the F1's GD report... 

[iacas]

3 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Dude.. you don't know WTF you're talking about.... Just stop. Stop. Read the F1's GD report... 

There is no final report, as that will take weeks.

The rear of the car sheared off when the front hit, not the halo. The halo then wedged itself in the barrier, but if it had more than a little speed left at that point it would have just gone completely through it and a ways through the other side.

"The International Automobile Federation (FIA) expected its investigation to take six to eight weeks."

And anyone could see that the survival cell went THROUGH the barrier, just not very far.A little of the barrier may have been above his head when he was trying to exit, but he was on the other side of the barrier, which is why he had to hop over it to get to safety.

Had he been lodged in the barrier, he'd have probably died. Had the car been without a halo, he'd have probably died.

[Vinsk]

22 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Dude.. you don't know WTF you're talking about.... Just stop. Stop. Read the F1's GD report... 

I’m quite honest in saying I don’t know wtf  either of you are talking about. But damn...Erik making a hell of a better argument for those of us trying to learn something....just sayin....

[iacas]

On 12/4/2020 at 2:30 PM, Vinsk said:

I’m quite honest in saying I don’t know wtf  either of you are talking about. But damn...Erik making a hell of a better argument for those of us trying to learn something....just sayin....

As I was saying… 🙂

Also, Perez to Red Bull. Bye Albon.