Formula 1 2014: General Discussion Thread

ZiabR

SamAK wrote: »

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but Kobayashi paid a million quid(fan donations) for his seat at Caterham, and isn't getting a salary.

Quote - "I don't need or care about money. I just want to drive ... so I am racing for free."

http://f1pulse.com/news/2014012123/kobayashi-racing-at-caterham-for-free-this-season

Hmm, no wage. No wonder he was chosen... if that is 100% accurate.

SamAK

logik wrote: »

Hmm, no wage. No wonder he was chosen... if that is 100% accurate.

Are you suggesting it was a decision influenced by money over talent, or both? :eek:

RayM

In the highly likely event that Caterham design another crap car, Kobayashi should at least drag some decent results out of it. He's also surprisingly reliable (probably because the other drivers are wise enough to get the hell out of his way). His willingness to drive for free is commendable, but he deserves to be at a better team.

ZiabR

SamAK wrote: »

Are you suggesting it was a decision influenced by money over talent, or both? :eek:

I know, i know... Shock Horror! In the modern F1, money is everything.

SamAK

RayM wrote: »

In the highly likely event that Caterham design another crap car, Kobayashi should at least drag some decent results out of it. He's also surprisingly reliable (probably because the other drivers are wise enough to get the hell out of his way)

It's his 'out of my ****ing way' attitude that I love, and who can forget his podium at Suzuka!? I nearly cried :P I've only been watching F1 since 2010, and KOB was the one driver I instantly started supporting...and of course he's going to be reliable, he's Japanese

logik wrote: »

I know, i know... Shock Horror! In the modern F1, money is everything.

Sad, but true. Not very impressive when drivers like Hulkenburg have to be worried about losing a race seat. I fear for the future of the sport.

ZiabR

I have been worrying about the sport for the past 5 years. There has been signs it was on a downward spiral for awhile now. Bernie is in his 80's now and and once he heads on, F1 will become more and more comercial...

Jordan 199

KarlFitz01 wrote: »

Does anybody know about what time Mclaren will be unavailing their car tomorrow?

12:00PM.

_rebelkid

Decisions made at todays World Motor Sport Council relating to F1:

The following decisions were taken:


FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The FIA President reaffirmed to members of the WMSC the FIA’s intention to assure a healthy, affordable and spectacular FIA Formula One World Championship for the long-term future. At a meeting of the F1 Strategy Group yesterday, chaired by the FIA President, and attended by Bernie Ecclestone and the teams, it was unanimously agreed that cost reduction and cost control regulations will be presented to the WMSC in June 2014 for introduction in January 2015.

Amendments to the 2014 Sporting Regulations were also approved, but are subject to ratification by the F1 Commission and teams. These include:

The Stewards may now impose a five second time penalty which can be taken before work is carried out on the car in a pit stop
Team personnel must also wear helmets during qualifying, as well as the race
Drivers may not stop on the slowing down lap to save fuel for sampling and subsequent analysis; this will not be considered justifiable reason for stopping
For 2014 only, each team will be allowed six curfew ‘jokers’, previously there were two permitted. This is to allow more flexibility for working on the new engines and cars
Amendments to the 2014 Technical Regulations, subject to agreement of the F1 Commission and teams:

The weight of the car, without fuel, must not be less than 691kg at all times during the Event. The weight limit has increased by 1kg to take into account the difference in weight between the tyres in 2013 and 2014
Amendments to the 2015 Sporting Regulations, subject to agreement of the F1 Commission:

To be considered as a constructor, teams will now not need to design and manufacture suspension and brake ducts
Amendments to the 2015 Technical Regulations, subject to agreement of the F1 Commission:

The car minimum weight has been increased by 10kg, to 701kg, for 2015
All tyre heating devices will be prohibited in 2015
For safety reasons, the front part of the chassis will not be able to climb too steeply rearward of the front of the chassis.

FUNDING REVIEW COMMISSION

With the framework for the implementation of the 2013 Concorde Agreement relating to Formula One having come into force – which provides the FIA with significantly improved financial means to pursue its regulatory missions - the WMSC has approved the creation of a task force charged with identifying key objectives and missions for the FIA and its membership. The newly-created Funding Review Commission will be divided into sub-commissions for both sport and mobility, chaired by Deputy Presidents Graham Stoker and Brian Gibbons respectively.

Courtesy of the FIA

Myrddin

Tyre heaters gone in 2015???

Jordan 199

Looking at the render of this years Williams, looks like they have a new logo.

_rebelkid

Myrddin wrote: »

Tyre heaters gone in 2015???

I'm hoping for quite a lot of burnouts to get heat into the tyres

Jordan 191 wrote: »

Looking at the render of this years Williams, looks like they have a new logo.

Either that or it's just part of the Heritage Livery on the Car.

Myrddin

_rebelkid wrote: »

I'm hoping for quite a lot of burnouts to get heat into the tyres

It's after a pitstop I'd be worried, stone cold tyres going on a car can't be safe..what's the thinking behind this??

lolie

Isnt there talk about about Williams sponsored by Martini this year so maybe thats why.
A lot of bland livery's the last few years so hopefully Williams and Mclaren come up with something new this year.

lolie

Myrddin wrote: »

It's after a pitstop I'd be worried, stone cold tyres going on a car can't be safe..what's the thinking behind this??

I was thinking the same, bunch of ****in idiots making a joke of the sport with all these new rules in the past 10 years or so.

_rebelkid

Myrddin wrote: »

It's after a pitstop I'd be worried, stone cold tyres going on a car can't be safe..what's the thinking behind this??

No idea, it does seem pretty dangerous. Unless they're planning something that they aren't going to tell anyone until 2015, it does just seem unsafe.

SnowDrifts

lolie wrote: »

I was thinking the same, bunch of ****in idiots making a joke of the sport with all these new rules in the past 10 years or so.

In fairness, whilst I agree with you regarding them being a bunch of idiots and spoiling the show - I think banning tyre warmers could be a good thing.

The cars will be a massive handful for the first/second lap with lots of yummy oversteer and understeer. It will take good driver control to get ontop of it and great driver skill to know when to push them to the limit.

Myrddin

_rebelkid wrote: »

No idea, it does seem pretty dangerous. Unless they're planning something that they aren't going to tell anyone until 2015, it does just seem unsafe.

Wasn't there a thermal image recently of hos the Red Bull is able to somehow keep a lot of heat in the rim itself, which was spreading the heat evenly across the tyre when compared to other cars? I wonder if that what they mean, as putting on cold tyres really can't be what they want. How the teams & drivers agreed to that is beyond me.

Gillespy

Is this a cost saving measure? Probably lead to a reduced pit-lane speed limit. Tracks with tricky pit lanes could be fun.

SamAK

Myrddin wrote: »

It's after a pitstop I'd be worried, stone cold tyres going on a car can't be safe..what's the thinking behind this??

Don't worry, over the next few days/weeks the drivers are sure to voice their opinions on all of these new rulings!


"The Stewards may now impose a five second time penalty which can be taken before work is carried out on the car in a pit stop"

I'm happy about this one, can't remember the exact situation during 2013 but someone got a drive-through that ruined their race and and as far as I remember the punishment was grossly disproportionate to whatever rule they breached...

If anyone can remember who it was please refresh my mind

donspeekinglesh

Myrddin wrote: »

It's after a pitstop I'd be worried, stone cold tyres going on a car can't be safe..what's the thinking behind this??

They manage perfectly fine in IndyCar without them, even on ovals.

SamAK

Myrddin wrote: »

Wasn't there a thermal image recently of hos the Red Bull is able to somehow keep a lot of heat in the rim itself, which was spreading the heat evenly across the tyre when compared to other cars? I wonder if that what they mean, as putting on cold tyres really can't be what they want. How the teams & drivers agreed to that is beyond me.

I remember seeing that. Thermal image cams are great fun, and quite revealing. I'm sure it's to do with better downforce though, as we all know RBR have the wizard himself Adrian Newey working his magic in that area!

I wonder, and I know this is going to sound a bit cheeky, but could the teams heat the wheel instead and not the tyre itself?

V.W.L 11

Wouldnt it be nice if williams reverted to the rothmans livery in the "racing" branding,so as to avoid flouting tobacco laws,that livery was voted one of the best of all time at one stage,or how about the shocking two tone british amerian racing cars off 1999,pure examples of chalk & cheese

Myrddin

SamAK wrote: »

I wonder, and I know this is going to sound a bit cheeky, but could the teams heat the wheel instead and not the tyre itself?

Sorted

SamAK

V.W.L 11 wrote: »

Wouldnt it be nice if williams reverted to the rothmans livery in the "racing" branding,so as to avoid flouting tobacco laws,that livery was voted one of the best of all time at one stage,or how about the shocking two tone british amerian racing cars off 1999,pure examples of chalk & cheese

That Rothmans one was nice! And I noticed on the Ferrari site the other week(while voting for the new car name) that Fezza is sponsored by Phillip Morris tobacco corp! I assume it's all good as long as there's no logo on the car or team kit?

Myrddin wrote: »

Sorted

Yep, teams to be equipped with giant, 13" inch diameter hair-dryers that fit nicely around the wheel rim

While we're on the subject, here's a bit of food for thought regarding F1 wheel size, which has been stuck at 13" for years now.....

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/09/27/should-f1-switch-to-18-inch-wheel-rims/

SnowDrifts

SamAK wrote: »

I wonder, and I know this is going to sound a bit cheeky, but could the teams heat the wheel instead and not the tyre itself?

Might help with tyre pressure but not grip. The heat would need to transfer from the rim through the sidewall (mostly rubber - not a good conductor) to the outer surface contact area.

Peanut Butter Jelly

My best bet for the tyre blankets is that it allows the unused tyres to be carried over to the next race. As it is, all the tyres are flown back to Istanbul, burned down and recycled due to the fact that the tyres are being cooked or "cured" in the tyre blankets and after a while, they are unusable in race circumstances.

TD;LR No Tyre Blankets = Money Saving

_rebelkid

Peanut Butter Jelly wrote: »

...

TD;LR No Tyre Blankets = Money Saving

Too Dong; Lidn't Read?

lolie

SnowDrifts wrote: »

In fairness, whilst I agree with you regarding them being a bunch of idiots and spoiling the show - I think banning tyre warmers could be a good thing.

The cars will be a massive handful for the first/second lap with lots of yummy oversteer and understeer. It will take good driver control to get ontop of it and great driver skill to know when to push them to the limit.

Maybe but surely it'll just be like a driver coming out on slicks on a damp track.
A driver on cold tyres has no hope of keeping a driver on warm tyres behind no matter how skilled they are.
If they want to save money on the tyres side then just get rid of the wets.
They have no use for them anymore with their 'quick its starting to rain so put out the red flag attitude'.

SamAK

Peanut Butter Jelly wrote: »

TD;LR No Tyre Blankets = Money Saving

_rebelkid wrote: »

Too Dong; Lidn't Read?

Haha..

If there are people on here that consider a couple of sentences 'too long' then I don't want to live on this planet anymore!:rolleyes:

Jordan 199

lolie wrote: »

Martini

I'll have it shaken, not stirred