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Formula 1 2018: General Discussion Thread

boardsuser1

Probably time to open a new thread for the 2018 season?

Silly season is still in full swing as we all know with Williams and Sauber not having confirmed their line ups as yet.

What are people's opinions on the Halo and Alfa Romeo for 2018?

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Sterling Archer

Anyone for Superbru this year? https://www.superbru.com

flazio

I was about to post how the fact the practice sessions are now on my programme guide ready to be recorded has me excited, but after watching that video, I'm worried now.

carloscorreia

https://twitter.com/f1/status/974571158807855106

donspeekinglesh

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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It's one of the worst movies ever made. A surprisingly good Indy movie is Turbo - great attention to detail.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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El_Duderino 09

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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You're right though Indycar is #1 in the U.S.Has anyone watched the Driven?the 2001 film Stallone made?[/quote]
I saw bits of it and I remember it being bad.

Interesting point that Stalone wanted to make the movie about F1 and had started preparations but Bernie and the old gang didnt see the point of making s movie to promote F1 in the US because he's a dinosaur. They wouldn't eat immise ay of the image rights etc. So Stalone used the money to make and advertise indy instead.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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PopePalpatine

^Thank the gods for Indycar.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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Jordan 199

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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I do miss the cars being unreliable to be honest. At least it bought some unpredictability to the sport.

carloscorreia

Fernando Alonso mulled quitting Formula 1 during 2017 season

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/11288218/fernando-alonso-mulled-quitting-f1-during-2017-season

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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Charlie-Bravo

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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FYP

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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mickdw

All valid comment but for Renault works team for 2018, I think planning to use 4 or 5 engines is the best way forward for them. Customer teams have to live with what they get but even being forced into taking extra engines can have advantages such as engine upgrade late in season

Vic_08

mickdw wrote: »

Renault are building so if anyone thinks they will not be a big player in three years, I'd imagine e it is a mistake.
The idea of planning to use another engine or even 2 is sensible for all teams imo. There is much talk of this winters engine development being all about retaining similar bhp while making the engine last longer. Surely it was a valid strategy to push on with power increases and be happy to take an extra engine or 2. Certainly for any team who might be happy with occasional podium, that would certainly be wise.

Mercedes engine division are clearly aiming to do the season within the 3 engine limit and their testing performance shows they already have the reliability. I doubt that all Merc powered cars will do it, too many variables can cause an engine to be killed, but many will. The customer teams will want to do it for cost reasons and Merc themselves will not want to have to start any race down the grid if there is a close championship battle with Ferrari or Red Bull.

It is fine for Renault and McLaren to look at sacrificing a few races to replacement engines but Red Bull aren't going to be satisfied with podiums and a sneaky race win or two, they want the championship and having the added handicap of needing to throw away races before they are even started is not going to be accepted by them without a hailstorm of public Renault-bashing.

It is all very well stating that Renault will get their act together in the next few years but these engine regs are in their 5th year and nobody has come close to matching Merc in power and reliability, Ferrari closed the performance gap but have not matched the reliability and as much gains they make Merc match with gains of their own. The gap has closed from the huge advantage they has in 2014 but the clampdown on oil burning seems to have hit Ferrari more than Merc and they are just too technically advanced and well financed to let their engine advantage slip away.

mickdw

Renault are building so if anyone thinks they will not be a big player in three years, I'd imagine e it is a mistake.
The idea of planning to use another engine or even 2 is sensible for all teams imo. There is much talk of this winters engine development being all about retaining similar bhp while making the engine last longer. Surely it was a valid strategy to push on with power increases and be happy to take an extra engine or 2. Certainly for any team who might be happy with occasional podium, that would certainly be wise.

Vic_08

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

The Lotus guy I was listening to said that Renault actually downsized it's engine department during the period of red bull dominance. During the same period, Mercedes was enlarging it's department to develop the hybrid. So by the time it came to develop the new 2014 hybrid engines Renault had a relatively small team. He said ' I don't mean to imply the French were arrogant but they just presumed that since they had build a good engine in 2010-2013 , they would just build a fast hybrid engine too'.

They turned up to the first test with an engine that had completely underestimated the loads involved. The KERS shaft twisted and broke as soon as it was engaged. The boar hole was set so it needed a substantial redesign to put in a bigger KERS shaft.

Sorry for banging on about that interview but it was one of the most insightful pieces I've heard in the off season.

Don't be, it's far more interesting than the endless Kubica argument or the unsupported speculation that is rife before the season starts.

Makes sense about Renault, how much was down to arrogance or losing focus/interest after they sold up the team is a question. Red Bull's attacks on them was taken as disloyalty after 4 championships but they really were caught napping with the hybrid engines.

McLaren Honda's clown car antics was a bit of a blessing for Renault as they weren't the worst on the grid after 2014 but the time is up for them now. They are already making noise about Red Bull having to choose ASAP if they want to keep Renault engines for 2019 and it looks pretty ominous on the reliability front in comparison to Merc. Renault were already talking about "planning for 4 engines as an option" translation 3 won't make it so the teams may as well pick which race(s) to sacrifice to grid penalty hell before the season starts.

The TR-Honda deal is really starting to look like a great hedge for RB, they were never going to get a Merc or Ferrari engine so stuck with Renault for the forseeable before that opportunity came their way and the Honda already looks like it may finally be on the right track to becoming a realistic proposition for 2019.

I know that RB are keen to offload TR but having a second string team has been a big advantage in driver and now engine procurement, I am surprised that none of the other big teams didn't consider getting a second outfit. For the relatively small amount it would have cost them to acquire Manor they would have had a second team to temporarily shunt the Honda to as well as ownership of a team with a Mercedes engine contract.

El_Duderino 09

The Lotus guy I was listening to said that Renault actually downsized it's engine department during the period of red bull dominance. During the same period, Mercedes was enlarging it's department to develop the hybrid. So by the time it came to develop the new 2014 hybrid engines Renault had a relatively small team. He said ' I don't mean to imply the French were arrogant but they just presumed that since they had build a good engine in 2010-2013 , they would just build a fast hybrid engine too'.

They turned up to the first test with an engine that had completely underestimated the loads involved. The KERS shaft twisted and broke as soon as it was engaged. The boar hole was set so it needed a substantial redesign to put in a bigger KERS shaft.

Sorry for banging on about that interview but it was one of the most insightful pieces I've heard in the off season.

Ghost Train

There's very limited time in the car for Kubica this year. I guess there might be a 10 or 20% chance he might need to step in during the year and he's an experienced driver to have there. If one of the younger drivers don't perform we might see him in the car late in the year or next year. At the moment I wouldn't read too much into the lap times or Kubica giving up his morning session

Ajsoprano

Infoanon wrote: »

Kubica does not have experience of the modern F1 cars .

He can give better feedback than the other two lads regards handling and power. To think it’s some kind of conspiracy is a bit mad. Was it alan Prost who was great at testing? I believe kimi is kept at Ferrari for the same reason.

Infoanon

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I don’t see the evidence that Renault engine will be quick this year. Last year they had some pace but had to retune the engine to stop it blowing up towards the end of the season. Reliability hasn’t been solid for Renault in testing do I’d say there’s no evidence that they will actually close the gap to Mercedes.

For that reason I think Force India will keep 4th place in the constructors champion. Solid drivers too. Renault vs McLaren will be interesting.

Think Red Bull will be up there, McLaren have woeful reliability buti expect long term best of the rest. On testing form Mercedes are clear favourites but Red Bull have pace ,Ferrari will challenge them and then there is the rest, Haas has surprised and Renault have upped their game. Force India,like last year, have had a slow start.Sauber and Williams are off the pace.

Infoanon

Ajsoprano wrote: »

Lads it’s testing. Kubica has more experience. That’s all it is.

Kubica does not have experience of the modern F1 cars .

El_Duderino 09

I don’t see the evidence that Renault engine will be quick this year. Last year they had some pace but had to retune the engine to stop it blowing up towards the end of the season. Reliability hasn’t been solid for Renault in testing do I’d say there’s no evidence that they will actually close the gap to Mercedes.

For that reason I think Force India will keep 4th place in the constructors champion. Solid drivers too. Renault vs McLaren will be interesting.

seamusk84

If McLaren can hold the car and engine together I think that is a seriously tidy package with Alonso at wheel. It might take them a few races to have decent reliability though.
Delighted to see that speed on the final day anyway.

I've had over ten years of disappointment supporting Alonso, would love for that to change this year.

Ajsoprano

Lads it’s testing. Kubica has more experience. That’s all it is.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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mickdw

Williams could beat hass and toro Rosso by being consistent.

recyclebin

Now that testing is over, is it time for predictions for the constructors championship? My prediction is:

1 Mercedes
2 Ferrari
3 Red Bull
4 McLaren
5 Renault
6 Haas
7 Toro Rosso
8 Force India
9 Williams
10 Sauber

El_Duderino 09

Infoanon wrote: »

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Why is it obvious that he is well able for testing and has no stamina issues? That goes with a hefty slice of wishful thinking because we don’t have the data to say that.

2 races distances in Hungary testing would put stamina issues beyond doubt.

Was Kubica the best option for Williams ? - probably not which is why Renault chose Sainz but the notion that Sergey and Stroll is a better option than Kubica is misleading and Williams did themselves no favours by feeding questionable stories to the media over the Christmas period..

2 race distances is great but that's not the end of it. For instance, what was his pace over those 2 race distances? Was he in physical pain? Was he in a lot of pain the next day? Would he be able to do 2 full race weekends in a row at full pace (3 practice, qualifying and a race)?

The answer to all those questions is we don't know.

Until we see Sergey Vs Stroll, we won't know how good he is. I think the real test of Kubica will be whether he gets a drive for next year. The other teams will have enough information to make a decision about him.