Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread (Read 1st post rules)

Charlie-Bravo · 12-01-2021 12:21pm

I know it's not the year to be trying to put a geographical race order together, but F1 do need to start thinking of the arrangement of the races through the year and try to consolidate the amount of travel involved by teams. Something like the Asian block, European Block and then Americas. I know teams give out about being tired after back to back races, but having two three week breaks between blocks could be feasible, and to have two weeks between two double-headers. RnR could be had at local resorts for staff/teams.

donspeekinglesh · 12-01-2021 12:28pm

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Last time there was an Australian GP in November was in 1994/1995 at Adelaide. I loved that track.

And before last season was the the last time there were two consecutive races in the same country. 1995 Adelaide (last race) and 1996 Melbourne (first race).

Adelaide was still a great track for Supercars in a shortened form, but it was dropped after last year.

Jordan 199 · 12-01-2021 2:44pm

Pre season testing has moved to Bahrain and will take place from the 12th to 14th of March.

Inquitus · 13-01-2021 4:29pm

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Pre season testing has moved to Bahrain and will take place from the 12th to 14th of March.

That'll probably muddy the waters a bit, the teams have soo much data from Barcelona to compare to, much less for Bahrain!

flazio · 13-01-2021 5:13pm

I wonder if they could petition to run at least one day on the outer track.

El_Duderino 09 · 13-01-2021 5:55pm

Inquitus wrote: »

That'll probably muddy the waters a bit, the teams have soo much data from Barcelona to compare to, much less for Bahrain!

I’d get rid of most of testing. It just means they can perfect everything before the season starts. Have a day or two to shakedown and find any major problems and that’s it. Let them figure out the rest when they go racing.

The best thing about the new tracks this year, was the fact that the teams didn’t know them inside out and already have the perfect setup and strategy in mind. Turkey was great because of the low grip. Germany was great because rain stopped Friday practice. Mugello, imola and Portimao were good because they were new.

Unless there’s a major formula change then I’d limit them to a day or two testing. Adds the likelihood of mistakes.

14-01-2021 12:39am

Pity about Covid, the Belgium/Holland/Italy run would be great fun to get to. Looks like any kind of run around Le Mans is gone for the foreseeable future with the current calendar patterns.

Love to know what the money situation is. Can't imagine they can charge anything like the usual race fees apart from the likes of Saudi Arabia.

Jordan 199 · 14-01-2021 10:56am

Alpine F1 showing off interim livery.

duploelabs · 14-01-2021 11:29am

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Alpine F1 showing off interim livery.

Tis nice, but I was hoping for more of that Alpine blue, like a klein blue

Jordan 199 · 14-01-2021 11:37am

duploelabs wrote: »

Tis nice, but I was hoping for more of that Alpine blue, like a klein blue

We will see the new car and new livery sometime next month. I say it will have more blue on the livery. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

quokula · 14-01-2021 12:30pm

duploelabs wrote: »

Tis nice, but I was hoping for more of that Alpine blue, like a klein blue

Yeah I'm hoping the final one will be more like one here:

https://twitter.com/AlpineF1Team/status/1322516951122497537

AMKC · 14-01-2021 1:34pm

I am sure Alonso will be delighted to be back in an almost all black car lol not. The last one with McLaren was a disaster and yes it's not the colour it was the engine but still it's got to stick in the mind a bit. I think more blue on it would be better and I would say Alonso would agree. I wonder did they consult him about the colour of the car he will be driving.

El_Duderino 09 · 14-01-2021 1:56pm

AMKC wrote: »

I am sure Alonso will be delighted to be back in an almost all black car lol not. The last one with McLaren was a disaster and yes it's not the colour it was the engine but still it's got to stick in the mind a bit. I think more blue on it would be better and I would say Alonso would agree. I wonder did they consult him about the colour of the car he will be driving.

Would it be usual for drivers to have a day in the car colours? (Presumably Hamilton influenced the black Mercedes livery) I hope they don’t start pandering to Alonso so early. His record of influencing teams is huge, his positive impact is much smaller.

Frank Bullitt · 14-01-2021 4:45pm

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Would it be usual for drivers to have a day in the car colours? (Presumably Hamilton influenced the black Mercedes livery) I hope they don’t start pandering to Alonso so early. His record of influencing teams is huge, his positive impact is much smaller.

2 world championships isn't exactly small...

Jordan 199 · 14-01-2021 5:22pm

Charles Leclerc has tested positive for Covid-19. Get well soon Charles.

El_Duderino 09 · 14-01-2021 6:51pm

Frank Bullitt wrote: »

2 world championships isn't exactly small...

Can’t argue with that. I was referring to Positive impact from the disruption he causes.

He’s 40 this year. I hope they don’t turn the team upside down to suit him when he will only be there for a year or 2. Renault has been steadily improving so I hope they just get Alonso to drive and not indulge him in political backstabbing

quokula · 14-01-2021 6:54pm

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Charles Leclerc has tested positive for Covid-19. Get well soon Charles.

Hope he's all fine, but it has to be said he seemed quite happy to ignore the rules earlier in the year. He can count himself lucky that it happened in the off season and he won't miss any races.

Frank Bullitt · 14-01-2021 10:53pm

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Can’t argue with that. I was referring to Positive impact from the disruption he causes.

He’s 40 this year. I hope they don’t turn the team upside down to suit him when he will only be there for a year or 2. Renault has been steadily improving so I hope they just get Alonso to drive and not indulge him in political backstabbing

I honestly can see him fitting in better. His second stint at McLaren was a shambles with the Honda, I think he is in line for some good fortune.

15-01-2021 11:04am

Really surprising to see Schumacher not able to go flat-out round Tamburello. Barely a kink in today's cars.

Cork Trucker · 15-01-2021 12:03pm

With Alonso I recall that Renault sought assurances that he would not be disruptive to the team in the same way he was at McLaren and Ferrari, he agreed to it. The reason Mercedes wouldn’t take him is because of Hamilton and that in Mercedes own words, he cost them $40M after spy gate.

Harika · 16-01-2021 10:24pm

Aserbaidschan, Monaco and Montreal are back on the danger list. 23 races becoming more and more unlikely.

Inquitus · 16-01-2021 11:49pm

Mildly amusing, but it could potentially come to pass:

quokula · 17-01-2021 3:10am

Cork Trucker wrote: »

With Alonso I recall that Renault sought assurances that he would not be disruptive to the team in the same way he was at McLaren and Ferrari, he agreed to it. The reason Mercedes wouldn’t take him is because of Hamilton and that in Mercedes own words, he cost them $40M after spy gate.

It was McLaren's culture of cheating that cost them that money, not Alonso being honest when authorities spoke to him. There was already enough more than enough evidence against them without Alonso.

In what way was Alonso disruptive at Ferrari? Their management has been an utter ****show ever since Todt and Brawn left, if anything the years Alonso was there were the closest they had to stability since then. With the exception of Schumacher, every single top driver who's joined Ferrari in the last 30+ years has ended up being burnt by the team, it's a poisoned chalice and it's hard to blame any of the drivers for that.

I don't see how Alonso was particularly disruptive in his second stint at McLaren either to be honest, certainly not in any way that could somehow be put in writing in a Renault contract. Clearly he was unhappy with the Honda engine and let out his frustration on team radio, but the engine being a piece of crap was on them, him pointing it out didn't exactly change anything. He still dragged the car up into positions his teammates could only dream of.

El_Duderino 09 · 17-01-2021 10:59am

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/76642/eddie-jordan-clear-on-hamilton-s-position-i-would-show-him-the-door.html

It’s just a windy article to fill the space when here’s no real news to discuss. But it’s interesting to see Eddie hasn’t changed. Always good for a headline.
He claims he’d tell Hamilton to sling his hook and nobody is irreplaceable

elperello · 17-01-2021 9:02pm

The comments on that thread are a revelation.

Makes this place look positively genteel

Harika · 17-01-2021 11:10pm

elperello wrote: »

The comments on that thread are a revelation.

Makes this place look positively genteel

https://youtu.be/ONFVIfrPQxc

18-01-2021 2:04pm

Bit of a general musing kind of question here, kind of hoping someone knows something. :P

When we talk about engines and so on I can't help but feel that the focus on the number of cylinders is a massive red herring. I mean what is there to learn about an inline-4 that isn't known already? Or a V6? Surely that advancements all come from how each cylinder does its thing. Or how the rods work (see IndyCar in the early 90s leading up to the split). And of course nowadays the packaging, and the electrical harvesting and associated gubbins and deployment.

PopePalpatine · 18-01-2021 3:13pm

IIRC it's that a V-engine can be used as a stressed member of the chassis but an inline engine can't.

mickdw · 18-01-2021 4:12pm

Whats the score with hamilton anyway - Whats he looking for other than money? Is he pushing the BLM agenda and wanting mercedes to
fit in with him. If thats the case, and he is trying to dictate mercedes policy in areas beyond the the performance of the F1 car, he should be told take it or leave it.

ELM327 · 18-01-2021 4:58pm

mickdw wrote: »

Whats the score with hamilton anyway - Whats he looking for other than money? Is he pushing the BLM agenda and wanting mercedes to
fit in with him. If thats the case, and he is trying to dictate mercedes policy in areas beyond the the performance of the F1 car, he should be told take it or leave it.

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Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread (Read 1st post rules)

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