The 2011 Formula 1 Thread

[flohtingPoint]

Thanks for posting that. I'm expecting the rest of the season to go better for Ferrari. Should be fun.

They've been reported as bringing quite a few upgrades to Turkey this weekend. Alonso isn't terribly hopeful on the pace that the upgrades bring, but the race hasn't been run yet.

[sbird1]

-Cars are about as slow as they were last year. The last REALLY good year of F1 was 2005, back when they had V10's and the cars were behemoths compared to the silly things on the grid now.

So I just came across this little tidbit on the Formula 1 site:

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/ ... 12134.html

The Technical Regulations for 2013 were approved:
- Power units will be four cylinders, 1.6 litre with high pressure gasoline injection up to 500 bar with a maximum of 12,000 rpm, with extensive energy management and energy recovery systems (now known as ERS), reflecting the decision taken by the WMSC in December 2010
- The aerodynamic regulations have been based on 2011 rules, with modifications in order to improve the aerodynamic efficiency: together with the power train rules, this will enable a 35 percent reduction in fuel consumption
- The height of the tip of the nose will be limited to ensure better compatibility in a T-bone style accident
- A limitation on transmissions (gear ratios, number of gearboxes) in order to decrease costs
- The overall weight of the car must be no less than 660kg
In consultation with the main stakeholders, and following the outcome of this consultation, a fax vote by the WMSC could be considered by 30 June latest to redefine the implementation date of these technical regulations.

I'm not happy about this news...

[flohtingPoint]

So sick of hearing about cutting costs... This is the pinnacle of racing, not the Quicken World Championships. Racing is expensive. I spend five figures a year on it and make nothing back, so hearing teams at the very top of the food chain complain about spending money makes me ill. It's all this affordability that lets teams like Virgin/HRT exist when they should be off the grid and racing in GP2 or something.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Are they doing a race in Dubai? I know they have some super cool track with a hotel that sits over the track.

[flohtingPoint]

Are they doing a race in Dubai? I know they have some super cool track with a hotel that sits over the track.

That track is in Abu Dhabi (Yas island specifically), and yes they race there. It was built specifically for F1 in fact in 2009 but unfortunately it sucks massively.

[sbird1]

They have had a bunch of problems with that track. Hopefully the new Austin track will turn out better. Also, hopefully there are teams that can afford to race and they are racing cars with lots of cylinders, lots of HP, and no stupid gimmicks.

[RCA]

Canada huh? Who would of thunk it?

One of the best races in F1 history; I'm glad I was there watching all 5+ hours.

[sbird1]

No kidding. I'm interested to see what effect the rule changes for Silverstone are going to have on Red Bull. Should be fun. Today's race was rather uneventful, but it was great to see Alonso on the podium after a great 2nd place finish.

[D1SR240]

Canada huh? Who would of thunk it?

One of the best races in F1 history; I'm glad I was there watching all 5+ hours.

Were you at the actual race? I was sitting in the frist Grand Stand, about 20 yards before the start/finish line. The Button/Hamilton incident happened right in front of us! It was definitely one of the more exciting races of the season. The grandstands went crazy when Button passed Vettel on the last lap.

No kidding. I'm interested to see what effect the rule changes for Silverstone are going to have on Red Bull. Should be fun. Today's race was rather uneventful, but it was great to see Alonso on the podium after a great 2nd place finish.

It might slow Red Bull down a bit, but personally I don't think it will slow them down enough for the other teams to start overtaking them. In my opinion Lotus Renault will be much more effected by the rule change, which is not good for them considering Mercedes are only a few points behind. All though I hate the idea that Red Bull and Vettel are so far ahead in the standings that they practically already got it in the bag, I also don't really like the fact that we start changing rules in the middle of the season to try and slow certain teams down. The double diffuser and the F-duct both got banned after the season was over, and I think it should be the same with blown diffusers. Everyone keeps talking about cutting costs, yet the FIA bans something in the middle of the season that teams already spent millions of dollars on in development. Be that as it may, it will be interesting to see the effect of this rule change.

Valencia is always uneventful. Besides the great start by the Ferraris, and Heidfeld's pass on Perez there was not a whole lot going on. All though it's definitely good to see Alonso on the podium again.

[flohtingPoint]

Most boring year since 2004. My favorite sport has been reduced to something I only read about on autosport now, as I didn't even bother tuning in for Canada or Valencia, nor will I be watching Silverstone. The rules this year have ruined the sport, lets hope for some drastic changes for 2012.

[RCA]

The Button/Hamilton incident happened right in front of us! It was definitely one of the more exciting races of the season. The grandstands went crazy when Button passed Vettel on the last lap.

I envy you. No I meant watching it on TV for all 5 hours.

No kidding. I'm interested to see what effect the rule changes for Silverstone are going to have on Red Bull. Should be fun. Today's race was rather uneventful, but it was great to see Alonso on the podium after a great 2nd place finish.

It will affect Red Bull like it will affect all the top teams. They all use the blown defuser. I think it will hurt Renault the most.

And I couldn't agree more; Valencia was uneventful.

How about this:


Interesting stuff.

[D1SR240]

How about this:


Interesting stuff.

Hmm interesting. That Adrian Newey, always thinking. All though if there is any sort of advantage to be gained from those dimples I'm sure other teams will copy it immedietly. I've never noticed it before, I wonder if they were there prior to this race.

Most boring year since 2004. My favorite sport has been reduced to something I only read about on autosport now, as I didn't even bother tuning in for Canada or Valencia, nor will I be watching Silverstone. The rules this year have ruined the sport, lets hope for some drastic changes for 2012.

I agree with you in regards to the rules this year. However, I will not be getting my hopes up about any drastic changes for 2012. It appears that all this artificial overtaking has created the "excitement" that they were looking for, and I just don't see them changing the rules dramatically next year because of this. I'm sure they're all ready looking into how they can change the rules for next year in order to slow down RB.

[sbird1]

Well, another win for Vettel at Spa today. This is totally a runaway Red Bull season. The only one close to Vettel is Webber and the manufacturer's cup will easily go to RB. I could just quit watching for the rest of the season... but I won't. Scary moments for Lewis Hamilton, even though I am always happy to see him leave a race.