Ferrari complaining ‘because they’re not winning’

F1 Fanatic Round-up

Posted on

| Written by

In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari wouldn’t be lobbying for changes to F1’s rules if they were winning races this tear.

Links

Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.

Hamilton defends new-look F1 from Ferrari critics (Reuters)

“‘[Luca] di Montezemolo didn’t say a thing when Michael (Schumacher) won those five world championships (in a row),” smiled the winner of last weekend’s race in Malaysia who will be chasing a third successive pole position on Saturday.”

Ecclestone holds secret talks with Ferrari boss Di Montezemolo in London after drop in TV ratings for Malaysian Grand Prix (Daily Mail)

“Di Montezemolo is concerned that viewing figures in Europe fell for last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, reflecting Ferrari’s online poll that found 78 per cent of the 35,000-plus respondents did not like the new formula.”

Williams apologises to Massa, Bottas (Autosport)

“For our fans, we want to apologise for that because we didn’t handle it in the best way.”

Williams duo resolve team orders row (BBC)

“Williams said later that they intended to let Massa back past Bottas if the Finn failed to clear Button within a couple of laps, but this was not explained at the time.”

Driver weight issue dangerous – Sutil (ESPN)

“You feel it before the race that you haven’t got your ultimate power. The cars are a bit slower so you don’t need to be in superb shape to finish it, but still it’s like if you go for a run for one and half hours and you don’t eat enough, you have a sugar hole. You are almost getting in an area where you don’t work well up here [in the head]. This is the danger we are facing.”

US team to be given green light to jump on the F1 bandwagon by next year (The Independent)

Bernie Ecclestone: “I think Haas will be accepted. They have got the money but it’s a question of whether they are going to spend it.”

Eric Boullier on Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)

“He’ll be testing the McLaren MP4-29 here in Bahrain next week – his first Formula 1 test – and I’m sure he’ll acquit himself very well.”

Bahrain authorities hope for quiet as F1 contemplates lack of noise (The Guardian)

“Al-Wefaq’s peaceful rallies are usually just that. More worrying for the security men is the 14 February Revolution Youth Coalition cyber-group, who often clash with the police. It, too, has called for demonstrations on Friday, in the al-Seef junction area, west of Manama, under the slogan ‘Stop the blood formula’.”

Nico Rosberg Q&A: Mercedes should have Bahrain advantage (F1)

“Failure is failure. And there is pressure in any team. For Williams it was about the existence of the company – and for them that had the same importance as brand value for others – so doing well, being successful is a necessity for every team.”

Bahrain Grand Prix Betting: Mercedes can assert dominance (Unibet)

My Bahrain Grand Prix preview for Unibet.

Tweets

Comment of the day

@William-Brierty reckons GP2 needs to raise its game:

2014 is a litmus test for GP2. In the shape of Stoffel Vandoorne and Raffaele Marciello, GP2 has two serene talents who should go unchallenged by the resident Felipe Nasr, Jolyon Palmer and Alexander Rossi.

And yet, in the past three years the eventual champion has had over three seasons worth of experience before taking the title, and therefore, if GP2 is to wrangle the status of number one feeder series to Formula One back from Formula Renault 3.5, the prevalence of talent over experience must be established. It is vital also, for the very survival of GP2, that the known talent of Mitch Evans and Daniel Abt shine through more brightly in their first year compared with their somewhat lacklustre first years.

That said, GP2 is well placed in the modern world of F1, with the comparable handling, torque and traction characteristics of the Dallara GP2/11 chassis giving young drivers a presumably similar sensation to driving a modern F1 car, and therefore it is essential that the success we have from Daniil Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen in the first two races in F1 translate in young success in GP2 so it does not become a retirement home for well-backed drivers lacking in talent.

If Palmer fulfils his pre-season status as title favourite and wins the title with DAMS, and if Marciello, Vandoorne, Evans and Abt spend most of their time on the outer reaches of the top ten, then a series ignored by the Red Bull Young Driver Programme and clearly struggling financially in the way they failed to update the GP2/11 chassis after the normal three year had elapsed, might just cease to exist. That would be shame, because probably some of the best racing held on grand prix tracks in 2013 was GP2 races.
@William-Brierty

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to D_Omin!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Michael Schumacher won the first ever Bahrain Grand Prix ten years ago today – on 04/04/04. Schumacher led home team mate Rubens Barrichello for his third win in as many races, with Jenson Button’s BAR 26 seconds behind in third.

Image © Daimler/Hoch Zwei

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

138 comments on “Ferrari complaining ‘because they’re not winning’”

  1. Aren’t you the famous ” flat out guy ” like you have proclaim to be in the past few season when vettel was winning everything??

    Why stop now?? opps, because you are winning.

    Pot calling kettle black.

    1. Totally! And I am pretty sure Lewis himself said these cars don’t sound special, and he likes to race flat out. But hey, like all the drivers, what can you do? Nothing! So you just go along with it. Of course Lewis is happy, he has a car that is miles in front of any other team. Be he would rather race in an 80’s or 90’s F1 car, any real driver would!

      1. Be he would rather race in an 80′s or 90′s F1 car

        The one where you have to reduce boost and get active suspension?

        The 70’s, though…….

    2. Pot calling kettle black.

      Probably, everyone looks at things subjectively if were involved in something, but it doesn’t mean LDM is suddenly a paragon of impartiality.

      1. same applies to lewis.

        What matter most is, majority of fans are sick of the current f1.

        No speed, no noise, no excitement etc

        Why do you think they are rushing to hold the meeting??

        Because the viewer rating has dropped to an alarming state for the past two races.

        1. Who says?

        2. i wouldn’t doubt it. The sound, it sounds like ….

          and its’ pretty much been determined who will finish in the top 4 places in the WCC. The really only point of contention is 4th place and 1st place in the championship. Nobody really cares for the rest behind 4th.

          This is what happens when you let rule makers keep pounding it on, it gets too predictable.

        3. What matter most is, majority of fans are sick of the current f1

          Can you back up this statement (other than using Ferrari’s poll!). The “current f1” is only 2 races old and so far only one team has won races which is probably the main problem many ‘fans’ have. Also, we’re only 2 races in to a new formula so we don’t even know yet how things are going to pan out since the teams are still getting on top of things.

          I love the new formula as much as ever and it annoys me when anyone who doesn’t like it simply makes unbased statements like the above. I can do it as well, look:

          The vast majority of true F1 fans love the new formula

          Saying it doesn’t make it a fact. Keith ran a poll on engine sounds which showed that only 30% of voters had a problem with the sound, I’m sure when the season is further developed there will be more polls to give us true opinion. In the meantime why not give your own opinion and don’t try to pass it off as the opinion of others.

        4. Beautiful example of the false-consensus effect.

    3. Pot calling kettle black.

      Racist. Reported.

      1. LOL! That is an old saying, that has nothing to do with racism. Interesting your mind jumped to that conclusion though. The saying concerns old time wood fire stoves, upon which you would place your kettle, pots, etc. To heat them. These items were invariably made of cast iron, so they were vlack in colour. The saying just means someone is being hypocritical.” He said X is A, even though he is A. Pot calling the kettle black”. As the pot and kettle are both cast iron, they are the same colour. So the pot calling the kettle black is hypocritical. The saying is also commonly shortened to simply “pot – kettle”. But always implies hypocrisy.

        1. Michael Brown
          4th April 2014, 16:32

          …and the joke went right over your head

      2. It’s not racist….

      3. LOL, it’s just an idiom.

      4. The idiom “pot calling the kettle black” has nothing to do with race.

        Nor by posting a comment have you “reported” anything. If you consider a comment inappropriate, here’s how to report it.

        1. I’m pretty sure he was joking

          1. *trolling

          2. @andrewf1 The absence of humour would suggest otherwise.

        2. Apologies if I’m wrong, but I read his comment as a satire on the eagerness of some to leap on any mention of colour as a racist attack. Hence saying “Reported” while doing nothing of the sort.

          1. Me too, If you have to highlight or explain sarcasm, irony etc. you lose the impact.

        3. I got the joke and I thought it was funny, FWIW. The fact that not everyone got it shows that the humor was a bit arch, that’s all. “Jokes” that 100% of people get are the sort trafficked in by Jay Leno and his kind. Carry on.

      5. “Jesus”? Blasphemy!

        1. Religious bigotry. Reported.
          ;) wink wink, I.e. That’s a joke ***WARNING*** the above may not make you laugh but that’s not my problem.

    4. I don’t think Lewis ever said about the rules in the past. He was just commenting on how fast the Red Bull car is that gives Seb a great opportunity. Correct me if I am wrong though.

        1. @dennis

          Complaining about unsafe tyres is hardly the same that as criticising the rules of the Formula.

          1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
            4th April 2014, 10:18

            +1
            Exactly.

          2. Oh please…
            The Silverstone post was the first one I could find. He spoke against the tyres numerous times before and after. And about how fuel saving sucks etc. etc. etc.

    5. whoever is calling whoever ‘black’ is big time racist, the kettle is just a kettle why are we always denominating its color?

      1. Wouldn’t Lewis be the pot?

        1. Then he would be green, not black.

      2. chill . It’s an idiom.

  2. @keithcollantine please do the same poll as ferrari so we can have an independent source.

    Maybe add a few more questions to it and do it in a survey format, but please do ask that specific question. I’m intrigued.

    1. This wouldn’t work as people would know what you are testing thus giving you invalid data.

      1. I have to disagree with you. I think some more polls on this season could be helpful. We already have polls on the double points, engine sound and on these first two races, we would only have to know what people are thinking about the new fuel rule and the complexity of rules. Maybe Keith already had planned to do this somewhere ahead in this season.

        1. Still doesn’t make it any more valid. You will just be adding more noise.

          The result will still be a self-selecting sample of registered F1Fanatic users who are motivated enough to vote on a subject in response to another on-line poll.

          You are trying to make 2+2=5.

        2. We should have a poll about having new polls.

    2. I think it is much too early to be running polls on the state of F1s new rules. We’ve only had two races, which admittedly weren’t classics, but 2 races is far too small a sample size to make a judgement in my view. Maybe the summer break would be a good time to analyse how things are and whether the new rules have been positive or negative from the fans’ perspective.

      Circumstance can be everything in sport though. Just as an example, if Hamilton runs away with the title then we might have a dull season, and people may say the new rules have ruined the sport. Or maybe Nico will be able to match him, and we have a great competition and fans will say the new rules have really delivered. Two different outcomes which could drastically affect perception of the sport, but are not actually representative of ‘the new formula 1’ (but are indirectly related)

      1. I totally agree. I’ve heard people say go back to the v10’s yet that era was just as, if more, predictable than now with schumi running the show. Every season has boring races, every racing series does.

  3. When was LdM last seen at a GP? (Monza doesn’t count)

    Ferrari and F1 will both be better off when LdM retires. It seems to me he’s the only member of Ferrari that’s so against this new formula, yet he’s almost never trackside.
    It’s simple really – Ferrari haven’t done a good enough job for several years now. The solution is to do better, not have the company head dragging the sport through the mud in this manner.

    1. “In addition, the fans don’t like the noise from the new engines and are confused by rules that are too complicated,” Ferrari said, adding that the ‘no’ vote increased substantially after Mercedes’ one-two in Malaysia.

      Says it all really.

  4. Bernie Ecclestone: “I think Haas will be accepted. They have got the money but it’s a question of whether they are going to spend it.”

    Wow, bit of a turn-around there Bernie!

    1. Its enlightening. He is saying that they dont want to spend their money and if they want a license, they need to show him that they will.

      1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
        4th April 2014, 8:10

        So, basically, its a case of, give me millions of pounds to make me even richer, and I will let you compete. Welcome to Formula 1 Gene Haas!

        1. Not sure I agree with that. I think it’s more that Bernie doesn’t want another Caterham/Marussia trundling around at the back struggling. Haas would have the budget/investment to compete further up the field. Obviously there’s an entry fee to be paid but that should be a standard fee that the other teams all have to pay (plus the $$ per point from the previous season). I also think a US owned team would be good for the sport.

          Not often I defend Bernie…

  5. I expect Vettel to be complaining more, afterall being a four time World Champion and suddenly not winning. But no, he believes in the team and Renault. Or perhaps it’s just top early for me to say such.

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      4th April 2014, 0:54

      @altair but instead is Ferrari (or better said, Luca, who is not Ferrari, a man is not a team no matter how important he is) who are complaining, they have seen different rules come but their own result looks much the same as many seasons before. And I really don’t get where and when got this “crying” stereotype, I’ve heard Seb many times getting himself the blame for his mistakes, or pushing all the team forward saying they are one, they go up or down together (he said so after this year’s tests where the car didn’t move an inch sometimes). Let’s hope whoever wins both titles this year, wins them fair and square, and before or in Brazil.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        4th April 2014, 0:54

        @ialtair that was a reply for you man.

        1. I think battle has accepted it as of now hoping Renault will get the PU sorted out sooner rather than later

          1. I think Vettel…..sorry autocorrect

          2. He’s still being optimistic with Renault though it’s still early to say

      2. I still have to hear the word “I” from SV mouth when ever he uses the word “WE”

      3. He always behind his team. Always we have done this much, we have come this far, etc…

    2. @ialtair

      Or perhaps he realises that he has the 2nd best car on the grid, and knowing the genius of the engineering team at Milton Keynes, he could have the best car on the grid pretty soon.

      If he still can’t battle the Mercedes by the mid point of the season, expect him to start complaining.

  6. Maybe if Ecclestone hadn’t gone to the media at every chance he could to say how disappointing his own product is this year (before backtracking in Malaysia, as up until that point he only operated on some blind assumption and/or an intricate system of Chinese whispers), casual viewers might have been more inclined to watch. Maybe start with that before you look at shortening the races or attaching a foghorn to the exhaust or whatever other foolery you’re contemplating.

  7. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    4th April 2014, 1:00

    a humble opinion about the polls. Reading some comments mentioned yesterday, Some people, clearly not defending Ferrari, complained about the mention of this site’s poll, well, quite often. I guess that it’s normal, it’s OK to be proud of our good job. I remember the first time I made a cupboard with my own hands (an old hobby I have) I mentioned it to everyone who crossed my path: “by the way, have you seen my new cupboard? I made it”. It sounds like: “Do you remember when I beat Vettel in junior categories?” Oh yes, Paul, you’ve already said it. “Do you remember how my poll showed 97% of fans disagree with the double points finale?” Yes, man, we know it. “I personally disagree with it”, yes OmarR-pepper, we know it, you’ve said it already.

    1. Totally off topic, but I barely miss Di Resta.

      1. yeah me too – that boring droning voice always kept me awake in the build up the fly aways when I’d woke myself up at 5am to watch the race

  8. Re a minimum seat weight ridiculous short-sightedness on the part of the drivers – the kind that you’d only expect from team principles. Nothing will change until a driver passes out and crashes during a race and even then I bet the driver will cop flak for not being ‘tough enough’. THe FIA really need to step in and impose a minimum seat weight. If 2014 is supposed to be a bold new frontier of technology then the cars shouldn’t be limited to using pint-sized driver to get the edge on the competition. The real world doesn’t work like that so why should F1?

    1. @bazza-spock I agree completely.

      The FIA will have blood on their hands if or when something tragic occurs. The drivers are too competitive. I can’t imagine the smaller-framed drivers agreeing to give up any advantage they have. Self-governance has already proved unworkable by teams in other safety areas. (Voting for tyre improvements before Silverstone forced the issue.)

      In order to ensure energy and hydration levels, I would love to see an FIA imposed banquet on the grid pre-race.

      Seriously though they quoted the driver weight issue when they raised the combined minimum weight for this year, but the drivers are losing more weight than ever! The new MGUs have obviously over-filled the extra tolerance. Some of the drivers look absolutely terrible, I’m just glad Mark Webber got out before this year. My wife always wanted to cook a good meal for him. Is this the image that F1 wants to convey? Gaunt, unwell superstars passing out at PR events (according to Martin Brundle) and next passing out on-track!

      1. Some of the drivers look absolutely terrible, I’m just glad Mark Webber got out before this year. My wife always wanted to cook a good meal for him.

        @grez76 LoL… Very well put

      2. LOL at the grid banquet idea. I imagine it would be like getting my toddler to eat her breakfast. The teams would be trying to shove spoons full of oatmeal in their mouths while the drivers try to slap it off the spoon. Or the drivers would be dumping their food under the table when no one is looking.

        The minimum seat+driver weight thing has to go through. It will be limited in effect, because using weight as ballast is always an advantage, but it will mitigate the interest in minimizing driver weight.

    2. I think you need to read that again @bazza-spock. The idea was minimum seat and driver weight. The seat ballast could even be adjusted by officials prior to each race so every seat + driver entered each race at the same weight i.e. 85 kgs. Simple and effective solution. Not a bad idea at all.

      1. I say make it a hundred at least! Gotta let them big boys race too!

      2. Yeah I was saying it’s a *good* idea. I’m just disappointed theat the drivers voted against it.

  9. I was under the impression most people have serious complaints with 2014 (noise, double points, looks, penalties, take your pick).

    1. Thing is, everyone has to always be anti di Montezemolo ;) So now everyone loves the new formula because he does not.

      1. While there are lots of things to dislike about the current F1, I doubt most people think that one team twisting the rules to their favor will solve them.

        And that’s what, i believe, comes to most people’s mind when talking about a secret meeting between Mont., Todt and Eccl..

      2. petebaldwin (@)
        4th April 2014, 10:54

        @joshua-mesh – no its because a poll of Ferrari fans has stated that a decent amount of them dont “like the new f1”

        Personally, im not sure if I like the new regs yet but it’s got nothing to do with what they sound like. LdM is jumping to conclusions and then misrepresenting data for his company’s gain. That’s why people are unhappy

      3. @joshua-mesh When will LdM retire? Its time for some young hot blood at the top.

    2. Those are things that bother people, true.

      But I doubt anyone honestly believes those are the things LdM is going to discuss, though.

    3. The only thing bothering me this year is the spectre of double points. Everything else, I’m loving.

      1. +1 maybe i am biased because as a hamilton fan I am finally seeing him with a car that is the class of the field for him to exploit. But I think the way the cars handle is great the drivers look on edge this year, something that hasn’t been apparent since I dont know when!!

        The engine noise is just that; noise! I know it makes a difference to some people but I tune in to WATCH the races not listen to them

        But the double points thing is the most ridiculous rule ever conceived in F1. And this in a sport where in the 80’s only 11 of your 16 results counted towards the championship…

  10. In the first moment, after reading about seat + driver equalization, I thought F1 folk is again unable to make a simple step for the benefit of everyone in the long run, instead of looking at its own short-term interests.
    But on a second thought, the matter isn’t that straight forward either and here’s why.

    You can’t just add a difference in mass between the drivers by making a seat heavier. You would actually have to calculate, if possible at all, where is the trade-off between muscle mass and heavier COG. The reason is simple. If you just add kilos for difference, you’ll penalize lighter drivers. The reason is, 80 kg of pure muscle and 5 kg seat, is much more useful than 60 kg of muscle and a 25 kg of worthless seat. The 80 kg guy inherently has more muscle mass, while the lighter guy is as if he has 20 kilos of pure fat that isn’t useful for anything. Not even fat. Basically, just a weight below his but. 20 kilos of worthless weight is a handicap in comparison to a driver who simply has a bigger build and can perhaps wrestle his car that much easier.

    It isn’t really as simple as I explained, but you get the picture.
    That said, I still do think that something needs to be done, because it’s unfair that someone with just as much talent is handicapped by simply being taller, which is completely out of anyone’s control. You can’t really shorten yourself…

    1. Actually I think the lighter guys would still have the advantage – the ballast added to bring the driver/seat up to weight can be placed to help control the CoG.

      It might have flaws, but it’s a MUCH better solution than the current one. Although I’m biased, I’ve been saying this should be done for a few years now.

    2. 20 kilos of worthless weight is a handicap in comparison to a driver who simply has a bigger build and can perhaps wrestle his car that much easier.

      You do know that the cars have power steering and hydraulic brake systems that can be adjusted to the drivers likes? So I don’t think that commentators refer to physically wrestling the car around the corners like when trying to reverse park a road car without power steering. @trotter

    3. F1 is about endurance rather than outright power though. Regardless of how heavy a driver is, the car still weighs the same at the moment, so smaller drivers already carry that ballast penalty anyway- it just isn’t located in their seat. And bigger drivers haven’t been shown to be more capable at wrestling cars than the smaller drivers.

      heavier COG

      What is a heavier centre of gravity? If you mean higher, then there simply has to be a rule about the ballast placement to make sure that ballast in the seat, together with the driver, give the same COGs for all drivers.

  11. What a year this is shaping up to be. Lots of drama, action, splendor!

    Shame it’s all happening outside the circuits :-P

    Now seriously, Ferrari is lobbying hard, Hamilton calls them out, which I find good. There are times in F1 when, for better or worse, rules needed changing (see exploding tyres last year), but at this point, there’s little reason to believe this is one of them.

    1. you kidding me??

      There are every single reason to believe this is one of them, if not the worst.

      Lewis only stop complaining because he;s winning. He was very outspoken about missing flat out racing, but his tone changed when he is winning.

      Typical hypocrite

      1. While I agree that Hamilton most likely doesn’t complain because he’s winning, I can’t see anything inherently wrong with the new regulations that would require change.

        The core of F1’s current problems are a different issue.

        1. last season drivers are able to coast around 80-90 %.

          Guess what, they are only able to coast around 60-70 % due to tire saving, power unit saving ( 5 per season), gearbox, fuel saving, etc

          FIA regulation said you can rev until 15,000rpm. But they impose fuel flow restriction which means they are only able to rev until 10,000-12,000.

          Yeap, worst season. It seems that the viewer rating for the past two races were so bad that Todt, LDM, Bernie and co are having meeting for emergency solution.

          1. It sounds like typical first races after new rule changes. It will take some time before teams and drivers can push, it’s only natural.

            And I seriously doubt the meeting will have anything to with ratings. More like with Montezemolo trying to twists things in Ferrari’s favor.

          2. if that’s the case, LDM influence would’ve changed the FIA reg to favor them for the past few season where rbr was dominating.

            Its all come down to business eventually, no money – no shows.

            The very hardcore element of F1 has been ditched. Why do you think people watch F1 instead of Indycars where they were more competition with close racing??

            Speed of F1 cars that are so obvious through video motion + the noise that could blow your eardrum away without an earplug.

          3. Just because he wasn’t able to change the rules the last 5 years it doesn’t somehow mean he’ll never try it.

          4. You are exactly right; it is probably the worst ever due to the dumb coasting. Like I stressed yesterday it is complete overkill to introduce these super effective hybrid units and then limit the amount of fuel at the same time. To limit revs, flow and turbo pressure is all about power equalization but to limit total fuel on top is downright moronic.

            Again; except for the sound the new format is great with it’s effective hybrid relevance and tons of torque. What is destroying everything is fuel limit as well as the tires. The good part is that both are very easy to fix and send everyone racing their sleeves off, the sad part is that they are not going to do that.

      2. Wait a minute.

        1. You know Lewis doesn’t like the new F1 because he has criticised it.
        2. Lewis is a hypocrite because he hasn’t criticised the new F1.

  12. @keithcollantine are we going to get any more Todt FIA rating polls? It’d be good to see where he is after this latest raft of controversies.

  13. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    4th April 2014, 4:02

    Hamilton’s right. It’s all just part and parcel of Formula 1. The winning team loves the regulations and the way the sport is heading, whilst the teams that are struggling hate it.

    I’m not sure how good or bad Ferrari’s aero package is, but if it’s true that the wind tunnel numbers are correlating, then it really must point most of the blame at their power unit. Is it too thirsty? Down on power? Who knows, but Ferrari aren’t where they want to be and they’re not exactly exuding confidence.

    Also, the people dishing hate at Hamilton can go kick rocks. The guy destroyed the field by quite some margin and did it with ease. I doubt he gives a damn about people’s opinion of him.

    1. @tophercheese21 People are quick to call him a hypocrite but they fail to notice that whenever he has voiced his opinion he has also said it’s racing and we have to get on with it .

  14. I would like to point out that I am not happy with the state of F1, but I prefer the current F1 to last years F1, double points excepted.

    1. @hohum wait till a couple of races and then somebody lobbys for a rule change . Bernie is too old . FIA needs fresh blood for management . I am sick of these politics. why can’t they just try doing some stuff . Improve rather than complain . Else , they end up doing some shady stuff like illegal tyre test , fuel flow infringement . F1 needs to be kept on a tighter leash and on one that does not extend with money .

  15. I don’t understand how a driver can decide (or agree) to drive a full race at Bahrain without drinking anything.

    Sutil has never been the smart kind of driver and it shows now, I suppose. How many tenths do you gain by not having a water bottle? and how many do you lose for not being properly fit and hydrated? the risk of fainting is a lot more punishing (even in sporting terms) than 3 tenths a lap…

    As for Hamilton saying that. He’s right. But he was also complaining when Vettel “had it easy” with the best car, and he didn’t and now obviously he’s not saying anything. People complain when things don’t go their way, it’s a fact. There’s nothing spectacular about saying it to the public.

    1. He did complain about Vettel winning all the time, but I think that was mainly down to the car advantage Vettel had rather than the regulations of F1 itself?

      LDM moaning is nothing new – whenever Ferrari aren’t on top he moans….He’s been moaning a lot the last few years

      1. @aledinho They don’t call him Luca di Moan-tezemolo for nothing.

    2. I think the not drinking comment might be an exaggeration to bring more attention to the weight issue (which is one of the team’s biggest problems currently). Like you said, any gain from not carrying a water bottle in the car would likely be offset by a drop in performance – lack of concentration from dehydration would at least lose you time, if not cause a crash. So i think, and certainly hope, no teams are considering this.

      There should be a regulation saying you have to carry x litres of water on board at the start of the race, but i don’t know if there is currently. If teams doing this became an issue i’m sure a regulation could be written in on safety grounds.

      1. Having now read the artcile i take that back, it looks like Sutil is actually serious (could still be a bluff, who knows). He’s talking about a saving of 0.9kg. If 10kg = 0.3 secs/per lap (roughly), then 0.9kg is worth 0.027 secs. Over 60 laps that’s 1.62 seconds. Definitely not worth it if it affects concentration even a tiny bit. In qualy, they might run without it anyway and that’s fine for 5-10 minutes of running, over a race then no way.

        Having said all that i’m actually on Sutil’s side and think it’s ridiculous they haven’t agreed on a fair solution. Teams and drivers cannot be impartial on these things, that’s been proven, so surely the FIA should have the power to implement a ruling on health & safety grounds.

        1. I think sadly (and I’d love to be proven wrong!) the FIA will take the same sort of stance they did back in the bad old days when drivers objected to things like trees lining the race track – drivers were told that if they think it’s dangerous, just slow down. Likewise, the FIA may well simply say that they haven’t instructed any drivers to lose weight, and if they choose to put themselves into that kind of physical condition then that’s their own responsibility. A terrible attitude, which ignores the regulations’ part in creating this situation in the first place, but that’s the way they’ll probably see it – if drivers don’t want to be thin and dehydrated, then they will be expected to eat more and drink…

    3. Sutil is already apparently giving away 0.4 sec per lap to Gutierrez based on his heavier weight.. as Gutierrez’s car is itself overweight (10kg more = 0.3 sec per lap). So, over 57 laps, that is roughly 22.5 seconds.. on top of their car losing them say half a second in Q (hence they are adrift of the midfield). Not drinking water (or carrying the weight of it) can claw back some of that time for Sutil, if he can keep his concentration.

      Sauber will only realistically compete again in the midfield when they bring in their lightweight chassis (shaving 20kg), probably for Barcelona. Hopefully that can put Sutil near the weight limit that it becomes more irrelevant, but given that disadvantage we can note he outqualified/outpaced Gutierrez all weekend in Melbourne.

      1. Alternatively, he can go down the Webber route and go from a normal looking guy with good fitness to an Olympic style athlete with only 4% body fat.

        1. You really think he can safely lose another 15kg to match his teammates bodyweight? He already said he’d lost 4kg since last year. And even his teammate + car isn’t under the weight limit, so he would still be at a disadvantage compared to other teams. There comes a point when there’s nothing more a driver can do about it, i personally don’t know how far sutil is from that point but i suspect he’s fairly close.

  16. The more I see of that Ferrari “poll” the more shaky it gets. Different sources giving numbers between 35-50.000 people taking part (although it could have been part the same people voting several times?, maybe that is the differentce), and yesterday we saw it as 83% saying “no”, now the number suddenly is 78%?

    Whatever, going on a Yes/No question and then offering that you know the reasons why people voted like they did is pretty suspect, certainly cannot be taken from the poll.

    Really I do not think F1 is perfect as it is now, but we are 2 races into the new season, and all the “horror” scenarios the likes of Bernie, and at times RBR were touting before we began have failed to materialize – more than half the cars have finished both races, we see less, not more fuel saving than last year and the tyres are clearly less of a restriction (apart from being on the hard side and making some cars struggle to get heat in them). We didn’t suddenly get a leap in excitement for the races, maybe that disappointed some after what we were promised, but to me those were perfectly normal F1 races, with the upside of DRS seemingly a tad less prominent.

  17. If this is all about a drop in viewing figures the solution is simple…………

    Get rid of subscription services and offer all races live and on free terrestial TV.

    1. What happens to the millions SKy has invested?

    2. The (almost) FTA coverage in the USA is pretty woeful, NBCs have a good commentary team, but they keep leaving the racing to put up a text blackboard surrounded by video of clouds scudding over urban blight, while they explain the latest rumour going around, combine that with 40+ minutes of commercial breaks and it becomes hard to follow the race, not to mention that you miss seeing 50% of the action. FOM should be taking into account the quality of the coverage, not just the most $$$s they can squeeze out of a broadcaster.

  18. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    4th April 2014, 8:08

    Thanks for another COTD, Keith, I just hope my upcoming article on the DTM is as good!

  19. Fikri Harish (@)
    4th April 2014, 8:12

    Jesus.
    Why not name this championship F1’s Next Top Model then?

    I understand Massa’s sentiments but is it absolutely necessary to take the competition this far?

    1. “Biggest Loser”?

  20. December 2, 2012 at 3:52 pm by Keith Collantine
    Montezemolo also repeated his earlier criticisms about F1′s rules: “There are things that aren’t going well in this sport and the moment has arrived to clarify these once and for all in the appropriate places.

    “We can no longer have a situation in which the transfer of technology from the track to the street is reduced to the bare minimum, engines and gearboxes are always the same and the aerodynamics no longer has anything to do with research for road cars.

    “Moreover, it cannot be that in this sport you can’t test. We’ve been saying this for a while and we will repeat it in the appropriate places so for the moment I don’t want to add anything else. But our patience has run out so someone needs to think about whether they want Formula One still to have companies that invest and consider it the most advanced research bench for its own cars as Ferrari has always done since 1950.

    “We are constructors, not sponsors. I’m no longer happy that we can’t do testing on tarmac and that you can’t give any chance for young drivers to emerge since some people have used the expression ‘It’s a joke’ in recent days, I would like to say that this is the real ‘joke’.”

  21. I don’t care about sorting the noise or even double points out now, as long as drivers are not putting themselves at risk as they are with extreme weight loss to find a few tenths. It’s not right and the FIA needs to do that before somebody gets seriously hurt.

    1. Agree, that is something that should be adressed ASAP @craig-o.

      1. @craig-o and @bascb I think Sutil deserves a race ban for such behaviour. He did it with all good intentions but he risked his life and other people their lives.

        Imagine him going 300kph, faints and keeps his foot on the gas. If he cannot comply with the rules he should not race in F1. The solution is not booting him out but changing the rules of course. In the end I think he has to admit he cannot take this risk and say to his team and the FIA that he cannot race under these conditions. Others will eventually join him and a change will come.

        1. Are you serious @ardenflo? The guy takes the courageaus step to actually talk about this openly, and you want to ban him for it?
          Brundle mentioned that one driver passed out at a PR event prior to the Malaysian race, and from an interview with Button it emerged that these guys stop taking carbohydrates the week prior to the race to stay low weight. What you propose is like wanting to ban models from moddeling when they are thin, instead of changing the way the business works.

          IMO the FIA should act to make sure these drivers will not be forced to even think about drinking so little and eating this little, instead of punishing them for doing so.

          1. Brundle mentioned that one driver passed out at a PR event prior to the Malaysian race

            @bascb Which driver was it? Chilton?

          2. He did not mention what driver it was, to protect him @egorov, but I seriously doubt it was Chiltion.

            Could have been Sutil though. Or maybe Hulkenberg, or indeed Button, or Ricciardo, or Hamilton who all have mentioned having their job cut out to meet weight targets with pretty extreme measures

          3. @bascb, did you even read my comment apart from the first sentence? I’m saying the same as you do. But I also think it is very irresponsible to step into a very fast vehicle and go racing when their is a constant risk of fainting.

          4. Hm, I might have reacted mostly on that first part yes @ardenflo. As for the irresponsible, I see a bigger responsibility for that at the team / the regulator than the driver.

            Remember how surprised people were when Perez himself admitted to not feeling good enough for it in Canada after his Monaco crash in 2012, because many a driver would have been reluctant to risk his seat by admitting that?

  22. I couldn’t stand F1 from 00-05 when Schumacher was rampant – Ferrari weren’t complaining then. It’s sour grapes and that’s all. If Merc put a poll on their website 78% will be saying I LOVE the new formula.

    What is worrying is Ferrari’s power of veto and ‘special relationship’ with the FIA which means they’ll lobby and have things changed for the betterment of Ferrari. Personally I don’t think any team is privileged; couldn’t care less if Ferrari walked.

  23. What exactly gives Di Montezemolo the right to hold secret meetings and have a say about how the sport should be changed?

    He can have his opinion of course, but I’ve never heard of a sport in which a direct competitor influences the way the rules are written. It’s plain obvious he’s complaining on behalf of Ferrari because things are not going their way and masking it off under the shroud of “improving the show”. Seriously, it makes wanna hit all of these clowns with their “show” in the head. Repeatedly. F1 is a sport first and foremost, not a show.

    Also, funny to see all these people attacking Hamilton for what he said, yet agreeing with him. He said it himself, “it’s the nature of the game”. Which means there will always be someone complaining at some point, even himself.

  24. We all know that Ferrari and Red Bull who joined recently the party are very political and that they will use every political power they have to influence the technical rules in order to gain an advantage but the ethic lessons in this case shouldn’t come from Mr Hamilton one of the testgate heroes who posted his photo in the US while he was testing in Barcelona with a different helmet

    ‘[Luca] di Montezemolo didn’t say a thing when Michael (Schumacher) won those five world championships (in a row)

    People always try to be nostalgic but to be honest the racing in the early 2000’s was far from boring at least for me, apart from 2002 and 2004 which was the case of Ferrari having the best driver/car combination, there was less pay drivers, less fuel/tyre management rookies could make it to F1 with the unlimited testing, the V10’s were mesmerizing and running on 20000 rpm …. Ferrari has earned that success and the majority of the fans were pleased if you don’t want to watch Micheal you can actually watch Fernando,Kimi, Pablo, Jenson and the other guys fighting, in the recent years if the leader is so far in the lead you will get bored because anyone else is saving engine,fuel, tyres …
    The point is the fans want to see battles on the track no one complained about 1988 when McLaren had arguably the most dominant car in the history because there were real battles on the track, it is true that F1 is becoming more and more boring and artificial something all the fans despite their differences agree with but it was better in my opinion for Ferrari to veto these regulations before they were introduced like they vetoed the 4 cylinders engines ???

    1. You would be completely different if Fernando was about to get a 3rd WC. And no just no dont judge afet 2 raaces these lat few yrs were mucch better than the 2000’s. Your just a Ferrari fan who liked it. Their was no one even close to MSch for a lot of his carear now we have some greats in the sport.

      1. So many typos their

  25. Don’t think only Ferrari is complaining on the current state of formula 1.

  26. That’s how being at the front feels like, Lewis. Be careful what you fish for ;)

  27. I didn’t know Ferrari is now a RESEARCH company on F1 formats.

    Ridiculous what desperation can lead to…… :D

  28. I don’t understand the apology. It is allowed in the sport. We don’t like it but who cares, apparently. It’s not like they downsized the engine, invented crazy gimmicks or destroyed the sport in total.

    1. That is because you probably agree that team orders are perfectly fine. Williams as a team has always liked to see their drivers racing fair and square and suddenly using TO does not fit with what the team stands for and what the fans and supporters expect of it. Not to mention that the way they did it must have hit Massa hard too.

  29. Two provocative titles about Ferrari in a row! Lovin’ it!

    Keith why so harsh with Ferrari? Didn’t get enough gadget from their press office? :D

  30. How is F1 expected to get casual viewers when everything is behind a paywalll? Even if someone watches it FTA on the BBC, half the races aren’t live and the others will be spoiled unless you take extraordinary steps to avoid seeing the results. It’s easier just to ignore it and looks like many people are doing just that.

    1. Most Premier League matches are only live on Sky/BT, but viewers can watch highlights on Match of the Day, hours after the event, taking “extraordinary steps to avoid seeing the results”.

      There are also no highlights of Wednesday UEFA Champions League games in the UK.

  31. No way will he be allowed to race without water onboard. The legal ramifications are massive. This is just to make a point, he’ll have fluid for the race.

  32. shame F1 just didn’t remove the double diffuser shorten the front wing reduce the revs and the amount of fuel and increase the weight of the old V8 cars so anyone that wanted to stay with the old format could of,
    this way the new V6 car would have gone flying passed the V8s down the straight and just maybe the V6s are passed by the V8s going around the corners,
    unfair i guess, but just maybe that is how it should have been integrated, instead of a total change over.

  33. Ferrari complaining because they are not winning… and you were not??

    I seem to remember a certain team by the name of Mercedes not being all that happy at approximately the same time last year. I also seem to remember a lot of complaining and a little secret tire test after which things changed quite a bit.

    Oh, I pre-apologize for bringing this up. Please forgive me for not remembering that Mercedes is not an evil super-villain like Ferrari….

  34. People are putting the Ferrari poll in the spotlight, it’s nothing. People always do this because they are a scapegoat. It’s obvious Ferrari fans and casual fans are not liking F1 better at the moment but I don’t think it is time to go haywire. I like it.

  35. It’s Ferrari’s fault if they can’t win. They are really an average team now. Besides, they have made no progress with their cars since 2009 despite their big budget. That’s what they get for not putting any effort in their cars. They can only win because of Fernando and Kimi. They shouldn’t be whining right now they should be taking action. Besides, actions speak louder than words. Typical Ferrari…

  36. It’s a bit of a concern at the moment, the way that aspects of the sport are governed. I don’t see how it is a good idea to basically require unanimous consent amongst the drivers on matters of safety – specifically on the point of driver weight. Little drivers like Massa are never going to want to give up the advantage their weight gives them. They’re competitors, unable to see beyond their narrow self interests. It needs the FIA to simply step in on the grounds of safety and impose better (any) rules about driver weights. Because this current situation is getting dangerous, and it’s not the way the sport should be going.

  37. I think there is a safety issue about braking with the new hybrid power train systems. There have been at least three incidents where dangerous and erratic braking, way outside the drivers control has happened. There seems to be a less than seemless join between energy harvesting braking and conventional braking. Cars suddenly twitching sideways under braking for no driver related reason. If I’m right and this is the case then it is predictable that this issue will cause a nasty accident. (It nearly did at least once already with Kobayashi)

  38. one thing about bahrain that came out is that the ferrari is totally rubbiish. it pains me to say

Comments are closed.