Steven

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  • #290727
    Steven
    Participant

    I tried to decipher the regs, trying to figure out if it was legal. In any case, even if a loophole existed for such a design, I don’t think it would work in this open wheel category. Cooling, aerodynamics, weight distribution, tyre usage, cockpit safety… all of this would need a complete rethink. I would imagine most of the accumulated knowledge of the current mid-rear layout would be rendered irrelevant.

    Basically, even if it did work, I’d be surprised if it was as fast as the 2014 Caterham.

    This is based on no science whatsoever and is only my opinion.

    #287560
    Steven
    Participant

    The two races so far have been entertaining.

    The only things I’d like to see are the removal of fanboost (I don’t see the point of it; it hasn’t really been obtrusive, but I think removing it makes the most sense, in only for the ‘spirit’ of racing). Also, the speed needs to be bumped up; I find that on the straights (of which there are a lot, since we’re on street circuits) the cars are very noticeably slow.

    They also need to fix up the calendar, since the huge gap between the first two grands prix was very strange, especially for a new series that needs to stay on the radar.

    Otherwise, I will continue watching these races: they’re entertaining and don’t really take much time to watch.

    #283555
    Steven
    Participant

    A bit of speculation is fun, but I don’t take anything as fact until the word comes directly from the sources – teams, drivers, etc.

    Given the gap that exists between most races (I love back-to-back weekends, like we have with COTA and Interlagos) it’s easy for the mind to wander to these imaginative scenarios to get our F1 fix.

    Keith, if you ever see any other questionable sources, it’d be nice if you make it clear here as well so that we have some idea of who is reputable and who may not be.

    #278774
    Steven
    Participant

    I was wondering why they couldn’t have one of those short ‘run-off’ roads like they do at Monza if you miss the braking point for the first chicane, where they have the styrofoam barriers which you need to go around slowly and definitely penalize the drivers in terms of time.

    This way, the driver pays for their mistakes, but it isn’t some penalty that needs to be applied by the stewards.

    Also, if the driver really messes it up, you see a spectacular collision with the styrofoam markers (as far as I know they’re not actually dangerous to drivers).

    I’d rather see something like this than a +5 sec. steward penalty, or any other steward penalty for that matter (unless they are continually running off track despite repeated warnings).

    #277480
    Steven
    Participant

    Well, it’s when I was very young and I woke up on Sunday mornings wanting to watch cartoons, but my dad was busy watching F1. I had no interest in cars or racing at that point in my life (which is a shame, since I would’ve been watching during the tail end of Senna’s career, the beginning of Schumacher’s career, and championships for Schumacher, Hill, and Villeneuve).

    The first season I actually watched was 2008, and the first race I saw was Malaysia, I believe. I don’t recall much from that first race I saw, but it got me hooked. It was a great first season and that’s what kept me coming back.

    #276088
    Steven
    Participant

    @keithcollantine It’s a shame they put in those squiggly chicanes, they could’ve had a track exclusively made of straights and 90-degree corners.

    #275957
    Steven
    Participant

    It’s hard to ignore Ricciardo’s wins this season; I’m sure there were skeptics in the pre-season since Vergne is not a bad driver, but it’s hard to imagine Ricciardo going through his F1 career without winning a championship. I think this season is going to be that reminder of how quickly he showed his greatness despite moving to a new team with a four-time world champion.

    As far as the defining point for the Mercedes team goes… I think that’s yet to come. Or heck, maybe it was in Singapore and we just don’t know it yet.

    #274058
    Steven
    Participant

    I always hear great things about Montreal during the Grand Prix weekend. Shamefully, I’ve yet to attend the GP even though I live less than 2 hours away from Montreal, but I hear that they shut down part of the downtown core so that it’s pedestrians only. Not to mention the circuit itself is on an island downtown and getting to all the great stuff in Montreal afterwards isn’t supposed to be difficult.

    It’s not an exotic location, but with the way the city takes on the GP weekend, it seems like it’d be a great atmosphere to be a part of and to experience.

    #273347
    Steven
    Participant

    GP2 has been great fun; I only managed to catch some of the races starting halfway through the season (I finally found a source for GP2 but it’s not always reliable), but it has been tremendous, close racing.

    I actually find myself looking forward to GP2 races more than some F1 races.

    #272550
    Steven
    Participant

    It’s a bit silly, but ultimately, penalising the drivers through race bans and such are going to be damaging to the team as well.

    I’d propose something like taking away FP1/FP2 time and giving it to a reserve or young driver; it makes the Merc driver lose out on setup/data collection time, but still leaves them with the equipment to be ahead of the rest of the pack.

    Anyways, most solutions (that I can think of, anyway) would be damaging to the team. I think it’s up to the drivers to come to some sort of gentleman’s agreement. The precedent has been set within the team where drivers can ignore team orders anyway.

    #272542
    Steven
    Participant

    I find very few watch F1 where I am to begin with; I’m in Canada, and with the majority of races being early Sunday morning broadcasts (and replays being inconsistent) there are very few others with whom I can discuss F1 (other than some friends who have a passing interest in motorsport, only because they are such large sports fanatics to begin with). I would think that Quebec has a greater interest, since their sports broadcaster (RDS) is much more consistent in having F1-related programming, not to mention the only worthwhile Canadian F1 drivers have been from Quebec (both Villeneuves).

    Declining viewership in Europe is a concern, since races are broadcast at more palatable times (I don’t get up early on Sundays). There’s also the fact that F1 doesn’t get a lot of exposure due to the fact that schedules aren’t always consistent (i.e. there’s back-to-back race weekends, some with 3 weeks between, then the August break) compared to NFL football, NHL hockey, etc. which are nightly/weekly and very consistent.

    I’d imagine that if there was a national icon that most can get behind (Schumacher, Alonso, etc.) then it would be easier to get the interest of the more casual viewers. That sense of comraderie between fans is engaging; the Olympics are a great example, where most viewers are only going to have a casual interest in the particular sport(s) but will cheer on their fellow countrymen/women. This is why I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Canadian driver to enter F1, but it doesn’t look likely anytime soon.

    Having outspoken drivers, or more explosive rivalries like Prost/Senna can help draw in viewers, but ultimately it’ll be the races that have to keep viewers hooked.

    #265514
    Steven
    Participant

    I’m at work, so I can’t see the videos, but I do recall it was awesome. Really awesome.

    The top speed coming off the Parabolica straight into Curva Grande would be something amazing. Only issue I can think of is the short lap with around 35 cars, as opposed to the 22 F1 cars. I still want this to happen if Monza gets dropped from the F1 calendar, though.

    #265445
    Steven
    Participant

    That would be sweet, as long as they remove that first chicane so the LMP1 cars can go full-throttle from Parabolica down to the Curva Grande.

    There were some testing videos (early this year or late last year) of an LMP1 car (Audi, I think) doing this, and speed it carried was incredible.

    I feel like the great things F1 should be doing are already being done by WEC.

    #265444
    Steven
    Participant

    I propose for F1, they adapt the voting idea and have a list of gimmicks that fans can vote out of the sport. Do you vote to get rid of DRS? Do you vote for proper tyres? Do you vote to get rid of double points?

    The saddest part is that removing even one of those still leaves the other two as major, unresolved issues.

    #263743
    Steven
    Participant

    @deej92 Well, the 2009 regs brought the narrow rear wing and much lower, wider front wing, but a lot of the lost downforce was gained through double diffuser, exhaust blown diffuser, then perfected with engine mapping (I think I may have missed some transitional steps but I believe these are the major ones). Now we’ve lost a huge chunk of downforce because the exhaust blown diffusers are not possible with the new regulations. The way I see it, because these engines create so much more power at lower RPMs, not having that tremendous rear downforce should make the car a lot more difficult to handle.

    I’m no aerodynamics/physics expert, but my understanding of these open wheel cars is that the majority of downforce is created through the floor of the car, so the nose heights affect the airflow going to the floor; I think it’s about creating negative airflow between the floor and the track (or maybe it’s positive, see my first comment in this paragraph), essentially pulling the car onto the track. Most teams opted for the phallic noses because it increases airflow to the underbody by minimizing how much ‘nose’ is blocking that airflow.

    Someone much more knowledgeable that I will be reading this and wonder what the hell I’m on about, but the big change this year is the removal of exhaust blown diffusers.

    I hope someone adds to this because I think what I’ve written is a brief, and woefully inadequate summary of the changes.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 102 total)