graham228221

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  • #393442
    graham228221
    Participant

    it’s odd how far my opinion of David Croft has fallen in the past few years. back in the BBC days when the woeful Legard was the TV lead, his radio commentary with Ant Davidson seemed wonderful.

    but since moving to Sky he’s just become increasingly cliched and grating. He sounds like he’s constantly telling a joke but never getting to the punchline. I much prefer Ben Edwards on C4 (totally humourless but sounds like he is at least taking it seriously) or Jake Nicholls on BBC radio (funny and easy chemistry with whoever he gets paired with, but still knows what he’s talking about).

    Brundell – I really feel like he’s been doing this too long and often sounds like he’s going through the motions, especially when he’s calling yet another dull procession. I thought di Resta was dull as dirt when he first started deputising for Brundle, but he has improved a lot recently.

    What is the obsession with Ted Kravitz? when he disappeared at the start of this season people on social media were talking like it was the biggest scandal in the world. he does an ok job, but I think Karun is just as good and brings a lot more energy and enthusiasm to the role.

    Sounds like I’m alone in thinking Johnny Herbert is great on TV – he’s a naturally funny person and really helps lighten things up when he’s included. he’s good on commentary too with F2 and practice sessions.

    i haven’t really watched much Sky build-up TV this year, so can’t comment much on that.

    #385464
    graham228221
    Participant

    “Huge”. ok. Currently there is a 14 second gap between F1’s 2018 pole position and Indycar’s fastest test time. That’s about 15% slower. Your estimating that it will probably end up being 10-11 seconds, and perhaps that’s probably fair. So that’s a ~12% slower time.

    For comparison, at the 2018 British GP the Formula 2 pole time (01:40.0) was 17.6% slower than F1 (01:25.9).

    So it seems like Indycar could be pretty much bang-on between F1 and F2 quali times. Seems fair enough to me.

    But why are we comparing the Indycar testing times to F1 qualifying times at all? I don’t think that’s a fair comparison at all. I’m sure they’d be closer to race trims for testing and, besides, the race is what actually matters, right?

    2019 Indycar fastest test lap: 1:46.6

    2018 F1 fastest race lap: 1:37.4 (-9.2)
    2017 F1 fastest race lap: 1:37.8 (-8.8)
    2016 F1 fastest race lap: 1:39.9 (-6.7)

    Which tells me they are actually only 8-9% slower in race trim compared to the modern high-downforce spec F1, based on this single test, and 6-7% slower than the 2016 spec cars. The majority of the field in 2016 ran a fastest lap of around 1:44.0, so Indycar is already not far away from that at all.

    Most importantly, in terms of apples and oranges, the Harding Steinbrenner Racing car that Colton Herta is running in 2019 is probably running on a budget less than 10% of the Mercedes car that we’re trying to compare it to. The gap doesn’t seem huge to me.

    #382733
    graham228221
    Participant

    SPLITSCREEN

    dear god just give us splitscreen replays like every other sport on the planet.

    if you going to cut away on lap 3-5 every single race for 5 minutes of repetitive replays of the start – SPLITSCREEN

    if you’re going to cut away to every single midfield pitstop – SPLITSCREEN

    if you’re going to show gormless celebrities wearing oversized headphones and staring at their mobiles – SPLITSCREEN

    this has driven me mad watching F1 for years. it’s not some revolutionary technology, what the hell is the problem with FOM?

    and yes i know that it’s technically not a “graphic”, but every time the conversation shifts to FOM’s TV coverage i get triggered.

    #362527
    graham228221
    Participant

    Absolutely no problem with Indycar being a spec series (although it’s technically not, with two different engine manufacturers).

    I really really annoys me when people dismiss spec series because there is no engineering involved. They couldn’t be more wrong.

    Here’s how I see it:

    F1 is mainly a technology and design contest. Human factors, like driver skill/style and hands-on engineering, are basically unfortunate random variables for the designers in the factories. The cars themselves are designed to work out of the box in perfect conditions, while at the track there is relatively little actual engineering besides basic setup changes to suit the local conditions and driver feedback (tyre pressures, springs, minor downforce adjustments). Driver skill might be the main differentiator between teammates in the same car, but otherwise the results are decided by the work in the factories. With luck, some teams may produce cars at similar performance levels, but even then it is rare that the drivers and engineers at the track can “outperform” the inherent performance of the car provided by the factory.

    Indycar (as an example of “spec” series but could equally apply to others like F2, Formula E, Touring Cars etc) is mainly an engineering exercise where human factors are front and centre. Every team is given the same machine, and the engineers have to work with the drivers to setup and pilot that machine in the optimum way to win a race. Setup at the track and the skills of the driver (both on the track and their technical feedback) are everything.

    How often do we see running repairs in F1? A front wing may be changed, but anything more than that will almost certainly see a factory order the race team to retire the car completely. Even a minor gearbox or engine glitch will almost inevitably see cars hauled off the track to save mileage and exploit the loophole giving them a new gearbox for the next race. How often do we see cars retired without any explanation whatsoever? Any repairs that do take place, are behind closed doors.

    Compare that to Indycar where pitstops happen completely outside of the garages, and even if cars get taken back into the paddock for repairs cameras will follow. Both the close racing and the points system will encourage teams to actually repair the cars – but really this is what I consider proper “engineering”. I recall Will Power’s team basically stripping his car down during an oval race a few years back to try to get him back out on track, and Joseph Newgarden’s team basically taking a big hammer to a track rod after his Watkins Glenn accident.

    Frankly, the amounts spent in F1 are obscene. And for what? Ugly cars and awful, processional races? But it’s F1, it’s the pinnacle, so I guess for some people it HAS to be better than everything else. I was a strictly F1-only motorsport fan for years, but now I’m more than happy to admit that I’m looking forward to some brilliant spec series racing in the next few weeks at Punte Del Este, Phoenix and Brands Hatch much more than I am about watching another Mercedes 1-2 in Melbourne.

    PS I’m sure I’m going to be proved wrong about the Australia GP result – my prediction championship record is atrocious :(

    #328355
    graham228221
    Participant

    “The goal of the universal car is to be great-looking, less aero dependent, have more potential for mechanical grip/downforce and to incorporate all the latest safety enhancements.”

    *mini fist pump*

    Great move. Sounds like ground effect will be more important?

    #309655
    graham228221
    Participant

    I think this could be fascinating. It’s a sport for software engineers, which probably doesn’t sound exciting but is extremely relevant.

    People are probably thinking of some computer games where the AI drivers just drive around the track like they are on rails, following the perfect racing line at all times and mostly staying in single file. But this is a limitation of one computer simulating a number of drivers simultaneously – programmers take short cuts and make compromises. It’s also a consequence of the almost “perfect” nature of simulated tracks, few bumps and imperfections and conditions being the same lap after lap.

    In reality, you’ll have one computer per car. It may be programmed with the optimum racing line, but it will also need to make constant split-second decisions on all sorts of variables. Even with a qualifying lap, it wouldn’t be a case of just sending it off to do a perfect lap – to get the very fastest time it will need to constantly assess the condition and temperature of the tires, the track and the motor.

    In the race, there could be some fascinating decisions to made on offensive and defensive driving. How do you programme a computer to leave the “fastest” racing line to force another car to leave its own optimum line and gain an advantage, and how would you programme the defending car to respond? How much risk would you allow your model driver to take? And then there’s the efficiency considerations too.

    I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I just hope they give them some decent cars to race, ideally the current generation FE cars.

    #309374
    graham228221
    Participant

    A friend of mine works in QA for a company making electronic connectors for “extreme” environments. Amongst deep sea drone submarines and jet fighters, some of their products end up in F1 cars. She used to work for another manufactoring company that specialises in bespoke, ultra-precision screws and bolts, again they had a couple of F1 teams on their client list.

    Another friend used to work in special effects, and has a credit for the film Rush.

    I’m not sure if either count :P

    #257961
    graham228221
    Participant

    This looks like it will be everything that Grid 2 should have been. Grid 2 was easily one of most disappointing video game experiences I have ever had – I was such a massive fan of the first Grid, and was so excited about the sequel. But I ended up playing it for about a week, there was almost nothing that I liked about it. The handling was awful, the concept was tedious, unrealistic and hugely annoying, the single player campaign was boring, the choice of cars was disappointing, and it had next to no connection whatsoever with real life motorsport.

    I still have no idea what Codemasters were thinking when they were designing Grid 2… who were they aiming it at, really? Did they even play their first successful Grid and the TOCA series before that? I actually hope someone got fired for it, because they are obviously in the wrong job.

    #244684
    graham228221
    Participant

    How about reducing the number of crew at each race? In particular I’d like to see the allowed number of crew members involved in a pitstop reduced quite substantially. Something closer to Indycar/GP2 would be ideal, maybe 8 people per stop.

    This would reduce costs with a smaller team at each race (unfair on a few mechanics perhaps), as well as making stops safer by increasing the time taken (giving more time for mistakes to be realised). I would also argue it would improve the racing – I’ve found the novelty of 2 second pitstops has worn off now. You could even introduce 2-tyre stops a la GP2.

    I’ve got another one that might be controversial – reduce the length of races from 300km to 250km. Or, even better, introduce variable lengths – so the “classics” like Monaco, Spa, Monza etc stay the same (or could even be lengthened – the Spa 500?) but your Koreas and Bahrains could be shortened to 250km. This would mean races typically lasting 75-100 minutes. Overall less mileage = less wear and tear on hardware. I realise this might be sacrilege for the purests ;) but I’ve found myself wishing for shorter races at several painful points this season!

    #243925
    graham228221
    Participant

    SPLITSCREEN dear god FOM what century is this? Give us splitscreen then you can show us all the replays and pointless pitstops you like.

    #243959
    graham228221
    Participant

    Sad post @John-H, but it reflects my thoughts on this era of F1. Admittedly I’ve only been watching the sport since the end of the 2007 season, but since then I’ve immersed myself in F1 from a variety of periods. I’m not ready to give up on it, but 2013 is most definitely the season I’ve enjoyed the least by some margin.

    Alongside the points you’ve mentioned, one of the biggest problems for me is how “easy” the cars look to drive. By that I don’t mean I’d be able to climb in and start pounding out decent laps(!!!) but watching on TV you just can’t really tell when a driver is pushing hard. Mistakes are incredibly rare. We know that there are drivers out there who are not in the sport on talent alone, yet there’s no way you’d be able to tell the difference between a Vettel and a Chilton (sorry Max) if they were in identically liveried cars and overalls. The cars really do look like they’re on rails. It takes a the drama and awe out of watching a driver like Vettel drive a flawless race, when in reality you’ve got 21 other flawless races (traffic and a fundamentally slower car being the only difference).

    I’m sure tyre saving has something to do with this, but I also suspect that all the teams know the current formula so well that they’ve more or less settled on the optimum solution for making the cars as easy to drive as possible. I’m hoping that next year will bring the challenge back to driving F1 cars.

    This contributes to F1 becoming an exercise in risk management. The fallible driver is less of a factor, so the teams can more easily calculate their optimum race and instruct their drivers to drive within that optimum plan.

    Since 2007 I’ve also started getting into all sorts of other motorsport, and I have to say I am currently enjoying most other series more than F1. Indycar, GP2, NASCAR, WEC, F3, the BTCC finale the other week – they lack the on and off track clinical feel of F1, the drivers are there to push hard and race rather than driving within pre-calculated lap times.

    Personally, I’d get rid of DRS as well as the fragile tyres. But I’d also love to see more changes like more engine power and less aero downforce (Eau Rouge and 130R should be a challenge again, I’d make them the benchmark for not being taken flat). Changing the layouts to create a better slipstream effect. Reducing the number of crew allowed for a pitstop. I’d even be tempted to introduce points for pole position and fastest lap. And there must MUST be something done about costs, and soon.

    #242500
    graham228221
    Participant

    Race 2 | Malaysia | Expert difficulty

    I was in Malaysia just a couple of weeks ago – as some of you might know the Sepang Circuit is right next to Kuala Lumpor’s budget airline terminal, so I drove past it a couple of times and it’s great to get a nice little reminder of being amongst the palm trees again :)

    Practice and qualifying:

    The practice starts and it’s drizzling lightly, although it should clear up later on. The rest of the weekend is forecast to be dry.

    I haven’t driven in the wet in 2013 yet, so I head straight out on a pair of inters to put in some laps. It’s very light rain, and it doesn’t feel quite as difficult as wet driving in 2011 or 2012. I stay out putting in laps as the rain stops after around 20 minutes, hoping to keep going as the track dries but my tyres were dead before a dry line really started to appear.

    With only around 20 minutes to practice on slicks, I head straight out to see if I can improve my set up. After a run each on primes and options I’m pleased to see I’m around a second quicker than Bianchi.

    I’m able to take the same pace into qualifying, and after a pretty uneventful Q1 I qualify in 19th around 3 tenths quicker than Bianchi and the Caterhams on the last row of the grid. Hamilton picks up his second pole position of the season.

    Race:

    I chose to go for the suggested 3 stop strategy this time out, and start on the option tyre. I’m feeling confident on the grid, and manage to get a much better start than last time out. One of the Caterhams still manages to pull ahead into the first corner. There’s very little contact between everyone through the first two corners, but it’s very crowded and several cars go wide.

    I pick up a few places during the first lap, and emerge onto the back straight in 15th. No one pits for a damaged front wing, which I’m pretty amazed about, and Pic is ahead of me. I’m able to reel Pic in over a few laps and when DRS is finally enabled I can breeze past into turn 1.

    My pace is good throughout the rest of the race, although it makes for a bit of a quiet drive as I’m consistantly between 0.2 and 0.8 seconds faster than Bianchi (who is in turn faster than the two Caterhams). Still I enjoy the race, it’s satisfying keeping up a consistent pace and not letting those blue flags cost me too much time. My nemesis from the last race, Bottas, emerges from a pit stop a few seconds in front of me during my last stint and I’m a bit surprised that I’m able to keep pace and even catch up with him. It soon becomes apparent that he has a problem though, as after I get past he slows enough that the other three backmarkers get past before he eventually retires.

    Bottas’ retirement means I finish 18th, meeting my objective again. Webber picks up the win. On to China!

    #242485
    graham228221
    Participant

    Race 1 | Australia | Expert difficulty

    After taking part in the second day of the Young Driver Test, I’ve signed for Marussia – didn’t really feel right jumping straight into a top seat! A quick bit of testing at Jerez (naturally) and we’re off to Australia for the first race of the season.

    Practice and qualifying:

    I spend the practice session getting used the new handling and relearning how everything works. There’s so much going on with these games – so much more than most other racing games with the constant frantic button pressing for DRS, KERS and brake bias adjustments, all the while trying to tell which corner you’re missing that half a second or doing the mental math for potential tyre strategies. Love it, great to be back in F1!!!

    In practice I’m initially about 5 seconds off the pace of Bianchi and getting a bit worried that I’ve been ambitious with the difficulty level. A lot of work on my set up and 15 practice laps later I’m just half a second behind Jules – I push slightly too hard on my final and bounce across the first chicane into the barriers, ending my session slightly prematurely and in P22.

    I head straight out in qualifying on the option tyres, the first lap is a bit scruffy and then the other cars start pouring out of the pits. Lap 2 is better, and lap 3 is going even better until the yellow flags come out as I’m full throttle between turn 11 and 12 – Rosberg is in the gravel and I have to take drastic evasive action as he rejoins the track right in front of me (very dangerously I might add!). I also run out of fuel and my fourth flying lap and had to creep back to the pits wasting tons of time.

    I’m still in 22nd, but not far behind the two Caterhams. My second run on fresh tyres is again disrupted by traffic – it’s really tough trying to put in a decent flying lap when you’re so much slower than the frontrunners. On my 3rd lap Sutil tries to overtake into turn 15, the idiot gets past but turns in on me pushing me off and spinning himself into the barriers. I’m still 22nd.

    Back in the pits I notice that my combined best sector time is better than Bianchi’s time, so I head back out for one last flying lap with renewed confidence. The lap is good, I avoid the traffic and manage to pop it into 20th place in front of the two Caterhams. Still a few tenths off Jules, but I’m very happy!

    Webber gets knocked out in Q3, starting in 18th. Hamilton is on pole, ahead of Massa and Vettel. Sutil picks up a penalty (I hope for his dumb move on me) which puts him to the back of the grid, meaning I start my first race in 19th.

    Race:

    It’s forecast to be dry and sunny, and I’m looking forward to the race. As far as I can tell everyone starts on the option, and I decide to go for the prime instead. The suggested strategy is three stops, but I know I can do 11 laps on the prime and probably 7 on the option so I’m switching to a two stop (despite being told I’ll burn out my tyres, but I know I won’t be on the lead lap at the end).

    The start doesn’t go well, I’m going to need to work on those – every car behind me flies past before turn 1, perhaps a blessing as I can avoid the carnage ahead. At least two front wings burst into carbon fibre, but everyone is through the first turns. I’m still in last place heading down to turn 3, but a Williams without its front wing goes to deep and I’m past him. A Caterham bogs down out of turn 4 and I’m up another place.

    I chuck it up the outside of Vergne into 6, and make it out ahead of him in one piece. Gutierrez is fighting the other Caterham and I follow them closely through the rest of the lap until Gutierrez peels into the pit with a damaged front wing. I’m keeping up with Pic well, but can’t find a way past – he’s on the faster option tyre.

    The option-runners start pitting on lap 5, and I rapidly make up places even reaching P13 at one point. The frontrunners on fresh rubber make light work of me and for the most part I don’t bother fighting them off. At some point Webber retires, concluding his traditionally awful home race weekend.

    By lap 10 my tyres are rapidly falling away but I manage to hold out until my planned stop on lap 11. I fit the options and barrel back onto the track, into 21st place but just behind Van Der Garde. He’s on the prime and I’m able to gradually catch him over two laps, passing him via DRS into turn 1.

    Lap 16 and I find myself behind Bianchi emerging from the pits on options. He’s on cold tyres and I have to try and take advantage. I’m able to get alongside into turn 3 on the inside, but he gets the better line through 4 and I have to back out of it through the fast turn 5. I’m able to more or less keep with him through the rest of the lap, but his better pace and my degrading tyres mean I start dropping back.

    More pitstops and I make up another place, there’s debris all over the track so there’s been a coming-together at some point. Gutierrez is back in front of me, but my engineer tells me to ignore him as he has a drive through and, sure enough, he peels into the pits the next lap.

    I’m 6 laps into my option stint but the tyres still feel great so I press on as I remember how bad my primes were, target +1 for me. I suddenly notice I’m -1 on fuel so I switch the mix down to lean – it’s cool how even a neutral strategy requires some fuel management now :)

    I pit with 11 laps to go and emerge in 18th place – ahead of two Caterhams and Gutierrez. I’m in fuel and tyre saving mode for the moment, and the blue flags are starting to be shown as the front runners lap me. 9 laps to go (8 now that I’ve been lapped) and I pick up another place as Bottas pits, he emerges around 3 seconds behind me.

    I’m still saving fuel, but helpfully my engineer tells me Bottas is probably saving fuel too. He’s gaining on me by almost a second a lap and is soon right on my tail.

    There’s no way I’m letting him past though, 17th would be a great result for my first race. 7 laps of bumper to bumper racing ensue, but he doesn’t seem to have the straight-line speed to get past me. My tyres don’t feel too great, but his might be worse as he drops back noticeably on our penultimate lap.

    I finish a lap down from the winner, Hamilton, but I’m in an excellent 17th place. Bianchi picks up an even better 15th place, Vergne losing his front wing in the dying laps and dropping back. A positive first race for the team, a really enjoyable race and I’m looking forward to Malaysia!

    #242480
    graham228221
    Participant

    Love your backstory @JamieFranklinF1 – and sounds like an interested finish at Sepang :S

    I’m really enjoying this edition after completing my first career race (and having a bit of a play with the other modes), there’s so many little minor improvements and tweaks that add up to an all round bit step up over 2012, which admittedly I didn’t really get on with and abandoned after half a season.

    I’ll be writing up my Australia report later today – love keeping my F1 journalist fantasy alive alongside the F1 driver fantasy :D

    #224423
    graham228221
    Participant

    Here’s a handy set of detailed blueprints: http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints-depot/cars/ferrari/ferrari-312t2-f1.gif

    You can pause the video just as the mystery car is entering the tunnel and compare the layout of the rear suspension, exhaust and rain light to the linked diagram. Exactly the same, pretty much :)

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 45 total)