The new starts - Toto Wolff offers some thoughts

This whole starting debate is hilarious. These are the worlds best drivers (some may disagree&#8230 driving the worlds best racing cars (some may disagree&#8230. I presume they all know how to get a normal road car, and any other race car up to and including an F1 car off the line. How hard can it be to expect them to start their F1 race cars in a race? If it's too hard, then the clutch system should be simplified until it is easy enough to use…

 

So we get some new rules that don't suit Mercedes and suddenly Toto and co are all for immediate changes.

 

What an idiot. Devalue qualifying?! Get real totonator.

 

With control going back to the drivers, and the challenges of getting the bite settings exactly correct, I heard some of the teams are exporing a complicated mechanical device that gives the driver infinite continuous control over the clutch at the start. Something about a foot-operated control of some sort...

 

Big +1

 

Hamilton and Toto are scared.

Very intimidating : P

 

Toto needs to use the foot to optimize Hamilton starts my dad used his belt to optimize me I would have taken the boot gladly

 

Hmmm... so if some drivers are unable to manage to start effectively... we need to change the rules? Good Lord! What is happening to F1?

 

What you say makes perfect sense.

I cannot see what all the fuss if about.

Another storm in a tea cup ...

 

I thought it's call f1 not xbox or playstation

 

What happened to the idea that we watch F1 to see the worlds best drivers tame powerful race cars with their own personal skills. Skills that we can only dream of having. I see no allure in watching Pastor, Sergio, Max, Will or Roberto push the launch button, which may or may not engage an exquisitely written computer program. I want to see drivers demonstrate their skill with a clutch.

What's next, braking and steering programs? Why not allow the engineers to employ modifiable programs that will cause the brakes to be applied in the optimal manner determined for each corner? Or even AI programs that "learn" the optimum braking profile, corner by corner through the course of free practices?

 

Note to self: if you're winning and a new rule is set to shake thinks up, appeal against it for security concerns

 

I remember in MotoGP before traction control how brutal the racing was. I'm not taking anything away from the current riders but taming a MotoGP bike 8-10 years ago was something completely different.

I only want the cars to go faster up to the limits of the driver. I don't want artificial nanny-programs filling in where the driver is weak or simply can no longer manage the power/car.

I'm all for mechanical evolution, but software to drive the car is counter to what racing is all about. Are we going to evolve to driverless F1 cars where Lewis is just sitting on some yacht with Rhianna or Kendall Jenner on a Sunday playing driver on his iPad while getting a bj?

 

For the record, Nico was excited for the change because he sees it as an opportunity to compete with Hamilton in a new area.

"I like it [the change] because it gives me the opportunity to try and beat Lewis in that area," he said.

New Formula 1 grand prix start rules 'a big change' - Nico Rosberg - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

 

Like i've mentioned before...F1 tends to house the biggest cry babies and whiners around.

 

Nico sounds like a broken record with his obsession of beating Lewis. It cost him a win last race...

 

Virtually every car manufacturer plus Google and Apple are working overtime on their "self-driving" cars. The more say the manufacturers have in racing, the closer we get to F1 being a proving ground for their ideas.

 

How did it cost him a win? He couldn't catch Kimi, let alone Seb. It has been a couple weeks though, I may have forgotten. : )

But in general I agree, he should be saying it gives him a chance to be better than everyone. Especially when Hamilton didn't have a good start last race anyway.

 

When asked which tires he wanted, he shouted '' the same as Lewis '', even though they would be the slower tire. At the time I found it a bizarre command, I think I wrote it here actually.

It's so important to him that he beats Lewis with everything equal, that he lost sight of the big picture. Because had he beaten Lewis, there would be stories going round that he only beat him because he was on a faster tire. Nico is terrifyingly unsecure of himself. This is why he won't be a world champion.

 

Ah now I remember. Yes that is not good. Thanks for reminding me.

 

Isn't that sort of the right thing to have done, though? Nico's only threat this year is Lewis. No one other than those two has a chance to win this year, and Mercedes WCC is also a sure thing unless something unimaginable happens.

It sort of makes sense that Nico's going to cover Lewis' moves. Nico is as fast as Lewis, so why risk the soft tyre which may not have made the distance if Lewis is on the hard tyre? If Lewis had been on the soft tyre, and Nico copied, then sure, they would have both been faster, but at least if the tyres went off, they both would have suffered from that problem.

So...did that choice cost Nico the race win? Maybe....who knows....but at least, without that puncture, he had his only real threat covered. The WDC....THAT'S the big picture...not MAYBE winning another race.