Mercedes quit DTM Frocuses on F1 and new Formula E entry

everyone wants to go to formula E...and i don't have the slightest desire to watch it...

 

A lot of journo's are paid to push it's popularity. One just said ''The cars aren't slow at all'' bla bla. I just told him KF3 karts (those are junior karts for 12-15 year old!) are faster on the same track.

Myth debunked. He's not come back to me yet though

 

I guess they benefit enormously of being the Formula 1 of electric cars, a label that suggests the extremes of car development being explored. This is obviously not true. But I guess at the moment you get quite the bang for the buck when participating in FE.

Anyways, I guess it is telling that the big names are jumping onboard at FE. But more importantly at cost of participiation on conventional motor racing. I guess DTM has never quite had the appeal and might now need to think about its relevance. With only BMW and AUDI left they are in a sad state.

 

The manufacturers aren't going to FE because anyone thinks it will be a popular series with fans. They are all very serious about battery and motor technology for road hybrid and electric applications, and want the racing environment to accelerate development.

Makes sense to do FE and F1, as there's probably big scope for cross-development. F1 will start diverging from road cars with the next powertrain formula so it makes sense to have a series that goes in that direction. And F1 will benefit since it won't have to be all things to all stakeholders.

 

FE is slow the F1 team can use FE on its faster tracks to develop aerodynamic packages for the slow F1 tracks like Monaco.

 

I'm glad Mercedes finally starts to focus on F1 and take it more seriously. They have been really squandering their efforts in the past few years...

 

I tried to watch Formula E last night on re-broadcast. I didn't even watch long enough to know where or who was racing.

 

Oh and great... Merc will enter FE and develop amazing battery and electric motor technology... then somehow convince the FIA to make it all part of the new regs in 2021 so they can destroy everyone like they are now. Super.

 

Teams reject chance to buy shares in Formula 1 - F1 - Autosport

This is also worrying as none of the teams chose to invest.

 

Smart move. They will lose a lot of fans next year when the cars are wearing thongs.

 

TOTALLY agree!

 

Formula E is a pr exercise. The cars are slow, the tracks are rubbish. The cars can't even make it the race distance without a car swap at half way. It's useless.

 

You are all aware that France and now Britain are outlawing petrol and diesel engined cars in 2040. Its about clean air.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/25/britain-to-ban-sale-of-all-diesel-and-petrol-cars-and-vans-from-2040

Lots of work is being done on battery technology. But remember, the rare earth required for battery and electric motor production comes from China (they've got over 95% of the world resources).

And also, back in the late 1990s, the TV analysts were saying fuel cells would be in production in 10 years time. 10 years time was 10 years ago, and we are still not there.

And then no one is addressing from where the electricity is coming. We know France has plenty of nuclear production, but the rest of Europe and the US?

 

Yeah, just a political statement for the sake of it, Britain moves like a snail - infrastructure for electric cars will take years more than any quotes they try to make, Christ, if they close a road for resurfacing and give dates for it to reopen, you always add at least 50% more time to it, if not 100%, and you'd still be wrong as to when they will be finished. I won't hold my breath, but I hope I'm dead by the time we have to use soulless boring cars like teslas and the rest

 

Formula e costs peanuts for these guys and is a good PR exercise, so I see the logic in it.

 

Me too, FE has no appeal, slow, boring, noiseless, oooh spectators can vote to boost the cars like voting for their favourite housemate in big brother - what a lot of fake BS.

Racing was never a PC exercise, it was always fast, fun, noisy, anti-social, smelly etc etc. FE is none of those things, I'm imagining it's like going on holiday to Blackpool instead of Las Vegas just because Blackpool has lights and strip clubs - it doesn't make Blackpool into Las Vegas in anyone's mind but yours, it's still a slightly lively wet northern seaside town, where Vegas is an entertainment colossus with excitement around every single corner and the ability to do what you want, whenever you want with who you want on a scale that Blackpool has no comprehension of

 

I keep saying it: Electric is a stop gap end off. All they're doing is moving where the dirt comes from. Petrol cars are getting ever cleaner. The lithium batteries are enormously damaging and dirty to mine, and even worse to get rid of! It quite simply is NOT the answer.

15 years ago we where all told to dump our petrol cars and buy diesel. To make it more attractive, they made diesel a cheaper fuel and subsidize the cars. Now suddenly they've decided diesel are far worse than petrol cars and people with diesels can't get rid of their expensive and increasingly higher taxed ornaments.

The same will happen with electric cars. Hydrogen will be the future, and it's a lot smarter to work on making that process more efficient than ****ing around with lithium.

 

Hydrogen is never going to happen. The process to create it is far too wasteful/expensive/laborious and it is incredibly difficult to store safely.

It is a pipe dream of those betting against electric with their bank accounts.

 

I have not been involved with fuel cells in many years, however, I do remember it said that it took a lot of electricity to make hydrogen. And the only thing coming out of the exhaust pipe was water.

Now, say that we have 50% of the cars in 50 years running hydrogen power units, producing electricity to run electric motors, how much water will be added to the atmosphere and what will that effect be on "climate change"?

 

They just need to find better batteries than lithium and there are already some good advances on this matter.

Hydrogen still requires a combustion which is a pretty primitive concept imo

 

I believe that. Hydrogen cannot be produced in enough quantity to supply the market.

 

+1

 

Yeah, absolutely.