From Autosport: I gotta be honest, I didn't know the blue flags appeared so early - If this is true, he does have something of a point..... Cheers, Ian
It should be that once the car behind is within a certain number of car lengths, a blue light flashes on the steering wheel. Let them through within 4 corners. More than one car behind will be communicated via radio.
I have always viewed the Blue flag as advisory in that I would use my discretion as to when to allow a faster car through. All 3 back-mark teams have very experienced drivers who know how the game is played. Remember these teams are racing for one stinking point. Just to pay the annual travel bill and elicit some pride. An ill-timed blue flag allows a fought for lead over a competitor to vanish.
It is advisory........ Until they change it to black you ignore it.....LOL! No, you really should move if you are holding someone back....
Well, in the Old Days....there was actual PASSING of a slower car....not sure what ever happened to ....left flick....foot firmly down....right flick onto the line...
+1 on all points..... While it seems that some here would like the newbies gone, I've enjoyed following 'em - The "race within the race". Hopefully, they'll all (even HRT!) be back next year and learning to walk rather than crawl. [Lotus with Renault power of course may be interesting - I don't think there's anything wrong with the Cossie.] It seems they're saying they get the flag when the approaching car is 3 seconds back - That does seem like an awfully big gap. Particularly when they're trying to have their own battle(s) which are, as you said, significant - At least to them...... Cheers, Ian
Not in F1 - the driver is required to move over within 4 corners or they can be penalized. In most series it's advisory but in F1, it's mandatory to move over.
As for the topic, I can see where Branson is coming from, but I think he's whining. The problem is not that he is losing time because of blue flags screwing up his chances to win 1 POINT, but rather that his cars are so pig slow that they are so far off the pace. He needs to work on making his cars faster, not on changing the rules to better accommodate his slow cars. Also, the gripe that they get blue flags 3 seconds before the lapped car reaches them and have only 4 laps to move over... it may seem bad for Virgin to read it, but I don't see that it actually plays out that way.... I don't see lapped cars having to pull over and wait for the faster cars to catch up - the fast guys close in on the slow guys who then move out of the way. It's only when the backmarkers hold up the fast guys and screw up their race that it's a problem. And Branson is arguing that the backmarkers should be free to hold up the fast guys all they like - what logic is that? Why on earth would he think his guys should have the right to preserve their race pace at the expense of people who are actually fighting for points and fighting for wins?
Bring back the 7% rule. Problem solved. Grid would get smaller, though, and that is why they will not do that. Branson was the one claiming early on you could be competitive without the investments made by the top teams. He sings a different tune now. Without the blue flags, it would get even more dangerous out there. Taz Terry Phillips
IIRC, they are bringing it back next season. However, I don't think any of 'em have fallen outside of it this season (?) Don't get me wrong - He should STFU and build a quicker car. It was his (and also Fernandes if we're fair) "desire" to change the rules that prompted the slightly derogatory "beardy" name in the OP Cheers, Ian
There have been a few cases where a few drivers would have been caught out, but in general, it would be the exception and all the new teams would qualify most of the time. Massa would have been refused a start, though, after he failed to post a time that one race. And didn't that happen to Alonso once this year too? I doubt the forum populace would want the rule if it screwed Alonso or Massa Yeup. Branson is quickly learning that life in F1 isn't all about parties and media attention and the glory of winning. It's a hard slog, especially at the back, and most don't last long. Branson won't either... he's eying his exit and has been for a while - just wants to maximize his ROI before he cuts and runs.
don't you get a time allocated from practice if for some reason you're unable to qualify or something?
I wouldn't think so... you could be running super light with 1 lap of fuel in practice and if you "oops" couldn't qualify, the practice time could put you at the top of the grid. The commentators here in the USA mentioned (possibly wrongly) that Massa would have been caught out under a 107% rule. It makes sense... you can have some sort of override mechanism for when a car is obviously fast enough but couldn't set a time (like Massa in the Ferrari), but what if a car is usually fast enough but you don't really know for sure - it gets messy.
IIRC, there are various "get out of jail free" clauses that Charlie and his boys can use to allow, eg, Phil to start...... However, you are gonna start from the back, regardless of any "wonder time" set in practice. I dunno how long it's been gone for, but I recall the entry being too big and pre-quali (on Thursday) being a much bigger concern than 107%...... Cheers, Ian
You could very well be right. OTOH, for all his "faults", quitting hasn't been one of 'em. I think he's still got more money than God, and seems to be enjoying himself..... Good luck to him. For someone looking to get in, surely Torro Rosso is the way to go (?) Cheers, Ian
Its mandatory to move over if you are being lapped in any race series ... asap. Branson is in this case a complete idiot. The race at the front is what matters, the rest are just trying to improve to get to that front few of the race. When, or if, Virgin get there I can assure you he will change is take on this ... This is why w@ankers that don't get motorsport should not be allowed in to F1. Pete
I looked up 'elitist poster' and it had a link to this thread. So how do you discern the '3 slower teams' ? What if your favorite Ferrari guy qualifies LAST? Is he not now the slowest car? My thoughts are: if you are so damned much faster than me, then you should have no problem passing me, set me up just like if you were in second going for the lead, EARN it, do SOMETHING to make the crowd be interested. Every car has mirrors, every driver uses them, every driver can hear any car behind and beside them, every car has a radio to which they can hear someone say 'move left' or 'move right' or 'leader on you'. 'Pulling over' be it a 'fast' car or 'slow' car - has the same connotations as a Barrichelo pulling over to let MS win, or Massa pulling over to let Alonzo win, it's just not right. EARN it, SHOW me you have the better car or are the better driver. This isn't rocket science.
