OK, I'll ask....... FWIW, one (think of me as a baby Mateschitz ) of my fantasy teams would/will benefit *hugely* if you're correct........ My senior team is way more "conservative".... We'll see. Roger that....... Just more "worthless guesses" until you've got skin in the game! Cheers, Ian
Oz is a wildcard; I have no f-ing clue, but would love to see Webbo win it! In probably his final Aussie gp
+1 Not only are we in the peanut gallery clueless, all the competitors and "experts" are too IMO. "This is why we watch!"....... Cheers, Ian
Please elaborate! I will for sure stay with my prediction now! Quick rules overview 2013 from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21712291
Some details regarding the Red Bull were pointed out to me last night by an anonymous large F1 team employee, hence my immediate about face of the situation. These details I had not at first given much weight to but I am told they are quite amazing and will definitely put RB9 at the front of the pack and in 'dominant' form again unless someone copies their design. Direct your eyes to the rear brake ducts (if you can call them that) and winglets attached, I am told they have the entire paddock terrified and mesmerized. Specifically, the part which differentiates these ducts with other teams is not only their additional elements they employ, but the uppermost element extends in front of the rear wheel and I am told has nearly the same surface area as another beam wing!! No other team are running a large main plane atop their brake ducts like this, everyone else simply has the upper control arm attached to that area and that's it, when RB9 practically has it's upper control arm integrated with the brake duct winglet. Even if they are a third as effective as another beam wing would be, these massive duct elements on their own are worth a hefty amount of rear downforce. This is further why the RB9 front wing is massively complicated with winglets and cascades other teams simply cannot employ due to not having the back end to balance it. This is also why we're seeing the RB9 front wing 'bend' again, because it's running so so much front downforce that no matter what 'flexi test' is thrown at it, it's going to bend a bit. So there we have it, rear brake ducts upper wings. And until someone copies them, Red Bull will win anything and everything. I've thrown in a comparo pic of a couple other contenders, no one is running such an amazing upper brake duct element at the suspension arm pickup point. The only hope is that the RB9 is still less stable under braking due to its ramp and tunnel type exhaust, the other configuration are definitely better in that regard. Mercedes has a small amount of hope due to their mechanical traction advantage, but that's it otherwise. The season is over until that design is copied and built upon. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
So, please accept this post as my qualifying and race prediction revision: Q Vettel Webber Hamilton Grosjean Raikkonen Alonso Rosberg Button Massa R Vettel Webber Hamilton Raikkonen Alonso Button Rosberg
I should add one detail here that might provide a glimmer of hope. Something Red Bull definitely do not have are partial u-shaped sidepods and these three winglets just below the mirrors. These winglets flow air up and then attach to the 'U' portion of the sidepods with the primary action items definitely being the mini winglets as they keep the flow attached to the rear sidepod cleanly thus providing a good bit of downforce. Ferrari have a smaller version of this arrangement but it's not quite so obvious with their sidepods shapes whereas the Merc was clearly going for a ducted yet light 'U' shape. Still, I don't believe this will get them within a couple tenths of RB9. Maybe at Monaco..... let's hope I'm wrong or we're in for a boring season Image Unavailable, Please Login
I hope he goes on a diet soon. A fourth title would elevate Vettel to third place alongside the Professor in the Pantheon of the F1 Gods. Next stop: Fangio
The brake ducts are interesting. However, I guess that it's not too difficult to copy them, as they are an auxiliary part and not a chassis component. Of course they have to be embedded in the overall aerodynamic concept, but I suppose not on a "redesign the whole car" scale.
+1 "No big deal" IMO. Certainly not worthy of throwing in the towel...... FWIW, I postulated on ducts when I saw the F138; http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/142085107-post262.html Same picture below - Seems Ferrari (at least) are doing something similar. Note also the maximum size is pretty tightly specified - You can't do "monster" ducts. EDIT; Just lightened the RB9 image too - Attached for comparison. "Nothing to see here, move along!"...... Cheers, Ian Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
As I stated earlier, I don't think the teams are just giving lip-service when they suspect the championship will be close and crowded this year. Red Bull should be tipped as the favorite due to their 3-year dominance, but things change quickly in F1. Let's wait until next weekend to get a real sense of what the pecking order is. Anything more is purely speculation (not that there is anything wrong with that, but I can't opine on the entire season based on testing speculation).
+1 Couldn't agree more. I can see pretty much the entire field being covered by ~2 seconds! I love this sport. Oxymoron here I feel. "3 years of dominance" suggests things don't change that quickly in F1. Seriously, are you in the fantasy league? Even if not, & you're not "into" that, have a play with Tillmans "team builder" app and post your "best bets"...... QuickCash FWIW, I'll reveal mine soon, but suffice for now to say I'm betting *big* on their dominance continuing in one league...... Cheers, Ian
I was thinking how quickly Ferrari fell back to the field once Renault/Alonso upset the apple cart and their dominance. Maybe I missed the word "can" in that statement (i.e. things CAN change quickly in F1)
No offense intended! "Can" changes everything I do think we "know"; - Ferrari haven't produced Clifford #2 - Merc have made progress - Beyond that, I ain't got a clue! Again, I love this sport. Cheers, Ian
Quali 1. Hamilton 2. Vettel 3. Rosberg 4. Webber 5. Button Race 1. Vettel 2. Hamilton 3. Webber 4. Button 5. Rosberg
Ian, what makes you so confident? A likely scenario is they have improved Clifford but the main contenders have moved further forward. Its not like Clifford was a good basis. Yes it came second but it was not the second fastest car. Consistent results is how we survived 2012, not out right pace. IMO the McLaren looked like a rocket that they just did not understand fully, thus I'm expecting this car (2013's version) to have closed the gap to RedBull. Pete
Have I read this right - you think McLaren has closed ground on Red Bull since last year? I thought McLaren clearly had the fastest car at the end of last year, so I would be thinking the pressure was on Red Bull to close ground on them. From the video footage I've looked at the F138 is competitive.
