Winter testing 2014

I honestly have no idea why you continue to follow it.

 

IIRC, the Alfa Romeo turbo was not raced in 1982.

 

Then you're not thinking very hard.

It's just comical that you think the cars being as fast as they were 13 years ago is "positive."

Eh, certainly not V10 level, though they may be close (possibly a bit more HP) than last year's frozen V8.

The cornering is a big issue. I can see why they wanted to get rid of exhaust blown diffusers and exotic engine mapping, but I can't see why double decker diffusers were ever banned.

 

I never said it was a positive, just that it was too early to panic.

Sure it seems right now they may have gone a little too far, but that's been said after pretty much every significant rule change there's ever been.

This is no way an attack, just my ever so humble opinion, but it seems to me the whole concept of what F1 is all about is a little beyond your understanding. They simply cannot allow them free reign as they'd be rocket ships requiring g-suits to survive. Spectators would be 1/2 mile away. Etc.

They'll claw it back, they always do.

Cheers,
Ian

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsOQWbJZ9mY]EXCLUSIVE: F1 2014 Steering Wheel Display - YouTube[/ame]

 

Really? Because that sounds completely insulting.

F1 is well within the realm of my understanding, and one does not have to work on some F3 team in the 80s (or whatever it was that you did) to grasp it. In fact, at no point have I ever suggested that they "allow them free reign." I'm far from panicking over the new engines, hell, I love it that they might cripple Red Bull.

All I'm saying is that while F1 is still entertaining and I enjoy it, the changes to the sport in recent years have made the cars much slower and hideous. I don't believe that to be progress. I think it's sad that a car from a decade ago could be trotted out and hand the latest cars their asses. It wouldn't even be close. If you look at different eras in the sport, this is the first time in history that you could take a car that is a decade older and beat the new cars easily. IMO, that's not good.

I hope they can claw it back. They "sort of" always do, considering that they have set very few lap records since 2004 to say that they always do is flat out wrong. Newey himself has complained that the regs have been restricted to the point of there becoming less and less scope for innovation.

 

I'm sorry, but that virtually never comes across in your posts then. Seems to me the entire thing simply makes you miserable. It's boring. Practice sucks. The cars suck. Qualifying sucks. Very, very, rarely do you (begrudgingly it seems) concede that anything about it was actually pretty good.

I beg to differ. Unfortunately, the way the tracks have changed over the years makes that very hard to 'prove', but I'm certain this is not 'the first time in history' that's the case.

We'll just agree to disagree I guess.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Jense said that big chance GP2 cars might be as fast, of not faster than current F1 cars. Which is think is a silly comparison, given the circumstances.

 

So first round of testing was great. Next is Bahrain correct? When does that start?

 

Dunno if I'd go that far! I guess if you want to see the Cans fail, maybe......

19th to 22nd Feb.
Then
27th Feb for 4 more days. (Also Bahrain, I guess they'll just stay there)

Then the BS stops in Melbourne on 16th March.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Haha thanks man! That may have been a little tongue in cheek that I initially thought. Just glad to see the cars back on track! A season of surprises would be a win in my book. That season won by KIMI would be a dream!

 

Another driver speaks out on the speed of the 2014 cars:

Jenson Button has warned that GP2 cars might rival Formula One lap times at some circuits until development of the new-generation F1 cars steps up a gear.

At the opening test in Jerez last week, only three Formula One drivers went quicker than the fastest time set at last year's pre-season GP2 test at the same circuit. Although conditions will not have been identical and most F1 teams were focusing on reliability over performance, the fastest time of the week set by Kevin Magnussen was only 0.724s quicker than the quickest GP2 car in 2013 and 4.397s slower than the fastest time at last year's F1 Jerez test.

"They [GP2 cars] will be a lot closer on certain circuits," Button said. "At high-speed circuits we will be quicker but not that much quicker, but then again this is the first test with a very new package."

New regulations have cut downforce this year and teams are still working hard to get the most from the new V6 turbo engines. What's more, the cars are heavier and Button said Pirelli's latest tyres are also slower.

"The medium tyre we think is half a second slower than last year's medium," he added. "The cars are also heavier, which is about 1.2s slower through weight. So that's 1.6s-1.8s already through those two changes. It was always going to be slower."

But Button is confident teams will claw back a lot of the lost lap time as the season progresses.

"Last year hardly changed at all in terms of the regulations [from 2012], so at the first test we were always going to be quite quick and then improve for the first race, but not by a massive chunk," he said. "When we get to the first race [this year] everyone will be much quicker and then three races in there will be another chunk of lap time and another second or so. By the end of the year we might not be that far off [2013 lap times] - just a couple of seconds once we get a real handle on it."

Read more at GP2 cars will be close to F1 pace at some circuits - Jenson Button | Formula 1 | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

 

Great, so there are uglier, slower, heavier and more expensive this year? Oh yeah and they also sound like crap! So much for being the Pinnacle of Motorsport. They could have saved a bunch of money and used Indycars instead.

 

Again, I wouldn't go quite that far, at least yet.

Right now, I suspect Bernie is;

a - apoplectic with the whole mess. (Never a good thing!)
b - beavering away on some changes - Unless they get it together in Bahrain in a few weeks, I have a feeling we're going to see the fuel allowance increased some for example. I'm sure he's also talking to Pirelli about the wooden tires it seems they've done. (I do feel for those guys! )

Let's see where they're at after the last test.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Meant to note earlier, 'that's very sporting of you'.

While I too am 'disappointed' nobody's been able to challenge them for the past few years, I doff my cap to both the team and The Kid. They've quite simply blown everyone's doors off. Good for them.

We don't have to like them, but that comment sounds like *very* sour grapes to me. It's all cyclical - Damn, looks like Frank and your old buddy Phil may be the most likely to topple them right now!

Again, no offense intended.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Lets be realistic here. The cars aren't going to recoupe the 3-4s of pace it has lost in 2 weeks...teams like Red Bull, will be grateful if their cars can even complete a lap without bursting in flames =)

 

That looks to me as a recipe for good entertaining races.
Cars with too much power and not enough grips means that the drivers skills will make the difference.
There is nothing more boring than cars cornering like on rails, stuck to the track and with no obvious change of speed.
But when cars start to become tricky in corners, drivers have to slow them down, feel the grip, take the bend, accelerate, etc...

 

Just crank up the boost and let them run.

 

The boost isn't the problem, it's the fuel limits. AFAIK they can run whatever boost they want. The problem is trying to raise it without leaning out and subsequently destroying the engine.

 

Complete nonsense. You're just focusing on what you want to focus on. Did last year suck? Absolutely. Was the year prior great? Absolutely. That said, I love the competition of F1, I love cheering for my team, and I love cheering for my favorite drivers. I love the history, I love the old tracks. I'd probably still watch the Monaco GP if they drove pedal cars. Obviously I love to talk about the sport or I wouldn't be here. Seriously, you can check my post history about how excited I was for testing this year and even *gasp* the new engines.

You think I'm always negative because we often but heads due to me being a realist and you being an apologist. Sorry if that comes off as crass, but I believe it to be true.

Have to disagree here - I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything even remotely comparable. We're breaking into new ground here...the drivers must be having a bit of a laugh among themselves with the "GP2 cars would give us a run for our money" comments. I'm concerned about how many cars even finish the first GP.

Your track comment is interesting - might be a good idea for a new thread - which tracks have remained unchanged over the years? Montreal, Monza, Monaco? Might be good for comparison.

Meh, it's not like I'm saying it to Horner's face. As a fan, having someone to hate is part what makes it fun. It's the same for any sport. Do I enjoy them struggling? Yes. Is it sour grapes? Yeah, probably.

Hmmm. I have to wonder where an IndyCar would stack up with a F1 car at the moment in terms of lap times. Might be *much* closer than you think! It doesn't really matter considering F1 will be much faster by the end of the year, but they have to be pretty close at the moment.

 

Without cheking into it (so i could be wrong), i´m pretty sure that from 82 to 83 when wing cars where abolished cars become slower, at least in corners they did, by a lot...of course in those years, engine power grew astonishingly from year to year so the 83 engines compensated a lot of the lost downforce wich was basicly cut in half!!
To me, it´s a bit irrelevant if the cars are 4 or 5sec a lap slower, a lotus 72, a ferrari t4 would be a calender slower and much more entertaining to watch!!! ). If the cars slide a bit more, and the drivers can have a litle more influence over just aerodinamics it will be a good thing. Just get rid of the stupid drs, put a decent nose in the car, kick Alonso back to Mclaren and all is good!!

 

Man, why when someone disagrees about this issue you call him "Bernie worshiper" or something like that? You made the same to me too the other day and it sucks. Nobody told you that argumentum ad hominem is not allowed between gentlemen?

Back to topic: I agree in that right now cars are damn slow, but we also should remember that so far we´ve only seen the FIRST test session of the FIRST season of the new formula. Cars will go faster from now on and I´m pretty sure that sooner or later they´ll have to slow them down again. Also, drivers said that engine power is relatively OK, but the loss of aero downforce is what really is slowing them down compared to 2013. Also, in case of necessity, they could tweak the engine formula easily for incoming seasons allowing more fuel flow or fuel load.

 

If you took away traction control, I'd warrant the last few year's of F1 would of been a bit slower.

 

Errrr...there has been no traction control in the last few years.