If they wanted that they'd lobby for something other than a spec motor and a technical freeze. But that's what they pushed for. Tells you something about how they view "competition".
don't worry soon they will run on full electric ,cant wait to( turn up the volume)as he once said !! nascar is starting to look better and better .
Fixed it for you. Massa's story will be how he is again out-performed by his teammate. Williams, I am really hoping, will be able to stay among the front runners and score regular points.
Wow just care about the sound of the motors. I remember when there were V8s, Turbo V6s and a couple 12s still heading around the circuit at the Canadian GP in 1985. They each sounded different and I'm sure half way through this season no one will be speaking about engine sound. F1 is about moving forward to exploit the formula. Let's see how it is in 4 months. Don't like the sound of the motors, jump in a Ferrari after the race and get a earful of a nice exhaust note.
GP2 has also tested at Bahrain. The fastest GP2 time was six seconds slower than the fastest F1 time. That means on this track a deficit of about 6%. The 107% rule wouldn't stand in the way for the fastest GP2 cars to join the F1 grid. Surely the fastest GP2 cars should not be able to catch the slowest F1 cars. Or is that ok to you?
Yeah, he runs a company, which manufactures fizzy drinks. And he also has a racing team, which got hurt the most by the new rules. Go figure.
Lauda's cars are WDC favorites this year. Lauda supports the new rules. Mateschitz' cars have lost their dominance this year. Mateschitz criticizes the new rules. See a pattern? As for GP2: It is utterly meaningless how close they come to F1 as they are neither matching nor beating F1. GP2 is what F2 used to be: The next best thing. Back in the fifties F2 was so close to F1 that for one year they even run F2 cars in F1. They are supposed to be close. And in case GP2 would actually reach F1 laptimes, I'm sure the FIA would change the GP2 rules to slow them down. Tempest in a teapot.
Do you really believe the Mercedes cars are as much Lauda's cars as the RedBulls are Mateschitz cars? Come on... and saying RedBull have lost their dominance is perhaps cheering a bit too early. We'll see. Of course it matters that they are close. At least it matters in terms of finance. Is it really cost efficient to spend at least 100M a year more for a car that goes 6% faster around a track? No, it doesn't. In that case you can only justify your budget by the exposure you get. And I agree exposure in F1 is still much bigger than in GP2, but in terms of racing (and that is what I care about) the difference is definately to small. It is time for F1 to again raise the game. Perhaps it will happen, but again, we have to wait and see. Your euphoria about the new rules is premature. Back in the fifties the relation between F1 and F2 was completely different to what it is now. F1 is supposed to be the absolute pinnacle of the sport in terms of tecnology and -yes- speed. GP2 are the same cars and the same engines. You buy the cars, you run the cars. That is pretty much it. Slow down GP2 because they come too close to F1? Erm... no, if it comes to that, Formula 1 needs to speed up. A GP2 car that is too close to F1, means F1 is too slow, not that GP2 is too quick.
You're right, I'm unfair to Lauda. Lauda had a lot more input in the MBs than Mateschitz who is a fuzzy drink manufacturer. No it isn't: - F1 is pushing the technological envelop and showing us the future of road car technology. GP2 is a technological dead-end. - The Melbourne GP was fantastic. At least for me and a few others who enjoyed it. The FIA does not want the F1 cars to go faster and faster each year because of the safety aspects. As others pointed out, today's F1 cars could be much faster with different tires, but that's not what the FIA wants. They want them to be slower. Therefore the only logical and fair thing to do is to slow the lower classes down accordingly.
Is it time for the next race yet? This thread is getting stale we need the excitement of another race to spice things up with new facts and conspiracy theories. Since the last race has F1 died? No? Didn't think it would...
Those are just test/practice laps. Last year, at the same tracks F1 and GP2 ran, practice/qualifying laps were also within 6-7 seconds from each other, BUT, actual lap times for the RACE were more like 10 seconds apart. How about we wait till the Malaysian GP to make a comparison? Well according to all the naysayers, F1 is dead after 1 race, so yeah, Red Bull have lost their dominance already. Why keep watching?
I think it is safe to say Lauda's input in the current Mercedes F1 car is absolutely zero. Do you really think Lauda adds anything to the design or setup of the car? At least Mateschitz pays the bills so Newey and Vettel can go to work and rack up some titles. Please. Great, but last time I checked, those Formula 1 teams are in it for the racing and not for the development of roadcars. Since when is pushing the technological envelop a goal in itself? And you keep failing in explaining to me why. The ultimate winner was gone and away after two laps. The number two had really no chance in keeping up. The number three had no chance in keeping up with number two. Those are the ingredients for a snooze fest. Unfortunately for position 4 through 7 nothing much happened either. I don't think you re to exited by a Ferrari that can't seem to get by a Force India lap after lap after lap after lap after lap after lap after lap after... unless you are secretly Victor Mallya, in which case I understand. Pitstops all went as they should. The only thing truly memorable was Vettel's DNF. That hadn't happen in quite a while. So, again I ask, what on earth made the Melbourne GP 'fantastic'? And when is slow, safe enough? Speed is not the enemy of racing.
