2017 Suzuka Pre-Race Thread

Seb's steering wheel would have made a great memento! Good on him for taking it back with him, even if it was against the sporting regs. Pay a $5k - $10k fine to save a $50k steering wheel. I truly hope his gearbox is fine, but that was a lot of damage for a low speed shunt.

 

Long term weather forecast:-

Friday: 17 - 19°C - 84% chance of rain @ 12 PM
Saturday: 18 - 23°C - 92% chance of rain @ 1 AM
Sunday: 19 - 25°C - No Rain

 

Cool shots. yours?

 

I haven't been following F1 since a few years, but caught this thing with Vettel's gearbox penalty problems. Why isn't he allowed to replace the gearbox without penalty, if the cause was an accident? This has nothing to do with reliability or cost savings. I guess I know why I stopped following F1 with these stupid rules...

 

Damn...wish i was handling the cargo transfer.

Anyways, i can't decide if Suzuka or Spa is the best track on the calendar. We will do well. We have the best car anyways.

 

I still think Mercedes has the best car. As Toto described in Malaysia, the Merc. is very sensitive; setup, hot weather, tyre temps, clean air, etc.

The tempratures and humidity won't be as extreme anymore as in Singapore and Malaysia so Merc. will perform better.

 

When you see those giant cargo planes you really do get a sense of the logistics involved for modern day F1. How they essentially move a complete high end working tech, garage, and employee center all over the world and get it up and running each race truly is amazing.

 

Something to read before the race weekend from Autosport. Overview of this weekend -- https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132155/promoted-can-ferrari-strike-back-in-japan

Key to me is this: Owned by the Honda Motor Company, Suzuka represents a different challenge, with more high-speed corners than Sepang and high levels of tyre wear and degradation expected.

 

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Vettel set to avoid Suzuka grid penalty


Sebastian Vettel looks set to avoid a grid penalty at Suzuka this weekend.

The German had admitted after his bizarre post-race crash with Lance Stroll that he wasn't sure if his gearbox had been damaged.

If it needs to be replaced, he would take a five-place grid drop this weekend in Japan.

Sky Italia reports that Ferrari sent the unit back to Maranello where it was found that it "should be (able to be) saved".

However, Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has admitted that the weekend in Malaysia left him angry and "tearing out my hair".

"It is unquestionable that we could have won, not only there but also in Singapore," he said.

"Our problems are due to two things. First, we have a very young team, and second, the quality of the components is not up to the required level.

"We are intervening now with organisational changes."

Ferrari's two drivers, however, are calling for calm.

Vettel is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: "It is definitely not ideal to have two similar defects on consecutive days. But we also can't complain about our reliability over the entire season.

"This happens when you operate at the limit."

And Kimi Raikkonen said: "There is no reason to blame anyone. We obviously had a very difficult weekend in Malaysia, but I'm sure we will get it under control."

Vettel continued: "The truth is that we have a car that can win anywhere. I think we are faster than Mercedes.

"It was a difficult weekend, but our speed is promising."

 

I can't wait for the organizational changes to appear. It was obvious in Baku that something major is being missed. Singapore was a disaster and Sepang proof to anybody who was blind that they need to reshuffle desperately.

About the only thing that works is the car and the team that designed it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post these. Much appreciated.

 

Weather update - https://weather.com/en-GB/weather/5day/l/JAXX0112:1:JA

Friday rain 100% 18C
Saturday 30% rain chance 23C
Sunday - Sunny and 26C

 

Jail soon hopefully. With potential legal issues Im not sure Force India is now a viable sale for him. Who would want to deal with the issues that he now has caused for the team. You can drop the price but that wont end the legal issues. Why would one waste the time or capital if its to be questioned in court. There are other teams one could buy without the issues Force India might face now.