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Thread: F1 2019

  1. #51
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    Chances of the FIA enforcing the 107% rule? Or will they allow a couple of extra Williams coloured chicanes to run on Sunday?
    (I have done the maths, I'm just saying they're shit)

  2. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheChad View Post
    Chances of the FIA enforcing the 107% rule? Or will they allow a couple of extra Williams coloured chicanes to run on Sunday?
    (I have done the maths, I'm just saying they're shit)
    I'd say they will get allowance.
    a n t i l a g . c o m

  3. #53
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    a n t i l a g . c o m

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  5. #54
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    Autosport plus - Gary on Charlie

    the excitement of the first Formula 1 race of the season palled when I heard about the death of Charlie Whiting on Thursday morning.

    To say it was a shock would be an understatement and I kept reading it with the hope that it was a misprint or misinformation from the other side of the world. Tragically, it wasn't.

    Charlie was two years younger than me and I knew him from when he started in Formula 1. I didn't realise it at the time but I actually knew him before his F1 days.

    I came over from Ireland in 1972 and lived in Swanley Village, just down the road from Brands Hatch where I worked as a mechanic for Motor Racing Stables. Just across the road from the circuit was All Car Equipe, which was owned by Charlie's brother Nick. It was the place to go to get all the motorsport gadgets and I often frequented his shop.

    Charlie was the one person that - through all of the changes we've seen over the past 40 years - maintained his cool and focus to keep F1 at the cutting edge. As anyone will say about him, he was fair, honest and hard - and all at the same time.

    He had a tough job because, in reality, he only had to make decisions when there was a problem. He never got thanked for handing out penalties or fines to the drivers or teams, only abuse.

    During my time as technical director with Jordan and Stewart Grand Prix, he was the man who would haul you up if he didn't think you were going about things in the right manner.



    I remember with the Jordan 191, he was the one to come and observe all the crash tests. In those days for a new team this was no easy task, but it had to be done - and when we did the nose impact test it was very scary, to say the least. But Charlie was there to calm us down with his smile and when we passed it we were all smiling. He said that the day before he'd been at another crash test with a French team and when they passed it the technical director came over and kissed him full on the mouth. He said he was worried I might do the same!

    When we were at Monaco in 1991 with the Jordan there were a lot of rumours going around that the floor on our car was flexing too much. So I went to Charlie and asked him what he thought. He said it's more important what I thought, so I said we wouldn't be racing it if we didn't think it was legal. He then came to have a look.

    As the poacher at Brabham they would come up with some fairly interesting rule interpretations
    It was long before the FIA had all the deflection equipment it deploys today, so he stood on the side of the floor and said, 'It seems all right to me,' so that was the end of discussion. Little did he know we weren't using the flexing floor at Monaco. Only joking...

    One that went against us was in Aida in 1994. We just had our first podium finish with Barrichello in third place. Michael Schumacher won in the Benetton, but I'd noticed earlier that they had mounted the bargeboards with a bracket at the front and one at the rear, meaning that between the bottom of the bargeboard and the underfloor was an opening.

    Now, the regulations defined that the underfloor must be impervious and as all of this assembly was on the same flat floor plane, to me that opening contravened the regulations. We protested it and in the end lost.

    On that day, Charlie's opinion was that the flat floor area that was left was impervious. Still to this day, this interpretation confuses me as the dictionary clearly states the definition of impervious means you can't pass water through it. To me, by the Aida interpretation a sieve must be impervious.



    He was the poacher turned gamekeeper. As the poacher at Brabham they would get up to some fairly interesting rule interpretations. He didn't start there until 1978, by which time I'd moved to McLaren, but I was there from '73 so it was good to see that he kept up the Brabham tradition of pushing everything to the limit and on many occasions just that little bit beyond - just as I had done.

    By being involved in that, it put him in good stead to make sure that in his new role with the FIA, no-one was pulling the wool over his eyes. Charlie was involved directly with writing the rules and because of this he knew them inside out. If a team thought they had found a grey area they could ask for the FIA's opinion.

    Charlie was a spannerman. In the years since he put them down things changed a lot, but he was behind most of those changes - so had a good handle on how things worked. If he didn't understand it, he would go and find out
    In effect, this was his opinion. But since we, the teams, all thought we had the best ideas we wouldn't always be completely honest with him! But he could usually see through that and would end up asking a question that meant you needed to put everything on the table to explain it. From that, he would make his judgement and let you know if you could go down that route or not.

    After Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna's fatal accidents at Imola in 1994, the safety of Formula 1 was questioned and both FIA president Max Molsey and Bernie Ecclestone worked together to set up a technical working group. This worked with Charlie to find solutions for improving safety.

    Some of the changes made mid-season to reduce the performance of the cars were for the good, while others such as temporary chicanes were a little more questionable - something Charlie himself later admitted.



    But from all that, Charlie and Professor Sid Watkins worked together tirelessly with their people. It's down to their focus and commitment that Formula 1 is safer than it was.

    Some say 'too safe' but I don't agree. The risk to drivers should be losing a race or a practice session, not their lives.

    Another thing Charlie was very good at was keeping those working group meetings focused. When you have a group of technical directors together, everyone has their own vested interests at heart so it's very easy to get led astray. Normally he set an agenda and at the beginning everyone would contribute to that. From there he would steer the course but was also open enough to follow a new direction if a suggestion led that way.

    As a technical manager he would have been an excellent addition to any team. But with his inside knowledge of what everyone was up to that would not have been a good solution for the others. I'm pretty sure that in the early '00s a few offers were made to him, which meant both Bernie and the FIA had to step in and put a contract in place that both rewarded him for the job he was doing and eliminated any chance of a team poaching him.

    Like me, Charlie came through from being a spannerman. In the 40 years since he put them down things have changed a lot, but he was responsible for instigating most of those changes. So he had a good handle on how things worked and how they should work. If he didn't understand it, he would go off and find out.

    I've never chatted to him about anything that he didn't have a very good grasp of. Charlie, it was a pleasure to know you and to work with you. Formula 1 is all the poorer for losing you. My heartfelt sympathies go to your family. RIP.



    As for the Australian Grand Prix weekend, well I think the new regulations did allow cars to follow closer for longer, but overtaking was still at a premium.

    Valtteri Bottas in his Mercedes just dominated race day. He wasn't far off Hamilton in qualifying so it was the perfect start to his season. This year is a big one for him and he needs to keep this up. The win and fastest lap will have improved his confidence tenfold.

    The main talking point was Ferrari - what has happened to it since testing? Every man and his dog thought Ferrari would - at the very minimum - be biting at Mercedes' heels but not so. It will go away very disappointed but more importantly confused. This is now the time for Mattia Binotto to work out if he is a team principal or a technical director.

    The tifosi will want answers for why they were also-rans in Melbourne. In the race, Ferrari was about a second slower per lap than Bottas. Yes, Albert Park is a bit of a one-off circuit but if you're going to fight for the championship you need to be pretty good at all styles of circuits and Ferrari just wasn't there.

    Perhaps it just made a set-up error so we may need a couple more races before we see a trend, but coming away from Melbourne it looks like Mercedes surprised everyone - itself included.

    Once again, Max Verstappen in the Red Bull did a very good job. Would we have been able to tell if it had a Renault engine or a Honda engine in the back if we didn't know? Probably not so.

    At the minimum Red Bull hasn't lost anything and I actually think it has gained a little bit here and there. It's a good starting point, but now more is needed to close the gap to whoever is the leading team at the next race.

    The customary gap to the midfield was there, but that group of teams were all running closer which is good for the racing. But the advantage of the leading teams is too big. Williams is bringing up the rear and was the only team that was slower than last year, so considering it was right at the back last season things aren't looking very good.

    Both George Russell and Robert Kubica deserve better, so it's time to burn the midnight oil at Grove.
    a n t i l a g . c o m

  6. #55
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    Awesome Charles. That one is for Jules
    a n t i l a g . c o m

  7. #56
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    Good effort by Charles but hard to say it's surprising!

    Poor Vettel, should of just let Dan join Ferrari

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  9. #57
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    Where does everybody stream races from these days?

  10. #58
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    I ponied up for Kayo, but I like to watch other sport too

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  12. #59
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    Might have to try it. Don't really watch other sports but it doesn't seem like there are many other options.

  13. #60
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    Vettel looking pretty unhappy after quali. Be interested to see if he has enough clout to do the team orders thing for much longer.

    Anyway well done to Leclerc. His first ever pole and the boy looked less excited than Kimi.

  14. #61
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    I've got foxtel, but also have a private stream which a couple of friends have set up - still testing it but may be a chance to share the races in here.

    Problem is, someone is going to be a white knight and report it.
    a n t i l a g . c o m

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  16. #62
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    Anyone know where i can obtain a replay of the race?
    Quote Originally Posted by mitchy View Post
    Tyson's had a cock pulled on him before, you'll be hard pressed to sneak anything past him now-a-days.
    Quote Originally Posted by Riggs View Post
    Biggest oh shit moment was my own stupid fault, late at night Tyson & I were being a bit silly and giving it a fist full.

  17. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by Evilteddy View Post
    Anyone know where i can obtain a replay of the race?
    Kayo sports if you know someone with an account.
    MY09 Evo X MR

    Racewars Car #252. 212.03 KPH - 800 M

    Collie. 54.64

  18. #64
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    Kayo sports is the tits.

    Have got it setup on my TV now using a CHromecast Ultra for a ethernet connected setup. Watched in Full HD with no skips!

    If you can share an account with someone its very affordable, $12.5 a month!

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  20. #66
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    The full radio

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tujK_qFRQFk

    Did lol at sock mode

    But also interesting to hear them switching on and off a mode and the panic in fuel numbers, and Charles straight out telling them he couldn't run 1.38's
    a n t i l a g . c o m

  21. #67
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    I secretly hope he got to the debrief and glassed someone. Cant believe how gracious he was. Could you imagine what, say, Verstappen & RB would have done/said if this happened to their car last year?

    Anyway he had a brilliant weekend. Will be interestng to see how his team mate responds or if he can respond.

    As I think they said on motorsport news:
    Ferrari let Leclerc down.
    Vettel let Ferrari down.

  22. #68
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    Apparently Ferrari have funky smelling fuel.
    a n t i l a g . c o m

  23. #69
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    Hmm well you have to wonder where all their pre season testing pace went. Three MB 1-2's in a row. Atleast Dan got to finish a race for a change. Had to laugh at Verstappen and Kubica both spinning on the out lap before the race.

    Not wure who or how will shake anything up either. The start was all two by two. A pair of MB, Ferraris, RB's etc etc. Cant see anyone having a sudden form surge other than, maybe, Ferrari.

  24. #70
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    To be fair Ferrari could have 1-2'd a fortnight ago if their power unit hadn't fucked up and vettel drove better.

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  26. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheChad View Post
    and vettel drove better.
    Honestly cant see this happening to anywhere like the extent it needs to.

  27. #72
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    interesting read...
    would sort out quite a few issues currently in F1 and drop costs somewhat.... hows the bits about the amount of people back at factories etc, in sims and working on things over a race weekend, basically while those at the racetrack are sleeping...

    ref: https://www.speedcafe.com/2019/04/25...awesome-again/


    way to long to copy and paste, but here is intro rest on link above...

    ""Former Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson has written an in-depth, all-encompassing plan to make motorsport, and particularly F1, ‘awesome’ again.

    Background

    This document is an effort to offer my views on the current state of motorsport, and Formula 1 in particular. For some time now, and for whatever reason, there seem to be a lot of negative comments and chatter from the people inside the business as well as from the fans all over the world.

    Why is that? How did we arrive at this situation from a time not that long ago when things were seemingly mostly positive, viewership was huge, the cars were fast and spectacular to watch, we had some great personalities in the paddock, superstar drivers racing the cars and plenty of action and drama on the race track, both between the teams and the drivers? Money was flowing into the business and global corporate sponsors as well as manufacturers were all lining up to be part of the show. Teams were selling at a huge premium and everyone involved in the business was prospering.

    Of course, there is not a simple answer to any of this. For sure, the majority of negative comments today is in part due to easy media accessibility for all, but it seems to me there are real elements of concern in the sport and they have arisen from a gradual process of poor decisions. In some cases on the technical side, knee jerk decisions based on either a bad accident, complaints from the fans and media about the racing not being good enough; in other cases, based on pressure from certain teams or manufacturers in order to keep them in the championship; and finally, but very importantly, a level of political correctness has crept in that, at least in my opinion, has done nothing to make the racing any better on any level, but has instead only contributed to pushing the costs through the roof and created a greater division between the teams, and, as such, made the racing too predictable and less interesting to watch. As a result of all this, the technology has evolved to where we are today, and most importantly, was allowed to evolve to a point where the budgets suddenly went into the stratosphere.

    At the same time, the business model for the commercial rights holders have changed dramatically since the introduction of pay-per-view instead of free-to-air television, which means that there is (theoretically) more revenue, even if derived from significantly fewer viewers. The by-product of this is that there is less interest for sponsors to spend big money as their metrics are primarily based on the number of eyeballs watching, and in particular, eyeballs in places where the demographics support purchase of the sponsors’ products; not all eyeballs are created equally in the minds of the sponsor. In addition, there are now a number of different viewing platforms besides TV, which is causing even more confusion and a hard to quantify environment for companies to select the best strategy to market their products. The challenge the series and the teams are now facing is how to grow or even just maintain their eco-system.

    So, as a result of there currently being a less attractive return-on-investment proposition for the global sponsor, we now have a situation where every team is more or less wholly dependent on the money they receive from the series, ie from FOM, as this represents the bulk of their income. This was never the case before, when major sponsors were the main contributors and the money the teams received from the series was almost the icing on the cake, especially if they did well. Hence, there are now several teams racing without a main sponsor, or if they do have one, it’s for a fraction of what a title sponsor used to pay.

    Through all these various rule changes that have occurred in recent years I have a feeling that F1 has somehow lost its identity and I am not sure anyone, whether it’s the FIA or Liberty (FOM), really know what F1 stands for anymore. I believe we are now at a point where another two or maybe three decisions in the wrong direction could spell the end of F1 as we know it. People are already tuning out because they have either lost interest or it’s too predictable or not exciting enough or whatever the reason may be. The younger generation doesn’t seem to care, F1 and motorsport in general is struggling to catch their attention. I challenge anyone to define in three words what F1 stands for today.

    In order to arrive at a situation that has the right balance between economics, competition, entertainment, and relevance, it’s important to first identify the individual areas that matter the most and focus on getting these right and at the same time eliminate the areas that matters the least.

    I will first attempt to identify the areas that I feel are important and will then go into more detail on each individual item and come up with what I believe could be a solution, or at least open the door for a debate or dialogue in order to find the best way forward.""



    -- each of the points addressed results in savings estimated below

    Cost savings: A very rough ballpark estimate of the potential savings from the suggested changes above would be somewhere in the region of $80 to $100 million per year, maybe a lot more than that for the top teams as their development would effectively stop in many areas. The breakdown would look something like this:

    Brakes: $5-7 mil
    Aero development: $30-40 mil
    Monocoque: $3-5 mil
    Fixed front wing: $10-15 mil
    Gearbox: $10-15 mil
    Electronics: $5-7 mil
    Power unit: $20-30 mil

    ////////////

    certainly is in depth assessment of parts of current F1....

    /
    team sports can go to hell. I'm never going to rely on some weak minded MufaF@#$ to help me win a game. Ill win it myself. George Leeman.

  28. #73
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    New pits at Canada.






    a n t i l a g . c o m

  29. #74
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    Vale.
    a n t i l a g . c o m

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    a n t i l a g . c o m

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