The USF1 team is reportedly on the verge of quitting Formula One - and before they had even started.
After reading Windsor's nauseating articles in F1 Racing, in which he seems to believe he can do everyone's job far better than they can, part of me is taking great delight in seeing what a total mess he's making of running an F1 team. A question to those who know about NASCAR (I know nothing). Do the NASCAR teams spend more or less than the F1 teams to go racing?
I really cant get my head around the FIA's decision on the new teams. Prodrive/Aston Martin were a proven team with finance and infrastructure already in place. What were the FIA thinking when they selected the new entries? I hope that Prodrive get a place next year and make a good job of rubbing it in the FIA's face.
Everyone outside of the FIA thought that Prodrive/Aston Martin would be the first new team to be accepted to race in F1, however Bernie and the FIA chose Miky Mouse outfits that would have difficulty in getting a car to the grid let alone be competetive. I don't think they like Dave Richards very much. They've made a rod for their own backs now and there is no way out. How can it be that these teams are being allowed to race creating a dangerous situation by being 5 to 10 seconds a lap slower than all the other teams? Perhaps the FIA want to have several moving chicains on the track to try and improve the lack of overtaking? I also hope that Stephan GP are not allowed to compete with last years Toyota, that would be a real joke!
Perhaps next year we can get back to normality and get Prodrive accepted onto the grid. With MAX now out of the picture, Richards stands a better chance of entering a team.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
McLarens strange aero device
Image courtesy f1fanatic.co.uk
At this stage of testing, if anyone can definitively say that McLaren is working on a major problem, they are better at reading tea leaves than me. This is an interesting device which obviously takes some effort to provide for use on the car out on a track. Since they have deeper pockets than most, I would not disbelieve their explanation in trying to provide some real-world data to compare with wind tunnel and virtual test data for use later in the season. Time will tell if they really have an issue or not... my guess is that they don't, as their Valencia tests were probably done with more fuel than the others and they may have been easing into the cars' performance since the design is different than last seasons'. Fast will only be an issue once every top team is running the same configuration or it is announced by a team that they are running with a full tank or less. The fuel issue is the gorilla in the room at this stage... every team has to account for it and then also allowances for lower weights (aerodynamics, ride height, wheel loading, acceleration and braking differences, etc)
I suppose that it's just "part of the deal" that none of us comletely believe any statement made by any of the teams in F1. They certainly have earned our distrust!!! With all of the lying and politics that reign supreme in our sport, it's amazing that any cars actually manage to get to the grid for any given race...But, there may be some truth to what McLaren released to the press. The aero testing on track is similar BUT NOT the same as in the wind tunnel or on a computer generated wind flow chart. So, if their car was a dog early last year, they may very well be making sure that this year's car hits the first track in top form. If Hamilton had had a good car for the first few races of 2009 he may very well have been champion instead of Jenson.
With an unreasonable limit to testing teams have got to maximise the information they get. It makes life harder for the drivers as they become test drivers instead of getting used to rhe car. This is all right for experienced drivers, but other for new teams with rookie drivers it is a disadvantage. Limited full course testing should be allowed during the season. It would negate the advantage the teasm with a better car from the start of the season have and improve the competition as the season progresses.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Day 3 - Test Assessment
Times
1 Alonso Ferrari 1:11.470 127 laps
2 de la Rosa Sauber 1:12.094 80 laps
3 Schumacher Mercedes 1:12.438 82 laps
4 Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:12.576 97 laps
5 Button McLaren 1:12.951 82 laps
6 Petrov Renault 1:13.097 75 laps
7 Hulkenberg Williams 1:13.669 126 laps
Highlights of the day was Alonso beating Massas time, and Button finishing the day 5th fastest. But on the 2nd Feb 2010 the track temperature barely made it above freezing whereas on the 3rd Feb it was around the 18 degree mark, makes a big difference and therefore Alonso bettering Massa's time relatively quickly is irrelevant given the conditions were much better. Even on the same day, unless 2 drivers set their best lap time at similar times of day (which is often not the case) and using similar amounts of fuel (which we won't know) its impossible to judge accurately. If Ferrari are consistently at the front though it would be most likely that they are the true pace-setters.
Generally speaking drivers' comments are as good an indicator as any at this stage. Remember last year? Everyone was adamant Brawn were running light at Barcelona yet you only had to see Jenson's smile and listen to Rubens giddy like a kid at Christmas to realise the car must be good. Therefore Felipe, Alonso and Lewis all saying good stuff about their cars is telling. Lewis is usually in Mclaren PR mode so to use phrases like 'night and day' is particularly telling for me. Still, no-one really knows anything for sure yet. The Fezza does seem quick though.
Qualifying 1, Sat 13th March at Bahrain. That is when we will find out for real how the teams compare when they ALL have the same fuel on board and are driving purely to go as fast as they can. Until then the testing times are interesting to try and interpret and read about in the F1 gossip columns, but that's all.
1 Alonso Ferrari 1:11.470 127 laps
2 de la Rosa Sauber 1:12.094 80 laps
3 Schumacher Mercedes 1:12.438 82 laps
4 Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1:12.576 97 laps
5 Button McLaren 1:12.951 82 laps
6 Petrov Renault 1:13.097 75 laps
7 Hulkenberg Williams 1:13.669 126 laps
Highlights of the day was Alonso beating Massas time, and Button finishing the day 5th fastest. But on the 2nd Feb 2010 the track temperature barely made it above freezing whereas on the 3rd Feb it was around the 18 degree mark, makes a big difference and therefore Alonso bettering Massa's time relatively quickly is irrelevant given the conditions were much better. Even on the same day, unless 2 drivers set their best lap time at similar times of day (which is often not the case) and using similar amounts of fuel (which we won't know) its impossible to judge accurately. If Ferrari are consistently at the front though it would be most likely that they are the true pace-setters.
Generally speaking drivers' comments are as good an indicator as any at this stage. Remember last year? Everyone was adamant Brawn were running light at Barcelona yet you only had to see Jenson's smile and listen to Rubens giddy like a kid at Christmas to realise the car must be good. Therefore Felipe, Alonso and Lewis all saying good stuff about their cars is telling. Lewis is usually in Mclaren PR mode so to use phrases like 'night and day' is particularly telling for me. Still, no-one really knows anything for sure yet. The Fezza does seem quick though.
Qualifying 1, Sat 13th March at Bahrain. That is when we will find out for real how the teams compare when they ALL have the same fuel on board and are driving purely to go as fast as they can. Until then the testing times are interesting to try and interpret and read about in the F1 gossip columns, but that's all.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Day 1 - Test Assessment
Provisional times
01. F Massa Ferrari 1:12.574 102 laps
02. P de las Rosa BMW Sauber 1:12.784 74 laps
03. M Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:12.947 40 laps
04. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:13.543 39 laps
05. G Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.846 86 laps
06. R Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:14.449 75 laps
07. S Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.762 18 laps
08. R Kubica Renault 1:15.000 69 laps
You don’t know what the fuel loads are (there is going to be a huge variation in lap time based on fuel load this year). A tank full of fuel will be atleast 2 seconds or more than the average time clocked. Having said that I am converned for Renault though, their time is way off the pace.
You don’t know what tyres are being used and the amount of laps they have done.
You don’t know what they are doing in their testing program.
You don’t know how the track temp and wind has changed. it was windy to begin with. I saw that in some video on YouTube.
It’s natural that through the day you improve your set-up.
I’m expecting Schumacher to beat Rosberg and to be on good form this year, but it’s all to soon to say that he has destroyed Rosberg or anything like that.
01. F Massa Ferrari 1:12.574 102 laps
02. P de las Rosa BMW Sauber 1:12.784 74 laps
03. M Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:12.947 40 laps
04. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:13.543 39 laps
05. G Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.846 86 laps
06. R Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:14.449 75 laps
07. S Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.762 18 laps
08. R Kubica Renault 1:15.000 69 laps
You don’t know what the fuel loads are (there is going to be a huge variation in lap time based on fuel load this year). A tank full of fuel will be atleast 2 seconds or more than the average time clocked. Having said that I am converned for Renault though, their time is way off the pace.
You don’t know what tyres are being used and the amount of laps they have done.
You don’t know what they are doing in their testing program.
You don’t know how the track temp and wind has changed. it was windy to begin with. I saw that in some video on YouTube.
It’s natural that through the day you improve your set-up.
I’m expecting Schumacher to beat Rosberg and to be on good form this year, but it’s all to soon to say that he has destroyed Rosberg or anything like that.
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