Formula 1 2015: General Discussion Thread

El_Duderino 09

Is that the rear defuser which red bull used so effectively? No thinking about it, defusers helped in slow Corners.

What is it?

smellslikeshoes

GarIT wrote: »

No technology that doesn't cause danger or automate any of the driving should ever be banned.

I highlighted the important part. F1 mandated flat undersides in the early 80s because cornering speeds were getting too fast and would have continued to get faster as the technology matured. There is also the inherent risk of an interruption of the air flow under the car from a bump or an impact leaving you with a sudden and drastic loss of grip.
Unrestricted ground effects in the 80s turbo era would have made the death years of the early 70s look safe.

They are able to reintroduce ground effects now because of how far safety has come, not just the cars but the circuits aswell, just take a look at onboard footage in the 80s on youtube to see how bumpy the circuits were. The regulations will also be much more restrictive to keep it safe, something they really would have struggled with in the 80s.

Frank Bullitt

Lotus could be prevented from leaving Spa because Charles Pic is taking them to court over the number of days he got to spend (or didn't spend rather) in the car last year.

Its the fashionable thing this year for drivers to have a go at teams in court.

counterlock

Gintonious wrote: »

Lotus could be prevented from leaving Spa because Charles Pic is taking them to court over the number of days he got to spend (or didn't spend rather) in the car last year.

Its the fashionable thing this year for drivers to have a go at teams in court.

Bailiffs have apparently impounded equipment over this tonight. The team are being prevented from leaving spa

smellslikeshoes

counterlock wrote: »

Bailiffs have apparently impounded equipment over this tonight. The team are being prevented from leaving spa

You can certainly see why this possible Renault buy out has been so drawn out, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg as far as skeletons in the closest goes for Lotus considering how close they came to the brink.

Zcott

Pic takes Lotus to court > cars can't leave Spa > team worth even less if they have a lawsuit on their hands > enter Renault to 'settle' with Pic and buy the team for even cheaper > Grosjean & Pic for 2016?

Stranger things have happened!

Myrddin

Zcott wrote: »

Pic takes Lotus to court > cars can't leave Spa > team worth even less if they have a lawsuit on their hands > enter Renault to 'settle' with Pic and buy the team for even cheaper > Grosjean & Pic for 2016?

Stranger things have happened!

I'd say the thoughts of Renault putting their PU in the back of the Lotus is killing Grosjean. I'd say Maldonado would retain his seat though, he brings big bucks

Zcott

Myrddin wrote: »

I'd say the thoughts of Renault putting their PU in the back of the Lotus is killing Grosjean. I'd say Maldonado would retain his seat though, he brings big bucks

Quite possibly, although Renault do have their act together a bit more than last year, I think. I'm not sure about Maldonado, though. Do they really need the money? Would it not be better to have an up and coming French racer in there? Or Jenson Button...

Myrddin

Zcott wrote: »

Quite possibly, although Renault do have their act together a bit more than last year, I think. I'm not sure about Maldonado, though. Do they really need the money? Would it not be better to have an up and coming French racer in there? Or Jenson Button...

Better in our eyes, yes. But $30,000,000 of South American oil money in the eyes of the accountants is a different ball game.

tripperman

Myrddin wrote: »

Better in our eyes, yes. But $30,000,000 of South American oil money in the eyes of the accountants is a different ball game.

Minus all the expenses for repairing the car when he crashes and the lost points in constructors championship which could be the difference between 5th and 7th for a season, that's a lot of money lost out there so sponsorship wouldn't be on a manufacturer's mind, performance potential and team development of car

F1 fanatic

Better in our eyes, yes. But $30,000,000 of South American oil money in the eyes of the accountants is a different ball game.


That would just about cover the bill for all the cars he wrecks

Myrddin

tripperman wrote: »

Minus all the expenses for repairing the car when he crashes...

F1 fanatic wrote: »

That would just about cover the bill for all the cars he wrecks

Indeed

PopePalpatine

I wonder when was the last time a team with a car that could place in the podium was as deep in financial doo-doo as Lotus. Maybe Onyx?

doodahump

Myrddin wrote: »

Better in our eyes, yes. But $30,000,000 of South American oil money in the eyes of the accountants is a different ball game.

Doesn't Pastor have heavy sponsorship from PDVSA ie venezeluan govt controlled oil company? - Renault seem to have a deal with Total so I think this would be a conflict - My money is on Romain and someone like Jenson - or someone up and coming _ Stefan Vandoorne!

tripperman

doodahump wrote: »

Doesn't Pastor have heavy sponsorship from PDVSA ie venezeluan govt controlled oil company? - Renault seem to have a deal with Total so I think this would be a conflict - My money is on Romain and someone like Jenson - or someone up and coming _ Stefan Vandoorne!

Hulkenburg could be an option to

Jordan 199

PopePalpatine wrote: »

I wonder when was the last time a team with a car that could place in the podium was as deep in financial doo-doo as Lotus. Maybe Onyx?

That's an interesting question for sure. I think Onyx would be a good answer considering the turbulent times that team went through.

Onyx started off as a promising team but having a troublesome majority owner destroyed that team.

Former F1 driver Justin Wilson is in a coma after being hit by debris during an IndyCar race last night.

Mike Litoris

Jordan 191 wrote: »

That's an interesting question for sure. I think Onyx would be a good answer considering the turbulent times that team went through.

Onyx started off as a promising team but having a troublesome majority owner destroyed that team.

I just read up about that. What a fcuked up situatution. That Jean-Pierre Van Rossem guy is a nutter. Makes the issues surrounding Lotus seem trivial.

Mike Litoris

Deleted User wrote: »

Former F1 driver Justin Wilson is in a coma after being hit by debris during an IndyCar race last night.

Read a few reports and it doesn't sound good. Hopefully he pulls through.

flazio

PopePalpatine wrote: »

I wonder when was the last time a team with a car that could place in the podium was as deep in financial doo-doo as Lotus. Maybe Onyx?

How were Arrows doing when Damon Hill was driving for them?

TheDoctor

Should have won that race in Hungary, heartbreaking finish

Mike Litoris

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Read a few reports and it doesn't sound good. Hopefully he pulls through.

There's replays easily enough found on YouTube and it doesn't make for pleasant viewing, would've been pushing 200 when it hit him and he was out cold straightaway. Unfortunately seemed to go into the wall without much retardation, though hitting the SAFER barrier probably wasn't the big issue.

mickdw

TheDoctor wrote: »

Should have won that race in Hungary, heartbreaking finish

I think looking back on it now, Hill gets more recognition for having nearly won there than if he had actually won. We would usually say that the record books only record the winners but certainly everyone is aware of that race and how he was robbed.

HighLine

LIGHTNING wrote: »

The impact with the barrier doesn't look that bad, its the reason why he hit it is the real worry Poor bloke

Yep - it was the strike to the head of the nose cone that did the damage. So f**king unlucky. Not nice seeing images of drivers heads leaned over to the side when the car stops.

Frank Bullitt

He is still critical in intensive care. Might be a few days before we hear any news really. No info about the coma itself, weather it is a result of the impact or medically induced, but from the early readings it looks like it would have been from the impact.

Hoping for the best with this.

smellslikeshoes

Myrddin wrote: »

I'd say the thoughts of Renault putting their PU in the back of the Lotus is killing Grosjean. I'd say Maldonado would retain his seat though, he brings big bucks

Dunno about that, I'd say he'd jump at the prospect of Renault taking over even with the current state of their engine. There has been so little movement in the big teams the last few years that Renault taking over would likely be his most realistic chance of being in a team with the finances to run at the front.

Cool_CM

flazio wrote: »

How were Arrows doing when Damon Hill was driving for them?

They had Pedro Diniz and all of his sponsorship money at the time.

Edit: Jaysus, just saw. That's terrible news about Justin Wilson.

Jordan 199

I read that Guy Ligier who started the Equipe Ligier team passed away last Sunday aged 85. He owned and ran the team from 1976 before selling it in 1992.

Ligier won 9 races, scored 9 pole positions, 50 podiums and 388 points.

My biggest memory of the Ligier team was when Olivier Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.

All the Ligier cars that competed in F1:



RIP Guy Ligier.

TheDoctor

1996 Monaco GP, another mental race

_rebelkid

Lotus' Race Trucks have been held by FOM at Spa.

Infoanon

Strange goings on - it was reported on some platforms that the Lotus trucks had been impounded by Bailiffs in the early hours of Monday morning but more traditional outlets ignored the story.

It is reported by some that Lotus is expected to file for and go into administration this week.

Harika

Infoanon wrote: »

Strange goings on - it was reported on some platforms that the Lotus trucks had been impounded by Bailiffs in the early hours of Monday morning but more traditional outlets ignored the story.

It is reported by some that Lotus is expected to file for and go into administration this week.

The trucks are stuck because they are three bills behind. Helmets, truck and Charles Pic. The first two have been resolved but as Charles Pic didn't get the track time he paid for as reserve driver in 2014 he wants 800000 Euro and Lotus seems to be not liquid enough to solve that. So long as no solution with him is found the trucks are stuck in Spa.

smellslikeshoes

Lots of interesting rumours on Joe Saward's blog, they are rumours so take them with a pinch of salt but interesting nonetheless.

Infoanon wrote: »

Strange goings on - it was reported on some platforms that the Lotus trucks had been impounded by Bailiffs in the early hours of Monday morning but more traditional outlets ignored the story.

It is reported by some that Lotus is expected to file for and go into administration this week.

I noticed this aswell, even now it hasn't been picked up by much of the regular F1 news sites.

Frank Bullitt

Would be such a shame for this to go tits up after such a good showing at Spa. It would bode well that Monza would be an equally as strong race for them as well.

flazio

Jordan 191 wrote: »

I read that Guy Ligier who started the Equipe Ligier team passed away last Sunday aged 85. He owned and ran the team from 1976 before selling it in 1992.

Ligier won 9 races, scored 9 pole positions, 50 podiums and 388 points.

My biggest memory of the Ligier team was when Olivier Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix.

RIP Guy Ligier.

Did Ligier miss the 94 season?

Jordan 199

flazio wrote: »

Did Ligier miss the 94 season?

No, they raced with the JS39B (an upgraded JS39 that was used in 1993) and Olivier Panis finished second and Eric Bernard finished third at the 1994 German Grand Prix, both driving for Ligier.

Cookie_Monster

smellslikeshoes wrote: »

I noticed this aswell, even now it hasn't been picked up by much of the regular F1 news sites.

well it is an active court case so there shouldn't be any reporting (and hence potential bias one way or the other) on it until resolved, right?

Joeseph Balls

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

well it is an active court case so there shouldn't be any reporting (and hence potential bias one way or the other) on it until resolved, right?

Sub juidice? Would that cover the reason why they are still there though? Suppose it's a dodgy area

Infoanon

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

well it is an active court case so there shouldn't be any reporting (and hence potential bias one way or the other) on it until resolved, right?

Never stopped reporting before.......

Possibly the bigger story is very close to breaking and no one wants to upset Enstone beforehand.

challengemaster

Someone made renders of a closed cockpit McLaren Honda.. There's a tonne more pictures in the link below. I think it looks awesome



http://andriesvanoverbeeke.com/399419/6947796/gallery/mclaren-honda-formula-1-concept-with-closed-cockpit

Frank Bullitt

That looks awful.

Ghost Train

Id imagine driving in the rain would get a hell of a lot harder with an extra layer of perspex. And how would they keep it clean from dead bugs

Myrddin

As a racing car I think it looks great, as a formula one car though...no.

TheDoctor

While I know it would make the sport safer still, the idea of closed cockpit Formula 1 cars is just something I dont want to see.

Donnelly117

Ghost Train wrote: »

Id imagine driving in the rain would get a hell of a lot harder with an extra layer of perspex. And how would they keep it clean from dead bugs

NASCAR style tear offs, like they have on the visors? Could be done in the pitstops I guess? When refuelling is brought back in Id imagine there would be more frequent stops and therefore opportunities to clean it.

tripperman

Ghost Train wrote: »

Id imagine driving in the rain would get a hell of a lot harder with an extra layer of perspex. And how would they keep it clean from dead bugs

Be just like le mans LMP1 closed cockpits they have wipers like a road car

Donnelly117

tripperman wrote: »

Be just like le mans LMP1 closed cockpits they have wipers like a road car

Cant imagine they'd put wipers on something like in the pics on the previous page?

El_Duderino 09

TheDoctor wrote:

While I know it would make the sport safer still, the idea of closed cockpit Formula 1 cars is just something I dont want to see.

Joe Seward made the point that with closed cockpits they could have open helmets and you could actually see their faces as they drive around. In Singapore when there's no sun, they wear clear visors and it's cool to see their face and eyes as they drive.

Going Strong

Joeseph Balls wrote: »

Sub juidice? Would that cover the reason why they are still there though? Suppose it's a dodgy area

Being seen to bite the hand that feeds you is a no-no in F1-related media. Not if you don't want to be banned from the paddock at any rate. I'd trust North Korea's journalists faster than anyone reported the supposed 'truth' of what's happening in F1.

El_Duderino 09

Donnelly117 wrote:

Cant imagine they'd put wipers on something like in the pics on the previous page?

To be fair, that's just an artist impression of a closed cockpit car. Ferrari come out with one almost every year to grab a headline or 2. If they were serious about it, they would have to address visibility in rain.

I saw a picture of them testing the idea of closed cockpits a few years ago. The picture was of a tyre being propelled at the cockpit to see if it would protect the driver. As far as I know it did pass the test but there's no will to go down that route.

I think the test was at the end of the season when grosjean flew over alonso's cockpit in Belgium and Liuzi had a near miss with Schumacher in the final race. It was more of a publicity stunt than a serious test