Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread (Read 1st post rules)

duploelabs

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Here’s a bit of detail on the McLaren defuser.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/revealed-mclaren-clever-diffuser-trick/5708741/amp/

I don’t pretend to understand it but if it made them competitive with Mercedes then I’d be happy.

One thing to consider where it may give no actual performance improvement, it may increase the dirty air behind the car thus making the cars behind them less aerodynamic grip and make the macca more difficult to pass

recyclebin

I think it will improve performance. It could be the perfect storm for Mclaren with the new engine and new rules. New rules always means new loopholes. The changes in floor and diffuser are significant enough to shake up the order if you can find a loophole ala Brawn. Whether it's enough to dethrone Hamilton and Mercedes remains to be seen.

McLaren were looking good towards the end of last season. The upgraded engine alone should be enough to get them into semi-regular podium contention. If we make an assumption that all teams lose a certain amount of performance from the changes then it only needs a couple of tenths clawback above the other teams to put them right up there.

Jordan 199

barryribs wrote: »

Interesting fact about that Jordan, the longer you look at it the more beautiful it becomes

I have a 1:18 scale No.32 Jordan 191. It is also the only Jordan model I have that doesn't have a driver.

Pen Rua

Murray Walker has passed away.

https://twitter.com/BRDCSilverstone/status/1370795537029603330

Just watching highlights on YouTube and I hope it's just bad set-up for the broadcast because the engines sound like absolute ****e.

recyclebin

What's going on with the Alpine engine cover? It looks like a big blue whale in some photos??



Edit, some more details and photos here:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/whats-behind-alpine-f1-teams-jumbo-airbox/5707809/

quokula

RIP Murray

He’ll always be the one true voice of Formula 1

Frank Bullitt

recyclebin wrote: »

What's going on with the Alpine engine cover? It looks like a big blue whale in some photos??



Edit, some more details and photos here:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/whats-behind-alpine-f1-teams-jumbo-airbox/5707809/

Been look at them, they have run a few versions of the engine cover so far, there is a fair undercut at the back too to max out the flow for the diffuser.

lolie

Jordan 199 wrote: »

The bumps on the engine cover of the Aston always reminds me of the ones on the Jordan 191:

It still has the bump all these years later.
A few of us went down to Goodwood in 2019 for the day, there was a Michael Schumacher tribute with a lot of his old cars on show in a tent.
Beautiful cars up close, got seeing a few of them go up the hill but not the 191 unfortunately.

namloc1980

Merc looks like a handful. Definitely looks to be struggling with the floor and aero changes at the back of the car. Are Merc going to be back into the pack this year or will it be normal service resumed ine the racing starts?

Red Bull look very strong and they usually struggle to get going at the beginning of the year.

pjohnson

namloc1980 wrote: »

Merc looks like a handful. Definitely looks to be struggling with the floor and aero changes at the back of the car. Are Merc going to be back into the pack this year or will it be normal service resumed ine the racing starts?

Red Bull look very strong and they usually struggle to get going at the beginning of the year.

I'd say they struggle until Q3 Bahrain Qualifying and then burst away from everyone as usual.

klose

Raikkonen driving a marathon here

El_Duderino 09

namloc1980 wrote: »

Merc looks like a handful. Definitely looks to be struggling with the floor and aero changes at the back of the car. Are Merc going to be back into the pack this year or will it be normal service resumed ine the racing starts?

Red Bull look very strong and they usually struggle to get going at the beginning of the year.

That’s the impression we’re getting alright. Between the gearbox problem and the spin, it looks like a bad start. But Mercedes has found and fixed problems in pre season in the past. They’re a great team.

It’s not that they get everything right first time. The find and fix problems more thoroughly than anyone else.

AMKC

namloc1980 wrote: »

Merc looks like a handful. Definitely looks to be struggling with the floor and aero changes at the back of the car. Are Merc going to be back into the pack this year or will it be normal service resumed ine the racing starts?

Red Bull look very strong and they usually struggle to get going at the beginning of the year.

I am hoping for once that Mercedes do not sort all there problems in testing this year and that they will be racing in the pack this year for at least half of it. It would be nice to have a few different winners this year. It would be typical F1 that just as this formula gets really good that they have all new rules and cars the year after.

klose

So what can we read into testing? Or should we read much at all? Vettel didn't clock many laps in a new car so it will be interesting to see how he goes in 2 weeks.

flazio

AMKC wrote: »

I am hoping for once that Mercedes do not sort all there problems in testing this year and that they will be racing in the pack this year for at least half of it. It would be nice to have a few different winners this year. It would be typical F1 that just as this formula gets really good that they have all new rules and cars the year after.

Well, think back to 2017. Vettel and Ferrari kept Mercedes-Benz in check all the way up to Singapore, then, as Ben Edwards put it, we had the omnishambles into turn 1 and Ferrari broke apart from there. So even if we get a poor start from Mercedes-Benz, it's a long season where nothing stands still.

Jordan 199

klose wrote: »

So what can we read into testing? Or should we read much at all? Vettel didn't clock many laps in a new car so it will be interesting to see how he goes in 2 weeks.

I don't read anything into anything when it comes to testing. The way I look at testing is drivers getting used to their new cars, testing new bits and pieces and doing lots of laps. Nothing more.

Lip Out

Every year is the same. Don't know why people even keep track of testing.
You are kidding yourself if you think Mercedes won't have the dominant car again this season.

Inquitus

Lip Out wrote: »

Every year is the same. Don't know why people even keep track of testing.
You are kidding yourself if you think Mercedes won't have the dominant car again this season.

Aye I have long learned the lesson you cannot extrapolate test data at all t the real world, you just have to wait for FP1 at the first GP of the year.

pjohnson

The most interesting thing from testing was how McLaren adapted to the Mecedes engine and would it fit in with their chassis.

El_Duderino 09

klose wrote: »

So what can we read into testing? Or should we read much at all? Vettel didn't clock many laps in a new car so it will be interesting to see how he goes in 2 weeks.

All we can tell is reliability. And all that really means is whether the teams can get through the full range of their testing schedule. High fuel, low fuel, long runs short runs, race distance and quali simulation. They will also want to do some aero work and experiment with setups. The more data they gather the more modelling work they can do. Plus find any areas for improvement and see what the other teams have changed since last year and see if they want to copy it.

They’ll be very careful not to show how fast they are. It’s always tempting to read into testing but truth is we can tell fcuk all. All we can see is how many laps they do and how the new liveries look on tv.

recyclebin

Only 3 days testing and 2 weeks until start of season means you don't have time to fix any fundamental flaws, all you can do is optimise your current setup.

muckwarrior

If we're lucky it may take Mercedes 2 or 3 races to get their setup right, but given how little development was allowed since last year I'd say there's almost zero chance they've screwed up and have a fundamentally flawed car. Even if the floor changes suit other teams more than them, I'd say they'll still be the team to beat.

Gaoth Laidir

Am I missing something or are they now showing the 2018 Drive to Survive as the "New" season?

EDIT: I get it, new to Sky.

pjohnson

The Aston livery looks gack on track. That shade green just doesn't come across well.

Top Dog

pjohnson wrote: »

The Aston livery looks gack on track. That shade green just doesn't come across well.

Definitely looks more, I dunno, vibrant? In photos

klose

pjohnson wrote: »

The Aston livery looks gack on track. That shade green just doesn't come across well.

It looked almost black on track at times over the weekend which was disappointing.

duploelabs

Top Dog wrote: »

Definitely looks more, I dunno, vibrant? In photos

The blue shade on the green is lost when it's on the track

jv2000

Really enjoyed having the testing on in the background this weekend, looking forward to the first race. I would not get too excited about the final order, Red Bull does look strong but Mercedes are always sandbagging. They even do it to an extent during the season, there was one race last year where Hamilton had a drive through and he claimed on the radio he would be able to gain 5 seconds a lap to make up for the time lost... He didn't but goes to show how much extra he thinks is in the car. Also Merc released a statement saying that they appear to be behind the Red Bull, we have been there before with Ferrari 2 seasons ago.

If Honda have taken a good step forward with the engine and aero it will certainly help to even things out when you factor in Verstappen's skill. So whilst I don't believe Merc are down the pecking order I am hopeful that we can have some tighter racing, Bottas could really get shown up this year.

Tsunoda's laps were also impressive but we have no idea on fuel load and he was using the DRS outside of the DRS zones so those times would not count in an official race weekend session.