The Official 2015 Bahrain GP Thread **SPOILERS WITH SAND AHEAD**

A bit off-topic but I love the sparks

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used to be GPGSL's Nick Heidfeld

While I know they're fake they do add to the spectacle, and especially so under the lights. I wouldn't have cared if they hadn't been brought back, but now they are it's all good with me.

Anyway, it's not like they have an active part in the sport, like DRS and cheese tyres (the latter of which I don't mind).

Gorgonzola tyres FTW. (Actually, brie ones are best aren't they?)

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Anyway... sparks or Britney's hair?



Courtesy of Darren Heath.

My vote goes to Britney's hair
I agree that the sparks are just eye candy, but it's really pretty eye candy for sure

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used to be GPGSL's Nick Heidfeld

of course this sparks are all showbiz, but im not really sure about if they´re so eye candy as we are saying or at least im not sure if they are more eye candy than the 80s and 90s sparks. Im waiting for a bumpy track (if there is any left... interlagos? spa?) to see what they could give. I would love to see things like the ones Mansell did, he said a while ago that sparks were a weapon, as he could use them like a distraction to anyone following him, he even would search bumps in the track to go through them when being catched by someone, just to give him a shower of sparks!

Quote
Frantic
Im waiting for a bumpy track (if there is any left... interlagos? spa?) to see what they could give.

Singapore is going to look a bit nuts.

Frantic Wrote:
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> of course this sparks are all showbiz

No, it is not.

With old setup, the bolts that held the plank in place had their heads worn down, thus it was really hard for the mechanics to work on the floor of the car once it had been on track. Creative solutions saw the bolts replaced with various kinds of studs. These studs evolved to grow larger and heavier, because that way you can add ballast to the car in the absolute best place, namely close to the centre of the car and as low as possible. Some of these pieces of metal grew to over 2 kilos in weight.

The safety issue is that sometimes these blocks would fall off, if the car suffered floor damage. If you recall what a 800 gram spring did to Massa, then it does not take much imagination to see what 2+ kilos can do to a car or a driver.

Mandating the employment of Titanium has added sparks, but the real benefit is, that it is cheaper than exotic materials otherwise in use, it has low density, which means reduced weight, and it has high strength. Thus even IF those blocks come off, they are lighter than what was previously used, and thus are a risk reduction for the drivers.

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It's only after we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

gav Wrote:
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> Anyway... sparks or Britney's hair?

I guess you could argue it was both, since he obviously got some of his spark back this weekend, and they must've been metaphorically flying from his head during the race...

*Tumbleweed*

Anyways, stunning photo.

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Morbid Wrote:
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> Frantic Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > of course this sparks are all showbiz
>
> No, it is not.
>
> With old setup, the bolts that held the plank in
> place had their heads worn down, thus it was
> really hard for the mechanics to work on the floor
> of the car once it had been on track. Creative
> solutions saw the bolts replaced with various
> kinds of studs. These studs evolved to grow larger
> and heavier, because that way you can add ballast
> to the car in the absolute best place, namely
> close to the centre of the car and as low as
> possible. Some of these pieces of metal grew to
> over 2 kilos in weight.
>
> The safety issue is that sometimes these blocks
> would fall off, if the car suffered floor damage.
> If you recall what a 800 gram spring did to Massa,
> then it does not take much imagination to see what
> 2+ kilos can do to a car or a driver.
>
> Mandating the employment of Titanium has added
> sparks, but the real benefit is, that it is
> cheaper than exotic materials otherwise in use, it
> has low density, which means reduced weight, and
> it has high strength. Thus even IF those blocks
> come off, they are lighter than what was
> previously used, and thus are a risk reduction for
> the drivers.

I understand your point and its a valid one! But i think that the sparks are not an accident, i mean if they didnt want to get sparks they´d had chosen another material. I didnt knew much about the specific reasons fot the change to titanium skids though

Frantic Wrote:
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> I understand your point and its a valid one! But i
> think that the sparks are not an accident, i mean
> if they didnt want to get sparks they´d had
> chosen another material. I didnt knew much about
> the specific reasons fot the change to titanium
> skids though

And why wouldn't we want sparks?

I am not an expert on light materials, costs and suitability, so I don't know if there was any other obvious choice. But I can't fault them for adding sparks while they were adjusting the regulations in this area.

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It's only after we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

Morbid Wrote:
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> Frantic Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I understand your point and its a valid one! But
> i
> > think that the sparks are not an accident, i
> mean
> > if they didnt want to get sparks they´d had
> > chosen another material. I didnt knew much
> about
> > the specific reasons fot the change to titanium
> > skids though
>
> And why wouldn't we want sparks?
>
> I am not an expert on light materials, costs and
> suitability, so I don't know if there was any
> other obvious choice. But I can't fault them for
> adding sparks while they were adjusting the
> regulations in this area.

i agree with you and thats why i said it was showbiz, without knowing in detail of the regulations. now i´d say they are a little showbiz (but thats obvius isn´t it?)

Frantic Wrote:
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>
> i agree with you and thats why i said it was
> showbiz, without knowing in detail of the
> regulations. now i´d say they are a little
> showbiz (but thats obvius isn´t it?)

A little showbiz? Yeah, I could go with that.

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It's only after we've lost everything, that we are free to do anything.

It's certainly great to see the sparks back. They looked better still, IMO, when they were spewing from the backs of cars in massive torrents(See Spa 1992) rather than the steady spitting that seems to go on this year, but that's just an observation. They've looked spectacular this year! And yeah, Singapore will be fun.
Along with the noticeably better sound of the cars(especially on application of the throttle), it makes things a lot more entertaining on the surface.

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