The 2014 Formula One Season

The two mandatory pitstops idea is by far the worst. Not only do drivers have to make these two stops, they can also only drive a maximum percentage of laps on either of the two compounds. It's ridiculous and makes it all even more complicated. It's complicated enough as it is for the casual F1 fan. Not to mention you could fire the whole strategy department.

The problem is that we can't solve the problem. Bridgestone supplied rock hard tyres you could push on for the whole race without changing them, which was boring. Pirelli supplies tyres made of ice cream, which makes drivers save them without giving 100%, which is boring. The only way you can solve this is by making the pitstop loss smaller, which would mean increasing the maximum pitlane speed. Nobody really wants that. Another option would be a proper tyre war, since I can't remember having these issues when Michelin was still around. But nobody wants that either.

Ferrari2007 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, what are people's thoughts on the idea for the
> introduction of MotoGP style numbers, two
> mandatory pitstops and a pole position award?
>
> All three seem pretty pointless to me.
>
> Personally, I really dislike the number idea.
> Either keep it the way it is or go back to the old
> system, don't go for the messy, confusing system
> used by MotoGP and Nascar.

Doesn't bother me.. But if it ain't broke.. Don't fix it?

> The idea for two mandatory pitstops seems to me to
> be ignoring the actual issue of tyres that we've
> seen this year.

Agreed.. Give Pirelli a more sensible brief and keep strategy as open as possible.

> And a pole position award just seems like another
> trophy created to hand out to Seb at the end of
> every season.

Funnily enough... Exactly what I said to myself on reading the news.

Ferrari2007 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And a pole position award just seems like another
> trophy created to hand out to Seb at the end of
> every season.


Lewis would have won it last year.

Airfresco, you are correct, but Seb would have taken it in four of the last five years, which was the point I was getting at.

In an age when Formula 1 is in the middle of a financial crisis, see Lotus, Sauber, Marussia and to an extent even Force India and Caterham, these changes all seem to miss the point entirely.

---

Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

I don't mind the numbers, but yearn for a return of the old Ferrari 27 & 28, Red 5, etc. It would add little more romance into an otherwise increasingly cold and clinical sport.

Quote
Nickv
The problem is that we can't solve the problem. Bridgestone supplied rock hard tyres you could push on for the whole race without changing them, which was boring.

I'm confident that if we still had Bridgestones, then the drivers wouldn't be pushing the entire race. Cars would still be asked to drop back a couple of seconds to avoid excessive degrading of the tyres. The margins are so fine in F1 now that any loss, however minor, will be avoided if at all possible.

What we need are tyres which give up better layers of rubber as they wear, getting faster as the tyres wear, then the rubber degrades again before you wear a big hole in the tyre. I've no idea if that's even remotely possible though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/2013 10:11AM by gav.

I think a logical change to the numbering system would be good. I've always thought it would be nice if a driver's number was decided by his position in the previous year's standings, like in the BTCC for example. New/returning drivers should get to choose their own number. But I'd also love for certain special numbers like #27 to be included, which might not fit in with that.

The idea of two mandatory pitstops is just stupid because of its sheer impracticality.


gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Now this is bad, very bad, as I'm expecting to
> need a drip to stay conscious for an entire race,
> as if the turbo engines sound even a little bit
> like that, I'm going to have several fluids
> seeping from my body every time a driver
> accelerates.

LMAO!
It's definitely a mindblowing sound, let's hope they do sound like this.


madotter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lotus drivers confirmed! Romain and Pastor

Interesting situation coming up here. Whichever one of these comes out on top next year(and I have a gut feeling it'll be Pastor) it's going to finish the other one's F1 career, so it'll be worth watching.

---

Nickv Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
>
> The problem is that we can't solve the problem.
> Bridgestone supplied rock hard tyres you could
> push on for the whole race without changing them,
> which was boring. Pirelli supplies tyres made of
> ice cream, which makes drivers save them without
> giving 100%, which is boring. The only way you can
> solve this is by making the pitstop loss smaller,
> which would mean increasing the maximum pitlane
> speed. Nobody really wants that. Another option
> would be a proper tyre war, since I can't remember
> having these issues when Michelin was still
> around. But nobody wants that either.

This - This is what is the issue with F1 at the moment!

---

2013 - Nando must come through..

Hulk confirmed at Force India on a "multi year" deal.

Side steps completed and Eddie Jordan's ego inflated.

casabonka Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nickv Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> ----
> >
> > The problem is that we can't solve the problem.
> > Bridgestone supplied rock hard tyres you could
> > push on for the whole race without changing
> them,
> > which was boring. Pirelli supplies tyres made
> of
> > ice cream, which makes drivers save them
> without
> > giving 100%, which is boring. The only way you
> can
> > solve this is by making the pitstop loss
> smaller,
> > which would mean increasing the maximum pitlane
> > speed. Nobody really wants that. Another option
> > would be a proper tyre war, since I can't
> remember
> > having these issues when Michelin was still
> > around. But nobody wants that either.
>
> This - This is what is the issue with F1 at the
> moment!

Michelin had several problems. In the early years, the tyres were great for qualifying, but sucked on race day. Later, they improved for the race, but still had the weakness of dropping off for a spell after the opening laps. When they improved to the point of supplying the best tyre, and had JPM positioned to become WC, the mold they had used for years was banned, due to a push from Ferrari/Bridgestone.

Tyre wars proved to be immensely costly in testing, and if there wasn't parity, you pretty much knew that the teams with the best tyre brand would be on top of the weekend. At times it could feel like the sport was split into F1A and F1B.

---

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

Nico Hülkenberg confirmed at Force India, leaving six places in 2014 left! One at Force India, two at Sauber, one at Maruissa, and two at Caterham.

Who do we think will be where?

If the rumours are anything to go by, it'll be Perez at Force India, Sutil and Gutierrez at Sauber, Chilton at Marussia and a van der Garde - Ericsson pairing at Caterham.

---

GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

I commend VJ and Force India, they've reclaimed one of the most promising drivers in F1 they and can reley the Hulk to squeeze every last result out of a car

The question is now, do they require a sponsored driver alongside him. I think that the fact they haven't announced the full line up yet suggests that he decision hasn't been taken over who'll driving alongside the Hulk.

So.. If they're holding out for money then I assume the list is Perez, Sutil or Chilton (probably in that order).

2014 Calendar added!!

Anthony Rowlinson, the Editor of F1 Racing, is reporting that Perez will be unveiled as a Force India driver next week, with prominent backing from Telmex.

---

Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

guys, let's talk 2014 here, let's talk Hulkenberg!

i did a very small research and found the following facts about him:

1. the best teammate he ever had is barrichello (in rubens' last races). Rubens destroyed Hulk with 47 to 22 points.

2. the 2012 season, Hulk and Di resta were pretty much equal. Sill, his last race in brazil wasawesome, but thats pretty much what made the difference between him and diresta. and di resta is, hmmm, nothingspecial after all.

3. the whole reputaion of nico is built around brazil 2012 and korea 2013. if you look at his performances every season there is only one common thing: inconsistency.

to conclude: a good racing driver, but not anywhere near the superstar, as which the journalists are trying to picture him.

It's not inconsistency; Hulkenberg has started a little slowly in his three F1 seasons (probably a side-effect of having switched teams a few times) but has built up his momentum to really come to the fore in the second half of the season. In addition, the Sauber was an utter dog in the first half of the season.

Hopefully a familiar environment at Force India will benefit Nico next season, because he really deserves some success.

---

GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Barrichello didn't destroy Hülkenberg in fact he scored only 25 Points more than him, and he got beaten 6 Times in Qualifying (By a Rookie) that's embarrassing in my opinion. .

The Real Story of the Race was that the Renault's fell apart and the Ferrari's didn't.
Rosberg headed for the sliproad and retired, probably because of Nicotin starvation they have still not given him a helmet with a little hole in it.

Also when the Hulk was team-mate to Di Resta they were relatively evenly matched for the first half of the season and then the Hulk stepped up a gear while Di Resta didn't.

It's not unusual for the Hulk to begin on the steady side, but he builds and builds upon his form. He keeps on getting stronger whilst many others peak.

In other news Maldonaldo is trumping off that 2013 has been his strongest season yet. Let's see... He got out-qualifed by his rookie teammate 12-7 and out scored 4-1. Yes... that's the epitome of strong form.

It's a fair point that Hulkenberg has had some pretty average teammates. Barrichello was very much on the downward spiral, and arguably barely good enough for F1. Di Resta showed decent initial promise, but his worth has tailed off dramatically to the extent that it appears that he's not considered good enough for F1. Gutierrez was arguably not good enough for F1 to begin with, but has slowly established himself as mediocre F1 driver.

It would have been fun to see Hulkenberg in a top team, there's little wrong with his racecraft, but arguably he's too inconsistent to have a decent shot at the title, and I'm not sure he's got the raw pace either. Certainly a very good driver, and a possible contender for a top seat, but I feel there may be a touch of the Heinz-Harold Frentzens about him - sitting in no-man-land between too good to be a number two and not good enough to be a leader, and it counts against him.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2013 07:59PM by gav.

I think that if Hulk gained something in this second half of the year is in consistency. i mean he finished in the points in all races he finished from Italy onwards (except Abu Dhabi). Hes not a top driver but I think in 2 or 3 years we will rate him in the same league as a Rosberg