2015 Grosser Preis von Österreich with viennese whirls... no?

OK, no viennese whirls.

The obligitory track map.



Previous winners

2014 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

2003 - Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)

2002 - Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)*

2001 - David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes)

2000 - Mika Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes)

1999 - Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

1998 - Mika Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes)

1997 - Jacques Villeneueve (Williams-Renault)

1987 - Nigel Mansell (Williams-Honda)**

1986 - Alain Prost (McLaren-TAG)**

* Unofficial result
** Held on the longer, faster Österreichring version

Lmao... you've made the track map look more like a pulled tooth!

I know this is not the epic old Österreichring, but I still like this circuit.

Looks like there will be some weather... which is a shame for Williams and the upgrades but possibly good for the racing.

Still can hardly believe F1 actually returned to Austria, but I'm happy that they did as it's a good little track! Hopefully Vettel can have a clean run so we can get a better understanding of how Ferrari are going in the battle against Mercedes.

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X (@ed24f1)

Same - I always loved racing it in GP3 and 4. It shouldn't really be fun being very stop-start, but it has always made for good races and for such a layout it's quite a challenge for the drivers (the likes of turn 1 and the final corners see to that).

Sooo....

How many of you are still willing to stand by the assertion that McLaren-Honda are gonna produce a race winning car this season? Or the next?

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

For next season it's far too early to predict; who really thought Ferrari could make the leap they did between 2014 and 2015 for example?

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X (@ed24f1)

Quote
Morbid
How many of you are still willing to stand by the assertion that McLaren-Honda are gonna produce a race winning car this season? Or the next?

It's not going to happen this year, certainly, and while they'll be better next year, it's hard to imagine they'll be challenging for podiums. I said they might have race-winning pace, or fall in around Ferrari/Williams by the end of the year, but it's going to take a revelation to get anywhere near that from here.

I do think that their issues in Montreal weren't as bad as they looked on paper, as if they are lacking in MGU power then they will use more fuel and be forced to run lean, causing temperatures to rise, leading to their reliability issues, so it might not look as bad as it did look over there.

If any of the above paragraph is true then it's going to take a strong effort to sort out their MGU issues and if they can get the best out of that then the rest might slot into place rather quickly.

The issue is they've not really moved forward since Shanghai or so, and things aren't going to improve here in Austria if the MGU is the main problem - it might be even worse than Canada.

SchueyFan Wrote:
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> For next season it's far too early to predict; who
> really thought Ferrari could make the leap they
> did between 2014 and 2015 for example?

Ferrari was an easy fix, since the deliberately under-dimensioned the turbo to make room for aero considerations. That is not so with Honda. It is far more complex.


gav Wrote:
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> I do think that their issues in Montreal weren't
> as bad as they looked on paper, as if they are
> lacking in MGU power then they will use more fuel
> and be forced to run lean, causing temperatures to
> rise, leading to their reliability issues, so it
> might not look as bad as it did look over there.

The vicious cycle is true, but there is more to it than that. As I said, the unorthodox placement of electrical engine components after the gearbox introduces a host of complex problems. Added to that, there are basic issues that are unrelated to that vicious cycle, that have not been sorted yet.

>
> If any of the above paragraph is true then it's
> going to take a strong effort to sort out their
> MGU issues and if they can get the best out of
> that then the rest might slot into place rather
> quickly.

Untrue IMHO, given the explanation given above.

> The issue is they've not really moved forward
> since Shanghai or so, and things aren't going to
> improve here in Austria if the MGU is the main
> problem - it might be even worse than Canada.

It think it will be worse than in Canada. But it will be better at Hungaroring.

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

Quote
Morbid
As I said, the unorthodox placement of electrical engine components after the gearbox introduces a host of complex problems.

That's the first I've read of these and I can't say I've seen the suggestion in the British press. Are you saying they've placed the MGU-K after the gearbox, generating and deploying power just before the diff?

I'll try posting this in the right thread this time

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Thought it was quite an interesting race. Seems some are well and truly on the negative bandwagon and are exaggerating any minor issues at the moment.

Good for the championship that Nico has suddenly picked up his pace, certainly seems to be gaining a lot more confidence - and winning a race not from pole is something that he hasn't been able to do regularly (well apart from anomalies like Monaco haha)

Embarrassing error from Kimi, very lucky no-one got hurt... That cut to his onboard with Alonso on top was one of the most dramatic screen cuts I can remember.

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X (@ed24f1)

A bit of a slow burner this one... but it picked up a bit at the end.

Possibly the first time Rosberg actually out raced Hamilton since 2013... but he still hasn't bettered him in a wheel to wheel dog fight. But credit where it's due, he commanded this race and the only answer Hamilton had was to make a mistake which didn't really affect any outcome anyway.

Nice to see Massa's mini him, predicted a top 3 result, let's hope he predicts a win next time out. A little bit lucky as on sheer pace the Ferrari still has the edge, but Williams are continuing to jump on any chance that Ferrari issues give them. It'd just be nice to see them actually take the fight to them from the outset instead of waiting for Ferrari to feck it up.

Nice overtakes by Bottas, I gather he had some brake issues fairly early on, so good solid points, ahead of the Hulk who may have been surprised that Earl Bamber wasn't on hand to take over at the pitstops

Baffling and frightening accident for Kimi and Alonso, glad they're both okay.

McLaren and Honda will be wishing they could hit the reset button... or at least fire up of the old flux capacitor.

I think Canada and Austria particularly suited the Williams, I think at Silverstone and Hungary in particular Ferrari will pull ahead a bit again. But as you said, it's nice to see Williams making the most of their opportunities, which was something they didn't always do last year. And yes, all the segments with Felipinho are extremely cute!

Also how about Maldonado's lose on the main straight before still overtaking Verstappen, unbelievable!

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X (@ed24f1)

SchueyFan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also how about Maldonado's lose on the main
> straight before still overtaking Verstappen,
> unbelievable!

Was probably thinking "@#$%&, well this is going to be jumped on by Twitter" and so rescued the day.

Even for Maldonado those couple of incidents would require several boxes of washing detergent.

Sickening looking initial impact on the armco for Alonso. Interestingly the left-hand side of the car looked very similar to the right-hand side of the car after his supposedly mysterious Barcelona crash. This one resulted in a mandatory trip to the medical centre too.

I thought Raikkonen had a puncture or something, as it's not the sort of mistake an F1 driver usually makes, and you certainly wouldn't expect it from a WDC and the oldest driver on the grid.

Good to see Rosberg finally finding some form to actually give some hope of a championship challenge.

I just can't get excited about it at the moment though. I've even taken to listening to the races on 5 Live, the ones the BBC aren't covering live. Normally I'd jump through hoops to avoid any news snippets. I've watched F1 for nearly two decades now, and in that time economy has always played a part, so I don't know if it's that, but for whatever reason my interest is just waning. It's rare I have supported individual drivers (Mansell in my youth and I suppose Alesi to a degree, though who didn't?), so it's not that either. I think it's just a combination of elements which just takes the edge off F1 for me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2015 08:32PM by gav.

Thank god Raikkonen took his hands off the wheel. To me it looked like Alonsos chassis went straight over the open part of the cockpit and could have easily severed a finger/hand. A lucky escape......

I've just noticed the cameraman on Raikkonen's onboard shot of the crash as they come to stop. Obviously following the action up front and turned around and was like "oh, hi!"

Very, very lucky, as he was clearly oblivious to the double-decker coming towards him and would have been wiped him clean out had they gone another few metres. You can see how close he is from the shot of Alonso's nose.

Yeah that's a good spot. Normally they have wire fences around marshall posts so photographers do often end up being the most exposed.

I notice they've given Alonso an extra day to recover and he'll drive Wednesday at the test and not Tuesday now. Considering it was a 35-40G impact they would probably be nervous after his Barcelona crash and wouldn't be surprised if Vandoorne ends up doing both days. They need to get Vandoorne used to driving for the team as soon as possible because he absolutely needs to be in a seat in 2016. If they can't find a way to usher Button to the door and put Vandoorne in (or at least pay him to drive for another team) it would be extremely disappointing.

That g-force figure did surprise me, while it was a dramatic crash didn't quite think the actual impact was as high as it wasn't a real sudden hit, more glancing along the wall. But then again so was the mysterious Barcelona crash... Maybe I am just desensitised to crashes as I see more and more but it does seem that g-force indicators have become more sensitive over the years.

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X (@ed24f1)

Judging by how far the barrier flexed backwards it was clearly a huge hit.

The issue here was the same as at Barcelona, and something I've been saying for months with very few seeming to agree with me. The suspension didn't give at all - the left rear was deformed but didn't collapse, and the front, outwardly, looked completely intact. So once more the crash structure wasn't touched at all and the energy was almost entirely transferred through Alonso. I bet he's bloody sore today.

You can understand now exactly why they didn't let him return in Melbourne, as while clearly the chances of such another impact were tiny, it's happened again here less than half a season later and he has been lucky to avoid another concussion.


I think I'm going to stop doing those silly track drawings, as every time I've done one (Montreal last year, Suzuka and now here) there's been a serious, high-impact crash. I'm not superstitious at all, but yeah.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2015 08:08PM by gav.

Some bizarre camera work post-race...Good to see Gerhard doing some humourous swearing in the interviews too.

Not as much dramatic action as 2001 - 2003 other than the incidents at the start, but still better than most races this season. I also missed the legends driving on track which is a shame.

ChaioLux Wrote:
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> I also missed the
> legends driving on track which is a shame.

I recommend you check out this excellent video from F1.com with some highlights of the legends and interviews as well.





EDIT: Seems FOM don't like their videos being embedded, but you can find it here; [www.youtube.com]

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X (@ed24f1)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2015 12:21PM by SchueyFan.