F1

[mattaus]

This thread doesn't appear to have had much love lately....

Anyone around these parts still follow F1? I love it. I was at the race in Melbourne this year (plus a week before that of far too much drinking), had my four day grand stand pass and apart from the utter disappointment that was the actual race, had a blast. The race in Malaysia 2 weeks ago was fantastic, although as a Ricciardo fan it was another disappointing weekend. Lots of doom mongering going on elsewhere as to the state of the sport but personally I am excited to see how teams progress. I think Mclaren will have a competitive car at some point this year and as much as I dislike Vettel I hope he proves the doubters wrong and gives the Mercs a run for their money.
It'll at least make the title races interesting. Plus someone has to keep the seat warm for when Danny boy is ready to be crowned WDC

[HaydEn]

Not since it's turned to ****. Been watching Formula E and it is thoroughly enjoyable

[wai]

This thread doesn't appear to have had much love lately....

Anyone around these parts still follow F1? I love it.

Of course, now you have to have a Foxtel subscription of $50.month because of the deal with Bernie, Foxtel and Channel 10, if you want to see it live. You can see it on streaming services, however, the quality is not the best. At least you get to see it though.

The same goes for MotoGP and V8SC.

What I find amazing is that there are around 2 million Foxtel subscribers. Most do not have it with the sports pack, and of those who do, get it mainly for the AFL/NRL. Somehow Bernie believes that getting exposure of around 1 million is better than the FTA audience of probably 2 or 3 times that number.

On the competitiveness of the teams, then need to stop complaining and get on with development. If the Renault is ending up on the rev limiter and still cannot go faster, then it is the aero. If they simply cannot get the speed because the engine cannot get up that high in the rev range, then it is the engine.

Personally I thing that all the bumps and dags on the wings and body are a distraction. Everyone tries to copy them, even though they do not really know if it will work. They are must haves. CFD is only as good as the data and assumptions you put into it. It's a wonder we do not have golf ball dimples all over the bodywork to improve aero. If golf balls were being developed today, you would have bumps and dags rather than dimples.

Maybe this will restart this thread

[mattaus]

Not since it's turned to ****. Been watching Formula E and it is thoroughly enjoyable

Well this thread appears to have died in the a*se just before Vettel starting walking his way to a fourth drivers world championship, so its not hard to see why you, and many others, share that view. The problem is that despite the apparent one sided nature of last years competition, there were some cracking races and more sub-plots going around than Game of Thrones. The difficulty of driving these cars has made the racing pretty exciting at times. Even this year everyone was crying after the first race (myself included) and then Malaysia hit us and suddenly alls good in the world again. As a hopeful future Tesla owner (come on Model 3, be everything I want you to be!) I'm enamoured with electric vehicles. I just wish I could remember to watch the Formula E dammit

Of course, now you have to have a Foxtel subscription of $50.month because of the deal with Bernie, Foxtel and Channel 10, if you want to see it live. You can see it on streaming services, however, the quality is not the best. At least you get to see it though.

The same goes for MotoGP and V8SC.

What I find amazing is that there are around 2 million Foxtel subscribers. Most do not have it with the sports pack, and of those who do, get it mainly for the AFL/NRL. Somehow Bernie believes that getting exposure of around 1 million is better than the FTA audience of probably 2 or 3 times that number.

I'll admit that I'm part of the problem here. I have always been well against Foxtel and anything Murdoch owned, despite being a massive Arsenal fan, and a lover of the Brisbane Broncos. When Foxtel announced the F1 deal this year and I discovered I'd lose the ability to watch half the races on FTA, I snapped. I hate Foxtel but I love F1 more. Getting the NRL and EPL were extra bonuses for me. I ordered the sport package plus HD and that's it. I honestly feel bad. Like I've betrayed my fellow fans lol! I need my Sunday night fixes though so I just had to do it.

F**k Bernie though. The dude needs to leave and the sport will be better for it.

On the competitiveness of the teams, then need to stop complaining and get on with development. If the Renault is ending up on the rev limiter and still cannot go faster, then it is the aero. If they simply cannot get the speed because the engine cannot get up that high in the rev range, then it is the engine.

Personally I thing that all the bumps and dags on the wings and body are a distraction. Everyone tries to copy them, even though they do not really know if it will work. They are must haves. CFD is only as good as the data and assumptions you put into it. It's a wonder we do not have golf ball dimples all over the bodywork to improve aero. If golf balls were being developed today, you would have bumps and dags rather than dimples.

Maybe this will restart this thread

Redbull have come out and openly admitted that whilst the Renault power units do lack power and reliability, the chassis is just as much at fault for their current issues. Hell, Kyvat failed to reach the start grid in Melbourne because of a gear box issue. Can;t blame that on Renault! Toro Rosso beating the Bulls on the track despite having the same engines is proof Redbull need to pick up their game, not to mention embarrassing.

Scarbf1 is a great resource to learn about all the technological stuff that goes on in F1, though I'll admit that even as an Avionics Engineer by profession a lot of it goes over even my head. It also gets super tedious and boring haha.

[SkodaVIC]

Hmmm... this thread has gone a little quiet since the season has progressed.

Who are you all putting your money on for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend? Ferrari reported to have used some of their in-season engine tokens and improved the power output of their engine. Could this put them on course for win # 2 of the season?

I still think that it will be Mercedes leading the field unless they have dramas again at this circuit - likely to be a Hamilton victory. I'd love to see Valtteri Bottas get up on the podium this weekend, kid is a gun. Doubt very much that Daniel will repeat his victory from last year.

[mattaus]

I see it being a Mercedes walkover unfortunately. The only hope is that Mercedes decision to put new engines in their cars for this race will backfire and they have install issues or something. Can't see it happening to both cars though.

Sadly I think ricciardo will be lucky to finish and Williams form this year has been nothing but shocking! I'd like to see Alonso finish in the points for once. Maldonado to crash out before lap 20...undecided if it'll be his fault or someone else's though haha. I have no idea how Ferrari is going to go but my race prediction will be merc 1-2 and then Vettel.

Being a pessimist has the advantage of always either meeting expecting or being pleasantly surprised

[mmmRacer]

Sadly after being a devoted F1 follower for over 20 years I have only seen 1 race this year due to the new foxtel deal (that being Melbourne). Funny thing is I used to be a devoted rugby league follower before Super League too.

First thing first. I have no problem with the cars, drivers or teams. I like the new engines and the sound. My only beef is the pay TV model. Which is to get heaps of money for the sports owners via TV rights. But then because the TV audiences drop, the teams sponsors don't get the same returns and walk away. So then the teams are the ones in the end who lose.

[SkodaVIC]

Williams form this year has been nothing but shocking!

Not a criticism of your opinion (and I'm mainly discussing this aspect of your reply as I am a Williams man) - but I've heard alot of similar comment about Williams this year and don't really understand why people think the team has been shocking this year.

There have been 2 brilliant drives from Valtteri. Holding back Vettel in Bahrain after Vettel had some issues for a 4th position, and holding off Raikkonen in Spain for another 4th position. The only real poor race from the team was last time out in Monaco - and they were prepared for that race to be poor.

A comparison - this year Williams are sitting in 3rd position in the championship on 81 points (and this included a DNS for Valtteri in Australia after his back issue). No podiums yet, but a couple of strong performances from the 2 drivers. Felipe had some bad luck this year in Bahrain.

Last year at the same time, Williams were sitting in 6th position in the constructors with a best race finish position of 5th (x2) for Valtteri - and they had 2 DNF races during this time. They were on 52 points at the same point in the season. Again, no podiums. They came on song from Austria onwards (and the potential was there for a better result in Canada last year aswell).

So I don't really see that Williams has been shocking this year - the real story is more that Ferrari have improved dramatically between seasons and has been overshadowing Williams.

[mattaus]

So I don't really see that Williams has been shocking this year - the real story is more that Ferrari have improved dramatically between seasons and has been overshadowing Williams.

You're right. I don't think Williams have been shocking, however given their form in the second half of last season a lot of people (myself included) expected them to kick on and be the main challenger to Mercedes. Of course Ferrari are surprisingly the team how have done that, and Williams are not where we all thought they'd be which I suppose was second!

Time to watch qualy...

[SkodaVIC]

You're right. I don't think Williams have been shocking, however given their form in the second half of last season a lot of people (myself included) expected them to kick on and be the main challenger to Mercedes. Of course Ferrari are surprisingly the team how have done that, and Williams are not where we all thought they'd be which I suppose was second!

Time to watch qualy...

Yep, that seems to be a common thought pattern, Rachel Brookes made an almost word-for-word comment matching yours on the F1 show around Williams.

Love this Canadian Grand Prix! One of the best on the calendar.

[mattaus]

Love this Canadian Grand Prix! One of the best on the calendar.

It's a great track that makes for some good non-DRS assisted passing which is sadly a rarity these days. Also happened to be the best race EVAARRRR last year when Danny boy picked up his first win. Probably bugger all chance of that happening this time around though I'll be taping the race and watching it over breakfast tomorrow. Hopefully (despite the semi-predicted qualifying results) it'll be a decent race.

[wai]

I'll be taping the race and watching it over breakfast tomorrow. Hopefully (despite the semi-predicted qualifying results) it'll be a decent race.

How will you be taping/recording it or do you have Foxtel?

I might have to get up early to pick it up via Internet streaming.

[mattaus]

How will you be taping/recording it or do you have Foxtel?

I might have to get up early to pick it up via Internet streaming.

I protested long and hard to not get Foxtel, however being a big soccer (Arsenal) and NRL fan (Broncos), the F1 being taken off FTA was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.

So yeah, I have Foxtel

[SkodaVIC]

Everything set to record. I have a 7am start at work tomorrow, but that may not be enough to put me off a 2.55am wake up & sneaky watching of the race start... we'll see! If that happens, I might not get back to sleep!

[SkodaVIC]

Tous avec Jules Bianchi. À la douce mémoire. Rest in Peace young man, we will all miss you dearly. Today, we have lost an angel.