*** The official Formula One 2015-16 off season thread ***
Discussion
ajprice said:
lbc said:
I don't think HondaMac are much faster than Manor, maybe 0.5 seconds, and that's also the opinion of some journalists.
Which Manor, Wehrlein or Haryanto? It looked like there was a big difference in the Manor's times depending on who was in it.Compare Rio with someone like Stoffel Vandoorne, who had two years in GP2.
He came 2nd in the championship in his first go (he won his first ever GP2 race) then utterly dominated the championship in his second year to take the championship with just a little under twice the points of the second-placed driver.
It's not all about the machine, there's also quality and skill in there.
Dr Z said:
Leithen said:
London424 said:
Doesn't make great reading for McLaren does it. It's going to be another painful season for them again.
They weren't running with the final spec of the engine were they? It might produce more oomph and not go pop....I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
patmahe said:
I don't get this, why wouldn't you run as hard as you can in testing at some point to see if the thing explodes, the consequences there would be almost 0, but in Melbourne with sponsors and the world watching it could be a big embarrassment.
I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
By the same token, i'm surprised Manor don't appear to have improved much. Is their chassis really that bad that they're still slowest even with the best engine? If they were running full chat in testing then that appears to be the case (and it's a 2016 Merc engine). They're definitely closer to McLaren and Sauber, but still the slowest of the trio according to testing. I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
BarbaricAvatar said:
patmahe said:
I don't get this, why wouldn't you run as hard as you can in testing at some point to see if the thing explodes, the consequences there would be almost 0, but in Melbourne with sponsors and the world watching it could be a big embarrassment.
I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
By the same token, i'm surprised Manor don't appear to have improved much. Is their chassis really that bad that they're still slowest even with the best engine? If they were running full chat in testing then that appears to be the case (and it's a 2016 Merc engine). They're definitely closer to McLaren and Sauber, but still the slowest of the trio according to testing. I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
Interesting to read that Charlie Whiting has been saying nice things about the re-surfaced Watkins Glen. I suppose they'll want/need another F1 track in America soon.
Personally, I'd love to see them on an oval once a year. Bristol being my favourite, it's tiny. 850m long track, Nascar lap record under 15 seconds, and seats for 160,000 people.
Personally, I'd love to see them on an oval once a year. Bristol being my favourite, it's tiny. 850m long track, Nascar lap record under 15 seconds, and seats for 160,000 people.
suffolk009 said:
Interesting to read that Charlie Whiting has been saying nice things about the re-surfaced Watkins Glen. I suppose they'll want/need another F1 track in America soon.
Personally, I'd love to see them on an oval once a year. Bristol being my favourite, it's tiny. 850m long track, Nascar lap record under 15 seconds, and seats for 160,000 people.
Why, it's the most dreadful racing? Also you would need an entire new chassis and aero pack.Personally, I'd love to see them on an oval once a year. Bristol being my favourite, it's tiny. 850m long track, Nascar lap record under 15 seconds, and seats for 160,000 people.
London424 said:
BarbaricAvatar said:
patmahe said:
I don't get this, why wouldn't you run as hard as you can in testing at some point to see if the thing explodes, the consequences there would be almost 0, but in Melbourne with sponsors and the world watching it could be a big embarrassment.
I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
By the same token, i'm surprised Manor don't appear to have improved much. Is their chassis really that bad that they're still slowest even with the best engine? If they were running full chat in testing then that appears to be the case (and it's a 2016 Merc engine). They're definitely closer to McLaren and Sauber, but still the slowest of the trio according to testing. I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
London424 said:
BarbaricAvatar said:
By the same token, i'm surprised Manor don't appear to have improved much. Is their chassis really that bad that they're still slowest even with the best engine? If they were running full chat in testing then that appears to be the case (and it's a 2016 Merc engine). They're definitely closer to McLaren and Sauber, but still the slowest of the trio according to testing.
I think manor look to be in much better shape. As for this;
"Is their chassis really that bad that they're still slowest even with the best engine?"
Would that be so surprising? Quite recently, F1 was an aero formula...
BarbaricAvatar said:
London424 said:
BarbaricAvatar said:
patmahe said:
I don't get this, why wouldn't you run as hard as you can in testing at some point to see if the thing explodes, the consequences there would be almost 0, but in Melbourne with sponsors and the world watching it could be a big embarrassment.
I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
By the same token, i'm surprised Manor don't appear to have improved much. Is their chassis really that bad that they're still slowest even with the best engine? If they were running full chat in testing then that appears to be the case (and it's a 2016 Merc engine). They're definitely closer to McLaren and Sauber, but still the slowest of the trio according to testing. I fear this is all a smokescreen and we have seen the top potential of this car, I really hope I'm wrong as I like the drivers and hated to see their talents wasted last year. I predict mid-field but not much else for them this year.
Stevens - 1:31.200
Mehri - 1:32.038
In the tests the last couple of weeks they went round in:
1:25.925 on soft tyres
Even accounting for the difference in tyres you can see they've made a massive step up.
On a different subject, I found this article quite enlightening, i had no idea of the technical freedom that LMP1 enjoys which slightly hurts F1's credibility. But then when you look at raw pace, F1 gains all that credibility back and then some.
It would be nice if more freedom was allowed, at the moment they're all forced to do pretty much the same things to which there's a right way and a wrong way rather than many ways to achieve the same targets. That being said, F1 is still a great chunk faster over a lap so i won't be migrating anytime soon. If i were a tech-head though it would be a different story.
Still "on hold" which to me means they're looking at other teams and waiting until someone else comes knocking.
The best thing Mallya could do in his situation is sell his stake in the team. It'll mean that Force India will then not become a bargaining chip against imprisonment and he'll be able to pay off some of his debt. Unless of course he doesn't actually care about F1, but i didn't have him down as that kind of guy considering he makes it to nearly all the races.
It would be nice if more freedom was allowed, at the moment they're all forced to do pretty much the same things to which there's a right way and a wrong way rather than many ways to achieve the same targets. That being said, F1 is still a great chunk faster over a lap so i won't be migrating anytime soon. If i were a tech-head though it would be a different story.
ajprice said:
Wurls said:
Is the Aston Martin deal still 'on hold' or gone now?The best thing Mallya could do in his situation is sell his stake in the team. It'll mean that Force India will then not become a bargaining chip against imprisonment and he'll be able to pay off some of his debt. Unless of course he doesn't actually care about F1, but i didn't have him down as that kind of guy considering he makes it to nearly all the races.
Edited by BarbaricAvatar on Thursday 10th March 17:06
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