Thoughts on 2014

[DanTVR]

chonok said:

Yep, don't like the st sound, don't like the fact that they have putpp at least 2 teams out of business (and maybe more next year) don't like the fact that drivers can very rarely push hard. Mark Webber commented on it recently and Vettel even considered quitting because of them.

It's still due to the tyres why drivers can't push. There will always be a limiting factor but I don't like how fragile the tyres are.

A great season, I love the new engines, and fuel management which hasn't been the problem many said it would. The cost will come down as the technology becomes more available and hopefully that will attract more teams to upset the balance of the big 4. The same people the moan about the hybrid systems and engines would have probably moaned when f1 engines went to electronic fuel injection from carbs!

Congrats to Lewis, and highly impressed with way nico carried himself during and after the race. Great results for Riciardo and bottas, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed button has a seat next year.

[LDN]

ash73 said:

1) Ricciardo the driver of the season, 3 victories in a RBR that couldn't finish a lap in testing, and he blew away a 4 times world champion; amazing.

2) Lewis/Nico had some good scraps and saved what could have been a very dull season of Merc dominance. Lewis a worthy winner, tough job for Nico next season.

3) Williams re-emergence fantastic, best livery by a country mile, but conservative race strategies cost them a possible victory earlier in the season.

4) New engines sound terrible, the engine freeze is nuts with Mercedes having such an advantage; and I think the customer teams have less power.

5) Alonso destroyed Kimi, expected that to be the fight of the season and it wasn't even close. Would love to see Alonso in a Williams alongside Bottas.

I agree with all this except; the customer teams must have the same power; at least, they are supposed to.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Vambo said:

ZX10R NIN said:

I thought Hamilton would dominate Rosberg this season

He did, well done.

He won he didn't dominate, there is a difference

[ZX10R NIN]

chonok said:

Yep, don't like the st sound, don't like the fact that they have putpp at least 2 teams out of business (and maybe more next year) don't like the fact that drivers can very rarely push hard. Mark Webber commented on it recently and Vettel even considered quitting because of them.

The Racing was good now we just need the noise, the tyres being the way they are has added to the close racing because they can't go flat out all the time, as well as the other regulation changes

[Derek Smith]

Just had an email exchange with F1 nerds. We all reckoned it was a great season, one which we'll remember with affection.

Kudos to Merc was universal. Allowing the drivers to race from day one and even when 'problems' arrived they tried to manage then rather than opt for cutting losses. Their attitude to the press was remarkable.

11 race wins in one season is a superb record and one which LH can take pride, especially given his retirements.

We were all thrilled by Williams and hope the extra money they get will give them a better edge next season.

Loved the engines as far as power delivery was concerned. Just what we want to see, cars squirming from power out of corners.

Some great drives by newcomers.

Some of the wheel to wheel was thrilling.

Negatives: not many. The gap was much too big, nearly 2 secs at times. That's taking the mickey. It spoiled it in the days of Ferrari dominance, but at least we were spared the single driver. Also, the suggestion from some was that RBR will be given a little boost next season as the sponsor will not want to be second best again.

Biggest negative: In Russia with Ecclestone sucking up to Putin.

Next season to look forward to, in the hope that NR is not made official also ran.

[hairyben]

another +1 for mercs handling of their drivers, a lot of the sports aristocracy could learn from these upstarts...

I'd rather see ten years of merc dominance with the drivers going at it than the formation finishes of certain teams or the bungling of other teams who try to "let their drivers race" ending in eggy faces.

[Fire99]

Cars a disappointment... Far too much button twiddling and engines almost completely devoid of character.. (or noise)
Williams... A revelation. An astonishing turn-around from last year.
Ricciardo... Another revelation. Fast, aggressive and not intimidated by a 4-times world champion.
Vettel... A bit disappointing.. Seemed somewhat lost this year.
Hamilton.. Bit of a roller-coaster year and had some bad luck but impressed how he held it together. A worthy champion.
Rosberg... My sneaky feeling he's a dirtier player than I expected. Bit unlucky in the last race though.

Tracks... Still far too many tracks that resemble a 'Homebase' car park with stripy paint...
F1 as a whole... In a bit of a mess. Distribution of money and struggling teams a real problem and a blight on the name.

[hairyben]

I'd also just like to say how the noise thing doesn't bother me.

I've been watching F1 over 20 years and and like a lot of race engine noise, the sound of a tortured V10 bouncing off 20k on the upshift is something that touches my soul in a way you either get or get out. But I've really enjoyed this seasons racing, it's been an absolute belter and if losing that sound is part of the price then so be it.

[Oilchange]

I agree with whats been said, all of it really.
Things I would like to see next season:

Money. Even it out for all the teams, the $100m that Ferrari get is bloody unfair. Not like it helped much this season anyway! even it out mid season to all the teams or something.

Noise. Engines are great but F1 has to have that ear screeching howl to make the event.

Can't think of anything else.

[HardtopManual]

Oilchange said:

the $100m that Ferrari get is bloody unfair

I agree. I used to think it was slightly justified because they were the only team who had to develop a chassis AND an engine. But Merc have come along and done a better job on both, with a smaller budget.

I'd still rather have a red car parked on the driveway than a silver one, though :-)

[Norfolkit]

Echo all of the above plus one thing, how the hell has Kimi kept his seat at Ferrari, what's he done this year to deserve being kept on?

[lbc]

HardtopManual said:

I'd still rather have a red car parked on the driveway than a silver one, though :-)

I hope your red Vauxhall Nova serves you well.

[HardtopManual]

lbc said:

I hope your red Vauxhall Nova serves you well.

I'm more of a Fiesta man.

[amare32]

Mercedes letting its drivers race right through the season. Take note Redbull and Ferrari.

Ricciardo and Bottas' performances - both potential world champions in the making.

Bernie not getting a jail sentence after bribing his way out of a bribery case was comedy gold and disgrace.

[hairyben]

LDN said:

ash73 said:

1) Ricciardo the driver of the season, 3 victories in a RBR that couldn't finish a lap in testing, and he blew away a 4 times world champion; amazing.

2) Lewis/Nico had some good scraps and saved what could have been a very dull season of Merc dominance. Lewis a worthy winner, tough job for Nico next season.

3) Williams re-emergence fantastic, best livery by a country mile, but conservative race strategies cost them a possible victory earlier in the season.

4) New engines sound terrible, the engine freeze is nuts with Mercedes having such an advantage; and I think the customer teams have less power.

5) Alonso destroyed Kimi, expected that to be the fight of the season and it wasn't even close. Would love to see Alonso in a Williams alongside Bottas.

I agree with all this except; the customer teams must have the same power; at least, they are supposed to.

I believe it's policed by the fia that the engines supplied to customers are identical to the factory team

what merc customer teams can't do is access engine management code to get into a power war with the merc team

[Scuffers]

hairyben said:

I believe it's policed by the fia that the engines supplied to customers are identical to the factory team

what merc customer teams can't do is access engine management code to get into a power war with the merc team

All ecu code is the same, as checked by the fia

Customers get the exact same as the factory team.

[VictorCharlie]

ash73 said:

McLaren, while switching to Honda, were nowhere with the Merc engine this year and RD is convinced they would never win as a customer team; Williams with the "same" engine optimise slippery aero to compete on the straights; meanwhile the works team has so much power they run full down-force everywhere and are 1+ sec ahead, that's a lifetime. Whether it's the engine itself or the way it's configured I think they have more power. The aero is so tightly regulated what else can it be?

I get the impression that it's partly the split turbo design, their car was designed around it and noone elses was. As well as the gearbox setup they use. They have a 'cassette' system whereby they slot the gearbox they have to use into another housing which allows them to optimise weight distribution in a way other teams can't, both of which together effectively give them more power from the same engine.

This is all Ross Brawns work coming to fruition I think, he keeps proving time and again that he's great at coming up with novel ways around the regs, or finding and motivating people to come up with novel ways to get around regs (see the Ferrari years, or the double diffuser Brawn car) I suspect that Mercedes won't have quite as big an edge in 2015.

I'd agree with all of the other comments about 2014, been a great seasons racing.

[Jabbah]

Scuffers said:

All ecu code is the same, as checked by the fia

Customers get the exact same as the factory team.

The same doesn't go for the maps though. They get base maps but each team needs to customise them (with the help of the supplier) to extract the maximum from the package they have developed.

[Ahonen]

Jabbah said:

Scuffers said:

All ecu code is the same, as checked by the fia

Customers get the exact same as the factory team.

The same doesn't go for the maps though. They get base maps but each team needs to customise them (with the help of the supplier) to extract the maximum from the package they have developed.

Yes, correct. There are slightly different levels of control system. As with so many things there is an extra cost if Sir would like to purchase the 'maximum performance' variant.

[fomb]

Jabbah said:

Scuffers said:

All ecu code is the same, as checked by the fia

Customers get the exact same as the factory team.

The same doesn't go for the maps though. They get base maps but each team needs to customise them (with the help of the supplier) to extract the maximum from the package they have developed.

Smedley spoke about this. From what I remember he was basically saying that they will never be able to challenge Mercedes on a power front purely as they have the same engine with the same performance. They would therefore only be able to beat them via a better chassis, better aero etc. I don't think the engine thing is just some sort of unwritten rule - it's just that they are all getting the most from it.