Official 2020 Eifel Grand Prix Thread **SPOILERS**
Discussion
RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:
It was an event running in real time with Norris' car looking like it may go up in flames properly any second. It was claimed above that the engine cover burning on the outside is a common scene. I'm not sure that's true. From an earlier report I read, Renault/McLaren revealed the fault caused unburned fuel to exit via the exhausts.
The Williams was also mentioned above. That was a puncture/suspension failure, was it not? No suggestion of a car on fire or issues with high energy electrical components.
It's pretty easy for us all to criticise in hindsight and I don't believe enough decisions are made the right way during the race, however in the circumstances I don't agree it was wrong to deploy the SC as opposed to VSC or even waved yellows.
I'm sure if we had an audience with the race director he would be able to justify why they chose the the SC as opposed to the VSC. It just so happened to also be something they may have felt might help the race too... If they has used a VSC and then deployed the SC if flames became visible, I'm equally sure they could justify that in a way that be reasonable and make sense.The Williams was also mentioned above. That was a puncture/suspension failure, was it not? No suggestion of a car on fire or issues with high energy electrical components.
It's pretty easy for us all to criticise in hindsight and I don't believe enough decisions are made the right way during the race, however in the circumstances I don't agree it was wrong to deploy the SC as opposed to VSC or even waved yellows.
End of the day, they could have gone either route and either could be justified as being 'right'. Ultimately they have the choice in situations such as the one yesterday and increasingly it seems they're more likely to send out the SC on occasions at which doing so could spice up the race in some way. Just an observation/suspicion... I admit I can't possibly know how contrived these decisions really are from the outside.
jsf said:
That is immense. jsf said:
Nice. But what if the exhausts got like really hot? Could be an imminent fire..... 
ntiz said:
It might just be me, but the more Hamilton wins and the more he crushes Bottas the greater my respect for Rosberg. He ran him close most of the time and got his championship. It says a lot about how good he was.
If it was Rosberg in Vettel's seat the last couple of years do we think he would more of a go of it? I think so.
I totally agree with that. I was never a Rosberg fan, in fact I enjoyed actively hating him the whole time he was against Lewis. As time goes on though and the longer Hamilton is wiping the floor with Bottas the more I realise how impressive Rosberg actually was. For him to push as hard for as long as he did fighting Hamilton, I don't think there are or ever have been many drivers that could have done the same. If it was Rosberg in Vettel's seat the last couple of years do we think he would more of a go of it? I think so.
Not his biggest fan behind a microphone but I have enjoyed his bluntness in correcting people who talk s
t, it's nice to have some up to date technical knowledge on the screen. 
Adrian W said:
so that would be the exhaust, the bit that is designed to get extremely hot and even contain fire, that sticks out of the back of the car, I know, maybe they were worried that it might singe the damp grass
The bodywork that was smouldering and turning black was obviously not designed to deal with that level of heat in that place. Hence it smouldering. Same as Ocon retiring when his brakes set on fire and caused his ducts/hubs to disintegrate (and his retirement). There are areas of the car that can deal with heat but only up to a point.Do I believe the SC was issued to 'spice up' the race? No.
RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:
The bodywork that was smouldering and turning black was obviously not designed to deal with that level of heat in that place. Hence it smouldering. Same as Ocon retiring when his brakes set on fire and caused his ducts/hubs to disintegrate (and his retirement). There are areas of the car that can deal with heat but only up to a point.
Do I believe the SC was issued to 'spice up' the race? No.
The car is designed to be cooled by airflow to the various areas that require it, when you have been running at speed and then stop, the cooling stops, so you get localised overheating, sometimes this burns the bodywork. During the design stage they try and package the cars so that there is the absolute minimum clearance and airflow into the car, to maximise performance. This is not new, it's the absolute norm and why we see all the fans on the cars in park ferme, despite a slow in lap.Do I believe the SC was issued to 'spice up' the race? No.
In winter testing it's often the case that they got the calcs slightly wrong and even at speed the bodywork burns, McLaren had this issue in 2018 testing. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134694/mclaren-t...
RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:
The bodywork that was smouldering and turning black was obviously not designed to deal with that level of heat in that place. Hence it smouldering. Same as Ocon retiring when his brakes set on fire and caused his ducts/hubs to disintegrate (and his retirement). There are areas of the car that can deal with heat but only up to a point.
Do I believe the SC was issued to 'spice up' the race? No.
So now they can throw out the safety car just in case something Might happen, I’ll go with them trying to spice things upDo I believe the SC was issued to 'spice up' the race? No.
Deesee said:
Whitefly Swatter said:
anyone else notice there were nine teams in the top ten?
And 3 engines in top 3..A bit of a change.
The more I see of the Renault engine this season, the more I am wondering if the McLaren choice of power unit for next season is necessarily going to be an upgrade.
Derek Smith said:
The more I see of the Renault engine this season, the more I am wondering if the McLaren choice of power unit for next season is necessarily going to be an upgrade.
It is an upgrade - it'll run harder for longer than the others which is great for quali. Once out in front the Merc drivers are generally just maintaining the gap. Other than quali we don't get to see their reserve of power very often.TheDeuce said:
It is an upgrade - it'll run harder for longer than the others which is great for quali. Once out in front the Merc drivers are generally just maintaining the gap. Other than quali we don't get to see their reserve of power very often.
Maybe true for the works team, but it's a bit hard to believe that the customer teams aren't pushing their engines as hard as they dare. TheDeuce said:
Derek Smith said:
The more I see of the Renault engine this season, the more I am wondering if the McLaren choice of power unit for next season is necessarily going to be an upgrade.
It is an upgrade - it'll run harder for longer than the others which is great for quali. Once out in front the Merc drivers are generally just maintaining the gap. Other than quali we don't get to see their reserve of power very often.Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff