Official 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Thread ***SPOILERS***
Discussion
aston80 said:
Piginapoke said:
TheLimla said:
Going to be another painful weekend for Lewis and Mercedes it seems...
That car is just so slow to get heat into its tyres it seems.
ggdrew said:
BUT Im conflicted because how can a race result stand when the winning cars are illegal under the regs? Its a mockery!
But as always in F1, the rules at the beginning of the season are ambiguous.The teams exploit them and find loopholes to their advantage.
It’s only when the FIA realise how far the rules were bent (not broken), that they then start to make mid-season amendments.
Lotus - active downforce (1978)
Williams - active suspension (1989)
Brawn - double deck diffuser (2009)
RedBull - off throttle blown diffuser (2011)
Ferrari - fuel flow meter (2019)
Mercedes - dual axis steering (2020)
I’m sure there loads more I haven’t mentioned……
95 fiesta si said:
I don't reckon the Mercs will be that far down come qualifying, be very shocked if they are !
I mean VB was keeping MV honest 2 weeks ago in Monaco, it was just Lewis that struggled in qualifying.
Hamilton will be under pressure in the first few corners and probably first couple of laps. That might well cost him position. I like the bloke, I'm a bit of a Merc fan, but I am, sorry to say, rather glad. There are others who will struggle similarly, and we could get a situation of a number of cars 'out of place' in the first quarter of the race. To me, that's optimum, despite 'my' team, McL, probably being one of them. I want LH to have to fight, back to his days in the McL and the early Merc days. They showed his skills. Let's see his, and those of other drivers, out on circuit.I mean VB was keeping MV honest 2 weeks ago in Monaco, it was just Lewis that struggled in qualifying.
If the flexi wing is a big advantage, and if it wasn't it probably wouldn't be on the RB, then it adds a certain edge to the rest of the season, with LH trying to catch up. It seems odd, given that he had such a great start to 2021 when he normally struggles a bit. A strange season.
I think that RB knew that the rear wing would be called out, but also knew that the FIA would give them a time, and races, to sort it. To my mind it is cheating, but, on the whole, if it adds to the excitement, I'm glad they did it. This probably shows a weakness in morals on my behalf, but it is just a sport. It's there to entertain, and it's doing so this season, as it did in the last 10 or so.
Mind you, I don't want Horner to benefit.
I agree with you, Derek. Like the cheat from the Red Team, it’s given us a chance to see Mercedes and Hamilton under real pressure. I would like to see Verstappen open up his championship lead a few more points, just so we can watch him being hunted down and beaten to the championship in the last race.
Man-At-Arms said:
ggdrew said:
BUT Im conflicted because how can a race result stand when the winning cars are illegal under the regs? Its a mockery!
But as always in F1, the rules at the beginning of the season are ambiguous.The teams exploit them and find loopholes to their advantage.
It’s only when the FIA realise how far the rules were bent (not broken), that they then start to make mid-season amendments.
Lotus - active downforce (1978)
Williams - active suspension (1989)
Brawn - double deck diffuser (2009)
RedBull - off throttle blown diffuser (2011)
Ferrari - fuel flow meter (2019)
Mercedes - dual axis steering (2020)
I’m sure there loads more I haven’t mentioned……
F Ducts
X Wings
Brabham Fan Car
McLaren fiddle brake
Williams 6 wheeled cars
Blown diffusers
Renault Mass Damper
Man-At-Arms said:
ggdrew said:
BUT Im conflicted because how can a race result stand when the winning cars are illegal under the regs? Its a mockery!
But as always in F1, the rules at the beginning of the season are ambiguous.The teams exploit them and find loopholes to their advantage.
It’s only when the FIA realise how far the rules were bent (not broken), that they then start to make mid-season amendments.
Lotus - active downforce (1978)
Williams - active suspension (1989)
Brawn - double deck diffuser (2009)
RedBull - off throttle blown diffuser (2011)
Ferrari - fuel flow meter (2019)
Mercedes - dual axis steering (2020)
I’m sure there loads more I haven’t mentioned……
Some interesting comments in this thread, and some totally wide of the mark.
The Red Bull 'flexi' wing is not illegal, it passed the FIA test. This kind of innovation happens all the time and what happens next usually goes one of two ways: 1) regulations are changed and the part becomes illegal and must be changed, or, 2) all the other teams copy it. Both neutralise the advantage and the whole process of finding the next advantage starts again.
Should also be noted that other teams were found to have flex in their wings, only reason there's fuss around Red Bull is they are leading the championship.
Red Bull have a new wing for Baku which, judging by a couple of shots from free practice, doesn't look to flex as much as the old one. Ironically, Mercedes also have a new wing that appears to flex perhaps even more than the Red Bull one did! I wonder if Mercedes realised their appeal wasn't going to prevent Red Bull using their wing for this race so they fast-tracked their own version?
The Red Bull 'flexi' wing is not illegal, it passed the FIA test. This kind of innovation happens all the time and what happens next usually goes one of two ways: 1) regulations are changed and the part becomes illegal and must be changed, or, 2) all the other teams copy it. Both neutralise the advantage and the whole process of finding the next advantage starts again.
Should also be noted that other teams were found to have flex in their wings, only reason there's fuss around Red Bull is they are leading the championship.
Red Bull have a new wing for Baku which, judging by a couple of shots from free practice, doesn't look to flex as much as the old one. Ironically, Mercedes also have a new wing that appears to flex perhaps even more than the Red Bull one did! I wonder if Mercedes realised their appeal wasn't going to prevent Red Bull using their wing for this race so they fast-tracked their own version?
resolve10 said:
Some interesting comments in this thread, and some totally wide of the mark.
The Red Bull 'flexi' wing is not illegal, it passed the FIA test. This kind of innovation happens all the time and what happens next usually goes one of two ways: 1) regulations are changed and the part becomes illegal and must be changed, or, 2) all the other teams copy it. Both neutralise the advantage and the whole process of finding the next advantage starts again.
Should also be noted that other teams were found to have flex in their wings, only reason there's fuss around Red Bull is they are leading the championship.
Red Bull have a new wing for Baku which, judging by a couple of shots from free practice, doesn't look to flex as much as the old one. Ironically, Mercedes also have a new wing that appears to flex perhaps even more than the Red Bull one did! I wonder if Mercedes realised their appeal wasn't going to prevent Red Bull using their wing for this race so they fast-tracked their own version?
There's a thread dedicated the legal/not legal status of the red bull wing, please don't bring the mind numbing tedious entrenched warfare it's descended into into this one.The Red Bull 'flexi' wing is not illegal, it passed the FIA test. This kind of innovation happens all the time and what happens next usually goes one of two ways: 1) regulations are changed and the part becomes illegal and must be changed, or, 2) all the other teams copy it. Both neutralise the advantage and the whole process of finding the next advantage starts again.
Should also be noted that other teams were found to have flex in their wings, only reason there's fuss around Red Bull is they are leading the championship.
Red Bull have a new wing for Baku which, judging by a couple of shots from free practice, doesn't look to flex as much as the old one. Ironically, Mercedes also have a new wing that appears to flex perhaps even more than the Red Bull one did! I wonder if Mercedes realised their appeal wasn't going to prevent Red Bull using their wing for this race so they fast-tracked their own version?
ajprice said:
Man-At-Arms said:
ggdrew said:
BUT Im conflicted because how can a race result stand when the winning cars are illegal under the regs? Its a mockery!
But as always in F1, the rules at the beginning of the season are ambiguous.The teams exploit them and find loopholes to their advantage.
It’s only when the FIA realise how far the rules were bent (not broken), that they then start to make mid-season amendments.
Lotus - active downforce (1978)
Williams - active suspension (1989)
Brawn - double deck diffuser (2009)
RedBull - off throttle blown diffuser (2011)
Ferrari - fuel flow meter (2019)
Mercedes - dual axis steering (2020)
I’m sure there loads more I haven’t mentioned……
Teddy Lop said:
There's a thread dedicated the legal/not legal status of the red bull wing, please don't bring the mind numbing tedious entrenched warfare it's descended into into this one.
I fully agree, apologies for that.Not ideal but I don't think Max's off will affect him too much. There's enough pace in hand that he can slowly build up in Q1 and Q2 before we get to the business end.
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