F1 2013

[ignis]

90% of F1 is soap opera uh.. politics for boys:)

That video was anyway from the BBC crew, who might not be the first ones to blame local track for the tyre punctures.

I hope they would bring back the fueling stops (even if those can be dangerous) and mandatory 2-4 stops to each track so that the boys can drive around the track with full speed all the time.

Now Ferrari told that in season 2014 the cars will have 100kg fuel, which together with 5 engine limit means that the cars will have to slow down their speeds for half of the race lengths.

Thought they would only use half the amount of fuel anyway in 2014 + will be faster than the present V8 petrol only cars..

the new technical regulations to be used in the FIA Formula One world champion ship from 2014 onwards: the Energy F1-2014. The regulations call for a 1.6L direct injection Turbo V6 plus a single turbocharger; an electric motor for boost is allowed, Compared to 2013 KERS, the ERS of the 2014 Power Unit will have twice the power (120 kW vs 60 kW) and a performance effect 10 times greater.

[wackysleet]

BBC Sport F1 2013 - 08 British GP - Post-Race: Did this kerb cause Silverstone tyre chaos?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98GB1I2TyrE

Looking at that piece of film does give a possible insight to the tyre problem and does look like a possible scenario, Pirelli did report to Maclaren that Perez tyre on the Saturdays practice had a cut on the inside of the tyre possibly due to the kerbs and there has not been that kind of failure before, at least numbers wise and it did not affect all the drivers. I will keep an open mind on the subject.

David.

[Mosha]

Drivers are threatening a boycott of this w/ends race

http://sport.uk.msn.com/f1/drivers-threaten-boycott-in-germany

[wackysleet]

Just read that Mosha but would not be at all surprised to see that the so called fault was at least partly/wholly the fault of the teams/drivers.

The BBCs showing of the particular corner clearly showed black rubber being scraped off the tyres, indicating that they were indeed being affected by that sharp edge, view the rest of the green part of the shoulder where the cars were mounting the kerbs and running on it and there is no rubber marks.

I for one am not convinced it was Pirellis fault but more a reluctance of teams failures to stick to what Pirelli advocated in the positioning of the tyres on their relevant wheel and the recommended inflation and not forgetting the extreme use of the green area of the kerbs.

[Mosha]

The drivers who were told to becareful of the kerb, from what I saw, carried on regardless.

[wackysleet]

I don't doubt it for a second Mosha but it only needed to be a fraction out to clip the bit with the rubber on it and that's the bit in my opinion that caused the problem, after all the green bit was not part of the kerb for drivers to run over but if it's there then they will, but ask yourself why it was just that corner if that sharp edge had nothing to do with the problem as the cause of the damage, ok tyres may have failed at other parts of the circuit but probably caused at turn 4. Silverstone is a very fast track and tyres failing a few seconds after the damage could be a long way away from that corner.

David.

[Mosha]

If all those tyres were damaged on the inside, doesn't it point ot driver error. As in driving off the designated circuit?

[wackysleet]

Mosha.

That is what appears to have happened but with the vanity of some top drivers at risk do you really expect them to admit that they made an error of judgement in riding the green parts.

They were part of the track as far as they were concerned so I guess they felt they had every right to and if that's correct then the sharp piece of concrete that was exposed and clearly showing rubber deposits on it gouged out from the sidewall was really cause and effect which points to being the circuits fault with a modicum of blame with the FIA for inspecting the track and passing it fit for use.

David.

[Mosha]

IMHO the only way to test the tyres is around Silverstone, This w/ends race will not provide the challenge of Silverstone. I've always felt the kerbs should be steeper. The grey stuff is the track.

[wackysleet]

I could not agree more Mosha. If they are going to use the kerbs then why not make the track that much wider.

Of course the ideal solution would be to put the old Town and Country tyres on, then they could cut across the grass as well.

David.

[Mosha]

I could not agree more Mosha. If they are going to use the kerbs then why not make the track that much wider.

Of course the ideal solution would be to put the old Town and Country tyres on, then they could cut across the grass as well.

David.

[ignis]

I could not agree more Mosha. If they are going to use the kerbs then why not make the track that much wider.

Of course the ideal solution would be to put the old Town and Country tyres on, then they could cut across the grass as well.

David.

Why not go back a bit more and have solid rubber tyres.......?

No punctures and not a problem with tyre pressures ......

F1 is so say always looking at ways to save money.... so there is the answer , No tyre men, No air pumps,no tyre monitors, need less staff every team then cuts is wage bill

If the drivers use the curbs or a bit more never mind it will be them that has a bone shattering ride, guess they would keep on the smooth stuff a lot more

[Mosha]

How the heck is almost killing someone in the pits. A matter that can wait until after the race?

[wackysleet]

How the heck is almost killing someone in the pits. A matter that can wait until after the race?

Mosha.

It's simply a case of money over matter. All decisions should be resolved immediately following the event because it can effect the results of the race.

Nice to know that the cameraman is ok and escaped with minor injuries. Will there be repercussions for Red Bull releasing Mark in an unsafe way and what was the penalty for releasing the other driver into the path of another from the pits.

David.

[Totster]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23218404

totster

[Totster]

Red Bull fined 30,000 Euro. Sky F1 understands cameraman hit by tyre suffered a broken collarbone and ribs.

World Champions Red Bull have been fined €30,000 for an unsafe pit release of Mark Webber's car in the German GP after a cameraman was injured by a flying wheel.

FOM cameraman Paul Allen is understood to have suffered a broken collarbone and broken ribs after being knocked over when he was struck by a bouncing wheel which had detached itself from the right-rear side of Webber's RB9.

The Red Bull, at the time running in second place, had just completed a pitstop but was released back out into the service road by mechanics before the wheel had been attached to the car properly.

Link: http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12475/8812201/Red-Bull-fined-30-000-Euro-at-German-GP-after-cameraman-injured-in-unsafe-release

totster

[rixalex]

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "The most important thing is that the cameraman who got struck by the tyre does not appear to have suffered serious injury.

A broken shoulder and cracked ribs is not a serious injury?!

[Totster]

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "The most important thing is that the cameraman who got struck by the tyre does not appear to have suffered serious injury.

A broken shoulder and cracked ribs is not a serious injury?!

Well he's not dead I suppose....

Have to say I think they are getting away pretty lightly, I'll bet that won't even cover the medical expenses..

totster

[b19bry]

Enjoyed the race and great to see Lotus doing well hope they can give Raikkonen the car to challenge Vettel over the remaining races.

Mercedes seem to be almost back to where they were after the Silverstone race highlighted the misuse of the tyres.

Ferrari really need to fix qualifying, they seem always on the back foot going into the race, if they could start on the first or second row they would be challenging for wins most races.

Having started the season with a number of teams and drivers looking like they would be challenging, it's looking more and more like Vettel is firm favourite for another title.

[Mosha]

How long can Kimi keep his points scoring run going?

[rixalex]

How long can Kimi keep his points scoring run going?

Mr Consistency indeed.

One thing i did wonder about though with that last race, and their decision on tyres, was the way they seemed, with ten or so laps to go, to be heading for a possible win, what with Kimi leading, and when his engineer came on the radio and asked him whether the tyres would last, he short and sharply just said "i told you already". Then the next lap or so, suddenly he is coming in. Did the tyres fall off the cliff i wonder? Didn't seem like it from his lap times. Nor from his curt radio message. Wonder who made the call, and wonder also if they could have held on had they not pitted.

[Guest]

How long can Kimi keep his points scoring run going?

Mr Consistency indeed.

One thing i did wonder about though with that last race, and their decision on tyres, was the way they seemed, with ten or so laps to go, to be heading for a possible win, what with Kimi leading, and when his engineer came on the radio and asked him whether the tyres would last, he short and sharply just said "i told you already". Then the next lap or so, suddenly he is coming in. Did the tyres fall off the cliff i wonder? Didn't seem like it from his lap times. Nor from his curt radio message. Wonder who made the call, and wonder also if they could have held on had they not pitted.

Kimi's last retirement was 4 years ago, hopefully the next will be after next 4 years

Lotus said that they were thinking of letting Kimi to run to the end with the old tires as one option, but decided to do the stop as they were expecting the tires to get in bad condition after some more laps. This could have resulted in worse position at the end.

Kimi have had few of these situations, where he have been in 2nd place and then dropped down as the tires were too worn down.

[rixalex]

How long can Kimi keep his points scoring run going?

Mr Consistency indeed.

One thing i did wonder about though with that last race, and their decision on tyres, was the way they seemed, with ten or so laps to go, to be heading for a possible win, what with Kimi leading, and when his engineer came on the radio and asked him whether the tyres would last, he short and sharply just said "i told you already". Then the next lap or so, suddenly he is coming in. Did the tyres fall off the cliff i wonder? Didn't seem like it from his lap times. Nor from his curt radio message. Wonder who made the call, and wonder also if they could have held on had they not pitted.

Kimi's last retirement was 4 years ago, hopefully the next will be after next 4 years

Lotus said that they were thinking of letting Kimi to run to the end with the old tires as one option, but decided to do the stop as they were expecting the tires to get in bad condition after some more laps. This could have resulted in worse position at the end.

Kimi have had few of these situations, where he have been in 2nd place and then dropped down as the tires were too worn down.

Yes i appreciate all that. I was just surprised that they did decide to pit after Kimi had reacted so curtly to his engineer's question about the state of the tyres.

[Guest]

Yes i appreciate all that. I was just surprised that they did decide to pit after Kimi had reacted so curtly to his engineer's question about the state of the tyres.

That could be just an communication error. Kimi's radio was working two-ways only at one part of the track. He could hear the pit, but Lotus team did not hear him for the most of the track.

Therefore the initial message could have been either way, to pit or not to pit. Kimi was not happy to repeat his messages. Reminds me of the French spy lady from Allo Allo.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4I9DMSvJxg

[b19bry]

How long can Kimi keep his points scoring run going?

The rest of the season let's hope !

[wackysleet]

How long can Kimi keep his points scoring run going?

The rest of the season let's hope !

It will be interesting to see Kimi at Red Bull if that is to happen but I think Seb will still be very hard to beat and I have to admit being tired of hearing that without the Adrian Newey designed car he would not achieve much, well it's never been the fastest car on the grid ever, in fact about 6/7 k slower last year and similar this year but Seb and the car is a near complete package with possibly another WDC in sight.

David.

[rixalex]

It will be interesting to see Kimi at Red Bull if that is to happen but I think Seb will still be very hard to beat and I have to admit being tired of hearing that without the Adrian Newey designed car he would not achieve much, well it's never been the fastest car on the grid ever, in fact about 6/7 k slower last year and similar this year but Seb and the car is a near complete package with possibly another WDC in sight.

David.

it's never been the fastest car on the grid ever

I've have to question that statement. Not detracting from Seb's achievements, but the car has clearly been the best combination of handling and speed for the majority of the last three of four years, give or take the odd dip.

For me Seb is already a great driver. To really prove his mettle though, he needs to race with a team mate of a higher calibre than Mark.

[rixalex]

system error

Edited July 11, 2013 by rixalex

[wackysleet]

It will be interesting to see Kimi at Red Bull if that is to happen but I think Seb will still be very hard to beat and I have to admit being tired of hearing that without the Adrian Newey designed car he would not achieve much, well it's never been the fastest car on the grid ever, in fact about 6/7 k slower last year and similar this year but Seb and the car is a near complete package with possibly another WDC in sight.

David.

it's never been the fastest car on the grid ever

I've have to question that statement. Not detracting from Seb's achievements, but the car has clearly been the best combination of handling and speed for the majority of the last three of four years, give or take the odd dip.

For me Seb is already a great driver. To really prove his mettle though, he needs to race with a team mate of a higher calibre than Mark.

rixalex.

Would agree without doubt that the Red Bull is the best handling car but would not agree that it's speed on any straight is the highest, the difference is that combined with it's handling, Seb driving and it's speed it may well be the fastest around the track although statistics show that he does not have all the fastest lap times or poles.

My speed reference was in outright straight line performance.

David.

P.S by the way I meant June the 20th, I must be suffering from senile dementia if I knew how to spell it.

[lomatopo]

An interesting read, albeit from a different perspective...

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/02/04/130204fa_fact_mcgrath

Yes, I am ~ 5 months behind.