F1 2013

[b19bry]

I was surprised to see the level of criticism of the current state of F1 after the Spanish race. I found last season's championship one of the most interesting in many years and this year's is shaping up to be similarly unpredictable with some good overtaking even in the spanish race.

Alain Prost has also pitched in saying pretty much the same thing :

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107616

I think even Pirelli recognise the Spanish race was exceptional in terms of tyre wear and are due (no doubt under some pressure from Red Bull) to make some minor changes for Canada. I'd hate to go back to the previous situation though of having a series of sprint races between pitstops with almost zero overtaking.

Mercedes are looking strong in qualifying for the Monaco race so far and we all know overtaking is all but impossible on this track !

[Totster]

I was surprised to see the level of criticism of the current state of F1 after the Spanish race. I found last season's championship one of the most interesting in many years and this year's is shaping up to be similarly unpredictable with some good overtaking even in the spanish race.

Alain Prost has also pitched in saying pretty much the same thing :

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107616

I think even Pirelli recognise the Spanish race was exceptional in terms of tyre wear and are due (no doubt under some pressure from Red Bull) to make some minor changes for Canada. I'd hate to go back to the previous situation though of having a series of sprint races between pitstops with almost zero overtaking.

Mercedes are looking strong in qualifying for the Monaco race so far and we all know overtaking is all but impossible on this track !

I'm with you, I like the uncertainty that the tyres give.. I also understand the drivers frustration, they want to dive fast and win but no one wants to see a train of cars not changing position for 70 odd laps.. I'm not sure what the answer is

totster

[Guest]

What other solutions there could be to make the races fun so that F1 drivers can go as fast as they can, almost all the time?

1) Bring back fueling during the races and make the rules so that the fuel tank maximum size will make the cars to stop 2-3 times per race

2) Make the tires to last longer and at the same time add third kind of tire to the race, which have to be used during the race (2 stops at least during a race)

3) Define minimum amount of stops for each track before the season.

[wackysleet]

Actually, the Spanish race was not the first and only time that some drivers have stopped 4 times, I'm sure it happened last season as well with at least 2 drivers stopping.

As we all know, Pirelli were given a format for tyres and last years season was quite good but my view is that it does need something else to add to the equation in an attempt to get a winner without pitstop strategy deciding the outcome.

We posters complain about the lack of overtaking but we have seen it happen quite frequently and having been to watch the race at Monaco on numerous times I've always felt that although it is certainly a spectacle in it's own right with a tremendous atmosphere as a race it is a procession at best and seems to have very little to do with fastest driver/car winning. Mercedes were very fast yesterday and if the pair hold the front row they can and will dictate the race and for me having two cars that did very little last time out is not a true result so I do hope that does not happen.

David.

[Mosha]

What other solutions there could be to make the races fun so that F1 drivers can go as fast as they can, almost all the time?

1) Bring back fueling during the races and make the rules so that the fuel tank maximum size will make the cars to stop 2-3 times per race

2) Make the tires to last longer and at the same time add third kind of tire to the race, which have to be used during the race (2 stops at least during a race)

3) Define minimum amount of stops for each track before the season.

The sport needs to go retro.

With the exception of.

No fuel stops - Un safe

Keep todays safety aspects.

Get shut of the bells and whistles. Auto gearbox. wings, and car to pit radio, No computer read out The cars will be slower but they'll race as driver skill will count more

[ignis]

Get shut of the bells and whistles. Auto gearbox. wings, and car to pit radio, No computer read out The cars will be slower but they'll race as driver skill will count more

If you want to watch cars like this there are other Formula Racing cars like this...

As for the bells, whistles and computers in Fi, it is the advanced testing ground for road cars, many of these things have now been fitted to road cars...

To me F1 being the most advanced Motor Sport and 'The sport needs to go retro' do not go together...

But then does a Ferrari with a 2014 spec 1.6 turbo engine sound right ? [maybe change the name to the parent company and call them Fiat Racing ?]....... would fans watch the Australian Formula Super V8's if they were 1.6 lt engines ?

[Totster]

As for the bells, whistles and computers in Fi, it is the advanced testing ground for road cars, many of these things have now been fitted to road cars...

This should not be a driving force behind F1. It is a race and a spectator sport and both of those aspects should come before anything else.

totster

Edited May 26, 2013 by Totster

[ignis]

As for the bells, whistles and computers in Fi, it is the advanced testing ground for road cars, many of these things have now been fitted to road cars...

This should not be a driving force behind F1. It is a race and a spectator sport and both of those aspects should come before anything else.

totster

Is that not Sports in all types ' It is a race and a spectator sport' ? Regards motor sport Go carts, Banger races to big Trucks and everything between is a race and a spectator sport...... everyone has a different view and watch different things, myself cannot see anything at all interesting [well maybe the crashes] in Oval [uSA type] racing, yet 1000's watch this sort of racing. same to me with Drag racing, yet most other motor racing I watch if I can find it to watch.

F1 Do away with the bells, whistles and latest technology = something like A1 = long since gone... pity as all the cars were the same = a sport that was a team and driver effort not the bells, whistles and latest technology

[Totster]

As for the bells, whistles and computers in Fi, it is the advanced testing ground for road cars, many of these things have now been fitted to road cars...

This should not be a driving force behind F1. It is a race and a spectator sport and both of those aspects should come before anything else.

totster

Is that not Sports in all types ' It is a race and a spectator sport' ? Regards motor sport Go carts, Banger races to big Trucks and everything between is a race and a spectator sport...... everyone has a different view and watch different things, myself cannot see anything at all interesting [well maybe the crashes] in Oval [uSA type] racing, yet 1000's watch this sort of racing. same to me with Drag racing, yet most other motor racing I watch if I can find it to watch.

F1 Do away with the bells, whistles and latest technology = something like A1 = long since gone... pity as all the cars were the same = a sport that was a team and driver effort not the bells, whistles and latest technology

I didn't say 'bells and whistles' should all be done away with, but rather than using F1 as a testing bed for future production cars other aspects should come first.

There has to be a happy medium which allows technology to be involved, but which also preserves the use of drivers skill and the teams engineering in a way that the sport is competitive and exciting to watch.

totster

[rixalex]

F1 Do away with the bells, whistles and latest technology = something like A1 = long since gone... pity as all the cars were the same = a sport that was a team and driver effort not the bells, whistles and latest technology

I think the fact that A1 is long since gone tells its own story.

[Totster]

Some nice pics here of the good ole days with no bells and whistles..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-21740060

totster

[Mosha]

Look how much ground clearance they had then.

[Totster]

I quite like image number 7... how things have changed..

totster

[Mosha]

I quite like image number 7... how things have changed..

totster

On board camera on Clark's Lotus

[dominique355]

Has anyone seen the Monte Carlo GP? In particular the overtaking manoeuvres of Sergio Perez?

He overtook both Alonso and Kimi at the same spot and both times the driver he attempted to overtake had no other choice than cut the chicane and both cars ended up in front of Perez.

However, Alonso was penalized and had to concede the position (after the restart), but not Kimi.

Any thoughts on this?

I watched the Perez / Alonso overtaking several times. Depending on the camera position one time Perez was ahead of Alonso and another time it was Alonso who was still ahead. But anyway, Alonso appeared to have no space to go, expect either crash into Perez or cut the chicane.

The same happened to Kimi, who had to cut the chicane and stayed ahead of Perez.

But a few laps later, Perez' attempt was a bit earlier and this time he had no place to go, expect the wall or crash. He did both.

Late revenge?

[wackysleet]

Has anyone seen the Monte Carlo GP? In particular the overtaking manoeuvres of Sergio Perez?

He overtook both Alonso and Kimi at the same spot and both times the driver he attempted to overtake had no other choice than cut the chicane and both cars ended up in front of Perez.

However, Alonso was penalized and had to concede the position (after the restart), but not Kimi.

Any thoughts on this?

I watched the Perez / Alonso overtaking several times. Depending on the camera position one time Perez was ahead of Alonso and another time it was Alonso who was still ahead. But anyway, Alonso appeared to have no space to go, expect either crash into Perez or cut the chicane.

The same happened to Kimi, who had to cut the chicane and stayed ahead of Perez.

But a few laps later, Perez' attempt was a bit earlier and this time he had no place to go, expect the wall or crash. He did both.

Late revenge?

Like a lot on here I watched the race but as usual at least in my opinion having visited Monaco to watch the race on several occassions it is still the most boring race on the calendar and the street circuit boring, looking like a one track circuit.

I think Sergio Perez after doing very little appears to believe that he can drive how he wants without any consequences and certainly too aggressively, I know there are posters that think Jenson moans a lot but yesterday we had 3 previous WDCs saying the same thing after experiencing his antics, there is racing and then there is Perez and I'm sure the cameras did not show it as it appeared from the cockpit but there will be others that think that is racing.

So what do we think about the debacle concerning Mercedes/Pirelli secret tyre testing, seems very suspicious to me that possibly the fastest car has the worst tyre degadation and arranges a 1,000k testing session and then goes onto winning the following race with no tyre problems, why not make this public after all Pirelli has their own test car and driver and it's only right that teams should complain.

As I posted previously it was going to be a lock out and boring race if the Mercs got the front row, fortunately Lewis made a mistake by hanging back too much otherwise it would have been even more boring, too slow too long.

David.

Edited May 27, 2013 by wackysleet

[Sophon]

Has anyone seen the Monte Carlo GP? In particular the overtaking manoeuvres of Sergio Perez?

He overtook both Alonso and Kimi at the same spot and both times the driver he attempted to overtake had no other choice than cut the chicane and both cars ended up in front of Perez.

However, Alonso was penalized and had to concede the position (after the restart), but not Kimi.

Any thoughts on this?

<snipped>

I think the big difference is that when Perez attempted the overtake on Kimi, Perez also cut the chicane.

Sophon

[Mosha]

Has anyone seen the Monte Carlo GP? In particular the overtaking manoeuvres of Sergio Perez?

He overtook both Alonso and Kimi at the same spot and both times the driver he attempted to overtake had no other choice than cut the chicane and both cars ended up in front of Perez.

However, Alonso was penalized and had to concede the position (after the restart), but not Kimi.

Any thoughts on this?

I watched the Perez / Alonso overtaking several times. Depending on the camera position one time Perez was ahead of Alonso and another time it was Alonso who was still ahead. But anyway, Alonso appeared to have no space to go, expect either crash into Perez or cut the chicane.

The same happened to Kimi, who had to cut the chicane and stayed ahead of Perez.

But a few laps later, Perez' attempt was a bit earlier and this time he had no place to go, expect the wall or crash. He did both.

Late revenge?

Like a lot on here I watched the race but as usual at least in my opinion having visited Monaco to watch the race on several occassions it is still the most boring race on the calendar and the street circuit boring, looking like a one track circuit.

I think Sergio Perez after doing very little appears to believe that he can drive how he wants without any consequences and certainly too aggressively, I know there are posters that think Jenson moans a lot but yesterday we had 3 previous WDCs saying the same thing after experiencing his antics, there is racing and then there is Perez and I'm sure the cameras did not show it as it appeared from the cockpit but there will be others that think that is racing.

So what do we think about the debacle concerning Mercedes/Pirelli secret tyre testing, seems very suspicious to me that possibly the fastest car has the worst tyre degadation and arranges a 1,000k testing session and then goes onto winning the following race with no tyre problems, why not make this public after all Pirelli has their own test car and driver and it's only right that teams should complain.

As I posted previously it was going to be a lock out and boring race if the Mercs got the front row, fortunately Lewis made a mistake by hanging back too much otherwise it would have been even more boring, too slow too long.

David.

I actually shouted out "I am so ******* bored" It was worse than watching paint dry. Perez is long over due to take over Lewis's spot in the queue to visit the stewards. (Remember what Jenson said about him having a permanent spot in the queue.) Oh and the comment about Lewis, because Rico wasn't pulling away, "Lewis is driving too fast"

[Totster]

Nice comment from Christian Horner during the red flag after being asked if this was good for RB - reply went something like " everyone is in the same boat, just cruising around protecting the tyres, it's just a high speed train.."

totster

[rixalex]

Has anyone seen the Monte Carlo GP? In particular the overtaking manoeuvres of Sergio Perez?

He overtook both Alonso and Kimi at the same spot and both times the driver he attempted to overtake had no other choice than cut the chicane and both cars ended up in front of Perez.

However, Alonso was penalized and had to concede the position (after the restart), but not Kimi.

Any thoughts on this?

<snipped>

I think the big difference is that when Perez attempted the overtake on Kimi, Perez also cut the chicane.

Sophon

Indeed. When Perez attempted the move on Kimi, he didn't have complete control of the car and couldn't make the corner. No reason therefore for Kimi to have to give him the place, as Perez hadn't won it. When Perez did the same thing earlier to Alonso however, he did have control of the car, and although he wasn't outright ahead of Alonso, he did have the racing line, so i think the position was his. Put it this way, it certainly would have been his position had there been a barrier there instead of a run off area, because Alonso either would have done a better job of braking and tucking in behind Perez, or he wouldn't have done a better job of braking and would have crashed.

Weird race for Alonso all round, after his brilliance in Spain. I know there was talk of there being something stuck in his aerodynamics, but aerodynamics i don't think had anything to do with the way he kept giving people space to get past.

And speaking of Ferrari, how on earth does Massa manage to replicate his qualifying accident so well? Bizarre. Couldn't help feeling that the neck rubbing he was doing after the accident was just a ploy to avoid having to go back to the pit garage and explain himself.

Brilliant drive by Rosberg. He well and truly monstered every single session over that weekend. Congrats to him. Surprised though that Vettel didn't try and take the fight to him more in the closing stages. Without having Lewis in the way, you would have thought he would have really had a go at trying to snatch victory. Not that i suppose he would have had much chance.

It is a tedious place in terms of overtaking, but i don't know, if it was taken off the calendar, i think i would be a bit sad. Yes it is a bit unfair the way faster cars aren't able to pass slower cars, but then again, everyone is in the same position and everyone knows that the key to winning is getting pole. That is what Rosberg managed, and what nobody else could. Kudos to him.

[Mosha]

Did they say Williams had signed a deal for Ferrari engines? I was drinking to relive the boredom, and may have imagined it.

Edited May 27, 2013 by Mosha

[Totster]

Did they say Williams had signed a deal for Ferrari engines? I was drinking to relive the boredom, and may have imagined it.

Don't know about that, but I think I heard Torro Rosso had signed up for Renault engines..

totster

[ignis]

Did they say Williams had signed a deal for Ferrari engines? I was drinking to relive the boredom, and may have imagined it.

• Williams news
• Mercedes confirms engine talks with Williams for 2014

• May 25, 2013: Williams looks likely to switch to Mercedes engines next year after the two have been engaged in talks over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend

[Mosha]

Did they say Williams had signed a deal for Ferrari engines? I was drinking to relive the boredom, and may have imagined it.

• Williams news
• Mercedes confirms engine talks with Williams for 2014

• May 25, 2013: Williams looks likely to switch to Mercedes engines next year after the two have been engaged in talks over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend

Thanks, I did say I'd been drinking 555

[Totster]

Perez 'should be punched in the face'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22675026

totster

[Mosha]

Perez 'should be punched in the face'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22675026

totster

A few years back some drivers would have marched down the pit lane to do just that. I reckon Jenson would hold their Jackets.

[rixalex]

Perez 'should be punched in the face'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22675026

totster

You'd think Kimi might be a little more philosophical about it all considering what he did to Sutil in Monaco a few years ago. Granted though, he did apologise to Sutil. I wonder if Perez has gone round with a serving of humble pie yet.

[Guest]

Perez 'should be punched in the face'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22675026

totster

You'd think Kimi might be a little more philosophical about it all considering what he did to Sutil in Monaco a few years ago. Granted though, he did apologise to Sutil. I wonder if Perez has gone round with a serving of humble pie yet.

I remember the crash, but can not remember was the whole race the same.

In this race Perez was driving like an kamikaze driver almost the whole time. In the way that he expected others to give him the road just to avoid the collision.

In a way all top drivers have been driving that way at some point of their careers. Driving like an canon ball makes others to be slightly afraid of the driver and collisions now and in the future. Kimi said no to that behavior this time.

[Totster]

Perez 'should be punched in the face'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22675026

totster

You'd think Kimi might be a little more philosophical about it all considering what he did to Sutil in Monaco a few years ago. Granted though, he did apologise to Sutil. I wonder if Perez has gone round with a serving of humble pie yet.

I remember the crash, but can not remember was the whole race the same.

In this race Perez was driving like an kamikaze driver almost the whole time. In the way that he expected others to give him the road just to avoid the collision.

In a way all top drivers have been driving that way at some point of their careers. Driving like an canon ball makes others to be slightly afraid of the driver and collisions now and in the future. Kimi said no to that behavior this time.

Perez has had some criticism recently for being a bit soft, I reckon he took it too hard and probably chose the wrong race to start asserting himself...

totster

[Mosha]

Perez 'should be punched in the face'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22675026

totster

You'd think Kimi might be a little more philosophical about it all considering what he did to Sutil in Monaco a few years ago. Granted though, he did apologise to Sutil. I wonder if Perez has gone round with a serving of humble pie yet.

It'd be a bloody big pie,