Topic: Let's Talk F1

[Critterman]

Bring your big wallet because that week is very expensive.

[Sol Asylum]

Bring your big wallet because that week is very expensive.

All wallets are big for Elff, just saying.

Elff are you Irish?  Maybe Critter should have said pot-o-gold.

[kennysabarese]

Elff, you are right... Weber has been very consistent, at making horrible starts all last year He finally had a good one and raced well, so he deserves the win, no contesting that.

Also, to clarify, I love Monaco, it is a great place to race, I've seen exciting racing here the last few years. I was upset that the threat of rain forced everyone to do one pit stop, but I guess just now that we have a few races gone by, I am starting to solidify my position on the tires.
 
Critter yes, I know F1 asked the tires to be this way, so I am not blaming Pirelli. I think that the tires are making it more like roulette when it comes to setup in qualifying. Because they can't make many changes once qualy starts, if the temp changes, even just slightly, from the last practice to qualy, you can't change setup to try to adjust to the conditions. So it's more like roulette of who can happen to make them work at the right moment in time.

I am starting to think it's just a gimmick that Bernie has chosen to try to make the racing more exciting. This is something that Bernie would do, because he's admitted that he would love to have artificial rain that you could turn on to make things "more exciting". I'm worried that F1 is going to become a circus. They keep trying to change things to fight falling viewership, but it hasn't worked for other racing series, and it's not going to work for F1.

[elff]

Weber admitted at the beginning of this year that he feels much more comfortable in the current car and that he can push this car to the limit.

He is tied for second place right now and is only 3 points behind Alonso.  The other second place person is vettel.

I think Red Bull will win the constructors again

[elff]

I totally missed the Pot of Gold.
I recently found out that our ancestors go back to Scotland, not Ireland
So I am not sure what the wee folk are called there.

[Sol Asylum]

So I am not sure what the wee folk are called there.

Sheep?

[Critterman]

Kenny,  when they did away will fuel stops and the teams ability to judge to the last drop how much fuel they needed in the car at any given second, they had to come up with another way to force them into the pits.  So now it is a matter of how fast the pitcrews are as well as how the driver can conserve his tires.  And yes it does make for exciting racing.

Elff a lot of the Scots migrated to Ireland in the 14th century.  My ancestors did.

[kennysabarese]

Kenny,  when they did away will fuel stops and the teams ability to judge to the last drop how much fuel they needed in the car at any given second, they had to come up with another way to force them into the pits.  So now it is a matter of how fast the pitcrews are as well as how the driver can conserve his tires.  And yes it does make for exciting racing.

I definitely understand the reasoning.  I don't agree with the refueling ban. There's gotta be a way to make that safer. Other series do it and don't have so many problems... 

My concern is not that the tires don't last long enough. I watch all 3 free practice sessions, qualy, and of course the race itself during every race weekend, and in all the commentary and driver interviews, I don't hear complaints about the tires not lasting long enough. Lewis said over the radio Sunday something like "if I keep this pace up, I won't be able to last X laps". So I don't think the drivers have a problem knowing how hard to drive the tires to get them to last.

What I keep hearing, especially during qualy, is the teams/drivers are having a hard time "activating" the tires, and that it's hit or miss based on changing temperatures, ambient, track, and tire.

So the better drivers at the top may be more able to deal with an unbalanced car and make it work, whereas drivers like Jensen need to have a perfect car or he can't drive at all. I think that's why we see Alonzo and Hamilton being more consistent. Whereas Jensen is either up front or mid pack. But there are times when someone out of no where gets into a place they never normally get, and in the interview they say something like "the tires just started working" while others say "we just couldn't turn the tires on when the temps changed"

It's too random for me right now. Excitement in the form of luck is not that exciting to me. If it was I'd play roulette.

[elff]

I would put that as a form of Skill.   Team skill and more importantly driver skill.    Case in point, the difference between Alonso and Masa. 

Although that brings up another discussion, I think Masa has lost his edge due to the accident.  He was a completely different driver before that occurred.   Some people can shake that off, others it affects significantly and others it might pull them back just a bit.   I think Masa is the later.  If he doesn't feel 100% confident in the car, he gets just tentative enough that the other drivers can go around him, whereas Alonso has more confidence in himself and can push basically the same car better.  Masa is still a great driver in comparison to a lot of other drivers.   I was happy to see him do very well this entire weekend.

[kennysabarese]

Being able to drive  bad car good is definitely a skill, but when the less good drivers get lucky and overtake the good drivers because of the right mix of temps and right moment on the track, that is not skill.

[Gentleman Jack]

You guys should watch NASCAR, it's awesome!

I've got some squirrels on the BBQ if you want to come over and watch with me.

[kennysabarese]

I've been watching a little here and there. It's fascinating to me. I'm going to try oval racing on iRacing so I truly understand it. A racing driver, now instructor who's written some amazing racing books that I've read said that he prefers oval racing to road courses because you are constantly on the edge. So I have to respect NASCAR, even though their antics are very silly, but that just comes with commercialism and trying to fabricate excitement.

[elff]

Nascar is boring to me.
I need a race that has people turn both left and right.

I just never could get into any sort of oval racing.

[Critterman]

I watch all forms of racing I just prefer road courses.  You want to see some great drivers in full bodied cars watch European or British Touring car races.

Speaking of oval racing what do you guys think of the new Indy car?  Reminds me of a toy car from years ago when they were building "cars of the future"

[elff]

I watch all forms of racing I just prefer road courses.  You want to see some great drivers in full bodied cars watch European or British Touring car races.

Speaking of oval racing what do you guys think of the new Indy car?  Reminds me of a toy car from years ago when they were building "cars of the future"

Thats a combination of racing and rugby!!!!

[Kelu]

Thats a combination of racing and rugby!!!!

And what is wrong with that???

[elff]

Absolutely nothing it's fun as hell to watch!!!

[kennysabarese]

Critter, I think the new Indy cars are kind of ugly.

[Critterman]

Kinda?  That is kind of you.  Saying they look like a toy was not being complimentary.

[kennysabarese]

Here you go, in all of it's funky glory.

[Gentleman Jack]

Having driven both NASCAR and INDY, I definitely prefer INDY cars, but both were oval track, not road circuits.

NASCAR is ok to watch at times, but I can't watch week after week.

[DeepBlueGXP]

Formula 1 2011 06 Monaco GP Sebastian Vettel Onboard Pole Position Lap

[Critterman]

While watching that video pay close attention to the right front wheel as Vettel enters the turns, the left never seems to get as close to the
 railing as the right.  Also look at the speed in the hairpin 42 kph or about 24 miles per hour.

[kennysabarese]

Here we go Alonso says its like a lottery.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3213/7789932/Alonso-F1-could-lose-credibility

"It's a fantastic season, it's so unpredictable. I think people stand in front of the TV, with some surprises every race. It's good for the audience, it's good for the sport to bring attention to the races," the Ferrari driver told CNN.

"On the other hand we can lose credibility. We cannot lose that the best teams, the best drivers, the best strategies win the races, because at the moment from the outside it seems that in every race anyone can win.

"It doesn't matter the talent, it doesn't matter the team, the performance - it's like a lottery. What you achieve in Formula One is not by chance. We need to make clear that if you win a race, it's because you did something better. And I don't think at the moment that this is clear for everybody."

[elff]

That's a very well phrased statement from a  guy making a crappy car do amazing things.
Now that him and MSC have said it, I wonder if other teams will have the balls to say the same.