F1 2014: Year of the Six

KellyAssauer · Mar 2, 2014

Here we go!

Pre-season testing has come to an end and there's less than 2 weeks before the Australian Grand Prix!

Renault got what they were so vocal asking for - the six cylinder - and are now left wondering why they asked!
(preseason testing was just horrible, so go ahead, ask Seb what's wrong with the car, god knows everyone else has...)

Anything powered by Mercedes appears to be the early favorite, although Ferrari could take the championship if it wasn't for all those pesky turns...

And?

The fastest man overall in testing is the consummate bridesmaid: Felipe Massa... in his Williams.

Who saw that coming?

The only thing that would make this season more fun to watch?

-would be allowing test driver Simona de Silvestro to race the Sauber! You go girl!

=)

KellyAssauer · Mar 13, 2014

First practice, live form Melbourne - and it's on my TV! - tonight! Yes!

TedTheewen · Mar 13, 2014

I'm hoping for a crazy year. I think that's part of the reason for the shake-up. Predictability will kill any sport.

But I'm still a Red Bull fan and I love Seb.

TedTheewen · Mar 13, 2014

I never expected to be this disappointed. Wow.

First of all, they don't sound like race cars. F1 cars are supposed to roar. Now they sound like some kids with rice tuners.

Second of all, they narrowed the wheel base and changed the aerodynamics so now the cars can't corner like they used to. Sure, they might be faster in the straight-aways, but this isn't NASCAR. One of the best reasons F1 rocks is how well the cars corner. I loved watching cars take corners at speeds that would shake organs loose.

This reminds me too much of NASCAR. If I see one fight in the pits or a driver talking trash about another driver, I'm done. Seriously.

onesecondglance · Mar 14, 2014

I am so looking forward to this. I've been watching all the testing reports and I think the cars sound great - throaty and muscular, and the whooshing noise of the ERS spinning up on braking is straight outta SF - fantastic. I can't wait to hear the whole grid fire up at once.

I'm also loving the fact that the grid has been given a good shake. What's happened to Lotus? Why is Kimi so far behind Alonso in the same machine? Will Kevin Magnusson reward McLaren's trust? Is this Williams' year?

[on that last one, I really hope so. They are my local team by a couple of miles, but I've not been able to get behind them while they had Maldonado as a driver. Now he's gone, I'm cheering for them as well as my boys in McLaren

]

Perks · Mar 14, 2014

I've got it recorded. I can't believe it's that time of year again!

KellyAssauer · Mar 14, 2014

TedTheewen said:
I never expected to be this disappointed. Wow.

Thanks for that Ted. I now imagine you going to work by climbing in your v8 powered car, driving up onto the banking (the only hill in sight) and mixing it up with all the other v8 powered cars by only turning left all the way there and back - unless of course it's raining and you have to stay home.
So sad. =(

Can you even buy a v8 powered car anymore? Who's going to buy one with gas prices the way they are? Innovative advances in motors people actually have in real cars isn't going to help you one bit? Well okay then.

*starts fight in pits*

DreamWeaver · Mar 14, 2014

Perks said:
I've got it recorded. I can't believe it's that time of year again!

My DVR crapped out twenty minutes into FP1! Arrrggghhh!!!!! But I appear to have captured all of FP2, so will be watching that after I get home from running errands.

SO GLAD F1 is back!

DreamWeaver · Mar 14, 2014

TedTheewen said:
One of the best reasons F1 rocks is how well the cars corner. I loved watching cars take corners at speeds that would shake organs loose.

Yeah, I loved watching that, too. Seriously cool.

This reminds me too much of NASCAR. If I see one fight in the pits or a driver talking trash about another driver, I'm done. Seriously.

On the other hand, I still smile remembering the time Juan Pablo Montoya set the track on fire literally (using that much-abused term in the correct way, I might add) at Daytona. And Hamilton's rather charming stop at the wrong pit last year comes in second as my favorite pit moment. The first was the NASCAR driver a couple of weeks ago who did the sideways backward parking maneuver to make it into his assigned pit. It was just like the teenage girl in the minivan in "The Pacifier" who says, "Who's stopping? I'm PARKING!"

TedTheewen · Mar 14, 2014

I wish I could afford a V8. Sadly, I have to drive a domestic.

Which is another reason I really enjoyed F1--it has always been so far beyond what most folks will drive in their lifetime. I don't need practical in my racing.

I realize why F1 did this. The fuel issues are a reflection of the engineering mandates being handed out to various car manufacturers. And part of the fun this year is going to be watching everybody struggle to keep up with the changes. Brakes that catch fire, etc.

I'm not so sure about the new cars this year. But since everybody is having the same issues, the equal footing is nice.

KellyAssauer · Mar 14, 2014

DreamWeaver said:
On the other hand, I still smile remembering the time Juan Pablo Montoya...

Funny, I smile every time I think of him too.
Different reasons I'd bet.

Fastest F1 lap ever: 2004 Monza:
Juan Pablo Montoya (you killed my motor, prepare to die)
262.242 km/h. in a Williams.

He's back in open wheel this year with Indy car!

DreamWeaver · Mar 14, 2014

KellyAssauer said:
Funny, I smile every time I think of him too.
Different reasons I'd bet.

Fastest F1 lap ever: 2004 Monza:
Juan Pablo Montoya (you killed my motor, prepare to die)
262.242 km/h. in a Williams.

He's back in open wheel this year with Indy car!

Yes, glad he's back in open wheel. I only catch the left turn stuff because my brother likes to watch it. I may rename him Bubba...

DreamWeaver · Mar 15, 2014

I tried to wake up at 2am to watch qualifying, but it just wasn't happening

. Thank heavens for properly operating DVRs. Got to watch it this morning and really, REALLY enjoyed it.

I like the new NASCAR-style driver numbers, too. Had to go online and look up the backstory on each driver's pick. Typical Kimi: "Yeah, I already had it so why change it?" :ROFL:

KellyAssauer · Mar 15, 2014

Someone needs to sit down and have a long chat with Daniel Ricciardo. He just doesn't quite have that "Oh we really suck and our cars are junk" (until the very last fraction of a second) Red-bull-cookies company line down yet.

It may take a few races before he masters the whine.

TedTheewen · Mar 15, 2014

I'll admit, my initial reactions might have been hasty.

I love how everybody is having problems. Now it really focuses so much more on teamwork and it sort of takes the prima donna attitudes of some of the drives and puts it in a big check. Now the drivers have to actually work more closely with the team than ever before.

DreamWeaver · Mar 17, 2014

Two questions:

1. How 'bout them rookies? Boo-yah!!!!! Two in the points!
2. How long do you think it'll be before they finalize the second place result?

KellyAssauer · Mar 17, 2014

2. About the time the FIA realizes they have to go back to Australia...

(btw: I wouldn't let them in)

1. Bottas, omg... brilliant.

onesecondglance · Mar 17, 2014

The whole results thing is a farce, and it's a shame if Daniel doesn't get to keep his first ever podium; he drove well enough to deserve it, so if the disqualification stands, it's his team who have let him down.

But Magnussen did a fantastic job, and Bottas would surely have been in the top five if he'd not hit the wall. Lucky boy that he was able to continue at all!

KellyAssauer · Mar 17, 2014

I honestly do not understand.

If you weigh the car before the race and it weighs X.
If you weigh the driver and he weighs Y.
If you give them 'so much' fuel and it weighs Z, and each car is expected to have amount W of fuel left at race end... and if you weight the car, driver and left over fuel after the race and it's all within the specifications.

Then this whole 'how fast did your engine use the fuel we gave you'
thing is just hooey. The facts are facts. Arguing over how these facts came to be is beyond stupid.

Give Daniel his second place and stop whining that the facts prove it.

my opinion - perhaps misinformed -but still

onesecondglance · Mar 17, 2014

Yeah, I must say I agree. I hate it when the result gets changed after a race, particularly for podium places.

The only way I can understand it is like this: the fuel rules are actually completely about fuel flow rates, and the amount of fuel provided is simply a byproduct of that. So it's not "here's 100kg of fuel to use as you wish; if you want to use 90kg in the first 20 laps and cruise for the rest, go nuts" - it's "you can feed the engine no more than this amount of fuel per hour, and it's up to you to get the most speed you can out of that flow".

It still sucks for Ricciardo either way. He drove very well.

Perks · Mar 17, 2014

Imma go with Seb pitched the world's most impressive pouty fit and he's blackmailing the works to get Danny off the podium, so they had to come up with something.

How's that for inventive?

DreamWeaver · Mar 17, 2014

DreamWeaver said:
How long do you think it'll be before they finalize the second place result?

KellyAssauer said:
2. About the time the FIA realizes they have to go back to Australia...

TedTheewen · Mar 17, 2014

Rules are rules, and half of racing engineering is trying to work within certain rules and around certain rules.

TedTheewen · Mar 27, 2014

Lots of rain + new cars + tech issues = gonna be a fun race weekend!

DreamWeaver · Mar 29, 2014

I watched qualifying on DVR this morning, while we were having a driving rainstorm. It felt like I was there live

.

F1 2014: Year of the Six

The Anti-Magdalene

The Anti-Magdalene

AW's Most Adorable Sociopath

AW's Most Adorable Sociopath

pretending to be awake

delicate #!&@*#! flower

The Anti-Magdalene

Shakespearean Fool

Shakespearean Fool

AW's Most Adorable Sociopath

The Anti-Magdalene

Shakespearean Fool

Shakespearean Fool

The Anti-Magdalene

AW's Most Adorable Sociopath

Shakespearean Fool

The Anti-Magdalene

pretending to be awake

The Anti-Magdalene

pretending to be awake

delicate #!&@*#! flower

Shakespearean Fool

AW's Most Adorable Sociopath

AW's Most Adorable Sociopath

Shakespearean Fool