F1 2014

Wow, a hell of a race, not even ruined by knowing the result thanks to the stupid 'Riccardo comes of age' thread that advertized it too the worl.

Hammy has now made up nearly 50 positions in 4 races (Austria 9th to 2nd, UK 6th to 1st, Germany 20th to 3rd, Hungary 22nd to 3rd) YEs he has the best car, but damn he's been getting in some passing practice.

Nico was really lucky in Quali. at the start of Q3 it looked like it was going to rain so your banker lap had to be your fast one. Nico went wide on his banker and was destined for the 3rd or 4th row until Magnussen crashed stopping the session allowing it to rain they dry out. That means he got another shot and got pole, good for him but lucky.

What a race, I don't think you can fault any of the top six drivers, they all drove great races. I can see both Nico and Lewis's points re the let him pass order, but Nico wasn't that close and do you really believe any champion worthy driver would have done anything different from Lewis? I don't. I've never been an Alonso fan, but I might have to give him drive of the race, he fought that pig of a car every inch of the way and held of Hammy, that was a hell of a drive and deserving of a win, not that I take anything away from Danny boy. You can see how much better a car the Merc is, especialy in the last corner, Hammy could consistantly get the car turned in and down to the apex, no other car looked that good even on new tires. For Alonso to get 2nd was a master class of a race, the others should all be in awe of what he did in that car. Really bad call by Ferrari not letting Kimi take another shot in Q1 and loosing out to Bianchi, that cost him probably 8-10 grid positions or he could have been in the fight for a podium too I think.

Even if Luca deMonumentaldick doesn't like these rules, they are making for some amazing racing.

Amazing that Alonso went 31(?) laps on the soft tires and almost pulled off the win, heck of a drive.

Also, how Vettel managed to kiss that wall at the start/finish line with no damage was unbelievable. When he came across the radio to his team he sounded so calm, like nothing even happened. Great race.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Wow, a hell of a race, not even ruined by knowing the result thanks to the stupid 'Riccardo comes of age' thread that advertized it too the worl.

Yeah that was kind of sucky.

I can't wait for the season to start up again and at my favorite track.

I hope it is another exciting one. But figure, as long as there isn't a failure again, Hamilton will run away with it.

I've noticed the past few seasons that this is the time of year that Red Bull puts together some very good updates on the car and steps it up. Let's see if they do it this year.

I worry that the internal battle of the Mercedes twins will lead to them losing the championship despite the dominating car. Just like McLaren lost out to the battle of Hamilton and Alonso in 2007.

If Redbull do bring the updates I hope they don't screw over Ricciardo like they did Sebastien Bourdais in favor of Vettel.

I don't think there's been any sign of the Mercedes driver battle being a problem. They're still racking up the manufacturer points in a hurry and well clear of any rivals in the driver's championship. They're racing clean and taking all the headlines. Mercedes is loving it.

HOw did I miss this. Maybe this should be in a thread titled F1-2015. But Max Verstappen, Jos's son is replacing JEV at Red Bull Lite next year. Max to Torro Rosso He's currently 16 and will be 17 by the time he hits the grid next year. Now the mechanics of driving an F1 car flat out I'm sure he will have covered, but what concerns me is his mental maturity both for race craft and the massive pressure of F1. HE's going to be 2 years younger than the previous youngest driver(s) who were all 19 plus when they started. At this point he's only ever done 28 car races, yes he's won 9 of them, but damn, I'm felling old. Hell his team leader will be that old old man, 20 year old Daniil Kvyat!!!

Adrian_Thompson wrote: HOw did I miss this. Maybe this should be in a thread titled F1-2015. But Max Verstappen, Jos's son is replacing JEV at Red Bull Lite next year. Max to Torro Rosso He's currently 16 and will be 17 by the time he hits the grid next year. Now the mechanics of driving an F1 car flat out I'm sure he will have covered, but what concerns me is his mental maturity both for race craft and the massive pressure of F1. HE's going to be 2 years younger than the previous youngest driver(s) who were all 19 plus when they started. At this point he's only ever done 28 car races, yes he's won 9 of them, but damn, I'm felling old. Hell his team leader will be that old old man, 20 year old Daniil Kvyat!!!

Assuming the stats you quote are correct, then his being allowed to obtain a "Super License" simply renders that concept a complete joke.

stroker wrote: Assuming the stats you quote are correct, then his being allowed to obtain a "Super License" simply renders that concept a complete joke.

Kimi Raikkonen started F1 with only 23 prior race starts so it's not the first time. No one thinks Kimi was lacking do they The difference was Kimi was 21, not 17

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

stroker wrote: Assuming the stats you quote are correct, then his being allowed to obtain a "Super License" simply renders that concept a complete joke.

Kimi Raikkonen started F1 with only 23 prior race starts so it's not the first time. No one thinks Kimi was lacking do they The difference was Kimi was 21, not 17

Precisely. My point being that the so-called "Super License" is a joke for determining skill level. I expect it's nothing more than a filter from the FIA requiring a bribe be paid to allow it to be issued to younger drivers...

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

stroker wrote: Assuming the stats you quote are correct, then his being allowed to obtain a "Super License" simply renders that concept a complete joke.

Kimi Raikkonen started F1 with only 23 prior race starts so it's not the first time. No one thinks Kimi was lacking do they The difference was Kimi was 21, not 17

Is it better to have Lottier in the seat (See Caterham Change)? I feel bad for JEV, because I think he has gotten the short end of the stick, but if Max has the talent why not put him in the seat.

Lotterer replaces Kobayashi at Spa

stroker wrote: Assuming the stats you quote are correct, then his being allowed to obtain a "Super License" simply renders that concept a complete joke.

I agree fully, I seems to be that the FIA is not thinking about this straight. Sort of like all the tracks and organizations not responding to drivers jumping out of their cars and running around the track pointing fingers and throwing helmets at passing race cars.

They are creeping towards a serious accident.

etifosi wrote: Lotterer replaces Kobayashi at Spa

Follow the money! I guess Kobayashi needed to be lucky but his luck may be out and career over. He may have a chance at pulling a mid level team seat if he could bring a Honda powertrain to some team in 2015. But that would be a long shot that Honda would back him. So he is probably out again next year. He needed that lucky break that Vettel got to fall into a team run by Adrian Newey. He may have had a great career.

Regarding Max Verstappen, and any other teenaged racer. Circle Track Magazine made a very good point in a recent article. Teenagers are not done growing yet. Muscles aren't fully developed, etc. etc. This may be a point leading to some recent deaths in the past few months. A body that isn't fully developed probably can't take a hard crash that someone a few years older might survive. As race drivers continue to get younger, this issue may become more important.

stroker wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

stroker wrote: Assuming the stats you quote are correct, then his being allowed to obtain a "Super License" simply renders that concept a complete joke.

Kimi Raikkonen started F1 with only 23 prior race starts so it's not the first time. No one thinks Kimi was lacking do they The difference was Kimi was 21, not 17

Precisely. My point being that the so-called "Super License" is a joke for determining skill level. I expect it's nothing more than a filter from the FIA requiring a bribe be paid to allow it to be issued to younger drivers...

No kidding. Sebastien Loeb was denied a Super License due to a lack of experience - and that was a guy who had finished 2nd at Le Mans, never mind his other activities.

Keith Tanner wrote: No kidding. Sebastien Loeb was denied a Super License due to a lack of experience - and that was a guy who had finished 2nd at Le Mans, never mind his other activities.

He didn't have a team backing him, did he?

AFAICT, anyone who can get an F1 team to hire him and present some kind of reasonable single-seater racing experience can get a superlicense, and it mainly exists to give the FIA a mechanism to discipline drivers by threatening to yank it.

MURICA!!!!!

http://www.marussiaf1team.com/news/1017/

We're providing Alexander Rossi with the opportunity to make his Grand Prix debut at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. Alexander will race alongside Jules Bianchi, substituting for Max Chilton while contractual issues are resolved.

Awesome! Hope he proves himself.

codrus wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: No kidding. Sebastien Loeb was denied a Super License due to a lack of experience - and that was a guy who had finished 2nd at Le Mans, never mind his other activities.

He didn't have a team backing him, did he? AFAICT, anyone who can get an F1 team to hire him and present some kind of reasonable single-seater racing experience can get a superlicense, and it mainly exists to give the FIA a mechanism to discipline drivers by threatening to yank it.

He's Red Bull sponsored. So yeah, he had a team backing him. He was supposed to drive a Toro Rosso. I suppose WEC cars don't really count as single seaters, I think they're still carrying a vestigial passenger's seat. But still, a podium in the top class at Le Mans kinda points out that he's not some whack job behind the wheel (unlike certain F1 drivers). I think it was pure politics, trying to keep from crossing the streams so to speak.

So I guess Spa will be somewhat interesting for the slower tier teams with two new drivers.

I can see it now as the two Mercs battle towards La Source, they come upon a rookie to lap that thinks, "aw they will never catch me by my turn in point....." SMASH

Rossi replacing Chilton for Spa. I've like Marussia for a couple seasons and I'm glad to be cheering for them especially with an American behind the wheel!

http://www.f1reader.com/news/rossi-replaces-chilton-at-marussia-for-belgian-gp-104311

Edit: I see I'm late to the game haha. Still, I'm excited.

and the flip has flopped, Chilton back in at Marussia.

johndej wrote: and the flip has flopped, Chilton back in at Marussia.

And it too Maldonado less than 10 minutes to bounce his car off the armco and bring out a red flag, everything is back to normal already