F1 2014

Why make an already complex sport even more so with the amount of points awarded?

I don't bother with nascar at all but the race for the chase thing just seems whacked,to me it shouldn't matter where the race is or what time of yr it is just award points in a decending fashion to match finishing position.Guy with the most points wins and that's the end of it.

Of course if I had my way the cars wouldn't be able to be altered in any way from pits(and very limited changes allowed from the cockpit) and have no driving aids at all.

Some interesting geeky facts and statistics from last weekend.

With his win at Spa, Ricciardo has now earned more points than any other driver over the last 6 races.
Riccardo 102
Rosberg 98
Hamilton 73
That has to be a worrying trend for Mercedes. Add to that I'd forgotten that he was DQ'd at the start of the season from 2nd in Australia, if that hadn't happened he would be on 169 points, only 22 points behind Hamilton and 51 behind Rosberg.

Another silly fact. With Andre Lotterer starting, he became the first driver to Win LeMans and compete in F1 in the same year since:
1994 Yannick Dalmas - won in a Dauer Porsche 962 GT1 (Street car haha - I was there) and drove for Larrousse in 2 races 1991 Johny Herbert - won in Mazda 787 and drove Lotus in 8 Grands Prix)
Also 1991 Bertrand Gachot - again Mazda 787 and drove for Jordan in 10 races and Larrousse in one
1978 Didier Peroni Won in a Renault Alpine A442 and drove for Tyrrell in 15 of 16 Grand Prix

Before then it was more common for drivers to switch disciplines so it happened quite a lot.

Some interesting geeky facts and statistics from last weekend.

With his win at Spa, Ricciardo has now earned more points than any other driver over the last 6 races.
Riccardo 102
Rosberg 98
Hamilton 73
That has to be a worrying trend for Mercedes. Add to that I'd forgotten that he was DQ'd at the start of the season from 2nd in Australia, if that hadn't happened he would be on 169 points, only 22 points behind Hamilton and 51 behind Rosberg.

Another silly fact. With Andre Lotterer starting, he became the first driver to Win LeMans and compete in F1 in the same year since:
1994 Yannick Dalmas - won in a Dauer Porsche 962 GT1 (Street car haha - I was there) and drove for Larrousse in 2 races
1991 Johny Herbert - won in Mazda 787 and drove Lotus in 8 Grands Prix)
Also 1991 Bertrand Gachot - again Mazda 787 and drove for Jordan in 10 races and Larrousse in one
1978 Didier Peroni Won in a Renault Alpine A442 and drove for Tyrrell in 15 of 16 Grand Prix

Before then it was more common for drivers to switch disciplines so it happened quite a lot.

I've finally gotten a chance to see the video a few posts back from the British host. Where they slow down the incident.

What it looks like, to me (obivously not an F1 driver):
1) Nico gets a run and pulls up to Lewis's "door".
2) Back end steps out to the left, he turns left to correct it
3) Possibly corrects too much and turns back right to correct the correction
4) Front hits Hamilton's wheel
5) Nico's fault, but more of a mistake than deliberate

Now, he's supposedly said it was "To prove a point", but we don't know to what he was referring. Everyone assumes that he means it was intentional, but perhaps it was to say he showed he was faster than Lewis and trying to intimidate. Or show the team that he was faster and would be overtaking soon.

BTW, I'm NOT a Nico fanboi, just trying to look at it objectively.

Was it a dumb move to challenge that soon? Yes. Should he have stayed back until they were clear of the rest of the field or close to the end (as Lauda said in the pre-race interview)? Yes. But part of me wonders if Nico's gotten some type of marching orders to let Lewis catch up (for the team) and he's only thinking of himself?

-Rob

I've thought all along that his comment "I was just trying to make a point" referred to his being along side … even if early in the race .

I've never though that he was trying to make a point that he could use his wing as a tire slicer …just MHO

ncjay wrote: I will never think it's fair that 20th place gets the same points as 11th.

It doesn't matter, the driver standings and team standings are still determined on finishing position as if they scored points.

That's why teams that have no points are still battling for the lucrative 10th position last year.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Some interesting geeky facts and statistics from last weekend. With his win at Spa, Ricciardo has now earned more points than any other driver over the last 6 races. Riccardo 102 Rosberg 98 Hamilton 73 That has to be a worrying trend for Mercedes. Add to that I'd forgotten that he was DQ'd at the start of the season from 2nd in Australia, if that hadn't happened he would be on 169 points, only 22 points behind Hamilton and 51 behind Rosberg. Another silly fact. With Andre Lotterer starting, he became the first driver to Win LeMans and compete in F1 in the same year since: 1994 Yannick Dalmas - won in a Dauer Porsche 962 GT1 (Street car haha - I was there) and drove for Larrousse in 2 races 1991 Johny Herbert - won in Mazda 787 and drove Lotus in 8 Grands Prix) Also 1991 Bertrand Gachot - again Mazda 787 and drove for Jordan in 10 races and Larrousse in one 1978 Didier Peroni Won in a Renault Alpine A442 and drove for Tyrrell in 15 of 16 Grand Prix Before then it was more common for drivers to switch disciplines so it happened quite a lot.

Name the driver that won in F1, Indy 500,Nascar Daytona 500,Lemans etc. championship in F1 and Indy cars.

In reply to iceracer: Graham Hill, the winner of the Motorsport triple crown. F1 WDC, Indy 500 and LeMan 24 hours

iceracer wrote: Name the driver that won in F1, Indy 500,Nascar Daytona 500,Lemans etc. championship in F1 and Indy cars.

MISTER Mario Andretti

Mario has never won LeMans. AJ has most of that list, but not the F1 title.

Well I hope Mercedes institutes some kind of rule. They need to get both Hamilton and Rosberg in check. They are paid drivers. They need an understanding in the team that until the championship for Constructors is LOCKED up they must not race wheel to wheel after Turn 1 or first sequence of turns. Just fall in line and run for a minimum of 25% of the race laps. Then the gloves can come off. Having that 10-30 second lead will allow the team enough cushion to manage any incidents.

Still internally I would be giving hell to the driver that the team deems to have made contact happen.

Rosberg got booed and he got booed wearing Mercedes racing equipment. No more points to be made by poor racecraft. Fall in line or else we can replace you for next year, there is always an out clause in the contract.

I understand that Hamilton may be on some Super Open and Honest (Honest what is in your mind =/= Truth what actually happened)thing these past few years. Probably a natural reaction due to being convinced to lie by his team engineer and watching Alonso blow the whistle at McLaren. But Lauda and Wolf need to take him to the side and say, "You keep talking like we are a team, so either let us present a team message together or just stay quiet please. You can write your book another day."

Advan046 wrote: Well I hope Mercedes institutes some kind of rule. They need to get both Hamilton and Rosberg in check. They are paid drivers. They need an understanding in the team that until the championship for Constructors is LOCKED up they must not race wheel to wheel after Turn 1 or first sequence of turns. Just fall in line and run for a minimum of 25% of the race laps. Then the gloves can come off. Having that 10-30 second lead will allow the team enough cushion to manage any incidents. Still internally I would be giving hell to the driver that the team deems to have made contact happen. Rosberg got booed and he got booed wearing Mercedes racing equipment. No more points to be made by poor racecraft. Fall in line or else we can replace you for next year, there is always an out clause in the contract. I understand that Hamilton may be on some Super Open and Honest (Honest what is in your mind =/= Truth what actually happened)thing these past few years. Probably a natural reaction due to being convinced to lie by his team engineer and watching Alonso blow the whistle at McLaren. But Lauda and Wolf need to take him to the side and say, "You keep talking like we are a team, so either let us present a team message together or just stay quiet please. You can write your book another day."

So it should be like Schumi and every teammate he had at Ferrari? If this wasn't going on, lets be honest, it would be a bore and Nico would have the title locked up before the break.

The race starts when the lights go out.....that should be all that's needed.

Politics in racing sucks.

That only works when you own the team. When you're working for someone, there's more strategy involved than just running someone off the road because they're ahead of you. Otherwise you find you're not working for anyone anymore.

Keith Tanner wrote: That only works when you own the team. When you're working for someone, there's more strategy involved than just running someone off the road because they're ahead of you. Otherwise you find you're not working for anyone anymore.

That happens to coincide with Hamilton and Rosberg announcing they're delaying contract negotiations with Mercedes. Or, it could be that Mercedes is behind it until they figure out a way to clean-up the mess their mismanagement started.

McLaren wants a lead driver for the new Honda era. Would they take a chance on buying-out one of the Merc drivers' contract? They already have stated they're courting Vettel and Alonso so money can't be an issue.

Keith Tanner wrote: That only works when you own the team. When you're working for someone, there's more strategy involved than just running someone off the road because they're ahead of you. Otherwise you find you're not working for anyone anymore.

Not sure why you think I inplied its ok to ram the car in front,it clearly isn't.

I passed 42 cars in 12 laps....on ice.....without touching a single car.Surely highly paid professionals can be let loose.

I did similar 'multiple bikes clean' passes in my dirt bike daze, in only two instances did I find it necessary to get a little dirty. Those were prefaced by PLENTY of vocal warnings on my part, as in 'get out the way NOW' (something not real possible in a car, they won't hear you). I haven't made a dirty car pass yet, don't intend to. So far the guys being passed have gotten the message and I've chosen my passes well. Or it's just been dumb luck. Yeah, that's the most likely scenario.

The point is, multiple clean passes etc are certainly possible and do happen all the time. IMHO it's more a result of circumstances combined with driver skills, in this case the circumstances were very poor, Rosberg's obviously got the skill but his judgment was sorely lacking. If he did just screw up and overcorrect, why did he make the snarky comments about lessons? All he would have had to do was be contrite, apologize and it would have blown over. But noooo.... so that's the other reason I go back to 'dick move'.

kevlarcorolla wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: That only works when you own the team. When you're working for someone, there's more strategy involved than just running someone off the road because they're ahead of you. Otherwise you find you're not working for anyone anymore.

Not sure why you think I inplied its ok to ram the car in front,it clearly isn't. I passed 42 cars in 12 laps....on ice.....without touching a single car.Surely highly paid professionals can be let loose.

that would have been a bit tougher to accomplish if all 42 cars were relatively equal and the drivers also relatively equal ….

with superior equipment and superior talent …

Hamilton proved he can pass the equivalent of 42 ice racing amateurs when starting at the back of the pack, and without hitting anyone. Rosberg's mistake was hitting Hamilton, whether it was an accident or on purpose. You don't do that if you race for a team.

Still missing my original point....which was Lewis wanting to quit.Its because he is in superior equipement with auguably superior talant and having proved he CAN pass many cars that it seemed wrong to give up so early.

Because he knew his superior equipment was damaged and he did not have the speed to catch and pass a Sauber. There was no point in it - he'd just use up a finite resource for no purpose.

kevlarcorolla wrote: Still missing my original point....which was Lewis wanting to quit.Its because he is in superior equipement with auguably superior talant and having proved he CAN pass many cars that it seemed wrong to give up so early.

You need more, a lot more, than just a superior car to pass slower cars. Look how many times we've had drivers in equal or superior cars bitching that they can't get past other people. You know like Nico complaing that Lewis wouldn't move over even when he was on new tires than Hamiltons worn ones.

I honestly belive that Lewis is the second best driver on the grid. That's not just my Brit bias as the guy I think is the best all round racers is someone I don't like. Alonso. I can't stand him, but I honestly think he's the best. I rate Nico as an 'A' driver along with Vettel, Button, Kimi (heading for B status) right now while Lewis is A+ and Alonso A++

kevlarcorolla wrote: The race starts when the lights go out.....that should be all that's needed. Politics in racing sucks.

Exactly. Racing is entertainment and advertising. No more. Sure people make and lose lots of money in the name of racing, but end of the day, had Merc scored a 1 / 2 with 25 seconds on 3rd place there would only have been scattered talk about how boring F1 is – maybe more complaining on the sound of the exhaust. But there are tons of very active threads a week later talking about Mercedes driver (and unfortunately how horrible the team bosses are).

Honestly, even with all the success of the Mercedes F1 team this year. Do you really think that there was 1 person in the world that bought a Mercedes road car because the F1 car was dominant? Do you really think anyone would not buy a Mercedes road car because the F1 drives don’t like each other?

The season would have been a bore fest had those two not had such a rivalry. Sure, there is a lot of money for locking the constructors championship and Mercedes should protect that. But I think that they would have endeared themselves to their fans (and all racing fans) if they would have come out in public supporting allowing their drivers to race hard, yet condemn the crashing. They could then flog the drivers behind closed doors.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: I rate Nico as an 'A' driver along with Vettel, Button, Kimi (heading for B status) right now while Lewis is A+ and Alonso A++

Putting Button in that group shows your Brit bias, though.