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kevlarcorolla
kevlarcorolla HalfDork
3/17/16 7:49 p.m.

Yes I also read it being called a TAG badged Renualt.....didn't know watch building services included F1 engine building.

codrus
codrus Dork
3/17/16 9:31 p.m.

Yeah, looks like it's TAG. Maybe Aston is doing next year's engine? I dunno.

I like the new Red Bull livery.

Tom_Spangler
Tom_Spangler UltraDork
3/17/16 9:39 p.m.
kevlarcorolla wrote: Yes I also read it being called a TAG badged Renualt.....didn't know watch building services included F1 engine building.

They did 30 years ago:

kevlarcorolla
kevlarcorolla HalfDork
3/18/16 7:00 a.m.

I stand by my earlier statement,maybe they made the valve covers but their money helped Porsche design/build that engine.

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson UltimaDork
3/18/16 7:46 a.m.
kevlarcorolla wrote: I stand by my earlier statement,maybe they made the valve covers but their money helped Porsche design/build that engine.

Yes, as shown by the Made by Porsche on the plenum. Porsche were happy to design and build the engine funded by Tag who is owned by Mansour Ojieh who is the second biggest shareholder of McLaren after Ron D. Porsche weren't convinced of the potential success and didn't want to be seen as not doing well in F1 so they didn't make a big deal of it. Of course the engine won 2 championships and a boat load of races, I don’t' remember how many but i bet it was over 20 (back when they only had 16 races per season)

What I find interesting is that even though Mansour Ojieh is still a major stake holder in McLaren, last year after something like 30 years TAG Heuer watches switched their F1 support to Red Bull. Now Tag Heuer is putting up the money and branding for the Ilmor modified ex-Renault engine. McLaren now have Richard Mille as a sponsor who are a competitor to Tag Heuer yet Mansour Ojieh is still part owner of McLaren!?!?!? Now, While TAG holdings still own Tag Heuer, Mansour Ojieh is no longer CEO of Tag Heuer, but still the whole thing makes my head hurt!

One thing though, Richard Mille are more upmarket than 'cheapie' Tag Heuer so maybe Mr. finger on the pulse of public perception Ron Dennis is happy to move McLaren further upmarket (note, large amount of sarcasm here)

One last thing the old Porsche engine was branded TAG while the Ilmor modded Renault is branded TAG Heuer. Semantics I know.

kevlarcorolla
kevlarcorolla HalfDork
3/18/16 8:08 a.m.

Great now my head hurts

I just wanna see close racing,also a Hammy fan so I want to see him dicing.Wife roots for Williams so I'd like to see them up there.Ferrari don't really care about and I hope Mclaren gets sorted soon.

Bring it on can't wait.

ncjay
ncjay Dork
3/18/16 7:41 p.m.

http://www.racer.com/f1/item/127293-hamilton-fastest-while-rosberg-crashes Not the way Rosberg wanted to get his season started off.

codrus
codrus Dork
3/19/16 2:32 a.m.

You know, qualifying was one of the few things in F1 that worked really well. I'm glad to see the FIA fixed that.

GhiaMonster
GhiaMonster Reader
3/19/16 9:14 a.m.

I really hope the FIA / Formula1 / Bernie see how much qualifying sucked and reverse some of the changes. Instead they will propose even more rules trying to force the cars out of the garage, thus making it even more impossible to explain.

Gene Haas had a comment I really connected with during practice. He was describing how amazingly complicated these cars are and how beautiful the technology was to him. He then criticized everyone for hiding this technology away and hiding what makes F1 the top level of motorsports.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner MegaDork
3/19/16 9:56 a.m.

I agree with Hass. So much bitching about "they're not noisy enough" and "the fastest driver and car always end up on pole" from the damn promoter! and not enough emphasis on how awesome the cars are.

Spoolpigeon
Spoolpigeon UberDork
3/19/16 10:15 a.m.

Welp, qualifying was quite boring compared to last year. 2+ minutes left on the clock in Q3 and all cars off track and drivers getting weighed in.

Not a fan.

rob_lewis
rob_lewis SuperDork
3/19/16 10:21 a.m.

OK. Just watched the first new qualifying and I really like it, contrary to all the complaining by the announcers and some of the drivers.

For the first time in a long time (other than when rain was coming), all the drivers were out and laying down their fastest laps from the beginning of Q3. What I see that this is supposed to do (and doing) is to force the drivers/teams to stay out on track and lay down the fastest times they can with every lap they can. If they don't, they risk getting knocked out.

In SEVERAL cases, the teams were still trying to play the "let's hold in the pits for a bit" game and got caught out. And the choice NOT to run was theirs. Perez was in the pits and had enough time to get his flying lap going and lay down a fast lap (the 90 second rule doesn't apply to the last driver to be eliminated) and chose not to. I laughed when one of the guys mentioned that the teams were not driving but just clock watching, because how was that different than Hamilton doing one lap in Q3, waiting until the end, and doing one more lap to lay down the fastest time?

Another plus is that the faster drivers have to keep burning the softest tires to stay on top and the guys eliminated can save them. Will that help the slower guys to challenge for better position because they have more soft tire options?

-Rob

racerdave600
racerdave600 SuperDork
3/19/16 11:09 a.m.

Hated...hated....hated the new format. If I had bought a ticket I would want a refund. It was that bad. If they keep it I might not watch many more. As an old crew guy it goes against everything qualifying is supposed to be about. It is no longer getting your car the fastest it will go, but rather a gimmick more akin to a video game. Words cannot express how bad that sucked. Qualifying was the best part about F1...was....

kevlarcorolla
kevlarcorolla HalfDork
3/19/16 12:14 p.m.

Yes I also thought it sucked,I'm sure the outcry will see changes in short order.

These cars are pretty fickle,mostly due to the regs and by design the tires so having these things stay out for the entire session AND turn faster laps at the end of the session isn't likely to work out.

codrus
codrus Dork
3/19/16 1:44 p.m.

I really don't get the complaints about how the fastest car winds up on pole. Duh, that's the point to qualifying. That's what it's FOR.

kevlarcorolla
kevlarcorolla HalfDork
3/19/16 4:18 p.m.

In reply to codrus:

Exactly right,I want to see all the teams try right untill the end of each session to better their time.

This losing a car every 90 seconds was boring as hell.

Race should be decent tomorrow,I think the torro rossos,williams and ferraris will put on a good show.

Haas looked great too actually

griffin729
griffin729 HalfDork
3/20/16 12:40 a.m.

Wow, talk about air time for Alonso.

dean1484
dean1484 MegaDork
3/20/16 12:46 a.m.

Dang it I was looking for this thread to post about the crash. Could not find it. That car is used up!!! Amazing to see just about everything missing from the car but the driver compartment.

MCarp22
MCarp22 Dork
3/20/16 12:50 a.m.
MCarp22
MCarp22 Dork
3/20/16 1:51 a.m.

driver109x
driver109x HalfDork
3/20/16 1:58 a.m.

Not bad Haas!

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner MegaDork
3/20/16 2:02 a.m.

Man, that traffic really messed with Hamilton. He did a pretty good job of salvaging a bad start. Watching him and Vettel at the end was fun.

Well done Haas and Grosjean. They might be a new team to F1, but there's a lot of experience there. They earned their finish.

griffin729
griffin729 HalfDork
3/20/16 2:08 a.m.

Way to go Haas. What do you know, it is possible to win the race on turn one lap one. Rosberg getting around Hamilton the way he did, helped by Lewis' subpar start, is what put Lewis back in the traffic.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner MegaDork
3/20/16 2:15 a.m.

If Rosberg had cut his tire on Lewis' front wing, that move on turn 1 would have worked out a little different!

griffin729
griffin729 HalfDork
3/20/16 2:26 a.m.

Just a bit. He did take off a bit of the wing, it wouldn't have taken much more to cut the tire.

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