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ncjay
ncjay SuperDork
3/4/17 4:05 p.m.

loosecannon
loosecannon HalfDork
3/4/17 5:02 p.m.

I'm excited for this season but it may be just naive optimism. The cars look great but I wonder how close they will be able to get to each other. Ross Brawn being in charge is technical stuff is really great, i can't wait for the changes he will make. I like Alonso but the poor guy just keeps picking bad times to join teams, McLaren sucks, Honda sucks. Ferrari are looking really good, might be some good fights with Red Bull for 2nd place.

ncjay
ncjay SuperDork
3/8/17 5:17 p.m.

Some random pics from Barcelona testing.

ncjay
ncjay SuperDork
3/8/17 5:19 p.m.

ncjay
ncjay SuperDork
3/8/17 5:20 p.m.

ncjay
ncjay SuperDork
3/8/17 5:22 p.m.

ncjay
ncjay SuperDork
3/8/17 5:23 p.m.

ncjay
ncjay SuperDork
3/8/17 5:24 p.m.

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy UltimaDork
3/8/17 5:28 p.m.

Ow is le Quebcois doing?

Advan046
Advan046 UltraDork
3/9/17 3:24 p.m.
Streetwiseguy wrote: Ow is le Quebcois doing?

Il s'ecrase beaucoup, alors, mais se porte bien un nouveau pilote. Manque de Timmys!

rob_lewis
rob_lewis SuperDork
3/10/17 2:40 p.m.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MVtuJpLDlmo?ecver=2

Looks like Hamilton's comments that Ferrari was holding back on testing were true. Maybe 2017 will be a little more exciting.

-Rob

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner MegaDork
3/10/17 3:05 p.m.

Man, just look at that front tire width difference.

Advan046 wrote:
Streetwiseguy wrote: Ow is le Quebcois doing?
Il s'ecrase beaucoup, alors, mais se porte bien un nouveau pilote. Manque de Timmys!

Ha! Okay, thanks for that.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy UltraDork
3/10/17 6:23 p.m.

Kimi just ran within 3/10s of the track record(1:18.634)......... 1:18.339 (Felipe Massa, Ferrari, F1 Testing, April 2008)

stroker
stroker SuperDork
3/14/17 9:54 p.m.

Can they screw this sport up any worse?

Not enough fuel...

loosecannon
loosecannon HalfDork
3/14/17 10:38 p.m.

Ross Brawn will sort this all out

STM317
STM317 Dork
3/15/17 4:26 a.m.
stroker wrote: Can they screw this sport up any worse? Not enough fuel...

That sounds to me like it could lead to better, or at least more interesting racing. Introducing more strategy and driver involvement, instead of just letting the drivers run at 10/10ths the entire time may turn out to be a good thing. And it could give the mid-pack teams a better chance than they'd otherwise have. Last seasons Indy 500 was fantastic due mostly to late race fuel strategy.

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
3/15/17 6:36 a.m.
stroker wrote: Can they screw this sport up any worse? Not enough fuel...

They can always run less downforce. That will lower drag, and lower fuel consumption.

Or is that just TOO obvious?

rob_lewis
rob_lewis SuperDork
3/15/17 7:32 a.m.
alfadriver wrote:
stroker wrote: Can they screw this sport up any worse? Not enough fuel...
They can always run less downforce. That will lower drag, and lower fuel consumption. Or is that just TOO obvious?

Nope, that's a decent idea. As is giving them more fuel. Problem is, it's too late for the teams to be able to accommodate it. Or, the higher earning teams would be able to, but the lower ones might not.

Fuel strategy is interesting in most forms of motorsports, heck, Rossi won the Indy 500 because of good fuel management, but the key difference is they can all refuel. I'm concerned this will create races where drivers are basically doing parade laps just to finish. There were several times last year where drivers, who might have been able to put up a fight in the last stages, were put into low power mode to finish.

-Rob

Streetwiseguy
Streetwiseguy UltimaDork
3/15/17 7:36 a.m.

But this isn't new. The current engine has always been fuel restricted. Thats why nobody has ever come close to the allowed rev limit. IIRC they are 15,000 rpm limited, and nobody ever sees the high side of 11,000.

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
3/15/17 8:03 a.m.
rob_lewis wrote:
alfadriver wrote:
stroker wrote: Can they screw this sport up any worse? Not enough fuel...
They can always run less downforce. That will lower drag, and lower fuel consumption. Or is that just TOO obvious?
Nope, that's a decent idea. As is giving them more fuel. Problem is, it's too late for the teams to be able to accommodate it. Or, the higher earning teams would be able to, but the lower ones might not. Fuel strategy is interesting in most forms of motorsports, heck, Rossi won the Indy 500 because of good fuel management, but the key difference is they can all refuel. I'm concerned this will create races where drivers are basically doing parade laps just to finish. There were several times last year where drivers, who might have been able to put up a fight in the last stages, were put into low power mode to finish. -Rob

The can easily do lower downforce. There are a number of different downforce packages that they have- ranging from low in Monza to high in Monaco.

To me, the teams are using that as an excuse to increase fuel consumption.

Increasing fuel can be much harder (assuming that the package space is very limited).

Advan046
Advan046 UltraDork
3/20/17 3:38 p.m.

The whole fuel concern is just silly.

Imagine going to the $2017 challenge and some competitor said, "Well I bought the Viper as a parts car but couldn't sell all the parts off that I didn't need to get it below $2017 so it must be the rules makers fault. They are destroying the racing series. I mean this competition is supposed to be about drag times, concour judgment, and autocross times, not cost!!"

Fuel is part of the rules what dummy designed a car to use more fuel than what is allowed. UGH

Advan046
Advan046 UltraDork
3/20/17 3:43 p.m.

I am curious to see how things go this weekend. MB guys seem to still have an edge. Ferrari is all puffed up on hot air again. Hopefully they can fly this time. If Honda finds the magic screw to turn they might VTEC McLaren to the front.

I have had feelings in other pre season periods but this time I have no clue who may lead the pack. My only feeling is that the rules have now made the cars in such a way that passing will be returned to the poor racing days of the 80s-early 00s. Just parade laps. The last few years have been fun with all the passing and wheel to wheel racing.

Hamilton for 2017 Champion

codrus
codrus SuperDork
3/20/17 4:05 p.m.
Advan046 wrote: The whole fuel concern is just silly. ... Fuel is part of the rules what dummy designed a car to use more fuel than what is allowed. UGH

The problem is that fuel economy racing is boring. So if it turns out that the fastest way around the track is to build a car that you need to drive in fuel conservation mode for 98% of the race, then we the viewers will suffer because it'll become yet another multi-colored parade.

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
3/20/17 4:14 p.m.
codrus wrote:
Advan046 wrote: The whole fuel concern is just silly. ... Fuel is part of the rules what dummy designed a car to use more fuel than what is allowed. UGH
The problem is that fuel economy racing is boring. So if it turns out that the fastest way around the track is to build a car that you need to drive in fuel conservation mode for 98% of the race, then we the viewers will suffer because it'll become yet another multi-colored parade.

Or you can go faster on straights by lowering downforce to lower drag and lower fuel consumption.

And lower downforce would be fun to watch.

markwemple
markwemple UltraDork
3/20/17 5:17 p.m.

McLaren, Honda or MB power?

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