The Formula 1 Thread
- Thread starter gooch
- Start date
Arnoldtoo
The thinking ape's ape
- May 18, 2006
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What's he done now?
Col_M
Pointing out the Obvious
- Feb 28, 2012
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Press conference yesterday, he's done a Fergie and decided he will not speak to journos. He posted some pics of him and another driver with those stupid superimposed doggy/bunny ears and noses. Seems he didn't get the respect he expected from journos who took the piss.
Arnoldtoo
The thinking ape's ape
- May 18, 2006
- 35,408
- 55,181
Bless.
He's a good driver, but there's more to being a great sportsman than what you do in the arena.
aliyid
Well-Known Member
- Dec 28, 2004
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Agree with that but the big problem with F1 is that so much of it is about the car and I'm still not convinced about Hamilton being that great a driver.
When he was paired with Button it was a great contrast in styles with Hamiltons frantic racer style going up against Buttons smooth almost effortless simplicity. I'm not sure if he's currently a better driver than Rosberg or not (both got 8 poles each) but it's a sad state of affairs when a drivers only rival is the one sitting in the same team.
I did like the comment Hamilton made earlier this year that the drivers don't feel like they're racing as far too much focus is on conserving the tyres, saving fuel and calculating track position to avoid traffic in your pit stops.
Spurger King
can't smile without glue
- Jul 22, 2008
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As I see it, there are three main problems with F1, all of which overlap.
1) Money. Apart from the fact that any corrupt country with a tedious track can host a Grand Prix by putting money in Bernie's pocket, there is a huge issue with discrepancies between the money available to the big and small teams. Oddly enough, I actually feel that it is the smaller teams holding F1 back (and I'm a leftie anti-capitalist). Having lots of teams competing should be encouraged, but in order to help the smaller teams keep going there has been a big impact on...
2) Development. All the things that favour the rich teams such as testing, upgrades, and research have been pegged back as the smaller teams simply can't keep up otherwise. This means that very little changes over the course of the season in terms of performance. If the smaller teams weren't being accounted for, the bigger teams would have more scope to improve. Personally I'd like to see a list of minimum requirements and certain things being ruled out (which they chop and change every year anyway) but after that, anything goes. If a team finds a workaround that is technically legal, so be it, and kudos on the ingenuity.
It would make it much more competitive knowing that at any point a team might introduce an upgrade that catapults them to the front of the grid. It would be a bit of a return to the evolution races. What's the worst that could happen? The same team continuing to dominate for a whole season?
Because of the narrow developments currently allowed, it reduces drivers to the role of...
3) Pilots. It's a term that is frequently used by the teams, and for good reason. The pilot's job is to make no mistakes and get the car around as fast as it can go (not necessarily as fast as the pilot can go). It's something that most pilots are perfectly capable of, and the cars are so finely tuned that very little room is left for individual personality to shine. Rosberg has been consistent rather than spectacular, and that's probably going to be enough to win him the title.
We've seen how Vettel is fine when he's out in front, but frequently when under pressure he makes mistakes. Fairly average drivers like Button have a world championship due to being lucky enough to have the best car at the right time. Drivers like Alonso can make a difference due to their mechanical input and ingenuity on the track, but if his car is a dog he's got no chance. A young Senna driving for Ferrari today would do no better. The problem now is that there's very little way to tell if any of the current crop would have succeeded in the 80s or 90s. Equally, drivers like Alesi would have three titles by now if they were driving for Mercedes.
So I think there are two directions F1 can go in. Either make all the cars absolutely equal so that we have real drivers instead of pilots, or let the manufacturers genuinely compete throughout the season. At the moment it's neither one nor the other, and they might as well make it a best of three races for all the difference it would make.
NickHSpurs
Well-Known Member
- Mar 14, 2004
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It's about to get a bit tasty I think, pissing it down in Brazil for the penultimate race of the season. Might even start behind a safety car as a car went into the barriers on the out lap! Here's hoping Rosbergs luck runs out today.
chrissivad
Staff
- May 20, 2005
- 51,646
- 58,072
- Staff
- #2,369
Missed the start and have so far havent seen any racing so far... and now a second red flag
Fans are not happy, and sounds like Lewis isn't either
chrissivad
Staff
- May 20, 2005
- 51,646
- 58,072
- Staff
- #2,370
Great save from Verstappen from going into the wall there
chrissivad
Staff
- May 20, 2005
- 51,646
- 58,072
- Staff
- #2,372
its a shame the team made the wrong calls on the intermediates as he has had a fantastic race otherwise.
Button hasn't like the rain as much today...
haxman
Well-Known Member
- Jan 14, 2007
- 16,933
- 8,176
He's fearless, he really is. What a drive, and Rosberg is very fortunate not to be 3rd.
Button, meh. Reminded me of Hamilton with his moaning.
Gbspurs
Gatekeeper for debates, King of the plonkers
- Jan 27, 2011
- 26,985
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Shame he couldn't have had a go at Rosberg at the end.
haxman
Well-Known Member
- Jan 14, 2007
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He would have passed him easily, Rosberg was in defensive mode all day, he was looking at the bigger picture.
Rocksuperstar
Isn't this fun? Isn't fun the best thing to have?
- Jun 6, 2005
- 53,372
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Not followed the coverage for this race, been working, but saw this clip from Friday practice and it made me chuckle - when his motor broke down Alonso tried his hand at being a cameraman instead 
Gbspurs
Gatekeeper for debates, King of the plonkers
- Jan 27, 2011
- 26,985
- 61,897
No doubt. Verstappen is soon becoming a fan favourite, mainly just for showing Vettel to be the whiny bitch that we all know he is.
Spurger King
can't smile without glue
- Jul 22, 2008
- 43,881
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Verstappen...wow!
Very impressed by Rosberg today too. Spent the whole race in Hamilton's spray knowing one big mistake could lose him the championship, but did what he needed to do.
Very impressed by Rosberg today too. Spent the whole race in Hamilton's spray knowing one big mistake could lose him the championship, but did what he needed to do.
Montasura
Well-Known Member
- Mar 15, 2008
- 7,256
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Well, here we are, final race and title decider day of what has been another fairly dull season with the odd exception of some standout individual drives (I'm looking at you Verstappen).
Really can't see any other outcome than Robert winning the title (although I think Lewis will win today). Maybe he deserves it, maybe he doesn't. He's a bit Meh though.
Really can't see any other outcome than Robert winning the title (although I think Lewis will win today). Maybe he deserves it, maybe he doesn't. He's a bit Meh though.
- Feb 1, 2005
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- Admin
- #2,380
So funny
Genius move by Hamilton even if its very unlikely it'll work.
Genius move by Hamilton even if its very unlikely it'll work.
