Official 2017 Formula 1 Thread

[_Rick_]

...and the season starts with a fizzle:
Manor are down and out, but hey, so is Bernie!

The new Mercedes has already been teased, and winter testing will very soon start in earnest.

Let's see what the new regulations bequeathe upon us - I'm worried that there will not be more overtaking, and the 3-5 seconds per lap increase in speed won't be noticable on TV. At best, some tough GPs (Singapore, Malysia) will become even more of a test of stamina than they used to be.

Still, I'm optimistic, that we'll see a bit of a mix-up, and I hope Renault managed to bring Enstone back from the deathbed...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Will be interesting to see how they go through the swimming pool chicane at Monaco. Should look spectacularly fast on TV.

Wider track and more aero. Should make passing even more difficult. I hope the cars sound a bit better this year.

 

[foghorn67]

The tires should get a lot of low speed grip since they are wider now. The aero will make those medium and high speed corners terrifying. I'm thinking the middle third of Spa once the elevation goes down hill. Also, is Austria on the calendar this year? Oh boy. I can't wait to see those cars swoop around those 90 corners that are bent to 60 or so degrees. Yeah haw.

 

[foghorn67]

2017 entries so far...the next two weeks should be a quick succession of debuts. RIP Manor, née Marussia.

Sauber gets to drive their new car as a film day.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/sauber-wins-race-to-run-first-f1-2017-car-on-track-876118/

Force India. Lot's of anticipation for this year's showing since last year was very rewarding.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/force-india-reveals-its-2017-f1-challenger-875916/

Renault. First all new car offered by the works team in a long time.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/renault-presents-its-2017-formula-1-car-875535/?s=1

 

[Meghan54]

Mercedes' new 2017 F1 car.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-officially-launches-its-2017-f1-challenger-876325/?s=1

 

[foghorn67]

Looks like everyone made their unveiling. The shark fin is probably one of the new polarizing things about aesthetics. But damn, F1 looks good again. I hope the lap times match the expectations.

 

[_Rick_]

SO, who's up for this year's fantasy GP?
www.fantasygp.com
If anyone else is up for this season, feel free to open a league and share it here.

 

[bruceb]

First F1 race is for Sunday Mar 26, 2017 -- Australian Grand Prix .. 01:00AM on NBCSN

 

[KingstonU]

Thanks for creating the thread!

Quite excited for this season. Really nice to see Bottas finally getting his chance. The grid seems to have a lot more proper talent as opposed to awful pay drivers to previous years.

Shame about Manor. Though the drama going on at Mclaren and Honda being in crisis has been quite entertaining. I had wished that Honda could have by now, presented solid competition to the Merc engine, but alas we are now talking about them giving up again as they seem to stuborn to accepting external expertise to help them develop their technology.

The fact that these engine are now reporting ~50% thermal efficiency is INCREDIBLE.

SO, who's up for this year's fantasy GP?
www.fantasygp.com
If anyone else is up for this season, feel free to open a league and share it here.

I'd be up for a new league. I came in 1st last year (I think link ~250th overall) but I believe it should have been Rick considering you were a decent ways ahead of me until the last two races. Either you didn't enter your predictions or you had a really bad last 2 races.

I also saw this site which seems to have it's own free league if someone thinks they may like a different one: https://www.gridrival.com/game-guide

There seems to be 2 or 3 available out there now, though I think I quite liked the BadgerGP/FantasyGP one.

 

[KingstonU]

SO, who's up for this year's fantasy GP?
www.fantasygp.com
If anyone else is up for this season, feel free to open a league and share it here.

Alrighty here is the new 2017 league!:

Team "Anandtech Motivational Bumper Stickers" - Passcode: 8495787

Enter the Passcode at this link: https://fantasygp.com/friends/

 

[JulesMaximus]

I can't believe the season is already starting. Can't wait to see who was sand-bagging over winter testing.

Kind of hoping Ferrari does well this year. Go Kimi!

 

[_Rick_]

So, since I don't want to get up at 6:30 tomorrow morning, I just finalized my team, after only P2.
Due to the pricing structure, I had to make some weird picks. especially since the top teams have gotten even more expensive this year around. I hope my dark horse pick will be able to increase my overall points per dollar!

It still looks pretty grim for McLaren, but at least so far, they're not humiliated by the mid-field. Most of the other teams are doing pretty much as expected, though Williams look like they've lost their low-drag advantage with the new regulations.

Now I just need to figure out a way to actually watch F1 from bed

 

[tweakmonkey]

Joined the fantasy league again

Looks like it'll be a fun season.

 

[foghorn67]

Now that was a fun qualifying session. Mercedes and Ferrari look so different, yet so similar.
Brilliant lap from Grosjean for a P6 grid spot.

 

[_Rick_]

Blast, I had Grosjean on my roster, and bet on Palmer being first to retire - but Grosjean undercut him by two laps. Considering that misfortune, my position 120 in the championship is still a decent take-away. I'll have yet to see the race - was it any good, or merely the procession we all expected? From the race reports, there were essentially no overtakes in the top 10...

 

[DaTT]

I joined an F1 pool at work this year. I have never followed the sport but for some reason when I read about the wider tires, I though I'd like to watch this year. Race is recording now, will watch later.

 

[KingstonU]

...I'll have yet to see the race - was it any good, or merely the procession we all expected? From the race reports, there were essentially no overtakes in the top 10...

I think the race was not amazing but better than what you are describing. I give it a 7/10. Looks like we have a legitimate race at the top this year. The fact that the mechanics were frantically working to get the home hero Riccardo into the race and managed at the very last possible moment had me on the edge of my seat, as well as some of the strategies that were oh-so-close.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Mercedes fucked up pitting Hamilton so early. Congrats to Scuderia Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel for a well deserved win though. Yeah, if you're reading this thread 24 hours after the race ended you can expect spoilers. Suck it.

Sucked to see both Haas cars retire and Red Bull just seemed to be in a league of their own, ahead of the rest of the field but well behind Ferrari and Mercedes.

 

[foghorn67]

The Haas thing got me sad. Grosjean was really bummed. But I feel encouraged, both drivers acknowledged they have a fast car this time around.
My bold prediction (not a jinx), once they iron out brake supplier issues, I think Haas will be consistent in the points in most races they finish this year.
I think Ferrari has the fastest car out of the box, Vettel was just pacing the tires before he or Hamilton pitted. Let's see how early season development changes that though...both aren't going to sleep on that.
I think Mercedes might be sad if they think they only lost to a pit strategy fubar. Mercedes did everything else right. Didn't mess up on qualifying, had a better start.
Vettel got nervous on his last flying lap in quali, he could have got pole. He is normally a better starter, but screwed it up.

If Ferrari's balance translates on the Chinese circuit well, and Vettel and Kimi don't mess up....it could be the Ferrari's being the team to beat....could be exciting this year. Maybe neither will be dominating, and will be trading blows. That would be cool.

 

[w3rd]

I think the Ferrari's can compete this year. And Kimi is going to have a monumental year...

 

[KingstonU]

Well Gioniazzi has messed up Q1 by crashing on the last corner right at the end. Many drivers were not able to finish their last hot lap and out of Q2 and out of place including: Verstappen, Ocon, Grojean, Palmer.

Ironically, by crashing Gioniazzi secured himself into Q2 even though his car was totaled and won't be able to run.

Means it really is going to be an exciting race tomorrow!!!

 

[_Rick_]

Apparently the racing was quite nice - but I missed the start, because I thought race start was an hour LATER than qualy, when it was an hour earlier instead.
Oh well.

My team mostly performed well (except for Massa... 5 Qualy points weren't exactly what I was hoping for, picking that old man...), Grosjean redeemed himself after last race, and Checo got some points (even though he went backwards in the race) with TR getting a double points finish.

Due to horrible predictions (this SHOULD have been Vettel's race, and even pole seemed possible after P3), I lost the championship lead. I should have taken a closer look at the weather, and predicted more safety cars and maybe given Max a chance for the podium, instead of the lackluster Kimi.

Going by the post-race discussion, I may have to re-watch the race, but just seeing Max gain 9 positions in lap 1 was pretty amazing. His performance in Brazil last year surely wasn't a fluke, and any rainy day is a day where he'll shine!

 

[foghorn67]

The Haas pair passed a ton of cars to claw their way to their respective finishes. It was fun to watch. Vettel vs Riccardio was fun as well with their sidewalls skipping on each other. Riccardio chasing down Verstappen was equally captivating.

Winners:
Hamilton and Vettel. I think the two will treasure this year.
Verstappen moving up through the grid on the opening lap....reminds me of Senna at Donington (European Grand Prix that year).
Sainz. He gambled and was rewarded with a lot of fun.

Losers:
Team Sauber couldn't catch a break this race.
Honda.
Verstappen. Sorry guy, you weren't even in DRS zone with Grosjean, put your head down and race.

Victims:
Stoll - Non-fault racing incident with Perez. No blame here, just a bummer. I want to see this kid do well.
Alonso - punching above his car's weight. Damn, that guy is amazing.

This week's theme: Fun.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I enjoyed the race. Verstappen complaining about Grosjean was ridiculous. He was probably 2 seconds behind and complaining about his aero taking away his downforce? His teammate didn't seem to have that problem pressuring him from less than a second behind. Still, I think Verstappen showed once again how just how good a driver he is. He needs a better car though.

Good to see Hamilton win, I like him and it's fun to see him enjoying himself this year and enjoying the fans. He seems to really enjoy interacting with the fans. Even during free practice 2 which was canceled they showed various fans in the stands and the drivers waiting in their cars on the big screens so they could interact with each other a bit. I actually watched most of it even though there were no cars on track.

I was in Long Beach yesterday for the Indy car race which was a lot of fun. Those cars actually sound really good this year and the weather was perfect so they set a new lap record for this track configuration. They also looked impressively fast and there were a few lead changes. We had a view of turn 1 and the short straight leading up to the convention center.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Another good race. I was kind of pulling for Bottas but that safety car managed to favor Ferrari and Hamilton just proved once again how good he is.

They sure were hyping up Alonso skipping Monaco to race the Indy 500. I may actually watch that race this year. Hope he wins it quite frankly.