The 2014 Formula1 Thread!

[LTC8K6]

Pitting earlier would only have delayed the inevitable for Williams, imo, being passed by the faster Mercedes cars.

 

[manimal]

While I do think MB would have taken it if Williams had pitted two laps earlier hey would not have lost those four seconds after rosberg got his fresh tires. Perez successfully blocked for six or seven laps and I think massa could have bunched up the field more.

Were seeing where he mb is weak and that is in traffic. If rosberg was in dirty air more he may have had more cooling issues.

Merc has some heat soak issues in the brakes as well as the rear of the car.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

BTW-Did anyone watch the F1 Documentary that was aired a couple months ago? I DVR'd it and watched it yesterday. I thought it was very good and they had a lot of great footage and interviews. It is 2.5 hours but totally worthy.

name? channel?

 

[JulesMaximus]

name? channel?

It was on NBCSN, same channel they broadcast the races on. I think it was called "1".

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/08/28/first-trailer-for-new-f1-documentary-1/

 

[LTC8K6]

Hamilton likely starts on the second row if not for his qualifying problem.

Heck, you could say that Rosberg's qualifying was also hurt by Hamilton...

Williams might not even have led a lap if not for Hamilton's qualifying problem.

Hamilton had a hell of a start. If he'd been on the second row, he'd probably have been leading after the first turn.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Pitting earlier would only have delayed the inevitable for Williams, imo, being passed by the faster Mercedes cars.

i'm not sure it was inevitable. they were clearly playing for 3rd and 4th, and had made that decision right after qualifying. massa's race engineer, rob smedley, practically admitted it.

maybe the cash-strapped team was focusing on low-hanging fruit of good points, a bump in position on the manufacturers' title, advertising exposure, and the millions of dollars each of those things bring. maybe they were yielding to their engine supplier for a favor in return.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yes, they knew they could not stay in front. Criticizing their strategy is silly, imo.

 

[Harpocrates]

I think Williams was worried that pitting early would lead to them being stuck on worn out tires at the end of their last stint. Such a situation would let them fall into the range of the cars behind them.

 

[manimal]

I think Williams was worried that pitting early would lead to them being stuck on worn out tires at the end of their last stint. Such a situation would let them fall into the range of the cars behind them.

while your probably right this does appear to be face saving though we all know Mercedes has settings and power that well eclipse them. What I think is also possible is that Williams may be able to force MB into pushing the car more at those settings and may cause brake failure or overheating in the rear pod. The more turns the more trouble MB seems to have. We all know they have alot more power but if they cant cool at those boost levels it may leave them vulnerable.

Thats my hope anyways to salvage a competitive season otherwise MB will just run away with it being conservative. Something or someone needs to push mercedes. While the drivers are pushing themselves they arent being allowed to use the highest performance settings for more than a lap or two.


I think this is Fernando's last year with Ferrari. I had thought about a possible nando bull marriage but they appear to be whole hog on little ricky. Dont see them bringing someone in over him after the way they started to treat Vettel. Vettel has been a clear number 2 for weeks now. He is done at RBR this season.

 

[_Rick_]

Tony sold Caterham F1 team to a consortium led by someone who used to manage the Spyker F1 entry. I wonder what this means for the name, the team etc.
At least it shows, that there are still people crazy enough to invest in F1.

 

[_Rick_]

Wow, what a crazy quali session. No wonder the British love circuit racing so much, the weather really makes things exciting.
Ferrari and Williams both out along with Caterham in Q1. Marussia up in 12th and 13th.
Hamilton throwing away a safe pole position by moving over on the straight.
Vettel having a last gap go for second!

Three of my four fantasy league men start in the top four tomorrow. Sure, Lewis will fight back to the front, if he isn't taken out in the first lap. But then I hope that Ferrari, who in the dry were properly fast for once in practice, can put Alonso well into the points. And I hope Button doesn't go backwards too much.
With this quali, it's certainly going to be an exciting race, with a ton of cars out of position. Can't wait.

 

[_Rick_]

And Massa keeps the title of least fortunate Grand Prix driver alive.
Taken out on the straight by Raikönnen's Ferrari.
And that's on his 200th race as well.

Well, red flag and restart now.

 

[_Rick_]

What a disaster for my fantasy team
Rosberg out with a brokwn Gearbox, Button can't make the podium because the race ran one lap too short, Alonso gets overtaken by Vettel under....dubious circumstances, and the Force India of Hülkenberg lacked the pace to do anything about the top places.

But awesome to see Bottas on the podium again. Qilliams appear to be the only team besides the works team, that knows how to get the best out of that engine. They have reasonable reliability too, so maybe they'll be able to work themselves up to second, if they don't keep getting taken out....

 

[LTC8K6]

Alonso drags the Ferrari well forward again...

Vettel sure is a whiner at times...

 

[Skurge]

Alonso drags the Ferrari well forward again...

Vettel sure is a whiner at times...

So is Alonso..... and all the other drivers for that matter.

 

[KingstonU]

Sky Sports F1 2014: How Mercedes become so strong in 2014

I only just saw this video. Though I had already heard of this, the video is fantastic for visualizing it so thanks for sharing!

 

[KingstonU]

Thoroughly enjoyed the British GP, finally something to put Rosberg and Hamilton on almost equal footing. This battle really seems like it will go down to the last race, double points or not.

Wasted podium for Massa yet again. Vettle was annoying but watching him and Alonso was sublime.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I love how Vettel was complaining of Alonso blocking and putting all 4 wheels off the track. Vettel put 4 wheels off the track repeatedly. It was a fantastic duel but Vettel needs to STFU and drive.

Alonso really is the best driver out there IMO. Not sure why Kimi can't seem to do better in that Ferrari.

Bottas put in another amazing drive. I'd love to see Williams win a race this year.

 

[Skurge]

I love how Vettel was complaining of Alonso blocking and putting all 4 wheels off the track. Vettel put 4 wheels off the track repeatedly. It was a fantastic duel but Vettel needs to STFU and drive.

Alonso really is the best driver out there IMO. Not sure why Kimi can't seem to do better in that Ferrari.

Bottas put in another amazing drive. I'd love to see Williams win a race this year.

I don't get the hate for Vettel. They were both whining, but everyone is kissing Alonso's butt.

 

[LTC8K6]

I only recall Vettel whining about Alonso not letting him past. Alonso was not whining like that, imo. Alonso was legitimately complaining about Vettel's use of areas off the track to gain an advantage.

Alonso's wing was malfunctioning as was something else on the car that he was talking about on the radio.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/28214000

EDIT: just read that the other item on the Ferrari was the battery.

So Alonso had older tires and car trouble.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I don't get the hate for Vettel. They were both whining, but everyone is kissing Alonso's butt.

Christian Horner's golden boy? 4 World Championships in a row? Yeah, I'm going to cry for him when he gets a run of bad luck.

 

[Skurge]

I only recall Vettel whining about Alonso not letting him past. Alonso was not whining like that, imo. Alonso was legitimately complaining about Vettel's use of areas off the track to gain an advantage.

Alonso's wing was malfunctioning as was something else on the car that he was talking about on the radio.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/28214000

EDIT: just read that the other item on the Ferrari was the battery.

So Alonso had older tires and car trouble.

They were both going over the white lines, just like a lot of other drivers up and down the field. Alonso was whining just as much as Vettel and frankly it was ridiculous.

 

[Skurge]

Christian Horner's golden boy? 4 World Championships in a row? Yeah, I'm going to cry for him when he gets a run of bad luck.

Well at least his team didn't fix races for him to win.

 

[manimal]

I think Nando is done with Ferrari. Question is where does he go? I think he may end up at williams. I think if he was in a merc engined car he would be right behind the works mercs.


I do wonder if Williams or Red bull will make the biggest jump in performance next year. I think Ferrari needs a much bigger shake up and needs to bring in Brawn if they want to keep Nando.

 

[_Rick_]

I wonder if Jules Bianchi will have a seat with Ferrari next year, of if he'll have to go through Sauber first (as Force India is now a Mercedes house).
But as he already drove for Ferrari this week, I don't think that will be necessary, if either Alonso or Raikönnen (or both) bow out at the end of the season.