FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[AKR]

More if this?

[youtube]ZIf-dHbKpFI[/youtube]

Great video, music choice is a perfection!

This is better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhWxs1BU ... ata_player

[What's Burning?]

Nice little boil down of the changes for 3013 on the F1 site. Short list, but of most notability to the changes... the heavier tires, meaning more rubber so let's see how that impacts things. Then the no DRS use anywhere but in the DRS zones, so cars with a very good DRS setup will be a bit hamstrung during qualifying. Meaning Q sessions may be within a second for the top ten cars.

1) Weight - due to changes in their structure, Pirelli's 2013 tyres are around 2kg heavier per set than in 2012, hence the car's minimum weight limit has been increased by the same amount, from 640 to 642kg. As a consequence, the weight-distribution requirement has also been revised to minimum figures of 292kg:343kg front to rear, leaving teams 7kg to play with.

2) Stepped noses - to mask the step in the car's nose (thought unattractive by many), teams are now allowed to place a non-structural 'vanity panel' over this area, the shape of which is strictly controlled by the regulations.

3) Front wing tests - to prevent them flexing, front wings now face a tougher deflection test, with a 1,000N (100kg) load applied at two different points on both the longitudinal and transverse axes. The amount the wing may deflect has been reduced from 20mm to 10mm.

4) Load and crash tests - more severe load tests for the roll structure have been introduced and the crash test requirements modified.

5) Survival cell - the side load test for the survival cell is more severe too, and it must be applied to all chassis produced by a team, rather than to a single example.

6) DRS - active 'double DRS' systems - where the DRS activation mechanism is utilised for other purposes - are no longer allowed (only passive solutions are now considered legal). Also, DRS usage is now limited to the DRS zones in all sessions (previously it could be used anywhere during free practice and qualifying).

[Hammer278]

Why not just disable DRS during qualifying...I don't get it, in 2012 drivers could be a bit more daring by making use of the DRS in places where its highly risky to use it. But if it's to be used only in DRS zone for qualifying, its basically useless. No one's going to be interested in overtaking during Q!

[What's Burning?]

Wow... 3013. I'm getting a little ahead of myself there.

[Ferrari man 009]

Why not just disable DRS during qualifying...I don't get it, in 2012 drivers could be a bit more daring by making use of the DRS in places where its highly risky to use it. But if it's to be used only in DRS zone for qualifying, its basically useless. No one's going to be interested in overtaking during Q!

I think it was considered a safety risk but I agree it was a shame as it allowed differences in setup strategies for qualifying and the race, which helped the excellent races we often got on Sundays!

[darwin dali]

Why not just disable DRS during qualifying...I don't get it, in 2012 drivers could be a bit more daring by making use of the DRS in places where its highly risky to use it. But if it's to be used only in DRS zone for qualifying, its basically useless. No one's going to be interested in overtaking during Q!

Huh? Why is it useless? And what are you talking about overtaking? In Q they simply use it w/o the 1-second gap rule to get a higher straight-line speed (and hence a better time) - some teams do a better job at that than others, so it's still useful to separate the wheat from the chav...

[rob91]

I predict:

The constructors championship is between McLaren and Ferrari with McLaren winning
Red Bull Racing finish third, Mercedes fourth, Lotus a distant fifth and Williams best of the rest in sixth
The drivers championship is between Alonso and Button with Alonso winning it at the last race of the season
Vettel finishes third just ahead of Perez with Webber fifth and Hamilton sixth
Both drivers from McLaren and Red Bull and Alonso and Hamilton win races with Lotus and Williams the only other teams to score podiums
Perez becomes the next new grand prix winner
Webber resigns for one more year at Red Bull
Massa loses his seat at the end of the season to Hulkenberg after poor performances costs Ferrari the constructors championship
Bottas is by far the best rookie driver with a podium finish

[Hammer278]

Why not just disable DRS during qualifying...I don't get it, in 2012 drivers could be a bit more daring by making use of the DRS in places where its highly risky to use it. But if it's to be used only in DRS zone for qualifying, its basically useless. No one's going to be interested in overtaking during Q!

Huh? Why is it useless? And what are you talking about overtaking? In Q they simply use it w/o the 1-second gap rule to get a higher straight-line speed (and hence a better time) - some teams do a better job at that than others, so it's still useful to separate the wheat from the chav...

It's almost negligible...when the zone lasts just 4-5 seconds at most. I mean, compared to last year when drivers could use it at will...DRS is going to be a non-entity in qualifying so I'm just wondering why bother.

[scotty]

Interesting point raised actually, something i think we will likely see (for anyone who remembers) is more teams running longer chord elements (the bit that moves) on the rear wing, as McLaren did in early 2011. Because DRS is less widely used next season, there is less requirement for the rear wing to be efficent in dropping drag. The longer chord length McLaren used then supposedly generated a little more downforce but they dropped it cause it wasn't as effective in qualifying. Of course a knock on effect of this, should many teams use this design, is a less effective passing opportunity during races...

See pic below for a neat comparison of what i'm talking about:

[Joey_Zyla]

I predict that 2013 will be an unpredictable year of racing.

Here are just a few of my other predictions:

World Drivers' Championship - Vettel, Alonso, Webber
World Constructors' Championship - Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus
Most Race Wins - Vettel (Silverstone, Singapore, Yeongam, Buddh)
Other Race Winners - Alonso, Webber, Massa, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Perez, Hamilton, Gutierrez
Most Pole Positions - Vettel (Shanghai, Bahrain, Germany, Budapest, Singapore, Yeongam, Buddh)
Most Podiums - Alonso and Webber (12 each)
Grand Chelem - Vettel at Yeongam
Surprise 'Overachiever' of the Year - Sauber (Gutierrez and Hulkenberg grab a podium each as the team winds up 5th in the WCC)
Surprise 'Underachiever' of the Year - Kimi Raikkonen (wins in Sepang and Abu Dhabi but has a big drop in consistency from 2012, finishes 6th in the WDC)
Race of the Year - Monaco GP (Alonso, Vettel, and Gutierrez finish within a second of each other, as Gutierrez gets the surprise win in a rainy Monaco GP)

Other Surprises - Massa finishes 5th in WDC, Glock finishes last in WDC (still picking up four points along the way), Caterham finishes 8th in WCC (Force India and Toro Rosso will struggle with reliability), Vettel and Webber finish the year separated by less than twenty points

[Jabberwocky]

your not a Mclaren fan then lol

[Jabberwocky]

Interesting point raised actually, something i think we will likely see (for anyone who remembers) is more teams running longer chord elements (the bit that moves) on the rear wing, as McLaren did in early 2011. Because DRS is less widely used next season, there is less requirement for the rear wing to be efficent in dropping drag. The longer chord length McLaren used then supposedly generated a little more downforce but they dropped it cause it wasn't as effective in qualifying. Of course a knock on effect of this, should many teams use this design, is a less effective passing opportunity during races...

See pic below for a neat comparison of what i'm talking about:

it is all about the compromise

[Joey_Zyla]

your not a Mclaren fan then lol

Are you accusing me of bias? I think they have a more-than-capable car, it's just that Jenson is past his prime, and Sergio is still a little inexperienced.

[Jabberwocky]

No I am just saying it is highly unlikely that Mclaren will be outside the top 3 of the championship. As that has only happened once since before you where born.

[Hammer278]

your not a Mclaren fan then lol

Are you accusing me of bias? I think they have a more-than-capable car, it's just that Jenson is past his prime, and Sergio is still a little inexperienced.

Sorry, when was Button at his 'prime'? I think THIS is his prime...2011 was his best performance yet. 2012, it was just lack of knowledge on how to set up a car and a teammate who was on form which made him look like dirt.