FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[darwin dali]

I'm for technology that relates to motor racing. I also believe F1 should be the pinnacle of the sport. Aero's are in themselves, not the problem. It is that other avenues have been completely blocked - ie the engine freeze. And then gimmicks are created to "spice up" the TV show for the masses. DRS and spaghetti tires to name a couple. Personally I'd also ban radios.

Spaghetti and tifoso should go well together

[spankyham]

I'm for technology that relates to motor racing. I also believe F1 should be the pinnacle of the sport. Aero's are in themselves, not the problem. It is that other avenues have been completely blocked - ie the engine freeze. And then gimmicks are created to "spice up" the TV show for the masses. DRS and spaghetti tires to name a couple. Personally I'd also ban radios.

Spaghetti and tifoso should go well together

Am I on the menu

[darwin dali]

I'm for technology that relates to motor racing. I also believe F1 should be the pinnacle of the sport. Aero's are in themselves, not the problem. It is that other avenues have been completely blocked - ie the engine freeze. And then gimmicks are created to "spice up" the TV show for the masses. DRS and spaghetti tires to name a couple. Personally I'd also ban radios.

Spaghetti and tifoso should go well together

Am I on the menu

Yes you are, you are in for the ride of a lifetime

[spankyham]

 wrote:">Pirelli to bring extra FP1 tyres but not limited to rookies

Pirelli will bring an extra set of tyres to the Spanish Grand Prix for use in first practice, but they will not be limited to just rookie drivers as originally planned.

All teams and drivers will be allowed to use the extra set of "prototype tyres" in FP1, which will be an extra-hard compound designed to encourage running during the 90 minute session. Pirelli had supported a plan to make the extra set only available to teams willing to run a rookie driver during the session, but the teams could not agree on the plan going forward.



The development tyres will now be available to all drivers and will be unmarked in order to be distinguishable from the orange-branded hard compound and white-branded mediums that will be used over the entire race weekend.

"As permitted by the current regulations, we'll be supplying an extra set of prototype hard compound tyres for free practice, which will hopefully ensure that all the cars run throughout these sessions," Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said. "It's something we wanted to do to encourage all the teams to run as much as possible right from the start, especially with the rookie drivers, to give fans the spectacle they deserve to see."

The Spanish Grand Prix will also see the introduction of a revised hard compound that Hembery believes will offer teams more options over race strategy.

"We're introducing a revised version of our hard tyre in Spain, which is closer in characteristics to the 2012 tyre," he added. "This new tyre gives us a wider working temperature window - although it delivers a little bit less in terms of pure performance - but it should allow the teams to envisage an even wider variety of race strategies than before in combination with the other compounds, which remain unchanged this year.

"This is a decision that we've come to having looked at the data from the first four races, with the aim of further improving the spectacle of Formula One. In fact this is almost a tradition with us now, as we also introduced a revised version of the hard tyre for the Spanish Grand Prix in 2011, which was our first year in the sport. We'd expect the medium tyre to still be significantly faster and this is the one that the teams are likely to qualify on, whereas the hard is likely to be the preferred race tyre."

[stonemonkey]

Am I missing something here, they're introducing a new tyre yet again but they're providing a tyre they're not going to be racing with for practice. I can't help getting the feeling they're trying to improve the spectacle by not letting the teams and drivers get to grips with the tyre characteristics before they go changing them again.

[darwin dali]

Am I missing something here, they're introducing a new tyre yet again but they're providing a tyre they're not going to be racing with for practice. I can't help getting the feeling they're trying to improve the spectacle by not letting the teams and drivers get to grips with the tyre characteristics before they go changing them again.

Ooh, conspiracy!

[What's Burning?]

When you clean up the accidental dog poo... the smell tends to linger for a bit even after the offense has been removed.

[racechick]

[spankyham]

... this coming from a race steward for Barcelona

Mark Webber must treat Vettel as an enemy

Alan Jones, the last Australian to win the Formula One world championship, has advised his compatriot Mark Webber to treat his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel as an enemy for the rest of the season. Jones, who took the title in 1980, believes Webber can still overtake the leader to win his first championship this year.

As Formula One comes to Europe after its mini-break, Jones, who will be the FIA's driver steward for the fifth race of the season in Barcelona on Sunday 12 May, said: "Seb has proved he can't be trusted, so from now on Mark must view him as just another enemy."



At the Malaysian Grand Prix in March, Vettel ignored team orders and passed Webber, who was leading, to steal the race and worsen an already difficult relationship between the two drivers. Jones said: "If Seb didn't like what was going on he shouldn't have signed his agreement with Red Bull in the first place. I had a similar experience with Carlos Reutemann in 1981."

Then, in Brazil, Reutemann flouted pit signals from the Williams team to let Jones, the reigning champion and senior driver, win the race, and went on to take the chequered flag himself. When the Argentinian later offered "to bury the hatchet", the Australian replied: "Yeah, in your back."

Webber is in fifth place in the championship, 45 points behind Vettel, but Jones said: "While I don't think we are going to have as many different winners this year as we had in 2012, there are clearly a number of drivers capable of winning a race. In that situation, the title will be won by the most consistent performer. We know that Mark is good enough, and has a good enough car, to perform consistently."

Meanwhile, Anthony Davidson believes the team-orders controversy will not go away. "What happened in Malaysia is still a pretty hot debate," said the Sky Sports expert analyst. Davidson, a former F1 driver who still races cars, added: "From the fans' point of view, they want to watch a motor race and that means watching the fastest drivers battle it out, team-mates or not. As a driver myself, I wish that was always the case, but things are never as simple as that.

"From a teams' point of view, a driver is an employee and, when the time comes, team orders are to be obeyed. Unless Red Bull take some discipline with Seb, they are in danger of creating a monster. A true leader tells his troops how to behave.

"Christian Horner [the team principal] has done a phenomenal job, winning six world championships in three years. But he and the decision makers have to take control. Seb must realise there are 600-700 people working incredibly hard for him in the factory. And they lose their bonuses unless the team delivers as a team. If it happens again and the team doesn't react, it will look farcical, and management within the team will be seen to have less power than their driver."

Davidson also makes an important point when he says: "For F1 fans, the most important thing is the drivers' championship. But maybe they don't realise that, for the teams, the most important thing is the constructors' title. A considerable chunk of a driver's salary comes from the revenue a team makes through where they end up in the championship."

Formula One is going into its European leg with its usual collection of upgrades. This is the time when the early season under-performers – McLaren, Williams and Sauber – must stop the rot if they are to have any hope of glory later in the year. But the noises coming from McLaren, who are sixth in the constructors' championship, behind Force India, are hardly gung-ho.

Jenson Button, 10th in the championship and already 64 points behind Vettel, said: "There's been a lot of talk about the importance of next weekend's upgrades but, as with every upgrade, they're simply part of the series of continuous improvements that are made across the season. So I'm pragmatic about what we'll discover. Of course, I'm hopeful it'll move us a step closer towards the destination."

Red Bull and Ferrari look likely to dominate the rest of the season. Kimi Raikkonen's remarkable consistency should keep him in contention, but Lotus, like Mercedes, may struggle to keep up with the pace of development through the summer.

[stonemonkey]

Am I missing something here, they're introducing a new tyre yet again but they're providing a tyre they're not going to be racing with for practice. I can't help getting the feeling they're trying to improve the spectacle by not letting the teams and drivers get to grips with the tyre characteristics before they go changing them again.

Ooh, conspiracy!

Well, it's just that they keep making changes to the tyres which are proven to be difficult to get to grips with. I know everyone's in the same boat but at least if they left the tyres alone they'd be able to learn what they're dealing with.

[racechick]

... this coming from a race steward for Barcelona

Mark Webber must treat Vettel as an enemy

[i]
Alan Jones, the last Australian to win the Formula One world championship, has advised his compatriot Mark Webber to treat his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel as an enemy for the rest of the season. Jones, who took the title in 1980, believes Webber can still overtake the leader to win his first championship this year.

As Formula One comes to Europe after its mini-break, Jones, who will be the FIA's driver steward for the fifth race of the season in Barcelona on Sunday 12 May, said: "Seb has proved he can't be trusted, so from now on Mark must view him as just another enemy."

Well he's right really, Seb cant be trusted, so if I was Mark I'd be out for myself right now, I'd be thinking , I'll do all I can to Win, and if it doesn't work out, and you need my help for the championship, well stuff you! But I think Mark is up against it, and sadly I don't think he'll win this battle. If Lewis can't win this year I'd like It to be Webber, but it won't be.
Hopefully Alan Jones is professional enough to separate his personal feelings from the job he's discharged with next weekend. ( discharged? Sounded like the right word at the time but now I'm not so sure )

[andrew]

Alan Jones proving again just how much of an he is.

[geetface9]

WEBBER'S GONNA WIN YO!!

[1Lemon]

Everyone gets a penalty bar Webber, leaving him on pole...

[stonemonkey]

Everyone gets a penalty bar Webber, leaving him on pole...

Yeah but do you think RedBull will give him enough fuel to finish the race?