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[What's Burning?]

Pirelli's - Almost the best thing about 2011 as far as I'm concerned. Tyre that never wear out are like traction control. They hide driver's skill deficiencies. The new tyres wearing like they do put the emphasis back on the driver's skill. I expect to see some changes in the top teams in regards to who is top dog.

I couldn't agree with you more here, but like Hammer said, I'm thinking the tires may go either way, tighten the gap between teammates OR expand it.

My reasoning is dues to the fact that if they can go a full race on one stop (highly unlikely) then it massively benefits the smooth drivers. If they can go on two stops then it benefits the smooth drivers but much less of a benefit. If however they need 3 stops, then the advantage goes back to the aggressive drivers as the degradation of tires is so quick as to impact all drivers to a degree, and the third tire change brings it further back to allowing for a bit of aggressiveness in the styles.

What I am looking forward is the chess games where a driver 8th or 9th on the grid winds up with a podium finish due to a smart tire strategy.

I can't see many races going beyond two stoppers (unless a driver really cocks-up). Nando did 40 laps on one set at practice already - that's pushing towards a one stop strategy.

Agree on the strategy - which is why I really like what the Pirelli's add to this season.

Those 40 laps were under NO pressure, and without having to defend for position.

On a side note, the more I see it in videos, the more I'd love to see the MRW either banned completely or allowed to be used at the driver's discretion the current implementation feels as if they purposely wanted to doom it from the start. They are very cool to see move in the various on camera footage.... check it out http://www.gpupdate.net/en/videos/793/r ... rear-wing/

[FRAFPDD]

.... is managing tyres a criteria in racing drivers

FOr me I'd say yes.

Tyres are no different to fuel. Drivers have to manage their fuel to get through the race. We saw and heard drivers/engineers going into fuel saving mode lots of times last year. A complete driver has to be able to race with his available resources, car, engine, gearbox, fuel etc all have to be conserved to make them last - tyres for me are no different.

Ah, but they are, tyres can be made to last a whole race cant they? Fuel cant, and when it can im sure it will be. Funnily enough i do agree, i think managing tyres is part of F1, i just had to ask the question. Problem is theyve made tyres like they have and the MRW ANNNDDD KERS!!!! only one of them was really needed to make overtaking easier. Which is why they asked the tyres to be degradable fast anyway, to aid the spectacle,but they may of done too much.

[f1ea]

Ferrari - mileage is so valuable for them - a big plus for the team. I think we are in a very good position.

Seems like they have at least decent pace, and very good reliability. Lots of info as well... so unless they are at the factory figuring out how to make better pasta, they could be really strong for the first race. I think both Massa and Alonso will have good yrs. So far....... it seems like Massa has a bit of an edge on raw pace, but Alonso has been very consistent, and i'm sure he'll turn it up a notch when needed.

Red Bull - good mileage and a car that has to be fast - it's an evolution of the standout best car from last year. For me there's a very big question mark though. They spent so many hours in Barcelona doing heat testing, and still they seemed to be plagued with problems there. That is not good considering they were testing in relatively cool conditions. Rumour is they are burning the floor of the car. Positive side for them is you can make a fast car reliable. They need to sort this and the delay to the season starting will help them.

If they are flat out the best... then reliability will mean less, but if Ferrari, Merc, Mclaren have very good cars, reliability will be crucial. Fast... they are. Let's wait for the rest.

As a die-hard Ferrari fan, I would vote yes to letting McLaren be given some extra test days simply to reward their attempted innovation. Hopefully we will see a complete lifting of the test ban soon.

I dont see the reason to allow more testing on x or y situation. Either they give all of em more testing, or keep everyone in the same situation. I would really like to see at least 3 more testing sessions. 2 for development work, the other for young aspiring drivers or reserves.

Merc - they didn't look too good to start with but the miles they put in will pay off. They think they have the fastest car in a straight line.

Is it too late already to switch to NASCAR?

MRW - I hate this gimmick and still wish they'd get rid of it. The only good thing is they can change the rules of implementation. Why oh why does F1 have this fetish about the need to keep changing rules?

hate it too. Scrap this crap.

Pirelli's - Almost the best thing about 2011 as far as I'm concerned. Tyre that never wear out are like traction control. They hide driver's skill deficiencies. The new tyres wearing like they do put the emphasis back on the driver's skill. I expect to see some changes in the top teams in regards to who is top dog.

This will be interesting... i'm sure the cars will be managed to make the tires last a bit longer, or at least be more stable... and some drivers will definitely manage them better. The strategies will be interesting, and set up work will be even more crucial for both Q and the race; Obviously, i think top teams will be at an advantage on all regards. Already read about Trulli complaining about the tires.... not long til several other smaller teams find themselves struggling as well.

[spankyham]

Very interesting observation from the FOFA people who were at Barcelona for the testing. Seems some teams/drivers were deliberately ensuring their fastest laps were un-timed.

[texasmr2]

Now who was it that said F1 is not any different than a soap opera ??

[texasmr2]

Oh nevermind it was me!

[Robert12010]

Now who was it that said F1 is not any different than a soap opera ??

[vicarofdidley]

Hi, first time here!

Can anybody tell me what the tall pointy things on top of the airbox cameras are? They're not on all the cars, but all look the same, so I'm guessing they're either new high level cameras for our benefit, or they're for engineering evaluations of the movable rear wings.

Whatever they are they're ugly!

Steve.

[What's Burning?]

Hi, first time here!

Can anybody tell me what the tall pointy things on top of the airbox cameras are? They're not on all the cars, but all look the same, so I'm guessing they're either new high level cameras for our benefit, or they're for engineering evaluations of the movable rear wings.

Whatever they are they're ugly!

Steve.

They house probably more than a few various sensors to measure wind and who knows what else. They're the most visible and installed almost for all tests, but there are other sensors that look like grids that are also installed on the rear and sides to get an idea of the air flow there. You can also sometimes see some pancake type sensors on the various areas of the floor.

[Hammer278]

Very interesting observation from the FOFA people who were at Barcelona for the testing. Seems some teams/drivers were deliberately ensuring their fastest laps were un-timed.

You bet.

There's only 1 team which has looked mediocre in pace during testing and are so far still 'happy' about it.....

[What's Burning?]

Very interesting observation from the FOFA people who were at Barcelona for the testing. Seems some teams/drivers were deliberately ensuring their fastest laps were un-timed.

You bet.

There's only 1 team which has looked mediocre in pace during testing and are so far still 'happy' about it.....

An account is needed to view the content. I created one, but can someone copy the content here porfavor.

[vaptin]

Very interesting observation from the FOFA people who were at Barcelona for the testing. Seems some teams/drivers were deliberately ensuring their fastest laps were un-timed.

You bet.

There's only 1 team which has looked mediocre in pace during testing and are so far still 'happy' about it.....

Not really, all it means is redbull have been going even faster than the timings suggest.

[spankyham]

Very interesting observation from the FOFA people who were at Barcelona for the testing. Seems some teams/drivers were deliberately ensuring their fastest laps were un-timed.

You bet.

There's only 1 team which has looked mediocre in pace during testing and are so far still 'happy' about it.....

An account is needed to view the content. I created one, but can someone copy the content here porfavor.

Massa did a really fast lap because he was mighty miffed at Maldonado who nearly took him and a couple of other guys off the track..........sorry but that man is dangerous!
Also both Ferrari and Red Bull when they were really on "hotlap" modus then deliberately drove through the pits so the laps did not get timed.........we saw this very much from Fernando and also Vettel and Webber, to some extent Felipe as well.
So their fastest laps were not recorded erm "officially" that is.

[f1ea]

The only guys needing to "show" how fast they can be are those needing sponsors..... unfortunately they are the same guys whose cars break down before they can set a hot lap at all...

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Are RBR sandbagging?