The Formula 1 thread - 2013 Season is go!

[Ruldra]

This year's season will finally get started next sunday at the Australian GP. Anyone else here eager to watch the races?

Last year it was a close call between Alonso, Webber, Hamilton and Vettel. All of them had a mathematical chance to become the world champion at the last race, but ultimately Vettel was the one who made it. Alonso was the most likely driver to win the championship but he got stuck behind Petrov for most part of the race and finished in 7th. Considering what he and Ferrari did to Massa at the German GP, it was a fitting end for him (plus, what he did after the race was hilarious).

As for this year, KERS and retractable rear wings are now available for the drivers (watch this video for a quick explanation of how they work), plus they are now using Pirelli tyres which are far less durable than the ones used last year and will force them to make 3-4 pit stops per race.

It should be a fun season

[Shatterhand]

(plus, what he did after the race was hilarious).

It indeed was.

There was a F1 2010 season thread? I love F1.

I am also hoping for an advance for the Williams team. They seem to have a better car this year, I think they may be fighting for podium finishes this year...

[Ruldra]

Williams on the podium is far too optimistic IMO, I don't think they're strong enough to compete against Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren for the podium. I expect them to score more points this year though.

I wonder how McLaren will do in the first few races, by the way. They had a lot of problems with the car during pre-season and barely did any testing kilometers.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Talk is races will be 3 stops because of tyre wear... if so, guys like Button and Heidfeld could spring serious surprises managing their tyres in 2 stops, with Ferrari doing their usual trick of screwing up pitstops. And few guys are better at driving the balls off a car when the money's down than Schumacher.

Red Bull seem to be doing what McLaren used to do in the late 90s and sandbagging a bit - they and Ferrari have the long runs nailed but Mercedes and Renault look solid in qualifying trim. If the three stop thing is true, Merc might be onto a winner. McLaren have struggled - but a radical car could turn out strong come Australia, providing it can stay together. With tyres and reliability an issue, I can see Hamilton struggling, at least to begin with.

Williams will be in there with Force India and Sauber, scrapping for the last couple of points. Barrichello is past his best (which was never that great) and the need for a pay driver gives them one of the weaker driver lineups. I reckon Sutil and Kobayashi will give the top 5 (Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and McLaren) the best run for those last couple of points.

If I had to pick someone right now for the title, I'd say Schumacher. The new tyres are more to his style, crucially he's been able to shape the design of the car and with more strategy set to be involved, Ross Brawn is invaluable. I don't think Red Bull and Ferrari can hold their heads together well enough.

[1up]

Been out of the loop for about 3 years. I think it got stale, so I gave up watching it. Last year I got a little excited now that Schumacher returned and Lotus was back in bussiness but in the end I watched only 1 race

Been reading a lot in the pre-season and got really hyped, so I will be back this time. I really hope for the best for the Lotus team. They have a lot of history and deserve to get settled in well.

KERS is that the electric motor boost thing? The new thing with the wings is a nice feature. I remember a team and wings that would flex at certain pressures a while back, and that pissed off a lot of teams

[Edwards80]

Very much looking forward to this weekend now. Jumped on the HDTV bandwagon now that the races are being broadcast that way.

I stopped drawing any conclusions after winter testing a while ago. The Brawn looked like a handful for a few of the sessions before it went on to win the championship that season

Not sure I like the idea of the rear wing setup they have but I'll wait and see how that turns out.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

In the USA, F1 racing is only watchable on the Speed channel. So if those of you interested in watching it, get the Speed channel. Should be an interesting F1 race being situated in the Outback/Down under indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Matsunaga]

I'm hyped up for the season, Red Bull all the way.. or anyone other than Alonso and Hamilton.. I hate them guys.

[Ruldra]

First practice session will start in an hour. Live stream here: http://www.firstrowsports.eu/sport/motosport.html

At the moment they're replaying last year's Melbourne race.

[Ruldra]

Today's race was really entertaining. I'm especially happy for Heidfeld, he manages to finish 3rd and gives Renault the second podium in a row. This more than made up for his bad race in Australia.

Hamilton and Alonso fought quite a bit with each other, was entertaining to watch. Too bad they both got a penalty after the race.

Vettel apparently is the new Schumacher. His poles and wins are just getting boring at this point.

As for Petrov...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAEZY6JBCGc

[mesh control]

Haven't kept with the off season; WRC is much more interesting this year (Ogier vs Loeb), but so far it looks like I haven't missed too much. Glad to see a strong Renault running strong.

[mesh control]

Also,
Raikkonen to NASCAR!

[Shatterhand]

This should be a RBR, as, Red Bull gives you wings!



On another note, that would be an awesome racing to watch, except by the fact that the car would be destroyed after the 1st jump.

[Shatterhand]

This should be a RBR, as, Red Bull gives you wings!



On another note, that would be an awesome racing to watch, except by the fact that the car would be destroyed after the 1st jump.

[1up]

Vettel apparently is the new Schumacher. His poles and wins are just getting boring at this point.

As for Petrov...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAEZY6JBCGc

I hated Schumi back in the day, but to be fair it wasnt his fault that he was that much better than everyone else. It was everyone elses fault for not keeping up. I feel bad for Schumacher now as he is now a mid-fielder

regarding Petrov. I think the FIA demanded that the steering column should be indestructible? it clearly breaks due to that awesome jump.

Petrov, taking F1's over some sweet jumps.

[TransatlanticFoe]

Really enjoyable race. Button actually had a setup issue which was why he was faster in the second half of the race - he got a major front wing adjustment in the pits and was on it, although Vettel was mainly missing KERS so Red Bull might well stretch out more if they get it working. Unless Hamilton can adjust his driving style to not shred his tyres, Button will be McLaren's challenger.

I'm a big fan of Heidfeld so was really pleased to see him take 3rd and hold off Webber. Some intelligent driving with KERS too to hold off Hamilton early on. A victim of track conditions in the first race, then spent the afternoon in a damaged car, so Australia was an obvious blip. He's more than capable of pushing for wins if Renault can get a bit more out of the car - given the drive he had out of corners, Monaco could be good for Renault. And I like Petrov, he comes across well and is obviously trying too hard a lot of the time with the pressure he's under. His accident was totally not his fault - modern F1 has so many run-off areas the driver is conditioned to get back on the power and drive his way out, no way could he have seen that bump (it wasn't even big, but speed + low ground clearance = flying).

The only thing missing so far is battles for the lead. Everything else is there.

[Ruldra]

I'm watching the Shanghai qualifying session now...

OMG Webber I'm speechless!

And Heidfeld misses Q3 -.- That's what you get for not leaving the boxes until the last minute.

[Ruldra]

Great race at Shanghai. About time someone else beats Vettel to the win, nice first place for Hamilton. And amazing race from Webber, who started in 18th and manages to finish 3rd.

After a great showing from Renault in the past two races, they were rather disappointing this time around.

Massa finishing ahead of Alonso is always a good thing. He's fighting not to win the championship but to prove to himself and the team he's worth a damn.

As for Williams...when one of your drivers finish behind a Lotus, something is very, very wrong. So much for a team that wanted to reach the podium.

Now, it'll be a long 3-week wait until Turkey.

[Vexorg]

Red Bull Gives you wings, but they don't give you tires if you pull into the wrong stall.

[Edwards80]

What a fantastic GP - Enjoyed every minute of it. Plenty of action/tactics going on and plenty of moments that had me shouting at the tv. I think Red Bull still have the legs but Mclaren won't be sitting still for the next 3 weeks

[1up]

best race Ive watched in the past decade

[Ruldra]

Cartoon version of the races:

Australian GP
Malaysian GP
Chinese GP

[neon guide]

Absolutely quality race, although it might get a bit dull if all the races are just about tyre strategy. Nice to see Hamilton win, amazing drive from Webber.
Williams are just not cutting it this season, too many other teams getting better and better for them to even compete. Maldonado seems a bit rubbish

[mesh control]

Ferrari finally make it onto the podium
1. Vettel
2. Webber
3. Alonso


Meh, Vettel won. I would probably have a different view if I could watch the races, not just reading times.


Other news...I hope Loeb comes over to F1 soon.

[Ruldra]

Why is it always Massa who has the worst pitstops? He was having a great race but got screwed by the pitcrew (though to be fair, that last pitstop fuckup was his own fault).

[antares]

I really think they overdid it with KERS and DRS, yesterdays race just didn't feel right for F1. It's almost like watching a Nascar race with the permanent overtaking.

[Ruldra]

Very interesting side-by-side comparison of Vettel and Webber's qualifying lap in Turkey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADigT_k0c8g

And Schumacher admits he's not enjoying racing anymore. Maybe it's time to quit?

[TransatlanticFoe]

I really think they overdid it with KERS and DRS, yesterdays race just didn't feel right for F1. It's almost like watching a Nascar race with the permanent overtaking.

Nah.

People who say it's artificial are correct. But it needs to be. For too long the development of aerodynamic gizmos has led to an artificial situation - a faster car is significantly slowed just by being within about 1 second of a slower one. It makes overtaking far too difficult and arguably more dangerous because you can either stay behind or lunge down the inside.

DRS has been great, although in Turkey most cars had already made the move by the time they took the regular line for the corner... but even when done there, the tight section after it meant it was possible to stay in the slipstream down the straight and pass into turn 1.

All we want is for overtaking to be possible. KERS is great, because it can be used well to defend as well as attack. DRS, while too effective in Turkey, has generally been successful in aiding the following car into the slipstream. That's all we want, to be able to get into a position to pass. We've seen more position swapping too - cars actually fighting for position rather than simply "faster car gets past, then disappears up the road".

[antares]

I agree that there had to be something done. In the past years we saw races where drivers couldn't overtake the car before them even if they could drive a second per lap faster (or even more).

But now we see drivers several car lengths behind another car at the beginning of the DRS zone, easily closing the gap and passing the front car before they even reach the next breaking point. That's what I meant with 'overdid'.

[mesh control]

Kobyashi in the top 5 @ Monaco!
I was really impressed with his driving at Suzuka last yearand good to see in the ranks with the McLaren's and Red Bulls.



Looks like no one is going to catch Vettel.