Any F1 fans

cleverdicky

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Quite agree ^^

Couple of points.
MB are near the front with LH, last year near the back with MS.

They should have less sticky tyres that last a race. Even skinny ones would improve the sport no end as opposed to wide short use.
F1 is about racing. The skill of a driver and the engineering of a car. THAT'S IT.
The rest is BS

These stupid new designs (FIA regs about the 1" plank under the car) mean the cars are becoming ridiculous. It was well meaning to restrict air flow and reduce negative presser under the cars that enabled a greater downforce. But now the designs have become stupid to circumvent this effect by making the front of the cars like funnels. The nose of each car gets higher with each seasonal development? and conversely the front 'wings' are ever increased to over come the front lifting.

And does anyone actually understand all this curs? business or whatever it is.
Im not too certain how it works never mind when it is or isnt.

At least the drs system is straightforward to understand, but when its used or isnt has become a farce.
 

Steve@Avantgarde

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Quite agree ^^

Couple of points.
MB are near the front with LH, last year near the back with MS.

They should have less sticky tyres that last a race. Even skinny ones would improve the sport no end as opposed to wide short use.
F1 is about racing. The skill of a driver and the engineering of a car. THAT'S IT.
The rest is BS

These stupid new designs (FIA regs about the 1" plank under the car) mean the cars are becoming ridiculous. It was well meaning to restrict air flow and reduce negative presser under the cars that enabled a greater downforce. But now the designs have become stupid to circumvent this effect by making the front of the cars like funnels. The nose of each car gets higher with each seasonal development? and conversely the front 'wings' are ever increased to over come the front lifting.

And does anyone actually understand all this curs? business or whatever it is.
Im not too certain how it works never mind when it is or isnt.

At least the drs system is straightforward to understand, but when its used or isnt has become a farce.

Again here is some points i disagree on!

Aero technology that has been pushed to the limits in F1 since the early 2000s has meant that without clean airflow a car in front always has the advantage as the trailing car loses its aero performance. Designers always explore aero grip first and mechanical grip second.

What would be better if they brought back ground effect which would allow a sliding skirt effect front wing and side pods which would generate the downforce with wider rear tyres and small front tyres and decreased the radius of the tyre sidewall. This would increase the mechanical grip levels and almost negate the need for aero performance with winglets, double drs, blown diffusers etc.

Mechanical grip would then give the performance back to the driver and we would really sort the men from the boys.

Personally I'm not a fan of drs, its false overtaking, however a push to pass button that increased engine power similiar to kers but with overuse it would strain the engine to the point of detonation would be a good idea. It would have to be tactically used and overuse would be in the back of the drivers mind constantly.

Bring back the 80s cars and racers, they were the best years.

KERS is easy to understand, it uses the forces of braking to generate electricity. It then stores that energy and it can be used a performance boost, like an electronic turbo if you like. But like all batteries, they run out so after 7 seconds use they need to charge again and so the cycle begins.
 

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MB are near the front with LH, last year near the back with MS.

Not quite true as they won in China with Rosberg and Schumacher qualified the car on pole in Monaco. Certainly the team finished the year poorly and at the moment this year's car seems to be much improved. For sure the Lewis factor will do no harm.

A lot more golf to be played yet though! ;)
 
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horgantrevor

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i think the main problem for all teams is the tires at the moment and the quality of them

it will be at least three races before the playing field settles down most top teams wont use the new parts altogether and feed them out when other teams run away a bit from them so expect a lot of car changes for the top teams but lets hope it makes good racing and spirited drives from drivers
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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Interesting situation re F1.

The irresistable force at play is that Adrian Newey designs the best car in F1 (sorry Frank W) and Red Bull do a decent job of building and running it.

Bearing this in mind Bernie et al have no option but to create rules that disguise the fact and attempt to create a level playing field, hence the confusion and farce with the tyres.

Hamilton in my opinion is the fastest driver in F1 at the moment and provides the best entertainment value as did Mansell and Senna. To hear comentators complain that Hamilton is dangerous, is where we are with the armchair racing brigade nowadays, which is a tragedy.

Always interesting to see how the teams come out of the traps after the winter closed season and i feel that Mercedes will provide Hamilton with a better platform for him to demonstrate his talents then McClaren.

Kimi has again demonstrated that the Finns are amongst the best drivers in the world and was understated as ever.

For me the revelation of the weekend was David Coulthard providing the best commentary I have heard since the great James Hunt. Now that he's no longer playing second fiddle to Martin Brundle I think we are in for a treat throughout the coming season, his knowledge is second to none and he's giving us that insight into a drivers mind that has been so lacking of recent years.
 
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Xtractorfan

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I'm sorry but hamilton to me isn't as good as he should be... I blame his dad for this, I get the feeling his dad gives him a hard time when he doesn't win.. Hamilton has alwasy had good cars ...and to be honest there are very few memorable drivers in F1 at the moment... Schumacher had an air of greatness about him and you either hated him or loved him.. and he also developed and improved that MB that Hamilton is now driving..
The statement from hamilton that horgantrevor posted earlier could have come from any driver, this is standard bu11**** that all drivers roll off when doing interviews..
I think julia Bradbury should drive for me, or be my back seat driver... at least a few posters on here have got it right .........
 
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horgantrevor

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Dear MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS fan,
Sepang – “A completely different challenge to what we saw in Melbourne”

The second round of the new Formula One season, the 2013 PETRONAS Malaysia Grand Prix, takes place on Sunday 24 March at the Sepang International Circuit, just outside of Kuala Lumpur.

The weekend marks the home race for PETRONAS, the title partner of the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team. This weekend will mark the 60th race for the partnership between Mercedes-Benz and PETRONAS.

Sepang is one of Nico’s favourite tracks on the Formula One calendar: “the layout has a little bit of everything with the slow and fast corners making a nice mix. For our team, the Malaysian Grand Prix is also one of our home races as we're racing in the country of our partner PETRONAS, and it's always a busy and exciting weekend.

Sepang holds some great memories for me as I achieved my first podium for Mercedes here at the start of the 2010 season. The conditions this weekend will be much hotter than in Australia so it will be a good test to see how the cars perform in such a different environment and how we can adapt to that.”

Lewis finds that “Malaysia is a beautiful country with great weather and great fans who are always so supportive, I'm really looking forward to seeing them. This weekend feels a little like a home race for the team with all of the activities for our title partner PETRONAS.

I hope we can have a positive weekend here and build on the progress that we made in Melbourne
 
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horgantrevor

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Hamilton: 'I do really feel positive about the car'




Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes has yet to show its true potential and is confident he can start to maximise the car's potential this weekend in Malaysia. Hamilton qualified third in Australia and went on to finish fifth, but said a balance issue in the first stint and over-compensation for that first issue at the first pit stop meant the car was actually capable of more. "I do really feel positive about the car, I feel positive about the team and they are moving very fast in terms of developing the car and learning how I like to work, and I'm learning very quickly how they like to work," he said. "Of course, we could have done things better and it was our first race together, so you can't really prepare perfectly no matter how much you prepare for it. It's not until you do a race that you understand how to work. "I came away from there with 10 points and I feel really happy with 10 points because when I made the switch [from McLaren] I didn't know where we would be. I also had the feeling that that wasn't just a lucky shot in the first race, I felt it was something we can continue throughout the year. If you look at all the top teams, they are really good a developing and moving forward very fast and I think that is something the team is learning to do and I'm seeing it coming through. "We were strong in a lot of good places and I really don't feel like we extracted the maximum from the car, so here I feel really positive and optimistic about the weekend."
 
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horgantrevor

horgantrevor

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FP1: Webber dominates first practice in Malaysia




Mark Webber led the way at a hot and humid Sepang circuit on Friday morning, edging Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen by 0.068s. It was a slow start to the session as the teams all waited for another to blink. Eventually - after 30 minutes - Max Chilton ventured out and clocked a 1:42.513. McLaren joined the Marussia driver out on track with Sergio Perez going quickest while Romain Grosjean took second ahead of Jenson Button. However, halfway through FP1 they were the only four drivers on the timesheets. Shortly after more headed out with Lewis Hamilton taking over at the front after posting a 1:38.113. The Mercedes driver had a brief exchange with Grosjean for the top spot before his team-mate Nico Rosberg entered the fray. Rosberg's reign, though, was also short-lived as Mark Webber climbed to the top of the timesheets while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel made it a Red Bull 1-2 ahead of a Mercedes 3-4. With the Red Bulls looking secure in first and second the battle was on for third with Fernando Alonso taking the fifth to the Mercedes drivers as he climbed to fourth place ahead Adrian Sutil, Felipe Massa and Paul di Resta. Hamilton was down in eighth with 30 minutes remaining in the session. Esteban Gutierrez brought out the first yellow flags of the session as he came up behind the slower Ferrari of Massa and balked as he braked. The Mexican rookie touched the grass and found himself backwards on the run-off area. Moments later Adrian Sutil was seem lapping with a broken front right wing courtesy of a trip over the grass. A mixture of strategies emerged in the final 30 minutes as Kimi Raikkonen opted for used tyres, which put him up to second place, while Hamilton switched to race set-up and putting in a few 1:44s before being told by his Merc engineer that he needs to get that down to a 1:42. The final ten minutes of FP1 saw some serious tyre issues for some of the drivers with anyone from reigning Champ Vettel complaining about "vibrations" to newcomer Giedo van der Garde pointing his out to his Caterham team. The old tyres meant that the drivers were not able to improve their times and Webber finished quickest of all, 0.068s up on Raikkonen. Free First Practices - Results: 01. M. Webber (Red Bull) 1:36.935 02. K. Raikkonen (Lotus) 1:37.003 03. S. Vettel (Red Bull) 1:37.104 04. F. Alonso (Ferrari) 1:37.319 05. N. Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:37.588 06. A. Sutil (Force India) 1:37.769 07. F. Massa (Ferrari) 1:37.771 08. P. di Resta (Force India) 1:37.773 09. L. Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:37.840 10. R. Grosjean (Lotus) 1:37.915 11. J. Button (McLaren) 1:38.173 12. P. Maldonado (Williams) 1:38.673 13. S. Perez (McLaren) 1:38.830 14. N. Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1:39.054 15. E. Gutierrez (Sauber) 1:39.204 16. V. Bottas (Williams) 1:39.208 17. J. Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1:39.284 18. D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) 1:39.567 19. G. Van der Garde (Caterham 1:40.728 20. J. Bianchi (Marussia) 1:40.996 21. C. Pic (Caterham) 1:41.163 22. M. Chilton (Marussia) 1:41.513
 
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horgantrevor

horgantrevor

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Hamilton: 'We don't have the speed to compete for the title'




After impressing during winter testing, the Brackley squad made a reasonable start to the 2013 season at Albert Park in Australia last week with Hamilton qualifying third on the grid and finishing fifth. Confidence is naturally growing, but the 2008 World Champion warns it's unlikely that they will be able to keep up with the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and Lotus when it comes to winning the Championship. "At the moment, in terms of pure performance we don't have the speed to compete for the World title," he told Press Association Sport. "But I feel there is more in the car and if we set it up we can be quicker. Whether that means we can close the gap and get ahead of the others, who knows. "I'm certainly thinking we could get one win, maybe more than one, but the other guys are going to make it as hard as they can that's for sure." Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest pace at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit on Friday and Hamilton was ninth quickest overall, but he was the first to admit that he didn't get much joy out of either the medium and the hard Pirellis. "It wasn't the best of days, but a work in progress," said Hamilton. "I think we're strong on race pace, and the car is improving all the time, so I'm definitely satisfied with that. "We're at least where we finished in the last race, but I think we can do better."
 
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horgantrevor

horgantrevor

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Hamilton 4 and Rosberg 6 for race tomorrow
 

Jay Gee

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Hamilton 4 and Rosberg 6 for race tomorrow

No issue with the above comment,but after successfully avoiding any other mention of today's qualifying result,the announcer on the BBC,without warning,gave away who was on pole and the second placed driver just before the programme started.Unbelievable!!:cry: Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen tomorrow.
 

Naraic

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No issue with the above comment,but after successfully avoiding any other mention of today's qualifying result,the announcer on the BBC,without warning,gave away who was on pole and the second placed driver just before the programme started.Unbelievable!!:cry: Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen tomorrow.

Yep...that's happened before...I was incensed and rang them to tell them. The announcer thought everybody knew...because it was a recording...THICK.
 

rf065

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My prediction for the rest of the season, Mercedes will slip further back & McLaren will improve race by race. Hamilton will end the season in frustration with a car which will not be fast enough, that part will be interesting though.

Russ
 
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Mercedes made a big mistake not bringing in the cars for a new set of intermediates.
 
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horgantrevor

horgantrevor

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Did any one see hamiltons tyre delaminate fairly badly and at over 150mph

Pirelli better act fast on this as all the teams are now complaining

Lets hope it's a great race
 
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horgantrevor

horgantrevor

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Hamilton: 'Our pace was good overall'




Lewis Hamilton has had a solid start to his career with his new team in Australia and it was more of the same in Malaysia where Hamilton was running near the front throughout qualifying. However, a late charge from Sebastian Vettel and the two Ferraris, dropped him to fourth place by the end of a wet final qualifying segment. In the immediate aftermath the Brit said: "I want to be on pole so initially when you get out of the car you don't think you're happy." However, later upon reflection he revealed that he was "pretty happy with fourth place considering the conditions today." The 28-year-old added: "The car was not too bad in the dry but the balance could have been a lot better, then it was pretty tricky conditions in the wet during Q3. "We did our lap with older tyres than the guys in front, which was a bit unfortunate, but our pace was good overall so I can't complain. "It's the second race on the second row for me and there are lots of positives to take out of the weekend so far." Looking ahead to Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver is cautiously optimistic. "Our long run pace looked pretty good compared to the other teams so I'm hoping for dry conditions tomorrow."
 

WG M-B

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My prediction for the rest of the season, Mercedes will slip further back & McLaren will improve race by race. Hamilton will end the season in frustration with a car which will not be fast enough, that part will be interesting though.

Russ

I know it's to early to tell but......
No way Jose. :)
 

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