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2019 Formula 1 Season Thread

an-other said:
To add to Apple Fanboy's comment: I would suspect how the drivers perform as part of the Friday and Saturday practice programmes also influenced the decision process. Consistency lap after lap is critical to get good testing data to evaluate parts/tyre compounds. (The story goes Nigel Mansell was challenged at this. He only could drive 10/10, and frustrated engineers trying to figure out if the new add-ons were any good. I have no knowledge this is true, however it does fit the Mansell persona charm.)
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I’m not sure Mansell was fit enough to be that consistent - he famously had to delay his McLaren debut as he was too big for the car! Modern drivers are certainly fitter, but I would agree that consistency may be the key here. I think Norris and Sainz are impressing by their consistency this season.
 
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MOFS said:
I’m not sure Mansell was fit enough to be that consistent - he famously had to delay his McLaren debut as he was too big for the car! Modern drivers are certainly fitter, but I would agree that consistency may be the key here. I think Norris and Sainz are impressing by their consistency this season.
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He was only less fit then because he was 42 years old in 1995. A lot of people don’t realise he was 39 when he won the WDC. He was fit during his earlier F1 career and was superbly fast in inferior cars.
 
Who knows with Red Bull... Albon was dismissed from the program at one time. Brendan Hartley was also "brought back" from exile [not that it matters, I thought he flashed last year at times.] Kyvat was a return player. Additional players made their way to Indy Car (however, I've never forgiven Tony George/CART so I don't know what goes on there. I can be small minded. I respect you if you enjoy the series) and Formula E.

It would not surprise me to see Kyvat get the Red Bull gig if Albon doesn't live up to expectations. I'm hoping Albon delivers, however he's being placed in a tough situation. It's Max's team. My mind wonders what the engineering feedback sessions must be like if the drivers have different views.

About the only name I haven't heard uttered is Jaime Alguersari,
 
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The-Real-Deal82 said:
The Ginetta series is quite popular in the UK. I remember watching them at Donnington a few years back, love the mistakes and determination of the youngsters.
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There's a lot of smaller series out there I'm not completely aware of. I vaguely know a guy whose son is a track racer of some kind. I think the kid's maybe 16 or 17. My memory of said guy was that he's an absolute ****. Or was when I knew him years and years ago. Pretty sure he's still an ass.

I took a look at the Ginetta cars. Get some Lotus vibes off of it.
 
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Zenithal said:
Never heard of that series. I'd be keen to watch 700cc-1000cc (liter) kart races.
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Ginetta Juniors is part of the BTCC support bill. Drivers have to be aged between 14 and 17. There's a Ginetta Supercup that's a step up when they become adults that runs GT4 spec cars.

It's brilliant fun. Obviously less serious to spectate as there's a lot of rookie errors and daft driving. But it's the next generation of touring car and GT drivers learning.
 
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Akrapovic said:
Ginetta Juniors is part of the BTCC support bill. Drivers have to be aged between 14 and 17. There's a Ginetta Supercup that's a step up when they become adults that runs GT4 spec cars.

It's brilliant fun. Obviously less serious to spectate as there's a lot of rookie errors and daft driving. But it's the next generation of touring car and GT drivers learning.
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Very cool. Gotta start somewhere! Lower Formula classes are fun to watch, too. Though in the case of the aforementioned, I'd be wary of letting either of my children race 550-600 HP race cars.
 
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In the case of the Junior, the car uses a 1.8L Ford engine. It's restricted to 100hp for that very reason :D But as the video shows, they're still pretty nippy. Thruxton is such a fast track too.

On the plus side, it has a full FIA roll cage!
 
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Akrapovic said:
In the case of the Junior, the car uses a 1.8L Ford engine. It's restricted to 100hp for that very reason :D But as the video shows, they're still pretty nippy. Thruxton is such a fast track too.

On the plus side, it has a full FIA roll cage!
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Yeah I don't know what class the kid races at but I know the cars he's had were 550-650 HP and fast. Definitely the dad living his life through his son. One of the many reasons I never liked him much. Still keep it cordial with him. Just dry and cordial.

I think it'd be fun to own a Caterham and drive it on the streets here. Or an Atom. I suppose if you'll be eating bugs it's like going vegan.
 
I thought there was "absolutely no body contact" when it came to BTCC drivers? :p

But I agree - I loved BTCC when it was on TV here in the States.
 
apolloa said:
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I like the attempts by FIA to improve the science of the sport. Frankly I don’t understand why F1 appears to be the only one with the participants having any impact on the rules. I love the idea of ground effect cars which can actually follow each other. Also think a black and silver car would look great on the grid ;).
 
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MOFS said:
I like the attempts by FIA to improve the science of the sport. Frankly I don’t understand why F1 appears to be the only one with the participants having any impact on the rules. I love the idea of ground effect cars which can actually follow each other. Also think a black and silver car would look great on the grid ;).
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I'm still shocked they didn't particularly address aero a while ago when they knew the wake would be too turbulent for overtaking but I get it the politics behind it. Hopefully the regulations do make for closer racing and they can eliminate the need for DRS.

A lot of the feedback is still the same though.. without meaningful cost restrictions, we're still going to have the same teams at the front, in the midfield, and back-markers.
 
BenTrovato said:
I'm still shocked they didn't particularly address aero a while ago when they knew the wake would be too turbulent for overtaking but I get it the politics behind it. Hopefully the regulations do make for closer racing and they can eliminate the need for DRS.

A lot of the feedback is still the same though.. without meaningful cost restrictions, we're still going to have the same teams at the front, in the midfield, and back-markers.
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Ask the teams and Bernie. As far as I know this new car design rules coming in in 2021 were from Liberty?
Still I think the concepts Ferrari and Red Bull and Mercedes cane up with were cooler looking.
But this is just a model that’s shown.
 
I’m not sure Liberty have any real say in the technical regulations. They can maybe give their side but they don’t control it. Liberty are commercial rights holders. FIA are responsible for the technical regulations. Bernie certainly had no say in the technical regulations.
 
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BenTrovato said:
I'm still shocked they didn't particularly address aero a while ago when they knew the wake would be too turbulent for overtaking but I get it the politics behind it. Hopefully the regulations do make for closer racing and they can eliminate the need for DRS.

A lot of the feedback is still the same though.. without meaningful cost restrictions, we're still going to have the same teams at the front, in the midfield, and back-markers.
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The last cars (longer cars, more consistent tyres but faster) were following feedback, but immediately made the spectacle worse as it made the cars harder to follow and there was less overtaking due to tyre drop off. Many of the teams (especially Newey/ Red Bull) are against aero restrictions hence why the 2021 regulations haven’t been agreed yet.
 
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