Formula 1-2022 Season

In reply to alfadriver :

I was trying to check out more on Gene Haas. It appears that his net worth is "only" $250M. I have to put that in quotes because I know it is a ridiculous thing to say. But if he is the backer and the team budget is $150M a year it really could put him in a bind and lead to some questionable decisions. If the Andretti deal is real that may be a favorable option for everyone involved. 
It seems like a large % of one's net worth to have tied to one entity that doesn't look to have a great ROI
 

Mazespin might be out, too: https://racer.com/2022/02/25/haas-admits-mazepin-and-uralkali-could-be-dropped-but-says-team-future-is-safe/

Nikita Mazepin looks set to lose his seat at Haas while Uralkali’s title partnership will be addressed next week, according to team principal Guenther Steiner, who insists the team’s own future is secure.

If Mazepin is out, that means Pietro Fittipaldi steps up. A Schumachaer and a Fittipaldi, nice combo.

Some great comments by Gene. See just how critical Mazepin is as a driver, losing him will have absolutely no effect on the competitiveness of the team.

“Nobody planned this so we had to take a decision because we have got more partners now, as well, and I think this was the right decision. There is no setback for the competition side of the team because of this, none at all — we just need to go through the commercial issues. We will go through that in the next weeks. But as for the to-do list, nothing more.

“It is a headache, but it’s not something which disturbs the team on the competition side. Financially we are OK. It has no implementation on the team, how we are running it, how we are doing, how we plan the season. There are more ways to get the funding. So there’s no issue with that.”

Why can't HAAS just sell to Andretti and get it over with?

loosecannon said:

Why can't HAAS just sell to Andretti and get it over with?

That was exactly what I was hoping for.  American car, bring in Colton Herta, and have an American driver and the son of Schumacher.   That would be a team to root for!

I would like Andretti to slip into Hass but saw something earlier about them having a deal with Renault as an engine supplier.

johndej said:

I would like Andretti to slip into Hass but saw something earlier about them having a deal with Renault as an engine supplier.

That is a tentative deal and is only active if they would start their own NEW team.  Right now FIA is saying that there is no openings to join F1, therefore buying an existing team is probably the only way to get in to f1.

Now that test one is fully done- for the most part, everything played out as expected- issues and laps.  Lots of laps.

That being said, it's kind of sad that the two teams that abandoned the previous car the earliest and had some of the highest amounts of resources allowed had the worst issues keeping the car on the track- Haas and Alfa Romeo. One would have hoped that they would be most prepared, but it didn't happen.  I know Haas also got stuck into the Russian situation, but that happened most recently- so the car should have at least been well prepared.

Not going to read into the speed- other than no other team has been really caught out WRT speed- I know after the early day, both Red Bull and Mercedes were looked at as on the back foot.  But I can't really see that- especially since Merc consistently does not go for max performance at these test sessions.

But it is good to see Ferrari and McLaren pile on a lot of laps, even with the stability issues they have had.  Renault had some speed, but I'd wonder if the failure is due to the porpoising issue with the car grounding.

And for that- it seems that nobody is overly alarmed by it- so solutions are in mind.  (I was wondering if something like Merc's stalling diffuser concept would work- to stall the air that seals the sides at high speed- rendering the tunnel less useful- at high speed).

I can't imagine what it must be like at 180 mph when your car starts porpoising. 

I'm no engineer but I have two possible solutions for porpoising. Downforce increases with speed and porpoising happens only as they reach their top speed so if they have some clever flexible aero that reduces downforce at high speed, this should prevent the floor from hitting the track. Also, simple bump stops on the dampers that increase spring rate to infinity as the floor gets close to the ground should stop the sudden loss of downforce. On another topic, Bottas must have the bends going from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo. Bet he wishes he had done a better job in the Silver Arrow

I'm pretty sure you get the bends when you come back up. I think George or Albon are at much greater risk right now!

I hope it works out for VB but that was a rough start. 

"Clever flexible aero" is something that has caused new/clarified rules fairly frequently of late. 

Remembering that Mercedes managed to stall their diffuser, I think some kind of stalling to cut off downforce at a high speed would work pretty well.

Alfa's livery launched and wowza!

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Ukraine has asked the FIA to ban drivers from Russia and Belarus, Mazipan may actually be out of the seat.

In reply to Javelin :

So far that's the only set of wheel covers that I like looking at.  Sweet-looking car!

In reply to trigun7469 :

We'll see if that has more teeth than previous bans of Russian athletes/drivers, which simply had them competing under things like the "Russian Automobile Federation" or "Russian Olympic Committee". Accomplished nothing but some feel-good press releases.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

With the potential of a ban, no sponsorship, other then Gunther, He isn't a fan or driver favorite (if that accounts for anything) not sure what is keeping him in, unless Mazepins dad is cashing out his offshore accounts.

In reply to trigun7469 :

Yeah, if the sponsorship is gone so is his seat regardless of nationality. He is a drag on the team. Not sure if he'll be replaced before the start of this season or if he'll be gone at the end of it - that's going to come down to contracts.

Side note that isn't about Russia, if you're into LEGO technic kits like I am, they are releasing the new McLaren F1 Technic kit soon. 

https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/mclaren-formula-1-race-car-42141

I have my alarm set. Janel is a McLaren fan, so we're going to have to add that to the collection. How long will the sidepods remain accurate? ;) 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

What time tomorrow do they become available?

I think it's midnight Eastern, so it's 10pm Mountain or 9pm Pacific tonight.