Formula One - 2017

markwemple wrote:

Advan046 wrote:

wae wrote: Is it really a retirement when it lasts for exactly zero races? Don't get me wrong, Massa's great and all, but it seems silly for all these articles to talk about him coming out of retirement when it's just the same winter break everyone else had!

Yeah I guess I was hoping for Button or di Resta for the Williams seat. Massa seems a weak choice. He doesn't do well when beat and his rookie teammate just might beat him early.

You do remember he was almost WDC in 08, right?

You do know that was almost a decade ago, right? He's not what he was, or he wouldn't have retired in the first place.

I was a big Massa fan (still think he's a great guy) but he's not the driver he was after that head injury.

Massa's not likely to be the fast driver at the team, but he has a lot of experience in setting up and developing the car. Stroll is a rookie, he doesn't really know any of that, and the team will likely score better overall with Stroll + Massa than Stroll + rookie, even if the other rookie has more raw speed than Massa does at this point.

So, tires are roughly 25% wider, down force will go up more than that according to a couple of British scribes. One suggested Pirelli has been told to expect 45% more down force after some development time. Premature tire wear could be as bad as the current tire, or worse. I'd like to see the larger tires stay and a bunch of down force go away, but Bernie hasn't returned my calls.

In reply to DeadSkunk:

With wider wings, and a significantly larger undertray/diffuser I'd believe it.

In reply to DeadSkunk:

Last I heard, Bernie isn't going to be answering calls much longer. The deal with Liberty is getting done soon.

https://www.gptours.com/news.php?tourid=18512

According to this article, the FIA is expecting the cornering speeds to be high enough that the tracks will need to make changes to accommodate it. I wonder if that's more for ensuring the surface won't chunk from the force or different runoff/safety areas?
What are they going to do at Monaco? Will the speeds of Monaco be low enough to not put too much stress on the street? How about the less profitable tracks? Will they have the funds to make the changes?

I'm just hoping the changes re-level the playing field a little more to make the racing closer.

Found some more info here:

"We've used these simulations to feed our simulation software, we therefore simulated every single track with the 2017 cars, so much higher cornering speeds -- up to 40 kph faster in high speed corners. "Every single track is receiving from the FIA a requested upgrade based on that work... that process is ongoing. We are doing it in the order of the championship and therefore not all the tracks have received it yet." Mekies said Melbourne, which hosts the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 26, had done what was required by putting up additional safety barriers at turn 12 in place of tyre walls. Turns one, six and 14 will have the existing tyre walls doubled in depth.

So, it looks like the concerns are around the speeds in the corners and having enough safety barrier to handle any offs.

-Rob

Maybe Monaco can go away,for sure my least favorite "track" and in no way suited to a modern F1 car imo.

No way Monaco goes away, too much money there and too much legacy.

Agreed on Monaco money but lots of tracks with lots of legacy are no longer used.(safety stuff mostly of course).

Ding dong the witch is dead?

Ecclestone removed from his post

Bernie Ecclestone has been removed from his position running Formula 1 as US giant Liberty Media completes its $8bn (£6.4bn) takeover of the sport. Ecclestone, 86, who has been in charge for nearly 40 years, has been appointed chairman emeritus and will act as an adviser to the board. Chase Carey has had Ecclestone's former role of chief executive officer added to his existing position of chairman. Ecclestone said earlier on Monday that he had been "forced out". He told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "I was dismissed today. This is official. I no longer run the company. My position has been taken by Chase Carey." Ecclestone, who added that he did not know what his new job title meant, declined to comment when approached BBC Sport, who revealed on Sunday he would leave his job this week.

Only time will tell if this is good or bad for the sport. While I agree that F1 has really trailed behind the times regarding media support and not catering more to the U.S. market, I also have to recognize that F1 wouldn't be where it is today without Ecclestone.

-Rob

I think it's interesting that the articles phrase it as "removed from his post", makes it sound like he's been fired. I thought it was basically just him retiring? The guy's going to be 87 this year.

He was either going to get removed or die. I don't think retire was ever on the table. He just doesn't think that way.

That makes me incredibly happy. It's about time to get rid of that crotchety old fart.

I'm crossing my fingers for streaming races in the near future so I can drop cable tv.

kevlarcorolla wrote: Agreed on Monaco money but lots of tracks with lots of legacy are no longer used.(safety stuff mostly of course).

Monaco hasn't paid a sanctioning fee in decades.

It's all about the cachet it brings.

In reply to z31maniac:

I mean people with WAY WAY too much money want an excuse to party in Monaco once a yr.

kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to z31maniac: I mean people with WAY WAY too much money want an excuse to party in Monaco once a yr.

One: There is no such thing as "too much money".

Two: If Monaco were to go away, THOSE people would just find another place to party and pose.

Three: Ross Brawn is set to essentially replace the Gnome and that is a good thing.

Spoolpigeon wrote: That makes me incredibly happy. It's about time to get rid of that crotchety old fart. I'm crossing my fingers for streaming races in the near future so I can drop cable tv.

You can use the nbc sports app. Thats how i watch. They stream live and also have full event replays available for a certain amount of time, usually a couple weeks.

kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to z31maniac: I mean people with WAY WAY too much money want an excuse to party in Monaco once a yr.

Yes, but that isn't putting money into the F1/FIA coffers.

z31maniac wrote:

kevlarcorolla wrote: In reply to z31maniac: I mean people with WAY WAY too much money want an excuse to party in Monaco once a yr.

Yes, but that isn't putting money into the F1/FIA coffers.

Monaco is about prestige and glamour, it's something that makes all of the OTHER F1 races more valuable simply by being on the calendar. It's the only race that the FIA needs more than they need the FIA.

As for the safety thing, most of the cornering speed increase comes from the new aero rules, and Monaco is almost all slow-speed corners that have minimal aero impact, so it's likely to see the least improvement in lap times.

I still don't like Monaco,the tunnel is cool but the rest not so much.

Modern F1 cars simply have no place on a bumpy as hell Armco lined street circuit regardless of history or money.

And 2017 will have one less team on the grid, Manor racing has folded!

I only get to see a few F1 races per year if I'm lucky. Monaco is one of them. I like it because it's not about horsepower or downforce so much as compared to other tracks. The confines of the layout lead to an unpredictability factor that is not seen in most other races. A great driver can make up for a not so great car there.

So here we go F1 testing is on going and everyone seems to be having a issue here or there.

Williams will be looking at their reserve driver a bit more closely now that Stroll has shown his "performance" in the car.

I hope the cars don't destroy the nice racing we have had the past few years.

Three/four weeks to go now.

Checking out the testing times from Barcelona. No real big surprises except for Bottas having the fastest time overall and the Toro Rossos being at the bottom of the pile. I wonder if Bottas will be a real threat to Hamilton during the season. The Ferraris seem to be in a good position for the start of 2017.