The Formula 1 Thread 🏎

Sweepslag · June 25, 2019, 8:47am

I think there needs to be a way to level the playing field further. If you look at Indycar, they have a standard chassis with two aerokit options, standard gearboxes, standard steering wheels, single tyre supplier, and two choices of engine. As a result, the cars are very similar, and the racing extremely close.

However, I think most of us will agree that we enjoy the greater freedom F1 teams have to design unique cars and come up with clever technical solutions; it’s a big part of what makes the sport so cool. The big problem, in my opinion, is money. As long as the top teams can afford to employ three times more staff, build better facilities, and bring new parts to every race, while the backmarkers are barely scraping by, we will be stuck with a multi-tier performance series. I think the budget cap is long overdue and very necessary.

PsychoFish · June 25, 2019, 9:13am

Budget capping alone will not solve the overall issue. The thing is that if you take Big Red and it’s sister teams. They could in theory cap Big Red to x, but nothing prevents them from pumping that money right back into the sister teams and start sharing development effort.

I’ll focus on Aero again. Over 20 movable and adjustable planes and vanes on a modern front wing alone. I would suggest they limit this to like 4 or 5 max.

Sweepslag · June 25, 2019, 9:35am

Agreed, the aero rules are crucial. This is where the FIA need to come up with a concept that will allow close racing and yet provide enough freedom for some innovation. Easier said than done, but they have plenty of clever people to provide input.

Weasley · June 25, 2019, 11:14am

I would standardise the Aero packages and let the teams have loads more freedom on like the engine/turbo’s. And add more tire manufactures.

or on the other extreme remove all the branding on the tires. The teams just get random bunch of sets no more can they say we want x soft y medium and z hard’s. its random and the teams must use what they have. They get min required for a race weekend but they have no idea do they just have the nice soft tires or do they have bunch of hard’s.

Sweepslag · June 25, 2019, 11:28am

Teams don’t design the power units; that sits solely with the engine suppliers. Fully standard aero means the money invested in wind tunnel facilities and highly skilled engineers such as Adrian Newey will be all but wasted. Plus, clever aero is part of what makes the sport so interesting. I don’t think we want cookie cutter cars that all look identical apart from the paint job; at least, that’s not what I would want to see.

PsychoFish · June 25, 2019, 12:28pm

I tend to agree, standardized components is what Indycar and Nascar does. It’s not really competitive or innovative at all. With F1 it should be all about the rules and seeing how far you can push when you’ve been given limits.

Aero has become the secret sauce for some teams and an unfortunate side effect is the dirty air it creates behind the car. In the 80s and most of the 90s you could tuck up behind your competitors and take advantage of the slipstream. The modern cars make this nearly impossible.

Wyvern · June 25, 2019, 12:30pm

This is really sad, I do not think Williams will recover

Deadlypinecone · June 25, 2019, 12:31pm

I wouldn’t want to see each car the exact same, built to a pre-determined specification.

I do wonder if a balance of performance system as is in place for GT3 and GTE cars would be beneficial to F1. It’s not a perfect system of course. It has made for some good viewing though, in my opinion.

Sweepslag · June 25, 2019, 1:23pm

How does the GT racing system work? Not familiar with it.

Deadlypinecone · June 25, 2019, 1:43pm

Found a link that explains it nicely

http://www.theracetorque.com/2019/01/how-does-balance-of-performance-work/

Sweepslag · June 25, 2019, 1:45pm

Sad but not surprising. It’s a mystery to me; Paddy had input into several winning cars during his time at McLaren and Mercedes. Not sure where it all went wrong.

Sweepslag · June 25, 2019, 1:55pm

That’s fascinating stuff! There may be some merit in adopting a similar system for F1, although I can see the big teams being up in arms over being artificially handicapped. That’s part of F1’s problem at the moment: The big manufacturers wield too much influence and can get away with anything simply by threatening to quit.

DieGrootHammer · June 25, 2019, 2:01pm

I’ve thought about this a bit during a break. The whole debate about dominance and leveling the field in F1 has been an issue for the sport since its inception. I think this is not a problem of current regulations, or current team spending, I think that, no matter what, F1 will always have performance disparities between teams.

The current domination of the Mercs is nothing new. For the past 6 years Mercedes has consistently dominated the turbo hybrid era, before them the Red Bulls dominated races for 5 years. At the moment we see an unstoppable Merc car that has won 8 races in a row, yet in 2013 Sebastian Vettel won 9 races on the trot in the RBR. And before him Button dominated a season where the Brawn GP car was completely unstoppable. And before that Michael Schumacher was being Michael Schumacher and dominated F1 for 5 years in a row. And before him McLaren was top dogs, and before that it was Williams.

And so the cycle goes on. F1 has always seen the top 2 teams dominate season after season, with different tire, aero, fuel, points and whatnot regulations change. Changing regulations only bring about a change in guard, and the next two teams crown themselves as leaders dominating all that stand against them.

F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. You do not achieve greatness in the pinnacle in any sport without spending an obscene amount of money. Only in some exceptions has a lower budget team ever achieved glory in F1. Williams is probably the most notable, but even they grew into behemoths with hundreds of staff and millions to spend.

I have no faith in any regulations changing the balance in F1. The sport at it’s core concept is not built for equality. The fact that cars can differ from each other, the fact that there is no “standard” parts will always mean that some teams will find dominance by either throwing a massive amount of money at the problems, or an incredible talent helps them achieve the highest honor in motorsport.

Will this change in the future? Absolutely not. It is ingrained in the DNA of what F1 is. That is the sport that we love. In 5 years from now we will lament the dominance of the next team and how we are tired of seeing the same faces on the podium and would hope Merc return to it’s glody days of 2019. Such is the cycle of F1.

PsychoFish · June 25, 2019, 2:04pm

We need more Gordon Murrays…

Sweepslag · June 25, 2019, 2:16pm

Well… I would argue that it depends on how far back in history you go. A few decades back, many teams were still amateur outfits with backyard mechanics, simple cars, and playboy drivers. Yes, money helped, but the sport itself was pretty unprofessional, so you didn’t need to be the richest outfit to enjoy a measure of success.

The modern F1 of course, the one most of us grew up with, is run like an ultra-precise machine with garages that look more like hospitals, super-complicated cars, and professional athlete drivers. In that sort of environment, money makes all the difference.

So yes, while I agree we’ve seen domination in some form for many years now, I don’t necessarily think we need to accept that’s the way it always has been and always will be. You could take steps to level the playing field, but they would be drastic steps, and I don’t think anyone is willing to upset that particular apple cart.

Deadlypinecone · June 25, 2019, 2:29pm

The difference between this period of dominance and previous ones is that F1 is now owned by Liberty Media. If the current opinion of fans and sponsors is that races are boring, then things will most certainly change to address it. Boring is bad for business.

Solitude · June 26, 2019, 8:37am

GregRedd · June 27, 2019, 10:57am

2019 Austrian F1 Grand Prix Preview

Guten Tag, meine lieben Freunde des schnellen Autos! Willkommen zur MEW Preview für mein Lieblingsrennen der Saison: den F1 Grand Prix von Österreich 2019. Die malerischen Hügel der Steiermark werden an diesem Wochenende mit dem Klang von F1-Motoren zum Leben erweckt. Edelweiß, Schnitzel, Lederhosen und Schnaps sind fertig!

Good afternoon my fellow fast car lovers! Welcome to the MEW Preview for my favourite race of the season: the 2019 F1 Grand Prix of Austria. The picturesque hills of the Styria region come alive with the sound of F1 engines this weekend. Get the edelweiss, schnitzels, lederhosen and schnapps ready!

The small nation of Austria has produced not just one but two Formula One World champions and is credited with 4 World Drivers’ Championship titles. Most know the obvious champion. Triple WDC Niki Lauda (1975, 1977, 1984). The Austrian legend, who sadly passed away on the eve of the Monaco GP earlier this year, is sure to be the focus of much love and “Danke Niki” signs around the circuit this weekend.

Many forget though, that Lauda was actually Austria’s second World Drivers Champion. Five years before Lauda claimed his first title, Jochen Rindt was posthumously crowned the 1970 Champion. Driving for the Gold Leaf Lotus Team, Rindt arrived at Monza for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix having already won 5 of the 9 races so far that year (and retiring from 3 of the others). During Saturday practice, Rindt crashed heavily into the barriers at the Parabolica corner. Despite Belgian Jacky Ickx going onto to win 2 of the remaining races that season, Rindt still won the Championship by 5 points, and was declared Formula One’s only posthumous champion to date. (And may that be a statistic that never changes.)

And while two World Champions from such a small nation is no mean feat, there have been a surprising number of Austrian drivers in Formula One – 16 in all so far. In addition to Lauda and Rindt, other notable Austrian drivers include Gerhard Berger, Alexander Wurz, Roland Ratzenberger, Karl Wendlinger and Christian Klein (the most recent Austrian competitor).

In addition to the drivers, Austrians have and continue to play notable roles in the world of Formula One. The Red Bull Racing F1 Team, Dietrich Mateschitz, Helmut Marko, and Toto Wolff are among the most obvious with Austrian credentials.

The 2019 Race

Is Round 9 out of 21 of the 2019 Formula One World Championships, and Race #1006 to be classified as a round of the F1 Championship.
It will be the 33rd running of the Austrian Grand Prix and the 32nd time it has been held as a round of the Formula One World Championship since the series inception in 1950.
The Red Bull Ring (2014-2018), in its present and previous iterations as the A1-Ring (1997-2003) and the Österreichring (1970-1987) before that, has hosted all bar one of the championship Austrian Grands Prix. The inaugural (non-championship) race in 1963 was held at the nearby Zeltweg Airfield Circuit and won by Jack Brabham in his Brabham-Climax. The airfield also hosted the first championship race the following year, which was won by Lorenzo Bandini for Ferrari.
8 races into the season and Lewis Hamilton continues to dominate the Driver’s Championship with 6 wins and 187 points already. Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas has claimed the other 2 wins and sits in a comfortable 2nd place on 151 points. 40 points further back is Sebastian Vettel on 111.
Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, and the Williams team pairing of George Russell and Robert Kubica remain the 3 drivers yet to score any points.
On the Constructor’s Championship side of the table, with 7 wins out of so far this year, Mercedes remains untouchable. 338 points on the board for them so far, and on track (together with Hamilton) to smash points records this season. With the teams’ 6th 1-2 finish this year, they extend their lead over Ferrari (198) to 140 points. Red Bull remain a comfortable 3rd on 137 points.
Williams remains pointless (pun, sadly, intended).

The 2018 Race

Mercedes came into the 2018 race full of confidence. Brandishing their previous 4 consecutive race wins in Austria, and their then 25-point lead over rivals Ferrari, and with Hamilton fresh from his win in France the previous week, confidence was high in the silver star squad. But, despite their positive practice and qualifying sessions, and their P1 and P2 grid start, the 2018 Austrian GP turned into a nightmare for the Mercedes team.

On lap 14 Bottas retired with a gearbox failure triggered by hydraulic problems. During the VSC that was called to retrieve Bottas’ car, Ferrari and Red Bull pitted both their cars. Mercedes chose not to pit Hamilton, an error for which James Vowles, Mercedes’ chief strategist, was heard to apologize via team radio. Hamilton eventually did pit on lap 25, ceding the lead to Verstappen, and rejoined in P4, ahead of Vettel, who subsequently got past the Brit on lap 39. Hamilton then was forced to retire his Merc on lap 64 with a fuel pressure problem.

The double retirement was only the third for Mercedes since returning to F1 as a constructor in 2010 (the other two were Australia in 2011 and Spain in 2016). It was also their first double retirement due to mechanical failures. And Hamilton’s first non-finish since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes failure gave Max Verstappen the win and Red Bull their maiden home victory on their own circuit after five attempts.

Pole Position: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:03.130 [Outright Lap Record]
Here’s a 360° video of the lap that saw Bottas pip Hamilton by just 0.019s to put himself on pole for the race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58f0LQrP8p4
Fastest Lap: Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari, 1:06.957 (Lap 71) [Race Lap Record]
Podium:
- P1 = Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
- P2 = Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari
- P3 = Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

The Schedule

Before I left the land of my birth at the ripe old age of 14-months, I ensured that the Austrians I left behind knew how to tell time correctly. So, you have me to thank for the fact that all the racing action from Spielberg this weekend happens at sensible, normal times. You’re welcome.

aut-times

The Circuit

The fearsome, original Österreichring was originated in 1969 as a replacement for the Zeltweg airfield circuit. The track known today as the Red Bull Ring was more or less created over the winter of 1995-6, when Hermann Tilke was engaged to turn the Österreichring into a shorter, more modern racetrack.

The A1-Ring, as it was then called, was opened in 1996, with Formula 1 arriving at the circuit a year later. Jacques Villeneuve won the race, while Jean Alesi had a spectacular crash when his Benetton climbed up the Ferrari of Eddie Irvine. Alesi’s teammate Gerhard Berger, meanwhile, used his home Grand Prix to announce his F1 retirement.

The Red Bull Ring packs a lot into a short lap. The first half rewards power, as the cars blast along three straights separated by a pair of uphill right-handers. But then as the drivers work their way back downhill, the circuit becomes a regular toboggan ride, as the cars wind through a series of quick corners, including the exhilarating Rindt right-hander, named for Austria’s first F1 champion.

Here’s Dutch boyband reject Max Verstappen to show us around his employers playground:

The Tyres

One lap of the Red Bull Ring takes only just over a minute to cover, and with the fastest-ever lap there set in qualifying last year (1m03.130s) we could see the benchmark lowered even further this weekend. Pirelli is bringing the C2 as the white hard tyre, C3 as the yellow medium, and C4 as the red soft choice in Austria.

The Red Bull Ring consists of 4,318 metres of up and down smooth asphalt in the Styrian mountains. The first two sectors are quite fast whereas the final sector is slower and more technical. Traction and braking are the main characteristics of the Red Bull Ring, with corners linked by a series of brief straights. As the lap is so short, traffic is often an issue.

Historically, this has normally been a one-stop race with relatively low levels of tyre wear and degradation. Last year, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won with a one-stop supersoft-soft strategy, but different variations of a one-stopper were seen throughout the top 10. Outside the top 10, some drivers stopped twice.

Most of the corners are right-hand turns, but the two most demanding corners in terms of energy through the tyres are left-handers. Consequently, the loaded tyres go into them almost cold, as they are not otherwise worked hard during the lap. A key to extracting the best lap time will be to maximise the performance of those tyres.

Mario Isola, Head of F1: “Like last year, we have exactly the same nomination for Austria as we had for France, with the races again separated by only one week, at the same time of year. The difference is that the 2019 compounds are more evenly spaced, which should encourage more varied pit stop strategies and better racing.”

“Austria is an unusual track, with lots of blind corners and unpredictable elements such as weather and traffic. This means that plenty of confidence, as well as exactly the right set-up, is needed to get the best out of the tyres on this short track and maximise all the different opportunities that present themselves; also in terms of strategy.”

Interesting to note the difference in selection between the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, with a both Hamilton and Bottas having two extra red sets in the Merc garage. Will we see a sub-1 minute lap from them in Qualifying?

The Weather

Nice and hot in the middle of an Austrian Alpine summer. Expect lots of clear skies, sunshine, high track temps, and orange t-shirts clashing with sunburn red skin. Interestingly, at this point (some 4 days ahead of the race) there is an 80% chance of thunderstorms in the area from Monday. If that front moves in a little quicker than forecast, things could get spicy in Austria on Sunday afternoon.

aut-weatrher

While the weather should be warm in summer, the circuit’s proximity to the Northern Styrian Alps increases the possibility of rain or more variable weather. However, last year was hot with track temperatures close to 40 degrees centigrade.

Selected Austrian Grand Prix Records

Driver Records

Most wins – Alain Prost (3)
Most podiums – David Coulthard (5)
Most points – Lewis Hamilton (73)
Most poles – René Arnoux, Nelson Piquet and Niki Lauda (3)
Most Grands Prix – Jacques Laffite (12)
Race time record – Valtteri Bottas, 2017 (1:21:48.523)
Fastest lap – Kimi Räikkönen, 2018 (1:06.957)
Qualifying time record – Valtteri Bottas, 2018 (1:03.130)

Team Records

Most wins – McLaren (6)
Most podiums – Ferrari (23)
Most points – Ferrari (213.5)
Most poles – Ferrari(7)
Most Grands Prix – Ferrari and McLaren (26)

Repeat Winners (Drivers)
None of the current F1 drivers have a repeat win in Austria (yet).

3 - Alain Prost (1983, 1985, 1986)
2 - Ronnie Peterson (1973, 1978); Alan Jones (1977, 1979); Mika Häkkinen (1998, 2000); Michael Schumacher (2002, 2003); Nico Rosberg (2014, 2015)

Repeat Winners (Constructors)
Mercedes’ 4-win streak was broken last year by Red Bull. McLaren is the most winningest constructor in Austria – could their resurgent recent form, and a whole lot of luck, see them extend that record this weekend? (Nah, probably not.)

6 – McLaren (1984, 1985, 1986, 1998, 2000, 2001)
5 – Ferrari (1964, 1970, 1999, 2002, 2003)
4 – Lotus (1972, 1973, 1978, 1982); Mercedes (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
3 – Williams (1979, 1987, 1997)
2- Brabham (1963, 1974); Renault (1980, 1983)

The Digital Race Programme

Once again, online F1 fans get the benefit of all the comforts of home and access to a free digital version of the Austrian GP Race Programme. It doesn’t beat being in Austria and seeing the Grand Prix live of course, but it sure is a heck of a lot cheaper.

This edition includes a nice retrospective on some of Niki Lauda’s career highlights, profiles cover-boy Max Verstappen, looks at the role an F1 team strategist plays, and reviews both the F2 and F3 seasons so far.

https://secure.viewer.zmags.com/publication/f1e6df6f

And Finally…

There’s only a 40% chance of a Safety Car appearance at the Red Bull Ring – the SC has only been needed twice in the last five races. But a Virtual Safety Car could be enough to turn the race as it did for Verstappen last year. Hopefully any SC action won’t be deer related…

If Canada thinks it has the run on animal-on-circuit related issues, Austria would like a word. There have been a few deer related incidents in Austria. The worst of these came in 1987 when Stefan Johansson struck a small deer during practice in his McLaren. His car was completely wrecked, and the driver had to sprint away from the smoking ruin of his car with a broken rib.

Juan Pablo Montoya also had a deer scare during practice for the 2001 race. The team, calling JPM into the pits for safety reasons, jokingly referred to the deer as being “like a horse with horns” to which Montoya couldn’t help but quip “oh deer!” in reply.

flag-for-austria_1f1e6-1f1f9 Bis zum nächsten Mal F1-Fans … Rennen schnell, Rennen sicher, Rennen auf!

czc · June 27, 2019, 10:59am

Solitude · June 27, 2019, 11:04am

You write the best previews. Great stuff.

I didn’t even know that there’s another race this weekend. Thought it would only be next weekend.