Formula One 2019

[Lineker]

F1 track designer Tilke reveals onboard lap of Vietnam GP track

[Lineker]

Bad crash for Kubica.

[Lineker]

Leclerc as well now.

[Lineker]

Epic qualifying - Bottas on pole for tomorrow!

[Katsuya]

So Kubica starts from the pitlane too, and it looks like Kimi might be DQ'd from qualifying based on a front wing irregularity. Which would mean Charles starts P8, based on Gio's penalty and Kimi being DQ'd.

EDIT: As I typed that, Kimi has been DQ'd from quali.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Katsuya

[Lineker]

Great race. Ferrari once again fucked it though.

[Bobfoc]

How long will Leclerc wait for his first win?

[LUKIE]

Ricciardo with his inner Webber running into people unnecessarily.

[Gazz]

On 28/04/2019 at 14:49, Bobfoc said:

How long will Leclerc wait for his first win?

At this rate, 2020

[Lineker]

Today marks 25 years since Ayrton Senna died.

[Lineker]

Quote

The FIA has introduced a raft of changes to the clutch management in Formula 1's 2020 technical regulations, increasing the difficulty for the drivers at the race start.

Along with making pull-type paddle-activated clutches mandatory for each driver, the clutch signals used by the standard ECU will also be heavily monitored by the FIA to limit any advantageous mapping.

Should a team wish to use two clutch paddles on the steering wheel, each paddle must now be identical in form, motion and mapping.

Drivers may be asked to demonstrate that both paddles work identically.

Furthermore, the paddle must work linearly with the clutch - meaning that the drivers' actions must be wholly representative of the engagement of the clutch.

Article 9.2.1, section F in the technical regulations states that: "To ensure that the signals used by the FIA ECU are representative of the driver's actions, each competitor is required to demonstrate that the paddle percentage calculated by the ECU does not deviate by more than +/-5% from the physical position of the operating device measured as a percentage over its entire usable range."

This ensures greater responsibility is placed on the driver at the race start and means that there is the potential for greater variation off the line.

Further changes have been made to stamp out the effect of oil burning within the car, creating more stringent rules for the transfer of oil to the powertrain.

This comes in the definition of the auxiliary oil tank, of which only one may be included within the car.

This, and the pipework connecting to the engine, cannot exceed 2.5 litres - and must be solenoid controlled.

The amount of fuel outside of the survival cell has also been reduced from 2 litres to 0.25 litres, stopping any fuel flow trickery or mixing of oil with fuel in other areas of the car.

In addition, the FIA has also made changes to the regulations restricting rear-view mirrors, enclosing them in a smaller box to minimise the aerodynamic gain that can be taken from them.

These have also been moved further inwards, following suggestions that the 2019-specification mirrors offer limited visibility, and must now be 30mm closer to the survival cell and 40mm lower down.

Plans for Formula 1 to adopt a fourth qualifying segment have been dealt a blow, after sporting regulations for 2020 were published with the current format in place.

Teams have discussed a proposal to move to a new four-session format, which Liberty Media was keen on because it believed it would improve the amount of time cars spent on track in qualifying and increase the chances of frontrunners getting caught out.

Under that proposed system, four cars would be eliminated at the end of the Q1, Q2 and Q3 segments, leaving eight to contest Q4.

The top eight would then start on the same tyre they used to set their Q4 times with.

But amid scepticism from teams about the benefits, and concerns that limits on available tyres could actually hamper running, a number of simulations were completed to see what impact the change would have.

Those simulations left teams to conclude that, without extra tyres, there was a risk of Q4 becoming anti-climactic - with drivers perhaps only getting one run and some electing not to run at all.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense to us," said Racing Point technical director Andy Green, when asked about the analysis of the Q4 plan.

"There's a lack of tyres, and it seems to promote the top three teams even further ahead. That to me doesn't seem like closing the field up and making for better racing.

"Qualifying is probably one of the least broken parts. For the moment the qualifying spectacle works, and it does what we set out for it to do all those years ago.

"We've tried tweaking it a few times, and it hasn't really made it any better."

A meeting between teams and the FIA in China stalled pushes to change the format, and without the majority support needed to get the rules changed it appears F1 will stick with its current system.

F1's 2020 sporting regulations have now been published, and under the rules the only way the qualifying system can now be changed is with the unanimous support of all 10 teams - something that is unlikely.

The FIA's Sporting Regulations state: "These Sporting Regulations apply to the championship taking place in the calendar year referred to in the title ("the championship") and may only be changed after 30 April of the preceding year with the unanimous agreement of all competitors, save for changes made by the FIA for safety reasons which may come into effect without notice or delay."

Zandvoort is being lined up to replace Barcelona as the first non-flyaway race of the 2020 Formula 1 season, with the Spanish Grand Prix falling off the calendar, Autosport understands.

[Adam]

I used to like the one-lap shoot-out format for qualifying, made for a more exciting watch and the grid was less predictable, especially if it rained. The difference between a perfect run and one mistake could be 5-10 places and a much more difficult race for a front-runner.

[JasonM]

17 minutes ago, Adam said:

I used to like the one-lap shoot-out format for qualifying, made for a more exciting watch and the grid was less predictable, especially if it rained. The difference between a perfect run and one mistake could be 5-10 places and a much more difficult race for a front-runner.

Another interesting format was the 'full tank, infinite tyres' thing that they ran for a while. Basically meant the track was filled constantly as cars were trying to burn enough fuel to get lower times.

Of course, that would definitely not fly anymore in an F1 that's completely geared towards efficiency.
 

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by Jasonmufc

[Katsuya]

Crazy how quick the sport has gone from having two races in Spain to the potential of 0.

[Chris2K]

1 hour ago, Adam said:

I used to like the one-lap shoot-out format for qualifying, made for a more exciting watch and the grid was less predictable, especially if it rained. The difference between a perfect run and one mistake could be 5-10 places and a much more difficult race for a front-runner.

I loved the one-lap qualifying, constant action, no traffic related issues, no tyre choice impacting the race setup issues, just driver skill with the uncertainty of the weather.

Of course it did usually result in the Trulli Train come race day.

[LUKIE]

I think Qualifying is fine as it is. I don't think they need to move to a fourth segment.

I can't see anything they can do to adjust the dominance of the top teams. Maybe unrestrict engines? That seems to be the biggest factor. If they really wanted to create an even playing field they would mandate that all teams run the same car, but that is never going to happen.

[Adam]

1 hour ago, Chris2K said:

I loved the one-lap qualifying, constant action, no traffic related issues, no tyre choice impacting the race setup issues, just driver skill with the uncertainty of the weather.

Of course it did usually result in the Trulli Train come race day.

Ah, Jarno Trulli. He was my kind of driver, and him and Alonso roaring around the circuit sticking it to the previously dominant Schumacher and Ferrari in those blue & yellow Renault cars remains one of my favourite periods of F1.

42 minutes ago, Barbaro CaverLUKIEo said:

I think Qualifying is fine as it is. I don't think they need to move to a fourth segment.

I can't see anything they can do to adjust the dominance of the top teams. Maybe unrestrict engines? That seems to be the biggest factor. If they really wanted to create an even playing field they would mandate that all teams run the same car, but that is never going to happen.

I wouldn't want then to make the cars all the same to be fair. It's not what F1 is about, the technical uniqueness of teams and how each team adapts to the rules has always been a really interesting part of the sport, but it seems now that the biggest teams will always win that (and basically every other) battle due to superior finance. A proper salary cap would be my attempt to solve it but the turkeys are never going to vote for Christmas unfortunately.

I'm glad that strategy still plays a role (as we can see with Ferrari's constant cock-ups) but that was also nullified by regulations like taking away refuelling, and this rather convoluted tyre process we have now. Tyre and fuel strategy used to be so much more varied and it made for more interesting races. Formula 1 cars should be set-up to be pushed to their absolute limits, man and machine eeking out every last drop they can, but things like the quickly degrading tyres, and having to cart around heavy fuel loads along with some of the other more misguided technical spec changes of the last decade have made it so that just isn't the case anymore and the sport is worse off for it.

[Bobfoc]

Remember when the FIA was discussing possible ways to make the sport more interesting in the days of Schumacher's dominance? My favourite was the idea to reverse the positions of the top ten drivers halfway through the season. Another one I actually liked, but could never work, was the idea of having the drivers change team every race.

There are some racing series in which grid position is determined according to the reverse order of the drivers' championship standings. I've never been too keen on it.

[Chris2K]

I don't like reverse grids either, I'm certain it encourages sandbagging to get a better position for the next race which seems completely out of the spirit of racing itself.

I do remember being a strong proponent for the elimination/knockout qualifying format they tried for one race and scrapped, and I am willing to admit it was in fact an utter disaster.

[Lineker]

Quote

The Brazilian Grand Prix will move next year to a new purpose-built circuit in Rio de Janeiro that could be named after Ayrton Senna, the country's president has revealed.

Amid uncertainty over the long-term future of the current Formula 1 event at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has said that a switch of venues would happen in 2020 when the event moves to Rio.

At a press conference, he announced that a deal had been signed with Rio's governor Wilson Witzel and mayor Marcelo Crivella for the construction of a new track in the western Deodoro district.

The plan is for the circuit's construction to be finished before the end of this year, and it will be financed entirely by private money.

Speaking to reporters, the president said: "The management of F1 has decided to maintain a grand prix in Brazil, but Sao Paulo has become impractical because of the event's public financial support and the debt that exists over there.

"The new racetrack will be built in six or seven months.

"The hotel sector will be happy, the state economy as well since it will be six or seven thousands jobs generated.

"It is good for both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil."

The president's comments follow a tweet from Witzel, in which he said he had received a letter from F1 commercial director Sean Bratches expressing interest in moving the race to Rio.

The former home of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio, the Jacarepagua circuit, has been demolished as it gave way to the Olympic Park in 2016.

The new Deodoro circuit will be built on land that has been given up by the military, and is set to be designed by Hermann Tilke.

It is also targeting to host a MotoGP event, following a letter of intent from promoter Dorna.