The Lusophone Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 Repeat offence I assume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 (edited) A bit of a boring race, 22 cars start and 22 finish. But more importantly, Rosberg wins and Max is second! Needless to say, Max had a great race keeping Merc from a 1-2. And as expected, Merc clinches the constructors title with plenty of races to spare. But that was a foregone conclusion from the first race, really. Edited October 9, 2016 by Jasonmufc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted October 9, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 I mean it wasn't a thriller but I certainly wouldn't go as far to say it was boring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 I think it's the sense of the inevitable of whenever a Merc drops down the field they'll just climb back up it with ease, was nice to see Max hold on but if Hamilton had been a little more patient he probably would have had him on the straight. I just hope next year we can see a few teams trading pole positions and wins and give us a more thrilling season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted October 9, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 We should do. F1 will be an aero-driven formula from next season, as opposed to engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDK Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 39 minutes ago, Lineker said: aero-driven mmm... chocolate cars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 1 hour ago, Lineker said: We should do. F1 will be an aero-driven formula from next season, as opposed to engine. I'm asking this as I'm more of a fringe fan now than I used to be, but is this actually true? Is there a good chance of it being at least somewhat competitive and not the ongoing "one team domination" we have seen for far too long in the sport now? Hamilton's continuous acting like a massive baby is making me quite pleased Rosberg is on course to win the title. I actually started to warm to Hamilton for a while but this last year or so he's gone right back to being my least favourite driver in the sport. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 18 minutes ago, Adam said: I'm asking this as I'm more of a fringe fan now than I used to be, but is this actually true? Is there a good chance of it being at least somewhat competitive and not the ongoing "one team domination" we have seen for far too long in the sport now? Hamilton's continuous acting like a massive baby is making me quite pleased Rosberg is on course to win the title. I actually started to warm to Hamilton for a while but this last year or so he's gone right back to being my least favourite driver in the sport. http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/05/10/side-side-compare-f1-cars-2016-2017/ tl;dr, wider cars, wider tires, more downforce, engine power will be less of a deciding factor. But Mercedes being Mercedes, they're not going to fall off the cliff. Although I do feel Red Bull especially will return to prominence as a legit contending team. They've always been masters of aero packages, and they've clearly been building towards 2017. Another team I am thinking that might return to the upper midfield is McLaren-Honda, since McLaren clearly have a pretty good aero package but the lacking Honda engine has hurt them most of all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 30 minutes ago, Jasonmufc said: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/05/10/side-side-compare-f1-cars-2016-2017/ tl;dr, wider cars, wider tires, more downforce, engine power will be less of a deciding factor. But Mercedes being Mercedes, they're not going to fall off the cliff. Although I do feel Red Bull especially will return to prominence as a legit contending team. They've always been masters of aero packages, and they've clearly been building towards 2017. Another team I am thinking that might return to the upper midfield is McLaren-Honda, since McLaren clearly have a pretty good aero package but the lacking Honda engine has hurt them most of all. Cheers for that, any form of competition between teams is welcome from me. I'm not big on McLaren at all as I can't stand Ron Dennis but if Alonso never has a decent car again before retiring it will be a shame. One of the things I hate most about F1 these days is the sad reality of teams like Ferrari and Red Bull being visibly delighted when they get 2nd or 3rd. Top teams should be bitterly disappointed to come anywhere but first but due to the sheer domination of Mercedes it is actually justified, which is sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted October 12, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Nico Hulkenburg is expected to be confirmed by Renault for next season before the next race in Austin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugobomb Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 Bit of a backwards move for Hulk. Though it depends on how much Renault have been focusing on next year's car over this year's. Hope he has a good year with them. Then he might finally get a seat at one of the bigger teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 12, 2016 Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 1 hour ago, hugobomb said: Bit of a backwards move for Hulk. Though it depends on how much Renault have been focusing on next year's car over this year's. Hope he has a good year with them. Then he might finally get a seat at one of the bigger teams. Scuttlebutt is that they haven't focused on this year, knowing the new regs are coming in they have really focused a lot of time and effort on next year as this year has been a holding year for Renault since coming back to F1 as a works team. Nice having 4 works teams on the grid nowadays. (well 3.5) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2016 (edited) It's always been obvious that 2016 would've been a layover year for Renault F1, basically a very very long testing sessions as to see where Lotus left the car (in a very shit place), and what they needed to do to really put the team into the midpack. The entire chassis is based on what Lotus had designed for 2016, and it's woefully underoptimized for a Renault engine (Car was designed with a (larger) Merc engine in mind). Early on it became very clear the 2016 season was a wash for Renault, and they really haven't done much in the way of upgrades other than getting the engine somewhat up to snuff. The car itself has remained largely unchanged throughout the year, and that probably means they've dumped all their focus on 2017 and the new regs, which will even out the engine-advantages quite a fair bit, the aero heavy rules giving the Renault/Ferrari/Honda engines more of a fair shake. Either way, I think it's a very good move on the part of Hülkenberg. In the short term it'll be a clear step back in terms of challenging for the odd top 5 spot, but with Renault F1 being a constructor they have a much clearer future in the sport as opposed to Force India of which the two owners have been under scrutiny for quite a few years now. The Chairman is in jail, and Vijay Mallya is always on the cusp of having all his assets freezed by the Indian government and the debtors he owes a cool ~1 billion dollars. And Renault F1 poaching Hulk means they see in him a clear number one driver for the future, and that no doubt brings job security as long as he gets the most out of the car. It will no doubt mean Joe Palmer is gone from the team, and K-Mag gets relegated to a #2/1.5 role, but Renault is clearly setting up their driver core for the future. tl;dr - Good for Hulk, good for Renault. Shit for Palmer, 'eh' for Force India. EDIT: As for Joe Palmer, I can see him land a seat at Sauber or perhaps even have an effective seat swap with Hulk by going to Force India. Heck, there's still so many seats open, I think he'll be able to land a spot at one. Edited October 12, 2016 by Jasonmufc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted October 14, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Nico Hulkenberg has agreed a deal to drive for Renault from 2017. It is understood Hulkenberg has signed a two-year contract to cover the 2017 and '18 seasons, with an option to extend the deal into a third season in '19. There is a final hurdle that remains to be cleared, with Hulkenberg's current team Force India needing to agree to release the German. That should be a formality as deputy team principal Bob Fernley has previously suggested he would not stand in Hulkenberg's way. Elsewhere, Valtteri Bottas is the latest driver to engage in talks with Renault about a possible drive with the Formula 1 team for 2017, Autosport has learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 If they can get both Hulkenberg and Bottas, they would really really mean business big time and got some big improvements planned for the coming two seasons. And that excites me greatly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted October 14, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katsuya Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Honestly, at this point Hulk's got nothing to lose. He's never going to get the win with Force India and if he's willing to take some burn to begin with at Renault, he could be in good shape after that. Does blow everything else open again though. Williams still haven't confirmed either Bottas or Stroll, and Wehrlein and Ocon are both up for grabs too. Wouldn't be overly shocked to see Wehrlein at FI now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugobomb Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Do FI use Merc engines? If so, then yeah Wehrlein going there could happen. Otherwise, if Williams keep Bottas, they may take a punt on Wehrlein as the No. 2 driver. Bottas/Wehrlein would be a good line up. Though admittedly Bottas/Hulk at Renault would mean they'd become my favourite team by default Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted October 14, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 Ocon, rather than Wehrlein, is that name being linked heavily to Force India. I imagine he may come with a hefty engine discount for them, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted October 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2016 8 hours ago, Katsuya loves Oslo said: Honestly, at this point Hulk's got nothing to lose. He's never going to get the win with Force India and if he's willing to take some burn to begin with at Renault, he could be in good shape after that. Does blow everything else open again though. Williams still haven't confirmed either Bottas or Stroll, and Wehrlein and Ocon are both up for grabs too. Wouldn't be overly shocked to see Wehrlein at FI now. That's really it. Force India is having their best season in history and are well on track to be the best-of-the-rest ahead of Williams, but this is a clear peak for the team, and there's nothing more to gain from here, since they'll always be just a client team with Merc engines. Renault has had a shit season, fighting more with MRT/Sauber than Haas/SRT, but the fact they're a factory team who are making massive moves to close the gap with the top field makes it a risk, but a very calculated one with a much bigger upside than what Force India can offer a guy like Hülkenberg, who has proven that he wouldn't be out of place in a top team car. Renault is building something massive, and they want to compete with the factory teams. They've signed a massive amount of staff over the past year (150+ across the board by all accounts), and now they're on the hunt for two huge talents in Hulkenberg (who they got), and also Valtteri Bottas (who also has peaked in the Williams, and has been rumoured to be a Ferrari driver for the past 2 seasons). All in all, with the 2017 rules changing things up, we might be seeing Renault up there before this decade is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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