Poll: Australian Grand Prix 2017, Melbourne - Race 1/20

Rate the race: 2017 Australian Grand Prix

  • Total voters
    79
  • Poll closed .

Malt_Vinegar

Malt_Vinegar

Malt_Vinegar

Transmission breaker
Don
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
16,817
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In a house
By all accounts the start is going to be hard for all cars. All bets are off as far as I am concerned.
People could bog down, wheel-spin badly, and some people may get absolute flyers.
I suspect it will get better as the season goes on, but I think it's going to be very hap hazard tomorrow!
 

Steampunk

Steampunk

Steampunk

Soldato
Joined
1 Jun 2013
Posts
9,315
Should be interesting. Vettel and Ferrari usually have good starts, but I don't believe that Hamilton and Mercedes haven't addressed all the start/clutch issues they had last year that gave them poor starts. Hamilton even mentioned getting a good start tomorrow and how he lost races last year due to poor starts.
 

Steampunk

Steampunk

Steampunk

Soldato
Joined
1 Jun 2013
Posts
9,315
Irish_Tom said:
Have they allowed starting aids this season or is it still down to the driver to sort out both clutches?
Click to expand...

AFAIK it's still down to the drivers, but the Mercedes clutch was inhumanly difficult to get right. It had to be very narrowly perfect, so was as much luck as skill. It's why we often saw the Mercedes swamped by the first corner, and rarely a perfect start. They must have fixed that, as they were looking at it last year before saying it couldn't be done without redesigning the whole clutch. I think in the end they gave their drivers thinner gloves so they could feel the minuscule bite point a little better.
 

drunkenmaster

drunkenmaster

drunkenmaster

Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
33,188
This year has next to no engineer involvement, this year you have to control the power and bite point themselves directly. Unless there is an actual fault with the clutch the start is 95% down to the driver now. The clutch rules are completely changed. Last year the drivers had some massive area on the clutch to hit and it would basically cause a engineer set up launch to go into action, essentially it was a digital lever which did the same thing almost regardless of the point on the clutch you had it at. This year it's effectively analogue and directly under driver control.
 

MarkeR

MarkeR

MarkeR

Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2011
Posts
4,940
Have you not seen a picture of Mercs new clutch paddles?
The clutches have finger slots that only allow the fingers to go in 25mm I think it is, supposedly some boffin at merc worked out the optimum finger control length, which will allow greater clutch control.
I'll try and find the image.
 

The_Abyss

The_Abyss

The_Abyss

Soldato
Joined
15 May 2007
Posts
12,804
Location
Ipswich / Bodham
englishpremier said:
It's starting to kick off with Alonso:



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39392466

I reckon he might be taking a little holiday after the first few European races if McLaren haven't eaten into that 3 second gap.
Click to expand...

I think he likes these cars, just not McLaren. Kimi set the precedent a few years ago when he was 'injured' and didn't finish the season aka Renault could not pay him. I can see Alonso taking the same route but I'm not sure who'd step in if that happened. Button is the contracted reserve but has no time in the new car and seems perfectly content a million miles away from F1.

McLaren really have got themselves in a huge pickle, a fast forward version of the decline of Williams.
 
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