Japanese Grand Prix 2013, Suzuka - Race 15/19

Nismo said:
Last race, Korea.

Think it was Matt Somerfield who mentioned it on Twitter.

Edit - here, also shows the holes in the image posted above

http://somersf1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/debating-red-bulls-heated-splitter.html
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Ooo. Interesting.

Although I doubt it heated. Its more likely friction caused by the rake of the RBR meaning the tray rubs the ground.

Red-Bull-Webber-Crash-GP-Italien-Monza-2011-fotoshowImage-e8e349a9-545521.jpg


Does the plank extend to the front of the T tray?
 
thecremeegg said:
I thought that motor racing was all about racing for the win....all the people saying ignore Vettel and look at the rest of the grid, what's the point?
They're fighting for 2nd place, big woop! It's just admitting they may as well not be there :p
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I agree 100%. A lot of people on this forum don't quite have an overwhelming desire to win. They are happy for their team/man to finish 2nd.

I want my team/guy to win (not finish 2nd or lower). Plain and simple.

I'm not interested in people fighting for 10th place.

thecremeegg said:
Cars being told to slow down to save tyres? I mean come on!
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This has always been part of F1.
Drivers being told to save their engines/turbos/wheels/brakes, etc.
These days however, we get to here radio comms. So we hear all the instructions. In the 90's, you didnt hear the comms, hence we were unaware that drivers were being asked to slow down to avoid car failure.

thecremeegg said:
...if you bend a rule, people complain and the FIA change the rule to outlaw it for the next race.
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This is not necessarily the case. The FIA quite often allow the new car part/system to run for the remainder of the season or for at least a few races. This allows the team who developed the car part, to gain a little advantage, before they have to "bin" it.

Put it another way: if you take risks and are inventive, you will be at the front of an F1 grid. If you play safe (like McLaren), you will end up at the back or at best in the middle of the grid.

In F1, you MUST take risks and show innovation. You MUST exploit grey areas and worry about the blow-back later. Cheating is included in this.

thecremeegg said:
it's just a shame that the push towards being "eco" has had such a detrimental effect on the racing and the sport in general.
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The eco part of the sport is not the reason for the slower cars. Imagine if KERS could be harvested for 2 laps + solar panel recharge - then all this extra power could be released in a single lap. That 1 lap would be brutally fast. Exciting + dangerous.
 
sunama said:
The FIA quite often allow the new car part/system to run for the remainder of the season or for at least a few races. This allows the team who developed the car part, to gain a little advantage, before they have to "bin" it.
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I don't think it's so they can run it to get an advantage. I think it's so they don't completely shaft a team by leaving them without a developed replacement part.
 
cremeegg, yes ideally we would like to see some different winners but at the moment that isn't going to happen, so just enjoy the rest of the epic racing going on all the way down the grid rather than moaning constantly every thread (not you necessarily).

:)
 
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Sky F1 show is great, def worth a watch as Ted in up close the Mclaren garage. Surprised how much of the bare car they show.
 
I might have to start watching them again. Georgie put me off them last year so I stopped.

There are rules preventing teams hiding their cars on race weekends. They are really really strict. Its why the wings are always on display out the front of the garage. There is even a rule governing the maximum size and dimensions of a see through toolbox that is the only thing allowed to be placed on the rear wing!

27.4 During the entire Event, no screen, cover or other obstruction which in any way obscures any
part of a car will be allowed at any time in the paddock, garages, pit lane or grid, unless it is
clear any such covers are needed solely for mechanical reasons, which could, for example,
include protecting against fire.
In addition to the above the following are specifically not permitted :
a) Engine, gearbox or radiator covers whilst engines are being changed or moved around
the garage.
b) Covers over spare wings when they are on a stand in the pit lane not being used.
c) Parts such as (but not limited to) spare floors, fuel rigs or tool trolleys may not be used
as an obstruction.
The following are permitted :
d) Covers which are placed over damaged cars or components.
e) A transparent tool tray, no more than 50mm deep, placed on top of the rear wing.
f) Warming or heat retaining covers for the engine and gearbox on the grid.
g) A rear wing cover designed specifically to protect a mechanic starting the car from fire.
h) Tyre heating blankets.
i) Covers over the tyre manufacturer’s code numbers (not the FIA bar code numbers).
j) A cover over the car in the parc fermé overnight.
k) A cover over the car in the pit lane or grid if it is raining.
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sunama said:
Put it another way: if you take risks and are inventive, you will be at the front of an F1 grid. If you play safe (like McLaren), you will end up at the back or at best in the middle of the grid.
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Unless you are Force India, in which case you take risks in the car direction, and then get the shaft when all the other teams have tyre issues, and the FIA changes the tyres that you developed your car for. I still don't see why they couldn't have let FI keep the early 2013 tyres as a choice, just like the rest of the car's design choices. They never had tyre issues AFAIK.


Skeeter said:
There are rules preventing teams hiding their cars on race weekends. They are really really strict. Its why the wings are always on display out the front of the garage. There is even a rule governing the maximum size and dimensions of a see through toolbox that is the only thing allowed to be placed on the rear wing!
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They should add a rule to stop mechanics standing in the way as well ;)
 
The mid season tyre change screwed over Lotus too really and just gifted the rest of the season to Vettel :/ Whether it would have really made the difference by the end of the season we'll never know.
 
PinkFloyd said:
The mid season tyre change screwed over Lotus too really and just gifted the rest of the season to Vettel :/ Whether it would have really made the difference by the end of the season we'll never know.
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i think lotus could have got second definitely without that change
 
sunama said:
I agree 100%. A lot of people on this forum don't quite have an overwhelming desire to win. They are happy for their team/man to finish 2nd.

I want my team/guy to win (not finish 2nd or lower). Plain and simple.

I'm not interested in people fighting for 10th place.
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I'm going to take my approach to karting. First I love karting, then I loving winning.

I was distraught when I threw away a 5 second lead after 2 laps, but then gained immense satisfaction fighting back to second afterwards. For me, it's not all about winning, but more about your own personal performance.

In sim racing we used to do endurance racing using the GTP mod for NASCAR 2003. At the Watkins Glen 10 hours, instead of entering a car with my teammates as usual, I decided to pick the slowest car, and drive it myself. I finished miles ahead of the next "lights" car, finished 3rd outright ahead of another dozen non-lights cars and did all 10hrs myself (OK, I asked my mum to keep her foot on the brake during a pitstop while I fetched more cans of Red Bull... on reflection, I really should have asked her to fetch them...). While I didn't win the main event, I count that as one of my single best performances ever. 10 hours. I didn't wreck the car falling asleep, I didn't miss a shift and blow the engine. I didn't cruise past the pitlane when I should have been refueling. A moral victory.

I'm sure the 21 other drivers are all frustrated that Vettel's so far in the distance, but the likes of Marussia don't turn up to fight Vettel, and while they presumably harbour ambitions of having a car to rival Red Bull in the future, deep down they likely accept it's unlikely to ever happen. But they're racers, and racers race. Their victory in the current climate would be securing a point against all the odds, and they'd take that, and if you were in that team, so would you.

For me, I'd be happy having a great race, punching above my weight. Think Luca Badoer at the Nurburgring in 1999, set to finish fourth ahead of first and second in the championship before his gearbox called it quits. For me, that's motorsport. If those stellar performances mean outright victory, then brilliant, but for others, a Hulkenberg at Yeongam should be considered a job well done, and whether it's him trying to put himself in a top car or not is irrelevant - on that day he was a moral victor. And I enjoyed watching him do it.
 
Must say Jensons hat (not calling it the usual name after what Vettel said :p ) is really cool. Very nice design.
 
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