Motorsport Off Topic Thread

GeezerButler said:
Sounds crazy to me as well - McLaren would have to be desperate as it would not only be an embarrassment for the F1 team but would be really poor PR for McLaren Automotive.
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Wouldn't be any worse than the current PR disaster of having their team either not finishing or being beaten by the so called 'lesser teams'
 
Maybe - I just can't imagine the Automotive side of the business going for it when eating humble pie and falling back on Mercedes power would be much more tolerable. At least Mercedes is not really a direct competitor in the road car market.
 
Hamilton not turning up at the F1 Live Event, the drivers parade (all turned up except Lewis :o). Shame as it was a home event...

Presumably a protest to the recent FIA ruling on the Vettel incident (and to wind up Mercedes) as the alarm bells are probably sounding that Lewis will be nobbled again.
 
GeezerButler said:
Also McLaren/Alfa Romeo - is the situation at McLaren that desperate?

http://en.f1i.com/news/273278-273278.html
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This rumour has been floating around for a while now and does seem to have some traction, as Sergio Marchionn is pushing to bring the Alfa Romeo. I've read a few articles on it and it would be technological advantageous to both parties. The main reason from what I have ready is purely political as it would give Ferrari a ally in the name of McLaren to help against the new F1 owners and the changes going forward.

However, I am not sure how they can put a positive spin on it, as a Merc engine in the back would be better for them and PR.
 
The spin that it is not a Honda would, at this stage, probably far outweighs any negatives, especially given that the majority of F1 fans who tune in to watch two hours of racing every week or fortnight probably couldn't give two hoots about the competitive tension. Virtually none of them will ever own a McLaren, and if they've already owned an Alfa the majority will probably never want to own one again :)
 
Ninco! said:
Hamilton not turning up at the F1 Live Event, the drivers parade (all turned up except Lewis :o). Shame as it was a home event...

Presumably a protest to the recent FIA ruling on the Vettel incident (and to wind up Mercedes) as the alarm bells are probably sounding that Lewis will be nobbled again.
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Not sure if serious
 
It'd be good to have another manufacturer, but the 2021 engine regs are still way up in the air. I'd be amazed if any manufacturers committed to anything this early.

More likely Red Bull posturing against Renault using Cosworth as bait.
 
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...tection-system-to-be-introduced-for-2018.html

Next year’s Formula 1 cars will all be fitted with the Halo cockpit protection system, the FIA announced on Wednesday.
The Halo, designed to reduce the risk of injury from debris or other objects striking a driver’s head, was trialled by a number of teams during Grand Prix practice sessions last year.

With the support of the teams, certain features of its design will be further enhanced ahead of its introduction in 2018.

The move was announced following a meeting of the Formula One Strategy Group, at which other topics discussed included 2021 power units, cost control, and improving the F1 show for fans.


Full statement from the FIA:
Today the Formula One Strategy Group met to discuss a number of issues regarding the FIA Formula One World Championship. For the first time, all teams competing in the FIA Formula One World Championship were present at the meeting with observers from Renault Sport Formula One Team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Sauber F1 Team and Haas F1 Team in attendance.

Key topics discussed at the meeting included:

Frontal cockpit protection

Following the unanimous agreement of the Strategy Group, in July 2016, to introduce additional frontal protection for Formula One and the repeated support from the drivers, the FIA confirms the introduction of the Halo for 2018. With the support of the teams, certain features of its design will be further enhanced.

Having developed and evaluated a large number of devices over the past five years, it had become clear that the Halo presents the best overall safety performance.

2021 Power Unit

An update was given to all attendees regarding the two recent extraordinary meetings held in Paris involving significant representation from the bulk of global motor sport power unit manufacturers.

Further analysis will be completed over the summer which will be reviewed at the next meeting of the Strategy Group in September.

Cost control

A new approach to cost control was presented and received unanimous support. A dedicated Working Group made up of representation from the Commercial Right Holders, the FIA and the teams will be tasked to come up with innovative solutions aimed at ensuring the sport remains sustainable in the coming years.

Improving the show

A number of sporting measures aimed at improving the show were also debated and specific studies will be carried out to assess these.
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:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
I really think they've left it too late for it to appear in 2018.

Will the halo be a standard design part?
Will it have standardised mountings so if needed it can be removed easily by marshals for driver extraction?
What impact tests will it undergo?
What about forming it from aerodynamically positive structures?

What a surprise... no regulations written yet... :rolleyes:
 
Surely in order to keep costs down and stop the teams from making them lighter and more aerodynamic they have to set one manufacturer and make them standard?

And what happens in an accident if the nose of a car or a wing gets caught under the Halo and can't be moved? Or the marshals can't extract a driver because a car is caught under it? Look at the Raikonnen and Alonso crash in Austria in 2015 I think it was. The floor of Kimi's car would have been caught under the halo and possibly forced towards Alonso's head.

 
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MissChief said:
Surely in order to keep costs down and stop the teams from making them lighter and more aerodynamic they have to set one manufacturer and make them standard?

And what happens in an accident if the nose of a car or a wing gets caught under the Halo and can't be moved? Or the marshals can't extract a driver because a car is caught under it? Look at the Raikonnen and Alonso crash in Austria in 2015 I think it was. The floor of Kimi's car would have been caught under the halo and possibly forced towards Alonso's head.

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I agree.
Another stupid mistake by the FIA.
 
Those halos are the holy trinity of awful

They look bad
They impact visibility
Hinder the driver getting out

Really don't see why they're going with them.
 
MooMoo444 said:
Those halos are the holy trinity of awful

They look bad
They impact visibility
Hinder the driver getting out

Really don't see why they're going with them.
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Because if an object is moving through the air towards a driver then it has a chance to be deflected away, as you well know. :rolleyes:

When was the last time it was paramount to get a driver out of a car urgently?

Nobody wants the halo because it looks completely ****, but in the grand scheme of things that isn't a justifiable reason for not using it.
 
Yeah lets protect against that 0.01% scenario.

Would a halo have saved Bianchi? No. Would it have helped Massa? Potentially but the spring could just have easily gone through the gap in the halo.
 
MooMoo444 said:
Yeah lets protect against that 0.01% scenario.

Would a halo have saved Bianchi? No. Would it have helped Massa? Potentially but the spring could just have easily gone through the gap in the halo.
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If you could rewind time and offer Massa a halo for that instance you know he would take it.

More people have been hurt or killed by getting hit in the head in top-level motorsport than have been seriously burned by fire or injured in any other way in the past decade or so.

Also remember that Indycar are looking at a form of cockpit protection too and are monitoring F1's tests - Dan Wheldon was killed (not likely to help him given the brutality of his accident) and Justin Wilson was hit on the head with a nose cone and died as a result too - the halo would have almost certainly deflected the nose cone and almost certainly have saved his life.

Henry Surtees would likely still be with us too (and the plan is for lower formula to follow F1 ultimately).
 
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