The F1 2014 season

How can he state that they will win races? He doesn't know that, unless testing revealed something we don't know. Is the new boy that fast? Of course he's covered himself saying the team has to do what he wants to win. It also sounds like the F1 team were pulled off onto other projects which affected their time in F1 (Mclaren Road cars & P1). Maybe they have no plans to release another car this year of that caliber. Are they recruiting lots of people to fill those voids?

It seems as though Jenson is there to purely develop the car with feedback to engineers and also be a safe bet to finish races calmly without being a red head.

I wonder why he wont employ Whitmarsh to run the F1 team only, like he's done for Eric? Maybe Whitmarsh will run the factory side of things?

Some bold statements to make IMO. Mercedes have kept hush since testing and have not down or over player their chances. They are murmuring "Theirs lots still to do" but quietly, I think they and we know they will emerge as the dominant team for the early part at least.
 
Shimmy said:
Ron Dennis on form again.

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/03/ron-dennis-breaks-his-silence-we-will-win-again-soon/

Says McLaren will be winning sooner rather than later. Eric Boullier is effectively team principal, but still wants someone back at the factory to conduct things.

Confirms no title sponsor at Australia, but will be soon after. And that Magnussen's drive was his call.
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Massive anti-climax if this season isn't epic after everything that's going on before the first race :p
 
A rule change I spotted the other day that I don't think we have picked up on here yet is thebchange to grid penalties. From this year any grid penalty places a driver is unable to drop becauee he is too far back already will be rolled on to the next race. Penalties will only roll 1 race though.

So if you qualify 21st and have a 5 place drop you will start 22nd and carry the remaining 4 over to the next race. If you qualify 21st again you will start 22nd again, but the remaining 3 places will not carry on again.

I suspect this is to stop drivers who qualify out of position taking almost 'free' gearbox replacements. If a top driver didn't get out of Q1 last year it became almost routine for them to take a new gearbox and start from the back. If they do that now the penalty rolls over to the next race and will have a bigger impact if they are somene who normally starts inside the top 10.
 
I wonder if they're holding off as they're trying to encourage Ross Brawn to head up the factory. Give him a few weeks fishing before trying to get him back again. He has to be their #1 target.
 
Matt-Page said:
How can he state that they will win races? He doesn't know that, unless testing revealed something we don't know. Is the new boy that fast? Of course he's covered himself saying the team has to do what he wants to win. It also sounds like the F1 team were pulled off onto other projects which affected their time in F1 (Mclaren Road cars & P1). Maybe they have no plans to release another car this year of that caliber. Are they recruiting lots of people to fill those voids?

It seems as though Jenson is there to purely develop the car with feedback to engineers and also be a safe bet to finish races calmly without being a red head.

I wonder why he wont employ Whitmarsh to run the F1 team only, like he's done for Eric? Maybe Whitmarsh will run the factory side of things?

Some bold statements to make IMO. Mercedes have kept hush since testing and have not down or over player their chances. They are murmuring "Theirs lots still to do" but quietly, I think they and we know they will emerge as the dominant team for the early part at least.
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There are quotes online from "sources" that Mercedes feel they have 1.5s in-hand, in pure speed.

:eek: if true!
 
clv101 said:
I'd like to see Vetel in a sub-par Red Bull this year. Analogous to Schumacher in the 1996 dog of a Ferrari.
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Personally I don't want to see anyone in a sub-par car, I want everyone in par cars, even better if they are characteristically different. We then get spice and variety, and the winner will be all the more deserved. Unless of course they only won because of the double points...
 
clv101 said:
I'd like to see Vetel in a sub-par Red Bull this year. Analogous to Schumacher in the 1996 dog of a Ferrari.
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It was nowhere near the Williams performance over the course of the year, but they still came second in the constructors championship, I wouldn't call it a "dog". The Life W12, now that was a dog.
 
Lopéz said:
It was nowhere near the Williams performance over the course of the year, but they still came second in the constructors championship, I wouldn't call it a "dog". The Life W12, now that was a dog.
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You've got to admit Lopéz, it was an unreliable beast at the best of times. And also properly minged IMO, especially in later-season high nose form. That it made it up to 2nd in the WCC says more for the driving skill of the Ferrari duo allied to the awfulness of the Benetton and McLaren offerings than it does for the Ferrari F310!

What was it, 8 straight retirements for Irvine from Spain to Italy that year? Schumacher faired better, but still didn't see the flag six times over the season (hell, didn't even make the start of the race in France when it blew up on the formation lap!). It's never made sense to me why they didn't just put together a crash programme to update the Ferrari 412 T2 to the new regs and spend '96 sending the F310 pounding around Fiorano or Mugello to iron out the gremlins in the V10 engine, since '96 was effectively just a 'get-to-know-you' year for Ferrari and Schumacher anyway.

Not their worst, but certainly not their finest hour:

IRMVFpw.jpg
 
Lopéz said:
It was nowhere near the Williams performance over the course of the year, but they still came second in the constructors championship, I wouldn't call it a "dog". The Life W12, now that was a dog.
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That was in 1990 though wasn't it? I suppose from that year Forti were pretty appalling.

Jesus, I didn't realise HOW bad they were.. 28 seconds a lap off the pace, no wonder they never made the grid! :eek:
 
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clv101 said:
I'd like to see Vetel in a sub-par Red Bull this year. Analogous to Schumacher in the 1996 dog of a Ferrari.
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Ye i think it would be nice to see him in an average car. He is a good driver no doubt but some people make him out to be a driving God when the simple fact is he is driving an Adrian Newey car for all those championships.

I would like to see him move away from Red Bull and prove how good he really is. I remember watching him in the Toro Rosso winning his first race and then the last race of the 08 season overtaking Hamilton. He was pretty exciting to watch in that car i really would like to see how he does if he moved away from Red Bull.
 
lucarocks92 said:
Ye i think it would be nice to see him in an average car. He is a good driver no doubt but some people make him out to be a driving God when the simple fact is he is driving an Adrian Newey car for all those championships.
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Hang on, Hakkinen won all of his titles in a Newey car, and some compared him to Schumacher in ability (I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but he was certainly better than "good"). Clark won all of his championships in a Chapman car, but no-one would argue he wasn't one of the best drivers to have walked this planet.

Vettel has trounced every one of his teammates. Webber should have beaten him one year, but he didn't. He's won when he's had the best car, he's won when he's not had the best car. He's won in all sorts of conditions, he's toppling records without losing breath. He is undoubtedly a great.

I'd like to see him go up alongside a Hamilton or an Alonso in what is seen as a team without bias (so let's say they all went to Williams), but I've no doubt he'd be at least their equal.
 
this_is_gav said:
Hang on, Hakkinen won all of his titles in a Newey car, and some compared him to Schumacher in ability (I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but he was certainly better than "good"). Clark won all of his championships in a Chapman car, but no-one would argue he wasn't one of the best drivers to have walked this planet.

Vettel has trounced every one of his teammates. Webber should have beaten him one year, but he didn't. He's won when he's had the best car, he's won when he's not had the best car. He's won in all sorts of conditions, he's toppling records without losing breath. He is undoubtedly a great.

I'd like to see him go up alongside a Hamilton or an Alonso in what is seen as a team without bias (so let's say they all went to Williams), but I've no doubt he'd be at least their equal.
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clark was around when aero didnt give 90% to a car's abilities. Immense difference to start with.

Internal team politics ruined Webber's chance before it even begun.

As for Vettel winning in "not the best car" - thats debatable. It certainly was way above average in every year he has been at RBR.
 
el_dazza said:
That was in 1990 though wasn't it? I suppose from that year Forti were pretty appalling.

Jesus, I didn't realise HOW bad they were.. 28 seconds a lap off the pace, no wonder they never made the grid! :eek:
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Forti's '96 car was actually quite decent (and a hell of a step up from the previous car). They just didn't have any money, then got tied up with that Shannon lot and went bust.

As for Life - Imola was the best one, only getting around the track in a bit over 7 minutes :D
 
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