F1 2020 Season

Wow, that is a miracle escape.

Appreciate he hit the barrier head on but im a bit surprised it went up in flames like that? Thought the fuel tank would be further back?
 
GloryHunter07 said:
Wow, that is a miracle escape.

Appreciate he hit the barrier head on but im a bit surprised it went up in flames like that?
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I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more. This was the first lap so a full tank and that was as big an impact as you’re likely to see. I’m still in disbelief that it wasn’t worse.
 
GloryHunter07 said:
Wow, that is a miracle escape.

Appreciate he hit the barrier head on but im a bit surprised it went up in flames like that? Thought the fuel tank would be further back?
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Jack-C20 said:
I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more. This was the first lap so a full tank and that was as big an impact as you’re likely to see. I’m still in disbelief that it wasn’t worse.
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The fire explosion wasn't a full tank of fuel that ignited, apparently it destroyed the fuel collector which holds about 2-3 litres. It would have been a bigger inferno if the tank was ruptured.
 
F-Red said:
The fire explosion wasn't a full tank of fuel that ignited, apparently it destroyed the fuel collector which holds about 2-3 litres. It would have been a bigger inferno if the tank was ruptured.
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Even more amazing. Absolutely nuts what these cars are designed to withstand.
 
Balljy said:
The reason Grosjean is alive today is because the barrier wasn't rigid. If it was rigid and built of the likes of hardened steel the car would become the remover of force and he would have been killed. A barrier needs to stretch and bend to increase the stopping distance of the car and reduce the G force as much as possible. This is an impact that was so fast that it exceeded the limits the barrier could bend and he went partially through it. This is still better than something which would stop the car with greater force when the impact is around 150mph.

I agree that they need to and will look at this and review if they can do anything but there's basic physics at play here as bouncing back into the track could be even worse depending on the part of the track it is in and increasing the give of the barrier (tyre walls) would increase the chances that can happen.
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I do wonder if you even read the post you quoted. Especially when I read your comments about tyres, which I have addressed.

Exceeding the limits of the barrier, as you say, is exactly the point. The barrier split, the car went through the barrier. There is a massive difference between having a barrier that is not completely rigid and a barrier that fails.

The impact was 137mph, maybe barriers need to be designed with these speeds in mind?
 
F-Red said:
Let's not forget the Marshalls, who do this in a largely unpaid and voluntary capacity. Especially the two guys that were there extinguishing the flames, and on in particular to create the path of exit.
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It was truly heroic. I was so pleased to see him get out. I've been watching F1 since early 90s and saw live when Ratzenberger and later Senna crashed and died.

We got off lightly this time. It reminded me of the BBC documentary, F1 the killer years, covering the 50s and 60s car fires. Grim scenes.
 
Just saw highlights of the incident for the first time and am struggling to comprehend the fact he is alive even though I know he got off lightly overall.

The fireball and blaze and the car split in half and wedged into the barrier and looking like the charred remains of Pompeii.

Unbelievable.
 
F-Red said:
Someone stitched some videos together showing time of impact to Grosjean being recovered.

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At 9.2 seconds you can see Roman but his hand and arm on the top of the barrier trying to get up while the medics were just pulling up in the car.

Incredible the driver wasn't unconscious, the impact is designed to soften the blow and reduce the g load as much as possible, too hard a barrier would be fatal and slightly too hard would certainly knock the driver out.

On another pic the halo is intact. It seems the air intake and halo part have punched through and possibly save some serious or fatal head injuries.

lYlGysC.jpg
 
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How, he has managed to escape from that with minor injuries, it's really a miracle. Damn, that was one of the scariest images I've ever seen in recent times.
 
F-Red said:
The fire explosion wasn't a full tank of fuel that ignited, apparently it destroyed the fuel collector which holds about 2-3 litres. It would have been a bigger inferno if the tank was ruptured.
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Thanks, that makes sense. I remember reading somewhere that they use military tech to protect the fuel tanks.
 
One of those accidents where, if the pilot perishes, you say "I knew as soon as I saw the images".

Utter miracle, is what it is... How he resisted the 53G shock and kept his composure for half a minute is incredible.
 
Crazy crazy crash. The instant the fireball went up was terrifying. Such a relief to see him get out, and then absolute disbelief in how he survived it when you saw the remains of the car and the barrier.

A mixture of brilliant safety technology (halo, hans, survival cell, fuel cell) and luck (medical car, the fact he stayed conscious, brave doc & marshals) helped him get out relatively unscathed.

Being wedged in the armco doesn’t seem right though. A thorough investigation is required to see what happened, ideally ahead of the race next weekend.
 
Wicked_Badger said:
Crazy crazy crash. The instant the fireball went up was terrifying. Such a relief to see him get out, and then absolute disbelief in how he survived it when you saw the remains of the car and the barrier.

A mixture of brilliant safety technology (halo, hans, survival cell, fuel cell) and luck (medical car, the fact he stayed conscious, brave doc & marshals) helped him get out relatively unscathed.

Being wedged in the armco doesn’t seem right though. A thorough investigation is required to see what happened, ideally ahead of the race next weekend.
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Agreed I think that's the biggest take away from it, as safe as they can make the cars the circuits need to keep up. As it wasn't a place you would expect an incident it feels like that barrier was bit of an after thought and these circuits need to just treat every inch like a car can impact it at 200 mph.
 
Fluctuation0161 said:
I do wonder if you even read the post you quoted. Especially when I read your comments about tyres, which I have addressed.

Exceeding the limits of the barrier, as you say, is exactly the point. The barrier split, the car went through the barrier. There is a massive difference between having a barrier that is not completely rigid and a barrier that fails.

The impact was 137mph, maybe barriers need to be designed with these speeds in mind?
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In all probability, the nose section impacted the barrier at precisely the small gap between the two.
And of course that is the weak point.
Accidents will eventually find those weaknesses.
He was a very fortunate young man to have got away as lightly as he did.
 
Wicked_Badger said:
Being wedged in the armco doesn’t seem right though. A thorough investigation is required to see what happened, ideally ahead of the race next weekend.
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It's looking likely that the halo has likely created the wedge/split in the armco.
 
Perez hosting a press conference now on YouTube where he's expected to make an announcement on 2021.
 
The fear of watching someone die on the track again was a huge reason why I stopped watching F1 for a while.

feck me, that was a close one for Grosjean. All the halo non believers should be forced to stuff a halo up their ass. This isn't the first time it saved someone's life.
 
Lewis Hamilton tests positive for Covid. Will miss this weekend's race. No replacement announced. But as far as I know, Vandoorne is their reserve driver. Not the most exciting pick, but his absence should shake up the race a little bit and make it interesting.
 
stu_1992 said:
Lewis Hamilton tests positive for Covid. Will miss this weekend's race. No replacement announced. But as far as I know, Vandoorne is their reserve driver. Not the most exciting pick, but his absence should shake up the race a little bit and make it interesting.
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I hope they put in the Hulk for one last podium shot. It’s basically an oval this weekend so anyone could do well.
 
Leg-End said:
I hope they put in the Hulk for one last podium shot. It’s basically an oval this weekend so anyone could do well.
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That would be great, but Reserve drivers exist for a reason and unlike Racing Point, Mercedes' has a super license so I think it would be unfair to just skip him as that's literally his job. It may be different if they needed the points or something, but they don't.
 
stu_1992 said:
That would be great, but Reserve drivers exist for a reason and unlike Racing Point, Mercedes' has a super license so I think it would be unfair to just skip him as that's literally his job. It may be different if they needed the points or something, but they don't.
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I don’t think fair really comes into it, we know both of those reserves are mediocre drivers.Lewis is probably out of Abu Dhabi too, perfect time to see what Russell can do with the equipment right? Stick him in and evaluate, Stoffel can fill in at Williams
 
Leg-End said:
I don’t think fair really comes into it, we know both of those reserves are mediocre drivers.Lewis is probably out of Abu Dhabi too, perfect time to see what Russell can do with the equipment right? Stick him in and evaluate, Stoffel can fill in at Williams
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Russell would be very exciting for sure. However I doubt it can happen with Williams approval and with then desperate to score points by the end of the season I can't imagine they'd make it easy to lose their best driver. Again in a effort of fairness I don't think that would happen. It may be different right in the middle of the Championship.
 
stu_1992 said:
Russell would be very exciting for sure. However I doubt it can happen with Williams approval and with then desperate to score points by the end of the season I can't imagine they'd make it easy to lose their best driver. Again in a effort of fairness I don't think that would happen. It may be different right in the middle of the Championship.
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If Merc really wanted to make it happen it will. He’s a Merc driver & they supply Williams with engines. It’s the perfect test scenario for them to see how good he is ahead of a potential 2022 drive.

Toto is tight with Stoffel though, so I can imagine him sticking with him.
 
Knowing Mercedes it will be someone underwhelming and obvious. So Stoffel fits the bill.
 
stu_1992 said:
Russell would be very exciting for sure. However I doubt it can happen with Williams approval and with then desperate to score points by the end of the season I can't imagine they'd make it easy to lose their best driver. Again in a effort of fairness I don't think that would happen. It may be different right in the middle of the Championship.
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Russell has been exceptional in the uncompetitive Williams and it would be great to see him get a chance in a top car.
And if Mercedes are really committed to him for the future, no better time.
But will it happen.
Unlikely.
 
stu_1992 said:
Lewis Hamilton tests positive for Covid. Will miss this weekend's race. No replacement announced. But as far as I know, Vandoorne is their reserve driver. Not the most exciting pick, but his absence should shake up the race a little bit and make it interesting.
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Covid was the only thing stopping him from hitting 100 poles this season.
 
Buster15 said:
Russell has been exceptional in the uncompetitive Williams and it would be great to see him get a chance in a top car.
And if Mercedes are really committed to him for the future, no better time.
But will it happen.
Unlikely.
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I agree, I'd love to see and I think we will see him in the Mercedes at some point for sure. That's clearly the plan, I just don't see Williams releasing him for this. Not sure Mercedes would push it either. We'll see.
 
stu_1992 said:
I agree, I'd love to see and I think we will see him in the Mercedes at some point for sure. That's clearly the plan, I just don't see Williams releasing him for this. Not sure Mercedes would push it either. We'll see.
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Indeed. But if Mercedes are serious about him, they could offer Williams Vandorm.
But I agree with you. Not going to happen which will be a missed opportunity.
 
Buster15 said:
Indeed. But if Mercedes are serious about him, they could offer Williams Vandorm.
But I agree with you. Not going to happen which will be a missed opportunity.
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Roy Nissany tested in FP1 for Williams in Bahrain last week. He could be an option if Russel got the call. Although I’ve no idea if he’s got the points for the Super License.
 
I don't think Williams would stand in Russell's way if its a legit option, it just seems likely to be Stoffel which is really boring.
 
It'll be Vandoorne most likely, Williams have too much riding with the final few races in the constructor standings so releasing Russel is a bit of a pipe dream. I don't think Hamilton will race again this season.

The closest Hulkenburg will get to a Mercedes, is the engine in the back of Racing Point.
 
F-Red said:
It'll be Vandoorne most likely, Williams have too much riding with the final few races in the constructor standings so releasing Russel is a bit of a pipe dream. I don't think Hamilton will race again this season.

The closest Hulkenburg will get to a Mercedes, is the engine in the back of Racing Point.
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Do they though? They're 3 points behind having scored 0 this season and 1 last season. They're finishing bottom.

I hope its Russell, guy deserves a chance to show what he's really all about. I can see him winning if he gets the drive.
 
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