The problem with McLaren is they haven't replaced Pat Fry with someone as equally proficient.
The F1 Thread 2012 Season
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss Amad saving our blushes in a win against Southampton as well as our now annual loss at home to Brighton. They discuss Amorim's post-match comments, revisit how mid-table we may or may not be, and discuss some transfer news.
The problem with McLaren is they haven't replaced Pat Fry with someone as equally proficient.
They have lost a lot of aero guys it has to be said, I know they have a lot of talented folk but they have lost chief designers at an alarming rate. Staff constantly move around in F1 so its sometimes not as important as it seems but Red Bull's success has been built on a core unit of designers lead by Newey namely Prodromou & Marshall.
They also rotate their design teams, not really sure if thats a benefit or a not but the past 3 seasons they have failed to maintain a good enough development rate.
Add into that they lost significant Mercedes backing and rumours of Vodafone wanting to pull back, might be a decent time to jump ship whilst they get their ships in order for a few seasons.
They also rotate their design teams, not really sure if thats a benefit or a not but the past 3 seasons they have failed to maintain a good enough development rate.
Add into that they lost significant Mercedes backing and rumours of Vodafone wanting to pull back, might be a decent time to jump ship whilst they get their ships in order for a few seasons.
There was a bit more Silverstone could have done this weekend. Even with the stress on the infrastructure, they didn't put down enough metal sheets on the main access points for pedestrians and thus in turn it got very muddy, very quickly. They couldn't accomodate for the weather but even after Wednesday they had a good idea of what the forecast would be and the current state of play of car parks and pedestrian access, so a plan could have been executed. All we saw was a bit of limestone going down on the car park at the back of Vale & Club on Thursday night, nothing more.
There was more they could have done, the issue is that Silverstone rents fields and as such they cant provide any contingency plans which means putting tarmac down in places. Silverstone should probably look to doing this in the future if they feel the place is going to attract more fans each year.
We got there on Thursday in solid weather at the campsite & the car park was starting to get boggy. Friday & Saturday did the damage to it but we wisely camped on a hill & away from the tracks and it did the trick. We didn't mind the weather much, we had wellies & waterproof trousers and enough booze to keep us pissed for a month. Some people we saw there rocked up in flip flops
Racing wise we enjoyed it. Friday we sat at Club and although not many cars came out on track throughout the day, the ones we did see almost all of them nearly (or did lose it) at Club with trying to put the power down too early. On Saturday we stood at the exit of Becketts into Chapel, its an awesome site to see the cars going in at a high speed with the sharp change in direction. FP3 was the only opportunity for this as qualifying was somewhat of a wash out. Race wise it was good, weather was a turn up for the books. We sat on the National Pit straight & the speed they carry into Copse is unreal (I'll post some vids later) and from there we went to the after race party at Luffield, followed by a track walk!
Sadly after the enjoyment of the weekend it certainly wasn't about the 90 minute wait to get towed out of the car park by a tractor this morning
Cheers for that, good to hear from somebody who was camping , the ones on Sky, just looked like daytrippers.
Hopefully they will learn there lesson.
I was at Fairford Airshow this weekend and in 2008 they had to cancel due to the bad rain, after that they put things in place to make sure it did not happen again and it work this year the rain was worse than 2008 and everything went OK.
They did what you said built hard standings and used metel sheeting and it all worked.
Maybe they should give them a call, Fairford had 150,000 and to get there it is via small country lanes.
Sounded like a fantastic weekend, will seriously think about doing next years
Webber has signed a new deal for 2013.
I like Webber he gets a lot of stick sometimes and I think he is an excellent driver.
This means there wont be a seat at Red Bull next season, I cant see Vettle moving anywhere, if Webber had of moved teams it would of seen a few move changing teams
I like Webber, shame he decided to stick with Red Bull but I think Webber is great.
I like Webber too, i think because he is at a late stage in career he doesn't want to change teams and not know what he's going to get. He knows what Red Bull have and can achieve. Only 13 points behind Alonso but you'd not know if you were a casual viewer as the emphasis is always on Vettel/Hamilton.
I think that seals Hamilton at McLaren for 2013+
I agree the only other team he could of gone to was Red Bull.
Who do you guys think is going to replace Massa at Ferrari? When is his contract up?
Perez
I maybe Paul di Resta or Sergio Perez, both are good drivers and with a decent car should do well.
Definitely Perez, he is a driver for Sauber who are backed by Ferrari with ther engines, rumour has it he has already signed a pre contract.
Potential world champion in my opinion, some of the stuff he did this year especially at the Malaysian GP shows his class.
I think Perez is a good driver but i think he knows how to perform these tyres to the best of their ability which is helping him this season. That of course shows him to be talented but i'd say it is in the same talent bracket as Button. Very solid driver but not as good as Alonso/Hamilton/Vettel.
Button is a WDC, and much more than just a 'very solid driver'.
Depends how you perceive very solid.
People like to judge talent based on the now rather than what came before.
I'm a supporter of Button but i don't believe he is an 'extraordinary talent' like the top 3 shall we say which is why i rate him as very solid.
Excellent - Alonso/Hamilton/Vettel.
Very solid - Button etc.
Of course Button has his excellent moments, at the start of this season and the past (2nd in WDC and 1st in WDC) but he also has his bad ones where he is nowhere on pace alone as we have seen this season.
I'd say the top tier have a much higher level than he does, and his lower level is much lower than them. Hamilton kind of dents a flaw into my argument but i'd say his poor performances have been more due to his own mistakes rather than poor pace.
EDIT: Plus if you take qualifying into consideration qualifying aswell as the race, the top 3 comfortably beat Button since he has been at Mclaren. (Starting from there as they are all on a similar playing field).
Excellent - Alonso/Hamilton/Vettel.
Very solid - Button etc.
Of course Button has his excellent moments, at the start of this season and the past (2nd in WDC and 1st in WDC) but he also has his bad ones where he is nowhere on pace alone as we have seen this season.
I'd say the top tier have a much higher level than he does, and his lower level is much lower than them. Hamilton kind of dents a flaw into my argument but i'd say his poor performances have been more due to his own mistakes rather than poor pace.
EDIT: Plus if you take qualifying into consideration qualifying aswell as the race, the top 3 comfortably beat Button since he has been at Mclaren. (Starting from there as they are all on a similar playing field).
I doubt if you would find anybody that thinks Perez is even near the drivers that
Alonso/Hamilton/Vettel are.
Given time he will be
I'm not sure you can judge him or his potential yet. Alonso/Hamilton/Vettel were all pretty special even in the lower formula's and you can't really know until he finds himself in a front running car. Personally I think the Sauber is a very solid car with perhaps the best tyre usage of any other team on the grid.
I agree he does need a car that can challange and a team has to take a chance on him and his potential, for that I think Ferrari would be an excellent team for him.
Grosjean seems a very good driver and would be even better in a Ferrari and alongside Alonso. But i think it will be Perez at Ferrari next season and hes shown his talent quite a lot this season and is also one of the youngest drivers on the grid as well. Potential world champion in the next few years imo.
See i think Grosjean is a good driver but I think his car is making him look better than he is. That Lotus is f-in quick, if you stuck Hamilton or Alonso in it they'd be taking poles.
Ferrari need to get rid of Massa asap, useless driver who could cost them the constructors. Perez would be a good shout for his seat.
I'd love to see Di Resta move to a faster car aswell, think he's got talent. Good mix between agression and calmness. Very rarely do you see him do something stupid.
Lewis seems to be self imploding again looking at the news. He'll feck his career over in no time at this rate.
Because some tabloid reckons he sprayed some champagne on some tarts? Even if its true I wouldn't call that imploding. I know Button twatted about early in his career doing the nightclubs but that doesn't mean it always means it will happen.
He could roll up the next race and dominate it, nobody would give a feck.
He could roll up the next race and dominate it, nobody would give a feck.
F1 driver in spraying champagne over girls shocker. Whatever next eh?!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18854061
The car was not at fault, but I still dont agree with the poster that said women driver can not drive F1 cars.
What the hell happened then ?
The car was not at fault, but I still dont agree with the poster that said women driver can not drive F1 cars.
What the hell happened then ?
Car malfunctioned, i think they believe while driving slow into the pit area it kicked into the anti stall and the engine revved high and shot her forward straight into the back of a truck.
Either a completely freak accident or perhaps pressed the wrong button or something, i dont think anybody knows really.
Thats not what the report said, there was nothing wrong with the car, apparently.
I think you are right nobody will ever know, the main thing is that she is getting better, pity her racing days are over.
Significant sidepod updates on the McLaren here.
http://www.formula1.com/wi/0x0/sutton/2012/dcd1220jy24.jpg
You can see the flow-vis on the left sidepod. Really curved sidepods starting at the front and a huge undercut towards the rear. Scarbs has got more on it:
http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/2012/07/20/mclaren-german-gp-sidepods/
1-2 in FP1 means nothing but if this isn't a step forward then McLaren might as well throw in the towel, big upgrade. Maximuscle also now appears to be a significant new sponsor with rear wing coverage.
http://www.formula1.com/wi/0x0/sutton/2012/dcd1220jy24.jpg
You can see the flow-vis on the left sidepod. Really curved sidepods starting at the front and a huge undercut towards the rear. Scarbs has got more on it:
http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/2012/07/20/mclaren-german-gp-sidepods/
1-2 in FP1 means nothing but if this isn't a step forward then McLaren might as well throw in the towel, big upgrade. Maximuscle also now appears to be a significant new sponsor with rear wing coverage.
Yeah I noticed lucozade is gone and maximuscle is in its place. However the main noticeable difference is the sidepods, looks like a massive upgrade there for McLaren. I might have a look at FP2 later and see what they are like.
The Lucozade/Maximuscle thing isn't a sponsor change, just a brand change. GlaxoSmithKline are the sponsor of their rear week, so i'd imagine there will be another brand change before the end of the season.
Yeah I didn't realise that Maximuscle was part of GSK, they will probably change the sponsors race by race.
McLaren looking strong in FP3, but still both cars locking up too often. Usual suspects also up there though, Alonso will be hard to beat.
McLaren looking strong in FP3, but still both cars locking up too often. Usual suspects also up there though, Alonso will be hard to beat.
I'll be the one to say it then. Sounds like it was her own fault, judging by the article
Why do sky insist on doing all of this large touchscreen computer technology bollox?
feck me, its like watching a really shit Minority Report.
Not impressed by Skys build up (its free to air this week so watching it for the first time ever). Assuming the commentary will be superior to BBC though
The entire panel on the sky build up programme lacks any kind of personality.
Jake, Eddie and DC really work well to each other and bounce their personalities off each other. I love Brundle, but he's so much better in the commentary box. Damon Hill has been boring for 20 years, and I'm not even sure why Herbert is there.
I have to agree it does look like driver error.