The F1 Thread 2013 Season

Leg-End said:
The burnt bodywork is a worry though, seems like a Mercedes trait over the past few years and its not even particularly hot in Jerez, the car would melt in Bahrain. I still think they will update that exhaust area though, its still quite basic looking in comparison to others.
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It's nothing to worry about, it'll be a position of paint failing rather than bodywork. It would probably be a case of the exhaust running near to the side pod with no gap in between, which can only mean an aero tight car for Mercedes.

Plus the fact that their body work has the lightest colour paint so you're bound to see it easier than a lotus or a red bull.

I was impressed with Mercedes pace today, very consistent laps from Rosberg, which if you put that car in the hands of someone like Hamilton will yield better results. They're probably on a par with the Lotus currently i'd say.

However Sky showing the testing live will be very dull TV. For about the first 2 hours you're just going to be seeing installation laps from the teams. Highlight shows would be better.
 
adexkola said:
I'd love to work for a few years on an engineering crew for these cars.
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My mate's a mechanic for RBR and from what he has told me it's a tough lifestyle, there are some nice perks to it though.
 
RDCR07 said:
I wonder how much the mechanics and the test drivers get paid.
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I remember there was something published about Force India, around £30k for a mechanics role. I'd imagine they're heavily bonused as well for performance results for the team.
 
Lynsay Jackson, the sister of Formula 1 racing star David Coulthard, has been found dead at her home in Scotland.

Officers confirmed they were investigating the circumstances surrounding her death but said that it was not suspicious.

Mrs Jackson, 35, married husband Will in 2011 and has an eight-month-old daughter.

Police officers and ambulance services attended the home of the 35-year-old at Crossmichael, Castle Douglas, in southwest Scotland.

A report is being prepared for procurator fiscal.

Mrs Jackson used to run The David Coulthard Museum in Twynholm, which is dedicated to the racing driver's career.

He once said that she had "naturally" been a better driver than him.

He said that their father, Duncan, had bought each of his three children a go-kart but that he, David, had been the only one to pursue a racing career.

The family have been informed of her death. Her parents are returning from a holiday in Australia.

Mr Coulthard is understood to be returning to Scotland. He had appeared on the BBC television programme Saturday Kitchen, with the chef James Martin, this morning.

More follows...
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http://news.sky.com/story/1049964/f1-david-coulthards-sister-found-dead

Horrible :(
 
gormless said:
Rory Byrne back to Ferrari. Pretty big news
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I think its only in an advisory role, its not like he is main designer or anything. But if I was a Ferrari fan I would feel better knowing he is working with the 2014 design team.

Testing at Barcelona tomorrow, be interesting to see whats teams bring upgrades although I'm expecting most to hold back most stuff for the last test.
 
Barcelona Day One Timesheet @ 13.19pm UK time
1. Vettel, Red Bull, 1:23.046 25 laps (H);
2. Raikkonen, Lotus, 1:23.571, 19 laps (H);
3. Alonso, Ferrari, 1:23.626, 45 laps (H);
4. Maldonado, Williams, 1:23.733, 47 laps;
5. Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:23.884, 44 laps;
6. Perez, McLaren, 1:24.124, 22 laps (H),
7. Di Resta, Force India, 1:24.144, 47 laps (M);
8. Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:24.520, 14 laps (M);
9. Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:25.136, 38 laps;
10. Pic, Caterham, 1:27.534, 40 laps;
11. Chilton, Marussia, 1:28.058, 36 laps.
 
Really early days I know but looking at the times I get the feeling these new Pirelli tyres are going to piss off a lot of people, including me.
 
The rear end packaging on the new Williams is crazy.

216997.jpg


Someone photoshopped out the "shark fin" just to show how pronounced it is.

fw35nosharkfin.png
 
Wow that's very weird looking!

I'm massively out of touch at the moment, what's up with the tyres? Too long lasting?
 
The opposite, huge degradation. It's only testing so you can't read much into it but it wasn't uncommon to see a driver do a quick lap and by the end of the stint be 8 seconds off the original time.
 
Jesus, that's rather extreme to say the least.

I've not been a fan of the tyre management racing at the best of times, they need to sort that shit out.
 
They seemingly have made it worse. All the compounds this year are softer than last year, the degredation was huge at Jerez but they all put it down to the track surface which is highly abbrasive there.

But looking at stint times today, I'm not sure anymore. Look at Alonso's stint from today in a Ferrari thats traditionally been great on its tyres:

1:22.952 (100)
1:24.090 (101)
1:25.154 (102)
1:26.215 (103)
1:26.877 (104)
1:27.675 (105)
1:28.550 (106)
1:29.128 (107)
1:30.298 (108)
1:29.831 (109)

In 10 laps he lost 7 seconds, 10 laps!
 
This could work in favor of the Mclaren, JB and Perez are known for being easy on their tyres.
 
I like to remember the days when F1 cars used to get quicker over a stint.
 
this is from Sky, Hamiltons lap times.

Ok, Mercedes have now called a halt to Hamilton's stint there on hard tyres - which was 13 laps - and below we've tracked his progress lap-by-lap:

Out lap
1:33.9
1:23.7
1:23.274 – New fastest overall time
1:25.6
1:25.9
1:26.2
1:26.4
1:27.876
1:27.189
1:26.970
1:27.760
In lap
 
Barcelona Day Two timesheet @10.20am UK time

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:23.006, 26 laps (M);
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:23.274, 37 laps (H);
3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:24.216, 21 laps (M);
4. Sergio Perez, McLaren, 1:24.755, 22 laps (M);
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:25.354, 24 laps (H);
6. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:25.773, 36 laps (M);
7. Charles Pic, Caterham, 1:26.985, 24 laps;
8. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:28.900, 16 laps;
9. Paul di Resta, Force India, No Time, 19 laps;
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, No Time, 17 laps;
11. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus, No Time, 4 laps.
 
Ronnie O'Sullivan said:
Looks like another world title for vettel, even b4 the season starts!
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Your reading too much into testing times, I mean you have to expect Red Bull will be quick but testing times on their own provide no context.

Currently its:

S.Vettel - Red Bull - 1:22.197
L.Hamilton - Mercedes - 1.22.726 +0.529

What those times don't tell you is Vettel did his time on the soft tyre on a single lap run, Hamilton did his on the hard tyre on a 10 lap run.
 
Leg-End said:
Your reading too much into testing times, I mean you have to expect Red Bull will be quick but testing times on their own provide no context.

Currently its:

S.Vettel - Red Bull - 1:22.197
L.Hamilton - Mercedes - 1.22.726 +0.529

What those times don't tell you is Vettel did his time on the soft tyre on a single lap run, Hamilton did his on the hard tyre on a 10 lap run.
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I agree , can read anything it the times being posted.
We don't know what set up each car is running or how much fuel they are carrying.
 
Day 2 Final timings.

Barcelona Day Two timesheet @4pm UK time
1. Sergio Perez, McLaren, 1:21.848, 97 laps (S);
2. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:22.197, 84 laps (S);
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus, 1:22.697, 43 laps (M);
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:22.726, 121 laps (H);
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:23.247, 76 laps (M);
6. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:23.561, 98 laps (S);
7. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:23.718, 70 laps (M);
8. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:23.971, 62 laps (M);
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 1:24.205, 88 laps (M);
10. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1:25.115, 67 laps;
11. Charles Pic, Caterham, 1:26.243, 102 laps.
 
Well known tyre saver Sergio Perez's thoughts

"It's extreme. The degradation is very difficult. It's a big surprise," said Perez. "Normally in winter testing we see a lot of degradation, but never this much.

"We are going to have a race here so it's a bit of a worry. But we are still learning about the tyres and I think once we go racing I hope things will change.

"I hope it changes, because if we are in this situation in Melbourne we are going to see something like seven or 10 stops."
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Pirelli :mad:
 
They always moan about it but the teams always find a way to adjust.

I doubt there will be a significant rise in the number of pitstops.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Merc's exhausts last season and this.
Last seasons is ugly but looks to work better, a far bit of burning and peeling paintwork.
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The discolouration isn't a bad thing, if anything its good. It shows that theres no air gap between the exhaust & body work, which equates to a tightly packed car from Merc.
 
It's also a picture from the first tests as the Mercedes now has black heat protection around that area.
 
Ronnie O'Sullivan said:
Looks like another world title for vettel, even b4 the season starts!
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Test times mean nothing except to the teams who know the set up and fuel loads on the car. To a fan like me and you the times mean jack shit.
 
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