The F1 Thread 2015 Season

Marching said:
Hardly shit. I thoroughly enjoyed being there and thought it was a great spectacle.
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It's a shit race to watch on telly unless it rains, I don't think there's anyone who could really argue with that.

The quality of the racing doesn't matter when you're there, 2 hours of Trulli Train would still be great if you were sat trackside at Monaco!
 
Marching said:
Hardly shit. I thoroughly enjoyed being there and thought it was a great spectacle.
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By viewing public, I mean television viewers. I daresay if they held a grand prix at Alton Towers, the crowd there would enjoy the experience too. But those of us watching the race at home would have to take their word for it.
 
Pirelli’s Paul Hembery says a predicted increase in race pace in 2015 means F1’s tyre supplier will adopt an aggressive approach in the upcoming season.

The centre of attention for much of 2013 after numerous high-profile tyre failures, the Italian manufacturer enjoyed something of a back seat last year as the teams got to grips with the sport's radical new rules.

However, with a year of development offering the opportunity to develop their engines, Hembery thinks the teams will soon be pushing the tyres to the limit once more.

“Last year people said we were a little bit too conservative and maybe a little bit boring, but I think it is more a case of we went into a year with new technology and there is a little bit of that this year,”.

“We’ve seen some initial data that suggests the cars are going to make another good step in performance compared to last season and what might have been a conservative choice last season might become quite an aggressive one in 2015.

“So like many we are interested to see what happens with the unfreeze for a little while of the engine regulations, what that is going to mean for the majority of teams – particularly on race pace, that is the one aspect where we expect to see a big improvement in performance. And that might make a conservative choice suddenly a bit more aggressive.”
While the compounds will remain largely the same this year, the supersoft tyre will be amended to improve its operating window. That could open a host of different strategies to the teams and increase unpredictability.

“Just one change really, the supersoft is having a little bit of a tweak to it to improve its working range with the temperature ranges,” Hembery added.

“The structure of the rear tyre is having a difference made to it to distribute the temperature build-up a bit better – all technical stuff which is probably a bit boring for most people, but from our tyre world it is very important.

“It influences the way that the performance maintains over a race distance and can alter very substantially the differences we get on the tyre. So small changes this year, evolution rather than revolution.”
 
Has the MP4-30 been properly revealed yet? Seems to be lots of fan mock ups knocking about.
 
None of them have yet, first ones will be next week I believe. I know Force India's is the 21st, but a ton of them will just present on the morning of the first test.

I heard a rumour that Mercedes might use their 2014 engine until the first leg of European races start, if thats the case they must be hugely confident.
 
Rado_N said:
:lol: that was probably the least helpful reply I possibly could have given you.

I don't think any cars have been unveiled yet, so any mock ups will be guesswork.
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:lol: I suddenly felt very very stupid. One of the MP4-30 mock ups is fecking delicious.

Thanks Leg-End.
 
Leg-End said:
None of them have yet, first ones will be next week I believe. I know Force India's is the 21st, but a ton of them will just present on the morning of the first test.

I heard a rumour that Mercedes might use their 2014 engine until the first leg of European races start, if thats the case they must be hugely confident.
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Won't most of them be doing that anyway due to the engine development loophole? And by most I mean everyone but Honda *sulks*
 
Ubik said:
Won't most of them be doing that anyway due to the engine development loophole? And by most I mean everyone but Honda *sulks*
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I believe the loophole is in the wording of when the homologation date is set, they assumed the way it was written it meant Round 1 but from what I gather it doesn't actually state that so the engine manufacturers have taken that as a chance to develop in-season until their "tokens" are used up, then they will put forward their homologated engine, presumably right at the end of the season.

Given Mercedes advantage they can hold off on using said loophole and give themselves more time to develop and then an increase in performance basically whenever they want it, Renault & Ferrari simply have to improve immediately because they are playing catch up. If Merc are that confident to hold basically any changes back until Round 5, assuming they don't create a complete dog, they are going to be surging even further ahead.

Honda have been shafted ofcourse but I still think the FIA might help them out, its in their interests to keep them happy.
 
Any remaining hope that Marussia could return to the F1 grid this season will be extinguished if Wednesday’s auction of the team's equipment goes ahead, former boss Graeme Lowdon has admitted.

The Banbury-based outfit missed the final three races of the 2014 campaign after entering administration with debts in excess of £60m.

Although the FIA included the team under the name of ‘Manor F1’ on its provisional entry list for the 2015 campaign, time is poised to run out for the team – or at least what remains of it following an earlier auction in mid-December – on Wednesday when critical infrastructure items will be put up for sale.

“There have been some auctions already but none of the equipment that has been sold so far is essential for the team to go forward,” Lowdon told Sky Sports News HQ. “But if that equipment went next week it would be difficult.”

It’s believed that the team’s Banbury base has already been purchased by Gene Haas, boss of the eponymous team slated to join F1 in 2016, while a number of former Marussia employees have found employment elsewhere on the grid since being made redundant in November.

However, Lowdon is adamant that, if substantial financial backing can be obtained in the next 48 hours, the team could yet return for the new season. “It’s certainly possible for the team to get there,” he added. “It would be good news for F1 and for our fans certainly.”

The first pre-season winter test commences on Sunday February 1 at Jerez.
 
looks like there is hope for Marussia after all, after the planned auction of the team's remaining assets was postponed until further notice.
The team’s 2014 race cars, three GP3 race cars, all 2014 car components and spare parts, plus their race-day pit equipment, had all been due to go under the hammer this week.
 
Absolutely no chance they'll finish the 2015 season even if they do make the grid for the start.
 
Honda say they “more or less” understand the FIA’s clarification on engine development after it was agreed that the Japanese firm could make changes to their new power unit during 2015.

Following a meeting between the governing body and representatives from Honda last week, it emerged over the weekend that the FIA had completed a U-turn on its original ruling that only 2014’s engine manufacturers, Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari, would be permitted to make performance upgrades to their packages during the season.

Having recognised the need for a fairer system, the FIA’s Charlie Whiting wrote to the teams to explain that Honda would now be able to make a specified number of amendments based on the average number of unused ‘tokens’ by its three rivals when the season starts in March. Last year’s manufacturers start with a suite of 32 ‘tokens’ which they can use to upgrade their engine, but it remains to be seen how many each manufacturer will use before the first race in Australia.

“Honda received the official news Saturday evening, and we understand more or less the clarification from FIA, but we cannot comment on our situation just yet,” a Honda spokesperson said.

The FIA are yet to formally comment on the matter.

A spokesperson for Mercedes described the world champions as being ‘relaxed’ about the situation, while Red Bull, who were badly handicapped by their uncompetitive Renault engine last term, are still evaluating the potential repercussions of the rule change.
 
Lotus have unveiled Britain's GP2 Series champion Jolyon Palmer as their third driver for the 2015 season.

The Enstone-based team have promised Palmer, whose appointment was made on his 24th birthday, a 'significant number' of practice sessions on Grand Prix weekends this coming season.

Palmer became Britain's first GP2 champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2006, and he hopes the Lotus deal will prove a springboard into a race seat in 2016 after he spent the final test of last year with Force India.

"My main aim is to race in Formula 1 so I’ll be working as hard as I can on every aspect of my new job," Palmer said.
 
Force India are to delay the debut of their 2015 car until the second winter test.

The Silverstone-based team, who are holding a livery launch in Mexico on Wednesday, confirmed to Sky Sports News HQ that they will instead run their 2014 challenger, the VJM07, at the opening four-day test at Jerez from the end of next week.

With the team understood to be keeping the new VJM08 on hold for strategic reasons until the first of the back-to-back Barcelona sessions on February 19-22, Force India's engineers will have two additional weeks to work on their new car before it takes to the track for the first time.

Force India enjoyed their best F1 season last year and announced in December that they would be moving all their aerodynamic testing to Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne, a facility considered one of the best in the world.
 
The start times of five Grands Prix, including Australia, Malaysia and Japan, have been brought forward by one hour in the 2015 season.

In a document detailing session times for the 20-race season released by Formula One Management, the events in Australia, Malaysia, China, Japan and Russia all have their races listed with local start times one hour earlier than last year.

Over recent years races in Asia, along with the season-opener in Australia, have been scheduled to start in mid-late afternoon slots so to be more convenient for F1’s core European television audience.

However, change has been afoot since the Accident Panel looking into Jules Bianchi’s horrifying accident in last October’s rain-hit Japanese GP recommended that, excluding bespoke night races, “the start time of an event shall not be less than four hours before either sunset or dusk".

Malaysian GP chiefs indicated last week that they had discussed with Bernie Ecclestone the possibility of their race returning to a 3pm slot from 4pm, and that one-hour shift has duly been confirmed on the FOM list.

Indeed, the first three rounds will start an hour earlier than in 2014 with Australia moved forward to 4pm (5am GMT) from 5pm local time and China's event also moved, from 3pm to 2pm local.

September’s Japanese GP is also now listed to start at 2pm, as will the following race in Russia in a move previously announced by Sochi organisers last week.

UK start times for the 2015 F1 season - every race live on Sky Sports F1

Australia: 5am
Malaysia: 8am
China: 7am
Bahrain: 4pm
Spain: 1pm
Monaco: 1pm
Canada: 7pm
Austria: 1pm
Great Britain: 1pm
Germany: 1pm
Hungary: 1pm
Belgium: 1pm
Italy: 1pm
Singapore: 1pm
Japan: 6am
Russia: 12pm
United States: 7pm
Mexico: 7pm
Brazil: 4pm
Abu Dhabi: 1pm
 
force-india-new-colours_3254625.jpg


Force India have revealed their new-look livery for 2015 at a ceremony in Mexico City.

The team’s traditional green, white and orange colours of the Indian flag have been replaced by silver, black and orange. The team had started to introduce black to the car last year, and Team Principal Vijay Mallya admits it was a conscious decision to make the car look more aggressive.

“It’s another evolution of the contemporary look we introduced last year which reflects the growth of the team and the global brands with which we are working," he said.

"I love the addition of silver, which makes the car appear more sleek and aggressive. The livery looks stunning and I’m sure it’s something that will appeal to the fans as well. Our traditional team colours remain integrated in the livery, but we’ve given it a very modern twist.”

However, while the team may have had their new look ready for a public unveiling, there was no sign of the 2015 VJM08 which will not run until the second pre-season test in Barcelona. There was, though, a new look nose attached to chassis.

The launch took place in Mexico after the team secured a number of new sponsorship deals in the country ahead of its return to the F1 calendar in November. Force India’s Sergio Perez is the only native with a race seat this season after Esteban Gutierrez was dropped by Sauber.

The presentation also served as build-up to the Mexican Grand Prix, with organisers predicting more than 250,000 will attend the race weekend and several Mexican dignitaries were on hand to address the media and discuss the tourism benefits of the race.

The race organisers also revealed that they hope to have the construction work at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez completed 90 days before the scheduled race date of November 1.
 
:lol: I know they want to take McLaren's place, but come on.
 
2015 Jerez pre-season test:
Line up for Pre-season testing so far.

Day One
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg

Red Bull: TBA

Williams: Valtteri Bottas

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel

McLaren: Fernando Alonso

Force India (2014 car): TBA

Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz

Lotus: TBA

Sauber: Marcus Ericsson

Day Two
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull: TBA

Williams: Valtteri Bottas

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel

McLaren: Jenson Button

Force India (2014 car): TBA

Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen

Lotus: TBA

Sauber: Felipe Nasr

Day Three
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg

Red Bull: TBA

Williams: Felippe Massa

Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen

McLaren: Fernando Alonso

Force India (2014 car): TBA

Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz

Lotus: TBA

Sauber: Felipe Nasr

Day Four
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull: TBA

Williams: Felippe Massa

Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen

McLaren: Jenson Button

Force India (2014 car): TBA

Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen

Lotus: TBA

Sauber: Marcus Ericsson
 
Christian Horner has revealed Red Bull are yet to complete their 2015 car, the RB11, and that “there is still plenty to do before Sunday” when the first pre-season test starts in Jerez.

The Milton Keynes-based team were the only team other than Mercedes to win a race last year, but are determined to close the gap to the Silver Arrows this season after seeing their four years of dominance come to an end.

The team have opted not to have a public unveiling of the RB11 prior to Jerez to allow them to maximise production time and, just five days before the first test, their team principal says they are still yet to complete their new challenger.

“No not yet,” Horner said when asked if the car was ready.

“We are flat out into car build at the moment, this is probably the shortest production and assembly time in our 10 seasons – it is unbelievable what the factory have turned around so far. So there is still plenty to do before Sunday.”

However, a Red Bull spokesperson has insisted the former world champions are confident that their 2015 charger will be ready in time for the start of the four-day event in Spain this weekend.

Horner says the RB11’s chassis will be an evolution of that used on the RB10 and that understandably much of their development focus has been on narrowing their engine deficit.

“I think it is just an evolution in many respects,” he added. “The chassis is very much an evolution, obviously there has been a lot of focus on the engine and I think with the new regulations and tokens being able to be spent through the year, you have to look strategically and what upgrades you are going to introduce into what engines.”
 
Much nicer on both. The cocknoses are nowhere near as pronounced as they were on the cars last year. Hopefully that trend spreads throughout the rest of the grid.

The Lotus looks particularly good.
 
That's an improvement in looks all round from Lotus.

Christian Horner, you know when he's lying, his lips move.
 
That Lotus is the nicest looking one in years. So glad it's not going to be a horror show again.
 
It does look good doesn't it. And with the Mercedes engine, they should preform a lot better than last year.

I can't wait for Jerez(not that true race performance will be shown during Jerez).
 
Reigning GP3 Champion Alex Lynn has joined Williams as the Grove team’s new development driver for 2015.

The 21-year-old Briton revealed earlier this month that he was on the verge of signing with an F1 team for the new season, a role he intended to dovetail with the GP2 race seat he had already secured with DAMS.

It was revealed on Wednesday that Lynn had been hired by Williams to assume the role of development driver, a position previously filled by Susie Wolff before her promotion to official test driver for 2015.
Lynn, who made his F1 debut with Lotus at last November’s Abu Dhabi test, will primarily focus on simulator work with Williams but will get a chance to drive their new FW37 car at May's post-Spanish GP test.

The Briton is now hoping to emulate one of his GP3 champion predecessors, Valtteri Bottas, by eventually graduating from development to race driver at Grove.

“I am extremely excited to be joining Williams, a team with such incredible history and amazing potential. Over the past year the team has made huge strides forward and it’s clear to see their determination to fight for more success in the future," Lynn said.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
Christian Horner has revealed Red Bull are yet to complete their 2015 car, the RB11, and that “there is still plenty to do before Sunday” when the first pre-season test starts in Jerez.

The Milton Keynes-based team were the only team other than Mercedes to win a race last year, but are determined to close the gap to the Silver Arrows this season after seeing their four years of dominance come to an end.

The team have opted not to have a public unveiling of the RB11 prior to Jerez to allow them to maximise production time and, just five days before the first test, their team principal says they are still yet to complete their new challenger.

“No not yet,” Horner said when asked if the car was ready.

“We are flat out into car build at the moment, this is probably the shortest production and assembly time in our 10 seasons – it is unbelievable what the factory have turned around so far. So there is still plenty to do before Sunday.”

However, a Red Bull spokesperson has insisted the former world champions are confident that their 2015 charger will be ready in time for the start of the four-day event in Spain this weekend.

Horner says the RB11’s chassis will be an evolution of that used on the RB10 and that understandably much of their development focus has been on narrowing their engine deficit.

“I think it is just an evolution in many respects,” he added. “The chassis is very much an evolution, obviously there has been a lot of focus on the engine and I think with the new regulations and tokens being able to be spent through the year, you have to look strategically and what upgrades you are going to introduce into what engines.”
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No public unveiling - has newey concocted some clever aero parts and they want to hide them for as long as possible from everybody else?
 
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