http://www.planetf1.com/news/rich-energy-closing-in-on-force-india/ So, Force India is rumoured to be bought out by an energy drinks firm that only became incorporated in 2015 and is owned by a bar owner with a degree in psychology and a former intelligence officer. What, was Vijay Mallya too safe a bet?
I can see the pink livery staying for the remainder of the season while a transition of power happens and sponsership nonsense is sorted
So McLaren managed a mammoth 7 laps this morning, with Stoffel's car switching off at the end of the pitlane early in the session... I hope they are flying spare pants out with the spare car parts.
The McLaren situation vs the STR situation is enough to start folding hats out of tin foil. The question of how much of it was really McLaren is clearly not as irrelevant as some would have us believe.
just seen this on my Youtube feed... That moment when Formula E makes a better looking car than F1, i dont even mind the Halo in this design
I was just about to come post this! (https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/6/17084496/formula-e-gen-2-car-specs-geneva-motor-show-2018) Hawt stuff and right-on about the Halo. I think ill watch F-E this year.
Problem is, as the tech improves, and subsequently the speed, the cars will do exactly what they have in F1 - get ugly. I'd still rather watch ugly fast cars than pretty slow ones (driven by a bunch of has-been's and almost-there's, no less... oooh, burn)
Must admit from here it does look like a 1-seat LMP car with no roof... And as Wakka said, F-E cars don't go fast enough to have/need all the 'ugly' winglets sprouting from everywhere... If they went that fast they'd probably have to move away from all the street circuits too... ...also... can the F-E cars manage an entire race yet? Still a hard pass until they can.
Next season they should manage full distance.....If McLaren deliver on the battery The street circuits are part of the appeal IMO and also the reason wiglets are redundant. Lower speed corners make them pointless. McLaren were spotted running with multiple holes in the engine cover where the blue meets the orange. Based on that and their problems today, the question was posed about how much blame mcLaren need to shoulder in the Honda situation. Think early take is how useful the medium tire seems to be and how close the entire field appears to be. 1-2-3 mightn't have much change but the midfield has made big gains. Saw something analysing the cold weather and how certain teams struggled compared to the top 3 to heat tyres in the extreme cold. Could be an early pointer to down force levels each car is currently producing.
No F-E UK race this year. Remaining calendar is as follows:- 17th March - Punta Del Este, Uruguay 14th April - Rome 28th April - Paris 19th May - Berlin 10th June - Zurich 14th July - New York 15th July - New York
Autosport showed an infographic over on their FB about Speed Trap times during yesterday's testing: RBR: 331.2 Renault: 325.3 STR: 323.3 FI: 323.3 Haas: 322.3 Ferrari: 321.4 Williams: 319.5 Sauber: 318.5 Merc: 313.9 McLaren: 311.2 Testing being just that, I think one CAN read a tiny bit into these (possibly more than hard lap times): RBR is historically more downforce-heavy (therefore drag) than other teams. Them topping the charts (and by a good bit) means that other teams weren't trying, or they're running a low downforce config, possibly trying to get on top of power issues. STR being third is good news for Honda. Especially since every Merc engined car is behind them. Merc, with their power advantage in recent years, being this low means there's solid sandbags on the car in some form... maybe running high downforce to try and get the tyre issues that they had last year sorted. McLaren - well, that's just another "last" for McLaren.. .they should be used to this by now.
You honestly think Renault is finding 14 secs in their chassis over McLaren, and Honda/STR have produced a better package than Ferrari? I'll wager those speed trap times are completely meaningless.
No... I do not. I do reckon they can give an insight into where the teams are focusing at the time those speeds are set, though. Ain't gonna do a high trap speed with full wings, or with a heavily detuned engine.
Another morning, another McLaren breakdown. I think the recovery truck will cover more mileage over the test than the orange cars.
...an engine leak apparently... by comparison, the STR just spun out, and had a brake problem yesterday. I suppose the real question is which of the two (and williams) will do best this year.
I think the only plus for Williams is they have the merc PU which is a proven reliable unit. Last years Renault and Honda PU were somewhat less reliable so tracks like Canada which is traditionally a high attrition circuit will help them. Unless the others have actually solved the reliability issues from the previous seasons. Also Canada is when Renault expect their updated ERS module to come though from what I've been reading. McLaren is going to struggle again this season it appears, mainly due to the late engine change, will have to see if the Bahrain test shows any improvement. Also they are only running the softer end of the rubber spectrum, they claimed its due to the cold but who knows.
Renault apparently testing blown rear wing in an attempt to fly as close to the sun of blown aero devices article
That's very vey close indeed, its funny though Renault themselves haven't had battery issues while the customer teams have, the holes McLaren were running in the bodywork someone mentioned would suggest a cooling issue with the powerpack hence the shutdowns we've been seeing. I want to have a proper look at the intakes etc on the Renault but if we start seeing more holes or intakes in Bahrain then I think we can see the issue.
