Motors The Bit-Tech F1 2016 Thread - Season Complete

No, hasn't been since before the 90s.

Williams were the factory Renault team through the 90s with the budget and engine design input to match, they only split when Renault got annoyed with Williams for both firing their world champion (Damon Hill) without discussing it and losing Newey in the process too.

Benetton were the only truly independent team to win titles in the 90s and they cheated in 94 then had Renault power in 95.

 

I hadn't realised Williams had works status in the 90s.
Wasn't Hill sacked for his performance in 95, the fact he demanded too much money and generally wasn't considered that good? I remember a lot of hype about Frenzen before he raced. My mind is fuzzy since I was 7 back then so the first answer I received as to why he left I probably went with it!

 

IIRC Williams, McLaren and RedBull were all basically works teams at the time they won their championships...

With Williams and McLaren there was a period of works-team inertia where the teams were still moderately competitive for a few years after they lost 'Works' status, but once 'proper' works teams got settled, then they went backwards fast.

 

2010 and 2011 are the only times in the history of F1 a team has won the world constructors championship competing against the factory team that supplies it's engines.

 

and '09... Brawn beat McLaren [which was still technically the Mercedes works team]

 

McLaren aren't and weren't a factory team, at least not in the sense I mean it (and I think it is commonly meant). Engine manufacturer backing or focus is different.

 

Damon Hill was sacked mainly because of Sir Frank and Sir Patrick's egos, they felt he was under performing in their car and getting too much of the credit.

Adrian Newey famously said they decided to get rid of Hill over a cup of tea one day in 1995. They didn't tell anyone about their plan either, not Newey, not Renault, not their sponsors and not Hill, who only found out about it once he read the announcement in Autosport.

Renault were so mad about it they essentially tore up Williams contract and ended development of the V10. That left them (and Benetton, later BAR too) running revisions of the 1997 engine for two years until BMW/Honda came on the scene and Renault came back with Benetton. British American Tobacco (Rothmans) did the same and went looking to buy the Tyrrel team instead (forming BAR).

Of course, neither Frentzen nor Villeneuve turned out to be as good as Hill. Heinz won a single race and Williams haven't a drivers or constructors title since Villeneuve in the 97 car, the last of Newey's designs for Williams.

 

The Murray Walker piece with Jenson Button looked an awful lot like a goodbye piece.

 

Just wondering if Hakkinen is just incoherent, or if it's a language barrier thing... That was some politician level of not answering the questions [imo]...

 

Giant crash at GP2 today :


I fear we will see something just as stupid from Verstappen some day.

Also giant screwup by safety car, it went to the track after 3rd car...

 

In more 'no **** sherlock' news... Button won't be racing for McHonda in 2017... kinda

basically Button will be a an amabassador and technically their reserve/test driver until 2018 [with an option to race if Alonso leaves and/or Stoffel turns out to be crap]...

"If Jenson is needed to drive next year... He will drive" - Ron Dennis

 

I'm not sure I agree with the commentators on that tbh, Canamasas probably should have yielded but it looks like there was enough room for both of them. The problem being Pic losing the backend and correcting into Canamasas.

 

That's what I was thinking.

 

The McHonda announcement to go with my above post

 

So, nobody at McHonda has any clue what Fernando is going to do next year and they're hedging their bets since they all really like JB anyway, well, everyone except Ron.

I expect Button to race at least once next year and do a significant number of testing miles.

 

I must admit i read it like that to... They either have a feeling Stoffel might turn out to be crap or, more likely, they have a nagging suspicion Alonso will rage quit... again...

 

There's part of me that hopes Stoffel turns out to be a dud AND Alonso rage quits. I just can't see Alonso riding out another season if the car isn't capable of podiums.

 

Wow someone in McHonda reaaaally loves Button. Even if Stof was crap and Alonso leaves, they surely have enough child drivers to fill once 2018 comes around? Or they really don't think ANYONE in the field is worth their seat?

 

At least now we know it was Button who had the compromising photos of Ron Dennis...

 

Think its more a case that all the child drivers that are good enough are owned by Red Bull and Mercedes, the rest are Rio Hyaranto.
It goes back to the Raikkonen debate about who is good enough to replace him? Perez, Bottas, Grosjean are the top three and for one reason or another they're probably something other than McLaren. Not to mention Ron Dennis is a massive piece to the puzzle