Motors The Official bit-tech F1 2011 Thread

Re: Renault being the worst team - I disagree.
The big disappointment for me must be FIndia this year. The car is slow, the the drivers just can't make it stick.

Renaul has been hit HARD with Kubica out of the game. He was their star driver, and the car was built around his feedback. As if to prove the quality of the car, they had BOTH drivers on podiums in the early bits of the season.
The problem thye have is that Petrov is still a bit green, and Quick Nick spent more time in the gravel/the pitlane/shaving his beard than on track.
Senna gives them young blood, and considering the little experience he has, he's been fighting well so far. Time will tell how he fares.

What Renault really need is Robert Kubica. Though whether that's happenign is up in the air...

 

Speaking of Renault... The tour of Renault last year

 

That last one is classic

James Allen has a great bit on Strategies and consideration for the Singapore GP coming up this weekend.

 

isn't it strange. When he was a Race Commentator, I thought JA was a witless buffoon, and was very happy when BBC didn't bring him across. However, since that point he seems to have set the bar on F1 reporting via his website, its always got some good stuff on there.

 

What an awesome set of pictures from the tour there, they just feel like you've broken into the place while the security wasn't looking.

JA is an interesting soul, I think now that he has more time to think about what he types he's less of a dick really, he seems to manage more interesting insights than he ever used to.

 

Just because he knows his stuff [or appears to], doesn't mean he'd be any good commentating. Take Ted Kravitz for example, I think he's a great pit-lane reporter, would i want him commentating on a race? probably not.

Similarly someone with good knowledge of a subject doesn't mean that person would be any good teaching it to others...

 

Great post BIGBUD! Thanks for sharing those

 

Haha! if only... I would have worn a bigger coat

No worries, glad to share them with like minded folk.

Sadly, it's probably the only time this year that we'll see Kubica's Renault

 

Yeah nice pics, shame about the Renault name attached to those parts

 

I don't see the problem with Renault now that Simmonds and Flavio are gone, they're not as French as they might seem. They have the same restrictions imposed by Renault engines as other customers do. What's your beef (rosbif) with them?

 

To be fair, the Renault F1 factory is in Enstone (near Chipping Norton) in Oxfordshire... so they're not that French!

 

Awesome photos!

Just on the point of James Allen. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he was perfectly ok. Must better than Leggard ever was.

Whoever followed from Murray, I'd even go so far as to say If MB made the move from co-commentator to lead at that point would have been hated.

 

Not so much beef as total lack of competitiveness at the moment that's all. The messing around with drivers doesn't bode well with me either, and that's not just Hei/Sen

As EJ has mentioned before now, Renault ALLOWED Kubica to take part in that rally, they could have told him not to because lets face it, Rally is dangerous and everybody knows that, hindsight a wonderful thing? Yes it is, as is having people employed to look out for your driver 24/7 to ensure he remains competitive and in good health.

Force India have had a strong midfield position however, Renault have had little or no consistency, the drivers have done their best with the car, and it's not so much a disappointment, more anger about the way they have conducted themselves all season, drivers in and out etc etc

What I'm trying to say is, I'm not happy about their position but they have nobody to blame but themselves for a poor season.

 

It is true that Renault allowed Kubica to take part and be completely honest with yourselves here, if you were the team director, would you have allowed him to take part in it? I know I wouldn't have.

I do have to agree slightly on the FIndia front though. Whilst Canon rightly points out that they still have good midfield pace (and they really do, lots of Q3 runs) I still think, personally, that they have ultimately failed to capitalise on the astonishing performance shown at the low downforce tracks in 2009. They were unbelievably fast then and really had the strong basis for a great car but didn't make any significant steps forward and ended up being a lot slower by comparison. It may be that the loss of Fisi to Ferrari after the Massa incident took a big chunk of experienced driver input but i don't think it should have affected them that much.

Anyway, the midfield is still a great fight this year with a lot of to and fro from FIndia and Renault and Toro Rosso, who've also been a bit hit and miss this year, joining in now and then as well.

For me the next big test for things is Japan, Red Bull will undoubtedly destroy everyone by miles but those guys further down will be having some major scraps i think.

Oooo just though as a side note, anyone got any clue as to where DRS will be at Suzuka? The logical place i can think of is coming out of Spoon on the long run up to 130R....BUT...they don't brake for 130R these days and with a DRS open that could be very, very scary. Thoughts?

 

Coulthard pops out for some milk? Awesome video.

 

re: DRS in Japan.
Spoon to 130R would be the logical choice, but dangerous since the drivers don't brake.
Couple of considerations to make would be:
1-or-2 zones. There would be options for two here... One down the pit straight, and one possibly down to the hairpin.
Also: Grandstands. The money wants to see action. Degner has grandstands right next to it, and the hairpin has grandstands that are looking stratight at the cars coming into it.

My reckoning is that detection will be in Casio Triangle, activation point shortly behind turn 18, then allt he way to turn 1.
That means you can't get DRS from someone heading into the pits, and the pitstops are exciing as all hell, simply because the cars are THAT fast into turn 1.

Should there be two zones (which I doubt - Japan is not normally a huge problem in terms of overtaking), I'd reckon the detection would be between Degner and Turn 9, activation just after turn 9, all the way down to the hairpin at 11. 10 is SUCH a fast corner they don't really need the extra downforce there.

 

I would have. How many accidents resulting in serious injury happen in the WRC these days? Surprisingly little. Your at more risk on a mountain bike than you are in a modern rally car.

 

I agree. Are you going to stop Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen or Seb Loeb getting on their bikes too?

(iirc Kimi and Seb hurt themselves badly some years ago. Seb broke his arm..?)

 

Baboon and Bindi you've pipped me to say the same thing - he was competing in a properly specced car which is beyond safe. The sport might have a lot of accidents, but serious driver injury is extremely rare in top-flight rallying.

What happened to Kubica was one of the freakiest accidents I've ever seen, and sheer bad luck. For the barrier to come apart and penetrate the car at that precise angle (enough to spear between the engine and the outer wing, through the bulkhead etc) is unbelievably unlucky.

Look what happened to Ant Davidson recently - another driver wiped out with injuries from his biking hobby, but these guys need to keep fit and keep their edge, so they're allowed to continue.