Formula 1 2015 Discussion

Based on the the times in FP1 and FP2 it appears that Ferrari have enough pace to hang with Mercedes and beat them with the right strategy. Kimi was only .4 sec behind Lewis in FP2. It also looks like McLaren are starting to find some pace. This could turn out to be a very interesting season.
 
I'm still completely blown away by how much peogress Ferrari has made in the short time between last year's disaster and now.

And it pisses me off that Vettel is the unwitting beneficiary of this new found pace while Alonso is mired in awful McLaren.

Life ain't fair.
 
I think Ferrari is really on fire this year. They have two solid drivers in the seats, and a fast car. Kimi and Vettel will certainly be a headache for Merc this year.

As for McLaren, they went from barely running in the first race to back of the pack but somewhat reliable in the second, and at least in the FP sessions they seem to be mid pack, despite a serious straight-line speed deficit (suggesting the engine is still detuned), so I think they are going to continue to improve. It would be really awesome to see the car improve and watch Button win the championship, but that seems unlikely.
 
So Mercedes spanks Ferrari by 8/10s again...

Nice to see the Williams boys right behind Vettel. I'm predicting a repeat of Australia.
 
Ugh. Someone needs to up their game and present Mercedes with a truly valid challenger soon, or it's going to be another long year of watching Lewis and Nico trade victories.

Ferrari has some scoot for sure, but I don't think their power plant has the grunt. They have a good car, but not enough juice. This was very clear by watching the Saubers getting overtaken again and again by merc powered cars.

Renault has some serios splaining to do at this point. I don't see how it could get much worse for them at point. Pretty sure turning into a 200mph rolling fireball out of nowhere is going to prove to be the final straw.

The threats from Red Bull to exit the sport are starting to take on some real significance. That would be a disaster.

Crashtor Maldonado, do I really need to say any more. FFS, get that asshole off of the grid already. He does not belong in an F1 car. I'm sure the folks in South Carolina would quickly grow to love seeing him in NASCAR.

That ending sucked. Why didn't they red flag it in order to get that car off the track and allow for a competitive finish? That was lame. Fans don't shell out big bucks to see safety car finishes. There was ample time left in the race window to stop the action for a few minutes.

Terrible decision.
 
I don't think we'll be watching Lewis and Nico trade victories unless Lewis has a lot of reliability problems. Nico can't keep up on a level playing field. He's now whining that Hamilton was intentionally driving slowly so Ferrari would catch up to him.

I don't think there were enough laps left for a red flag. They'd still have needed to do 2 or more laps behind the safety car once the race restarted. If it had stayed green though, nothing would have been different. No one was in a position to pass near the front.

Maldonado's probably not going anywhere. He brings a lot of money to the team.
 
I think the only way Ferrari will be able to steal anymore victories is on tracks where the tire degradation is really high. Then they might get away with doing one less pit stop if they set their cars up right (like Malaysia). Other than that Mercedes have so much spare pace on hand it will be very difficult if not impossible to catch them on the track. Hopefully Bahrain turns out to be like Malaysia in terms of tire wear.

One thing to note is that due to a loophole the engine suppliers still have some room for development on the power units, and I think we will see the first of those updates in Spain to start the European races. It is possible that Ferrari could get a bit more out of the engine then. Mercedes might too, but then there is the law if diminishing returns so Ferrari might make some gains. Renault is in the toilet and I don't see anyway for them to catch up to the other two suppliers. I blame the FIA for the way they set up the regulations for this mess.
 
Flatspotter said:
I don't think we'll be watching Lewis and Nico trade victories unless Lewis has a lot of reliability problems. Nico can't keep up on a level playing field. He's now whining that Hamilton was intentionally driving slowly so Ferrari would catch up to him.

I don't think there were enough laps left for a red flag. They'd still have needed to do 2 or more laps behind the safety car once the race restarted. If it had stayed green though, nothing would have been different. No one was in a position to pass near the front.

Maldonado's probably not going anywhere. He brings a lot of money to the team.
Click to expand...

Yeah, as if rosberg does not have enough issues (like he is slower than Hamilton) now he is whining about Hamilton slowing him down.

Wonder if he knows that when you push the pedal to the right all the way down your car goes faster.

Who is willing to bet me that if Roseberg had said that to AJ Foyt, Foyt would have wadded him up into a little ball of goo?

Dude, you lost. Get over it and get faster or step aside for the next guy who will go faster in what is, obviously, the best car in the field.

Are there any F-1 drivers out there that are real men? Where is James Hunt when you need him?
 
I love how whenever Rosberg whines about losing to Hamilton, Niki Lauda pretty much calls him out publicly for being a pussy.
 
Speaking of Lauda....

I am a big fan of racing sims. The more realistic the better. A just popped out 1k on a gaming laptop (replaces the two low-end computers-one laptop and one desktop- my wife FUBAR'd for me, but that is another story....) that I purchased to play two games: ARMA III and Virtual Driver, which comes out in may.

Friday I got tired of replaying F1 2011 on Xbox and bought F1 2013 (Classic Edition) for the PC. This was after I cleaned all of my wife's...hoard off of my computer desk and hooked the MSI rage machine into my LCD monitor, ( The MSI is purely a "Tower" that I can take with me if need be, that is why it is a laptop). Once F1 213 DL'd I jumped on a tried it. The modern cars are...as I expected. The racing is...As I expected. All passable for my enjoyment.

Then I went to the classic machines. They range from Lauda's '76 Ferrari T312 and Alan Jones' FW07 (1980) to two Lotus entries (sadly not the Lotus '78 ) for eighties cars, along with a passel of Ferrari's to some 90's cars, of which are a few Williams and more Ferrari's, (Why include the late 80's early 90's Ferrari's in this game I do not know as they were all dogs but...).

Anyhoo...Tried the FW07 on Imola. Fun car but not set up very well. I went to a 1986 Lotus (Turbo-Renault) and tore it up. Then onto a 1994 Williams and proceeded to turn faster lap after faster lap. Fun stuff!

Tried a challenge in the FW07 but since I could not set it up and I was not familiar with the Brands Hatch track I did not do well. I decided to practice on the track until I knew it, and decided to use the T312. I set it up to my preference and then set about turning laps, going faster each time.

Then the real fun started:

I got to a corner that I braked too late for so I tapped the brake hard and turned left at the same time. The rear of the T312 just stepped out and I got on the accel. That thing shot out of the corner like a rocket! From that point forward I kept going from one classic to the other, on every track I could, to see just what I could do. I had no idea how fun stepping a rear-end out in a corner could be, and how fast of a lap I could turn doing so.

I find the newer cars not as fun now as they seem to be so...sanitized.

Now I understand why Villeneuve (Gilles) and Senna drove the way they did.

I hear the Virtual Driver game has classic F1 cars. I cannot wait.

BTW: I don't think ARMA III is in the cards anymore.
 
Not to hijack the thread, but I've been simracing since about 1996. The only sim I currently run is rFactor 2. Here's my rig:

Cockpit8-141024_zps177e9848.jpg


Triplescreennightpoznan1024_zps1d6d12ce.jpg


Wheelanddisplays1024.jpg


Woodwheel1024_zps0f0de03f.jpg
 
Flatspotter said:
Not to hijack the thread, but I've been simracing since about 1996. The only sim I currently run is rFactor 2. Here's my rig:

Cockpit8-141024_zps177e9848.jpg


Triplescreennightpoznan1024_zps1d6d12ce.jpg


Wheelanddisplays1024.jpg


Woodwheel1024_zps0f0de03f.jpg
Click to expand...
Holy crap!

That is AWESOME! !!

My ADD makes it tough to play video games of any kind without getting very bored, very quickly. It sucks, because I would love to enjoy them.

I have F1 2011 for the Xbox 360 but haven't touched it in years.

However, for the few weeks or months I did play it, I had great fun slaying all challengers as Felipe Massa in the Ferrari. :)
 
I have ADD too, but the good thing about simracing is it forces you to concentrate. I never race modern F1 cars; my reflexes are just too slow. The only F1 cars I drive are from the 60s. Other than that, I drive sports cars.
 
I have the fondest memories of online racing with Grand Prix Legends. Some of the races we had were epic and I would be sweating after a few laps it was so intense. But I've never gotten back into the sim games or as serious as some of the above players
 
Flatspotter said:
Not to hijack the thread, but I've been simracing since about 1996. The only sim I currently run is rFactor 2. Here's my rig:

Cockpit8-141024_zps177e9848.jpg


Triplescreennightpoznan1024_zps1d6d12ce.jpg


Wheelanddisplays1024.jpg
Click to expand...

Uhhh....I just use an xbox controller plugged into my laptop. I like that it is analog instead of digital.

Your rig is my dream rig. It must have cost a few dollars more than mine. I must admit I feel a certain degree of envy.

Nice though...very, very, nice.

I take it you are not married or have a very understanding wife. Mine hates all of my hobbies, including the guitar.
 
Nice rig. I have a Fanatec wheel that I use with my Xbox 360. I've been firing up F1 2013 lately and having a blast with it.
 
Bernie Ecclestone is once again calling for going back to the NA V-8 engines, but having 1000bhp this time and KERS would still be used. He says they will be cheaper than the current hybrid turbo V-6's and it will bring back the spectacle, as he blames the current engine formula for decreasing interest from the fans

This is one thing I agree with him on. I was watching some video I took from the USGP I went to a couple years ago, and that high pitched wail was the signature of F-1, no other racing series had anything like it. I know at least one person who was an avid fan who no longer watches because of the lack of spectacle.
 
Yup.

Not only do the turbo 6s sound like a gorilla farting into a metal trash can, but the switch has obviously caught several builders out and so far unable to compete. The power discrepancy between the power plants is taking all of the "racing" out of the races.

The switch back, can't come soon enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top