F1 2017

[Domvickery]

I think I like the new logo.

I can also see why they've changed it to show that the Bernie era has now fully ended

[speedbird2639]

No free to air in the UK for F1 after next year - so how many are going to swallow their pride and purchase a Sky package in 2019?

[Brevet Cable]

Nope!
I'm sure other sources will still be available, albeit in non-English language format

[borismorris]

Its not just about swallowing pride for some. Cost is a factor too.
For me though, I dont miss being tied to it every other weekend. I watch the races recorded live just as I do with the f2 & gp3.
Formula E kicks off again this weekend though

[Ian G]

Nope! Have hardly watched any races this year and if the current format continues without any radical changes, I probably won't bother next year. I do have access to Sky on my PS4 (courtesy of a distant 'relative') but I can't see myself enthusiastically tuning in as I used to.

And the logo isn't really that bad is it?

[Talldan76]

Nope! Have hardly watched any races this year and if the current format continues without any radical changes, I probably won't bother next year. I do have access to Sky on my PS4 (courtesy of a distant 'relative') but I can't see myself enthusiastically tuning in as I used to.

And the logo isn't really that bad is it?

I can't actually remember the last time I sat down to watch even the start of a race, let alone an entire race - possibly not even since the Schumacher / Damon Hill rivalry era. Modern Formula 1 just doesn't hold enough of an interest for me.

The cars sound awful, and along with the tracks are spoiling the racing. All of this nonsense about trying to implement technology that will be seend in road cars - DRS is never going to be in a road car. The type of hybrid engines they use are never going to be implemented in a standard road car. (although conversely V10's and V12's of yesteryear will never be used either).

It appears to me that the F1 races are now only really about who screws up their tyres / strategy, or makes a mistake, rather than about the drivers actually racing each other - and until such times as the drivers can really show off their skills as a driver, then nothing will make me want to watch a race.

[Brevet Cable]

No big surprise, Sauber are confirmed as being renamed Alfa Romeo for next season ( or to be more precise, Alfa Romeo Sauber ...... cue much mirth at the abbreviation of that name )
Hmmm.....being an Alfa, will they disintegrate in a cloud of rust before the end of the first lap ?
Interestingly, both Ferrari junior drivers - Charles Leclerc & Antonio Giovinazzi - are being rumoured to be the drivers for next season, so where does that leave Marcus Ericsson & Pascal Wehrlein ?

And Mercedes now appear to have joined Ferrari in threatening to quit F1 : http://www.planetf1.com/news/mercedes-echo-ferraris-f1-quit-threat/

[borismorris]

I see Benson is hedging ( ) his bets on the bbc website as to whether Williams take Kubica for 2018.

What are your thoughts on the matter?
Surely Sirotkin would be more of a gamble.
It's Kvyat for me if not Kubica.

[Brevet Cable]

I have to admit to being shocked......a Benson article with mo mention whatsoever of Hamilton !!


I expect them to opt for Kubica, but I'm one of those who feel he won't last the season, particularly as the number of races is scheduled to increase & how many double-headers ( and the tripple-header of France, Austria & GB ) they've got.

Kvyat ? It could be that he's too much 'damaged goods'.....binned by RBR, binned by TR, now dumped altogether, so you have to wonder what his mindset's going to be like.
If they don't opt for Kubica, whoever they go for will leave them with an extremely inexperienced line-up, so you have to wonder if their choice will be more influenced by how much sponsorship money each driver will bring.


And I see ARS have confirmed their drivers.....playing it safe by keeping Ericsson alongside Leclerc, with Giovanazzi as reserve driver.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2017/12/sauber-confirm-leclerc---ericsson--as-alfa-romeo-livery-revealed.html
And if that's definitely the new ARS colour scheme.....meh !

[borismorris]

Erikson has to be on the grid just to liven things up with his mobile chicanery and general desparate move mentality..
you need at least one "maldonado" on the grid

[Brevet Cable]

They've already got Perez ( if 'Force Whatevertheyrecalled' allow their drivers to race ) with the occasional contribution by Hulkenberg, but a few more wouldn't go amiss.

Nice to see RBR - in the form of Horner & Ricciardo - are starting the Mercedes/Hamilton-baiting early ( and what DR said is true )......a good bit of pre-season sledging always livens things up

[Brevet Cable]

Says it all, doesn't it :
http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/133451

The 2017 Formula 1 season represented the worst year for overtaking in the DRS era, as the number of completed passes was almost half that recorded the previous year.

Pirelli released analysis data from the 2017 campaign - the first season for the new generation of wider, faster cars - on Monday that revealed the number of overtakes it registered over the 20-race season was down to 435.
That represented a 49% drop from the 866 passes that were recorded in 2016 when there was one more race.

The 2016 figure was the highest since records began in the early 1980s, while this season's 435 is the lowest since the 211 passes that took place in '09 - which was before DRS was introduced to help overtaking.

This year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku accounted for the most overtaking moves in one race, with 42 in total.
At the other end of the spectrum was the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi in which just one pass was recorded.

Daniel Ricciardo ended the year as F1's top overtaker, pulling off a total of 43 passes during the campaign.
An impressive 13 of these came at the British Grand Prix, when he charged his way through the field after taking a grid penalty for a new gearbox and power unit components.

Ricciardo's team-mate Max Verstappen pulled off 22 moves himself, which meant Red Bull cars completed the most overtakes over the course of the season.

Lance Stroll's strong recovery from poor qualifying efforts was reflected as he was the driver who pulled off the most passes on the first lap of races - with 36 over the course of the season.

[borismorris]

And yet the f2 & gp3 seasons just gone were rarely dull.. no I dont have sky,I find the races online..

The problem with F1 Lies mainly with certain manufacturers wanting the rules to suit them. Time for a major shake up I think..

Did you see LuLu was calling for Nico Prost to be banned..having watched the last lap crash he caused with Nick Heidfeld in the Formula E?

[Brevet Cable]

You mean F-E's supposed to be a non-contact series ?
There I was thinking it was like BTCC & the various other tin-top series, utilising the same rulebook as stock car racing & demolition derby !

[McG]

The big issue is aero does not allow cars to follow each other at high speed within a couple of car lengths, which then makes it harder to overtake. Might be time to go back to a simple front and rear wing.

Says it all, doesn't it :
http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/133451

The 2017 Formula 1 season represented the worst year for overtaking in the DRS era, as the number of completed passes was almost half that recorded the previous year.

Pirelli released analysis data from the 2017 campaign - the first season for the new generation of wider, faster cars - on Monday that revealed the number of overtakes it registered over the 20-race season was down to 435.
That represented a 49% drop from the 866 passes that were recorded in 2016 when there was one more race.

The 2016 figure was the highest since records began in the early 1980s, while this season's 435 is the lowest since the 211 passes that took place in '09 - which was before DRS was introduced to help overtaking.

This year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku accounted for the most overtaking moves in one race, with 42 in total.
At the other end of the spectrum was the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi in which just one pass was recorded.

Daniel Ricciardo ended the year as F1's top overtaker, pulling off a total of 43 passes during the campaign.
An impressive 13 of these came at the British Grand Prix, when he charged his way through the field after taking a grid penalty for a new gearbox and power unit components.

Ricciardo's team-mate Max Verstappen pulled off 22 moves himself, which meant Red Bull cars completed the most overtakes over the course of the season.

Lance Stroll's strong recovery from poor qualifying efforts was reflected as he was the driver who pulled off the most passes on the first lap of races - with 36 over the course of the season.

[Brevet Cable]

Which is something a lot of fans & the occasional person within F1 have been calling for for years

[borismorris]

I dont see what relevance a huge front/rear wing has anyway.. They bang on about the hybrid engines being developed and then the tech passed on into road cars...but the only time you see a great big spoiler on a road car is when Dave in his Nova/Corsa/Imprezza/Evo..

So yeah do away with all the end plates etc

[Wes_Howes]

Make the front wings narrower and simpler, it would also help make the cars look better IMO.

[Brevet Cable]

The '70s had it right in that respect -- single-element front wing, single-element rear wing.
Mechanical as opposed to aerodynamic grip....closer running, more potential for overtaking, more potential for mistakes.

Don't know if they still do it, but one thing F1 could take from Indycar is to ban telemetry readouts in the pits & ban the teams from being able to fiddle with various settings remotely....if they need to change engine/transmission settings, the drivers should have to pit ( same as they have to do for wing settings )
Bin the complex management programs currently in use, where you end up with ridiculous situation where the driver can't get the power/revs they want because the car thinks it's on a different part of the circuit ( Alonso, wasn't it ? )
Bin the 'Nintendo' steering wheels & go back to a simple 3-button 'start, stop, pit-lane speed limit' setup.

Anything that puts the onus back on the driver to actually drive the things !

[Marathon Milkshake]

Do the drivers still drive them? I sometimes think not, with all the techno gubbins I do wonder.

Its nice to see the teams loosing money, perhaps it will give someone a wake up call and get F1 to remove its head from its "a r s e". The Azerbijabidoodah race was the only one worth watching this year, so I guess F1 wont go again, or if they do the auto drive will be switched on.

Oddly enough I do find it more interesting now than when the original turbos came into play in the 80s, but they should really be running out of fuel on the last lap or blowing the things up half way through a race, anything to make it more interesting!!

[Pringles]

Did you see LuLu was calling for Nico Prost to be banned..having watched the last lap crash he caused with Nick Heidfeld in the Formula E?

Yes, the crash that took place what, 3 years/seasons ago?