Formula1 Talk

[MadManCK]

Massa created enough room for Vettel to pass, but on the other side of the track. Clever way to meet the blue flag requirements, but still drive enough in the way to give Bottas some air. Probably not the most sporty action from Massa, but Vettel is a lot worse than that.
The FIA must have a dedicated Vettel Complaints Department right now.

And it does not change the fact that Bottas won well deserved. Hamilton was no where to be seen. Drove an anonymous race.
Bottas timed his Massa overtake perfectly. Getting the toe and DRS, preventing Vettel to gain any advantage with his DRS.
At the same time Vettel was ruining his tires getting closer in the dirty air of the Mercedes. Bottas has shown he can fend off the best when he has to. I really hope this is a predecessor of what is to come.
And when RBR joins the battle at the front, we have a real World Championship fight at our hands.

Putin has retracted the government support for the Russian GP at Sochi. Might have to do with Bernie leaving the building.

[MadManCK]

I hope Fernando won't get confused with all these left turns



Having the Indy 500 track for yourself. What a treat.

[Beardroid91]

Oh i think he'll be very competitive as he still have all his talent Just a matter of not braking as much

Speaking of braking, bike's rear hydraulic had a massive like leak in it, i just grabbed it out of the garage to ride it so i did not notice the brake fluid on the floor (was a cracked piston in the caliper), so rode of with a brake system which was full of air which made for a fun braking zone on my last bike ride, as the rear brake didn't brake at all, so only front wheel braking, scary stuff but lucky not a near a area where it could get dangerous but i drive alot on hills and decents so i'm glad i court it early as i tend to drive 30-55 kmh so no fun without brakes. But now i'm putting in a new brake caliper and new brakepads, anyway will get fixed soon - and back on topic.

[MadManCK]

Having no brakes when it counts can be dangerous. I once drove down a mountain road and almost down i could press the pedal to the floor. Smoke came from the wheel arches. Brakes were red hot.

Alonso passed his Indy Rookie test.

He went on and did some laps with 222.5 MPH. Only 10 short of what they will do during qualifying. Obviously with limited boost and mildly trimmed car, but still.

So far this whole Indy adventure is a really good thing from McLaren. Zak Brown is a marketing man of course. Knowing they will not shine on the F1 tracks this season, he created a diversion. Good for Fernando, good for Indy and good for McLaren. Clever move.
It will create a lot of goodwill. Indy even allowed live streaming of Alonso's rookie test.

Teaming up with Andretti is also not a bad choice. And Honda can show they can build winning engines.

Alonso did avoid one bird, but killed 2 at once a few laps later. No where to go for the poor birdies.

They have tested all kind of scenarios. Including pace car simulations, fuel saving modes and optimizing entering the pitlane.
Alonso will be well prepared for the Indy 500.

[Beardroid91]

Having no brakes when it counts can be dangerous. I once drove down a mountain road and almost down i could press the pedal to the floor. Smoke came from the wheel arches. Brakes were red hot.

Scary stuff, boiled the brake fluid big time then The scariest for me was on a MTB forest trail decent where the front brake pad worn out completely and it was metal on metal with lots of sparkes so had to bail to the side on that long and fast decent as i would have slammed into a big oak tree at the bottom as the trail turned sharply, it is not fun at all noticing when the brakes are gone.

And well was there ever any doubt that Alonso wouldn't do it well for Indy? The man is super sharp, just a shame we only see him at the rear of the midfield in the F1 races as Alonso could spank Hamilton and Vettel all day long.

[MadManCK]

And well was there ever any doubt that Alonso wouldn't do it well for Indy? The man is super sharp, just a shame we only see him at the rear of the midfield in the F1 races as Alonso could spank Hamilton and Vettel all day long.

Alonso needs to be able to fight for top spots. McLaren dropped the ball big time in F1. Indy 500 is a nice deviation. I hope he performs well. But he is already making statements that the Indycar Championship is "real racing". If he likes it there, he might end his F1 career after this season and continue in the Indycars.

However, driving with 220MPH with 3 car wide is a totally different ballgame than normal circuit racing. Not to mention how drag changes car behavior and grip levels at high speeds. The Andretti Team will prepare him well. But without oval exparience, it will be hard to win the Indy 500. It would be stuff of legends if he does.

[MadManCK]

According to some rumors, RBR will not only have a huge update, but a completely new car. They even call it RB14 internally.

I might have an explanation for it. After Ferrari complained about a possible illegal construction in the nose of the RB13, the FIA declared the developed mechanism not according to the rules. RBR was forced to change the design to a more conventional version. They had developed a way to keep the car's height constant, which will improve aerodynamics, as they keep more constant values. Ferrari claimed to have developed a similar technology and wanted to know from Charlie Whiting if they could use this.

A bit fishy TBH. How did they even know RBR had this technology developed?
With this move, Ferrari punched Red Bull before the season even had started.

With RBR forced to use a more conservative design in the first races, the speed differences on the track can be partially explained. The engine is of course largely responsible for the results as well.
Renault will deliver the engine update later than expected. A bit disappointing, but reliability is key for them now.

The new RB14 is rumored to be 1-1.5 sec faster in simulator tests. That looks very promising.

With other teams bringing updates as well, you never know how far RBR will move up the field with the new car. They will have to adapt all track data as well and learn to setup the new car accordingly.

But if Red Bull manages to close some of the gap to Ferrari, it would make the rest of the season a lot more interesting.

[Beardroid91]

That looks promissing

[MadManCK]

The rumored magical RBR update was not there. They still drive the RB13. So that story was a "Monkey Sandwich" as we call BS stories in NL.

Most teams brought some updates for their cars. Aerodynamic parts mostly.
McLaren still needs to get their act together. This is embarrassing really.

The new rules to show the drivers names better are a good thing.

First free practice results - 2017 Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix

Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:21.521 28
2. V. Bottas Mercedes 01:21.550 30
3. K. Raikkonen Ferrari 01:22.456 24
4. S. Vettel Ferrari 01:22.600 23
5. M. Verstappen Red Bull 01:22.706 22
6. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:23.084 17
7. K. Magnussen Haas 01:23.670 22
8. R. Grosjean Haas 01:23.758 23
9. N. Hulkenberg Renault 01:23.993 24
10. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 01:24.004 21
11. S. Perez Force India 01:24.188 23
12. E. Ocon Force India 01:24.324 22
13. S. Vandoorne McLaren 01:24.400 24
14. F. Massa Williams 01:24.618 34
15. D. Kvyat Toro Rosso 01:24.642 18
16. M. Ericsson Sauber 01:24.966 23
17. P. Wehrlein Sauber 01:25.182 24
18. L. Stroll Williams 01:25.919 34
19. S. Sirotkin Renault 01:26.293 10
20. F. Alonso McLaren no time 1

[MadManCK]

After Fernando Alonso's McLaren could not even complete the installation lap, he rushed to a local tennis court to get rid of some adrenaline.