Formula 1 query

[shanker]

I know next to nothing about this game but I'm delighted that one of our boys is doing so well. Here in Spain they are not too pleased and one of our local papers said today that Button might have to be stopped ''in the offices''.
There was a hint that Ecclestone might have things up his sleeve.
What happens if the championship is done and dusted by the tenth race? The rich Arabs who are putting on the final race won't be too pleased. Nor will many of the sponsors and people who have bought TV rights.
My question is..Can they do anything to stop him?

 

[haplesshacker]

Between Berni and Max, I'm sure they'll find a way to make sure it's not over until the last race.

 

[Herbie]

I know next to nothing about this game but I'm delighted that one of our boys is doing so well. Here in Spain they are not too pleased and one of our local papers said today that Button might have to be stopped ''in the offices''.
There was a hint that Ecclestone might have things up his sleeve.
What happens if the championship is done and dusted by the tenth race? The rich Arabs who are putting on the final race won't be too pleased. Nor will many of the sponsors and people who have bought TV rights.
My question is..Can they do anything to stop him?

Who knows???personally I wouldnt put anything past the people who run F1.

 

[Putting_Green_Pro]

i think if button wins it no-one can take it away from him. and i think that the whole british nation are glory hunters as they were all 'bummin' hamilton and now there is a new british dude hamilton has been pushed to the back

 

[Tommo21]

What happens if the championship is done and dusted by the tenth race?

I'll bet no one would call this if it was a Fararri.

 

[Adrena1in]

...now there is a new british dude hamilton has been pushed to the back

Who??

 

[Gustavo]

I don't understand what's going on in the F1. Is Hamilton car that much worse than it was last year, or is Button's car lots lots better than all the others ?

Did Button have a rubbish car last year, and Hamilton have a good one ?

Is it just a case of luck being with someone else this year ?

 

[EchtLoon]

i think if button wins it no-one can take it away from him. and i think that the whole british nation are glory hunters as they were all 'bummin' hamilton and now there is a new british dude hamilton has been pushed to the back

But they're both British? How can we be glory hunters? It's not a team sport, so like golf we will (usually) cheer one of our own on. Personally I wasn't particularly pulling for Hamilton because of the endless coverage we were getting rammed down our throats last year, something that seems to have been diverted more towards Brawn this year than the drivers. indeed Hamilton is still getting as much air time as Button.

 

[EchtLoon]

I don't understand what's going on in the F1. Is Hamilton car that much worse than it was last year, or is Button's car lots lots better than all the others ?

Both. The Brawn is a much improved car, though not that much ahead of Red Bull and an improving Ferrari, mainly becuase early last season they knew they had a dog, so started developing the 2009 car early. The McLaren is terrible becasue of the opposite problem, chasing the title meant they couldn;t work on a new car, and with the regs changing considerably this season, that put McLaren at a considerable disadvantage.

Did Button have a rubbish car last year, and Hamilton have a good one ?

Yes.

Is it just a case of luck being with someone else this year ?

No. Unfortunatly though, the car has a major part to play.

 

[KeefG]

Is Hamilton car that much worse than it was last year?

In a word.....yes!

In a straight line it is the fastest car on the circuit but it doesnt have enough downforce to be able to carry speed into corners, hence it has very slow lap times when compared to the Brawns & Red Bulls etc.

Echtloon sums it up well in the fact that McLaren had to pour most of their resources into ensuring last years car stayed ahead of the Ferrari's to win the title for Lewis, in comparison Honda started designing & testing Button/Barrichelo's 2009 car back in 2007.

For the record, I am a huge Lewis fan, I think his aggresive driving style is a breath of fresh air but i'd have liked to have seen him race against a young Schumacer, both in their prime with top cars.

McLaren will come good, but this season is a complete washout and the sooner they realise this and concentrate on next years car the better!

 

[Imurg]

Seems to me that there's not that much to choose between drivers these days. For the most part they all seem capable.
it all seems to depend on who's got the best car. Last year Button couldn't buy a podium but hamilton finished in the top three for fun. This year its the other way round.

Is there a case for all teams running the same car and then we'll find the best driver?

 

[KeefG]

Its called A1 GP lol

There was suggestions a while back that the FIA (or Max Moseley) wants all teams to run with a standardised engine, I believe these plans have been shot to pieces mainly because Ferrari in particular said they'd never run using someone else's engine & drivetrain.

I can see what you're saying though, I still firmly believe that if Lewis had a car with as much grip into corners than the Brawn's he'd leave them for dead.

It is clear that Lewis is an outstanding driver, look at the lap times he sets in his car against Heikki, same car yet nearly 3/4 of a second a lap slower in practice at each grand prix this season.

Lewis is wringing every last ounce of performance out of a car that his team mate cant seem to find.....what does that tell you?

 

[Gustavo]

Isn't that what they do in that A1 thing they started a few years ago ?

 

[haplesshacker]

Using the same engines to find the best driver.

Aren't Maclaren and Brawn both using the same Merc engine? In which case it throws the whole 'use the same engine' argument out of the window doesn't it?

 

[KeefG]

Using the same engines to find the best driver.

Aren't Maclaren and Brawn both using the same Merc engine? In which case it throws the whole 'use the same engine' argument out of the window doesn't it?

Its not just the engine though is it, There are a number of teams that use the same engines:

Ferrari & Torro Rosso
Renault & Red Bull
McLaren, Brawn & Force India
Toyota & Williams

The fact that these cars share an engine is hardly worth mentioning as, aside from McLaren & Force India (Force India have an agreement in place with McLaren & not Mercedes) all of the rest of the cars do not share anything else in common.

A1 GP cars are all running pretty much everything identical and are limited as to what they can & cant do to their cars whereas F1 cars are, to an extent, un-restricted in how they shape their cars aerodynamically.

 

[haplesshacker]

Using the same engines to find the best driver.

Aren't Maclaren and Brawn both using the same Merc engine? In which case it throws the whole 'use the same engine' argument out of the window doesn't it?

Its not just the engine though is it, There are a number of teams that use the same engines:

Ferrari & Torro Rosso
Renault & Red Bull
McLaren, Brawn & Force India
Toyota & Williams

The fact that these cars share an engine is hardly worth mentioning as, aside from McLaren & Force India (Force India have an agreement in place with McLaren & not Mercedes) all of the rest of the cars do not share anything else in common.

A1 GP cars are all running pretty much everything identical and are limited as to what they can & cant do to their cars whereas F1 cars are, to an extent, un-restricted in how they shape their cars aerodynamically.

Agree. The engines are a small part of the overall package. But I was referring to an earlier post that suggested it would be fairer if everyone used the same engines.

As to A1. Great concept that it is. But can I watch it, no. Not without Sky I suspect. Can you tell me who won last year, the year before, or who's winning this year? Are we talking about it as much as F1, no.

F1 is the pinnacle of track motorsport. Do we want rallying to become 'one design' as well?

F1 is what it is. Rightly or wrongly. But it has us talking about it.

 

[KeefG]

I dont think i've ever watched an A1 race to be honest, and I have no inclination to do so! lol

The FIA, however, seem determined to drive down the cost of competing, and whilst this is admirable in the current financial climate I think some of their proposals are ridiculous.

The budget cap for example, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota & McLaren (in principle partnership with Merc) spend millions & millions developing their engines, then under current FIA rules they are pretty much forced to supply these engines to whomever should come knocking at the door asking for them and all for a fraction of the price.

The budget cap for the non-manufacturer teams will be a piece of cake to adhere to, but to me it seems that the teams that do all the developing are being penalised!!

As you mention, F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and as such, the FOTA (Formula 1 Teams Assoc) and the FIA need to get their heads together and work a sensible way through this current difficult time.

I just dont agree with all the limiting that they are putting on the cars right now, F1 cars are meant to go as fast as possible, so why are the FIA constantly trying, and succeeding, to slow them down?

 

[haplesshacker]

Why are they trying to slow them down?

To try and make F1 interesting, ie. overtaking.

The changes this year are (despite some 'green' credentials), are designed not to slow the cars down, but to improve on mechanical grip and not aerodynamic grip.

I'm sure you know why this helps in trying to improve overtaking, so I won't labour the point.

Some teams just have better packages that make the most out of this years changes. Some guys are just better at understanding and interpreting the rules than others. Just as some people are better at golf than others.

I don't think we're disagreeing, but agreeing. But then we do seem to be arguing the same case from different angles recently!!

 

[KeefG]

lol....it would appear that way!!

I agree they are trying to slow them to enable them to overtake, and although the cars can now travel in closer proximity due to these changes I havent seen anything in the opening 5 races to suggest that any of the changes have made a blind bit of difference....apart from to slow the cars down! lol

Although Spain is notable for being a 'tough to overtake on' circuit, have you ever seen such a procession (apart from Valencia last year) before? Yes the cars can travel closer, but they are now being limited so much on engine power (via the rev limiter) and aerodynamics that the cars are becoming too slow to do much over taking.

 

[haplesshacker]

Yet BTCC cars are slower and there's plenty of overtaking there!

It's not speed that makes F1 interesting to TV viewers, after-all we can't tell how fast they're going. So it has to be the overtaking and probably the crashes, which speed obviously plays a part.