Formula One - General Chat

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All discussion relating to the wonderful world of Formula One should take place here, with the new rules this time around will Ferrari or Red Bull finally close the gap to Mercedes? It all kicks off on the 26th March in Melbourne!

Confirmed Line-ups:

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton and Valtieri Bottas

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen

Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen

Williams: Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll

Force India: Estaban Ocon and Sergio Perez

McLaren: Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne 

Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz Jr. and Daniil Kyvat

Haas: Roman Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen

Renault: Nico Hulkenburg and Jolyon Palmer

Sauber: Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein

 

[Tommy 2,561]

Ferrari looked good in testing. Very reliable and fast! They weren't far away from Mercedes Super Soft times on Soft tyres. 

 

Toro Rosso have the sexiest car though!

 

 

Meanwhile the McLaren Honda chaos continues... 

[Mazzari 20]

I can see this closing up at the front again. But Force India looks like they'll be dropping back in the pack, sadly.

[Dr. Gonzo 2,535]

I very much want Massa to have a good season.

McClaren-Honda's looking bad. Alonso's said with their lack of power, every corner is flat out... and even said something along the lines of we're ready to win, Honda is not. He's not happy.

[Stan 5,311]

I quite like the Sauber

and

the Red Bull

[Dr. Gonzo 2,535]

5 minutes ago, StanLCFC said:

I quite like the Sauber

and

the Red Bull

I think that Red Bull car looks fucking great. The McClarens look really good - shame about the performance though...

[Tommy 2,561]

The McLaren looks like a Spyker. Would have prefered a white-orange livery like in the 90's. Anyway, it looks like McLaren is 20 kph slower than the rest of the grid. Ouch. 

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Seeing McLaren do so poorly at this early stage is really frustrating, you can see why Jenson Button had enough of it all and took a year out. They've put so much work into re-branding and turning over a new leaf and they're arguably worse than they were last year. 

At the other end of the grid, it's good to see Bottas matching up to Hamilton and the likes of Ferrari well in the mix at the top. I still think that over the course of a full season Mercedes will dominate but the gap should be close enough to have a few thrills along the way. 

[Tommy 2,561]

Keep in mind that Mercedes did all those top times with Super or even Ultra Soft tyres, while Ferrari mostly used soft. 

[Tommy 2,561]

HYPE!

 

Meanwhile at McLaren:

 

[Dr. Gonzo 2,535]

I feel for Alonso, it really is a waste of talent.

Ferrari hype is so real though!

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I'll be shocked if either McLaren finish in Australia.

[Tommy 2,561]

Kimi just ran a 1:18.634 on Super softs. The Ferrari Hype is real! 

 

Meanwhile...

 

 

https://hasmclarenbrokendown.com/

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That website !

[Tommy 2,561]

So, Force India got a new sponsor and changed their livery: 

[Mazzari 20]

More colour is always good, especially with how shocking their test livery was.

[DeadLinesman 1,342]

3 hours ago, Tsubasa said:

So, Force India got a new sponsor and changed their livery: 

Liking it a lot.

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Looks like a giant lolly-pop.

[JOSHBRFC 417]

Loving some of these new colours! That Force India is beautiful 

 

[Djalminha 19]

Quote

Adam Cooper @adamcooperF1
Mar 16, 2017 at 10:07a ET

Williams has finally formally confirmed the arrival of Paddy Lowe as chief technical officer, weeks after his departure from Mercedes was confirmed.

As expected, Lowe not only takes charge of the engineering operation but also joins the board and takes a shareholding, which presumably explains why finalizing the deal was not the work of a moment.

Lowe’s first job in F1 was with Williams. He joined in 1987 and was a key player in the active program before leaving for McLaren in 1993.

 

“I‘ve always had a deep respect for Williams – my first team in Formula One,” said Lowe. “It is a huge honor to return in this leadership position and to have the opportunity to become a shareholder. I am extremely motivated to play my part in bringing success back to the team.

“The vision for the future set out by the Williams Board is powerful and has compelled me to join an organization committed to building on its unique legacy and to reaching the pinnacle of Formula One once again. I’m looking forward to this exciting new phase to my career working with Claire, Mike and Nick and with the rest of this great team – especially Frank himself, who is one of the most committed racers I know!”

Claire Williams added: “Having someone of Paddy’s caliber and engineering competence is not only a morale boost for everyone at Williams, but I know it will also significantly support our efforts to return this team back to the front of the grid.

“Our ambitions at Williams are unwavering, we want to win races and championships, but to do that you need the best talent in the business. In Paddy we believe we have just that as well as a leader who will drive change. This is a game changer for us and once again makes us extremely excited about this team’s future.

 

[Dr. Gonzo 2,535]

McLaren's rumoured to have approached Mercedes about using their engines this season. If true, very very embarrassing for Honda (although producing an engine so lacking in power and reliability, to the point where McLaren don't even know if they can reach the checkered flag is already very embarrassing) - and also makes it harder for other manufacturers who want to get in/return to the sport.

Can't say I would blame McLaren for wanting to go back to Mercedes engines though. Their reunion with Honda has been underwhelming to say the least.

[Djalminha 19]

I have read they are working on a solution together so my bets are that McLaren are forcing Honda to accept foreign engineers in their factory. According to the rules established by FIA one of the three current engine manufacturers must supply the same engine they are using in case any of the teams request it but this doesn't necessarily mean Mercedes or Ferrari are going take part in the business. Of course McLaren would want a Mercedes engine but I highly doubt Mercedes want to supply the best engine in the grid to one of their biggest rivals

[BartraPique1932 438]

On 10.3.2017 at 1:25 PM, Tsubasa said:

Kimi just ran a 1:18.634 on Super softs. The Ferrari Hype is real! 

 

Meanwhile...

 

 

https://hasmclarenbrokendown.com/

It seems like Ferrari was sand bagging, but keep in mind that engineers can change the engine mapping with a mere push on a button from the pit. We don't know who was sand bagging.

[Tommy 2,561]

http://en.f1i.com/news/262473-webber-makes-call-vettel-will-win.html

 

HYPE!

[BartraPique1932 438]

1 hour ago, Tsubasa said:

http://en.f1i.com/news/262473-webber-makes-call-vettel-will-win.html

 

HYPE!

You are such a Vettel fan boy. You are the Happy Blue of this sub forum.

[Tommy 2,561]

When it comes to Seb, I'm more than happy to admit that

[BartraPique1932 438]

Mercedes is way faster than Ferrari. Vettel is way faster than Raikkonen. Hamilton is way faster than Bottas.

Ferrari's chances of winning the qualifying are almost non-existant, but their cars have been better at racing than qualifying in recent years.

I give Ferrari a 5% chance to win the qualifying and a 20% chance to win the race.

Oh yeah: And Honda managed 51 laps without a break down. I feel sorry for Alonso and i hope he will grab some points, even though i don't expect it. 

[The Liquidator 186]

So there's a suprize, Mercedes over half a second faster.

Another waste of time season ahead Haha

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Ferrari have had their car turned down since testing so I'm not reading too much into the half second gap, plus with Hamilton's habit of starting races badly they can attack him into the first corner if they lock up 2nd and 3rd on the grid.

Good to see McLaren do 58 laps but the fact that this is worthy of a discussion shows just how bad they've been.

[BartraPique1932 438]

11 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

Ferrari have had their car turned down since testing so I'm not reading too much into the half second gap, plus with Hamilton's habit of starting races badly they can attack him into the first corner if they lock up 2nd and 3rd on the grid.

Good to see McLaren do 58 laps but the fact that this is worthy of a discussion shows just how bad they've been.

Have they been faster before they had their car turned down(on the same tire)?