September 21, 2013
F1 Quals: Singapore 2013
If the teams were smart, they'd all just start working on 2014's new spec of cars and concede the various championships to Red Bull now. I say this because of the results of today's Quals session for the 2013 Grand Prix of Singapore... let's take a look, shall we?
"So Vettel's on pole again," I hear you saying, "so what? What makes this time so much different?" I'm glad you asked! First, look at his time in Q2... he was, quite literally, nearly a full second faster than anybody else. "Yeah, but that's Q2... in Q3 he was only a tenth faster," you exclaim. Indeed, this is true... but Vettel set his time at the beginning of the final session, then parked his car and let everybody else shoot at him.
Think about that for a second. He was confident enough in the time he set that he never bothered to try and improve it... and nobody could catch him. Oh, and it should go without saying that his super-soft tires will be at least a few laps fresher than those of everybody else during the first stint of the race.
There are 61 laps scheduled for Sunday's race. While I don't think we'll see Vettel win by one second per lap, if he wanted to at this track, he probably could. I suspect it's going to be a loooooong race.
Unless it rains, like it's predicted to do... of course, it's ALWAYS been predicted to rain during the Singapore Grand Prix, and I don't think it ever has.
"So Vettel's on pole again," I hear you saying, "so what? What makes this time so much different?" I'm glad you asked! First, look at his time in Q2... he was, quite literally, nearly a full second faster than anybody else. "Yeah, but that's Q2... in Q3 he was only a tenth faster," you exclaim. Indeed, this is true... but Vettel set his time at the beginning of the final session, then parked his car and let everybody else shoot at him.
Think about that for a second. He was confident enough in the time he set that he never bothered to try and improve it... and nobody could catch him. Oh, and it should go without saying that his super-soft tires will be at least a few laps fresher than those of everybody else during the first stint of the race.
There are 61 laps scheduled for Sunday's race. While I don't think we'll see Vettel win by one second per lap, if he wanted to at this track, he probably could. I suspect it's going to be a loooooong race.
Unless it rains, like it's predicted to do... of course, it's ALWAYS been predicted to rain during the Singapore Grand Prix, and I don't think it ever has.
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September 17, 2013
F1 On NBCSN: Singapore 2013
Once upon a time, not that long ago, Singapore was an eagerly awaited destination for the F1 Circus. Imagine, the first ever Formula 1 race at night, under a multi-gazillion-watt lighting system that would make the cars look frickin' sweet! And they'd race over bridges, and under the seating area, and past the historic Raffles Hotel, and the course layout looked great, and all that jazz. Except, as we've learned, looks can be deceiving. It's not that great a track, the night racing is a gimmick (but it does look nice), you can't tell when they're on the bridges, yadda yadda yadda. There has been a change this year though... let's take a look at the track map for the 2013 Grand Prix of Singapore!
It was notorious as "the worst corner in Formula 1." Turn 10, aka "The Singapore Sling," used to be a quick left-right-left mini-chicane with high curbs that would launch unsuspecting cars into low-earth-orbit if you got too much of them. Nobody liked it, except for those amongst us who also enjoy watching NASCAR for "the Big One." Please note, this does include your humble scribe to a certain extent, and seeing a multi-million dollar F1 car catch air like a F-18 Super Hornet launched off the deck of an aircraft carrier was one of my guilty pleasures.
Well, no more. The FIA did away with The Launching Pad, and instead put a fast left-hand sweeper in it's place. Borrrrrrrrrinnnnnng. Safe, but boring. I exaggerate, but only for effect. Still, at least the turn had some cachet to it. Negative cachet, sure, but it was there.
So this is where we're treated to this weekend. I'd like to say that NBCSN is going to be all over it, but I can't seem to find any coverage of Quals until Midnight Sunday morning, so maybe not. Here's what I DO know:
FRIDAY:
Practice 2: 830a - 10a live
SUNDAY:
Grand Prix of Singapore: 630a - 9a live
We should be F1U!'g all over the place, so keep an eye out and we'll see ya then!
It was notorious as "the worst corner in Formula 1." Turn 10, aka "The Singapore Sling," used to be a quick left-right-left mini-chicane with high curbs that would launch unsuspecting cars into low-earth-orbit if you got too much of them. Nobody liked it, except for those amongst us who also enjoy watching NASCAR for "the Big One." Please note, this does include your humble scribe to a certain extent, and seeing a multi-million dollar F1 car catch air like a F-18 Super Hornet launched off the deck of an aircraft carrier was one of my guilty pleasures.
Well, no more. The FIA did away with The Launching Pad, and instead put a fast left-hand sweeper in it's place. Borrrrrrrrrinnnnnng. Safe, but boring. I exaggerate, but only for effect. Still, at least the turn had some cachet to it. Negative cachet, sure, but it was there.
So this is where we're treated to this weekend. I'd like to say that NBCSN is going to be all over it, but I can't seem to find any coverage of Quals until Midnight Sunday morning, so maybe not. Here's what I DO know:
FRIDAY:
Practice 2: 830a - 10a live
SUNDAY:
Grand Prix of Singapore: 630a - 9a live
We should be F1U!'g all over the place, so keep an eye out and we'll see ya then!
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September 11, 2013
Silly Season Goes Nuclear
The annual Formula 1 Driver Relocation Program, better known as "the silly season", had a very early start this year when Mark Webber announced his retirement from the sport. This led to rumors that Kimi Raikkonen would be leaving Lotus and moving to Red Bull... rumors that proved to be incorrect when the team announced that Daniel Ricciardo would become Hannibal Vettel's plaything teammate next year.
But things got really interesting a couple of days ago when Felipe Massa received the long-discussed axe from Ferrari. To be fair, the team has stuck by him through quite a few down years, years where a points-scoring teammate to HWMNBN might well have won the team a lot more in the Constructor's Championship. As it is, the only driver that's started more races for Ferrari in their history was Slappy Schumacher. No idea where Massa is going to end up, but he's already said that he won't be a pay driver and that he intends to be in F1 in 2014.
So now the question became, who would team with HWMNBN at Ferrari? Clearly, the driver would have to be one of two things: totally subservient and willing to be an obvious #2 driver ("Fernando is faster than you..."), or someone able to stand toe-to-toe with the Spaniard in driving ability.
Unlike Red Bull, Ferrari dealt with the matter quickly... and went the toe-to-toe route, announcing that Kimi Raikkonen would be leaving Lotus and rejoining the Red team in 2014, five years after his last stint with them. He's also the Scuderia's most recent Driver's Champion, oddly enough. It's obviously a great addition to the team, but one wonders just how HWMNBN will react. He was on record as wanting Massa to be resigned, and the last time he was teamed with a driver as skilled as himself, he went on to earn the nickname "HWMNBN" by throwing temper tantrums and leaking information to the FIA, leading to McLaren being slapped with a $100million fine.
One suspects that Ferrari won't let him play that game... and that their chances for a Constructor's Championship just went up exponentially.
But things got really interesting a couple of days ago when Felipe Massa received the long-discussed axe from Ferrari. To be fair, the team has stuck by him through quite a few down years, years where a points-scoring teammate to HWMNBN might well have won the team a lot more in the Constructor's Championship. As it is, the only driver that's started more races for Ferrari in their history was Slappy Schumacher. No idea where Massa is going to end up, but he's already said that he won't be a pay driver and that he intends to be in F1 in 2014.
So now the question became, who would team with HWMNBN at Ferrari? Clearly, the driver would have to be one of two things: totally subservient and willing to be an obvious #2 driver ("Fernando is faster than you..."), or someone able to stand toe-to-toe with the Spaniard in driving ability.
Unlike Red Bull, Ferrari dealt with the matter quickly... and went the toe-to-toe route, announcing that Kimi Raikkonen would be leaving Lotus and rejoining the Red team in 2014, five years after his last stint with them. He's also the Scuderia's most recent Driver's Champion, oddly enough. It's obviously a great addition to the team, but one wonders just how HWMNBN will react. He was on record as wanting Massa to be resigned, and the last time he was teamed with a driver as skilled as himself, he went on to earn the nickname "HWMNBN" by throwing temper tantrums and leaking information to the FIA, leading to McLaren being slapped with a $100million fine.
One suspects that Ferrari won't let him play that game... and that their chances for a Constructor's Championship just went up exponentially.
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September 07, 2013
So, About That F1 Quals: Italy 2013 Post...
I've decided that Labor Day weekend is great when you're, y'know, labor. When you're management it just means you have four days to do what you normally do in five. Throw in some other things and I pulled another "week" of 13-hour days. I also went in on Labor Day for a couple of hours, not to mention today!
And that's where the F1 Quals post went: in to work. I've not watched Quals for Monza yet, but from what I've read, the grid looks like this:
Hamilton had two hot runs in Q2, from reports. The first ended when he slid off-track in Parabolica, and on the second he was impeded by Force India's Adrian F'n Sutil, who received a three-spot grid penalty and will start 17th. Cold comfort for the Mercedes man, though it's not like they like each other.
Speaking of Force India, I'm going to use them to illustrate the amount of downforce cars run at Monza. In this picture, please look at the rear wing.
As you can see, it's very shallow. This, of course, makes sense, as a shallow wing provides less downforce and thus less drag. Downforce is great when you're trying to turn: it pushes you onto the pavement, giving you more grip. But this is MONZA, where drag is the last thing you could possibly want, so you crank off as much wing as possible... resulting in the paper-thin beast you see here. When DRS is activated, it becomes even thinner. Having said that, Force India might have more wing than anybody this year: they were the slowest cars through the speed trap, some 7mph behind the fastest. By comparison, let's look at Force India's wing at Hungary:
Yeah, 'nuff said.
But why would FI be running wing at Monza? Because it's supposed to rain. Forecasts are calling for thunderstorms in the morning, and then again somewhere around race time. Interesting fact: it almost never rains at Monza. In fact, the last time it did was 2008, when some young kid won his first race. Before that? 1985.
See you tomorrow!
And that's where the F1 Quals post went: in to work. I've not watched Quals for Monza yet, but from what I've read, the grid looks like this:
Hamilton had two hot runs in Q2, from reports. The first ended when he slid off-track in Parabolica, and on the second he was impeded by Force India's Adrian F'n Sutil, who received a three-spot grid penalty and will start 17th. Cold comfort for the Mercedes man, though it's not like they like each other.
Speaking of Force India, I'm going to use them to illustrate the amount of downforce cars run at Monza. In this picture, please look at the rear wing.
As you can see, it's very shallow. This, of course, makes sense, as a shallow wing provides less downforce and thus less drag. Downforce is great when you're trying to turn: it pushes you onto the pavement, giving you more grip. But this is MONZA, where drag is the last thing you could possibly want, so you crank off as much wing as possible... resulting in the paper-thin beast you see here. When DRS is activated, it becomes even thinner. Having said that, Force India might have more wing than anybody this year: they were the slowest cars through the speed trap, some 7mph behind the fastest. By comparison, let's look at Force India's wing at Hungary:
Yeah, 'nuff said.
But why would FI be running wing at Monza? Because it's supposed to rain. Forecasts are calling for thunderstorms in the morning, and then again somewhere around race time. Interesting fact: it almost never rains at Monza. In fact, the last time it did was 2008, when some young kid won his first race. Before that? 1985.
See you tomorrow!
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September 02, 2013
F1 On NBCSN: Italy 2013
Every Formula 1 track on the calendar is different from every other. That's something we don't see much of here in the US, to be honest. Oh, to be sure, the ovals that NASCAR races on have differences (only a EuroSnob would think that Pocono, Michigan, Indianapolis, Bristol and Daytona are the same), but having said that, there is something to the "go fast, turn left" cliche. Well, this week the F1 Circus comes to a legendary circuit that most NASCAR fans would identify with, for this week, we come to Monza.
Back in the day before the Chicane Blight hit F1, Monza was about nothing but speed. Speed, speed, speed. Handling barely mattered: with only five turns, why waste time thinking about anything but going fast? Now, though, cars actually need a small amount of grip to make it through the evil Variante del Rettifilo at the end of the front straight, or the three-way Variante Ascari halfway through the back. But having said all that, Monza is still about speed, in a way no other circuit on the calendar is. La Pista Magica is the closest F1 comes to the grunting, knuckle-dragging image of a NASCAR track mindless EuroSnobs have, and they don't realize it. However, it is the Italian fans that turn Monza into The Magic Track, particularly when the Red Cars are running well. The way the tifosi mob the circuit after the race is over is truly an experience unlike any other in F1. Why, it's almost... NASCAR-ish.
Of course, F1 can only DREAM of attendance like this...
Well, dream or not, our Legendary Announce Team will be bringing us all the usual coverage from Italy. Here's the lineup:
FRIDAY:
7a - 830a Practice 2 live
SATURDAY:
7a - 830a Quals live
SUNDAY:
630a - 9a 2013 Grand Prix of Italy live
I've just discovered that I can watch my television, reflected in the frontplate of my new computer. It's almost good enough to liveblog from it!
Almost.
See you this weekend!
Back in the day before the Chicane Blight hit F1, Monza was about nothing but speed. Speed, speed, speed. Handling barely mattered: with only five turns, why waste time thinking about anything but going fast? Now, though, cars actually need a small amount of grip to make it through the evil Variante del Rettifilo at the end of the front straight, or the three-way Variante Ascari halfway through the back. But having said all that, Monza is still about speed, in a way no other circuit on the calendar is. La Pista Magica is the closest F1 comes to the grunting, knuckle-dragging image of a NASCAR track mindless EuroSnobs have, and they don't realize it. However, it is the Italian fans that turn Monza into The Magic Track, particularly when the Red Cars are running well. The way the tifosi mob the circuit after the race is over is truly an experience unlike any other in F1. Why, it's almost... NASCAR-ish.
Of course, F1 can only DREAM of attendance like this...
Well, dream or not, our Legendary Announce Team will be bringing us all the usual coverage from Italy. Here's the lineup:
FRIDAY:
7a - 830a Practice 2 live
SATURDAY:
7a - 830a Quals live
SUNDAY:
630a - 9a 2013 Grand Prix of Italy live
I've just discovered that I can watch my television, reflected in the frontplate of my new computer. It's almost good enough to liveblog from it!
Almost.
See you this weekend!
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August 29, 2013
Newest McLaren Tooned! 50
I wasn't wanting to post this right now, but repeated attempts to link it in comments has kinda forced my hand... wing... whatever.
Enjoy, won't you?
Enjoy, won't you?
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August 24, 2013
F1 Quals: Belgium 2013
The result is the same, but the gettin' there made it fun! Here's the provisional grid for the 2013 Grand Prix of Belgium:
Just as Q3 began, with nine cars on dry tires lined up at the Pit out light, it began to rain. The nine cars immediately leaped onto the track and tried to get around and complete a hot lap before the track became too wet for dry tires. They didn't succeed. It took them until roughly halfway around the four-mile-long circuit to realize it, but there was no way a flying lap on slicks was going to work. Quickly, the situation became one of pure survival as nine cars slipped, slid, fishtailed and twitched their way back to the pitlane.
Then there was Force India's Paul di Resta... the 10th car in Q3. He and FI waited for everybody else to start rolling out of the pitlane before they came out... on Inters. It was a gamble to be sure. If the track had stayed dry-ish, everybody else would set flying laps in much better conditions than he'd ever see. But if the rain kept coming, he'd be on Inters at the best possible time: that golden period where Inters were superior to slicks, but before the rain tires started to slow down a touch.
And that's exactly what happened. For nine minutes and 55 seconds of the 10 minute session, Paul di Resta sat on provisional pole. But the rain had stopped a couple of minutes earlier, and Nico Rosberg had managed somehow to pip di Resta just as time expired for the session. Disappointing, but it would still be a front-row start for Force India, nothing to sneeze at for a midpack team.
Except both Red Bulls and Shiv Hamilton had begun hot laps just before time ran out on Q3... and the track was drier still for them. Webber was in front of Vettel who was, in turn, in front of Hamilton on track. First Webber beat Rosberg's time for pole, then Vettel beat Webber's time... and then Hamilton took pole from Vettel. Suddenly, the great gamble taken by Force India and Paul di Resta, which looked like such a winner, was gone in an instant. But for a brief shining moment, Force India controlled the Formula 1 world.
A big cheer to Marussia, who for the first time ever got both of their cars into Q2! It was also the first time since 2010, when they were Virgin Racing, that one of their cars had made it out of the first round.
There's more rain predicted for Sunday's race, which means that anything could happen. If you're gonna watch one race this year, make it this one. It should be awesome... see ya then!
Just as Q3 began, with nine cars on dry tires lined up at the Pit out light, it began to rain. The nine cars immediately leaped onto the track and tried to get around and complete a hot lap before the track became too wet for dry tires. They didn't succeed. It took them until roughly halfway around the four-mile-long circuit to realize it, but there was no way a flying lap on slicks was going to work. Quickly, the situation became one of pure survival as nine cars slipped, slid, fishtailed and twitched their way back to the pitlane.
Then there was Force India's Paul di Resta... the 10th car in Q3. He and FI waited for everybody else to start rolling out of the pitlane before they came out... on Inters. It was a gamble to be sure. If the track had stayed dry-ish, everybody else would set flying laps in much better conditions than he'd ever see. But if the rain kept coming, he'd be on Inters at the best possible time: that golden period where Inters were superior to slicks, but before the rain tires started to slow down a touch.
And that's exactly what happened. For nine minutes and 55 seconds of the 10 minute session, Paul di Resta sat on provisional pole. But the rain had stopped a couple of minutes earlier, and Nico Rosberg had managed somehow to pip di Resta just as time expired for the session. Disappointing, but it would still be a front-row start for Force India, nothing to sneeze at for a midpack team.
Except both Red Bulls and Shiv Hamilton had begun hot laps just before time ran out on Q3... and the track was drier still for them. Webber was in front of Vettel who was, in turn, in front of Hamilton on track. First Webber beat Rosberg's time for pole, then Vettel beat Webber's time... and then Hamilton took pole from Vettel. Suddenly, the great gamble taken by Force India and Paul di Resta, which looked like such a winner, was gone in an instant. But for a brief shining moment, Force India controlled the Formula 1 world.
A big cheer to Marussia, who for the first time ever got both of their cars into Q2! It was also the first time since 2010, when they were Virgin Racing, that one of their cars had made it out of the first round.
There's more rain predicted for Sunday's race, which means that anything could happen. If you're gonna watch one race this year, make it this one. It should be awesome... see ya then!
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August 20, 2013
F1 On NBCSN: Belgium 2013
In the Walloon Region of Belgium, tucked away in a valley in the corner of the Ardennes Forest, there is a small village that has lent its name to a form of beauty salon, personal care resorts, or places devoted to overall well-being through a variety of professional
services that encourage the renewal of mind, body and spirit. That little town is also known for a very, very big racetrack. Of course, I speak of Spa, home of the Grand Prix of Belgium, which also encourages renewal of the mind, body and spirit through the heavy use of high RPMs and carbon fiber. Let's take a look at this most favorite of circuits, shall we?
Yup, still the same old Spa of the past years. I could gush over the wonder that is Eau Rouge, the daring that is Blanchimont, the glory of La Source, and in my older "F1 on SPEED!" posts, I have. Instead of regurgitating all the same things, I'm going to pause for a moment and pay tribute to the people that taught me how to be a fan of F1, then motorsports in general.
SPEED was where my adult fandom of Formula 1 began, back these... eight or nine years ago. They showed me the nuance and detail involved in a way that only baseball before it has hooked me. From F1, it was a small step to the two 24 Hours races they programmed, at Daytona and LeMans. From there, I learned about the brilliant V8Supercars series with the magnificent Mt Panorama circuit. Then onto the world of high-end car auctions, lesser Formula races, and even the NASCAR Truck Racing series, all of these were introduced to me via the Charlotte, NC-based channel. And while they never turned me into a fan of NASCAR, they sure gave it a good try.
SPEED is gone now, turned into something called "Fox Sports 1", but for me, they'll always be a part of my motorsports fandom. Thanks, guys. You'll be missed.
But now, F1 is on NBCSN, so here's the broadcast schedule for Belgium:
FRIDAY:
P2: 7a - 830a
SATURDAY:
Quals: 1130a - 1p
SUNDAY:
Grand Prix of Belgium: 630a - 9a
You'll note that Quals is out of normal time; that's because NBCSN believes that something called "Premiere League Football" is more important. I had no idea Adobe was sponsoring football teams!
At this point, I'd normally say something along the lines of "F1Update! will be all over all the coverage like a cheap suit on rice," or something like that. Not this time. There'll only be something for P2 if groundbreaking news occurs, like injuries to drivers or something like that. Hopefully, there won't be. Quals and the race should get normal coverage, though. See ya then!!!
Yup, still the same old Spa of the past years. I could gush over the wonder that is Eau Rouge, the daring that is Blanchimont, the glory of La Source, and in my older "F1 on SPEED!" posts, I have. Instead of regurgitating all the same things, I'm going to pause for a moment and pay tribute to the people that taught me how to be a fan of F1, then motorsports in general.
SPEED was where my adult fandom of Formula 1 began, back these... eight or nine years ago. They showed me the nuance and detail involved in a way that only baseball before it has hooked me. From F1, it was a small step to the two 24 Hours races they programmed, at Daytona and LeMans. From there, I learned about the brilliant V8Supercars series with the magnificent Mt Panorama circuit. Then onto the world of high-end car auctions, lesser Formula races, and even the NASCAR Truck Racing series, all of these were introduced to me via the Charlotte, NC-based channel. And while they never turned me into a fan of NASCAR, they sure gave it a good try.
SPEED is gone now, turned into something called "Fox Sports 1", but for me, they'll always be a part of my motorsports fandom. Thanks, guys. You'll be missed.
But now, F1 is on NBCSN, so here's the broadcast schedule for Belgium:
FRIDAY:
P2: 7a - 830a
SATURDAY:
Quals: 1130a - 1p
SUNDAY:
Grand Prix of Belgium: 630a - 9a
You'll note that Quals is out of normal time; that's because NBCSN believes that something called "Premiere League Football" is more important. I had no idea Adobe was sponsoring football teams!
At this point, I'd normally say something along the lines of "F1Update! will be all over all the coverage like a cheap suit on rice," or something like that. Not this time. There'll only be something for P2 if groundbreaking news occurs, like injuries to drivers or something like that. Hopefully, there won't be. Quals and the race should get normal coverage, though. See ya then!!!
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August 03, 2013
P34 @ Monaco
I hope to have the third installment of Eva 1.11 tonight, but while you're waiting, here's this:
A lap of Monaco in the legendary Tyrrell P34 with most of the bodywork taken off. Helluva thing, those four front wheels. And here's what it looks like with the bodywork ON:
A lap of Monaco in the legendary Tyrrell P34 with most of the bodywork taken off. Helluva thing, those four front wheels. And here's what it looks like with the bodywork ON:
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July 27, 2013
F1 Quals: Hungary
Look, I haven't watched Quals yet, I don't know if I'm going to get a chance to due to this computer kerfluffle. There WILL be a F1Update! tomorrow, and here's the provisional grid for the race, but either this computer is going to work or I'm buying a new one very soon.
Here's the grid:
I gather that Shiv took pole at the very last moment from Hannibal, and that Mark Webber had serious car trouble all day, which is why he didn't set a time in Q3.
Right, everybody back on your heads!
Here's the grid:
I gather that Shiv took pole at the very last moment from Hannibal, and that Mark Webber had serious car trouble all day, which is why he didn't set a time in Q3.
Right, everybody back on your heads!
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July 22, 2013
F1 On NBCSN: Hungary 2013
It's been three long weeks since the Grand Prix of Germany, and after this weekend, we'll have a full four weeks off for the annual F1 summer break. So what single race do they give us to make us hungry for more? What historic track do we get to make us long for the days of races on consecutive weekends? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... the HUNGARORING!
A slow, high downforce circuit, it's called "Monaco without the glamour." Which is a total lie, if you think that dusty and hot are glamourous. For whatever reason, though, the Hungaroring is Hungary's #3 tourist attraction, behind the Danube and Lake Balaton, but ahead of Budapest.
Which says something about Hungary, I think. For heaven's sake, this is one of the few tracks that doesn't rubber in as the weekend goes on... the dust comes on too quickly for that! They seriously need to talk to the folks at Bahrain about using their "sand binder" thingy to keep the dust down.
Okay, let's be honest here. I hate this place with a passion. The only time this place coughs up a good race is when it rains, and then Jenson Button wins. This is the place where Felipe Massa took a spring upside the helmet, and lost his mojo (and nearly his life) in the process. This is the place where, many years ago, the Legendary Announce Team had their heads superimposed over those of people going down a waterslide that's just beyond the track... and that was the highlight of the race.
Well, it's only one weekend a year. Surely I can muster up the enthusiasm for this one outstanding Formula 1 race?
The good news is that it's back to normal for the TV broadcasts.
FRIDAY
Practice: 7a - 830a live
SATURDAY
Quals: 7a - 830a live
SUNDAY
2013 Grand Prix of Hungary: 630a - 9a live
All broadcasts are on NBCSN. We'll be watching... will you? See ya then!
A slow, high downforce circuit, it's called "Monaco without the glamour." Which is a total lie, if you think that dusty and hot are glamourous. For whatever reason, though, the Hungaroring is Hungary's #3 tourist attraction, behind the Danube and Lake Balaton, but ahead of Budapest.
Which says something about Hungary, I think. For heaven's sake, this is one of the few tracks that doesn't rubber in as the weekend goes on... the dust comes on too quickly for that! They seriously need to talk to the folks at Bahrain about using their "sand binder" thingy to keep the dust down.
Okay, let's be honest here. I hate this place with a passion. The only time this place coughs up a good race is when it rains, and then Jenson Button wins. This is the place where Felipe Massa took a spring upside the helmet, and lost his mojo (and nearly his life) in the process. This is the place where, many years ago, the Legendary Announce Team had their heads superimposed over those of people going down a waterslide that's just beyond the track... and that was the highlight of the race.
Well, it's only one weekend a year. Surely I can muster up the enthusiasm for this one outstanding Formula 1 race?
The good news is that it's back to normal for the TV broadcasts.FRIDAY
Practice: 7a - 830a live
SATURDAY
Quals: 7a - 830a live
SUNDAY
2013 Grand Prix of Hungary: 630a - 9a live
All broadcasts are on NBCSN. We'll be watching... will you? See ya then!
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July 07, 2013
I Just Lost A Nearly Completed F1U!
I am very annoyed with FireFox right now.
I am very annoyed with FireFox right now.
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July 06, 2013
F1 Quals: Germany 2013
As with Friday Practice here at the Nurb Jr, once again there were no issues with tires pretending to be bombs, for which we are eternally grateful. There was, unfortunately, another issue with a Williams KERS unit pretending to be a campfire. About two hours before Practice 3, the KERS unit for Maldonado's car burst into flames in the Williams garage area. With the help of Force India mechanics, who were practicing pit stops at the time, the fire was extinguished with minimal damage. One would think that the Williams drivers will be somewhat skittish about pressing the "go fast" button tomorrow in the race, that's for sure. Speaking of which, let's take a look at the provisional grid for the 2013 Grand Prix of Germany:
Shiv Hamilton was the last guy on track and shot down Hannibal Vettel's pole-sitting time with a blisteringly hot lap, depriving the German the pole for his home race... again. Meanwhile, Hamilton's teammate Nico Rosberg was bounced out of Qualifying in Q2 in what was just a simple case of overconfidence. See, Rosberg had set a perfectly reasonable time on his first run in the session, the team brought him in for a new set of tires, pulled him into the garage, as is normal, to perform little adjustments, get the fuel level exactly where they wanted it... and there he sat, in the car, waiting to go out for his second run. And he sat. And sat. Then, once it was too late for him to do an out lap and get around to the start/finish line to begin a hot lap, times began tumbling. He fell from, if memory serves, 2nd on the time sheet to tenth with only one car left on track: Kimi Raikkonen, at the time sitting in 14th. Yep, that didn't work out for Rosberg at all. Raikkonen jumped above Rosberg, bumping him out of the session. Rosberg, ever the gracious driver, later threw the team under the bus, blaming them for the mistake and whining that he's got no chance to do anything in the race now.
The Force India boys just sneered at him.
If there's a team to watch out for in the race, it's Ferrari. Everybody ahead of them are starting on the soft tire, which are expected to last maybe 10 laps. The red cars, however, are on the medium rubber, which seem to run for 25 or so before giving up the ghost. They're also maybe a second a lap slower. IF, and that may be a big "if", Ferrari can stay close to the front group, they'll be able to make up the time in the pitstops.
The race is Sunday morning, and F1U! will be along sometime afterwards. See you then!
Shiv Hamilton was the last guy on track and shot down Hannibal Vettel's pole-sitting time with a blisteringly hot lap, depriving the German the pole for his home race... again. Meanwhile, Hamilton's teammate Nico Rosberg was bounced out of Qualifying in Q2 in what was just a simple case of overconfidence. See, Rosberg had set a perfectly reasonable time on his first run in the session, the team brought him in for a new set of tires, pulled him into the garage, as is normal, to perform little adjustments, get the fuel level exactly where they wanted it... and there he sat, in the car, waiting to go out for his second run. And he sat. And sat. Then, once it was too late for him to do an out lap and get around to the start/finish line to begin a hot lap, times began tumbling. He fell from, if memory serves, 2nd on the time sheet to tenth with only one car left on track: Kimi Raikkonen, at the time sitting in 14th. Yep, that didn't work out for Rosberg at all. Raikkonen jumped above Rosberg, bumping him out of the session. Rosberg, ever the gracious driver, later threw the team under the bus, blaming them for the mistake and whining that he's got no chance to do anything in the race now.
The Force India boys just sneered at him.
If there's a team to watch out for in the race, it's Ferrari. Everybody ahead of them are starting on the soft tire, which are expected to last maybe 10 laps. The red cars, however, are on the medium rubber, which seem to run for 25 or so before giving up the ghost. They're also maybe a second a lap slower. IF, and that may be a big "if", Ferrari can stay close to the front group, they'll be able to make up the time in the pitstops.
The race is Sunday morning, and F1U! will be along sometime afterwards. See you then!
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July 05, 2013
F1 Practice: Germany 2013
Normally, I will say that nothing occurred during Friday Practice, and it'll sound world-weary and jaded. I mean, I've seen literally hundreds of practice sessions, and nothing of importance occurs in the vast majority of them... of course I'm going to sound somewhat beaten down and bored by the whole thing. You've seen one practice session, you've seen 'em all. Truly, there's very little in this world more depressing than the sight of a jaded, world-weary duck.
However, today's practice sessions at The Nurb Jr were somewhat different. Today, nothing important or dramatic occurred, and that's exactly what we wanted. There were no wild tire blowouts, there were no drivers boycotting the race due to safety concerns, no Pirelli executives being strung up by their wheel nuts, nothing like that at all. For this race, the tire company from Italy has a Kevlar-backed tire, as in 2012, just with 2013's rubber compound bonded to it. Which, coincidentally, is what they wanted to bring to Silverstone last week, but such a massive change needs to have unanimity from the teams to be approved. Three teams (Lotus, Force India, and another that I can't find right now) refused to allow the change, saying "we built our cars to work with these tires, if the others didn't, that's their lookout."
Well, after the issues at Silverstone, the FIA stepped in and said "make the changes, Pirelli." They also made mandatory a number of things that Pirelli could only suggest the teams do: run the tires at a certain PSI level, limit negative camber amount, prevent teams from reversing tire sides, so on and so forth. Methinks Jean Todt, current President of the FIA, is running for reelection. So that's where we stand on the tire issue for this race... there'll be a new tire altogether at the next race in Hungary. I suspect it'll be made out of wire-wrapped armor plating dipped in cyanoacrylate... no way it'll come apart.
Oh, and Marussia's Jules Bianchi had an upset tummy today and missed P1 and most of P2. I can't tell if the foam padding has been lightly browned or not...
Quals in the morning... see you sometime thereafter!
However, today's practice sessions at The Nurb Jr were somewhat different. Today, nothing important or dramatic occurred, and that's exactly what we wanted. There were no wild tire blowouts, there were no drivers boycotting the race due to safety concerns, no Pirelli executives being strung up by their wheel nuts, nothing like that at all. For this race, the tire company from Italy has a Kevlar-backed tire, as in 2012, just with 2013's rubber compound bonded to it. Which, coincidentally, is what they wanted to bring to Silverstone last week, but such a massive change needs to have unanimity from the teams to be approved. Three teams (Lotus, Force India, and another that I can't find right now) refused to allow the change, saying "we built our cars to work with these tires, if the others didn't, that's their lookout."
Well, after the issues at Silverstone, the FIA stepped in and said "make the changes, Pirelli." They also made mandatory a number of things that Pirelli could only suggest the teams do: run the tires at a certain PSI level, limit negative camber amount, prevent teams from reversing tire sides, so on and so forth. Methinks Jean Todt, current President of the FIA, is running for reelection. So that's where we stand on the tire issue for this race... there'll be a new tire altogether at the next race in Hungary. I suspect it'll be made out of wire-wrapped armor plating dipped in cyanoacrylate... no way it'll come apart.
Oh, and Marussia's Jules Bianchi had an upset tummy today and missed P1 and most of P2. I can't tell if the foam padding has been lightly browned or not...
Quals in the morning... see you sometime thereafter!
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July 02, 2013
F1 On The NBC Networks: Germany 2013
It is called by many names. Nordschleife. The Ultimate Track. Nurburgring. The Toughest Circuit In The World. It is best known, though, by the name Jackie Stewart gave it in 1970: The Green Hell. 12.93 miles long. 154 turns. Over 1000 feet of difference between the lowest and highest points on the track. Man and machine race here. Man and machine die here: somewhere between three and 12 drivers are killed on the Nordschleife, or "North Loop" every year. A modern Formula 1 race here would be roughly 12 laps long, and be the most exciting spectacle we've ever seen. Which is why they don't race F1 there anymore. Instead, for the Grand Prix of Germany, they race on the purpose-built F1 track, which has many names of its own: GP-Strecke. Green Party Ring. Ersatzring. Or, as we here at F1 Update! call it, Nurb Jr. Let's take a look at this massive letdown, shall we?
This circuit has two strikes against it right from the start. First, it actually has a turn named after Slappy Schumacher. Second, it's not the Nordschleif. It was, however, the site of one of my favorite moments in F1 history, the 2007 Grand Prix of Europe. Everybody and their brother started the race on dry-weather tires, and by the time the Thundering Herd reached Turn 4, the skies had opened up and most of the North Sea had deposited itself upon the track. Many, many cars went slithering into the kittylitter at Turn 7, including Vitantonio Liuzzi going down the hill to 7 backwards to gently end up nuzzling a mobile crane. Meanwhile, Marcus Winklehock, in his first and last F1 drive, had started the race on full wets and had a thirty-second lead on the field... in a SPYKER, no less... when the red flag was thrown. Ah, good times, good times.
But I digress. This year's excitement will be all because of tires. Specifically, Pirelli tires that seem to have a propensity to explode... at least, if you ask the teams, they do. If you ask Pirelli, the tire failures are down to the teams using them the wrong way. Now how, I hear you asking, can they be using tires the wrong way? Well, it's easy if you're in Formula 1. F1 tires are "handed," if you like: they're designed to be run one way and one way only. If a tire is made for the right-rear, that's where it's supposed to be put. Some bright spark discovered that if you switch sides with the rears, they last a little longer, and you might get a little bit of speed bonus, too. So you've got a bunch of teams running around with their rear tires on the wrong sides, with tire pressures too low (16 - 18psi is normal), and then they run over the backside of a curb and they're shocked that the tires fail? But it's Pirelli's fault.
Drivers were talking about boycotting the race. Teams were rumbling ominously about being cross with Pirelli... even though if they had agreed to the proposed changes that Pirelli suggested a few races back, these tire failures probably wouldn't have occurred. And on and on. In the end, I'll be shocked if Pirelli willingly comes back next year. "A pox on all of you."
Speaking of poxes: due to the interference from the Tour de Drug Dealers, the race weekend is again all a-jumble. All I know for sure is that the 2013 Grand Prix of Germany will be on CNBC at 630am on Sunday. Oh, and that F1U! will be watching everything. See you soon!
This circuit has two strikes against it right from the start. First, it actually has a turn named after Slappy Schumacher. Second, it's not the Nordschleif. It was, however, the site of one of my favorite moments in F1 history, the 2007 Grand Prix of Europe. Everybody and their brother started the race on dry-weather tires, and by the time the Thundering Herd reached Turn 4, the skies had opened up and most of the North Sea had deposited itself upon the track. Many, many cars went slithering into the kittylitter at Turn 7, including Vitantonio Liuzzi going down the hill to 7 backwards to gently end up nuzzling a mobile crane. Meanwhile, Marcus Winklehock, in his first and last F1 drive, had started the race on full wets and had a thirty-second lead on the field... in a SPYKER, no less... when the red flag was thrown. Ah, good times, good times.
But I digress. This year's excitement will be all because of tires. Specifically, Pirelli tires that seem to have a propensity to explode... at least, if you ask the teams, they do. If you ask Pirelli, the tire failures are down to the teams using them the wrong way. Now how, I hear you asking, can they be using tires the wrong way? Well, it's easy if you're in Formula 1. F1 tires are "handed," if you like: they're designed to be run one way and one way only. If a tire is made for the right-rear, that's where it's supposed to be put. Some bright spark discovered that if you switch sides with the rears, they last a little longer, and you might get a little bit of speed bonus, too. So you've got a bunch of teams running around with their rear tires on the wrong sides, with tire pressures too low (16 - 18psi is normal), and then they run over the backside of a curb and they're shocked that the tires fail? But it's Pirelli's fault.
Drivers were talking about boycotting the race. Teams were rumbling ominously about being cross with Pirelli... even though if they had agreed to the proposed changes that Pirelli suggested a few races back, these tire failures probably wouldn't have occurred. And on and on. In the end, I'll be shocked if Pirelli willingly comes back next year. "A pox on all of you."
Speaking of poxes: due to the interference from the Tour de Drug Dealers, the race weekend is again all a-jumble. All I know for sure is that the 2013 Grand Prix of Germany will be on CNBC at 630am on Sunday. Oh, and that F1U! will be watching everything. See you soon!
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June 29, 2013
F1 Quals: Great Britain 2013
British weather didn't happen all over Silverstone today! It was hardly a beautiful summer day, unless you think gray and cloudy and meh is beautiful, but it wasn't raining. So what effect did having acceptable climactic conditions have on the F1 Circus? Here's your provisional grid for the 2013 Grand Prix of Great Britain:
Every fiber of my being wants to say that Force India has a chance at a podium tomorrow. Paul di Resta is driving like the reincarnation of Jackie Stewart (who isn't dead, details details), Adrian F'n Sutil is driving like Adrian F'n Sutil, and the car is proving to be pretty good. I want it to happen. I want it to happen so badly I can practically taste it (though I think that's just the chicken tandoori I had for dinner last night).
I just don't think it'll happen. I can imagine a lot of scenarios where it DOES occur, but they're all kinda far-fetched: the Red Bull drivers collide with each other, Hamilton runs his tires bald then skids into the kittylitter trying to get to the pits, Raikkonen flatspots a tire and the vibration shatters his suspension, that sort of thing. No, I just don't think FI is ready as a team to have a serious podium chance. Soon... very soon, perhaps... but not yet.
I also don't expect to see the Mercedes teammates on the podium, either. One of them, perhaps... Hamilton seems particularly driven this weekend, and his pole position breaks Rosberg's streak of four in a row. I expect that the Red Bull Whaaaaaaaaambulance is warming up as we speak, getting ready to complain about how the Silver Arrows gained an unfair advantage with that tire test and the punishment didn't fit the crime and so on and so forth. I've actually lost a lot of respect for the team recently; they really used to be a model team showing how to do it right. Then they started to dork over Webber, now they've whined about this Mercedes/Pirelli thing so much that it has become embarrassing. In the immortal words of just about every fan ever, "shut up and drive."
Which I expect Vettel will do. Particularly with his chief competitor HWMNBN qualifying in 10th place, the World Champ has a golden opportunity to put the 2013 championship out of reach this weekend.
As an aside, I'm no longer surprised by McLaren's performance. They just done goofed this year, and I'm assuming they've written off they year and are working towards 2014 and the new rules and engine. As an another aside, Tooned is coming back this weekend, so we've got that to look forward to. As an another aside altogether, the race will be shown LIVE on CNBC at 630am on Sunday. Tune in, and we'll see you then!
Every fiber of my being wants to say that Force India has a chance at a podium tomorrow. Paul di Resta is driving like the reincarnation of Jackie Stewart (who isn't dead, details details), Adrian F'n Sutil is driving like Adrian F'n Sutil, and the car is proving to be pretty good. I want it to happen. I want it to happen so badly I can practically taste it (though I think that's just the chicken tandoori I had for dinner last night).
I just don't think it'll happen. I can imagine a lot of scenarios where it DOES occur, but they're all kinda far-fetched: the Red Bull drivers collide with each other, Hamilton runs his tires bald then skids into the kittylitter trying to get to the pits, Raikkonen flatspots a tire and the vibration shatters his suspension, that sort of thing. No, I just don't think FI is ready as a team to have a serious podium chance. Soon... very soon, perhaps... but not yet.
I also don't expect to see the Mercedes teammates on the podium, either. One of them, perhaps... Hamilton seems particularly driven this weekend, and his pole position breaks Rosberg's streak of four in a row. I expect that the Red Bull Whaaaaaaaaambulance is warming up as we speak, getting ready to complain about how the Silver Arrows gained an unfair advantage with that tire test and the punishment didn't fit the crime and so on and so forth. I've actually lost a lot of respect for the team recently; they really used to be a model team showing how to do it right. Then they started to dork over Webber, now they've whined about this Mercedes/Pirelli thing so much that it has become embarrassing. In the immortal words of just about every fan ever, "shut up and drive."
Which I expect Vettel will do. Particularly with his chief competitor HWMNBN qualifying in 10th place, the World Champ has a golden opportunity to put the 2013 championship out of reach this weekend.
As an aside, I'm no longer surprised by McLaren's performance. They just done goofed this year, and I'm assuming they've written off they year and are working towards 2014 and the new rules and engine. As an another aside, Tooned is coming back this weekend, so we've got that to look forward to. As an another aside altogether, the race will be shown LIVE on CNBC at 630am on Sunday. Tune in, and we'll see you then!
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June 28, 2013
F1 Practice: Great Britain 2013
We had lovely British weather today at Silverstone, so you can guess what that means:
Yup! Rain, and lots of it! First practice was practically wiped out. P2 saw teams out and about, but the track was just wet enough that there was something of a feeling of restraint the entire session. Even that wasn't enough to save Felipe Massa from wrecking again. Twice at Monaco, once in Canada, now at Silverstone... dude has something against his Ferrari mechanics, I think. While the teams did try to get some new parts tested on their cars, they probably didn't get accomplished. So let's skip over practice and talk about the really big news of the day.
Mark Webber announced his retirement from Formula 1, effective at the end of the season. He's not retiring from racing; he'll be joining Porsche's newly reborn LMP1 program in the World Endurance Championship series, which includes, of course, the 24 Hours of LeMans. Arguably, this is a step up for the Aussie, as he'll be heading what should be a serious contender right away. It's also a return to endurance racing for him, as he first came to the attention of the racing world via the long races.
Unfortunately, the loss of Mark Webber means that the man called "The Conscience of Formula 1" will no longer be speaking truth to power. He's always been outspoken... he stepped out against racing at Bahrain, quite loudly in fact... and he certainly stood his ground against his teammate. Red Bull's support of Hannibal Vettel has often come at the expense of Webber (consider Helmut Marko's attempt to blame the 2010 incident at Turkey on the Aussie), and at this year's Malaysian Grand Prix, Vettel ignored team orders, took the win from Webber, then got no penalty from the team in return... well. It was pretty clear at that point that Webber had had enough.
We here at F1U! don't have a favorite driver at the moment... but if we did, we could be convinced that Webber would be worth supporting. He'll be missed from F1, and I suspect from Red Bull as well... but at least we'll see him during LeMans.
Quals sometime tomorrow!
Yup! Rain, and lots of it! First practice was practically wiped out. P2 saw teams out and about, but the track was just wet enough that there was something of a feeling of restraint the entire session. Even that wasn't enough to save Felipe Massa from wrecking again. Twice at Monaco, once in Canada, now at Silverstone... dude has something against his Ferrari mechanics, I think. While the teams did try to get some new parts tested on their cars, they probably didn't get accomplished. So let's skip over practice and talk about the really big news of the day.
Mark Webber announced his retirement from Formula 1, effective at the end of the season. He's not retiring from racing; he'll be joining Porsche's newly reborn LMP1 program in the World Endurance Championship series, which includes, of course, the 24 Hours of LeMans. Arguably, this is a step up for the Aussie, as he'll be heading what should be a serious contender right away. It's also a return to endurance racing for him, as he first came to the attention of the racing world via the long races.
Unfortunately, the loss of Mark Webber means that the man called "The Conscience of Formula 1" will no longer be speaking truth to power. He's always been outspoken... he stepped out against racing at Bahrain, quite loudly in fact... and he certainly stood his ground against his teammate. Red Bull's support of Hannibal Vettel has often come at the expense of Webber (consider Helmut Marko's attempt to blame the 2010 incident at Turkey on the Aussie), and at this year's Malaysian Grand Prix, Vettel ignored team orders, took the win from Webber, then got no penalty from the team in return... well. It was pretty clear at that point that Webber had had enough.
We here at F1U! don't have a favorite driver at the moment... but if we did, we could be convinced that Webber would be worth supporting. He'll be missed from F1, and I suspect from Red Bull as well... but at least we'll see him during LeMans.
Quals sometime tomorrow!
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June 27, 2013
F1 Swag... From A Small French Fishing Village
Back in May, during the Duck U Bookstore's spring buyback, one of my temp employees announced that she and her husband were to be going on a cruise at the beginning of June. A pleasant hour was spent looking at the cruise line's history (good), the cost per person (they got a deal), whether a balcony room on the ship would be worth it (it was), and their itinerary. "Oh, the cruise is going to Rome, Florence, Marseilles, Monaco, then we're also going to spend a week in London, too!"
Monaco?
Yesterday, my temp came back into the store carrying little bags for me and my assistant manager. The contents of mine were surprising to say the least:
She purchased both the keychain and the rubber duck in a shop in Monaco. Who would have thought that rubber ducks, even racing rubber ducks, would be for sale in Monaco? I actually have a remarkably similar duck in The Flock already, but there are differences: the older one has a weighted base and is somewhat smaller, for example. I've got a Monegasque duckie!
The keychain is quite heavy... too heavy for me to use casually, as a matter of fact. One gets the feeling you could cause harm to someone with it. The car is painted in the colors of Monaco, of course, never mind the resemblance to Ferrari. Body shape is similar to the cars of the '90s... which is good, I prefer those to what's on track today.
My collection of F1 swag is growing.
Monaco?
Yesterday, my temp came back into the store carrying little bags for me and my assistant manager. The contents of mine were surprising to say the least:
She purchased both the keychain and the rubber duck in a shop in Monaco. Who would have thought that rubber ducks, even racing rubber ducks, would be for sale in Monaco? I actually have a remarkably similar duck in The Flock already, but there are differences: the older one has a weighted base and is somewhat smaller, for example. I've got a Monegasque duckie!
The keychain is quite heavy... too heavy for me to use casually, as a matter of fact. One gets the feeling you could cause harm to someone with it. The car is painted in the colors of Monaco, of course, never mind the resemblance to Ferrari. Body shape is similar to the cars of the '90s... which is good, I prefer those to what's on track today.
My collection of F1 swag is growing.
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June 24, 2013
F1 On NBCSN: Great Britain 2013
I say "...on NBCSN" with the utmost nervousness and caution, as I'm unable to find anything remotely resembling a schedule that I believe for this race. It's all because of that darn Tour de Pharmacopeia that NBCSN is also covering. Things are moved all willy-nilly and higglety-pigglety, so much so that I just threw my hands up in the air and went "you're on your own this race." Having said all that, let's look at the trackmap for this, the grandpappy of all F1 races: the Grand Prix of Great Britain!
Silverstone is not the fastest circuit, nor the slowest, nor the hilliest or the most narrow. It IS, however, the birthplace of Formula 1 and the home of my favorite complex of turns. Maggots-Becketts-Chapel isn't really a chicane, and it isn't really a "turn" the way we think of them. It's more of a series of lateral suggestions that become more and more emphatic the farther into them you go. I've always said that I'd love to be positioned on the inside of Turn 13, looking towards Maggots, for a race. Seeing the cars slalom like so many life-sized slotcars would be amazing.
Do any of my readers know what slotcars are? I wonder. One of the few good memories I have of the paternal side of my childhood was going to Slot & Wing in Rantoul, a hobby shop that had a couple of 1/24-scale, eight-lane tracks, and running wild on the high-bank. But I digress.
Tires should either be completely worthless or too good here. Nobody knows, and Red Bull will be happy to complain about it to anybody who cares to listen. Speaking of tires, remember how we talked briefly about the "Tiregate" scandal of a few weeks ago? Pirelli held a tire test and asked Mercedes to run 1000km... which is against F1's in-season testing rules. The FIA's High Court ruling came down a couple of days ago... and Mercedes is doomed. DOOMED, I tell you.
They've been banned from the upcoming "young driver test."
Yup, that's it. That's all. Oh, and they got a reprimand as well. Much like the UN's "strongly worded letter," a FIA reprimand has not a lot of teeth behind it. Any team will tell you that they'd rather test with their REAL drivers than with their up-and-comers, which really does give Mercedes an advantage. I'm unsure of how they got away with it, but they did.
So that's where we stand going into Friday's practice sessions, Saturday's Quals, and the race on Sunday. Again, for this one you're on your own as far as when the sessions are televised. Sorry, but once out of six or seven seasons? I can be excused. Of course, F1Update! will be all over this one like white on lice. See ya then!
Silverstone is not the fastest circuit, nor the slowest, nor the hilliest or the most narrow. It IS, however, the birthplace of Formula 1 and the home of my favorite complex of turns. Maggots-Becketts-Chapel isn't really a chicane, and it isn't really a "turn" the way we think of them. It's more of a series of lateral suggestions that become more and more emphatic the farther into them you go. I've always said that I'd love to be positioned on the inside of Turn 13, looking towards Maggots, for a race. Seeing the cars slalom like so many life-sized slotcars would be amazing.
Do any of my readers know what slotcars are? I wonder. One of the few good memories I have of the paternal side of my childhood was going to Slot & Wing in Rantoul, a hobby shop that had a couple of 1/24-scale, eight-lane tracks, and running wild on the high-bank. But I digress.
Tires should either be completely worthless or too good here. Nobody knows, and Red Bull will be happy to complain about it to anybody who cares to listen. Speaking of tires, remember how we talked briefly about the "Tiregate" scandal of a few weeks ago? Pirelli held a tire test and asked Mercedes to run 1000km... which is against F1's in-season testing rules. The FIA's High Court ruling came down a couple of days ago... and Mercedes is doomed. DOOMED, I tell you.
They've been banned from the upcoming "young driver test."
Yup, that's it. That's all. Oh, and they got a reprimand as well. Much like the UN's "strongly worded letter," a FIA reprimand has not a lot of teeth behind it. Any team will tell you that they'd rather test with their REAL drivers than with their up-and-comers, which really does give Mercedes an advantage. I'm unsure of how they got away with it, but they did.
So that's where we stand going into Friday's practice sessions, Saturday's Quals, and the race on Sunday. Again, for this one you're on your own as far as when the sessions are televised. Sorry, but once out of six or seven seasons? I can be excused. Of course, F1Update! will be all over this one like white on lice. See ya then!
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June 08, 2013
F1 Quals: Canada 2013 (UPDATED)
Rain. Rain changes everything. One moment of distraction, one millisecond of hesitation, and the lap, the race, the car is lost. Just because the pavement is so slightly damp that a Ford Mustang wouldn't notice it. That was what the drivers faced when Q1 began this afternoon at the Ile Notre Dame. Who got bit? Qui a vaincu la pluie? Here's the provisional grid for the 2013 Grand Prix of Canada:
About five minutes before Q1 began, rain started to fall lightly amongst the trees and marmots of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, prompting the first major decision of the day: do we go out on dry tires and hope to get a good lap in before it gets too wet, or do we go right for the intermediates? Most of the teams gave the dry tires a go, with a very few staying in the garage. Those that didn't try the dry rubber made the right call; the first couple of minutes of the session were spent watching multi-million dollar, high-tech, space-age, hand-crafted equipment spin and pirouette like they were driving on ice. Once everybody got back to the pits and put on drizzleshoes, things began to settle down a tad. It wasn't until Q2 that things began to get weird. In the second session, the rain began to fall a little bit harder... nearly enough to switch to full wets, but not quite. I'm betting Felipe Massa wishes he had changed, as he wound up slamming his Ferrari sideways into a tire barrier, for the fourth time in two races. As this occurred very near an important piece of run-off area, a red flag was thrown... with two minutes left in the session, and some very unlikely people on the verge of elimination: Raikkonen, Button, Sutil. When the notification came that the track was about to reopen, we got this scene at the pit-out:
As long as you start your timed lap with one second left on the clock, the lap will count. So there was time... just... to get out of the pits, get around the circuit, and cross the start/finish line for one last chance at moving on to Q3. See Kimi and Daniel Ricciardo there on the far right? They and three others have been summoned to the steward's office for not lining up correctly to re-enter the track. There could be penalties, but I'd not hold my breath. The light went green, the Benny Hill Theme began playing, and everybody managed to make it around without doing grave bodily harm to themselves or others. Some succeeded in their quests to make it to Q3, but Jenson Button couldn't.
In Q3, we had the never-before-seen sight of Valtterri Bottas placing his Williams third on the grid in wet-but-not-as-wet-as-Q2 conditions. Rain is the great equalizer. Always has been, always will be. Vettel, of course, is on pole, while Mr Every-Other-Year-In-Canada, Shiv Hamilton, is next to him. He's won here three times, every other year. In the years he hasn't won? DNF. He won last last year...
All I'm saying is don't put any money on Shiv.
Race tomorrow afternoon... the F1U! crew is praying for rain.
UPDATE: Kimi and Ricciardo were penalized two grid spots for jumping the line. The other three got away as they received no benefit.
About five minutes before Q1 began, rain started to fall lightly amongst the trees and marmots of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, prompting the first major decision of the day: do we go out on dry tires and hope to get a good lap in before it gets too wet, or do we go right for the intermediates? Most of the teams gave the dry tires a go, with a very few staying in the garage. Those that didn't try the dry rubber made the right call; the first couple of minutes of the session were spent watching multi-million dollar, high-tech, space-age, hand-crafted equipment spin and pirouette like they were driving on ice. Once everybody got back to the pits and put on drizzleshoes, things began to settle down a tad. It wasn't until Q2 that things began to get weird. In the second session, the rain began to fall a little bit harder... nearly enough to switch to full wets, but not quite. I'm betting Felipe Massa wishes he had changed, as he wound up slamming his Ferrari sideways into a tire barrier, for the fourth time in two races. As this occurred very near an important piece of run-off area, a red flag was thrown... with two minutes left in the session, and some very unlikely people on the verge of elimination: Raikkonen, Button, Sutil. When the notification came that the track was about to reopen, we got this scene at the pit-out:
As long as you start your timed lap with one second left on the clock, the lap will count. So there was time... just... to get out of the pits, get around the circuit, and cross the start/finish line for one last chance at moving on to Q3. See Kimi and Daniel Ricciardo there on the far right? They and three others have been summoned to the steward's office for not lining up correctly to re-enter the track. There could be penalties, but I'd not hold my breath. The light went green, the Benny Hill Theme began playing, and everybody managed to make it around without doing grave bodily harm to themselves or others. Some succeeded in their quests to make it to Q3, but Jenson Button couldn't.
In Q3, we had the never-before-seen sight of Valtterri Bottas placing his Williams third on the grid in wet-but-not-as-wet-as-Q2 conditions. Rain is the great equalizer. Always has been, always will be. Vettel, of course, is on pole, while Mr Every-Other-Year-In-Canada, Shiv Hamilton, is next to him. He's won here three times, every other year. In the years he hasn't won? DNF. He won last last year...
All I'm saying is don't put any money on Shiv.
Race tomorrow afternoon... the F1U! crew is praying for rain.
UPDATE: Kimi and Ricciardo were penalized two grid spots for jumping the line. The other three got away as they received no benefit.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
03:26 PM
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