May 13, 2010
F1 Practice: Monaco 2010
If it's Thursday, it must be Monaco! Second practice started with a clear blue sky and ended with a slight drizzle, perhaps some foreshadowing for the race? We can only hope, as while Monaco is tough enough to drive, rain just makes it ridiculously fun to watch (though perhaps not to drive).
HWMNBN, one of five drivers in the field to have won here, topped the timesheets for both practices in his Ferrari, with Nico Rosberg following in his Mercedes during 2nd Practice. As always, the admonition to take everything in practice with a grain of salt stands: one never knows who's on a heavy fuel load, who's doing quals practice, and who's doing tire testing or one of a thousand other things. Still, the teams you'd expect to be fast here were, and the usual bottomfeeders were slow.
There's one exception, however. The Renaults were unexpectedly quick around the Principality today, with Robert Kubica leading the afternoon session for much of the 90 minutes before slipping to sixth late in the day. Even with that, he was still ahead of both McLarens and Mark Webber's Red Bull. Hard to tell what that means to be honest, though with Kubica behind the wheel one can always hope for the best. Monaco isn't a circuit that rewards the fastest cars, but the most maneuverable.
As with all things Monaco, you get some incredible camera angles here, like this one of the Loew's Hairpin and Portier (upper right and upper left, respectfully). In fact, you can almost get a full lap's worth of "aerial shots" from the roofs of condominiums and the like, though the Tunnel is somewhat obstructed. I might try to do that...
One of the main features of the race at Monaco is the appearance of the Beautiful People on race day. Today, though, we had to make do with one of the driving forces of F1.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Birdy Ecclestone is present. No surprise that a McLaren staffer is trying to shoo him out of the pit lane...
Quals on Saturday!
HWMNBN, one of five drivers in the field to have won here, topped the timesheets for both practices in his Ferrari, with Nico Rosberg following in his Mercedes during 2nd Practice. As always, the admonition to take everything in practice with a grain of salt stands: one never knows who's on a heavy fuel load, who's doing quals practice, and who's doing tire testing or one of a thousand other things. Still, the teams you'd expect to be fast here were, and the usual bottomfeeders were slow.
There's one exception, however. The Renaults were unexpectedly quick around the Principality today, with Robert Kubica leading the afternoon session for much of the 90 minutes before slipping to sixth late in the day. Even with that, he was still ahead of both McLarens and Mark Webber's Red Bull. Hard to tell what that means to be honest, though with Kubica behind the wheel one can always hope for the best. Monaco isn't a circuit that rewards the fastest cars, but the most maneuverable.
As with all things Monaco, you get some incredible camera angles here, like this one of the Loew's Hairpin and Portier (upper right and upper left, respectfully). In fact, you can almost get a full lap's worth of "aerial shots" from the roofs of condominiums and the like, though the Tunnel is somewhat obstructed. I might try to do that...
One of the main features of the race at Monaco is the appearance of the Beautiful People on race day. Today, though, we had to make do with one of the driving forces of F1.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Birdy Ecclestone is present. No surprise that a McLaren staffer is trying to shoo him out of the pit lane...
Quals on Saturday!
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May 10, 2010
F1 on SPEED!: Monte Carlo 2010
Leaving the most average circuit on the calendar, the F1 Circus trundles up the coast about 300 miles to what is probably its most unique track: Monte Carlo. Nowhere in the world will you find a layout like the Circuit de Monaco, with the slowest turn in F1 as well as one of the fastest. No other F1 track has a tunnel as part of the racing surface (Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi has one, but as part of the pit lane), and very few tracks anywhere in any marque. Narrow and dangerous, it's only on the schedule because it's always been on the schedule, and like as not it always will be... because Monaco is the spiritual home of Formula 1. Let's take a look at the map...
One goes uphill from Ste Devote to right around Beau Rivage, then downhill from just past Casino down to Portier; probably the largest elevation change in the shortest distance in F1 (Spa's elevation change is likely greater, but over a longer stretch of track). Of course, in that downhill stretch is the Loew's Hairpin, noted as Turn 6 on the map (I don't care what it's called these days, it'll always be Loew's to me). A more-than-180° turn if you follow the racing line, it's taken at around 30mph and teams usually have to modify the front suspension on their cars just to be able to make the turn at all. That modified suspension is what allows the cars to make the nearly-180º turn at La Rascasse, home of Slappy Schumacher's infamous "Parky" incident in 2006. There's only just enough room on the track to get two modern F1 cars side-by-side, but barely. Of course, the layout is surrounded by Armco barriers and concrete walls (in the tunnel), with precious little runoff area anywhere: Ste Devote and Turn 13 have some, but that's about it. Heck, Ste Devote's runoff area leads directly to the steps of the church located there. I don't know if anybody has ever made it that far, but it's not impossible.
The track, of course, is made up of city streets. For drainage purposes, the streets are crowned in the middle, making it even more difficult to drive a F1 car on. Throw in the oil left behind by everyday use, and Monaco might be the dirtiest, most slippery circuit you'll ever come across. If you can win here, you've accomplished something described as like "riding a bicycle in a phone booth," and your name will go down in the history books as having won F1's Crown Jewel.
F1's Crown Jewel, one of the three races that make up the (unofficial) Triple Crown of Motorsport (along with the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of LeMans). Only Graham Hill has accomplished this feat, but Juan Pablo (The Pope) Montoya is still eligible, needing only LeMans. Of course, he's driving in NASCAR these days, which conflicts with the 24 Hours, but it's still possible.
So who will take that first step to immortality? We'll find out starting on Thursday morning, from 7am to 840am, with live coverage of the 2nd Practice session. Yes, Thursday: Friday in Monaco is reserved for the Monagasts returning home... just another of the quirks of the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo. Saturday morning, from 7am to 830am, is almost live coverage of Quals. It's nearly as important to be on pole here as it is in Spain, so being first on Saturday means you've a good shot to be first on Sunday.
The race begins on the aforementioned Sunday at 630am, and goes until 9am. There appears to be no replay scheduled as of yet. Of course, we of F1 Update! will be here for our usual coverage of the race (even though we're working Sunday morning), so we'll see you then!
One goes uphill from Ste Devote to right around Beau Rivage, then downhill from just past Casino down to Portier; probably the largest elevation change in the shortest distance in F1 (Spa's elevation change is likely greater, but over a longer stretch of track). Of course, in that downhill stretch is the Loew's Hairpin, noted as Turn 6 on the map (I don't care what it's called these days, it'll always be Loew's to me). A more-than-180° turn if you follow the racing line, it's taken at around 30mph and teams usually have to modify the front suspension on their cars just to be able to make the turn at all. That modified suspension is what allows the cars to make the nearly-180º turn at La Rascasse, home of Slappy Schumacher's infamous "Parky" incident in 2006. There's only just enough room on the track to get two modern F1 cars side-by-side, but barely. Of course, the layout is surrounded by Armco barriers and concrete walls (in the tunnel), with precious little runoff area anywhere: Ste Devote and Turn 13 have some, but that's about it. Heck, Ste Devote's runoff area leads directly to the steps of the church located there. I don't know if anybody has ever made it that far, but it's not impossible.
The track, of course, is made up of city streets. For drainage purposes, the streets are crowned in the middle, making it even more difficult to drive a F1 car on. Throw in the oil left behind by everyday use, and Monaco might be the dirtiest, most slippery circuit you'll ever come across. If you can win here, you've accomplished something described as like "riding a bicycle in a phone booth," and your name will go down in the history books as having won F1's Crown Jewel.
F1's Crown Jewel, one of the three races that make up the (unofficial) Triple Crown of Motorsport (along with the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of LeMans). Only Graham Hill has accomplished this feat, but Juan Pablo (The Pope) Montoya is still eligible, needing only LeMans. Of course, he's driving in NASCAR these days, which conflicts with the 24 Hours, but it's still possible.
So who will take that first step to immortality? We'll find out starting on Thursday morning, from 7am to 840am, with live coverage of the 2nd Practice session. Yes, Thursday: Friday in Monaco is reserved for the Monagasts returning home... just another of the quirks of the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo. Saturday morning, from 7am to 830am, is almost live coverage of Quals. It's nearly as important to be on pole here as it is in Spain, so being first on Saturday means you've a good shot to be first on Sunday.
The race begins on the aforementioned Sunday at 630am, and goes until 9am. There appears to be no replay scheduled as of yet. Of course, we of F1 Update! will be here for our usual coverage of the race (even though we're working Sunday morning), so we'll see you then!
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May 08, 2010
F1 Quals: Spain 2010
Last year, the top 17 cars on the grid for the Grand Prix of Spain were covered by .800 of a second. What's the result this year? Let's take a look at the provisional grid:
Yeah, not exactly everybody covered by less than a second. There's nearly a second between first and third! Pretty much a dominating performance by the Red Bulls, and as the Legendary Announce Team pointed out, this is without the trick "F-Duct" system that McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes are using. What'll happen when the RB6 finally gets one of their own?
Overshadowed by Red Bull making the Circuit de Catalunya their own personal playground is Slappy Schumacher finally outqualifying his teammate Nico Rosberg for the first time this season. Looks like the longer wheelbase is to the seven-time World Champion's liking. One would think that Rosberg can't be pleased at the moment, but when you're Slappy, you get what you want and everybody else can go pee up a wheel tether.
Sadly, Force India's Adrian Sutil didn't make it into Q3, ending his streak at four races. It didn't look like his final lap in Q2 was marred by anything untoward, like an off or excessive traffic... he just couldn't make it go any faster when he needed to. Too bad, that.
For the boys at the back, insult added to injury as Glockenspiel, diGrassi, and Chandhok are all having to take five grid-spot penalties. The Virgins' penalty is for a procedural error where the team neglected to tell the FIA what gear ratios they were going to be using by a certain time, while Chandhok needed to have his gearbox changed. Vitaly Petrov of Renault is getting the same penalty.
One driver who isn't getting a penalty is HWMNBN. In Q3, the Ferrari driver was released into the pitlane after a tire change, at which point he nearly performed an overrun assault on Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver slammed on his brakes as HWMNBN went on his merry way, prompting Rosberg to snap over the radio "(HWMNBN) needs to be penalized for that." Of course, HWMNBN being penalized in Spain is about as likely to happen as Slappy being penalized at Hockenheim. Instead, Ferrari is being tagged with a $20000 fine for an "unsafe release." To make matters worse, HWMNBN just had to open his mouth afterwards, saying in effect that if he was penalized, the FIA would need to rethink "some of the grand prixs we've had so far in terms of penalties in the pit lane," obviously referring to Hamilton and Vettel's little squabble in China.
Man, I hate that guy.
Race Sunday, F1U! sometime in the afternoon.
Yeah, not exactly everybody covered by less than a second. There's nearly a second between first and third! Pretty much a dominating performance by the Red Bulls, and as the Legendary Announce Team pointed out, this is without the trick "F-Duct" system that McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes are using. What'll happen when the RB6 finally gets one of their own?
Overshadowed by Red Bull making the Circuit de Catalunya their own personal playground is Slappy Schumacher finally outqualifying his teammate Nico Rosberg for the first time this season. Looks like the longer wheelbase is to the seven-time World Champion's liking. One would think that Rosberg can't be pleased at the moment, but when you're Slappy, you get what you want and everybody else can go pee up a wheel tether.
Sadly, Force India's Adrian Sutil didn't make it into Q3, ending his streak at four races. It didn't look like his final lap in Q2 was marred by anything untoward, like an off or excessive traffic... he just couldn't make it go any faster when he needed to. Too bad, that.
For the boys at the back, insult added to injury as Glockenspiel, diGrassi, and Chandhok are all having to take five grid-spot penalties. The Virgins' penalty is for a procedural error where the team neglected to tell the FIA what gear ratios they were going to be using by a certain time, while Chandhok needed to have his gearbox changed. Vitaly Petrov of Renault is getting the same penalty.
One driver who isn't getting a penalty is HWMNBN. In Q3, the Ferrari driver was released into the pitlane after a tire change, at which point he nearly performed an overrun assault on Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver slammed on his brakes as HWMNBN went on his merry way, prompting Rosberg to snap over the radio "(HWMNBN) needs to be penalized for that." Of course, HWMNBN being penalized in Spain is about as likely to happen as Slappy being penalized at Hockenheim. Instead, Ferrari is being tagged with a $20000 fine for an "unsafe release." To make matters worse, HWMNBN just had to open his mouth afterwards, saying in effect that if he was penalized, the FIA would need to rethink "some of the grand prixs we've had so far in terms of penalties in the pit lane," obviously referring to Hamilton and Vettel's little squabble in China.
Man, I hate that guy.
Race Sunday, F1U! sometime in the afternoon.
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May 07, 2010
F1 Practice: Spain 2010!
Other than Nico Hulkenberg leaving the nose of his Williams in a tire barrier, there wasn't a whole lot of interesting stuff occurring on track in Barcelona today. Red Bull was blindingly fast, McLaren was probably sandbagging, yadda yadda yadda.
However! This is the first European race of the season, which means that every team has put new bits and pieces onto their cars after lessons learned during the first four contests. While most of the cars weren't particularly or obviously different, Mercedes has made some serious changes to the MGP-W01. First off, they've gone back to their pre-season testing chassis layout and in the process, lengthened the wheelbase by moving the front suspension forward. This was done to make Slappy Schumacher happier, as he just couldn't quite get a handle on the car. The most visible change, though, was to the airbox. Let's take a look, shall we? Here's the first version of the car:
And now, the new version:
The bulbous air intake with the splitter on the inside is gone, replaced by an intake on either side of the "shark's fin." Not quite as visible is two smaller intakes, just below the top ones. Those are either for cooling purposes or for their inevitable "F-Duct" modification, copying McLaren's clever rear-wing stalling device that gives them such a straight-line advantage. Also not quite visible is that their "shark's fin" is now perfectly smooth instead of curved by the airbox. That's got to improve the airflow back to the rear wing immensely.
In other news, the news is that Ferrari has signed a contract option with Robert Kubica. From all reports, the team has to make the call by July 22nd. That would suggest that Felipe Massa will be a free agent after this season, since HWMNBN has a multi-year contract with the red team. Speaking personally, I believe this to be horrible news, since I actually like Kubica and it'd make me sick to see him with Ferrari.
In some good news, Sauber has finally gotten a sponsor!
Yes, The King has come to F1. Dear merciful god in heaven, could we actually see McDonalds sponsorship in Hungary? Could Zsolt Baumgartner be far behind?
Quals in the morning.
However! This is the first European race of the season, which means that every team has put new bits and pieces onto their cars after lessons learned during the first four contests. While most of the cars weren't particularly or obviously different, Mercedes has made some serious changes to the MGP-W01. First off, they've gone back to their pre-season testing chassis layout and in the process, lengthened the wheelbase by moving the front suspension forward. This was done to make Slappy Schumacher happier, as he just couldn't quite get a handle on the car. The most visible change, though, was to the airbox. Let's take a look, shall we? Here's the first version of the car:
And now, the new version:
The bulbous air intake with the splitter on the inside is gone, replaced by an intake on either side of the "shark's fin." Not quite as visible is two smaller intakes, just below the top ones. Those are either for cooling purposes or for their inevitable "F-Duct" modification, copying McLaren's clever rear-wing stalling device that gives them such a straight-line advantage. Also not quite visible is that their "shark's fin" is now perfectly smooth instead of curved by the airbox. That's got to improve the airflow back to the rear wing immensely.
In other news, the news is that Ferrari has signed a contract option with Robert Kubica. From all reports, the team has to make the call by July 22nd. That would suggest that Felipe Massa will be a free agent after this season, since HWMNBN has a multi-year contract with the red team. Speaking personally, I believe this to be horrible news, since I actually like Kubica and it'd make me sick to see him with Ferrari.
In some good news, Sauber has finally gotten a sponsor!
Yes, The King has come to F1. Dear merciful god in heaven, could we actually see McDonalds sponsorship in Hungary? Could Zsolt Baumgartner be far behind?
Quals in the morning.
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May 04, 2010
Just A Pleasant Sunday DriOMGWTFWASTHAT?!??!
Just watch it all. Trust me on this one.
more...
Okay, now click on more to see, well, more.
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May 03, 2010
F1 on SPEED!: Spain 2010
FINALLY! After a three-week layoff that allowed the teams to tunnel their way back to Europe from China after the eruption of Mt Eyja... Eyjafjalla... Eyjafjallajokullirokdhsdfoihxcvnkwndlaopijxzwhatever, the F1 Circus is picking back up again! Of course, there is the little thing about where it's picking up at.
You see, if there is such a thing as an "average Formula 1 circuit," the Circuit de Catalunya is that circuit. Let's take a look at the track map:
There's nothing wrong with the home track for the Spanish Grand Prix, but there's not all that much that calls out to the watcher, either. While Turn 16 used to be an exciting full-speed blast onto the front straight that allowed a slipstreaming car to get a huge tow into a passing position, nowadays you have the whole turbulence problem that ruins a trailing car's aerodynamics. Other than Turn 1 there really aren't any good passing opportunities. Heck, the circuit only has one really memorable turn, #10 "La Caixa", but even that is kinda "meh" in comparison to the TRUE famous turns (Eau Rouge, Lowes Hairpin, etc etc etc).
Then there's off-season testing. While limited, the teams still turn hundreds of laps in the offseason, and most of them are done at the Circuit de Catalunya. It's been like that for years, and as a result every bump, every wobble, every blade of grass and crack on the layout is ingrained in the institutional memory of the F1 engineering staff. Any driver who's spent more than a year or two in F1 knows the track well... Slappy Schumacher can probably drive it with his eyes closed, Rubens Barrichello knows its curves better than his wife's, and the DNA of HWMNBN (who hails from Catalunya) isn't actually a double-helix, it's shaped like the track. Even the track surface is dull, being neither particularly smooth or abrasive.
What I'm saying is that because everybody knows everything there is to know about this place, it isn't a place that lends itself to excitement. It's like a well broken-in pair of shoes or a 12-year old sweatshirt: no surprises here. Heck, in 1999 there was only one pass made for the entire race.
The only thing that can shake up the parade is the weather, and rain is uncommon. However, due to its location, wind can play a big role; it's not unheard of for the race to start with a tailwind down the front straight that changes to a headwind halfway through. That sort of thing can cause F1 teams to pull out their metaphoric hair as it trashes the aero planning.
Now, the new fuel rules may change things a little bit... or they may not. Either way, we'll find out beginning on Friday from 7am to 840am as the Legendary Announce Team brings us LIVE coverage of the day's 2nd Practice Session.
Saturday, of course, has Quals staring us in the face, plausibly live, from 7am to 830am. The 2010 Grand Prix of Spain is Sunday, LIVE from 630am to 9am. There's a replay from 1030am to 1pm (I think; it's hard to tell on the SPEED Boards sometimes).
So that's it! We're back in the groove with F1, and F1 Update! will be all over it for you! Paella and flan for everybody!
You see, if there is such a thing as an "average Formula 1 circuit," the Circuit de Catalunya is that circuit. Let's take a look at the track map:
There's nothing wrong with the home track for the Spanish Grand Prix, but there's not all that much that calls out to the watcher, either. While Turn 16 used to be an exciting full-speed blast onto the front straight that allowed a slipstreaming car to get a huge tow into a passing position, nowadays you have the whole turbulence problem that ruins a trailing car's aerodynamics. Other than Turn 1 there really aren't any good passing opportunities. Heck, the circuit only has one really memorable turn, #10 "La Caixa", but even that is kinda "meh" in comparison to the TRUE famous turns (Eau Rouge, Lowes Hairpin, etc etc etc).
Then there's off-season testing. While limited, the teams still turn hundreds of laps in the offseason, and most of them are done at the Circuit de Catalunya. It's been like that for years, and as a result every bump, every wobble, every blade of grass and crack on the layout is ingrained in the institutional memory of the F1 engineering staff. Any driver who's spent more than a year or two in F1 knows the track well... Slappy Schumacher can probably drive it with his eyes closed, Rubens Barrichello knows its curves better than his wife's, and the DNA of HWMNBN (who hails from Catalunya) isn't actually a double-helix, it's shaped like the track. Even the track surface is dull, being neither particularly smooth or abrasive.
What I'm saying is that because everybody knows everything there is to know about this place, it isn't a place that lends itself to excitement. It's like a well broken-in pair of shoes or a 12-year old sweatshirt: no surprises here. Heck, in 1999 there was only one pass made for the entire race.
The only thing that can shake up the parade is the weather, and rain is uncommon. However, due to its location, wind can play a big role; it's not unheard of for the race to start with a tailwind down the front straight that changes to a headwind halfway through. That sort of thing can cause F1 teams to pull out their metaphoric hair as it trashes the aero planning.
Now, the new fuel rules may change things a little bit... or they may not. Either way, we'll find out beginning on Friday from 7am to 840am as the Legendary Announce Team brings us LIVE coverage of the day's 2nd Practice Session.
Saturday, of course, has Quals staring us in the face, plausibly live, from 7am to 830am. The 2010 Grand Prix of Spain is Sunday, LIVE from 630am to 9am. There's a replay from 1030am to 1pm (I think; it's hard to tell on the SPEED Boards sometimes).
So that's it! We're back in the groove with F1, and F1 Update! will be all over it for you! Paella and flan for everybody!
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April 26, 2010
A Lap Of The Green Hell
This viddy has been floating around the web for a while now, and been in my collection for almost as long, but I've never actually put it up here. Quite simply, it's in-car video of a lap of the Nordschliffe at the Nurburgring, aka 'The Green Hell,' aka the greatest circuit on the planet. Nearly 21km long, over 100 turns. At one time, F1 cars drove here though not 1976, the year Niki Lauda had his hideous accident.
Just sit back, turn up the volume, and marvel at the magic of Hans-Joachim Stuck and his BMW M3 GTR.
Just sit back, turn up the volume, and marvel at the magic of Hans-Joachim Stuck and his BMW M3 GTR.
There may have been faster laps (in fact, someone just turned a lap in 6:58, driving a Ferrari 599XX), but none of them could be as wonderful as this one. The sound alone makes me feel kinda tingly.
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April 20, 2010
Kimi Raikkonen: The Exclusive F1U! Interview
That's right, we here at F1U! scored an exclusive interview with former F1 World Champion and current rally car driver Kimi Raikkonen! It's a stunning coup, and we're proud to bring it to you.
Q: Kimi, how does it feel to be out of Formula 1?
more...
Q: Kimi, how does it feel to be out of Formula 1?
more...
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April 17, 2010
F1 Quals: China 2010!
This is starting to become boring. Let's take a look at the grid for tomorrow's Grand Prix of China:
For the fourth out of four times, Red Bull's Seb Vettel is on pole. If his car had managed to hang together in the first two races, I think there's a very good chance he'd be running away with the season. Fortunately for us fans the RB6 might be a delicate little flower.
Not as delicate as Seb Buemi's Toro Rosso, perhaps, but still fragile. No great suprises on the grid today; in fact, there wasn't much in the way of drama in any of the qualy rounds... no remarkable last-gasp heroics, no desperate clawing to get into the next round, no heavy-hitters leaving the pits with a tire blanket still attached.
Actually, I'd like to see that last one. Bet mechanical grip would be affected a bit.
I digress. The race is at 130am Pond time, set your VCR and we'll see you here for the F1 UPDATE!
For the fourth out of four times, Red Bull's Seb Vettel is on pole. If his car had managed to hang together in the first two races, I think there's a very good chance he'd be running away with the season. Fortunately for us fans the RB6 might be a delicate little flower.
Not as delicate as Seb Buemi's Toro Rosso, perhaps, but still fragile. No great suprises on the grid today; in fact, there wasn't much in the way of drama in any of the qualy rounds... no remarkable last-gasp heroics, no desperate clawing to get into the next round, no heavy-hitters leaving the pits with a tire blanket still attached.
Actually, I'd like to see that last one. Bet mechanical grip would be affected a bit.
I digress. The race is at 130am Pond time, set your VCR and we'll see you here for the F1 UPDATE!
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April 16, 2010
F1 Practice: China 2010!
There wasn't much news to report for the afternoon session, which is the one televised by SPEED, but hoo-doggie was there action in the morning!
It all started when Ferrari's HWMNBN blew an engine, which means he's now on his third of the year. With the eight-engine limit from last year still in effect, he could be in serious trouble down the road.
Then we discovered that, seven years ago, the Shanghai International Circuit was built on drained swampland... and not all of that was actually drained! Fast forward to today, and the waterlogged bedrock underneath the track is beginning to subside, creating some rather nasty bumps. How nasty? Bad enough that Timo Glockenspiel actually broke his Virgin's front wing going over one. THAT might be a problem.
It's also cold in Shanghai. How cold? Temperatures were in the 40s during the morning session; according to the Legendary Announce Team, to find the last time it was that cold on this date in Shanghai, you have to go back to the 1800s. That'll make the tires work weirdly, if at all... Adrian Sutil said it might take six laps or more to bring them up to race temps. That's not good at all!
But all of that pales in comparison to the sort of day that Toro Rosso's Sebastian Buemi had. Imagine what it's like to be on the highway and you get a flat tire. Well, Buemi was going around 180mph or so down the back straight when... well, this happened:
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. Both his front wheels literally FELL OFF THE CAR at 180mph. Don't believe me? Here's another view:
And, just for the heck of it, here's video of the incident:
It all started when Ferrari's HWMNBN blew an engine, which means he's now on his third of the year. With the eight-engine limit from last year still in effect, he could be in serious trouble down the road.
Then we discovered that, seven years ago, the Shanghai International Circuit was built on drained swampland... and not all of that was actually drained! Fast forward to today, and the waterlogged bedrock underneath the track is beginning to subside, creating some rather nasty bumps. How nasty? Bad enough that Timo Glockenspiel actually broke his Virgin's front wing going over one. THAT might be a problem.
It's also cold in Shanghai. How cold? Temperatures were in the 40s during the morning session; according to the Legendary Announce Team, to find the last time it was that cold on this date in Shanghai, you have to go back to the 1800s. That'll make the tires work weirdly, if at all... Adrian Sutil said it might take six laps or more to bring them up to race temps. That's not good at all!
But all of that pales in comparison to the sort of day that Toro Rosso's Sebastian Buemi had. Imagine what it's like to be on the highway and you get a flat tire. Well, Buemi was going around 180mph or so down the back straight when... well, this happened:
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. Both his front wheels literally FELL OFF THE CAR at 180mph. Don't believe me? Here's another view:
And, just for the heck of it, here's video of the incident:
The upright, which is what connects the wheel to the suspension, on the right front corner completely failed. This transferred all the weight of the front of the car to the suspension on the other side, which then exploded. Buemi was unhurt in the rather bizarre incident, but his car was pretty much ruined. Seems the uprights were made of a new material... which, of course, Toro Rosso has now thrown in the trash. Remember, this is Toro Rosso's first car as a constructor, so one might expect a little of this... though not, perhaps, quite so dramatically. The team is expected to have a new chassis built up in time for quals.
Speaking of which, we'll see you here tomorrow morning for those results!
UPDATE: Sebastian Buemi is now the early favorite in the Quote of the Year contest: "From in the car it was not a problem. I just lost both wheels." Nope, no problem there.
Speaking of which, we'll see you here tomorrow morning for those results!
UPDATE: Sebastian Buemi is now the early favorite in the Quote of the Year contest: "From in the car it was not a problem. I just lost both wheels." Nope, no problem there.
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April 13, 2010
F1 On Speed!: China 2010
A long time ago, Momzerduck said to me "Hermann Tilke's house probably has one very long hallway, then lots of small twisty hallways coming off of it."
No, wait, it was the Official Overseas Reader of The Pond, Flotsky, who said that. Momzerduck said "if you can't say something nice about somebody, don't say anything at all." Looking back through previous "F1 On SPEED!" entries for China, I find that I just can't bring myself to say anything nice about Shanghai. So...
Here's the track map for Shanghai International Circuit.
(insert two minutes of silence here)
The Varsha should be back at the helm of the Legendary Announce Team during SPEED's coverage of the Grand Prix of China, which begins with Friday's Second Practice from 1am to 240am. Quals will come to us almost live on Saturday from 1am to 230am. The actual race, however, is from 130am to 4am Sunday morning, with a replay from 1pm to 330pm later that afternoon.
See you then!
No, wait, it was the Official Overseas Reader of The Pond, Flotsky, who said that. Momzerduck said "if you can't say something nice about somebody, don't say anything at all." Looking back through previous "F1 On SPEED!" entries for China, I find that I just can't bring myself to say anything nice about Shanghai. So...
Here's the track map for Shanghai International Circuit.
(insert two minutes of silence here)
The Varsha should be back at the helm of the Legendary Announce Team during SPEED's coverage of the Grand Prix of China, which begins with Friday's Second Practice from 1am to 240am. Quals will come to us almost live on Saturday from 1am to 230am. The actual race, however, is from 130am to 4am Sunday morning, with a replay from 1pm to 330pm later that afternoon.
See you then!
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April 12, 2010
"Green Racing" A Reality
"Powered by chocolate. Steered by carrots." That's the humorous tagline for WorldFirst Racing, the first-ever "green" racing car.
WorldFirst is a F3 car/team. You can think of Formula 3 as being Single- or Double-A level in baseball's minor leagues, if you'd like: a major step in a pro career, but no guarantee of making the majors. Anyway, the car is made up of either recycled materials, such as the body (recycled carbon fiber... ever wonder what happened to wrecked F1 cars?), or organic stuff (the steering wheel is made out of a polymer derived from carrots and other root veggies). The engine is is a 2 liter turbodiesel, fueled by biodiesel. The front wing endplates are made out of potato starch and flax fiber. Heck, even the radiators are coated with a substance that "converts ozone to oxygen".
So, maybe not the "edible racer" that some suggested, but still a pretty good start.
A helluva lot better than the stupid Honda Earthdream car...
Yes, that's Jenson Button in the cockpit. Yes, I'm sure he'd rather we forgot about that year...
"Powered by chocolate. Steered by carrots." That's the humorous tagline for WorldFirst Racing, the first-ever "green" racing car.
WorldFirst is a F3 car/team. You can think of Formula 3 as being Single- or Double-A level in baseball's minor leagues, if you'd like: a major step in a pro career, but no guarantee of making the majors. Anyway, the car is made up of either recycled materials, such as the body (recycled carbon fiber... ever wonder what happened to wrecked F1 cars?), or organic stuff (the steering wheel is made out of a polymer derived from carrots and other root veggies). The engine is is a 2 liter turbodiesel, fueled by biodiesel. The front wing endplates are made out of potato starch and flax fiber. Heck, even the radiators are coated with a substance that "converts ozone to oxygen".
So, maybe not the "edible racer" that some suggested, but still a pretty good start.
A helluva lot better than the stupid Honda Earthdream car...
Yes, that's Jenson Button in the cockpit. Yes, I'm sure he'd rather we forgot about that year...
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April 03, 2010
F1 Quals: Malaysia 2010!
Well that was interesting. Looks like what is becoming the annual Ferrari brainfart is starting to spread... let's take a look at the grid!
Q1 started out with a firm drizzle as the cars took to the track... or should I say MOST of the cars. Ferrari and McLaren sat in their garages, their weather experts apparently telling them that the rain would stop. But it never did.
Button went out first, got a time fast enough to get to Q2, and when the rain became heavier, aquaplaned right into a graveltrap from which he could not escape. He sat on the timing-and-scoring bubble for a few anxious minutes, but managed to eke by. By the time Hamilton, Massa and HWMNBN began their flying laps, the rain was just heavy enough to make it impossible to set competitive laps, rendering their qualifying sessions moot. Serious, serious error by the big guys on the grid. Like most everybody else, they should have gone out ASAP... what do you have to lose? If it dries out, you come in, get new tires, and off you go. If it DOESN'T dry, you've still got times set in the same conditions as everybody else... like Lotus and Virgin, each of whom got a car into Q2 for the first time.
Meanwhile, it took nearly 15 minutes for Button's McLaren to be returned to the pitlane, too late for it to be checked over for damage, get the kittylitter out of the ducts, turned around and sent out for Q2.
Q3 was an adventure, to say the least. The rain started out hard, got even harder (which redflagged the session for a few minutes), and then the full-wet tires kicked in. With about two minutes left in the session, none other than Force India's Adrian Sutil sat on pole, setting fast lap after fast lap as the rain pelted down. Towards the end, however, Red Bull's Mark Webber somehow tore off a lap that was nearly 1.5 seconds faster than anybody else in the session. That's an amazing amount of time, and one that I'm at a loss to explain. He didn't have a drying track, the rain didn't let up at all. I suppose he just caught the sweet spot on the combination of rubber on the circuit, water on the ground, car setup, and tires in a perfect Golden Lap.
So, there you have it... your starting grid for the 2010 Grand Prix of Malaysia (swimming edition). The forecast is for more rain during the race, so it's entirely up for grabs.
UPDATE: It turns out that Webber turned his amazing lap in while running on Intermediates; everybody else was on full wet tires. Gutsy move, that!
Q1 started out with a firm drizzle as the cars took to the track... or should I say MOST of the cars. Ferrari and McLaren sat in their garages, their weather experts apparently telling them that the rain would stop. But it never did.
Button went out first, got a time fast enough to get to Q2, and when the rain became heavier, aquaplaned right into a graveltrap from which he could not escape. He sat on the timing-and-scoring bubble for a few anxious minutes, but managed to eke by. By the time Hamilton, Massa and HWMNBN began their flying laps, the rain was just heavy enough to make it impossible to set competitive laps, rendering their qualifying sessions moot. Serious, serious error by the big guys on the grid. Like most everybody else, they should have gone out ASAP... what do you have to lose? If it dries out, you come in, get new tires, and off you go. If it DOESN'T dry, you've still got times set in the same conditions as everybody else... like Lotus and Virgin, each of whom got a car into Q2 for the first time.
Meanwhile, it took nearly 15 minutes for Button's McLaren to be returned to the pitlane, too late for it to be checked over for damage, get the kittylitter out of the ducts, turned around and sent out for Q2.
Q3 was an adventure, to say the least. The rain started out hard, got even harder (which redflagged the session for a few minutes), and then the full-wet tires kicked in. With about two minutes left in the session, none other than Force India's Adrian Sutil sat on pole, setting fast lap after fast lap as the rain pelted down. Towards the end, however, Red Bull's Mark Webber somehow tore off a lap that was nearly 1.5 seconds faster than anybody else in the session. That's an amazing amount of time, and one that I'm at a loss to explain. He didn't have a drying track, the rain didn't let up at all. I suppose he just caught the sweet spot on the combination of rubber on the circuit, water on the ground, car setup, and tires in a perfect Golden Lap.
So, there you have it... your starting grid for the 2010 Grand Prix of Malaysia (swimming edition). The forecast is for more rain during the race, so it's entirely up for grabs.
UPDATE: It turns out that Webber turned his amazing lap in while running on Intermediates; everybody else was on full wet tires. Gutsy move, that!
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April 02, 2010
F1 Practice: Malaysia 2010!
Short update today, as I'm preparing for my Fantasy Baseball League auction on Saturday. It actually didn't rain during either session, but the second one ended before Sunday's race start time. According to locals, it always rains in late afternoon in April, so prepare for a wet race.
Anyway, the big news is that McLaren looked fast during both practices with Hamilton topping the timesheet for both and Button ending up 4th in P2, with Seb Vettel and Nico Rosberg ahead of him. Ferrari, on the other hand, did not look quick at all. The best HWMNBN could do was 7th, and Massa turned in a miserable 15th. As always, however, one should not put too much faith in Practice results, as we never know just what the teams are actually doing during these sessions. It's possible that McLaren was working on high-speed stretches, while Ferrari was doing heavy fuel loads to check wear on tires.
One thing we can count on, however, is that Red Bull will have technical problems. Mark Webber, using the same engine he's run at Bahrain and Australia, had it die on him early in P2. Well, no big shock there; there were only four drivers that hadn't had an engine change yet, but it's just another blow to the fast, but fragile, Red Bulls... that's track time the team didn't get, and track time is now more valuable than gold in F1.
One bit of off-track news. Those pitiable "outboard mirrors" that Ferrari and some other teams have been using have been banned.
As you can see, "outboard mirrors" are actually mounted out on the sidepods, putting them a very long way from the drivers. Moreover, they're put on a spindly piece of bodywork, which means they're very very tiny. For comparison's sake, take a look at the ones on the MP4-25. By China, all teams must have their mirrors mounted directly to the monocoque.
UPDATE: The deadline has been changed to Barcelona.
Okay, I'm off to figure out the difference between Andy and Adam LaRoche (answer: none, really) and find the second-best left-handed relief specialist who pitches in the NL Central. Quals report will be up Saturday evening, like as not, as the league auction is at 1pm.
Anyway, the big news is that McLaren looked fast during both practices with Hamilton topping the timesheet for both and Button ending up 4th in P2, with Seb Vettel and Nico Rosberg ahead of him. Ferrari, on the other hand, did not look quick at all. The best HWMNBN could do was 7th, and Massa turned in a miserable 15th. As always, however, one should not put too much faith in Practice results, as we never know just what the teams are actually doing during these sessions. It's possible that McLaren was working on high-speed stretches, while Ferrari was doing heavy fuel loads to check wear on tires.
One thing we can count on, however, is that Red Bull will have technical problems. Mark Webber, using the same engine he's run at Bahrain and Australia, had it die on him early in P2. Well, no big shock there; there were only four drivers that hadn't had an engine change yet, but it's just another blow to the fast, but fragile, Red Bulls... that's track time the team didn't get, and track time is now more valuable than gold in F1.
One bit of off-track news. Those pitiable "outboard mirrors" that Ferrari and some other teams have been using have been banned.
As you can see, "outboard mirrors" are actually mounted out on the sidepods, putting them a very long way from the drivers. Moreover, they're put on a spindly piece of bodywork, which means they're very very tiny. For comparison's sake, take a look at the ones on the MP4-25. By China, all teams must have their mirrors mounted directly to the monocoque.
UPDATE: The deadline has been changed to Barcelona.
Okay, I'm off to figure out the difference between Andy and Adam LaRoche (answer: none, really) and find the second-best left-handed relief specialist who pitches in the NL Central. Quals report will be up Saturday evening, like as not, as the league auction is at 1pm.
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April 01, 2010
Button Involved In Horrific F1 Accident!
Ugly, ugly scene. Hopefully everything will turn out okay.
Ugly, ugly scene. Hopefully everything will turn out okay.
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March 29, 2010
F1 On Speed!: Malaysia 2010!
For many, many years, the most hated man in Formula 1 was either Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone. It was thought that their meddling with the rules was to blame for the "processional" style of racing we've seen for a while, and there's no denying that they certainly deserve their share of brickbats. But even more deserving of slings and arrows is a man who's face we've seen but rarely. He is responsible for the designs of either nine or 10 (depending on how you lay blame) of the 19 circuits on the F1 calendar. He has a knack of placing turns at just the right place to ruin any chance of passing, or to take what should be a good turn for a pass and destroy it by changing the radius mid-bend. This man is named Hermann Tilke. The Grand Prix of Malaysia is held on one of his circuits. Here's the track map.
To be fair to Mr Tilke, his race complexes often have stunning architecture involved, and Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit is probably best known for having the longest continuous fully covered grandstand in the world. Beginning shortly after Turn 14, it runs down to Turn 15 then pivots around a central parasol, continuing down the main straight until ending near pit-out.
The fact that I'm writing about architecture might give you the impression that I'm struggling to come up with something nice to say about this racetrack... and you'd be entirely right. Other than the Turn 1-2 complex, an off-camber descending corkscrew of turns that I've always been fond of, there's not all that much to like about Sepang.
Unless you like rain, in which case boy do I have a circuit for you! Last year's race was the first in a long, long time to be called on account of weather before the half-way point, meaning all points scored were halved. The big deluge soaked the track for such an extended period that the sun set before it was safe to drive on again. Oh, guess what? There's rain in the forecast again. What a shock.
Still, SPEED will bring us its usual high-quality coverage beginning at 1am Friday morning with LIVE footage from Friday's Second Practice, until 240am. Saturday has plausibly live coverage of the Quals session, from 3am to 430am. The actual race is on Sunday, from 230am to 5am, with a replay at 1030am. Unfortunately, the Legendary Announce Team will be down a voice all weekend, as the ringmaster, Bob Varsha, will be working the Palm Beach Barrett-Jackson collector car auction. I believe they said Lee Diffie will be filling in, and he's certainly knowledgeable enough (he does the same job for Australian TV coverage of F1), but he's not The Varsha.
We'll be here with our sterling reportage all weekend, so don't forget to drop in, Dear Reader. And my other reader is welcome, too.
To be fair to Mr Tilke, his race complexes often have stunning architecture involved, and Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit is probably best known for having the longest continuous fully covered grandstand in the world. Beginning shortly after Turn 14, it runs down to Turn 15 then pivots around a central parasol, continuing down the main straight until ending near pit-out.
The fact that I'm writing about architecture might give you the impression that I'm struggling to come up with something nice to say about this racetrack... and you'd be entirely right. Other than the Turn 1-2 complex, an off-camber descending corkscrew of turns that I've always been fond of, there's not all that much to like about Sepang.
Unless you like rain, in which case boy do I have a circuit for you! Last year's race was the first in a long, long time to be called on account of weather before the half-way point, meaning all points scored were halved. The big deluge soaked the track for such an extended period that the sun set before it was safe to drive on again. Oh, guess what? There's rain in the forecast again. What a shock.
Still, SPEED will bring us its usual high-quality coverage beginning at 1am Friday morning with LIVE footage from Friday's Second Practice, until 240am. Saturday has plausibly live coverage of the Quals session, from 3am to 430am. The actual race is on Sunday, from 230am to 5am, with a replay at 1030am. Unfortunately, the Legendary Announce Team will be down a voice all weekend, as the ringmaster, Bob Varsha, will be working the Palm Beach Barrett-Jackson collector car auction. I believe they said Lee Diffie will be filling in, and he's certainly knowledgeable enough (he does the same job for Australian TV coverage of F1), but he's not The Varsha.
We'll be here with our sterling reportage all weekend, so don't forget to drop in, Dear Reader. And my other reader is welcome, too.
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March 28, 2010
Good Morning F1 Fans
While I get the sleep out of my eyes after the late night of F1 watching, maybe get some breakfast in me, here's some grid girls to make the wait for F1 Update! a little easier.
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
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March 27, 2010
Weather Report: Australian Grand Prix 2010 (UPDATED)
We're 10 minutes from lights-out for the Australian Grand Prix, and it has just started to rain... but it's just a drizzle. It might get harder, it might run for a while, so nobody has a clue what type of tire to put on.
For the record? I'm giggling like a schoolgirl.
UPDATE 1am, recon lap: Looks like everybody is playing it safe and going with Intermediate tires.
UPDATE end lap 01: Safety Car! Felipe Massa made a rocket start to 2nd, Kubica went from 9th to 4th, Alonso HWMNBN and Slappy got deranged, breaking Slappy's nose. But the big one came when the Sauber of Kamui Kobyashi had his front wing come off (AGAIN), sending him into a wall, then across the track where he collected the Williams of Nico Hulkenberg in a massive accident. Safety Car lasts 5 laps or so.
UPDATE end lap 11: Everybody is back on slicks now, but it's beginning to rain again. Oops. I'm just going to watch the race now unless there's a major occurrence.
UPDATE end lap 26: Major occurrence! Seb Vettel crashes from the race lead, maybe a broken suspension. Button is now your leader!
For the record? I'm giggling like a schoolgirl.
UPDATE 1am, recon lap: Looks like everybody is playing it safe and going with Intermediate tires.
UPDATE end lap 01: Safety Car! Felipe Massa made a rocket start to 2nd, Kubica went from 9th to 4th, Alonso HWMNBN and Slappy got deranged, breaking Slappy's nose. But the big one came when the Sauber of Kamui Kobyashi had his front wing come off (AGAIN), sending him into a wall, then across the track where he collected the Williams of Nico Hulkenberg in a massive accident. Safety Car lasts 5 laps or so.
UPDATE end lap 11: Everybody is back on slicks now, but it's beginning to rain again. Oops. I'm just going to watch the race now unless there's a major occurrence.
UPDATE end lap 26: Major occurrence! Seb Vettel crashes from the race lead, maybe a broken suspension. Button is now your leader!
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F1 Quals: Australia 2010!
Rain threatened in Q3, but held off just long enough to get the session completed in the dry. So who's on pole? Let's take a look at the provisional grid:
The big surprise is Lewis Hamilton, knocked out in Q2. He claims that he was balked on his final hot lap, and it is true that he came across two cars somewhere in sector 3. However, both cars were off the racing line. Further, the TV director had us in-car with Hamilton's McLaren at that portion of the lap; if he lifted off the gas or blipped the brakes, you sure couldn't tell from the engine note or the onscreen displays of RPM. I think he's just looking for an excuse; his teammate was fourth in Q2, after all, and ended up fourth on the grid after Q3. Just a bad performance for the 2008 World Champion, and as it turns out, for the team. Reports are coming in as I write this that Hamilton may not have had enough fuel for a final hot lap, though he crossed the line with time remaining on the session clock. If so, that'll rank up there with the two Ferrari blunders early in the '09 season, when in separate incidents both Massa and Raikkonen sat in their garages with what they thought were safe times, only to see the track come alive and the rest of the field sweep by them, dumping them out in Q1.
Another mild surprise was the relatively poor showing by the two Renaults. Kubica, and to a lesser extent Petrov, had been quite quick during the three practice sessions. Having Petrov knocked out after Q1, and Kubica needing a late push in Q3 to get past the Force India of Adrian Sutil, must have been a disappointment for the team. Petrov had a slight moment on his final flying lap in Q1 that sent him just far enough off-track to ruin his chance to make it to the next session, but I'm sure there were still some rueful glances thrown about.
Of course, all six of the new cars went out in the first session, though the Lotuses (Lotii?) are making some small amount of progress out there. Virgin, as we know, can't be a threat until they rebuild their car because of their too-small fuel tank. But spare a moment for Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok. The HRT HRT is just brutal. While they did last the entire Q1 session, a minor miracle in and of itself, I don't think any driver could get more than a second out of that beast. We did an onboard lap with, I think, Chandhok, and the steering inputs that he had to enter, just to make a turn, looked like he was trying to hack chunks off a slab of meat with the wheel. Just constant, nigh frantic, back and forth sawing at the steering wheel. Other teams would consider the HRT HRT to be in an emergency situation in every single turn. Compare that to the smooth, almost negligible, steering required by Jenson Button and his McLaren, and it becomes obvious: the HRT HRT is just not ready, at all.
Blame the ban of in-season testing. The one thing that the new teams need to improve is track time, and because of the rules, they can only get that at the races. In baseball, it'd be like drafting a player out of high school, then only being allowed to play him if he's in the big leagues... no minor league playing time once the majors start their season.
Race coverage begins at 1230am Sunday morning... see you there!
The big surprise is Lewis Hamilton, knocked out in Q2. He claims that he was balked on his final hot lap, and it is true that he came across two cars somewhere in sector 3. However, both cars were off the racing line. Further, the TV director had us in-car with Hamilton's McLaren at that portion of the lap; if he lifted off the gas or blipped the brakes, you sure couldn't tell from the engine note or the onscreen displays of RPM. I think he's just looking for an excuse; his teammate was fourth in Q2, after all, and ended up fourth on the grid after Q3. Just a bad performance for the 2008 World Champion, and as it turns out, for the team. Reports are coming in as I write this that Hamilton may not have had enough fuel for a final hot lap, though he crossed the line with time remaining on the session clock. If so, that'll rank up there with the two Ferrari blunders early in the '09 season, when in separate incidents both Massa and Raikkonen sat in their garages with what they thought were safe times, only to see the track come alive and the rest of the field sweep by them, dumping them out in Q1.
Another mild surprise was the relatively poor showing by the two Renaults. Kubica, and to a lesser extent Petrov, had been quite quick during the three practice sessions. Having Petrov knocked out after Q1, and Kubica needing a late push in Q3 to get past the Force India of Adrian Sutil, must have been a disappointment for the team. Petrov had a slight moment on his final flying lap in Q1 that sent him just far enough off-track to ruin his chance to make it to the next session, but I'm sure there were still some rueful glances thrown about.
Of course, all six of the new cars went out in the first session, though the Lotuses (Lotii?) are making some small amount of progress out there. Virgin, as we know, can't be a threat until they rebuild their car because of their too-small fuel tank. But spare a moment for Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok. The HRT HRT is just brutal. While they did last the entire Q1 session, a minor miracle in and of itself, I don't think any driver could get more than a second out of that beast. We did an onboard lap with, I think, Chandhok, and the steering inputs that he had to enter, just to make a turn, looked like he was trying to hack chunks off a slab of meat with the wheel. Just constant, nigh frantic, back and forth sawing at the steering wheel. Other teams would consider the HRT HRT to be in an emergency situation in every single turn. Compare that to the smooth, almost negligible, steering required by Jenson Button and his McLaren, and it becomes obvious: the HRT HRT is just not ready, at all.
Blame the ban of in-season testing. The one thing that the new teams need to improve is track time, and because of the rules, they can only get that at the races. In baseball, it'd be like drafting a player out of high school, then only being allowed to play him if he's in the big leagues... no minor league playing time once the majors start their season.
Race coverage begins at 1230am Sunday morning... see you there!
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March 26, 2010
Australia Second Practice 2010
The good news is that Kamui Kobyashi's front wing didn't fall off in the second practice session. The bad news is that it rained. Twice. While some teams tried to take advantage and get some running in the wet, most of the teams quickly discovered that the track was too wet for the dry tires, but not wet enough for the intermediates. Rubens Barrichello said it best when, over the radio to his pit crew, he simply said "we're not learning anything. We know the white lines are slippery."
So let us, instead, look at what's going on around F1! The big news up and down the pit lane is the rather embarrassing announcement that the virgin Virgin Racing VR-1 was built with... a fuel tank that was too small. Oy. The team estimates that it really needs to be about 21 liters larger for their car to have the ability to run a race distance. After going to the FIA, begging and groveling, they've been given dispensation to install a larger tank. The problem is, however, that F1 cars are built to such tight tolerances that to install a bigger fuel bladder requires a complete redesign and rebuild of the chassis. The amount of work needed to be completed will mean that the new chassis will be a whole new car... and that should mean new crash testing and all that sort of thing. It goes without saying that the costs of all of this rework will be astronomical... and for a new team, perhaps too much to carry. Of course, the chances of the VR-1 actually finishing a race for the forseeable future are slim to none, so maybe they won't bother.
Speaking of the new squads, Hispania Racing Team got a grand total of zero complete laps in P2 from their two cars. Bruno Senna's car had a telemetry/electrical problem and never left the pits, and Karun Chandhok's HRT HRT made it 100m out of the pit lane before it died, apparently of embarrassment. To be fair, they did complete 43 laps in the first session between the two drivers.
Darth Bernie Ecclestone told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport that he intends for F1 to be back in the US in 2012. "I'm trying to get F1 to the US in 2012, opposite Manhattan in New Jersey with skyscrapers in the background. The track would be just fifteen minutes from the city centre of New York. It would be something great," said the F1 Troll. I'll believe it when it happens, says the F1 Wonderduck.
Finally, the weather forecast for Australia is great: thunderstorms all afternoon and evening. Which means a wet race, which means fun fun fun! Except for one tiny detail... remember last year's Malaysian Grand Prix, when it rained so hard that the race was delayed, then called at about the halfway mark because of darkness? The Australian Grand Prix will be starting at 5pm local time, and it will be twilight-ish at the end of the race. If it rains during the race...
Quals are late tonight; I'm going to try to stay awake for it.
Picture from the 2009 Australian Grand Prix
It's those lines that earned the Albert Park circuit "God's Slotcar Track," by the way. Because of the ooky track conditions, nobody could really decide what shoes to run. As a result, a lot of teams very quickly chewed through their tires. P2 was, essentially, a waste of time for the most part.So let us, instead, look at what's going on around F1! The big news up and down the pit lane is the rather embarrassing announcement that the virgin Virgin Racing VR-1 was built with... a fuel tank that was too small. Oy. The team estimates that it really needs to be about 21 liters larger for their car to have the ability to run a race distance. After going to the FIA, begging and groveling, they've been given dispensation to install a larger tank. The problem is, however, that F1 cars are built to such tight tolerances that to install a bigger fuel bladder requires a complete redesign and rebuild of the chassis. The amount of work needed to be completed will mean that the new chassis will be a whole new car... and that should mean new crash testing and all that sort of thing. It goes without saying that the costs of all of this rework will be astronomical... and for a new team, perhaps too much to carry. Of course, the chances of the VR-1 actually finishing a race for the forseeable future are slim to none, so maybe they won't bother.
Speaking of the new squads, Hispania Racing Team got a grand total of zero complete laps in P2 from their two cars. Bruno Senna's car had a telemetry/electrical problem and never left the pits, and Karun Chandhok's HRT HRT made it 100m out of the pit lane before it died, apparently of embarrassment. To be fair, they did complete 43 laps in the first session between the two drivers.
Darth Bernie Ecclestone told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport that he intends for F1 to be back in the US in 2012. "I'm trying to get F1 to the US in 2012, opposite Manhattan in New Jersey with skyscrapers in the background. The track would be just fifteen minutes from the city centre of New York. It would be something great," said the F1 Troll. I'll believe it when it happens, says the F1 Wonderduck.
Finally, the weather forecast for Australia is great: thunderstorms all afternoon and evening. Which means a wet race, which means fun fun fun! Except for one tiny detail... remember last year's Malaysian Grand Prix, when it rained so hard that the race was delayed, then called at about the halfway mark because of darkness? The Australian Grand Prix will be starting at 5pm local time, and it will be twilight-ish at the end of the race. If it rains during the race...
Quals are late tonight; I'm going to try to stay awake for it.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:07 PM
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