October 29, 2016
Pos |
Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1:19.447 | 1:19.137 | 1:18.704 | |
2 | 1:19.996 | 1:19.761 | 1:18.958 | |
3 | 1:19.874 | 1:18.972 | 1:19.054 | |
4 | 1:19.713 | 1:19.553 | 1:19.133 | |
5 | 1:20.599 | 1:19.769 | 1:19.330 | |
6 | 1:19.554 | 1:19.936 | 1:19.376 | |
7 | 1:19.865 | 1:19.385 | 1:19.381 | |
8 | 1:20.338 | 1:19.958 | 1:19.551 | |
9 | Retired | 1:20.423 | 1:20.151 | 1:20.032 |
10 | 1:20.457 | 1:20.169 | 1:20.378 | |
11 | 1:20.552 | 1:20.282 | ||
12 | 1:20.308 | 1:20.287 | ||
13 | Retired | 1:21.333 | 1:20.673 | |
14 | 1:21.254 | 1:21.131 | ||
15 | 1:21.062 | 1:21.536 | ||
16 | 1:21.363 | 1:21.785 | ||
17 | ! | 1:21.401 | ||
18 | 1:21.454 | |||
19 | Not Retired | 1:21.692 | ||
20 | 1:21.881 | |||
21 | 1:21.916 |
The sharper-eyed (or the overly-detail-oriented) of you may have noticed that there are only 21, not 22, cars listed. That's because in P3 Renault's Jolyon Palmer took his car for a looooong run over some curbing... that fit perfectly between the wheels. He wound up with a crack in the driver's tub, forcing the team to build him a new car from the ground up. He races at the stewards' whims.
Other than that, however? Rosberg pulled second place out of his exhaust pipe, jumping up from fourth at the last moment. I'm sure his teammate is happy for him. The Ferraris only noise came from a radio call with Seb Vettel in Q2: "Are we safe (in our position)?" "We are safe." "Can I go for a wee?" Just in case you wondered what F1 drivers do when... well... y'know.
Finally, Lettuce Grosjean looked to be ready to shank a b*tch after his car had another series of cascading failures in Q1. He's never been thrilled with his brakes, and they've gotten even worse over the last few races... and today, his hybrid battery went south on him, too. You know, the battery that's charged mostly by the brakes?
Race is in the afternoon. See you sometime thereafter...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
06:01 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 475 words, total size 21 kb.
October 26, 2016
I'm really not in the mood for writing tonight, so I'll simply say the tire choices are Medium, Soft and Supersofts.
The Legendary Announce Team's broadcast schedule is as follows:
Friday
Practice 2: 2p - 330p live on NBCSN
Saturday
Quals: 1p - 230p live on NBCSN
Sunday
2016 Grand Prix of Mexico: 130p - 4p live on NBC
All times Pond Central, as per usual. Please note the actual race is on NBC, the mother network.
Chin up, fellow fans. F1U! will be along as usual.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
04:10 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 130 words, total size 1 kb.
October 22, 2016
Pos |
Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:36.296 | 1:36.450 | 1:34.999 |
2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:36.397 | 1:36.351 | 1:35.215 |
3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:36.759 | 1:36.255 | 1:35.509 |
4 | Embryo Verstappen | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:36.613 | 1:36.857 | 1:35.747 |
5 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:36.985 | 1:36.584 | 1:36.131 |
6 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:37.151 | 1:36.462 | 1:36.358 |
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India Mercedes | 1:36.950 | 1:36.626 | 1:36.628 |
8 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Mercedes | 1:37.456 | 1:37.202 | 1:37.116 |
9 | FelipeRetired Massa | Williams Mercedes | 1:37.402 | 1:37.214 | 1:37.269 |
10 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1:37.744 | 1:37.175 | 1:37.326 |
11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 1:37.345 | 1:37.353 | |
12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1:37.913 | 1:37.417 | |
13 | Kid Kvyat | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1:37.844 | 1:37.480 | |
14 | Esteban! | Haas Ferrari | 1:38.053 | 1:37.773 | |
15 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:38.084 | 1:37.935 | |
16 | Sony Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | 1:38.040 | 1:39.356 | |
17 | Lettuce Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:38.308 | ||
18 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:38.317 | ||
19 | Jenson Retired Button | McLaren Honda | 1:38.327 | ||
20 | Pascal's Wehrlein | MRT Mercedes | 1:38.548 | ||
21 | FelipeNot Retired Nasr | Sauber Ferrari | 1:38.583 | ||
22 | False Esteban | MRT Mercedes | 1:38.806 |
The two Merc drivers split the first two Qual sessions. Perhaps importantly, Rosberg was fastest in the second session. This is important because the top 10 have to start on the tires they used for their fastest lap in Q2... and unlike everybody else, the Mercs used the Soft tires while everybody else used the Supersofts. So in theory, Rosberg will have the advantage in at least the first stint.
Beyond them, Two-by-Two is was the rule of the day with only a wayward Force India to break up the first eight slots symmetry. Major disappointment for American team HaasF1, who were chasing gremlins all practice. Maybe things will go better for the race tomorrow afternoon! Look for it on NBC-the-mother-network, and sometime thereafter, F1U!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
03:59 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 375 words, total size 16 kb.
October 19, 2016
Today, tomorrow and forever, the best of the new circuits. Blatantly stealing Borrowing the best concepts from other tracks around the world, COTA is just about everything you'd want from a FIA Class 1 circuit. Plenty of run-off area surrounds the track itself while the facility has the world's only Emergency Room located at a race track to go along with the 5500 sq ft medical center (which is fully prepared to deal with exotic diseases like malaria and ebola. Yes, really). But best of all is what isn't going to be coming to Austin this year.
Yep, it was just last year that Hurricane Patricia hit the western coast of Mexico, then tracked up north. That meant rain and lots of it: nearly a foot of rain in a couple of days, to the point the 2015 USGP nearly got rained out. As it was, the whole weekend was borked up... just take a look at the goings-on on Saturday for a reminder of what it was like.
As is usual for a home race, the Legendary Announce Team will be on-site and bringing us coverage of every session during the weekend! Here's a look at the broadcast schedule:
Friday
Practice 1: 10a - 1130a live on NBCSN
Practice 2: 2p - 330p live on NBCSN
Saturday
Practice 3-Intermission-Quals: 1130a - 3p live on NBCSN
Sunday
2016 United States Grand Prix: 130p - 4p live on NBC
All times are Pond Central, of course. On a personal note, I tried to get Friday off from work, but because of a mandatory event I couldn't manage it. I did manage to get the afternoon off though, so I'll be parked in the Official Comfy Chair of The Pond for P2! Saturday and Sunday, of course, are givens.
So there we have it: the USGP! I'm looking forward to this one, if for no other reason that it'll be the first time HaasF1 has been home. Points would be nice, guys!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:50 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 417 words, total size 3 kb.
October 14, 2016
Let's be perfectly clear about this: there is nothing wrong with this Mercedes. Aerodynamics and G-forces alone have hucked the car over to the left. The tires are doing their job of pretending to be shock absorbers. The roll to the left is being mirrored on the right, picking the front right off the ground as the rear left compresses. And underneath, the titanium skid plate is performing its secondary duty of a sparkler.
All and all, a truly remarkable shot.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:25 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 104 words, total size 1 kb.
October 08, 2016
Pos |
Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1:31.858 | 1:30.714 | 1:30.647 | |
2 | 1:32.218 | 1:31.129 | 1:30.660 | |
3 | 1:31.674 | 1:31.406 | 1:30.949 | |
4 | 1:31.659 | 1:31.227 | 1:31.028 | |
5 | 1:32.487 | 1:31.489 | 1:31.178 | |
6 | 1:32.538 | 1:31.719 | 1:31.240 | |
7 | 1:32.682 | 1:32.237 | 1:31.961 | |
8 | 1:32.458 | 1:32.176 | 1:31.961 | |
9 | 1:32.448 | 1:32.200 | 1:32.142 | |
10 | 1:32.620 | 1:32.155 | 1:32.547 | |
11 | 1:32.383 | 1:32.315 | ||
12 | 1:32.562 | 1:32.380 | ||
13 | 1:32.645 | 1:32.623 | ||
14 | 1:32.789 | 1:32.685 | ||
15 | 1:32.819 | 1:32.689 | ||
16 | 1:32.796 | 1:32.807 | ||
17 | 1:32.851 | |||
18 | 1:33.023 | |||
19 | 1:33.222 | |||
20 | Not Massa | 1:33.332 | ||
21 | 1:33.353 | |||
22 | 's | 1:33.561 |
Nico Rosberg beat his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to the line by .013 seconds. On track, that works out to about 82 centimeters, or just a touch over 32 inches. The Mercedes W07 Hybrid chassis is 197 inches long, as a reference... yeah, that's pretty close. The video of the two lapping side-by-side is quite impressive.
Once again, we get two-by-two at the top of the grid: Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull. Vettel has a three grid-spot penalty coming for his banzai charge at the start of the Malaysian GP, though. It's amazing how the teams often break down that way.
The big news out of qualifying is the performance of Team Haas. This is the first time they've gotten both cars into Q3 at once. Sure, they didn't exactly cover themselves in glory in the session, but they were there. You want evidence that the team is advancing as a race team? There ya go. The points at the start of the season were nice, but they were outclassed by the more experienced organizations fairly quickly. Now they're starting to make gains on that front as well. Nice to see.
The biggest disappointment had to be felt by McLaren-Honda. After all, they're in Honda's home country, on the circuit owned and designed by Honda, and they've been coming to grips with their new engine all season. And then they leave a mess on the carpet that even an Aismo wouldn't clean up. That can't have gone over well at all.
So Rosberg gets the early advantage over Hamilton, on a track where such things are fairly important. With the gap he has in points over his teammate, he's not going to be reluctant to muscle him around, either... if they both get knocked out by damage, well, that's just going to make the lead that much harder to cut down. Not that Rosberg is going to do a Senna/Prost or anything, mind.
Race is late tonight/early tomorrow... I'll probably watch at least part of it live. If anything important happens, I'll mention it here before the F1U!. See ya later!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:05 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 538 words, total size 22 kb.
October 04, 2016
Once a fearsome beast of a track, it has been tamed somewhat in recent years. The legendary 130R was straightened a bit via a double-apex turn, Degner was made into two turns instead of one big sweeping bend, and the final chicane was first added, then moved closer to 130R. Despite all this, Suzuka is still one of the premiere tracks in F1, and the only one with a figure-8 layout. Not that there's many of those worldwide or anything.
It's also one of the favorites of the drivers. Not just because of the feeling that you're actually going somewhere, something you don't get at the Tilkedromes, but because of the Japanese fans. Only at Monza might you find a more passionate bunch, and no fans are more knowledgeable. And if there's a Japanese driver in the field? Bedlam. And if by chance he ends up on the podium? You get the 2012 post-race experience, with the entire crowd chanting Gandalf Kobayashi's name. Thrilling stuff.
While it's a late night race, the start isn't so late, and we have the Legendary Announce Team to keep us awake! Here's the broadcast schedule:
Friday
Practice 2: 1201a - 130a live on NBCSN
Saturday
Quals: 1a - 230a live on NBCSN
2016 Grand Prix of Japan: 1130p - 2a live on NBCSN
All times Pond Central of course, because Pond Central time is best time! And sometime after the race, F1 Update! will be along with another thrilling and exciting writeup of the race (note: may not be thrilling or exciting). Join us, won't you?
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:34 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 357 words, total size 3 kb.
October 01, 2016
Pos |
Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1:34.444 | 1:33.046 | 1:32.850 | |
2 | 1:34.460 | 1:33.609 | 1:33.264 | |
3 | 1:35.443 | 1:33.775 | 1:33.420 | |
4 | 1:35.079 | 1:33.888 | 1:33.467 | |
5 | 1:34.557 | 1:33.972 | 1:33.584 | |
6 | 1:34.556 | 1:33.903 | 1:33.632 | |
7 | 1:35.068 | 1:34.538 | 1:34.319 | |
8 | 1:34.827 | 1:34.441 | 1:34.489 | |
9 | 1:35.267 | 1:34.431 | 1:34.518 | |
10 | 1:35.267 | 1:34.422 | 1:34.671 | |
11 | 1:35.166 | 1:34.577 | ||
12 | 1:35.400 | 1:35.001 | ||
13 | 1:35.658 | 1:35.097 | ||
14 | Torchy | 1:35.593 | 1:35.277 | |
15 | 1:35.695 | 1:35.369 | ||
16 | 1:35.605 | 1:35.374 | ||
17 | 1:35.816 | |||
18 | Not Massa | 1:35.949 | ||
19 | 1:35.999 | |||
20 | 1:36.451 | |||
21 | 1:36.587 | |||
22 | 1:37.155 |
Fernando Alonso changed multiple pieces of his engine and the gearbox, giving him a 45 grid spot penalty before Quals began. As you can imagine, he didn't exactly go all out in his efforts today.
Other than that? It's all pretty much by rote. The Mercs are clowning the rest of the field, Red Bull actually looks pretty decent (but not that decent), Ferrari is grumpy, and there's a whole lot of two-by-two going on all the way down the grid.
I'd love to be more excited about the race, but boy, it's looking awfully familiar right about now. There's a lot of complaining about the reprofiled final turn... it's universally hated... but other than that, there may not be a whole lot of excitement.
F1Update! coming sometime Sunday... it's an early race, after all... look forward to it, won't you?
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:45 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 399 words, total size 21 kb.
50 queries taking 0.1609 seconds, 254 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.