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The 2020 F1 Season

I just read the secret aerodynamicist's take (@ BBC link) on capes, J vanes and the y250 vortex. I didn't quite get it, but what I took from it instead is that F1 cars are truly stunning to behold just as much they are technical brilliance.

I loved the McLaren's when Alonso and Hamilton where driving them and although things got a bit weird when raised (and sometimes, split) noses were introduced, the current cars are by and large beautiful - including the addition of the halo. Aesthetically, the current cars are marvelous!
 
Decent lap by Lewis... ;)

And here was me wondering if he had lost a bit of one lap speed a few weeks ago.

The Mercs are just a little bit ahead of the rest at the moment. :eek:
 
The Hulk gets a surprise outing , hope he does well

Agreed.

Always a shame that he never got a decent result to his career. Also wondered about the perception of him in the pitlane, seemed a lovely chap and a very decent driver but he was never quite in the right time or place to get a top drive. Equally he never quite gave the impression he was top drawer but figured he could be BOT level.

F1 is full of drivers who flatter to deceive or never get the breaks. I recall MAG's dad Jan Magnussen who broke every record on the way up to F1 exceeding Senna's early results but really flopped badly in F1. He was replaced interestingly by VER's dad Jos Verstappen at Stewart.
 
F1 is full of drivers who flatter to deceive or never get the breaks. I recall MAG's dad Jan Magnussen who broke every record on the way up to F1 exceeding Senna's early results but really flopped badly in F1. He was replaced interestingly by VER's dad Jos Verstappen at Stewart.

Yes, it's always been something I have been annoyed with myself about as I have rarely picked a winner from the lower formulae with the exception of Hamilton whose GP2 2006 season was stunning (remember that drive to second place in Turkey- YT it if you've never seen it). My last pick was Vandoorne, his GP2 seasons were fantastic and I was sure he was going to do very very well in F1... but nope!

It also works the other way as I saw little in Ricciardo's performances prior to him getting in the Red Bull in 2014 that would lead me to believe he could overtake and win races the way he does. I also remember looking at Schumacher's pre-F1 results in 1991 and they were respectable, but not outstanding ... I was thinking 'why is he in the Jordan?' It took one quali session to realise why :D
 
F1 is full of drivers who flatter to deceive or never get the breaks. I recall MAG's dad Jan Magnussen who broke every record on the way up to F1 exceeding Senna's early results but really flopped badly in F1.

I saw Jan Magnussen racing against Dario Franchitti at Silverstone back in 1994(?).

It's just a great pity that we never got to see what Franchitti was capable of in an F1 car.
 
There are a lot of things required for an F1 driver to be a winner. And there are many things that confuse people along the way and make people think that a certain driver would be the next Clark, or Senna. I am not good at spotting the best drivers either from F2. But I can give you some reasons as to why this happens:

1. In F2 all drivers find it difficult in their first season as it is so different to their previous racing. In their second season they all improve but some improve more than others. I put this down to one, a few or all of the following:
1.1 The driver has developed a good relationship with his race engineer and they know what to do get the driver to perform better.
1.2 The driver is a hard worker and has learnt a lot during the first season and does various things over the winter to improve (physical and mental training).
1.3 The driver is naturally very talented at driving F2 cars and this they are able to demonstrate with fewer mistakes etc.
1.4 The driver is very good at learning and will learn how to drive any car fast, and is fast enough in F2 to demonstrate their talents in F1 where their skills may be even better suited.

2. The FIA have been trying to make the F2 tyres behave more like F1 tyres, but to make the whole car work like a mini F1 car to show who would be quick in F1 car is impossible.

For example, Charles Leclerc has many of the above. He is very good at getting people on his side, he is very talented, learns very quickly, admits his mistakes and even tells the engineers that he drove really badly and all the data should be ignored (so saving their time and effort for other areas that would help him), learns from his mistakes and does not repeat them.
 
I saw Jan Magnussen racing against Dario Franchitti at Silverstone back in 1994(?).

It's just a great pity that we never got to see what Franchitti was capable of in an F1 car.


That’s a good shout, Dario was outstanding in Indycar/CART. Always hard to judge ultimate F1 ability from other series but he was 2nd behind Montoya in his second season so a good comparison there and then ultimately wining 4 titles, he was a class act.
 
Interesting interview with Lewis Hamilton. The Channel 4 presenter is still a duffer and the version of God Save The Queen wasn't very good at all. I wonder if they got her cut price?

Jack
 
I think Mercedes could have brought Hamilton in on the penultimate lap for new tyres - the gap to Verstappen was big enough. It would have saved a lot of soiled underwear...
 
I think Mercedes could have brought Hamilton in on the penultimate lap for new tyres - the gap to Verstappen was big enough. It would have saved a lot of soiled underwear...

I couldn’t believe they didn’t pit Lewis either but it made for great drama. They got away with that one!
 
That’s a good shout, Dario was outstanding in Indycar/CART. Always hard to judge ultimate F1 ability from other series but he was 2nd behind Montoya in his second season so a good comparison there and then ultimately wining 4 titles, he was a class act.

my claim to fame is my part in “helping” Dario on his way In his racing career

specifically pushing his go kart at the start of a local event and promptly falling flat on my face as it was the first time I’d ever tried such a thing :D:eek:o_O
 
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I switched on the Grand Prix earlier to see how Hamilton was doing. He was at the top of the leaderboard where I think he stayed, but what shocked me though, was just how dull it all looked, with the absence of the crowd etc. It just looked like a procession lap, which I genuinely thought it was, turns out they were ‘racing’ I stuck with it for 5 minutes and then switched it off. Not sure what’s happened to F1 as I would religiously watch it every year, just seems so lacking in excitement these days, such a shame
 
I switched on the Grand Prix earlier to see how Hamilton was doing. He was at the top of the leaderboard where I think he stayed, but what shocked me though, was just how dull it all looked, with the absence of the crowd etc. It just looked like a procession lap, which I genuinely thought it was, turns out they were ‘racing’ I stuck with it for 5 minutes and then switched it off. Not sure what’s happened to F1 as I would religiously watch it every year, just seems so lacking in excitement these days, such a shame

How I hate the whiny sort of posts. I've been hearing this sort of comment ever since I started watching F1... in 1976! Firstly it's no different now to how it was 10, 20, 30 years ago.... you just remember the classic races and forget about those that were processional. We have seen plenty of domination from teams and drivers over the years and in a few years time it will be someone else's turn... this is nothing new. Actually I would say in the last 10 years we've had some of the best races in F1 I've ever seen, but some races are just not like that. Yes it lacks atmosphere without the crowds but so does any sport... even the World Snooker Championship seems odd without the polite clapping. I also think F1 is for the more discerning follower too, those that like the engineering and almost "game of chess" like battles that occur between the teams' engineers and strategists. I accept it's not for everyone, but I do take issue with the "it's crap now and not like it used to be" brigade.
 


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