Sauber wing... working perfectly :huh electrical issues continue for Vettel testing some changes to the rear for Kimi and changes to the front for Alonso
Formula 1 is louder In the week of testing in Barcelona Mercedes drives a tailpipe that looks like a trumpet. The aim of the exercise is to improve the sound of the engine. Initial tests have shown that the decibel This significantly increases. The strategy group of the formula 1 held unanimously that the request. Formula 1 needs to be louder. Thereupon, Mercedes, have Renault and Ferrari committed to breathe a little more life to the engine sound. The FIA provides three acoustic engineers, who are the manufacturers page. , Mercedes made ​​the beginning. The engineers in Brixworth have done in a first step, the tailpipe. It is tested in Barcelona next week at the Mercedes. F1 sound halfway to V8 volume The three FIA ​​experts have already tested the system in their laboratories. The tail pipe has the shape of a trumpet or megaphone. This changes not only the volume but also the tone. The fans can be satisfied. Measurements have shown that the decibel approximately in the middle between the old V8 will lie and the current V6 engines. Whether the sound is also nice then, is another matter. A high frequency squeal is probably not there. It will probably stay with a muffled sound.
Craig Scarborough ‏<s>@</s>ScarbsF1 <small class="time"> 40s </small> At Ferrari Alonso ran the blown wheelnuts and Kimi made do with out being blown!
Ricciardo on whether he's pushed aside Vettel: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/9303174/Ricciardo-s-earned-Red-Bull-s-trust- Obviously he's feeling pretty upbeat, and can't hold it in (or wants to twist the knife). Will it end in tears? And from whom? Has a multiple champ at the peak of his powers ever been pushed into the shade by a fresh teammate? A teammate who had joined the team with not a podium to his name? Is the team telling Ricciardo that Surly-Boy is no fun? Edit: and is it true that when Vettel complained about his chassis, the team insisted he drive an old tub?
lots of inter-team pressure Pressure on Vergne as Tost hails 'champion' Kvyat The French driver seems to be struggling this year the extract the most out of its Toro Rosso car, while his teammate appears more comfortable. Friday, May 9, 2014 Jean Eric Vergne need to deliver soon. (Getty/Toro Rosso) May 9, 2014 (GMM).- Toro Rosso is singling out teenage Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat as a future world champion. "Yes," boss Franz Tost confirmed, "because he's shown that already by winning the younger classes -- and especially the way he was winning. He has it in his DNA to win races and championships." Tost told F1's official website that Kvyat has already revealed his championship potential within a few short races, which undoubtedly raises the pressure on Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso's established driver, who has been at Faenza since 2012. But, for now, Tost is backing the low-profile 24-year-old Frenchman, insisting he is struggling with the new fly-by-wire braking. "Jean-Eric is a quite sensible driver," he said, "and as soon as we have this (braking problem) under control I am convinced that he will show his real potential, because he is a really fast and highly skilled driver." It is, however, an awkward time in Vergne's career, having been considered for Mark Webber's seat at Red Bull Racing but now seeing his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo perform so strongly alongside world champion Sebastian Vettel. At the same time, Vergne is struggling to show up a boy-faced 20-year-old. "A lot of things have been happening that were not necessarily visible," Vergne told France's L'Equipe, "but in these cases I prefer not to look for excuses but to keep my head down. "I feel much better than last year in qualifying, even if the race results are not yet the ones we expected." Still, he is keen to point out that when he was paired with Ricciardo, they were very closely matched. "I have no regrets, because things happen for one reason or another," said Vergne, referring to Red Bull's decision to promote Ricciardo and not him. "As I had the same performance as Daniel in the last two seasons, it shows what level we had, Daniel and me," he said. "I learned a lot from him in qualifying, and in the race I was always able to make a difference."
... and it gets worse for Vergne: Jean-Eric Vergne has been handed a 10 place grid drop after his wheel came loose in FP2; Toro Rosso fined 30,000
Bad mistake by Verne's pit crew. The wheel just came off in a turn. No contact or anything. Kimi's catching up to Alonso. For the first time they're actually neck and neck. Red Bull fastest behind Mercedes, FWIW, which may be nothing. Moronic, wrt to Vettel's chassis, it's not clear to me that they actually have a brand new one to give him. I'm not sure how long it takes to build a chassis. They've given him the one they used in winter testing, I've read. They claim the switch was planned all along, but F1 is full of Pinocchios. What they didn't do is given Vettel a decent wiring harness. The thing melted on him and had to be replaced, costing him all of FP2. He actually grabbed a fire extinguisher trackside and was shoving the nozzle into the back end of the engine.
Kimi tops Alonso for the first time this season. But the Ferrari is a slug. That three week break didn't help them at all. The China speed has vanished. Theres a Williams, a Red Bull, a Lotus and a pair of McLarens ahead of them on the grid. Thank goodness Renault are having problems. Otherwise, that Red Bull chassis would be the class of the field yet again. Alonso is famous for his starts. And Rosberg is fed up with losing to his teammate and he has the points lead to protect. Could we see some argy-bargy between teammates going into Turn 1 on Sunday? I wonder what happened to Massa in Q3? He had been faster than Bottas in 1 and 2. Then he was suddenly 8/10ths slower.
Simona De Silvestro recently did a test in a two year-old Sauber and reportedly posted very impressive numbers. She’s quoted as pushing for a full time F1 seat. I don’t know that she’s ready for it yet. But I love to hear positive things about her. Gene Haas reportedly visited the Lotus operation in Enstone this week. The hot rumor is that he may buy the financially troubled team and get a turn-key entry into F1. Lotus deny rumors that they haven’t paid Renault, their engine supplier. But it’s worth noting that when Red Bull implied that Renault weren’t developing their engine fast enough, the engine maker pleaded poverty, saying some teams hadn’t paid them. Lotus are a mess and it would make sense that they’d attract interest from potential buyers.
You must be looking at a different set of qualifying results. Merc Merc Red bull Williams Lotus Kimi Alonso The mclarens are way off the pace
I'm watching Q3 and I think of how absurd things are when the tires are at their best for only 1 lap! How dumb is that strategy for cost, for the lack of laps in qualifying.
It wouldn't matter what the compound is, the nature of the thing would mean that it would have a point where it delivered the best performance and it's not as if the thing is not used after giving of its best. As for the Vettel critics who believe that he can only do well in a perfect car and from the front, well 15th to 4th on a circuit known to be difficult to pass on should silence them (it won't though ).
V V V 1. Hamilton 2. Rosberg 3. Ricciardo 4. Vettel 5. Bottas 6. Alonso 7. Raikkonen 8. Grosjean 9. Perez 10. Hulkenberg Margin of victory: .06 seconds Margin between 2nd and 3rd: 48 seconds Only the top six finished on the same lap.
The Mercs are lapping the field up to 6th place. I'm curious when this has last happened in a dry race. There were some good battles down the field. It appears we're going to have to be satisfied with a teammate battle this year, like Spies vs. Mladin. Is there any team in motorsports these days that is doing less with more than Ferrari? They need to clean house. - Mark
