Grand Prix thread Not606 2016 British Grand Prix Chat and Predictions

Yea, exactly, far to many ambiguous rules and regulations, just let the lads get on with it !!!!!!

 

Also, credit where credits due the traffic management at Silverstone yesterday was fantastic. Drove straight into the car park on the way in, and then it took 5 minutes to get out of the car park on the way out. Really impressive given the numbers there.

 

Well that is impressive, some things have improved at Silverstone, I can remember several occasions when we have been still stuck in the car park and night has fallen and it was dark, mind you it was very very wet and every car needed pushing or towing out of the car parks.

 

Mid 2000s it was about 3 hours to get to the motorway. It's a massive improvement on how it used to be, I can't think of anywhere else where that many cars can flow that well.

 

Merc drop their appeal for Rosberg penalty.

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...eal-against-nico-rosbergs-british-gp-demotion

 

I'm not going to comment on the race, other than to say well done to Verstappen, because to be honest I found the whole weekend too depressing.

With regards to the traffic I would like to know how full you thought it was? Some of the smaller grandstands looked only half filled?

 

It was packed, the general admission areas and the 'commoners' standers were rammed. The poshest stands and the sponsors bits were definitely missing a few though, but thats sport in general these days. Lots of corporate seats available but everyones inside eating tofu whilst watching on a tv....

There was definitely spare capacity there, but I've never been to another race with even close to that many people there.

 

gptoday says Mercedes seems to be making a play for Alonso....I wouldn't mind seeing that show...but who will have to leave if that ever happens? Alonso/Hamilton would certainly be the very best pairing in F1. But would they ever risk that after the history between those two in McLaren? Would Mercedes ever risk losing Hamilton and keeping Rosberg..especially since Toto has basically admitted that Rosberg isn't that good in the wet? What are your thoughts? I would love to see them together at Mercedes....with one rule...equal treatment and no number 1. What do you think?

 

I reckon that it would be cracking to see them paired up again. That would be a serious ding-dong battle! Maybe we can throw in some spy-gate to give us that authentic 2007 feel.

If it happens, Toto better stock up on antacid.

 

I agree about the overkill on radio transmissions. As has been said above, reliability issues can usually be differentiated against driver coaching during a race. That said, with the rule in place, I also agree with the penalty handed out to Mercedes, albeit unfortunate for Rosberg to see his Championship lead dwindle further. This had to happen for credibility alone, never mind the fact that had it not incurred a penalty, there would not be a team on the grid which would know the lie of the land!

Jean Todt's idea has been shown to be at odds with reality, and is matched only by his complacent ineptitude.

 

I don't get the point of it. They gave him info on a problem gearbox and presumably what not to do to prevent it going belly up. That hardly seems like it should be a punishable action.

 

Think if they had said you have an issue with 7th Gear..
Which, the driver then should have been able to decode.. OK, 7th Gear is an issue, I best not use it...
The "Shift through 7th Gear..." was the issue and that does fall into the "driver coaching" rules..
The info. given to save the gearbox, I have no issues with and by all means wasn't the issue.

 

I agree. I think the problem with the comms was that Nico was told to use a default chassis mode, which is allowed, but then Nico asked about shifting through 7th and in the heat of the moment he was told 'Afirm' . Almost like an off the cuff comment.
What I don't understand is Perez in Baku, why did Force India not inform their driver he has issues with his brakes? I wonder if the team didn't have a clue his brakes were on their limit and that's why he had no safety radio message?

The radio rules need to be removed. Maybe they should be no time delay so the teams would avoid coaching but then again that enables rivals to know what lap you are coming in on. Thinking about it it must be very difficult to please everyone with the radio rules.

 

Agree, the radio rules need to be relaxed but still believe driver coaching should not be allowed.
For example, Hamilton's mode issue, that's not telling him how to drive, its simply telling him which switch to flick, that should be allowed, had he been in the right mode, he'd have caught up with the FI and Ferrari, the race was deprived for a good 3 way battle for 3rd!
What I don't agree with is what gear to be in, which line to take, when to brake, etc.. that should be clamped down on..

 

Problem is that selecting the right switch/mode could be used to assist the driver driving round a corner faster. It is really difficult to draw a line between coaching a driver to get the best lap time and telling a driver which setting on his steering wheel gives him best performance.
To me the only way to stop any ambiguity and 4 hrs of stewards discussing which place each driver should finish in is to remove any rules about what can be said over the radio.

 

I suppose the argument maybe not to even have engine modes? Just the driver modulating the throttle.

 

Sky says Lewis to Ferrari when his contract is up next year....... Not sure if it's just another story or it has any merit.

 

I thought Lewis was signed to Merc till end of 2018? Can't imagine there being a performance clause Lewis could invoke to leave early!

 

You're right, I think Ferrari are just hoping, or more likely, Sky are just writing anything that comes into their heads.

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...17-but-are-ferrari-waiting-for-lewis-hamilton

 

It was great watching the fastest Brit beating the fastest German with both in the fastest car.

Like in Bahrain it has taken a lap record for the fastest driver ever to come out of Germany to be beaten in the pole shootout. Jenson Button has gone on record saying that Lewis is one of the fastest drivers ever to get into a F1 car , I will go further and say over 1 lap he is the fastest ever. I belive the the fantastic W07 in the hands of Hertfordsire boy will shatter more absolute lap records set by the V10 and V8 aspirated engines cars of yesteryear.

Lewis showed great tyre and car management on Sunday by racing in the lower mode setting so to preserve his last engie before inevitable grid penalties. He also showed why he should claim the tittle rainmaster as once again he looked majestic in the wet.