Yes you are right, the midfield will have to look after their tyres in Quali, a couple of laps (even though tyres are meant to be more durable). Effectively splitting the top 10 from the rest of the pack. So you want a certain number of set of tyres allocated to every team, then just use them how they want? Or maybe a separate set of tyres for the Quali and separate set for the race, which would make most sense.
I think a bonus set of tyres to be given out in Q3 that must be handed back will encourage all to run in Q3, and then just abolish the starting on a used tyre rule and let them start on whatever they want
F1 loves to over complicate ****e! Quali tyres for all, Q1 to Q3, max of 2 sets each per session. Then 2 new Primes and 2 new Options for the race, start on what you like! There, that wasn't hard was it?
Renault already cap in hand to the FIA (From Adam McDonald) When a friend or associate puts you in a difficult position in life, it can lead to difficult decisions becoming necessary. Should you deny a request of that associate, they may resent you and in turn the event may come back to haunt you later. Conversely, should you grant their wishes despite reservations, then others could question your intentions and whether you have a vested interest. If you have a history of making a favourable decisions despite them breaching a line of acceptability, then the matter becomes highly polemic. A TJ13 source has informed us of a certain French manufacturer that is having problems with their powertrain have requested an extension of the veto placed on the engine development freeze starting midnight this Saturday morning. With a history of acceding to such a request, the FIA are indeed caught between a rock and hard place. Having lived through a period of Renault dominance during the V8 era of F1, many would be happy to see a change in pecking order and different regular feature on the top step of the podium. However, seeing the mighty fall to such depths as not even being able to consistently finish Grand Prix is not something anyone will cherish â even if only for the good of the sport. It is unthinkable that the Renault teams will be forced to trail far behind the rest of the field until 2020, when the proposed engine freeze expires. The 1st March is the date set for engine homologation, which would not allow Renault to correct the deficiencies their powertrain is currently experiencing. TJ13 has reported that it is problems with specific components causing the issues we have witnessed in Jerez and Bahrain; which we still believe to be the case. Unsurprisingly, Renault and their customers have been on message that the problems are with the whole powertrain because then any development extension granted would allow them greater latitude. Were Renault to merely declare they had specific component problems, they would be restricted re-working them alone. A danger of accusations Jean Todt has been keen to give the impression, the FIA under his governance can in no way be described as the âFerrari International Assistanceâ organisation. The governing body of world motorsport must tread carefully on this controversial issue which could shape the sport for years to come. Furthermore, Jean Todt finds himself in a perplexing position because should Renault be granted undue latitude, this would bring accusations of French favouritism. The 2014 regulations define the freeze periods, with certain parts of the engine locked from 2014, 8% of the power unit frozen by 2015, 23% by 2016, 35% by 2018 and 95% by 2019. The now dearly departed McLaren boss, Martin Whitmarsh said back in October, âI think one of the concerns for the sport is that it becomes a powertrain race. We are mindful of the fact that we currently have three and will shortly have four auto manufacturers.â With hindsight, sage words indeed, as the Mercedes teams would appear to have a great advantage. He continued, âIf one of those manufacturers doesnât do a good enough job at the start of next year, and doesnât have the scope by which they can become competitive, then thereâs a pretty good chance they wonât be in Formula One for very long, which wouldnât be good for the sport.â To deny Renault the chance to have some kind of relatively competitive and reliable engine could see Formula One lose another manufacturer. Conversely, allowing Renault to continue to develop and re-design significant aspects of the powertrain would seem sensible, even if only to maintain their interest in the sport. Now then⦠rules are rules Renault, aided by Horner and Newey, have managed over the past years to sail close to the wind if not circumnavigate certain regulations pertaining to engine mapping. Yet during 2013, Newey repeatedly asserted that he did not believe in the spirit of the rules â only the black and white of the rulebook. It would appear the rule book forbids Renault further development time beyond the next few days. Further, it would be clearly wrong to allow the French engineers to continue their engine development such that they can outperform Mercedes and Ferrari. Any leniency on the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] March deadline will inevitably be protested by Mercedes and Ferrari, and rightly so. However, as outlined above â for the sake of the sport â Renault teams must at least be able to complete races on a consistent basis or people will question the point of them bothering to turn up. As with the Pirelli 2013 tyres, TJ13 has learned the Renault camp are arguing for latitude based upon safety. Images of drivers such as JEV carefully launching himself from his broken down machine conjure up all kinds of frightening thoughts about electrocution, and surely Jean will not withstand the pressure. Past lessons not learned One has to wonder whether the FIA has been too keen to seal off the engine homologation too early. Lessons have not been learnt from years previously, when in 2006 teams agreed to homologate the engines from the 2007 Japanese GP onward. Renaultâs power deficit then forced a reversal of this decision and ultimately allowed Renault to perform incremental development of their motor. The original homologation of the V8 engines had been planned for 2008, but the FIA tried to bring it forward in an effort to reduce spending. 2015 would surely have been the sensible call for this change in regulation allowing 2014 to be the year for technological innovation beyond belief. Honda in effect have free licence to develop as they please until 2015 when they officially return to the sport. Indeed TJ13âs man on the ground in Woking believes there has been a fivefold increase in planning applications for restaurants offering sushi. It is inevitable that Honda will learn from the mistakes of others before they even hit the circuit in 2015 winter testing. Even the proâs missed this one coming James Allen recently stated, âIf one manufacturer has a clear advantage over others, they will be able to enjoy that for a while but discussions will inevitably ensue to allow some retuning, as happened when F1 switched to V8s after 2006.â James is not usually known to be a master of the understatementâ¦. âRe-tuningââ¦. Big Lols. Citing this as THE issue facing Renault post homologation, now seems a particularly ironic notion. The logical decision is to level the playing field and when the RB10 takes to the track in less than 2 days, the Newey tight rear end will tell a tale. If this has little modification, it suggests Red Bull and Renault expect the French manufacturer to be allowed to develop away its problems. A significant re-design would suggest Newey will have to accommodate his packaging to allow further cooling to the troublesome engine. Given the fantastic aero performance the Milton Keynes outfit enjoyed last year, if the FIA give Renault dispensation to modify their engine design carte blanch and not restrict it to specific faulty components, we could soon see Red Bull once again becoming a force to be reckoned with. A scary thought for fans and rival teams alike, yet the bookies still believe in the dream from Milton Keynes.
David Croft ‏@CroftyF1 44s Confirmation that of a few mins ago FOTA has been disbanded. Real shame for those who felt that sticking together benefited every F1 team
Translated from AMUS [h=1]Rejected requestsBad news for Vettel[/h]Red Bull and Renault come with difficulty in driving. But there is more bad news for Sebastian Vettel. The request to delay the freezing of the engine was the same as Bernie Ecclestone's foray rejected for double points in the last three races. The start of the season is hard for Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel. The world champion team, with its test program against the Mercedes team and Ferrari clearly behind. But there was just hope. At the instigation of Renault, the application to a relocation of the engine homologation was put on the agenda of the strategy group meeting. Officially, of course, the Renault team Red Bull and Lotus, for only sit in the strategy group. From midnight of February 28, the drive units of the three manufacturers Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault must be sealed. The Renault customers hoped on behalf of their suppliers deferral for two to three months. This would Renault the possibility to sort out the problems. No respite for engine homologation As expected the application was rejected. It remains at the original deadline. Mercedes and Ferrari are of the opinion that one should not be punished for it, if you've done his tasks and not others. Shortly after the veto transpired, said Renault engine boss Rob White: "" We will comply with the homologation period and the FIA ​​to provide our reference engine and the necessary documentation. " This is not a denial as interpreted by some media, but a confirmation of what is in the rules. This applies to all three manufacturers in the development of the 28th of February. Who today has problems related to the power, it drags the rest of the season around with you. [h=2]Flunked Double points for three races[/h]There is bad news for Vettel. Teams that have to fear that they can be a lot of points early in the season because of the development of residue could make friends with Bernie Ecclestone's proposal is that there are duplicate points in the last three races instead of just the final. For a residue obtained einhandelt start of the season, would have been easier aufholbar. Even this proposal fell through. It was enough for a veto vote to strangle Bernie's idea. One does not have long to ask who had no interest in the expansion of the double points. The new qualifying format with an extra set of tires for the fastest 16 of the training, however, was adopted unanimously.
I think that Bernie has got it wrong rewarding the final race/s with double points. If you think about it, maybe it should be the first 3 races that give double points as that would reward the teams who have innovated over the winter the best. How many times have a team messed up developing their new car and been able to develop over season and thus catch up by throwing money at the problem. After the season has started the teams get to study their opponents cars and sometimes gain advantages from them. I know the above scheme would really damage the Renault teams but Merc and Ferrari should be rewarded for their efforts.
It actually is though! It has been reported that due to his absence from both the sport and a leading team, it simply capitulated - great shame really.
At the end of the third and final pre-season test, held in Bahrain, Pirelli has announced the compounds that will be used for the first four races this year. Australia Medium Soft Malaysia Hard Medium Bahrain Medium Soft China Medium Soft "These choices have been made to reflect the characteristics of each circuit and the all-new 2014 cars, bearing in mind all the data that has been obtained from the three pre-season tests." "The characteristics of the 2014 P Zero tyre range were in line with expectations in Bahrain, maintaining similar performance to last year but with less degradation. There was no blistering and very little graining, underlining the performance of the latest compounds so far in a wide range of conditions. There was also a reduction in tread wear levels." Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director: âThe information gained over all three pre-season tests has helped us to come up with the tyre choices for the start of the season, having run with the new 2014 tyres in all conditions now: ranging from rain in Jerez to ambient temperatures exceeding 25 degrees centigrade in Bahrain. The conclusion we can draw so far is that the 2014 tyres are more consistent and wear less than their predecessors, without compromising performance. Weâre also meeting another of our objectives with one more step towards the reduction of âmarblesâ on the track. The medium and soft compounds are well matched to the expected race conditions in Australia, Bahrain and China, providing what we expect to be the right balance between performance and strategy with two to three pit stops per car. The more abrasive and hotter conditions of Malaysia have led us to nominate the hard and medium compounds there, as we did last year.â Pïrelli also noted that the difference between the compounds is slightly larger than it was in previous years. "The performance differences seen in the second Bahrain test between the compounds are approximately as follows: the supersoft is around 0.7s per lap faster than the soft, the soft is around 1.3-1.5s per lap quicker than the medium, and the medium is around 1.3-1.5s per lap quicker than the hard. These gaps are expected to come down as the teams improve their understanding of the tyres during the season."
The strange noses of the new Formula 1 generation are not only ugly.They are also not in the sense of governing body - even though they meet all crash test standards. Exclusive pictures from the Bahrain test now prove that the projections are forward hollow. http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...eber-panne-lueftet-das-geheimnis-8166945.html please log in to view this image
Assuming the noses pass the crash tests, the fact that the tips are hollow and could break off might be a good thing in an accident. Better than cars impaling each other.
Yep. Anything that deforms in an accident helps to dissapate the energy of a collision. The regulataions need rethinking so that these silly creations go next year, without altering the reason why they were put in i.e. safety.
AUTOSPORT predicts F1 2014 please log in to view this image The 2014 Formula 1 season that begins this week is one of the hardest to predict in recent years, given the new rules. Never afraid of a challenge, the AUTOSPORT team tries to guess the championship order... At the end of the most intriguing pre-season in years, the AUTOSPORT team submitted their predictions for the top 10 in the 2014 Formula 1 drivers' championship. The scores were added up using the F1 points system (without using double points for the final voter!) to create our best guess of this year's final order. Here's the outcome, and selected thoughts from the AUTOSPORT writers' panel. http://plus.autosport.com/premium/feature/5917/autosport-predicts-f1-2014/ 10th: KEVIN MAGNUSSEN Top prediction: Fifth (Dieter Rencken) 9th: NICO HULKENBERG Top prediction: Fifth (Pablo Elizalde) 8th: VALTTERI BOTTAS Top prediction: Fourth (Edd Straw) 7th: FELIPE MASSA Top prediction: Third (Dieter Rencken) 6th: JENSON BUTTON Top prediction: Champion (Craig Scarborough) 5th: KIMI RAIKKONEN Top prediction: Third (Simon Strang) 4th: SEBASTIAN VETTEL Top prediction: Third (Scott Mitchell) 3rd: FERNANDO ALONSO Top prediction: Champion (Pablo Elizalde and Matt Beer) 2nd: NICO ROSBERG Top prediction: Champion (Edd Straw, Scott Mitchell and Dieter Rencken) 1st: LEWIS HAMILTON Top prediction: Champion (Jonathan Noble, Ben Anderson, Charles Bradley, Glenn Freeman, Kevin Turner, Sam Tremayne, Simon Strang and Henry Hope-Frost) OUR CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION: 1. Mercedes 2. Ferrari 3. Red Bull 4. McLaren 5. Williams
