WE'RE BACK BABY!!! please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Coverage 20th -22th June 2014 LIVE ON THE SKY! Highlights on BBC Times In BST FRIDAY 20th JUNE PRACTICE 1 10:00 PRACTICE 2 13:00 SATURDAY please log in to view this image 21 JUNE PRACTICE 3 10:00 QUALIFYING 13:00 SUNDAY please log in to view this image 22 JUNE GRAND PRIX please log in to view this image 13:00 Happyal x 6 El_Bando x 5 dhel, di Fredsta, jonnybaws, Paco Montoya, The Iceman, Sgt. Bhaji, allsaintchris, EternalMSC x4 Believe In Lewis, di Fredsta, DHCanary, Ernie Becclestone, Han Shot First,Julius Caesar, Roadrunner,WestCoastBoogaloox3 eddie_squidd, nh-f1, Justjazz, Justjazz, Khal piego, 2xwdcslayer, captaintigerrobin, Ched999uk, Di Resta is faster than u, GUEST, BrightLampShade, PitlaneCharlie, Pob, Wrathmonkx2 51LV3R8RR04, Bert the homosexual ****, Coasterboy, EddieSquidd, AbsolutelyGlorious, Bob Zyrunkle , Mansell's Moustache, RonnieCFC, TheJudeanPeoplesFront, Forza Bianchi, St. Slicks of Stoneham, Eat Sleep Watch F1 Repeat, Kingslayer, Mark please log in to view this image Blow, LewisFTW, Smithers x1 Predictions end on Thursday some time. Tyres are Supersoft and Soft.
Lap times will be close to 1min as it's a short track. Going for Hamilton again. Wonder who Red Bull will appoint as the driver steward this weekend............
Hamilton. Every race I haven't seen live he's won and I'm out racing this weekend so it'll probably not stop soon. Plus sub minute lap times could be a thing in quali.
Are Red Bull going to boot Mercedes off the circuit and force them to race in neighboring Switzerland?
Lauda is no longer recognized in Austria by Red Bull as demonstrated by them removing his name from one of the corners on the circuit. He will hence forth be known as 'the driver with no name'
This is the race where the updates McLaren have been talking about since Malaysia get put on the car. Expect disappointment.
and if they don't work they are not 'afraid to go radical'! Hope they find the midas touch with car design to welcome Honda back into the turbo fold.
Don't worry. They'll have a significant upgrade package for Silverstone. And another one for Hockenheim.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114406?source=latest The McLaren Formula 1 team is confident that the update package it is bringing to the Austrian Grand Prix will help deliver a good step forward in performance. The Woking-based team has been undergoing a restructuring in recent weeks, with racing director Eric Boullier overhauling working processes to help it recover from a poor start to the campaign. And the first fruits of that effort will come on board at the Red Bull Ring with a major aerodynamic overhaul of the MP4-29. Boullier said the team was expecting a decent boost in speed, even if he knows that it will still take more before McLaren is back in a position of being able to win races. "It is obviously the game to try to produce some parts as fast as possible, but it all depends on where you start from," he explained. "It is true that we started the season with a car that was lacking downforce and, at the same time, we had to redirect the strategy for the team where to go. "I think the package we are bringing in Austria is good enough to step up and close the gap with everyone in front of us. "Definitely we will not be winning races from that point - but it is a decent package to close the gap." BUTTON UPBEAT ABOUT CHANGES Although the aerodynamic package arriving in Austria will be the first big change produced by the new McLaren structure, Jenson Button has noticed how different things are inside the team. He believes the increased presence of Group CEO Ron Dennis allied to new structures put in place by Boullier are already helping. "I like seeing Ron at the circuit, I think it has a positive impact on the team working here," explained the former world champion. "Before every session, and after every session, Eric is pushing the team very, very hard and talking to us guys a lot more than I am used to, which is great. "He is getting our feedback and understanding about what we have from the car and what we need from the car." He added: "Things at McLaren have been the same for many, many years and now they are starting to change. I think it is time - and definitely the right direction. "I am sure Eric feels like he has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. It is going to be a tough few years but an exciting few months for everyone at McLaren because we will make our way back to the front and when we do, it is going to be enjoyed by all of us."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114405?source=mostpopular Formula 1 design genius Adrian Newey has warned that the sport faces 'grave danger' if it does not properly sort out future engine performance equality rules. After deciding to step back from his chief technical officer role with Red Bull because he is frustrated by ever-tighter regulations, Newey fears that F1 could face huge problems in the not too distant future because of engines. He is worried that plans to lock down F1's power unit designs over the next few years with a full-on design freeze could result in one car maker being left with a permanent advantage. What Adrian Newey should do next And if that happens, Newey suggests that those manufacturers who are behind their rivals may simply choose to turn their back on the sport. "The current set of regulations are engine orientated," explained Newey, whose team's performance this year has been hampered by early season struggles from engine partner Renault. "At some point in the coming years presumably that will settle down. "There is grave danger, with the freeze happening progressively over the next 18 months, because it's not apparent if one manufacturer ends up with an advantage as to what happens at that point. "Is that advantage maintained for ever more, in which case the rest of us give up? "It doesn't seem to me to be a particularly satisfactory situation at the moment. The regulations need more of a fundamental rethink in my opinion." F1's engine manufacturer had to homologate the designs of this year's power units at the start of this year, and have only been allowed to make modifications on reliability grounds. However, this winter, the rules allow manufacturers to redesign certain parts of their power unit to ensure that they are in much better shape for 2015. But over the next few years, more and more components will be locked down, meaning there is less scope for a manufacturer to catch up with a rival if it is behind. The previous F1 engine freeze for V8 engines worked so well because there was little performance difference between the various power units at the time they were homologated.
Now I completely agree that we need to see much closer competition, but you can't help but laugh when Ferrari and RBR claim that the sport is on the verge of collapse when they're no longer dominant. Short memories, apparently....
So it begins! please log in to view this image Similar to the last race in Montreal, the Red Bull Ring is a high power sensitivity circuit, with a low number of corners and multiple straights. The track layout also exemplifies fuel efficiency, further playing to the strengths of the Mercedes. “We're excited by the prospect of a return to Spielberg after many years away - and hoping for a return to form results-wise,” Lowe commented, “It's a short circuit, with a lot of braking and high fuel consumption, so it will be another challenging race. The venue is also at high altitude which, owing to the low atmospheric pressure, places a different kind of duty on the power unit to what we've seen so far. It will be interesting to see how well both we and the competition respond to that.”
What annoys me at the moment is the exclamation mark in the title (OCD), it shouldn't be like this...
