I guess it depends on the situation. Pay drivers bring money and mediocre performances, junior drivers bring less money but better results (money). I guess it depends on how much backing/discount from the big team they bring. Whether they can bring technical knowledge and the like along with them.
Bianchi has pretty much given them a discount on engines for next year. Magnussen and his McLaren connections is probably part of their McLaren partnership where they get use of their windtunnel. These savings plus better results probably counter weight the pay driver
Here's what BlogF1.it actually said: As far as I'm aware Marussia still don't have a commercial agreement with FOM. Having a McLaren young driver alongside a Ferrari young driver will only strengthen their position. I can't see any other reason why Chilton would be replaced. Speed means very little at the back of the grid - 10th place ultimately comes down to one crazy race, and who happens to have a better car at the time.
Hi Guys, what do you think of this article? http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/465583/Minardi_puzzled_by_Vettels_Singapore_supremacy/ Minardi puzzled by Vettel's Singapore supremacy F1 veteran Giancarlo Minardi has opened a can of worms by suggesting Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing may be been using some form of traction control in Singapore. Vettel dominated the event around the Marina Bay Street Circuit and was in a class of his own en-route to another convincing victory that further strengthened his position in the 2013 F1 Drivers' Championship. However, in a column on the official Minardi website - headlined: Singapore, What's inside Newey and Vettel's magic hat? - the veteran former team owner says he just cannot understand how Vettel was, at times, 2-2.5 seconds per lap quicker than team-mate, Mark Webber. “Since I left Singapore, I've been keeping in my mind the 2.5 sec advantage of Vettel over his team-mate Webber and the other drivers,” Minardi writes. “By this statement, it's not my intention to devalue Vettel, who always manages his Red Bull the best way and I don't want even to jab at anyone, I just want to tell what I personally saw and heard during that three-day-event. “According to my experience, I think that a 2.5 sec advantage each lap is really too much. It's like a three-generation-development gap, it's a huge gap. Furthermore, the time gap between Vettel and [Romain] Grosjean in FP3 and the Red Bull's driver and [Nico] Rosberg in qualifying was only few tenths. The German driver could have played cat and mouse on Saturday, anyway, [but] something is still not clear for me. “DOUBT 1: From my suite, I chose some mainstays as a reference point in order to monitor and compare the drivers' way of driving. My mainstays were the kerbstones located on the corner which leads to Republic Boulevard. Their function is to avoid passing on the kerb. I was impressed by Vettel's neat way of driving on that stretch of the track. He was able to drive all that stretch without making any corrections, unlike all his rivals (and also his team-mate). His lap time was also remarkable in T3, which is the track's sector with the highest concentration of corners. “DOUBT 2: on the same stretch, Sebastian was able to speed up 50 metres before any other driver, Webber included. Whilst all the other drivers speeded up on the same stretch, Vettel was able to speed up before them. The thing that surprised me the most was the RB1 engine's output sound. Besides speeding up 50 m before any other driver, the Renault engine of the German's car grinded like no other French engines on track, not even Mark's. That sound was similar to the sound made by the engine when the traction control system got into action in the past seasons. “Furthermore, that sound was only heard when Vettel chalked up his excellent performances. For example, after the safety car went off, he took a great re-start and chalked up many excellent laps, gaining a 32 sec. gap over [Fernando] Alonso, then he levelled off, taking precautions in the case he would have had to pit one more time. In those moments the Renault engine was more powerful than any other engines (Renault and other brands). “There are some aspects – 1; Vettel's very neat way of driving; 2; Vettel's speed up 50 m before the other drivers; 3; the abnormal sound of the RB1's Renault engine; 4; Vettel's more than 2 sec. advantage over the rivals - that make me think and I would like to have some answers. All those doubts are even more serious if we consider that Webber wasn't able to do that, since he's in the sister car... I don't want to blame anyone, I just would like to get to the bottom of the matter.” Here's an amateur trackside video of Vettel in the race, listen to his engine sound and compare it to the others as they pass. It does sound a little odd, don't you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbqYYhBMULg
is it possible that Massa and his best friend Barrichello could race as team mates at Sauber for 2014? Barrichello could race for Sauber at Interlagos 30 September, 2013 Barrichello's return to the Formula 1 grid – as a driver – could actually happen this season at his home race. It emerged late last week that the Brazilian veteran, who lost his Williams seat at the end of 2011, could be a shock contender to race alongside the highly inexperienced Sergey Sirotkin at Sauber next year. But the highly respected Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio claims 41-year-old Barrichello – the most experienced driver in Formula 1 history – could even race the Sauber at his home race at Interlagos for November's 2013 finale.
In short Minardi is talking ****! 50 meters? The guy is a fruitcake! Turns 3 to 4 are separated by about 80m... The video shows us nothing as Vettel is the only one all by himself during that period into the corner while everybody else is in the pack and their "sound" is being distorted. Any experimental design (in psychology for example) would laugh at the amount of variables in there and would thus gently chuck it back into their face and tell them to bring real evidence that is fair for all the cars/drivers to be compared with. Also Minardi is friends with Alonso and Webber so I don't have to go any further on that matter...
IMO, Vettel was just dialled in to the track better than anyone else. We all have one of those weekends where we're just on top of our game for some unknown reason (biorhythms?), obviously Vettel had one of those weekends. I think the FIA would notice that 1 car was running traction control.
Surely RBR wouldn't risk something like that... Imagine the ****-storm if they got found out. Though it would explain why his team are always trying to slow him down. Seriously though, I don't see RBR even risking something like that... They have Newey, they have Vettel. They have no need to try it on.
I could see them running something similar that's borderline legal though. but if its legal then there is nothing to argue about! We should start an F1 Conspiracy thread!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24334276 Bernie was all for protecting the Bahrain Grand prix when it meant protecting revenue of a scheduled 19/20 race calendar but maybe he can afford to offload them now to trim 2014 down to 20 GPs. whether its a good race venue or a bore doesn't matter. Its been a bit of an embarrassment for the sport mixing in with politics.
I've always wondered how much teams use KERS recovery to act as a traction control. No idea what the rules are in that sense but you could sap power under acceleration how and when you wanted in theory.
AMUS are suggesting that McLaren are trying to get Magnussen a seat at Force India - http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...a-magnussen-gegen-schuldenerlass-7763772.html The chance for Force India arises because of the team at Silverstone apparently still has outstanding debts with McLaren. Force India from Woking relates the transmission and hydraulics. This Sutil and Di Resta regularly sit in the McLaren simulator. An open invoices could be charged with Magnussen.
Why not Sutil? Arguably Paul was the better of the pair for most of the season and has scored more points than Sutil.
What was that strange back-firing sound that was coming from Vettel's car..and only his car? Sounded like when a vehicle is missing - a sputtering sound???? Anyone heard that?
A 'secret' solution around the exhaust-blown disfuser key in Vettel perfromance - report http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/v...n_disfuser_key_in_Vettel_perfromance__report/ Oct.1, 2013 (F1plus/GMM).- Sebastian Vettel's dominance is being powered by a clever post-'exhaust blowing' solution, a specialist Italian magazine claims. After the reigning world champion extended his 2013 points lead with a dominant performance in Singapore, former F1 team boss Giancarlo Minardi raised doubts about the legality of Vettel's Red Bull. Minardi, watching trackside at Marina Bay, said Vettel's car displayed worryingly good handling, while his Renault engine "sounded similar to past seasons when traction control went into action". Indeed, Autosprint has now revealed an exclusive video that depicts the odd mid-corner sound of Vettel's car in Singapore. It can be seen at http://autosprint.corrieredellosport.it/2013/09/30/sentite-il-rumore-del-motore-di-vettel/10584/ The cover of the latest edition of Autosprint reads 'Il segreto di Vettel' (Vettel's secret), and reveals reportedly "confidential information" about the German's recent dominance. Autosprint, however, doubts Red Bull is using some kind of 'traction control', but rather a clever engine mapping that mimics the behaviour of exhaust-blown diffusers in the wake of the FIA's clampdown in that area. British journalist James Allen, writing on his blog, agrees: "Rather than traction control, some kind of mapping to blow into the exhaust within the rules is more likely".
