Formula 1 World Championship 2015 Season Discussion


  

57 members have voted

  1. 1. Who do you think will win the 2015 Driver's Championship?

    • Lewis Hamilton
      44
    • Nico Rosberg
      6
    • Daniel Ricciardo
      0
    • Daniil Kvyat
      0
    • Felipe Massa
      1
    • Valtteri Bottas
      0
    • Sebastian Vettel
      3
    • Kimi Raikkonen
      0
    • Fernando Alonso
      1
    • Jenson Button
      0
    • Sergio Perez
      0
    • Nico Hulkenberg
      0
    • Max Verstappen
      0
    • Carlos Sainz Jr
      1
    • Romain Grosjean
      0
    • Pastor Maldonado
      0
    • Will Stevens
      1
    • Roberto Merhi
      0
    • Marcus Ericsson
      0
    • Felipe Nasr
      0
  2. 2. Who do you think will win the 2015 Constructor's Championship?

    • Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
      48
    • Infiniti Red Bull Racing
      1
    • Williams Martini Racing
      2
    • Scuderia Ferrari
      3
    • McLaren Honda
      1
    • Sahara Force India F1 Team
      0
    • Scuderia Toro Rosso
      0
    • Lotus F1 Team
      0
    • Manor Marussia F1 Team
      1
    • Sauber F1 Team
      1


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The commentators were going on about how Ferrari messed up their strategy but I feel Lewis had the speed to beat Seb whatever strategy they pulled.

 

They finished 40s behind Merc today and it would appear to me that far from gaining ground they have actually slipped back.

shame for alonso. damn unlucky as well. he was on his way to score some points. however, things are settled this year. if you don't drive a mercedes (works team), you stand no chance. hami would have past vettel much earlier on a track where overtaking was easier...

he escaped with a quick jump.

Lotus' one wasn't so lucky. And neither was their front-right wheel guy.

 

http://www.gfycat.com/HappyHeftyHamadryas

 

The wheel guy picked up a sprained ankle and the jack guy... well, you've probably seen the picture.

Michelin ready to return as Formula 1 tyre supplier

Michelin has made it clear it is ready to make a return to Formula 1 when the championship's existing tyre contract comes to an end.

The French tyre manufacturer was last involved in 2006, opting to depart at the end of that year after a five-season spell as it was unhappy about a move to a single supplier from 2008.

Bridgestone initially took up the reins prior to a switch to current supplier Pirelli from 2011, with its current contract running to the end of 2016.

With a tender to be put out early next year, Michelin Motorsport director Pascal Couasnon told Italian publication Autosprint: "Why not? We are fully open to a return, but on some precise conditions - Formula 1 must change its technical regulations.

"Tyres must become a technical object again, not just a tool to do a more-or-less spectacular show.

"Michelin has put forward some precise conditions in order to return to F1.

"We want 18-inch tyres, which we already use in Formula E, and soon in another series.

"If F1 wants to consider our proposals we are here, fully open, with a strong will to return.

"If, instead, the prospects are to keep things as they are now, then thanks but we aren't interested.

"At the next tender for F1 tyre supply we will make our proposals, why not?

"Then it will be a problem for [bernie] Ecclestone or the FIA whether to accept them or not."

Couasnon states Michelin is now "open to supply tyres in a monopoly regime with a sole supplier", as it is about to do in MotoGP when it takes over from Bridgestone.

Pirelli's brief upon entering the sport was to make a high-degradation tyre that would lead to multiple pit stops after Bridgestone's highly-durable rubber made for boring races.

Although Pirelli fulfilled the brief, the downside has resulted in drivers being unable to push to the limit, instead being forced to preserve their tyres.

When asked as to what he dislikes about the current F1 tyres, Couasnon said: "Tyres should offer stable performance and grip levels.

"It's not normal that after a few laps a driver says 'I need to slow down otherwise the tyres won't last'.

"That shouldn't happen. These days F1 drivers can't show their talent because the tyres don't allow them to.

"At the Spa 24 Hours GT race, too, some tyres can't even last for two consecutive stints.

"This happens when you are in a sole-supplier regime and you have no motivation to improve. That's called mediocrity, not technology.

"If instead you have a technologically interesting rule book, even if you are sole supplier, you are forced to offer a product at its best level."

 

Source: Autosport

Funny this should come just after DC wrote about tyres in one of his BBC articles just recently;

 

 

You will very rarely hear them saying it publicly but, without exception, no-one in F1 likes the construction and compound range of the current tyres, and people are very negative about Pirelli as a result; hardly good PR.

I have no doubt that, if challenged to do so, Pirelli could build much racier tyres.

The bosses of the sport do not want a tyre war between different manufacturers, but I I don't understand why. After all, there are chassis wars and engine wars.

As long as the boundaries were set out - no testing, limits on costs to teams - there is no reason why a tyre war would have to have cost implications.

The tyres are clearly part of the problem of the lack of overtaking in F1 at the moment. They are so sensitive. There is so much tyre management.

While I am commentating, I find it very difficult not to be exasperated when Mercedes suddenly go a second quicker than they have been when they need to do it.

The drivers I know who compete in the World Endurance Championship, where they use Michelin tyres, tell me that they push on every single lap through a 24-hour race. This sometimes involves using just one set of tyres for two or even three 45-minute stints.

That's great for them, but it used to be what I was doing when I drove in F1. The only time you backed off was if you were in the final stint of the race and you had a 20-second lead or something.

Now, it is the other way around, and the times the drivers are completely on the limit during a grand prix are a small minority. Sometimes they never are.

A corollary of this is that if the drivers are not pushing, they are far less likely to make a mistake. You don't see so many as you used to. And mistakes add excitement.

 

Full Article and a pretty good read. 

 

I'd almost like to go back to tyre wars rather than a sole manufacturer. It just adds that extra element into the equation of cars never having the absolute advantage. 

 

Ferrari received more money than any other team in Formula 1 for the 2014 season due to the championship's current payment system, details of which AUTOSPORT can reveal.

 
At the end of each season, Formula One Management collates revenues from three streams - hosting fees, media rights and "other" such as trackside sponsorship and hospitality.
 
It then distributes 65 per cent of the underlying revenues among the qualifying teams.
 
However, while 50 per cent of those revenues is distributed to teams based on their finishing position in the constructors' championship, the other 15 per cent is split between Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Williams - in the form of a premium payment.
 
These premium payments were agreed by the five major teams by way of bilateral agreements in early 2012, ahead of the expiration of the Concorde Agreement.
 
So in 2014, Ferrari received $67million for finishing fourth in the constructors' standings, $25 million less than champion team Mercedes.
 
But the Scuderia received a further $97million in the form of a premium payment, bringing its total revenue to $164 million, more than any other team.
 
Red Bull, which finished second in the constructors' championship, received a total of $156million - the second highest tally - with Mercedes third overall with $126million.
 
McLaren, having scored just two podiums on its way to fifth in the constructors' championship, was the fourth best paid team with $98million.
 
In contrast, Williams, which finished third in the constructors' championship and scored nine podiums, was fifth overall with $83million.
 
Force India finished one place and 26 points behind McLaren in the constructors' championship but it received $38million less than the Woking-based team.

1431517175.jpg

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118955

Refuelling to return from 2017 season

Formula 1 bosses have agreed to bring back refuelling in 2017 as part of a range of measures aimed at making the sport more exciting.
 
There will also be higher revving and louder engines and changes aimed at making cars "five to six seconds a lap faster", governing body the FIA said.
 
For 2016, bosses have approved a plan to allow teams free choice of the four available tyre compounds for each race.
 
The changes still need to be approved by two further legislative stages.
 
The changes were agreed on Thursday at a meeting of the F1 strategy group, which comprises FIA president Jean Todt, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull, Williams and Force India teams. The engine manufacturers were also represented at the meeting.
 
The FIA statement added that a "comprehensive proposal to ensure the sustainability of the sport has emerged".
 
This, it said, would be refined by the teams in the coming weeks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/32751118

Funny this should come just after DC wrote about tyres in one of his BBC articles just recently;

 

 

Full Article and a pretty good read. 

 

I'd almost like to go back to tyre wars rather than a sole manufacturer. It just adds that extra element into the equation of cars never having the absolute advantage. 

 

A mate of mine used to work for Bridgestone, so he might have a thought or two about that.

Hamilton commits to Mercedes for three more years

Lewis Hamilton has extended his contract to drive for Mercedes for a further three years, the team has confirmed.

Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren in 2013 on a three-year deal, and won his second world championship with the team last season.

Source: F1 Fanatic

I thought Lewis was in trouble after Q2, but to pull a great lap like that after having difficulty was truly impressive, the mark of a great. As long as the tyres don't fall to bits tomorrow (and he doesn't get a start like the one he got in Spain) he'll take yet another win. Nico had Lewis on the ropes and failed to capitalise as well, that's probably going to deal him quite a big psychological blow. For those in the UK the BBC have his pole lap available for viewing

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    • 007 First Light review: Satisfying spy adventure that James Bond needed by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe I have fond memories of classic James Bond games from the Electronic Arts era. Using high-tech gadgets, sneaking into parties, and dispatching bad guys were wildly exciting activities for my younger self. In recent years, Bond games have entirely disappeared, alongside the super spy genre. Fast forward to 2020, imagine my surprise when IO Interactive announced it had secured the Bond IP to make a game. Considering the studio’s Hitman history, this project is one I keenly kept an eye on. Six years later, 007 First Light is finally here, and after spending time inside this globe-trotting adventure, I can safely say that my excitement for this developer’s take on this universe was not unfounded. IO has taken lessons it has learned from Hitman and combined them with what I would expect from a directed cinematic experience like James Bond. I have refrained from mentioning major plot points to save you from story spoilers in this review. This is an original story that doesn’t tie into any movies, so there isn’t an expectation of knowing the backstory or the decades of movies either. Bond, James Bond When 007 First Light begins, Bond is just Bond. There isn’t a spy angle, fancy gadgets, or even a secret mission. The introductory mission is framed to show how James Bond handled himself and how he does not care about the odds when it comes to saving lives. It’s a gorgeous level as well, showing off an island scattered with cliffs in the middle of a storm. Looking back, this is probably the best-looking level in the game, with IO showing off all its abilities with its custom engine, Glacier. But my favorite ended up being the follow-up to this level. Once the United Kingdom's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, recruits our daring youngster into its super-spy “00” program, training begins. However, instead of treading through the same tutorial missions where the game teaches you to run and jump and drive, IO opted for a montage, and it’s amazing. The scenes cut between Bond practicing and improving his marksmanship, parkour, hand-to-hand combat, and driving as weeks go by in his training. What impressed me here was the lack of any loading screens or stutters as scenes instantly switched to different locations entirely, as if I was watching a movie. This creativity is a trend I noticed in most levels, where there is some sort of gameplay or choreography mechanic being introduced to keep things interesting. Soon, the rest of the cast is introduced, bringing other agents that our favorite secret agent will be working with, the scientists and engineers that build MI6’s spy gadgets, as well as higher-ranking officers that either appreciate or (at best) tolerate Bond’s rebellious attitude. It’s a tight cast, all with incredibly good voice acting and personalities that quickly grew on me. The casting for Bond himself is also an excellent one. From showing his iconic soft spot for women to the condescending smiles that get a rise out of enemies, I had no issues getting immersed into this universe as this new face of James Bond. The missions take place in a wide range of locations as MI6 sends Bond to tackle dangers that are growing everywhere from the UK to Africa. These aren’t unrelated adventures where MI6 is sending secret agents, which is an angle I would love to see in another game, but a part of a bigger conspiracy affecting the entire world. Some of the twists and turns were all too predictable, and the character that Lenny Kravitz played made me cringe a little too much. But all in all, I enjoyed the campaign’s storyline that sets the stage for this new agent joining the illustrious “00” program. Plenty of Possibilities The third-person style of IO Interactive fits this role quite well. Bond is presented as a master at hand-to-hand combat as well as firearms, while also having a knack for being stealthy when required. Most sections of missions have a lot of freedom. This means I could beat up every goon and security guard on the way to an objective, slip past them without sounding a single alarm, or do a mix of both. My sessions usually end up with the third option because I tend to be impatient about waiting for a patrol to move. Drawing from its Hitman genes, the developer almost always gives multiple routes for going through missions. Levels can be massive, sometimes sporting hundreds of NPCs going their own ways and having conversations. If my objective is to break into a security room on the third floor, I could look around for roof access, eavesdrop on conversations to find out where someone lost a key, create a distraction and pickpocket a guard for a keycard, sneak in through the vents, or simply kick down the offending door. I enjoyed the variety on offer, especially because the same solutions didn’t usually show up in different missions. Before heading out into a secret MI6 escapade, the gadget specialist of the branch walks Bond through the organization's latest and greatest achievements. This can be cool little devices like a laser built into the watch, a phone that fires poison darts, or a camera that emits a powerful shockwave. The choice of what can be taken into the mission is up to the player. I could usually find fresh routes or get out of tough situations with a punch or two, so I never had the feeling of missing out by not choosing the right equipment. It’s still a fun practice. Choosing the armaments before a mission enhanced the super spy feeling quite a bit. As I mentioned, stealth comes in as a very viable option for most of the missions, letting Bond sneak past foes or knock them out silently. While it is satisfying to clear entire areas of goons and walk away without any alarms, the way of accomplishing this could have been done better. Bond can lure enemies, sneak up and knock them out, or use a gadget to disorient them before dealing a nasty blow. Bodies cannot be moved or hidden afterward either. It’s a very simple system, which I wish were more exciting to pull off. Perhaps more stealth-orientated gadgets, distraction options, or multi-takedowns could have helped here, I think. Getting caught while attempting to be in stealth does not mean a game over. Other than getting into a fist fight, an interesting twist of 007 First Light is the bluffing option. While an enemy is confused as to what you are doing in a restricted location, Bond has the option to improvise and persuade them that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. These are fun little dynamic interactions with unique dialog depending on the mission and location, giving a few extra moments for Bond to go past suspicious guards smoothly. It’s the first time I’ve witnessed this system in a game, and I hope to see more. License to Kill Bond isn’t just dealing with security guards or civilians. From time to time, entire gangs of gun-toting mercenaries show up in levels looking to take down our protagonist. It is then that License to Kill mode is activated for Bond, letting him use firearms with no restrictions. I was surprised by just how tight gunplay is in 007 First Light. The weapons feel powerful and satisfying to fire, with single bullets capable of taking down an enemy with a headshot. Ammo is scarce, and enemies don’t drop weapons with full magazines most of the time. This forces a hectic kind of gameplay where I am always advancing towards enemies to take their weapons after they are downed. Things like shooting legs to immobilize, aiming at the hands to make their weapon go flying, blowing up nearby fire extinguishers for cover, and using gadgets to halt a goon in their tracks while I reload, make up enjoyable levels. I had to hold back my disappointment when the enemy count in these action sequences dropped to zero and I had to go non-lethal again. Speaking of action sequences, First Light isn’t just offering sandbox levels to complete at the player’s own leisure either. Each level comes with specific linear and directed scenes to move the story forward and put Bond in tight situations. These usually end up with high-octane chases or driving sections, offering the chance to witness chaining explosions, hails of gunfire, and scripted parkour scenes that remind me of Mission Impossible movies more than Bond. Elements like seeing James Bond jump out of a plane without a parachute or drive through buildings in London inside a trash truck were fantastic and always left me at a high point when finishing a mission. The classic James Bond theme is sprinkled in here too, which only happens a handful of times in the game, but at just the right moments. Visuals and Performance Compared to Unreal Engine 5 games we are seeing nowadays, 007 First Light isn’t flexing a huge amount of realism when it comes to graphics. The models, textures, and effects all feel a little dated, with the starting mission that I mentioned being the most visually striking. However, the complete lack of stutters, the hundreds of NPCs that can be on screen without a single hitch, massive sandbox levels, and smooth transitions between them all play a part in making this an immensely immersive and complex experience. The in-engine cutscenes are gorgeous as well, offering an upgraded visual style and model detail over the gameplay sections. Animations are one aspect that jumps out at me about any new game, and First Light has nailed what a third-person action game should feel like. Walking, sneaking, and running all have a heaviness to them that I appreciate. Whenever Bond moves past a wall or a ledge, his arms reach out to lightly hold those structures until he moves away. NPCs actually react to my character and move out of the way. Even during melee combat or takedown animations, the fists impacting a body or a head hitting a wall all have that same weight. Even the more frivolous animations, like catching a gun in midair or chucking an empty one at a goon (yes, you can do that), are satisfying to pull off. Of course, the in-engine cutscene animations are remarkably well done too, with facial animations and the upgraded model details improving my engagement with the characters. I have an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB paired with an eight-core Ryzen 7 3700X and 32GB of RAM, with the game running at 1440p resolution. Deciding to completely max out all the graphics options gave me a range of frame rates between 60 and 100 depending on the scene and level. While I did try to enable AMD FSR, which bumped up the frame rates by a good 20% at Quality mode, IO Interactive’s implementation of the technology wasn’t that great. Every corner and edge in levels began shimmering, and I was also seeing smearing issues in fast-moving sections. The title seemingly uses the older generation FSR 3.1 and not the machine learning-assisted FSR 4, leading to these artifacts. Unfortunately, there isn't a way to manually upgrade this right now either. I opted to turn off the upscaling and play the game in native 1440p to avoid problems. I would say the FPS range I was getting was an acceptable one for a single-player action game for my setup. I do wish there were an FOV slider option in the settings. While the camera is far enough back for my tastes in most situations in this third-person adventure, at times the perspective is far too close. When trying to look around quickly and spot targets, I realized I was getting a slight headache at times due to the use of an almost over-the-shoulder close-up camera. Conclusion Being James Bond in 007 First Light is a treat. Traveling around the world chasing conspiracies, using high-tech gadgets disguised as everyday accessories, and improvising on the spot to fool foes all give a fantastic feeling of being a super spy. For an origin story, IO Interactive has done a great job at introducing the character and his motives for doing what he does. The satisfying combat animation and fantastic voice acting are definitely high points, with the License to Kill moments being my favorite. Not being able to move bodies and the simplistic stealth of mechanics does hurt its presentation a little. The NPC logic and intelligence is easy to manipulate and trick, repeating the same actions over and over again if I keep making distractions. The lack of an FOV slider was also a pain (quite literally) at times, and the FSR implementation is quite poor. These are things I hope the studio will improve upon with updates. Even with its faults, IO Interactive and James Bond are a match made in heaven. The studio knows how to make a main character that oozes charm and competency while also leaning heavily into its Hitman experience to make gigantic levels with what looks like hundreds of NPCs roaming around. Being an origin story, IO’s Bond has a way to go before he becomes the highly effective agent we see in the movie world. I am hoping the studio will continue this series alongside its Hitman ventures going forward, just so we get to experience the journey for longer. 007 First Light is available on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, and Xbox PC), Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 for $69.99. This review was conducted on the PC version of the game provided by IO Interactive.
    • [Price Drop] PDF Expert for Mac v3 is still half off by Steven Parker Today's highlighted deal comes via our Apps + Software section of the Neowin Deals store, where for only a limited time you can save 42% on PDF Expert One-Time Purchase. PDFs remain the best way to transmit documents, but editing them isn't possible with standard Mac software. PDF Expert changes that, allowing you to edit PDF text, images, links, and outlines quickly and easily. Typo in a contract? Easy fix. Need to rework a complete section of a document? No problem. PDF Expert provides a series of essential functions that will transform the way you work with documents on your Mac. It recognizes text and OCR, makes edits, and fills out forms. And with the “Enhance” feature powered by AI, it will fix distortions, remove shadows and improve contrast so that even difficult-to-read documents look great. EDIT Change the text. Easily fix typos, update numbers, or add entire paragraphs Insert images. Update logos in a contract or add a new graph to a report Add links. Enrich your PDFs by linking to other pages or external websites ANNOTATE Highlight the important. Make the most valuable content stand out at a glance Comment on PDFs. Add text to PDFs, insert pop-up notes & write your thoughts in the margins Add stamps. Review documents with our set of stamps or create custom stamps for any workflow ORGANIZE Merge PDFs. Combine multiple files into one PDF document Manage pages. Add, delete, rearrange, or rotate PDF pages with ease Split PDFs. Extract pages from PDFs & save them as separate files CONVERT Convert to PDF. Turn JPG, PNG, Word, PPT, and Excel to PDF PDF to Word. Convert PDFs into editable Word documents PDF to image. Turn PDFs into JPG or PNG images PDF to Excel. Convert PDFs into Excel spreadsheets PDF to PPT. Save PDFs as PowerPoint presentations PDF to text. Convert PDFs into editable TXT files FILL OUT Fill out PDF forms. Easily fill out PDF forms by just clicking on them Sign documents. Add your signature to a PDF in a few clicks. Let customers sign documents with handy one-time signatures Redact PDFs. Blackout or erase confidential information from your documents RECOGNIZE TEXT OCR text in PDF. Recognize the text, so you can search, highlight & copy it Enhance scans. Fix distortions, remove shadows & improve contrast Crop & split pages. Split double-page scans into separate pages & remove undesired margins Good to know: Length of access: Lifetime Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 30 days of purchase Access options: Mac Max number of device(s): Unlimited usage on personal macOS devices Version: PDF Expert 3 for Mac (macOS) Updates: Get continuous support and bug fixes. Additional new features may come at an extra cost. PDF Expert One-Time Purchase normally costs $139.99, but you can pick it up for just $69.97 for a limited time, that represents a saving of $70 (50% off). For a full description, specs, and license info, click the link below. Deal Price One time cost now only $69.97 (was $139.99) Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. Support queries If you have queries or need support for any of the Neowin Deals, please use the contact form here. Neowin Deals are managed and sold by StackCommerce who represent Neowin on an affiliate basis. We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. Other ways to support Neowin Whitelist Neowin by not blocking our ads Create a free member account to see fewer ads Make a donation to support our day to day running costs Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: Neowin benefits from revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site powered by StackCommerce.
    • Indeed - drives me mad - usually because Refresh is hidden in the full menu.
    • Firefox has had rounded corners for many years. I take it you're not a fan of modern browsers?
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