formula 1 Formula 1 World Championship 2016 Season Discussion

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[MightyJordan]

Force India VJM09

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/22/force-india-vjm09-first-pictures-revealed/

 

And the Renault RS16

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/22/renault-rs16-first-pictures-revealed/

[MightyJordan]

Red Bull RB12

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/22/red-bull-rb12-first-pictures-revealed/

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[MightyJordan]

^^ Now that's my favourite livery of the season so far. Slim competition, though, what with all the predominantly black cars we've seen so far.  Although I will say Renault was my favourite until Manor showed theirs.

 

Speaking of black, here's the Toro Rosso STR11, sans livery...

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/22/toro-rosso-str11-first-pictures-revealed/

[MightyJordan]

Whoops, it's actually purple...

 

 

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[Chasethebase Veteran]

 

Full album here, that Manor livery is gorgeous, and the suits are very smart too.

 

[MightyJordan]

Quote

Formula 1 bosses have voted unanimously to deliver a dramatic overhaul of the qualifying format for the upcoming season.

 

Following a meeting of the Strategy Group and F1 Commission in Geneva, the format change has been voted through to spice up the show.

 

Qualifying will remain as a one-hour session, split into three segments, but drivers must be on track throughout each part until they get knocked out.

 

Details on how the new qualifying format will work exactly have yet to be decided, but the general outline has been agreed.

 

Q1 will now last 16 minutes and after seven minutes the slowest driver will take no further part in the session. Every 90 seconds thereafter, the slowest will be knocked out until there are only 15 drivers remaining.

 

After a short break, Q2 will commence and last 15 minutes with the slowest driver eliminated after six minutes. As was the case in Q1, the slowest driver at the time will be knocked out at 90-second intervals until eight remain.

 

Q3 will last 14 minutes and see the process repeated again with the slowest taking no further part after five minutes. The next five drivers will drop out at 90-second intervals leaving the final two drivers to fight it out for pole in the final 90 seconds.

 

The change will require ratification by the World Motor Sport Council, which next meets on March 4.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122937

 

Could be a nice change to the format.

[simonlang]

8 hours ago, MightyJordan said:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122937

 

Could be a nice change to the format.

for my final judgement i have to wait till i have seen it live, but on paper this one looks good and should bring in some action. so even if mercedes still has by far the quickest car, unlucky timing in qualifying (especially on changing weather conditions) would mean a more mixed starting grid and more action in the race as quicker cars come from behind. 

 

worst case? race engineers decrypt the format after 2 or 3 races and the quali will be as boring as it was before. 

 

let's wait and see

[philcruicks]

Interesting to see still only Force India using the nostril nose, seemed to give them a fair performance bump, surprised we've not seen at least someone else try it.

[ctebah]

Ferrari putting up some very impressive numbers.

[MightyJordan]

 

 

 

[MightyJordan]

The ‘elimination qualifying’ system announced by the FIA this week will not be introduced until the Spanish Grand Prix at the earliest, Bernie Ecclestone has admitted.

 

The existing qualifying format will remain in place for at least the first four rounds of the championship because Formula One Management will not be able to complete the necessary changes to its software in time. Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix will take place in three weeks’ time.

 

“The new qualifying won’t happen because we can’t get everything done in time,” Ecclestone admitted to The Independent.

 

“It was going to come in at the start of the year but we are not going to be able to get all of the software done in time. So the qualifying changes will probably be in Spain. All of the software has got to be written so it’s not easy.”

 

Ecclestone had proposed an alternative ‘time ballast’ system which was rejected by team bosses.

 

“All I’m trying to do is muddle up the grid so that the guy that is quickest in qualifying doesn’t sit on pole and disappear because why should he be slow in the race if he is quick in qualifying?” Ecclestone added.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/27/elimination-qualifying-postponed-until-spain-at-earliest/

[Chasethebase Veteran]

Can't they just leave it for 2017 to go with the rest of the changes? Surely this would make the most logical sense unless they're haemorrhaging viewer figures that much.

[MightyJordan]

16 minutes ago, Steve B. said:

Can't they just leave it for 2017 to go with the rest of the changes? Surely this would make the most logical sense unless they're haemorrhaging viewer figures that much.

Well, I found out recently that their global audience dropped from 600 million in 2008 to 425 million in 2014, and here in the UK, the viewing figures last year dropped to an eight-year low, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're falling at an even more alarming rate.

[what]

I suspect they will wait until next year. It would be a bit odd to completely change the qualifying programme mid season.

 

It doesn't really matter anyway. The quali format was never an issue. I don't expect anybody to suddenly sign up for a Sky F1 subscription because of this change.

 

I still haven't figured out the new tyre regulations. Maybe they should be looking at gimmicky crap like that if they are genuinely concerned about viewing figures. Then perhaps look as getting the full season back on free to air TV.

[MightyJordan]

Speaking of gimmicky crap, Bernie also proposed bringing in the reverse grid format. The only series where I've seen that work is the BTCC; the 6th to 10th place drivers from race 2 at each meeting go into a pot, the race 2 winner picks a ball out at random, and whoever gets picked is on pole for race 3 with the cars that finished ahead of them reversed. That lottery aspect is the important part, plus the fact that the BTCC run three races in a day, so it doesn't have such a detrimental effect on the championship. Bernie simply wants the top 10 in qualifying reversed on the grid (which the BTCC did do initially, and it usually resulted in drivers deliberately dropping down to 10th in race 2 so that they'd end up on pole for race 3), so hopefully it gets shot down.

 

I stumbled upon this article while looking for a source on the reverse grids; turns out Bernie's come up with even stupider proposals than reverse grids or the medal system (I think the first is his worst).

[what]

Bernie thinks making things as random as possible is the key to making the sport interesting. He's out of touch. There needs to be a fresh face leading F1.

[MightyJordan]

1 minute ago, what said:

Bernie thinks making things as random as possible is the key to making the sport interesting. He's out of touch. There needs to be a fresh face leading F1.

He said this week that Formula 1 is "the worst it has ever been" and that he wouldn't pay to watch it. He's the reason the series is in this state!  

[Chasethebase Veteran]

Bernie is just that good at stirring up a storm.

 

 

 

[MightyJordan]

Toro Rosso STR11 (with its livery)

 

Full album

[simonlang]

pretty worrying stuff coming about the team from maranello. 

[MightyJordan]

They've u-turned on the u-turn.

Quote

Formula 1 has refined plans for a new qualifying system, with the revised format set to be introduced in time for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

 

The elimination-style qualifying format voted for by the F1 Commission will be enforced but only for the first two segments of the session, following fresh discussions.

 

Q3 will remain the same, but it will feature only eight drivers, rather than 10 as was previously the case.

 

Q1 and Q2 will last 16 minutes each and after seven minutes, drivers will start getting knocked out at 90-second intervals.

 

That will leave eight drivers to fight for pole in a 12-minute shootout to ensure the drama at the end of the segment remains.

 

When the idea was first mooted, the intricacies of how it would work were unclear and it received a lukewarm response from the drivers.

 

Bernie Ecclestone had said it could not be introduced until the Spanish Grand Prix in May because of the complexities of changing the software.

 

But it is believed a solution has been found to enable the revised format to be introduced in Melbourne in just over a fortnight, and avoid confusing fans with a change during the season.

 

The new format still requires ratification by the World Motor Sport Council.

 

[i11usive]

Raikkonen tests F1 Halo cockpit system

Kimi Raikkonen became the first driver to test the new halo closed cockpit concept during Formula 1 testing at Barcelona in Spain on Thursday.

The structure was fitted to his car for an installation lap in the morning and comes as the FIA works on introducing the design into F1 for 2017.

Painted in black, the frame is aimed at protecting the head and featured a single column down the centre - which has been the solution that teams and the governing body have favoured.

After completing a single lap at the start of the day, the Halo concept was removed from the car so Raikkonen could resume his normal testing programme.

 

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/raikkonen-tests-f1-halo-cockpit-system-677012/