Seb Speaks His Mind.

[Emmcee 0]

Yet again Sebastian Vettel has spoken out on his dislike on the current state on f1 and I agree with him 100%. Good on him, seems like the only driver to have some balls to speak up and say something and now Bernie is coming out and saying that drivers shouldn't be allowed to talk. They should just turn up and drive.

http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/560383/Vettel_supports_engine_changes/

[KoolMonkey 0]

F1 is over for me. It's a long gradual process akin to an addict, but eventually I'll be free of this farce of a "sport".

Good on Vettel for saying what he feels in a way that isn't douchebaggy.

When we where all first told of Turbos coming back in, I admit it was exciting. But these engines are total sh|t. The whole thing is a mess.

Simply put, we need to blow up F1 and start over.

- No fuel restrictions. None. Burn as much as you want. And no faux green ethanol either.

- No RPM limits on the engines. How amazing was it for Cosworth to be the first to breakthrough 20,000rpms!

- No ERS/KERS. Get rid of them. They are too complex and too costly. This is not Formula E.

- Time to get rid of DRS. It hasn't improved anything.

- No halos, canopies or roofs. Go race in Le Mans or WEC if you want to watch that.

- I cannot blame Pirelli for the tyre situation because ultimately they made and attempted to make what was asked of them. But it's just too complicated now. I don't want to go back to having the bullet proof I can do two race weekends on a set of Bridgestone softs either. I do like how teams can pick their own compounds. I don't have any answers, I just don't like the tyres situation.

- Open innovation. Sick to death of these constant rule restrictions. Now teams are spending millions on the smallest of things that won't even give them a gain. Ridiculous.

- And Qualifying, oh wow we're back to 2015 rules. As though that was a major achievement. People realize a change was put into place to try to improve the show, but I think most have forgotten that part. What we got was worse, but at least they made an attempt. And then bam, back to the old rules as though we all loved that for some reason.

- More engines. No more 4-5 engines a year. FCK THS SHT.

F1 sucks. It's been over policed and regulated. It's so anti-competitive in the way it's setup, that it doesn't even allow other teams to realistically catch up. I cannot believe I read it, but was it Bernie saying he didn't see anyone challenging Merc until 2020? Peace the fork out. Hopefully I'll be long gone from this farce before then.

[Angellica 0]

Thank you Kool Monkey, you saved me a lot of typing there. I agree with you 100%

[Emmcee 0]

Ohh monkey is always spot on when it comes to this and I also couldn't agree more.

[Unknown? 0]

Only things I'd disagree with is on the engine / ERS front. I like the V6 turbos. I think the innovation is amazing and to recover energy from the braking/turbo is highly beneficial. Sure the sound is not at a screaming pitch but that doesn't bother me at all. I'd increase the fuel flow rate/limit to go flat out but in all probability the way the engines are ramping up the teams will be near enough there on engine performance/efficiency in a few years anyway.

As for not catching merc by 2020 I think that's just rubbish. Look at the gains Renault and Honda especially have made over the winter. This time next year I'd imagine engine performance will be near enough equalised.

[Sakae 0]

F1 is over for me. It's a long gradual process akin to an addict, but eventually I'll be free of this farce of a "sport".

Good on Vettel for saying what he feels in a way that isn't douchebaggy.

When we where all first told of Turbos coming back in, I admit it was exciting. But these engines are total sh|t. The whole thing is a mess.

Simply put, we need to blow up F1 and start over.

- No fuel restrictions. None. Burn as much as you want. And no faux green ethanol either.

- No RPM limits on the engines. How amazing was it for Cosworth to be the first to breakthrough 20,000rpms!

- No ERS/KERS. Get rid of them. They are too complex and too costly. This is not Formula E.

- Time to get rid of DRS. It hasn't improved anything.

- No halos, canopies or roofs. Go race in Le Mans or WEC if you want to watch that.

- I cannot blame Pirelli for the tyre situation because ultimately they made and attempted to make what was asked of them. But it's just too complicated now. I don't want to go back to having the bullet proof I can do two race weekends on a set of Bridgestone softs either. I do like how teams can pick their own compounds. I don't have any answers, I just don't like the tyres situation.

- Open innovation. Sick to death of these constant rule restrictions. Now teams are spending millions on the smallest of things that won't even give them a gain. Ridiculous.

- And Qualifying, oh wow we're back to 2015 rules. As though that was a major achievement. People realize a change was put into place to try to improve the show, but I think most have forgotten that part. What we got was worse, but at least they made an attempt. And then bam, back to the old rules as though we all loved that for some reason.

- More engines. No more 4-5 engines a year. FCK THS SHT.

F1 sucks. It's been over policed and regulated. It's so anti-competitive in the way it's setup, that it doesn't even allow other teams to realistically catch up. I cannot believe I read it, but was it Bernie saying he didn't see anyone challenging Merc until 2020? Peace the fork out. Hopefully I'll be long gone from this farce before then.

This situation begs a question then, namely, how valuable are Mercedes's trophies when FiA placed handcuffs on competition? Year 2014 maybe, but that's it as far as I am concerned.

[Emmcee 0]

Only things I'd disagree with is on the engine / ERS front. I like the V6 turbos. I think the innovation is amazing and to recover energy from the braking/turbo is highly beneficial. Sure the sound is not at a screaming pitch but that doesn't bother me at all. I'd increase the fuel flow rate/limit to go flat out but in all probability the way the engines are ramping up the teams will be near enough there on engine performance/efficiency in a few years anyway.

As for not catching merc by 2020 I think that's just rubbish. Look at the gains Renault and Honda especially have made over the winter. This time next year I'd imagine engine performance will be near enough equalised.

Yeah but like Seb said, if there using it as a testing ground for road cars, test it in the world sportscar championship. These f1 engines won't be on road cars anyway so what's the point?

[Unknown? 0]

Yeah but like Seb said, if there using it as a testing ground for road cars, test it in the world sportscar championship. These f1 engines won't be on road cars anyway so what's the point?

What's the point of having a v8 when you could have a v10? or a v12? etc etc. Hybrid is the future direction of engineering, at least until a new fuel source is released. The point of these engines is efficiency. Why would you have a thirsty v10 that provides similar power output and recovers absolutely no waste energy?

[Emmcee 0]

Because it's formula one, simple as that. Since formula one was invented its sole purpose to exist is to race, not to develop parts cars won't even use for the next 10 years. What's the point in that?

[Sakae 0]

Yeah but like Seb said, if there using it as a testing ground for road cars, test it in the world sportscar championship. These f1 engines won't be on road cars anyway so what's the point?

This might be cross platform technology.Just remember how many rats are in pain before you can receive a medicament.

[Sakae 0]

Because it's formula one, simple as that. Since formula one was invented its sole purpose to exist is to race, not to develop parts cars won't even use for the next 10 years. What's the point in that?

Sorry to pour water on your enthusiasm, but F1 was not invented. Frech GP, its predecessor and an idea parent, was so renamed F1 by a British used car salesman.

[Emmcee 0]

This might be cross platform technology.Just remember how many rats are in pain before you can receive a medicament.

That's why Iam an adamant supporter of natural medicines.

[Emmcee 0]

Sorry to pour water on your enthusiasm, but F1 was not invented. Frech GP, its predecessor and an idea parent, was so renamed F1 by a British used car salesman.

Well it had to invented at some point, it can't just appear,the idea has to come from somewhere.

[Sakae 0]

a proposal to cap engine costs was vetoed by Ferrari last year

Some of the F1 so-called journalists are either provocateur or imbecilic. I am not exactly sure which one comes first. How on earth that interviewer can compare selling current PU below its cost, something which was demanded of Ferrari, with actually returning to normally aspirated engines for an affordable cost? Seb got probably confused over stupidity of that question.

[KoolMonkey 0]

F1 Qualifying that I personally think was some of the best.

The last time I honestly recall any excitement in qualy was back in the Vettel vs Webber vs Alonso days. Nothing since. Zip. NOTHING Merc have done has entertained me one bit.

[Emmcee 0]

My best memory from any qualifying session would have to be Jerez 1997. Top 3 cars all set the same time.

Brilliant clip aswell monkey, thanks for sharing!

[KoolMonkey 0]

I would surmise that the drivers who have actually experienced V10s would go back to them in a heartbeat if given the choice. Those who have expereinced V8s would go back to them as well. I can't reall imagine any race would want to stay with the V6 vacuum cleaners unless it's Max or someone who hasn't actually experienced anything else.

WebRic, yes I still rave about the single lap qualifying. It was great in my view. I'd like Q to be Q1 and Q2 as it is now, but make Q3 a top ten shootout with a single flying lap. The video above shows just how exciting it can be, and we won't then need to sit through and hour and a half of it.

2015 Qualy sucked just as it has for years. Very disappointed they did not try to come up with a better solution rather than cancel all the changes. The agregate idea was utterly stupid, but having racers drop out every minute or 90s at least had some level or urgency to it. Now all we'll get is a few runs, then cars go back into the pits, then they all come out and do 1-2 final runs over the finish line after the clock has already finished. BORING. Anyway, the weening off F1 continues. It's dead, my heart and mind just need to realize that.

[Emmcee 0]

It's doesn't necessarily have to be a one lap flyer but just have the tyres at desposal to allow them to go quicker without the fear of it affect there race strategy and even that would bring back these type of laps IMO. Something Mark Webber actually used to be good at.

[Sakae 0]

2015 Qualy sucked just as it has for years. Very disappointed they did not try to come up with a better solution rather than cancel all the changes. The aggregate idea was utterly stupid, but having racers drop out every minute or 90s at least had some level or urgency to it. Now all we'll get is a few runs, then cars go back into the pits, then they all come out and do 1-2 final runs over the finish line after the clock has already finished. BORING. Anyway, the weening off F1 continues. It's dead, my heart and mind just need to realize that.

This is very much true. While yammering about loving compromise, which to me 2015 style forever remains, in reality, what I am missing is the lap on the limit. No concerns about saving equipment, tires, or fuel. Life seems to be simpler then.

http://www.grandprix...-qualifying-iv/

I think today driver's, or rather their handlers, rationalizing too much, while losing focus on reasons why we are actually holding the (speed) event. Some on the wall seem to be insisting getting into the act and be "important", including any disregard for the sport and driver's autonomy. I recall recent coaching of Rosberg when he had to tell the voice on radio to get off. This incident is not unique. Hamilton and Kimi had similar issues.

[Massa 0]

Some discussion in here about a formula that draws automakers.

Yes, yes, there's the "raceway-to-roadway" thing. Which at this point seems to have more to do with developing processes than anything, if what I'm told is true. Honda uses IndyCar to train young engineers, basically. I'm led to believe others are involved in racing to work on data collection processes, problem-solving processes, management techniques, etc. It's the easiest way to test something, because failure is irrelevant in the end (it's just a sport), but success is very easy to measure. That's a constant regardless of engine format, so you don't lose that by changing to something else...

Beyond that:

-Marketing. What image do you project being in F1? How do you tie an F1 presence into revenue for your brand? It's a tough call. A lot of automakers are going to reject screaming V8 or V10 engines because performance isn't a selling point and "environmental wastefulness" can be a negative image (even if not necessarily a true image) to display to consumers. But at the same time, you have a tough sale doing what they're doing now, which isn't marketing themselves, but trying to market a category of power units (both in size and in style) as the new high-performance. And failing to do so.

-Supplier relationships. 100,000,000% of racing is just B2B stuff. Automakers race in at least some part to cultivate and strengthen supplier relationships. That's nearly a constant, too. It doesn't matter what engine you are using; you'll always have suppliers. Of course, you won't have suppliers related to hybrid components, for example, in a V10 petrol formula.

So, it seems to me the justifications for keeping the current engines are squarely in marketing. How big a persuasion is that? I'm not sure. I'd argue that marketing is a good reason to ditch it.

(1) It's extremely expensive, which means you need a hell of a lot more return for your marketing, and with fewer and fewer TV viewers and people at the races, I suspect you're getting a lot less return for a lot more cost.

(2) It's actually detrimental marketing, because it's showing the V6 hybrids to be far less impressive in every way than the V8s, which is the exact opposite of what the purpose was. The purpose was to convince people you can make less-environmentally-brutal performance cars without sacrificing performance—and in the real world, on the roads, that's true, but for people who don't know that, and just see the GP, they would not get that impression.

(3) Winning is even better marketing than participating. You have a formula that's constraining engine development, which reduces the possibility of winning, which reduces the incentive to race. Why commit, as an automaker, if you can't possibly win, and thus can't possibly get the maximum marketing benefits?

[Sakae 0]

Some of the values as described in preceding post are really only in the eyes of the beholder, aren't they? It's all relative to one lifestyle and values we espouse, methinks because none of it is essential to human life and survival.

[Emmcee 0]

So you know what's going on do you?

[Emmcee 0]

Seb and selfies lmao,

This is gold, really starting to take a liking to this attitude of late, someone needed to step up.

http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/560538/I_am_not_a_hero__Sebastian_Vettel/

[Sakae 0]

Seb and selfies lmao,

This is gold, really starting to take a liking to this attitude of late, someone needed to step up.

http://www.gptoday.c...bastian_Vettel/

Some of us appraised Seb as pretty straight, and on the level guy very long time ago, despite all bad press he was getting the day in, day out; very much a reason why Webber's affinity to mind games never sat well with me.

[Emmcee 0]

I disagree there, he was a spoilt brat when he was at redbull. Just having kids and moving to Ferrari has been like a reset and has rebooted a totally refreshed,determined and handles responsibility a lot better and I think it shows. He was always quick whitted but since f1 needed someone to speak up and he is the only one doing it, also gained more respect from me, to see someone actually using there power for good and not just to take selfies lol.