Corvo Attano Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 With the leak/announcement yesterday that Marussia will not be changing their driver lineup, everybody but Caterham has confirmed their drivers for the coming season, and it looks like this:Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel (#1)*, Daniel Ricciardo (#3)Ferrari: Fernando Alonso (#14), Kimi Raikkonen (#7)Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton (#44), Nico Rosberg (#6)Lotus: Romain Grosjean (#8), Pastor Maldonado (#13)Mclaren: Jenson Button (#22), Kevin Magnussen (#20)Force India: Nico Hulkenberg (#27), Sergio Perez (#11)Sauber: Adrian Sutil (#99), Esteban Gutierrez (#21)Toro Rosso: Jean-Eric Vergne (#25), Daniil Kyvat (#26)Williams: Felipe Massa (#19), Valtteri Bottas (#77)Caterham: TBA, TBAMarussia: Jules Bianchi (#17), Max Chilton (number TBA)*Vettel has chosen number 5 as his permanent number, but he has also chosen to retain Number 1 for this season. The first pre-season test takes place from the 28th to the 21st, and so far, only Caterham, Marussia, Mercedes & Mclaren have officially confirmed that they will be attending, and Lotus have confirmed that they will not. The season is shaping up to be very interesting: Mercedes allegedly have an advantage with the new powertrain, and Renault have a disadvantage because they don't build their own Chassis' as well. If the rumours are to be believed, teams like Force India and Williams could well shoot up the grid, and the likes of Lotus and Red Bull could fall down it. Its also not known how much tyre degradation will be a factor with the new cars, and it has been speculated that fuel capacity may become an issue. Regarding the calendar, the main changes are that the Indian and Korean GP's will be dropped from the season, and the Austrian GP will take place at the Red Bull Ring in June (between Montreal and Silverstone), and the Russian GP, at the Sochi street circuit in October (between Japan and The USA). Other minor changes are that Bahrain will now be a night race, and that Abu Dhabi will now be the last race of the season - and worth double points. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 bump bump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Not much news at the moment. Jenson Button's dad died. Schumacher is still in a coma.On a lighter note Raikkonen said he wanted to be number 7 because that's what he had last year and saw no reason to bother changing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Well this could be interesting.I'd had no idea that the internal situation at McLaren was so fractious, which might partly explain the backsliding performances - it can't be easy for anyone to do their best work in a situation like that. Could be a big shake-up there coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Well this could be interesting.I'd had no idea that the internal situation at McLaren was so fractious, which might partly explain the backsliding performances - it can't be easy for anyone to do their best work in a situation like that. Could be a big shake-up there coming.The backstage squabbling could also be a consequence of McLaren's poor recent form, if some people are blaming Whitmarsh for it. The story's suggestion that McLaren will be the next stop on Ross Brawn's apparent ongoing quest to work for every leading F1 team does sound plausible and could be good for them. In other news, Bernie has temporarily stepped down from his position while he fights off criminal charges of bribery. This might be an opportunity to get rid of his latest mad idea to award double points for the final race, and I'm sure plenty of people will be hoping he doesn't get back control of F1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gneisenau Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I don't get why complain about double points when we already have really gimmicky things like the tyres and DRS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I don't get why complain about double points when we already have really gimmicky things like the tyres and DRS. Well the tyres and DRS apply to everyone and every race so I see them as completely separate things to the double points debacle. tyres and DRS are technology which teams and drivers can take advantage of through development and maximising their potential. Double points for the last race of the season is just arbitrary nonsense - if there are drivers who try harder only because there are more points at stake then they shouldn't be racing in the first place. I will seriously look upon the world champion with less admiration if they only win the championship because of that final race and I sincerely hope that the championship leader has the season sown up before the final race. In the 100m sprint - if you ran faster during the final 10m should you get a deduction from your overall time? If you score a goal during extra time in football should it be worth double the points? I can imagine how premiership fans would react if the final games in the season were worth double points. It's nonsense and it's completely unfair. Gimmicky things that rank with the double points rule would be a) after every race the current championship leader has to swap cars with the championship loser b ) if you finish first, you start last in the next race c) there is a lottery ran for every lap of the the race where, if your number turns up, you get a drive through penalty d)the middle race of the season - if you finish first you take the same amount of points off the championship leader (even if you are the leader) Besides scenario D I'd still say the gimmicky changes I list would make more sense than the double points for the final race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I don't get why complain about double points when we already have really gimmicky things like the tyres and DRS.I complain about DRS all the time. Not so much the tyres- they have to be balanced properly, but it does actually test the driver's ability in some way to have to manage them and mixes the field up in entertaining ways.DRS, however, does the opposite. Stuck behind a great defensive driver? No worries, they have no hope of stopping you once you're in the DRS zone! Hate hate hate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Stuck behind a great defensive driver? No worries, they have no hope of stopping you once you're in the DRS zone! Lewis Hamilton stuck behind Hulkenberg would probably disagree with you on that. Arguably DRS does the reverse: it allows the car that is faster anyway to overtake more safely. There's been a distinct reduction in extremely dangerous Schumacher-style crowding out and accidents since DRS came in. I can see the argument against it: it makes overtaking inevitable rather than more of a challenge. But in the pre-DRS days we had races on great overtaking circuits with very little overtaking, even when cars were clearly superior to the one in front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 but at least everyone has DRS and the likes of Alonso know how to use it perfectly. There were several races where he'd pass just after the detection zone so that the person can't attack back for a lap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Okay.. a whole lot of news is coming in, included but now limited to: - Kamui Kobayashi will return next year for Caterham, alongside rookie Marcus Ericsson-Force India were the first to reveal their 2014 car: www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12477/9127918/the-new-look-of-2014-force-india-become-the-first-f1-team-to-reveal-their-new-car. Mclaren also revealed the MP4-29.-Lotus revealed a really funny-looking E22 (www.espn.co.uk/lotusf1/motorsport/story/142663.html) with a strange split nose. That announcement came just a couple of hours after they announced that Eric Boullier has quit, and will probably replace Martin Whitmarsh at Mclaren - www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/mclaren/10594352/Eric-Boullier-leaves-Lotus-and-is-linked-with-McLaren.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Lotus' split nose is odd, but it's far better than McLaren's flaccid gentleman-sausage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 - Kamui Kobayashi will return next year for Caterham, alongside rookie Marcus Ericsson I know nothing about Ericsson, but Kobayashi's return is good news. Hopefully Caterham will be a bit closer to the mid-field this year and he'll have some opportunities to show off his overtaking prowess again. Lotus' split nose is odd, but it's far better than McLaren's flaccid gentleman-sausage. That is a very ugly car. Not that the others shown so far look good either, but hopefully none of the designs will be quite as ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Lotus' split nose is odd, but it's far better than McLaren's flaccid gentleman-sausage.a head-on collision between a Lotus & a Mclaren wshould be funny :) I know nothing about Ericsson, but Kobayashi's return is good news. Hopefully Caterham will be a bit closer to the mid-field this year and he'll have some opportunities to show off his overtaking prowessEricsson is a pay driver. He was 6th in GP2 last year, and managed one race win, and it was his fourth season in the series. Im hoping Kobayashi will bring back literal flying laps.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 The Ferrari is called the F14-T, and it looks like it has a hoover attached to the front At least the cars have some variety in their looks this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 From that article:After the new Williams and McLaren were likened to anteaters,That is an incredibly optimistic sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 The new Mercedes and Red Bull both look pretty good: fairly mean and aggressive designs, given the limitations. I approve. Mercedes have integrated their camera mounts into the aerodynamics, though, which is something the FIA are going to have to look at. Red Bull have also complained about the 'submarining' danger on the cars with protruding front noses, which could get under the car in front and flip it. Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari should be immune to that (the car in front would hit the front wing first), but with some of the others it's an issue. The Toro Rosso looks...well, the Ann Summers company commented on it, which is quite amusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 The Caterham. Kill it! Kill it with fire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 The Caterham. Kill it! Kill it with fire! and pitchforks. It looks like it has a snow plow on the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonius Pius Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Good lord, and I thought last years stepped noses were ugly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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