Werthead Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 You can never rule Red Button and Vettel out (their ability to recover from an awful start by mid-season and then win is astonishing), but I agree that Hamilton and Rosberg look good for the early races. Button, Magnussen and Massa are all looking strong as well. If Williams can capitalise on their pre-season form, they could have a storming start to the season. It looks like Toro Rosso and maybe Lotus will struggle. Good news is that double-points thing has been kept to the last race alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 It'll be interesting to see if Williams can manage to be near the front for the first races, their testing form suggests they could be but predicting a season from what happens in testing can be risky. As someone who started watching F1 in the early 90s it's never seemed quite right to have Williams being a backmarker team in most recent seasons. Force India look like they have a decent chance of moving up as well, I think they've got a good driver line-up this year even if it's a shame Paul Di Resta isn't around any more. It's currently looking debatable whether Red Bull and Lotus will be able to get to the chequered flag at the first race, I'm sure Red Bull will sort out the issues at some point but they seem in real trouble at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 You can never rule Red Button and Vettel out (their ability to recover from an awful start by mid-season and then win is astonishing), but I agree that Hamilton and Rosberg look good for the early races. Button, Magnussen and Massa are all looking strong as well. If Williams can capitalise on their pre-season form, they could have a storming start to the season. It looks like Toro Rosso and maybe Lotus will struggle. Good news is that double-points thing has been kept to the last race alone. I take it you meant "red bull" unless Jenson is a communist ;) Are the tyres the same this year? Otherwise I'd be concerned about how well Mercedes manage their tyres. I get the impression this season will be more about whether engines and fuel-loads make it to the end of the race Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Pirelli have beefed up the tyres, because the added torque would tear last one's to shreds. However, Pirelli have said their brief is to keep things to 2-3 pit stops per race, so we could also see more exploding tyres as they try to find the right balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Pirelli have beefed up the tyres, because the added torque would tear last one's to shreds. However, Pirelli have said their brief is to keep things to 2-3 pit stops per race, so we could also see more exploding tyres as they try to find the right balance. With that in mind we could have a very unpredictable start to the season. I'd even say Mclaren are in with a shout given the mercedes engine and the fact they were good at managing the tyres last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted March 2, 2014 Author Share Posted March 2, 2014 At the end of testing, Williams have set the fastest time (in Bahrain), by a tiny margin over Mercedes, and Merc have done the most mileage of anybody, but only a fraction more than Williams. So, pretty much, those two are looking strongest at the moment. Mclaren started strong, but somehow managed to get less reliable as testing went on. At this stage, bookies will give you the lowest odds on Hamilton, followed by Vettel, Rosberg then Alonso. In the constructors, Mercedes are favourites by a big margin, followed by Ferrari then Red Bull. Edit: Also, Mercedes-powered cars have set the fastest times on 11 out of the 12 days of testing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 good to hear Williams seem to have a good car - they are long overdue some success. Also pleased Maldonado isn't with them to enjoy a good car. Can anyone recall what last year's pre season testing was like? I usually have the impression that it doesn't mean a great deal until race day but maybe I'm wrong. I have a feeling Red Bull weren't the fastest last year either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Can anyone recall what last year's pre season testing was like? I usually have the impression that it doesn't mean a great deal until race day but maybe I'm wrong. I have a feeling Red Bull weren't the fastest last year either. There hadn't been significant technical changes last year so I think the pre-season testing was less important. I can't remember what Red Bull's times were like last year, I suspect they were near the front but probably the bigger difference is that last year their car was probably able to complete a race distance without catching fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Yeah, Red Bull weren't the fastest- they often haven't been to start the season. But there's a difference between a bit of bedding-in slowness and the unmitigated disaster this has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 I suspect they were near the front but probably the bigger difference is that last year their car was probably able to complete a race distance without catching fire. LOL This could be a really interesting season to see how much of a champion Vettel really is. Wonder how he might cope without being in the best car? If the start of last season was anything to go by he'll be throwing pissy fits and acting like a spoiled brat. Hope Ricciardo is ready for a shafting and plenty of faulty radio transmissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 If the start of last season was anything to go by he'll be throwing pissy fits and acting like a spoiled brat. Allegedly during the first testing session, after one of the failed attempts to get on track he said, "This is no good, I can't race that," got out of the car and left the circuit altogether. No-one noticed because the car was out of action for the next day or so anyway, but yeah, it's not a great sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Allegedly during the first testing session, after one of the failed attempts to get on track he said, "This is no good, I can't race that," got out of the car and left the circuit altogether. No-one noticed because the car was out of action for the next day or so anyway, but yeah, it's not a great sign. It'll be entertaining though if he continues that way. I believe "schadenfreude" is the word :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonius Pius Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 It'll be entertaining though if he continues that way. I believe "schadenfreude" is the word :) :P It could also bring out the best in him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted March 3, 2014 Author Share Posted March 3, 2014 Does anybody know what the furthest distance is that Red Bull have managed in one go without the car catching fire/coming to an inexplicable halt/spinning out due to a "brake failure"/running out of E for the ERS/exploding/evaporating/transforming into Optimus Prime/time travelling/falling off the edge of the world/becoming sentient, etc etc etc ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Does anybody know what the furthest distance is that Red Bull have managed in one go without the car catching fire/coming to an inexplicable halt/spinning out due to a "brake failure"/running out of E for the ERS/exploding/evaporating/transforming into Optimus Prime/time travelling/falling off the edge of the world/becoming sentient, etc etc etc ? According to the BBC website their longest run was 20 laps. I think perhaps the big unknown in terms of form could be Ferrari. They've seemed to be outpaced by most of the Mercedes teams but they haven't been too far off, they haven't had as many reliability problems as some other teams and traditionally they've not shown their full pace in pre-season testing. Their driving line-up could also make up for some shortcomings with the car, although Alonso might be getting a bit bored of having to continually haul them into contention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Some interesting (potential) new races - Bernie has signed a deal for Azerbaijan, A return to Long Beach is being considered, and A street race in London is on the cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 :P It could also bring out the best in him... Most definitely. Once Vettel wins a season in a car that isn't streets ahead of the others, I'll beleive he's the full package. He probably already is but it's hard to tell when Red Bull has been so dominant. It's how I thought Hamilton was a better driver in the season after winning the championship as he had to work for those victories. Their driving line-up could also make up for some shortcomings with the car, although Alonso might be getting a bit bored of having to continually haul them into contention. I think Raikonnen will keep him very honest. Plus it sounds as though Ferrari would happily trade alonso for Vettel so Alonso can't phone it in this season if he wants to ensure he winds up with Red Bull/Mclaren next season. Some interesting (potential) new races - Bernie has signed a deal for Azerbaijan, A return to Long Beach is being considered, and A street race in London is on the cards. London gets mentioned every year and I honestly think it's just a way of getting London media (and hence all of the UK) talking about F1. Logistically it would simply cost too much. At the very least they'd have to abandon testing and only have racing on the saturday and sunday (that way bankers aren't inconvenienced too much). It may happen one day as a one-off event but I very much doubt it will ever become a regular fixture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 London's been on the cards for years and they've never managed to get it to work, so I'll be surprised if they pull it off. Azerbaijan seems like an odd choice. Is there a hotbed of F1 fanatics in the region? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvo Attano Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 London's been on the cards for years and they've never managed to get it to work, so I'll be surprised if they pull it off. Azerbaijan seems like an odd choice. Is there a hotbed of F1 fanatics in the region? Azerbaijan has lots of oil money - Bernie will go anywhere If there's a quick buck to be made. It won't be long before they start considering silly places like Bahrain or Abu Dhabi just because they have rich comercial options. Oh wait... Either that, or he's intent on shifting the entire calendar to Asia - The Nurburgring could be in doubt. North Korean GP anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 Apparently Bernie's found that he can get a really good deal for a race in Crimea right now ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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