The F1 Thread

[The Bear]

Friday 8 July
First practice: 0855-1035, BBC Red Button/online
Second practice: 1255-1435, BBC Red Button/online

Saturday 9 July
Third practice: 0955-1105, BBC Red Button/BBC Radio 5 live sports extra/online
Qualifying: 1210-1430, BBC One/BBC Radio 5 live/online

Sunday 10 July
Grand Prix live: 1210-1530, BBC One/BBC Radio 5 live/online
F1 forum: 1540-1640, BBC Red Button/online
Highlights: 2000-2100, BBC Three

Looks to be another Red Bull track for the pole and win this weekend. The only possible spanner in the works is the ban on the hot blown exhausts. It will be interesting to see if this makes any difference to the gaps between teams as the multi engine map ban in Valencia seemingly made naff all difference.

I haven't seen where the DRS zone is or if it will be a double one again, but I assume it'll be either coming out of the last corner (or where it used to be!!) Luffield or on the way down to Stowe.

Tyre compounds as I mentioned before are Hard and Soft, which is potentially bad news for Ferrari as Alonso struggled badly at the Spanish GP on the Hard compound and was lapped.

We also get to see the brand spanking new pitlane and facilities in action. It'll be weird seeing them line up on the grid between the Club and Abbey corners, and the new section will be the start of the lap now with Abbey being Turn 1! It's gonna take some getting used to. New circuit map is below:

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1_media/Documents/gbr-f1-2011-circuit.pdf


We also got Horner speaking about the possibility of Hamilton being with Red Bull today:

“A Hamilton-Vettel combination, on paper, would look very attractive to any team,” he said. “However, what you have to look at is the dynamics of any partnership like that and it’s difficult to see how two sportsmen at the absolute top of their game could work in harmony under one roof.

“That’s where the dynamics within a team are so important. History demonstrates more often than not whether you look at [Alain] Prost and [Ayrton] Senna or [Nigel] Mansell and [Nelson] Piquet, that it doesn’t tend to work.

“Lewis is a wonderful driver, probably currently one of the top three in the world, but presently we are very happy with the combination we have.

"Our focus at present is on those two drivers rather than looking to change anything.

"We are hugely happy to have Sebastian [Vettel] committed to the team long term, and with Mark [Webber], we're very pleased with the job he is doing.

“In a shorter career Seb has already won more races than Lewis, had more pole positions and won the same amount of championships.

We are absolutely delighted to have Sebastian.”

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

if there are two zones then surely it will be between turns 5 and 6 and then the old pit straight?

Although there is the hangar straight after turns 10-14 (which is a great complex of corners that rivals eau rouge but without the elevation change). I think the new changes have made Silverstone an amazing circuit. However, I am saddened by the loss of Bridge, which was a breathtaking corner that required balls of steel.

 

[The Bear]

Yeah could be. I always keep forgetting about the new section.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Right thats got me pretty confused, is the bit between turns 8 and 9 the old pit straight? and the new section between turns 1 and 6 replacing the section with the bridge that Paddy mentioned?

Also, wasn't this modification of the circuit done by the same company thats re-developing Molineux?

 

[The Bear]

Yep, between 8 and 9 is the old pit straight, and 1 to 6 is the new section. Though that was raced on last year as well.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

My memories of F1 games served me well.

 

[Nando]

Leaving tomorrow, for what should be a great weekend. Will watch FP1/FP2 at Becketts/Maggots, which in my opinion are unrivalled at any other track. The direction change is simply staggering. Got grandstand tickets for the new pit straight so should get a good view from Stowe down to Vale and Club.

I think we'll see the gap between the front three close, Newey has admitted the EDB ban will harm them, but it's going to impact on just about everybody. Ferrari seem to have a big update which should hopefully see them close the gap. Still can't see past another Red Bull win though, preferably with Mark on the top step.

 

[FrankMunro-371]

Leaving tomorrow, for what should be a great weekend. Will watch FP1/FP2 at Becketts/Maggots, which in my opinion are unrivalled at any other track. The direction change is simply staggering. Got grandstand tickets for the new pit straight so should get a good view from Stowe down to Vale and Club.

I think we'll see the gap between the front three close, Newey has admitted the EDB ban will harm them, but it's going to impact on just about everybody. Ferrari seem to have a big update which should hopefully see them close the gap. Still can't see past another Red Bull win though, preferably with Mark on the top step.

I hope you have a great time Nando.

Out of interest, how close are Ferrari to being able to match Red Bull.?

 

[Nando]

Cheers Frank.

I can't really answer that, they've improved recently (Monaco, Montreal, Valencia) because the tracks have suited their car, with traction being the main element rather than aero. Silverstone is all about aerodynamics, and unless their new update significantly increases their levels of downforce I can't see them beating Red Bull, unless the EDB ban hits them hard.

Interested to see how McLaren do, Jenson and Lewis have been critical of the cars development in recent weeks but they've got close to Red Bull at Barcelona and Istanbul.

 

[Nando]

Hamilton's latest rant:

Mark Webber has become the latest F1 driver to criticise Lewis Hamilton's level of on-track aggression this season, accusing him of repeatedly 'finding ways to trip over [his] own shoelaces' – but the McLaren-Mercedes star has revealed that he 'really couldn't give a toss' what others think of him and that the only person that could ever have 'affected' him with such words would have been the late, great Ayrton Senna.

After contentiously colliding with Felipe Massa and subsequently Pastor Maldonado in Monaco, Hamilton then went on to bang wheels with Webber himself and even his own team-mate Jenson Button in Montreal, on the latter occasion precipitating his retirement from the grand prix and in so doing surrendering potentially vital world championship points.

In both races, the 2008 F1 World Champion found himself hauled up before FIA stewards for his indiscretions, but he has since vowed never to moderate his famously uncompromising, hard-charging style. Webber believes the mistakes are a clear sign that Hamilton is struggling to handle the pressure of trying to take on runaway pace-setter Sebastian Vettel in inferior machinery.

“Any sportsman can relate to that little dip, whether it is in form or making the best decisions in stressful situations,” the Australian told British newspaper The Sun. “Guys that should be challenging for podiums every weekend and who are finding ways to trip over their own shoelaces, it will be questioned.

“Off the back of the tough weekend he (Hamilton) had in Monaco, Canada was a repeat. It was clear the race was going to be a long one for all of us, so trying something in the first three seconds was a bit bizarre.”

Hamilton, however, has brushed off such censure – as well as cautionary remarks from the likes of F1 legends Niki Lauda and Sir Stirling Moss, the former describing him as a danger to his fellow competitors and warning that his actions could 'result in someone getting killed' [see separate story – click here] – by underlining that the only person he would truly listen to in such circumstances would be his racing hero Senna, tragically killed at Imola in 1994.

“What people say doesn't affect me,” the 26-year-old told The Sun, “but if Senna had been around, I think I'd have been deeply affected by it because what he did and what he said had a huge amount of meaning for me. People do forget the good things you do and the good races you have had; people forget that I was there in 2007 up against Fernando Alonso and had some mega, mega races with him.”

“It's the way the world works,” he added, speaking to London's Evening Standard and claiming that comments such as Eddie Irvine's scathing 'losing the plot' observation are like water off a duck's back to him. “Everyone loves you when you're doing well; if Michael Schumacher was winning races now, everyone would be praising him, wanting to be around him, the same if it was Heikki Kovalainen or whoever.

“At the moment, Sebastian Vettel is winning and so everyone's loving him – but just because of what people say and how they act, that doesn't make me any worse a driver. You get tough. It's like if you fall down and bruise your knee, you get up and get stronger. What people say doesn't affect my life – it has no bearing. What Niki Lauda thinks about me, I really couldn't give a toss.

“Immediately I get in the car, I just think positive things and I'm cocooned in my own world. I don't think about anything else. Every elite athlete has to be strong and make sure not to let things get to them out of the car, but we're all human beings after all and sometimes they do get to you. In Monaco, things got to me but at least I didn't deny it and I learned from that.

“My judgment could be better, maybe. I don't think it's my aggressive style that gets me into trouble. Sometimes, maybe, I don't have the best judgment and sometimes maybe I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time – but the reality is that my priority in F1 is to be the best driver of all time, and that takes dedication.”

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

It actually seems a reasonably balanced view if you take the whole article. The bit about Senna is just idiotic though. Hamilton looks like he is painting himself as the best since Senna which is nothing short of embarrassing when Schumacher is still racing and Alonso is there.

 

[The Bear]

The FIA has opted to return to the single-DRS (Drag Reduction System) for the British Grand Prix.

The detection zone will be situated 25 metres before turn 3 (Village Corner) and the activation zone, or when the following driver can open his rear-wing, will be 45m after turn 4 (The Loop), meaning the cars will take the medium speed turn 5 (Aintree Corner) with the wing in the open position.

The zone will continue down the Wellington Straight for about 400m before the drivers hit the brakes and deactivate the system.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

hmmm - perfect circuit for two zones, and only one. Interesting. Just looking at that map though and you can see what the changes have done to make a brilliant lap. Wellington straight, Hangar straight, Pit straight. Copse Maggots Beckets, even the run to Village looks fun.

Silverstone is now a truly fantastic circuit.

 

[The Bear]

Murray Walker back in the commentary box on FP3 right now. Superb to hear him talking over F1 cars again.

 

[The Bear]

Plus it's all kicked off today after yesterday's decision from FIA/Whiting to allow Renault engined cars to have 50% throttle for exhaust blowing when their cars are on the brakes, yet Mercedes were only allowed 10%. This was down to the different way the engines operate with Renault arguing they needed a certain level to remain fully reliable.

There was a big argument in the press conference yesterday between Whitmarsh and Horner, and this morning Charlie Whiting has ruled that everyone now only gets 10% as previously ruled and Horner has stormed off to see him in protest at the start of FP3, along with Newey in tow.

No doubt this will drag on all weekend and then we'll have another revision for after Silverstone. It could get very messy.

 

[The Bear]

http://twitpic.com/5nghgw

 

[Wombat del combate]

Surely a shocking decision from the stewards for the Schumacher/Koboyashi incident?

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Bit harsh on schumi as he was already aquaplaning. However, the 10 second stop/go is the replacement for drive-thru because the pit lane is quicker than the track.

Good race so far, although the Red Bulls look a bit clear. Hamilton driving very well.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Or maybe not - Alonso and Hamilton ahead after a pitlane fuckup by Red Bull.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Alonso the class of the field today. Very fine drive by him.