GRcade

Additionally, in regards to past accidents, having a halo attached to the respective cars of the day would not have saved Jules Bianchi, nor Ayrton Senna.

It also would have likely failed to prevent Felipe Massa's injury at the Hungaroring in 2009.

Robbo-92 wrote:

Vermilion wrote:It shows just how bad things have been at McLaren when Fernando is having to do all the sponsorship work too.

Obviously I can only surmise but Alonso could have well taken a slight pay cut (afterall Honda were essentially paying Alonso's wages) to try and push his clothing company for long term gains.

Alonso had all the power. His contract was up and McLaren were worried they'd lose him. This advertising space was probably a small part of the deal that kept him but I'd be surprised if he took a pay cut.

Vermilion wrote:Additionally, in regards to past accidents, having a halo attached to the respective cars of the day would not have saved Jules Bianchi, nor Ayrton Senna.

It also would have likely failed to prevent Felipe Massa's injury at the Hungaroring in 2009.

Indeed, but it likely would have helped in the Justin Wilson Indycar and Henry Surtees F2 fatalities. Since Senna's death the focus on improving driver safety has been good, but we have been quite lucky a number of times with stuff like wheels coming off cars (a chap in the pitlane got hit one year) and Alonso nearly losing his head to Grosjean's front wing.

In regards to the issue of detached wheels, in recent times, that hasn't been such an issue in F1 thanks to the use of tethers which were first introduced in the late 90's, then strengthened dramatically following the big shunt at Monza in 2000 during which a marshall was killed.

But yes, you are probably right about the Grosjean/Alonso incident at Spa, and the similar situations which also came about at Melbourne 2007 when DC tried to mount Alex Wurz, along with Abu Dhabi 2010 when Tonio Liuzzi climbed aboard Michael Schumacher's Merc at the chicane.

Vermilion wrote:In regards to the issue of detached wheels, in recent times, that hasn't been such an issue in F1 thanks to the use of tethers which were first introduced in the late 90's, then strengthened dramatically following the big shunt at Monza in 2000 during which a marshall was killed.

But yes, you are probably right about the Grosjean/Alonso incident at Spa, and the similar situations which also came about at Melbourne 2007 when DC tried to mount Alex Wurz, along with Abu Dhabi 2010 when Tonio Liuzzi climbed aboard Michael Schumacher's Merc at the chicane.

I agree that the wheel tethers have been a great addition and have prevented a lot of rogue wheels, but we still get the odd wheel flying off even now. Buemi lost both front wheels in China 2010 and we've had a number of occasions since such as Raikkonen/Massa in Silverstone 2014. Pit crews have also failed to properly attach the wheels during a pitstop and Toro Rosso even attempted to take part in a session with a damaged wheel tether last year.

There were also concerns that the lower noses for 2014 would would act like a ramp when crashing into the back of another car but thankfully we haven't really had to deal with something like that happening yet.

I'm with the majority in thinking the halo isn't ideal but it'll likely look a lot better in the coming seasons and I believe the FIA and teams are still actively developing the Shield and Aeroscreen concepts.

At last a decent shot of the Toro Rosso-Honda STR13



I really liked the livery last year so glad to see it stay. Hopefully the Honda engine will finally come good, although McLaren would surely be bumpain if Red Bull swooped in and mounted a challenge.

The Toro Rosso livery is fantastic, and i'm glad they've only made a few minor changes for this season.

EDIT: The Force India has now been unveiled...

Will the McLaren make it through day 1 of testing?

Mini E wrote:Will the McLaren make it through day 1 of testing?

Nope! Lost a wheel going round the last corner, looks like the nut failed somehow.

Honda are looking reliable so far as well, they were leading the lap count a short while back.

Hello darkness my old friend

I bet there's a few places right now where Alonso would rather be.

Poor Alonso. Such a waste of the best driver.



Best times for day 1 of testing.

And Alonso was the only one on super softs so he's really down around 11th there

Toro Rosso Honda managed 93 laps, how is this even possible?

The halo looks very annoying and you can hardly hear the engine.

Vermilion wrote:Toro Rosso Honda managed 93 laps, how is this even possible?

Good for them! They've made a good step forward so far, doubt they've run it st full power yet but compared to their starts in the previous 3 years it's certainly been a much more positive start. Hopefully they can continue in their current form as I'd genuinely like to see them succeed:)

The only other team that's really surprised me is Renault, ran without issue (from what I followed anyway, mainly the morning session) and their pace has been pretty solid, most of Hulkenberg's run on the medium tyre's as well. Too early to say how they will fare over the season but I'd say outside the big 3 teams they're looking the best behind them.

I do hope Renault make a big step forward this season, they've been rebuilding for a couple of years now and it would be great to see them running at the front again.

Just watching Ted's notebook and Christ the Ferrari aero is something else - it looks like a car from 2019 compared to most of the grid. Wouldn't be surprised if they're massively ahead in Melbourne.

I'm expecting:

Ferrari >>>> Red Bull > Mercedes > Renault/Toro Rosso > McLaren/ Sauber