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More danger in Melbourne?


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#1 AlexS

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 21:17

With breaking/recover problems that clearly  have not been fixed we might see cars have strange behavior eventually snapping unexpected movements excursions or sudden stopping. 

To that add fatigue of a first race and much more complex cars to manage, plus many problems that might occur by a pilot that might rob attention from pure driving and a splt of a second might mean a crash or not if suddenly a red light appears in the wheel and some control needs to be changed.

 

With more weight and more top speed it also builds more energy to dissipate in impact. Then electrical issues and batteries - something that Newey noted - increase the fire danger issue.

 

I think an increase of odds of something serious occurring should be considered by marshals, drivers and rescue/medical services.



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#2 noikeee

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 21:25

I don't want to minimize the importance of safety at all. I think the work F1 has done on that area over the past 2 decades is absolutely excellent. But this is precisely the line of thinking that has ruined much of the aura of F1 as well: that unpredictability equals danger. The end result is a carefully refined manufactured entertainment product under all sorts of strict controls, that feels utterly soulless at times. Unpredictability is a necessary thing for a fun racing series.

 

I think the odds of a serious accident are slightly higher yes, but by a minimal amount. Not worth huge concerns except perhaps the fire thing. They'll learn things about the cars quickly and all will be more than fine in 6 months time, and ammended if necessary for next year's regulations.



#3 Andrew Hope

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 21:41

F1 has a proven history of marginally improving safety every single year, which compliments nicely the way they only seem to make really big improvements in safety after someone has been hurt or killed. Car racing is a dangerous business, but no one is doing it against their will. I don't expect anything out of the ordinary this year and of course wish for a safe season, but there are no catch fences and SAFER barriers capable of protecting you against really bad luck.

 

If nothing else, even if safety has taken one step back compared to last year, this is after 60 years of five steps forward every season, so a return to 2006 or 2007-levels of safety (how you would even measure this is beyond me) is hardly the end of the world.



#4 Tsarwash

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 21:42

I'm sure that they have put a million safeguards in, but the possibility of electrocution after a crash during a very wet race does worry me.

#5 Antonov

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Posted 04 March 2014 - 08:47

hmm. I wonder what top speeds we'll hit at Melbourne. Although it is generally a fast circuit, there is no real long-long straight.

I imagine Melbourne is quite a good place to get started with the season with this year's configurations.



#6 AlexS

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Posted 05 March 2014 - 18:45

You have a big straight.

 

Btw from Lotus -google translate-

 

At the moment for our drivers is very difficult to predict the behavior with which the car will go into the curve, because it changes every time, so this makes him lose a lot of time, because they have to be cautious. "

 

http://www.omnicorse...icolta-dei-test



#7 nosecone

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Posted 05 March 2014 - 18:56

If we limit the speed to 30mph F1 will be safe.

 

 

Unless the drivers fall asleep



#8 wingwalker

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Posted 05 March 2014 - 19:16

I don't know, I think we might see more cars having problems with stopping in time and going off the track and possibly stuck in the gravel but I don't think we'll see anything that much out of the ordinary.



#9 Andrew Hope

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Posted 05 March 2014 - 19:21

If we limit the speed to 30mph F1 will be safe.

 

 

Unless the drivers fall asleep

 

I was thinking something similar, that it doesn't matter whether it's safe or not. You can't see a driver hurt in a crash if you were asleep the moment the green flag dropped.

 

Don't be too worried yet. The really dangerous tracks aren't for a while.

 

xRr0yfX.jpg



#10 Donkey

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Posted 05 March 2014 - 19:53

I was thinking something similar, that it doesn't matter whether it's safe or not. You can't see a driver hurt in a crash if you were asleep the moment the green flag dropped.

 

Don't be too worried yet. The really dangerous tracks aren't for a while.

 

xRr0yfX.jpg

That is just porn.



#11 Dolph

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Posted 05 March 2014 - 20:19

New wallpaper :clap:



#12 Bloggsworth

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Posted 05 March 2014 - 20:21

Interesting to see whether drivers can take Eau Rouge & Blanchimont flat this year.



#13 Dolph

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Posted 06 March 2014 - 18:43

Interesting to see whether drivers can take Eau Rouge & Blanchimont flat this year.

 

No-no, its still down a hill and up a hill again.



#14 P0inters

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Posted 06 March 2014 - 20:37

I'm sure that they have put a million safeguards in, but the possibility of electrocution after a crash during a very wet race does worry me.

:confused:  F1 doesn't race in the wet ..... 



#15 dave34m

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Posted 06 March 2014 - 21:22

No-no, its still down a hill and up a hill again.

Lol, nice 1



#16 Kobasmashi

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Posted 07 March 2014 - 01:49

Interesting to see whether drivers can take Eau Rouge & Blanchimont flat this year.


They're surely far enough down the straights for the torque not to be intrusive. The cars should definitely have enough downforce, they were taking Blanchinmont with the DRS open when they were allowed to in quali (IIRC), and the loss in downforce this year isn't massive.

#17 KiloWatt

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Posted 07 March 2014 - 05:37

They're surely far enough down the straights for the torque not to be intrusive. The cars should definitely have enough downforce, they were taking Blanchinmont with the DRS open when they were allowed to in quali (IIRC), and the loss in downforce this year isn't massive.

 

I just have to point out what a glorious problem this is to have.  :clap:

 

Also, I must disagree with your statement that the loss of downforce isn't massive.  I'm sure I've seen several drivers quoted as saying that they have a lot less downforce.



#18 slideways

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Posted 07 March 2014 - 06:00

They have gained a lot of DF back. They have lost traction on corner exit, due to lack of blown diffuser and increase of torque. Also a lot less stable braking. I think the medium to high speed stuff the cars will be as good if not better especially by the time they get to Spa. They will also be taking Eau Rogue a lot quicker to previous years due to the increase of gears and fixed gearing.



#19 CoolBreeze

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Posted 07 March 2014 - 06:13

With breaking/recover problems that clearly  have not been fixed we might see cars have strange behavior eventually snapping unexpected movements excursions or sudden stopping. 

To that add fatigue of a first race and much more complex cars to manage, plus many problems that might occur by a pilot that might rob attention from pure driving and a splt of a second might mean a crash or not if suddenly a red light appears in the wheel and some control needs to be changed.

 

With more weight and more top speed it also builds more energy to dissipate in impact. Then electrical issues and batteries - something that Newey noted - increase the fire danger issue.

 

I think an increase of odds of something serious occurring should be considered by marshals, drivers and rescue/medical services.

 

You are worrying too much my friend. A car doesn't just come to a halt at 300 km/h to 0 in 2 seconds. These guys are the best guys in the business, and  they can handle this situations. 



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#20 HoldenRT

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Posted 07 March 2014 - 08:52

I don't want to minimize the importance of safety at all. I think the work F1 has done on that area over the past 2 decades is absolutely excellent. But this is precisely the line of thinking that has ruined much of the aura of F1 as well: that unpredictability equals danger. The end result is a carefully refined manufactured entertainment product under all sorts of strict controls, that feels utterly soulless at times. Unpredictability is a necessary thing for a fun racing series.

 

I think the odds of a serious accident are slightly higher yes, but by a minimal amount. Not worth huge concerns except perhaps the fire thing. They'll learn things about the cars quickly and all will be more than fine in 6 months time, and ammended if necessary for next year's regulations.

 

I think this is a good post and heavily agree with it.  It's easy to see why it got so many likes.. however I think the OP makes some good points also.  Wth that sad, it shouldn't be enough to DETER from good racing, but just for them to be on alert.. or aware etc.  The marshalls or whoever else, if the risk is higher.

 

Both sides have some good points, but I don't even understand where the fear and different attitude has come from, in terms of wet races.  It's not like there were any serious incidents or anything major, and yet it seems like proper wet races don't exist anymore.  And like you said, it's this fear that can add sterileness.. because in the end, racing will ALWAYS be dangerous.