1679 replies to this topic

[swerved]

So, just over 24 hours to go before the first real practice session of the 2014 season, I'll be watching every session live, as i always do with the Australian GP, as ever the closed season has been lengthy, but this time perhaps not as uneventful as previous closed seasons, hopefully those teams that might treat the practice sessions as extra test sessions might at least ensure that there are plenty of cars on the track, and unlike testing there's full coverage,we have new cars, new power units and even a couple of new faces,

 

Will there be an abundance of red flags though ? 

 

F1 is back 

[turssi]

I bet they'll drive for just the last 25mins.

[Andrew Hope]

Friendly reminder: there is a countdown timer on the F1 site for each session of a weekend, which is handy for anyone like me who can never be 100% what year it is half the time, let alone how long there is to go before rich kids drive race cars on the other side of the planet.

[Coops3]

I'm so excited, a bit of wee might come out. I might actually stay up for FP1; something I've never done for the Australian GP before. Or get up and then go back to bed again after.

[Kerch]

Does the 5 engine limit apply to all sessions including free practice? 

[DrF]

Weather report?

[BillBald]

Friendly reminder: there is a countdown timer on the F1 site for each session of a weekend, which is handy for anyone like me who can never be 100% what year it is half the time, let alone how long there is to go before rich kids drive race cars on the other side of the planet.

 

They keep changing it, that's why it's confusing.

[scheivlak]

Weather report?

https://www.youtube....h?v=siTLWx0Ppmc

 

Alternatively http://www.bbc.com/weather/2158177

[swerved]

I bet they'll drive for just the last 25mins.

 

I'm betting there are teams that wont have the luxury of not running, well, betting and hoping, I was wondering what value there is on all of the usual data that they'll have from preceding years given that so much is new this year.

[Red17]

 

Will there be an abundance of red flags though ? 

 

 

Maybe not Red Flags, but I sense an unusual rate of engine change penalties for Sunday.

[KingTiger]

Wouldn't mind seeing 8 Mercs within the top 10 in the race. 

[swerved]

Does the 5 engine limit apply to all sessions including free practice? 

 

Yes, An engine is deemed to have been used if the car containing it leaves the pit lane, here are the relevant rules.

 

http://www.formula1....s/8689/fia.html

[Atreiu]

I he its dry and teams actually run a lot.

[slideways]

Weather: http://www.bom.gov.a...melbourne.shtml

 

Friday 14 March

Min 15 Max 27 Mostly sunny. Melbourne area

Patchy fog early in the morning. Mostly sunny afternoon. Light winds becoming northwest to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the late afternoon then becoming light in the evening.

 

Saturday 15 March

Min 19 Max 29 Rain developing. Melbourne area

Cloudy. Isolated showers in the afternoon, increasing to areas of rain during the evening. The chance of thunderstorms in the east in the afternoon. Winds northerly 15 to 25 km/h increasing to 25 to 35 km/h during the morning then shifting south to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the afternoon.

 

Sunday 16 March

Min 13 Max 19 Shower or two. Melbourne area

Partly cloudy. Isolated showers until evening. Winds south to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h turning westerly 25 to 40 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the evening.

Edited by slideways, 13 March 2014 - 02:11.

[Gilles4Ever]

Adam Cooper @adamcooperF1

Lots of concerns about engine problems in FP3 leading drivers to miss qualifying. C Whiting says some teams may skip FP3 to be safe...

[Cyanide]

They should seriously increase the amount of engines you can use in a year. Otherwise it's going to be a disaster. It's obvious from now there will be lack of running during FPs to preserve engines. 

[boldhakka]

Meanwhile, Räikkönen noted that fuel consumption could be a real headache for all the teams this Sunday.

"This event is an excellent test bench for the new Formula 1 format because Albert Park is a very demanding circuit when it comes to fuel consumption," he said. "Due to the characteristics of the circuit, we have always used a lot of fuel here so to manage to be sparing with it will be a very demanding challenge."

 

http://www.gpupdate....e-from-ferrari/

[Slackbladder]

They should seriously increase the amount of engines you can use in a year. Otherwise it's going to be a disaster. It's obvious from now there will be lack of running during FPs to preserve engines.

It's not just that, it's the time to change stuff on the cars which is the worry. If you have an issue during fp3 then there's a good chance you'll miss quali altogether

[Ellios]

Friendly reminder: there is a countdown timer on the F1 site for each session of a weekend, which is handy for anyone like me who can never be 100% what year it is half the time, let alone how long there is to go before rich kids drive race cars on the other side of the planet.

 

 

This is good, but I always use the Autosport frontpage ones

 

 

 

Especially the 'convert to your timezone' around clock change time

 

 

As long as I don't miss it (any of it)

[SealTheDiffuser]

It's not just that, it's the time to change stuff on the cars which is the worry. If you have an issue during fp3 then there's a good chance you'll miss quali altogether

 

is there is still this curfew and limited personnel rule in 2014 so a failure in FP2 could  jeopardize making it to qualy?

together with 5 PU for 19 races after this mega rule change pretty ultra stupid...

engine penalties will lead to chaos and frustration later the season....

[Zava]

is there is still this curfew and limited personnel rule in 2014 so a failure in FP2 could  jeopardize making it to qualy?

together with 5 PU for 19 races after this mega rule change pretty ultra stupid...

engine penalties will lead to chaos and frustration later the season....

yes, the curfew rule still exists, though they upped the number of available overnight shifts (to 6, if I remember correctly)

Edited by Zava, 13 March 2014 - 07:41.

[bauss]

I think mechanics will get faster changing stuff though once they get a hang of the thousand components in the car.

 

Engine life is still a worry, teams will probably still run a lot in Aus, there is alot still to be tested... but GPs in the 2nd half of the season?...pftt

 

There should be a new law designating 2 or 3 engines just for FPs... same way they have tires just for FPs.

Edited by bauss, 13 March 2014 - 07:42.

[fnz]

Less than 24h before FP1 and no sign of the 2014 Android LT app 

[wonk123]

Mods, should this thread be combined with the awesome one done by Risil? It  would be a shame to see the first impressive OT for F1 just dissapear. I feel we should be trying to motivate people to continue doing these. Last year all the Nascar ones showed great flair, and I would love to see these each F1 weekend.

[SamH123]

Less than 24h before FP1 and no sign of the 2014 Android LT app 

 

It's released according to their Twitter https://twitter.com/f1timingapp

[fnz]

@SamH123: Thanks!  

Edited by fnz, 13 March 2014 - 07:57.

[scheivlak]

Mods, should this thread be combined with the awesome one done by Risil? It  would be a shame to see the first impressive OT for F1 just dissapear. I feel we should be trying to motivate people to continue doing these. Last year all the Nascar ones showed great flair, and I would love to see these each F1 weekend.

 

I don't think merging threads is the best way for that. I would rather see a different thread for the Saturday (with a fresh chance for a spirited OP) instead of merging everything in one thread.

[slideways]

That thread completely takes the piss, maybe we can have a string of those as 'unofficial' threads for people to get their social on and then leave the FP/Quali/GP threads on topic?

[SCUDmissile]

I'm still frothing at the mouth to see Kimi and Fernando both in the red.

[dau]

That thread completely takes the piss, maybe we can have a string of those as 'unofficial' threads for people to get their social on and then leave the FP/Quali/GP threads on topic?

Yea, like that's going to work.

[bonjon1979a]

Adam Cooper @adamcooperF1

Lots of concerns about engine problems in FP3 leading drivers to miss qualifying. C Whiting says some teams may skip FP3 to be safe...

I don't see that it makes sense to skip it. If you were going to have a problem then it'll happen in qualifying instead of fp3?

[Nonesuch]

This is good, but I always use the Autosport frontpage ones

 

Note that last season, the timer on the Autosport frontpage was not infrequently incorrect. In case of doubt: double-check!

Edited by Nonesuch, 13 March 2014 - 12:17.

[krapmeister]

I he its dry and teams actually run a lot.

TBH all the teams will be running as much as possible on the Friday - especially the Renault ones.. provided their PU lets them.

[turssi]

Seems like the teams are as nervous as the fans!

[Henrik B]

I don't see that it makes sense to skip it. If you were going to have a problem then it'll happen in qualifying instead of fp3?

 

Yeah, but it's better to have the problem in Q3 instead of FP3 - in the first case you atleast is top 10. For those struggling to get further than the first corner it's all the same, though.

[mlsnoopy]

I don't see that it makes sense to skip it. If you were going to have a problem then it'll happen in qualifying instead of fp3?

 

Yes. But if it happens in FP3, you start from the back of the grid. If it happens in qualifying you can still start from a respectable position.

[TomNokoe]

UTC 0130

[HoldenRT]

Seeing a pic of Nico and Lewis on the beach in Melbourne from today.. looks like they are starving to death. 

[Afterburner]

That thread completely takes the piss, maybe we can have a string of those as 'unofficial' threads for people to get their social on and then leave the FP/Quali/GP threads on topic?

Works for me. The 'on-topic' threads can remain 'the pinnacle of forum discussion' in exactly the same way that F1 itself is 'the pinnacle of motorsport', then... in exactly the same way.

[kraduk]

They should seriously increase the amount of engines you can use in a year. Otherwise it's going to be a disaster. It's obvious from now there will be lack of running during FPs to preserve engines. 

Its only bad if you are the only team that has a failure. If the failure rate is high and you are near the back of the grid anyhow, it may be worth making your engine fail 1st, hoping others will. Then you might find yourself further up the grid than you would have on merit. I'm watching you Horner 

[Longtimefan]

Maybe we should start a poll to guess how many cars stop on track during FP1 

[peroa]

Seeing a pic of Nico and Lewis on the beach in Melbourne from today.. looks like they are starving to death. 

They all are.

[HoldenRT]

Yeah, it's a sad state of affairs IMO.. but what can you do.

[Massa_f1]

Intreasting tweet from James Allen which reminds me of a topic I started here a few weeks back regarding lack of running during FP3, but nobody seemed to agree with me then.

 

 

Sounds like the FP3 session in Melbourne could see little running for teams worried about reliability. They will save selves for qualifying.

 

 

[boldhakka]

Wouldn't they go out and try to test some aero parts at low speed without stressing the PUs?

 

Plus, I think Kimi might do some running to hunt for his elusive "good feeling".  

[F1ultimate]

Seeing a pic of Nico and Lewis on the beach in Melbourne from today.. looks like they are starving to death. 

 

Soon they will look like Jared Letho in Dallas Boys Club. It will be a painful season for them to be around tasty food in the hospitality. areas.

 

It appears a fan has given Lewis some skittles today, but I expect them to end up in the bin:

 

[tormave]

Yes. But if it happens in FP3, you start from the back of the grid. If it happens in qualifying you can still start from a respectable position.

 

If you need to change the engine from qualification to the race, you'll probably need to start from the pit lane anyway. Based on what we saw in testing, it seem unlikely for the PU to break in a way that's fixable under parc ferme conditions. Most problems took so long to sort out, that the personnel curfew will be a major headache. I also wouldn't be surprised to see some teams miss both Friday sessions, if they can't get their car running at the beginning of FP1.

[pdac]

They should seriously increase the amount of engines you can use in a year. Otherwise it's going to be a disaster. It's obvious from now there will be lack of running during FPs to preserve engines. 

 

There's not been a single retirement so far.

 

Maybe any discussion on this front ought to wait until there's an actual problem to be addressed.

[Bawdy]

Finally, after all these long months it's about to begin. Can't wait!

[grunge]

I'm still frothing at the mouth to see Kimi and Fernando both in the red.

Same here..cant believe its finally here..have waited for it since 03..