[Closed] The F1 2015 thread...

for 2017 the engines may become a little less complicated

Everyone will be running VW diesels.

Interesting development. It explains why RB haven't run the improved Renault engine much better than the rubbish about it only being 0.2s faster.

We'll see.

i think rbr engine will be the new cheap reference unit ratified for 2017 🙂 Sound business sense and keeps rbr give you wings on the side of half the grid.

That will really pee of merc, ferrari and mchonda

I think hondas new engine is more optimus prime than megatron
[img] [/img]

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/34722698 ]ref bbc article on the honda engine[/url]

So, what has Hamilton been up to?

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamilton-suffered-monaco-car-crash/

Sounds like he crashed his car (lightly hitting another parked car in the process) which is rather embarrassing if nothing else...

i think you all know me and my views on Lewis, but , him hitting a lamp post shows what a slow news day F1 is having this week

In other F1 news - Lotus have been locked out of their garages again!

Same old...

Didn't shumi crash a van once. Shows were all fullible.

It looks like Ham's problems are from being chased around Monaco by lawyers acting for the other side.

Where there's blame, there's a claim.

Not exactly a classic today 🙁

Just dozed off there...

...did I miss anything?

Nope, nothing, although I believe I rested my eyes for a couple of minutes as well

Well I watched the first five and last five laps and nothing seemed to change. Hamiltons engineers didn't sound too cheerful

well, that was dull

Two good Verstappen overtakes, obligatory Maldonado collision, not much else. Would have been good if Hamilton went maverick at the end, ignored engineers advice and stayed out for ten more laps than Rosberg before pitting for options. But that didn't happen. Not a classic 🙁

Hamilton not happy - again. It's a shame team rules stop the racing at the front, especially when there's nobody else up to their pace.

Not Hamilton's fault though as "it's impossible to pass on that track" unless you're one of the people making passes of course

Lewis just needs to accept his team orders about strategy and vent his anger to the team in private not on the podium- showing once more he just cannot take any hits to his "Image" as to why he was second.
The team wanted second in the WDC secured at the earliest opportunity, and i suspect the Nico has obeyed far more team orders in the previous races than he has wanted to, in order to ensure WDC/MDC points for Mercedes rather than "risky" attempts to win 1 race in entire season.

it makes for a more interesting abu dhabi if indeed "the glove are off" now and they can both do whatever they want, because if lewis doesnt beat Nico he has no one to complain too and i think he'd take a big hit on his ego.

It's obvious that Hamilton is under orders not to beat Rosberg - I wouldn't be surprised if his car was being 'turned down' a little also.
Boring race, gave up after 20 laps.

lots of red bull shots again, hardly any mchonda or manor. I play spot the mcManor in between dozes.
Highlight was wincing every time anyone got near Maldonado and holding my breathe when Verstappen decided to go for it at turn 1 I think.
No rain, no safety car no racing pretty much sums it up.

Sorry to say i've all but given up on f1. If next seasons first race is as dull as this that's it for me. Shame as I've been a fan for 30 yrs but moto gp has more excitement in one lap than this seasons f1 has had all year.:(

Sorry to say i've all but given up on f1. If next seasons first race is as dull as this that's it for me. Shame as I've been a fan for 30 yrs but moto gp has more excitement in one lap than this seasons f1 has had all year.:(

I'd say there's a good chance that Ferrari will be able to make it a much more interesting championship next year:

[url= http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/11/sebastian-vettels-brazil-performance-hints-at-ferrari-formula-1-challenge-in-2016/ ]Some great analysis, as always, from James Allen[/url]

It's obvious that Hamilton is under orders not to beat Rosberg

Now that Rosberg has clinched 2nd in the Championship, hopefully it'll be back to normal with LH smacking the german down in the first corner

I think for all their spin at the start of the season about the drivers being allowed to race, Mercedes really have controlled the 1-2's as well as the internal rules around racing to the first corner and then to the first pit stop (ie. overtaking when the other car is not put in danger, then after that its hold position unless an issue) it really has taken the edge of out the season and we as spectators are always wondering if it was managed from the pit-wall....i think both drivers have suffered this year with "stay where you are" scenarios....

the only highlights for me was when Ferrari managed to get their weekend together in Malaysia and Hungary.
which is pretty crappy considering there are now more F1 races on the calendar than ever before!

as i said before, i hope the gloves are off for abu dhabi, although if Merc dont have to worry about saving the engine, they might run it full power and lap the entire field up to 4th (vettel/rakki) 🙁

I'd say there's a good chance that Ferrari will be able to make it a much more interesting championship next year:

Like they do every year! 😉

Good point! 🙂

interesting to hear RBR have spent the most this season at £200million increasing their staff number by over double, makes me wonder if they planned to build their own engine all along, simple plan - destroy your current engine relationship to get out early, cry wolf about leaving and get FIA and Bernie to apply pressure to everyone and everything to give you options for building on someone elses engine (merc,ferrari,renault) and renault finally cave in (perhaps on the threat of bernie not paying them the "historic" team payment for their works team next year) and give them their latest engine to develop for next year....hmmmmmmm

legend - Member

Not Hamilton's fault though as "it's impossible to pass on that track" unless you're one of the people making passes of course

Verstappen believes that the key to allowing overtaking in F1 is that the two cars battling each have strengths in different areas.

"We have very good cornering speed, so if we are behind a Lotus, Sauber or Force India we catch up in the fast corners, even when we are behind," he said. "So that is different for sure.

"For them [Mercedes], it is equal everywhere – on the corners and the straights. When your car is exactly the same as your teammate and you are behind, it is very tough.

Tag Heuer deserting McL for RB

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/121844

Rats/ship? Let's hope McL can recover next year...

interesting to hear RBR have spent the most this season at £200million increasing their staff number by over double

In a year in which the team slipped to runner-up, having enjoyed four consecutive seasons of title-winning success, staff numbers rose by 19 to 694.

[url= http://www.pitpass.com/55220/Red-Bull-sets-new-F1-record ]www.pitpass.com[/url]

Renault may also be holding back updates so RBR get saddled with a low starting point engine . After all it would be very embarrassing for Renault works team to be beaten by a suped up ilmor RBR.
I wonder what is taking so long in the Lotus / Renault deal. Could all this be hinging on the RBR 'divorce'.

It may be time that McLaren finally realise they are dinosaurs of the paddock. Tag cite the need to team up with a young fresh brand. Maybe they should've kept K Mag and lined up Stoffel.

Except that they spent their tokens on the IC part of the engine which is generally understood to be the bit that RB would likely take on and then add on their own MGU systems via Illen

McL would not be considered dinosaurs if they were winning. Or even doing a half decent job. When were they last quick? End of 2012?

Make you wonder if McLaren should abandon F1 and move to sportcars - would tie in better with their core car business. And they could market off the back of their sports car/Le Mans/CanAm heritage.

McL are really all about F1 though, aren't they? People buy the other cars because they're in F1, don't they?

[quote=back2basics ]I think for all their spin at the start of the season about the drivers being allowed to race, Mercedes really have controlled the 1-2's as well as the internal rules around racing to the first corner and then to the first pit stop (ie. overtaking when the other car is not put in danger, then after that its hold position unless an issue)

You didn't watch Austin then?

Im trying to workout if Rosbergs recent wins are because Hammy has been told to back off because Merc want a WDC 1 and 2 aswell or if Rosberg is driving better now there is no pressure on him because the WDC has gone

I think several people are trying to work that out. If LH has been told to back off, he's doing a good impression of someone who's pissed off at finishing behind his team mate...

I just reckon that the pressure is off both and NR has something to prove.

Hamilton might be effectively backing off whether or not he's been told to. He won the championship and has apparently been burning the candle at both ends since then, so it wouldn't be a big surprise if he's not quite maintaining the edge he had a few races back.
My money would be on a mix of Rosberg loosening up a bit and Hamilton slacking off a bit.

'Lewis is looking for excuses when he doesn't win races' - Rosberg

........ Pot calling the Kettle black spring to mind!

I see the beeb have dropped a threat about losing f1 completely. Wonder if there will be as much of a backlash about that as there was about 6music. I certainly wouldn't be signing up to sky to keep watching, I'd rather spend that on going to a race.

A full pull-out of coverage was always on the cards as soon as they brokered the deal with Sky in the first place.

If it does go Sky-only I'll no longer be a follower, same as I haven't watched any MotoGP since it went to BT Sport.

aye - seems they have spoken to bernie already and he's sticking firm to the original agreement they signed to take us to 2018 - saying that, thats what happened last time and then they secretly sold it out to Sky - would not surprise me if it doesnt go back to the good old days of 2 commentators watching it on TV from the UK as highlights package....

personally they could lose eddie J and suzy p, and i would not give a s***

on other news TAG leaves McLaren for red bull because its more trendy and young and happening - boy thats gotta hurt Ron!

I remember Ben Gallop BBC Sport trying to justify dumping F1 for the voice as cost cutting. I hope he is part of the cost cutting at the bbc. Funny how the voice got dumped as it was too expensive. The bbc are just full of cronies but thats another thread.
If the bbc wont pay I'm sure it will go back to itv.

No brainer for BBC to dump it imo. It would save around 15-20 million per year and on something that is losing viewing figures. Plus they can't sell it to other countries like drama and comedy.

The future of F1 over the next few years doesn't look good unless Bernie stops milking it and Merc become less dominant.

Have to echo the above. I certainly wouldn't pay for any subscription channel to watch it . Moto GP has been totally off my radar in last couple of years too.....

Same here - absolutely no chance of me paying a Sky subscription to watch F1

As someone else above said, i'd rather save the money and go to a live race

No way I would be paying sky to watch the F1. Been watching for pretty much 35 years but it'd stop if the BBC lost it.

Such a shame the money grabbing bosses have taken the soul out of the sport (boring tracks/countries hosting who don't give a crap about the sport just the prestige) - it'll go the same way as my other Motorsport love world rally unfortunately (maybe for different reasons though).

switch to formula e on itv4 . Its always sunny when they race and they have fan boost. The cars sound the same anyway and most of the drivers are ex f1 so you already know them.

Time to tell the F1 bandwagon that fundamentally its a sport and not a prime time soap opera no matter how many scandals, penalties and infringements they stick in to spice it up.

As someone else above said, i'd rather save the money and go to a live race

No sport is fundamentally a sport now. Everything is a TV rights business designed to move all money from the masses to a few. Although as a football hater, football is becoming entertaining 😉

If it does go Sky-only I'll no longer be a follower, same as I haven't watched any MotoGP since it went to BT Sport.

Echo the above, I'm sure F1 must have lost a lot of followers since it moved to Sky. Although I have continued to watch it on BBC it just feels more distant, it just does not have the same appeal anymore.

It may be time that McLaren finally realise they are dinosaurs of the paddock

What, like those other old stagers Ferrari did? What ever happened to them?

Echo the above, I'm sure F1 must have lost a lot of followers since it moved to Sky.

Sky's audience is also falling.

I only watch it on Sky as I'm still on a package where the F1 channel came free if you had the HD option (when it was first launched). No way would I pay full Sports package rates for it.

RTL with R5L audio if possible for me for all races rather than half (except for 1-2 where the German version of Strictly/Germany's got (no) Talent/etc. prime time voting shows have priority).

This sounds good. Is it possible to watch RTL on the internet?

So the proposed new customer engine plan has been thrown out - is this the final nail in Red Bull's coffin? Seems their long-term plans may be scuppered and time fast running out for a supply for next season...

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-commission-rejects-alternative-engine-as-manufacturers-promise-solutions-659522/

That was never an option for 2016 anyway. They'll be running rebadged or debadged Renault pus with a healthy gag clause in the contract.

It's looking more like RB will be running a Renault engine next year.

No fancy bits and bobs, just a tweak on this years, if you believe Planet F1.

[url= http://planetf1.com/news/renault-red-bull-spat-hampered-progress/ ]Clicky[/url]

Surely Bernies not going to throw the toys out with the bath water? .... is he?

How do you mean?

I'd rather poo in a bag and punch it than give a penny to Murdoch.

So no Sky here.

For the first time since my teenage years ( quite some time ago) i didn't watch even 1second of F1 coverage this year. I gave up because I found I was falling asleep during the races and I got fed up with the politics and the 'characters' in the "sport"
I haven't missed it at all. So from a purely selfish point of view........ I don't mind what happenes to the TV rights.

I'm with PJM1974 on this one regarding Sky

The Sky F1 coverage is pretty bloody good though....

cheekymonkey888 - Member
switch to formula e on itv4 . Its always sunny when they race and they have fan boost.

You're being ironic right? It's a small step on from the push to pass systems available in F1 and it's tragic. S**t like that is just trying to make motorsport into pure entertainment when so many people are losing faith in it for precisely that reason.

The Sky F1 coverage is pretty bloody good though....

You're joking, right? 😕 I've had the 'fortune' of watching it at my parent's place once or twice and observed the following:

The lead anchor (can't even remember his name..) is so wooden it hurts. At least Perry has a bit of personality about her.
Brundle is good still but the chemistry between him and Crofty is dire, far too many stagnent pauses and fake excitement.
The graphics do my head in, far too American in flavour.
The constant ad breaks in the pre and post shows means they struggle to analyse anything fully.
Hill and Herbert never come alive as a duo, too bland. Jordan gets your attention at least, although he is cringeworthy most of the time!
That theme tune is dire.

Just feels like they're trying to do what the BBC did so well before by poaching the staff and then stretching it to fit an extra 2 hours or so.

I paid a one off fee to watch Hamo's winning race. I wouldn't pay again. I fear F1 is going one way.

Formula E is hideous. The cars hit every branch of the ugly tree and it feels like you took sandwiches into work on the day all your colleagues elect to eat out.

The coverage of WRC has lost something- the presenters/producers sap its energy.

Bernie/CVC need to walk away before they ruin it.

The constant ad breaks in the pre and post shows

ITV put them in the middle of the race!

hora - Member
Formula E is hideous.

Remember the first ?b?u?m?p?e?r? ?c?a?r?s? Formula E race – Beijing 2014

rtl adverts arent much better but at least they have a small window showing the race whilst the adverts are on.
Simon lazyby is awful and has the charisma and enthusiasm of a stone. Hill basically suffers the same problem that footballers have in a post match interview ( state the obvious sound like they are reading a script.)
The last full time bbc coverage was the best with humphries and the the sky crew

Vettel at the back of the grid should bring some spice to the race tomorrow 😀 Pity I can't see the Merc's being allowed to tussle it out, hopefully a safety car or two should spice things up..

ITV put them in the middle of the race!

At least with them I didn't have to pay a subscription too!

ITV put them in the middle of the race!

At the moment that would actually make things more exciting

rtl adverts arent much better but at least they have a small window showing the race whilst the adverts are on.

the best thing is when RTL have advert, Radio 5 Live still gives you an update while you go make coffee, lunch or take a /

unless R5L have decided that England cricket match is more important.

How do you mean?

If Bernie sticks to his own rules, Red Bull/Renault/Lotus folds and steps out of the ring, what will Bernie be left with ....... although maybe he can see where it's all going and just wants to lay the blame at someone else's door?

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^^ This.

A largely forgettable season, the only real stories being:

Honda being so far behind every other engine.
Verstappen being that good.
Red Bull spectacularly throwing all the toys out then having to back-track.

Normally I start counting down the days to the next season, can't think of a reason why I should this time round.

nice nap this afternoon between laps 10- 40. As pointed out the drivers will always lose if they take the strategy into their own hands. Lewis is a great driver but as shown he needs the team behind him to achieve the best results ( I hope Bono gets a hefty bonus this year for a good job managing his driver).

Nice drive from Vettel and raikonnen. Verstappen getting a taste of wheel to wheel action ( please stop moaning about being driven off the track.) Crashtor doing what he does best this season which is DNFs.
Button seemed to have a lot of fun on track more than Alonso I see.

If RBR have a 1 year engine deal they really are pinning their hopes on the engine regulation change so they can fit a ford focus st 1.6 in the back for 2017. I see a repeat of this year next

and lets not forget i said it months ago - alonso will not be in a McLaren in 2016.

alonso will not be in a McLaren in 2016.

He was sounding pretty grumpy when he was threatening to give up if there isn't a safety car.

Can't wait for the season review show. Don't know how they'll manage to fit in all the action!?

Another big factor for 2016 is the fact there are only 2 test sessions and IIRC they're only a few days apart. Not much time for any real work between them so it'll be run what u brung

Didn't watch this last race/ procession, however, can anyone tell me what lap Alonso got the third fastest lap time please? Only 2 and a bit tenths slower than Hamiltons lap time and 2 tenths slower than Vettel.