[Alvin]

For Drew and others who asked about "Watch or Stream F1 live - 2016 FIA Formula 1 World Championship?"
new FOX link here => https://www.foxtel.com.au/watch/f1.html

20 March 2016 First scheduled race of new season.

[Alvin]

Inters vs Wet "Tyres" 2011 'Splaining http://youtu.be/ho7P2Fk-_Y4



Rumors of Pirelli changes for 2016...

[Alvin]

It's that time again! Check your local listings for Quali and this yr's 2016 Season opening OZ race.

[Alvin]

2016 FIA F-1 race schedule

[165th]

Help. Someone please explain what happened in quali today? Was it a protest or strategy???

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by 165th

Help. Someone please explain what happened in quali today? Was it a protest or strategy???

Just returned from road trip to Dallas...turned on DVR recording of Quali...and got to say WTH is wrong with F1 rules decision makers????? It wasn't broke, so fix it????

Perhaps the "looks good on paper" didn't translate to cars on track during quali to the last second which if this isn't fixed ASAP will translate to fewer fans in the stands or tuning in on TV.

"F-1 Extra" program commentary was right on the points IMO.

[165th]

This is all we need to know about that:

http://m.bbc.com/sport/formula1/35850766

[Alvin]

Alonso's crash also taking out one of American F-1 Team Haas' team cars video => http://youtu.be/rivCcuQSsAc

[MikeNoun]

An exciting race from start to finish! That crash involving Alonso was scary. When the camera first showed Gutierrez (Haas car #2) with some damage, I was disappointed, then I realize there was what appeared to be a clump of tires in the background. At that moment, one of the commentator stated that was another car in the background, and they said it was Alonso's McLaren! One of the wildest crashes in recent years, and I thought this be the end of Alonso's career. Instead, just a few seconds later, Alonso emerged from the twisted wreck completely unscathed. A testament to how far safety measures have come in F1.

Also shows how unforgiving these F1 cars are. All it took was a split second of wheel contact, and Alonso was launched into the air, the end result was a pile of twisted aluminum and a thousands of shards of carbon fiber. If that was a NASCAR hit, the cars would have spun out and continued.

Kudos to the Haas Team! Good ol' American know-how! It was absolutely stunning to see Romani Grosjean (Haas driver #1) come in 6th in the race, and the Haas Team scored points! The commentators couldn't stop talking about it. This simply doesn't happen in F1. Haas brought in a brand new team, with a brand new chassis that no one else is running in F1 (the Dallara chassis, from IndyCar), and in their first outing they scored points! Established F1 teams have gone years without ever getting points, and Haas did it the first time out. Romain Grosjean was screaming in the radio that this was an incredible victory placing 6th. He (and everyone else) knew how remarkable this achievement was.

This should be a very interesting year. The Austin, TX race will be wild!

Ferrari looks like they have something for the Mercedes team this year. FINALLY!

Mike

[mrrat1]

Actually the car ended over when it hit the raised edge of the gravel trap. Car dug in and spring boarded into the air.......I also thought it was a lump of tires........then I noticed Alonso starting his crawl out.

Don't think Vettel had the pace on softs or medium compounds to beat MB. He couldn't pass Hammy for 2nd softs vs med on Luie's MB.
If not for the start the Red cars would not have led at all, except maybe between pit stops.

[Alvin]

[Alvin]

Bahrain Tune In Alert!

[Alvin]

Alonso the Great! Hang On!

[Alvin]

Shanghai F1 practice mention of all other teams now questioning HAAS's "method of team formation" which announcers attributed to "other teams jealous of HAAS success" and "if they were in the back of the grid no one would mention them"...

Gene Haas slates critics of his F1 teams's Ferrari link as whiners

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/haas-bo...23280--f1.html


Gutitterez both rear brakes fully in flame engulfing both rear wheels...

[Alvin]

FORMULA 1 Gene Haas slates critics of his F1 team's Ferrari link as 'whiners'

Gene Haas believes there to be "a lot of whiners in Formula 1" following his team's successful start to its debut campaign.

Romain Grosjean's sixth place in the Australian Grand Prix, followed by fifth in Bahrain, have led to some critics bemoaning the team's now well-documented links with Ferrari.

On Thursday Grosjean suggested the detractors were "just jealous because they haven't achieved what we have done so far", with Haas also feeling there to be "sour grapes involved".

Asked by Autosport about Grosjean's comments, Haas replied: "This place is a soap opera!

"I think a lot of the teams at the back really don't understand what competition is. They're getting maybe a little too fat happy.

"We never came into this thing to run at the back. We want to compete, and that's what we're going to do. If people don't like that then that's their problem."

The political side of F1 is an aspect Haas is slowly becoming accustomed to given the predominantly autocratic approach he has known in NASCAR over the years.

Haas added: "I guess in a sense there are a lot of whiners in F1, that talk about our success... we are here racing.

"I don't know what they are complaining about. We are just racing on their turf. If they can't figure that out they have a problem.

"There have been a lot of obstacles to get to this point and now we're here, we're here. We're not going away, and they'd better get used to it, and if people don't like it that's their problem, not my problem."

At one point Haas produced a piece of paper that detailed the list of parts his team has make itself for its two F1 cars.

Dismissing the 'Ferrari B-team' references, an animated Haas said: "I've got this right here. This is [the list of] the listed parts.

"These are the parts that you have to make. Have you guys read this? That's it.

"The fact we're doing something that is different, what's wrong with that?

"If you're a driver and you can figure out how to go around a turn faster than the guy next to you, who do you give the credit to? The guy who is slower, or the guy who is faster?

"We've proven we're well within all the guidelines the FIA publishes, and quite frankly, I don't know what people are complaining about.

"We're here to race, if you want to beat us by complaining that's just not what it's about."

[Alvin]

Grosjean slams Pirelli's Chinese GP tyre pressures as 'undriveable'

Romain Grosjean is hopeful Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli will alter its pressures ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix after claiming his Haas to be "undriveable".

Grosjean was in good company as McLaren's Jenson Button suggested the cars were "floating around", particularly with the pressures rising with heat getting into the rubber.

Grosjean, who has so far finished sixth and fifth in Australia and Bahrain as Haas has made a strong start to its debut campaign, fears he could be in for a tough weekend in China.

"The tyre pressure limit has been ridiculous, everything is up to the roof and the cars are undriveable," said Grosjean.

"Out of the garage the front-tyre pressure is 23psi, which is absolutely ridiculous, with the rear 21 and a half.

"So imagine on track we are 26 at the front, hot, and 23 at the rear. It's almost a road car. You just don't get any feeling.

"With pressures that high you get locking brakes, understeer. It's like there is oil on the track.

"You could see a lot of people locking the wheels for no reason. It's the same for everyone, but it looks like we are suffering a bit more.

"It would be good if we could change a little because it doesn't feel like a racing car."

Button was equally as critical.

"The minimum pressures we can run are massively high so the tyres overheat pretty much immediately," he said.

"It's a pretty big issue, especially on the longer runs. It's just trying to find your best way of getting around that, which we're not doing a very good job of."

Asked about potential solutions, he replied: "I don't think there's anything you can do about it now.

"They've risen a lot over the last year. I think they were 19 or something last year, or 18, last year and they've gone up by 4psi, which is massive, that's before you leave the pits, before they increase through the roof.

"It's tricky and that's probably why you see the cars floating around a lot more. They're not stuck to the road and you can't carry speed."

In response, Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery said: "Traction was certainly at a premium, it's true to say.

"We're conducting our post-race briefing, so we'll know where we are after that.

"The process is on a Friday we take the data, the telemetry from the teams and we compare that to the pre-race simulations, then we verify if the prescriptions we have are correct."

Autosport understands air temperatures were 10 degrees centigrade higher this year compared to Friday practice at the track last season.

In that respect, it is also believed certain teams have done a better job in terms of cooling their tyres compared to others, and why only some drivers are complaining.

[Alvin]

F1 nowhere near meeting engine rules deadline - Christian Horner

F1 nowhere near meeting engine rules deadline - Christian Horner

By Lawrence Barretto Friday, April 15th 2016, 09:32 GMT


Formula 1 is nowhere near meeting the FIA's 2017 engine regulation criteria and is unlikely to find a solution before the April 30 deadline, says Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

Teams have been tasked with agreeing a new set of aerodynamic and engine rules for 2017, with FIA president Jean Todt expressing confidence earlier this month that the looming deadline would be met.

But while the aerodynamic changes are close to being finalised, it seems there is some way to go to find a way forward with the cost, performance, noise and supply of power units.

"It's a complex situation but fundamentally, there were four criteria that were requested by the governing body to be met to ensure stability moving forward," said Horner.

"Those four criteria were a significant reduction in cost to 12million euros, the availability or guarantee of supply, power convergence to within a relatively small bandwidth and to address the noise.

"As we sit here now, we're not anywhere near having met any of those criteria.

"Unfortunately what will happen, as is often the case with these things, is time will run out at the end of the month and nothing will be achieved and nothing will change.

"There is one more attempt in the Strategy Group meeting and F1 Commission meeting at the end of this month to discuss the concerns and where we are at but failing that, the regulations will inevitably stay as they are."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff agreed with Horner that it was a complex scenario but insisted a solution must be found in time.

"It is a complex agreement," he said. "We have been given the task in coming up with solutions so no team is left without an engine.

"All manufacturers have acknowledged that.

"There is an aspect of price reduction which is important to most of the teams.

"We tried to cover that in a framework agreement.

"It is difficult to make everyone happy. Christian isn't so happy.

"But we need to come up with a solution by 30 April.

"At the moment, everyone is working hard to find the smallest common denominator."

Regarding the aero regulations, Horner said they have been "basically agreed" and the teams "are already tentatively looking to next year based on those regulations".

He added: "They are interesting rules, they add an element of variance compared to what we currently have so you will see some different solutions from different teams than you usually get when there is a regulation change such as that."

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier added: "It's exciting to have a new package.

"The cars will be faster and drivers will enjoy driving the cars. If the drivers are happier, fans are happier I guess."

[mrrat1]

Start of a new season this Sunday..........Ferrari taking charge I hope!!

[Alvin]

Posting this re during yesterday's televised practice...Hobbs and Machete were discussing that a whole section of stands and seating had been demoed and removed because they were sinking! Reason was stated that "1/2 of world supply of styrofoam was used in building this Shanghai circuit..." on top of swampland.


AUTOSPORT PRO Shanghai F1 track built on polystyrene

FIA-approved circuit designer Hermann Tilke has told Swiss newspaper Blick that the Shanghai International Circuit in China will be the first track in the world to be built on a polystyrene foundation, because the site is predominantly swampland. So much polystyrene is involved that there is currently a shortage of the material in Asia.

"First we had to put 40-80m long posts into the marsh," Tilke explained. "Now we are putting polystyrene panels on the posts, up to 14m high in some places. Then we will add 2m of earth, and then the tarmac for the track surface."

Link: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/34061

[Alvin]

Shanghai race was quite the surprise and entertaining to the end...to say the least...