[Alvin]

Check your local listings for schedule on NBC Sportsnet Channel

Practice on now as I post this.

Check out these 2013 Tech details here http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/

Such as "Blown Wheel Hubs" here http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1040.html

Enjoy!

[Alvin]

Front Wing Development http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1035.html

[Alvin]

Vented Nose details http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1039.html

[Alvin]

Passive Double DRS http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1038.html

[Alvin]

Teams and Drivers http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/

[Alvin]

Pirelli 2013 F1 Six Tire choices http://www.formula1.com/news/headlin...3/1/14205.html

Includes color code identification.

[Alvin]

Down to 19 races for 2013 from the previous 20 in 2012.

NYC / NJ circuit not able to contract in time for 2013 that would have made 2 U.S. races including the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Such as "Blown Wheel Hubs" here http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1040.html

Enjoy!

Last year the FIA prevented Red Bull from running a blown wheel hub concept because the air was blown through a rotating part of the hub and could therefore be considered a moveable aerodynamic device - not allowed under the regulations. This year Williams are using a similar concept, channelling air from the inside to the outside of the wheels via a hole in the axle. This improves the aerodynamics around the wheel, but - crucially - the hole is static, making the Williams solution legal.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Front Wing Development http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1035.html

Pirelli's 2013 tyres have a different construction to their predecessors and therefore respond differently under aerodynamic load. Mercedes were the first team to introduce a revised front wing (lower picture) in order to cope with the new shape of the tyres. As you can see, the new wing is comprised of five elements which has increased the number of slot gaps from two to four (1). A small turning vane has also been added (2), whilst the fin on the outside of the endplate has been removed (3).

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Vented Nose details http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1039.html

Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey has followed Sauber's lead by introducing this twin-duct concept to the RB9's nose section. Air is sucked from the high-pressure area underneath the chassis into a duct (red arrow). The air then travels through the chassis (inset, right) via an s-shaped duct before exiting out of a hole on the top of the chassis (inset, left). The increased airflow on the top surface of the car helps to keep the airflow coming off the front wing 'attached' and thus improves airflow further back along the chassis's surface.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Passive Double DRS http://www.formula1.com/news/technical/2013/0/1038.html

Active double drag reduction systems (DDRS) are banned for 2013. Lotus and Mercedes were the only teams to trial passive versions in the latter part of the 2012 season (insets) and both have continued experimenting during the winter tests (with Sauber and Red Bull following their lead). The main drawing shows Lotus's latest interpretation. Airflow is sucked in via the airbox above the driver's head and at lower speeds simply exits via the rear of the car (lower blue arrows). However, when a certain speed is reached, the force of the airflow becomes such that it activates a passive fluid switch and the airflow is instead directed up a vertical duct (red arrow) and blown onto the rear wing (upper blue arrows). This helps separate airflow from the wing and stalls it, cutting downforce and drag. When the car's speed again drops below a certain level, the switch is deactivated. The tricky part is getting the switch to activate and deactivate at the same speed. Unlike active DDRS, the driver has no control over the system, and if it proves unpredictable he could find himself robbed of valuable downforce at inappropriate moments - at the start of a braking phase for example. Until teams get a proper handle on this behaviour - a long and delicate process, if testing is anything to go by - no one is likely to race a passive DDRS, at least in the initial rounds of 2013.

[MikeNoun]

Thanks for the links! Looking forward to this weekend's F1 race. I saw some of the practice sessions on NBC Sports last night, and visually, the cars haven't changed much. Next year will be the big change, as the new mandated engines make their debut.

I'd love to see Vettel capture his 4th championship in a row. He's had an amazing career so far, with 101 starts, 26 wins, and 46 podiums. I think he's an incredible driver, and fits in the Michael Schumacher mold.

The IndyCar folks are pretty upset about NBC-Sports taking over the F1 broadcasts. NBC-Sports covered all the IndyCar races, but many IndyCar fans felt they weren't promoting IndyCar enough over the past few years. Now that NBC-Sports has taken on F1 (SpeedTV had exclusive F1 rights in America for the past 17 years), IndyCar feels that they will be promoting F1 over IndyCar, and there won't be enough room for two open-wheeled series.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Pirelli 2013 F1 Six Tire choices http://www.formula1.com/news/headlin...3/1/14205.html

Includes color code identification.

Formula One tyre suppliers Pirelli have unveiled what they describe as a revolutionised; new range of tyres for the 2013 season, with the aim of producing more pit stops and increasing overtaking.

Both the dry and wet-weather tyre ranges have been revised with compounds becoming softer, the structure of the tyres more flexible and the shoulder of the tyres reinforced.

The Italian manufacturer has said that the object of these changes was to improve performance and to increase thermal degradation in order to ensure at least two pit stops per car, per race and to open up more strategic options for the teams.

The 2013 season continues the philosophy adopted by Pirelli last year in evolving the original 2011 range of Formula One tyres, explained Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery. The goal is to continuously set new challenges for the drivers and to ensure that all the teams start the new season on a level playing field when it comes to the tyres.

Through accumulating more information with each Grand Prix last year, the teams eventually fully understood the tyres, after a spectacular start with seven winners from the first seven races. The result at the end of the year was races with less competition and sometimes only one pit stop.

"This phenomenon was also observed in 2011, disappointing many fans and prompting some of the teams to ask us to continue developing our tyres further this year, in order to provide a fresh challenge with something different. Our 2013 range of tyres mixes up the cards once more to help overtaking and ensure two to three pit stops per race.

The softer compounds mean that the new hard tyre is roughly equivalent to last year's medium compound. Pirelli are anticipating lap times to be around 0.5 seconds faster than in 2012 as a result, with tyres also reaching peak operating temperature quicker and providing better traction than their predecessors.

Pirelli also say that the combination of softer sidewalls and a stronger shoulder to the tyre will speed up thermal degradation while extending the tyre's peak performance window. Subsequently, the performance gap between the different compounds is now anticipated to be in excess of 0.5 seconds per lap, as opposed to last year when the difference was often smaller, particularly in the latter half of the season.

Visually, the tyre markings used to denote the different tyres are the same as in 2012, with the notable exception of the hard-compound tyre which, for 2013, will bear vivid orange markings instead of silver.
As before, each Formula One car will have 11 sets of tyres available for the weekend, made up of six sets of the harder and five sets of the softer compound. Each tyre has a barcode embedded into its sidewall before the vulcanization process, which effectively acts as the tyre's passport, allowing Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, to keep track of which tyres have been used.

Unveiling their 2013 F1 tyre range in Milan in Italy on Wednesday, Pirelli also revealed former F1 driver Jean Alesi as a brand ambassador and announced that they will reward the winner of this year's GP2 Series with a Formula One test session.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Thanks for the links! Looking forward to this weekend's F1 race. I saw some of the practice sessions on NBC Sports last night, and visually, the cars haven't changed much. Next year will be the big change, as the new mandated engines make their debut.

I'd love to see Vettel capture his 4th championship in a row. He's had an amazing career so far, with 101 starts, 26 wins, and 46 podiums. I think he's an incredible driver, and fits in the Michael Schumacher mold.

The IndyCar folks are pretty upset about NBC-Sports taking over the F1 broadcasts. NBC-Sports covered all the IndyCar races, but many IndyCar fans felt they weren't promoting IndyCar enough over the past few years. Now that NBC-Sports has taken on F1 (SpeedTV had exclusive F1 rights in America for the past 17 years), IndyCar feels that they will be promoting F1 over IndyCar, and there won't be enough room for two open-wheeled series.

Welcome Mike. TY for the kind words.

So far, Bob Varsha, is the only commentator MIA from the previous SPEED FOX coverage of F1 that I can see. And if you listened carefully to his farewell comments (last SPEED broadcast @ 2012 Seasons end) about Bernie, that may be why Bob is NOT now on board with the NBC-Sportsnet Team. It was said that it was "due to contract issues" but based on the blasé "non-reaction" by his former fellow F1 crew I’d say Bob was too critical of F1 and Bernie during broadcast and paid the price.

IMO Indy-Car has been way too boring recently, and a non-event. Even with the intro of other powerplants than the “one size fits all” Honda, the new cars look too kit car like, or something just looks wrong about them IMO. To gauge the “real excitement” of the average “non-car person” I go partially by my wife’s interest:

• NASCAR – No
• Indy Car – No
• Top Fuel Drag Racing – Yes
• F1 Racing – Yes

She WILL watch with interest the practice/3 qualifying sessions/and complete race season of F1 & NHRA. Not being a hater here. Just, she and I both get bored pretty quickly with the others. Although, I DO like the High Bank NASCAR races…and ALMS & Grand Am; so…

For now I’m sticking w F1 and let the rest work out their issues. Now the 2014 F1 Season, now that may be another story...

Let’s see how well Hamilton does with MB this season in F1.

[MikeNoun]

Yes, it was sad to see Varsha's last broadcast last year. You could tell there were tears in his eyes. I was sad to see him go too, he was the voice of F1 for 17 years. While not a Murray Walker type of legend, he definitely was the voice in America for F1.

Vettel is simply awesome, and the rumors about it being "just the car" that won him those 3 championships have long been laid to rest.

And I've always liked Kimi Raikkonen too, for his strange off track attitude, and his weird interviews. When you want to win, hire a Fin.

Alonso is another one of my favorites, and I always like to see the Ferrari's do well.

[mrrat1]

Watched last night, good to see the 1st session televised. I read on a F-1 site RB may have a funky adj wing. I'll have to see if I can find it.
Al you hitting Texas again? I plan on doing Monteal this year & maybe TX.
thanks for the links!!
gonna check them out before Quali.

[65WJ]

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Yes, it was sad to see Varsha's last broadcast last year. You could tell there were tears in his eyes. I was sad to see him go too, he was the voice of F1 for 17 years. While not a Murray Walker type of legend, he definitely was the voice in America for F1.

Vettel is simply awesome, and the rumors about it being "just the car" that won him those 3 championships have long been laid to rest.

And I've always liked Kimi Raikkonen too, for his strange off track attitude, and his weird interviews. When you want to win, hire a Fin.

Alonso is another one of my favorites, and I always like to see the Ferrari's do well.

X2 I would like to see Hakinan stay a little longer and beat Schumi a couple more times. He was the only one who could. Love Kimi when he speaks. Oh wait cannot understand a word he says. Party on Kimi.

Alvin well done. Thank you for taking the time to post the links. Takes passion to do what you did.

patrick

[MikeNoun]

Some trivia about Kimi...

He had only 23 races under his belt by 2000, all at the junior level, when the FIA granted him an F1 license. Many drivers protested, claiming that he was WAY too inexperienced to be given an F1 license, and hadn't gone through the proper indoctrination. Many top name drivers signed a petition to keep Kimi out, and the president of the FIA agreed that he was too inexperienced, but Sauber convinced them to issue Kimi a license.

This would be the equivalent of having a 22-year old drag racer, who had raced in only 23 events in a Pro Stock car, being allowed to make the jump to Top Fuel, getting a license, and allowed to drive a Top Fuel dragster without going through any of the Comp Eliminator or Alcohol levels.

In Kimi's first F1 race, he scored a point, and he completed his rookie year scoring 9 points for the struggling Sauber Team. After his first year, McLaren picked him up, and even though McLaren was plagued with engine problems all year, Kimi scored 24 points and ended up 6th in the championship.

In 2009, he left F1 (with 1 World Championship in 2007) and went to the Rallye circuit, running the little Citroen Red Bull car.

In 2011, Kimi shocked the racing world again, announcing he would run the Camping World Truck Series on a limited schedule in America. In his first race he finished 15th. He also ran one Nationwide Series race, finishing 27th after getting a speeding penalty and having some debris stuck under the car.

He's a character off the track. If you look him up on YouTube, there are dozens of clips of Kimi having fun with the media, as they love to follow him around. He's one the last true playboys of the racing world, a crown he took over from the legendary James Hunt.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by mrrat1

Watched last night, good to see the 1st session televised. I read on a F-1 site RB may have a funky adj wing. I'll have to see if I can find it.
Al you hitting Texas again? I plan on doing Monteal this year & maybe TX.
thanks for the links!!
gonna check them out before Quali.

Not sure about Austin this year. Montreal is a maybe, have family there and Quebec. We have driven the course on our last visit, we were a few weeks early before the F1 Race.

If you do go, recommend you take time to visit Quebec and outlying areas...beautiful country and the Castle up top and below into the village with shops and restaurants worth investigating and enjoying.

Originally Posted by 65WJ

X2 I would like to see Hakinan stay a little longer and beat Schumi a couple more times.He was the only one who could. Love Kimi when he speaks. Oh wait cannot understand a word he says. Party on Kimi.

Alvin well done. Thank you for taking the time to post the links. Takes passion to do what you did. patrick

Glad you enjoy them also! IIRC Schumaker retired (again) last season, yes?

Originally Posted by MikeNoun

Some trivia about Kimi...

...In 2009, he left F1 (with 1 World Championship in 2007) and went to the Rallye circuit, running the little Citroen Red Bull car...

In 2011, Kimi shocked the racing world again, announcing he would run the Camping World Truck Series on a limited schedule in America. In his first race he finished 15th. He also ran one Nationwide Series race, finishing 27th after getting a speeding penalty and having some debris stuck under the car.

Great Kimi info Mike. Thank you posting this.

Reminded me that World Ralley Championship - WRC - is another series my Mrs and I liked to watch. Coverage here has been spotty since change to Velocity Channel and Speed programming info on Comcast didn't match the content even DVRd. Mrs likes to quote Seb Loeb: "Ya, it is good for me to win!" Hard racing in all kinds of weather, terrain, and road conditions...love it!

Also: I like the CWTS especially the larger faster tracks...jury still out on the dirt..time will tell...for now IMO - F1 Rules!

[keith k]

Good Stuff.
I'll be setting my alarm for O-Dark-Hundred to watch the race!
Agree it's great to have Kimi back in the mix-