2011 Formula 1 Season Thread

Hi, I'm new around here, but I'm a massive F1 fan.

I find the DRS way too gimmicky though. A driver that is unable to defend his position on track without being passed? Come on, that's not in the spirit of true racing. A race doesn't need to have loads of overtaking to be exciting in my opinion.

The tyres are providing enough excitement this year without the need of DRS. It seems the FIA is just concentrating on getting cheap thrills to entice new fans. But as I view it, it is not proper racing. Takes away all skill and ability of a good overtake. Disheartening to hear that junior formulas like Renault 3.5 will be using DRS too. Young drivers will not learn how to produce good overtakes now.

Hopefully it is banned. This is real life, not a computer game. I wish the FIA would stop changing the regulations. Last year was brilliant, why were things changed AGAIN? And they talk about saving money...

Saying that, I'm still an ethusiastic supporter of Formula One. My favourite drivers are Alonso and Massa (I'm a Tifosi), Vettel, Schumacher and Kobayashi.

hey look, someone is arguing the DRS without bitching, i know someone that should take notes here...
 
That's what I thought, and still do to some extent.

But, without DRS "catching is one thing, but overtaking is another".
With DRS, "overtaking is one thing, but getting away is another".

It was interesting in Canada to see that JB used DRS (only to overtake Schuey, I think) to overtake and then disappeared into the distance. Webber had difficulty overtaking with DRS, and then couldn't pull away from Schuey. Given Schuey's better traction out of the corners, he might even have taken Webber's place back under DRS if the race had lasted a bit longer.

I find the new tyres rather gimmicky, as overtaking often happens because, though the guy in front is a better driver in a better car, he has old tyres. As Webber said of the tyres (after China, I think) - "You come up against drivers like Fernando, Jenson and Nico, you catch them at 2.5 seconds a lap - it?s nice but it?s not rewarding because they?ve got nothing to fight back with.". This was not a factor in Canada because they changed tyres so often that they didn't get old, but old tyres have, and will affect other races.

As I understood it before the season started, the intention of the DRS was supposed to bring a car alongside another going into a corner, meaning the driver still had to finish the move, not just power straight past. But, as we've seen several times this year (most notably at Turkey where Rosberg may as well have parked the car he was so defenceless) evidently that isn't happening.

I think in a way, Australia and Monaco were the best for me in terms of DRS. Sure, there wasn't as much overtaking going on, but as I said in my original post, a race doesn't need to have lots of overtaking in it to be exciting. In Australia and Monaco, it was still difficult for drivers to pass, which is what it should be about because this is the so called pinnacle of racing, and overtaking should be challenging. It should be possible to overtake, but still the challenge should remain.

Like in football (I hate football, so stick with me here) - it is possible to score goals, but some games you don't see any any goals scored. Equally, when one is scored there is a lot of excitement.

My fear is that it is now hard to tell when you see a great drive. Sure, JB's drive was very good at Canada, as was Webber's at China, but when you look back, how do they compare to the likes of Raikkonen's victory at Suzuka '05 or Barrichello's first victory when he came from pretty much the back of the grid? Clearly, overtaking is much easier at most the races now, so maybe some of the skill has been taken away.

I agree with you partly on the tyre front. I think last year was silly with the way that you could pretty much do a whole race on a set of soft tyres, and that most times there was hardly any difference between the two compounds. This year, strategy is brought back into the races, but maybe when one type of tyre is so much quicker than another, it can be a bit daft, especially when there's so many pit stops involved.

Oh, and thank you for the welcome messages!
 
I think the DRS should de-activate on the chasing car as soon as the GPS detects that the cars are alongside. It's meant to overcome the aero difficulty of getting a nose alongside, that's all.
 
I think all drivers should be allowed to use DRS at DRS zones. It would make for less overtaking but I hate that "only active if you're less than one second behind" rule. F1 is supposed to be about the pinnacle of technology and racing skill, while pioneering uses of tech for use in road cars. If they start putting DRS on road cars it will be active whenever you want it, not only when you're about to pass someone on the highway. That's silly.
 
I think the DRS should de-activate on the chasing car as soon as the GPS detects that the cars are alongside. It's meant to overcome the aero difficulty of getting a nose alongside, that's all.

i don't think closing the DRS at full throttle (without the driver disengaging it manually, and be prepared) would be that smart
 
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I think the DRS should de-activate on the chasing car as soon as the GPS detects that the cars are alongside. It's meant to overcome the aero difficulty of getting a nose alongside, that's all.

And such a system would be very very hard to implement as well. I mean yes they have driver trackers based on GPS but those aren't accurate enough to see a F1 front wing at full speed in real time. Something like this will never happen.
 
I think the DRS should de-activate on the chasing car as soon as the GPS detects that the cars are alongside. It's meant to overcome the aero difficulty of getting a nose alongside, that's all.

I've said that before :p

And such a system would be very very hard to implement as well. I mean yes they have driver trackers based on GPS but those aren't accurate enough to see a F1 front wing at full speed in real time. Something like this will never happen.

The timing transponders are currently giving us updates on the gaps at very small intervals. Hell there are full maps with the real time positions of drivers on the track. Even if you had to employ a couple of marshals watching the cars go by. It's 100% doable.
 
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You really think so? It took them several races to even figure out how to use a double DRS zone which doesn't seem all that hard and you want them to compare front wings in real time now? I don't thing the FIA is capable or willing to do that IMO.
 
You really think so? It took them several races to even figure out how to use a double DRS zone which doesn't seem all that hard and you want them to compare front wings in real time now? I don't thing the FIA is capable or willing to do that IMO.

What? Doing a simple computer program saying "If DRS signal is good&if driver presses button=DRS open, if brake pedal is touched=DRS close" and then modifying it to have "when throttle is pressed again=DRS open, when brake is applied again=DRS close"... yeah ultra hard, for a first year computer engineering student.
 
What? Doing a simple computer program saying "If DRS signal is good&if driver presses button=DRS open, if brake pedal is touched=DRS close" and then modifying it to have "when throttle is pressed again=DRS open, when brake is applied again=DRS close"... yeah ultra hard, for a first year computer engineering student.

Its often easier to visualize it then to actually do it. How old are you?
 
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/262579/french-government-plans-paul-ricard-race-return/

French government plans Paul Ricard race return

French Prime Minister Fran?ois Fillon is leading a unit dedicated to the return of the French Grand Prix, which is yet to be seen on the calendar since 2008. With Magny-Cours having hosted the country?s last 18 races, Paul Ricard was last home to the event in 1990, with local favourite Alain Prost enjoying victory for Ferrari.

?It's true that I have put a team together,? Fillon explained to the Var-Matin newspaper. ?It is driven in particular by one of my former colleagues, Gilles Dufeigneux, and we are working with the French motorsport federation, the FIA, Eric Boullier (Renault Team Principal) and directors of Le Castellet (Paul Ricard).


Since Felipe Massa won the last French Grand Prix, a number of plans for race comebacks ? including those on the streets of Paris and in the Disneyland Paris resort ? have fallen through. Paul Ricard, now one of the world?s most technically advanced testing venues for Formula 1, first joined the schedule as Jackie Stewart won for Tyrrell 40 years ago.

It is hoped by the government that France - with Paul Ricard being the most likely venue - could return to the F1 calendar by as early as 2013.

https://pic.armedcats.net/s/sc/schumacherm/2011/06/22/106662.jpg
 
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Fillon, who was born in Le Mans and who has participated in the circuit's classic race

That's one cool prime-minister they got over there.
 
retweeted by martin brundle

F1 bosses agree to compromise on new engine regs - delay by one year to 2014, six-cylinder turbos rather than four. hybrid etc stays

V6!!!!!! i would've settled for I4, but i won't object if they make it V6
 
It was in the cards all along that the new engines would never make it for 2013. Maybe even 2014 is pushing it? I don't know.

A few days ago, a friend of mine said that Whitmarsh had suggested that V6's could be the compromise the teams would finally agree on, but I couldn't find anything about it untill today. It's kinda surprising, but welcome.
 
They should just deal away with the cylinder number limits altogether and just cap the engine capacity. That would basically mean 1986/1987 engine regulations with 2013 levels of technology.
 
Its often easier to visualize it then to actually do it. How old are you?

I'm old enough to have taken basic programming and knowing this is a very, extremely basic programming to have in a car's ecu, much simpler than other systems that have been around F1 like TC, LC, and ABS.

About the engines, if it's ecological impact that's the matter, I think F1 should look at something else. Like for their emissions, compensate with reforestation programs somewhere, instead of cutting back and back more on power. I think that would set a better example than to go back to I4T or V6T.
 
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They should just deal away with the cylinder number limits altogether and just cap the engine capacity. That would basically mean 1986/1987 engine regulations with 2013 levels of technology.

i think just should limit fuel consumption...
 
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