Formula 1 2010

[Will]

Otherwise this one...

 

http://www.grandprixlegends.com/motorsport-and-f1-merchandise/formula-one/red-bull-racing?filter_reset=1

 

They don't have the top I'm after :-(

 

The Senna trailer looks awesome, I can't wait to see that film.

[Retro_Link]

US Austin GP Track Revealed... [includes elevations ]

 

 

http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/promoter-unveils-f1-track-layout-890582.html

 

Promoter unveils F1 track layout

 

Design pays homage to some of word's most famous circuits.

 

Austin's Formula One race track will be fast, have a signature start, pay homage to some of the world's best Grand Prix circuits and offer plenty of good sight lines for fans, according to race promoter Tavo Hellmund.

 

"It should be nice," Hellmund said Tuesday as he looked at plans for the track. "I think drivers and fans should really like it."

 

Since May, when the race was announced, fans have been eager to see drawings of the track.

 

Hellmund, head of Full Throttle Productions, unveiled the track layout Tuesday in a meeting with the American-Statesman.

 

The 3.4-mile track has 20 turns, a maximum elevation change of 133 feet, a back straightaway that is three-quarters of a mile long and a width that will vary between 39 and 52 feet.

 

Hellmund said the F1 cars should be able to reach a top speed of 200 mph on the track.

 

He also estimated the cars might be roaring by the grandstand at 180 mph on their way to a tight, uphill corner at Turn 1, one of the highest points on the track. Hellmund said Turn 1 could be the circuit's signature corner and that it would also be one of the four designed spots to give drivers their best chance for passing, or overtaking as it's called in F1.

 

"Everybody will pull out and probably go three-wide into that braking turn," Hellmund said.

 

Unlike some NASCAR races, there's typically not much passing in an F1 Grand Prix. Some F1 fans blame that situation on Tilke GmbH, the German engineering firm that has designed most of the sport's modern circuits and is also overseeing the U.S. Grand Prix project.

 

Hellmund said the cars themselves are more to blame for the single-file racing than the engineers.

 

"They're so on the ragged edge that it's hard to pass," Hellmund said.

 

He said the best way to create such opportunities is with a good straightaway that leads to a turn with more than a 45-degree angle. Hellmund said that's the plan for turns 11, 12 and 20.

 

In addition, turns 3, 4, 5 and 6 and will be a nod to the Maggots/Becketts section at Silverstone in England, and turns 12, 13, 14 and 15 will have the feel of the Hockenheimring in Germany.

 

There's also a shout-out to Istanbul Turn 8 in turns 16, 17 and 18.

 

"It will be similar to one gigantic turn," Hellmund said of that sequence.

 

Hellmund said fans should be able to see plenty of action from most of the turns and straightaways.

 

"They will all offer good viewing because of the (changes in) elevation," he said.

 

The U.S. Grand Prix circuit is slated to be built on a 900-acre tract southeast of Austin and could hold 130,000 to 140,000 fans.

 

Austin's first U.S. Grand Prix is slated for 2012. December has been mentioned as a possible starting date for construction.

 

"I don't want to put a date on it. Everybody is hustling and bustling," said Hellmund, who said construction would begin as quickly as possible.

He seems to 'borrow' from other circuits ALOT!

 

I'd have quite liked it to run the other way, so there's a slope down to the finish line, but still!

Edited September 1, 2010 by Retro_Link

[gaggle64]

This one looks like it could be pretty decent. The Indian GP circuit too looks pretty awesome, slightly Monza-esque. Hopefully Tilke & co. are starting to get the hang of it.

[Goron_3]

This one looks like it could be pretty decent. The Indian GP circuit too looks pretty awesome, slightly Monza-esque. Hopefully Tilke & co. are starting to get the hang of it.

 

Yeah it only doing Borerain, Abu Crappy and Valencia (couldn't think of anything for this one lol) to get there.

 

I like the look of the track! Combined with the elevation change it could be spectacular The best I've seen from tilke.

[Retro_Link]

If this is free I'll download it, if not... I won't!

 

 

Surely you need a whole steering wheel setup?... which I don't!

Seems a bit pointless otherwise!

[Will]

That looks very cool, I think I'll give it a go for sure. No doubt I'll be way way off the best times though.

[Retro_Link]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86341

 

Ground effect, turbos set for F1 return

 

Formula 1 teams are closing in on finalising all-new regulations for 2013 that will likely see a return of ground effect cars and turbo engines - as the sport witnessed in the early 1980's.

 

Several think-tank Working Groups have been set up to get consensus on moves to improve the spectacle of F1 and ensure it becomes more environmentally friendly.

 

On the engine side, draft regulations were circulated among teams a few weeks ago and the latest plan is for 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo engines to become standard.

 

The power units will be bolstered by numerous energy recovery systems, and should produce around 650bhp. Plans are also being considered to limit engines to just five per driver per season.

 

In a bid to further increase F1's green credentials, teams are also keen for there to be a fuel flow rate limit - which will ensure the engines are economical.

 

Williams technical director Sam Michael said: "Rather than dump as much fuel in as we can at the moment, there will be a fuel flow metre - so you won't be able to blow more than a certain amount of fuel. It is a good chunk less than we had at the moment."

 

On the chassis front, Williams co-owner Patrick Head and former Ferrari designer Rory Byrne are working with the FIA to head up concepts for new car rules.

 

Teams are keen for the cars to be better for overtaking than the current generation of machines - with ground effect being actively considered.

 

"They are talking about putting a greater proportion of down force to the diffuser, a ground effect car - like the early 1980's," added Michael. "They have been looking at that, as well as increasing crash protection at the front of the car by moving the sidepods further forwards."

I'm not sure I like the direction F1 is going in, and tbh I haven't for a few years.

 

V10's to V8's not the best, but now to V6's!!!!!! Seriously!!!... producing 650bhp!!

F1 is supposed to be the highest category, the pinacle of motorsport... won't 650bhp lead to other categories overtaking it?

 

And talk of increasing down force through the diffuser... I thought that's what F1 was going to try and move away from?!

 

As much as I understand cost saving being good for the sport... is F1 in danger of becoming a standardised Formula... like your GP2's and A1 GP?

 

And whilst I'm kind of on the subject...

What's up with teams moaning about one anothers developments so much now! As soon as something new comes on the scene everyone tries and gets it banned.

And if it's not banned then the FIA either ban it for next season, or constantly tweek the rules so that such things are now allowed.

This is leading to cars looking more and more similar... and almost gone is the excitment of new car launches waiting to see what new revolutionary designs a team has come up with.

 

F1 is supposed to be about driving the motor industry forward and pushing design... should innovations such as the F-duct be applauded and allowed to advance on to something even greater... so F1 is constantly evolving.

[gaggle64]

What you're looking at is the future Retro. The engines that F1 will be running in 2013 - small capacity and turbo charged with a full suite of electric energy recovery and management systems (integrated into the engine itself, not a separate system) - is what every new performance car will be running out with by 2020, and F1 is the spearhead for that technology. Car manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Hyundai are believed to be interested in investing in teams specifically for the purpose of marketing the new, road-relevant technologies. They're also planning to start lowering the limit, year after year, on the amount of fuel and number of engines allowed, forcing engineers to find ways of producing more and more efficient & durable engines. The goal is to have each F1 car using half the weight of fuel to complete a GP. The parameters have changed, from the pursuit of raw speed to finding the common ground of speed & efficiency but I believe this will create more innovation in F1, and a modern F1 pioneering all the latest developments and technologies relevant to today's challenges.

 

 

If you haven't read them already Andrew Benson has made a couple of excellent blog posts on it earlier in the year:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/04/what_f1s_future_means_for_the.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/06/f1s_carboncutting_pledge_a_pos.html?page=13

Edited September 5, 2010 by gaggle64

[Goron_3]

James Allen also has a fantastic piece up on his blog too.

 

650bhp doesn't sound alot but remember if the engines are efficient and can run off little fuel they are gonna be lighter and still pack a lot of fight. Add to that they will have recovery systems like KERS on them to produce and additional 150bhp for around 20-30 seconds a lap.

 

Also, the downforce thing is actually incredible news. Basically, at the moment most of the downforce F1 cars create comes from the wings, but as well know once the wing hits dirty air it's pretty screwed and you lose a lot of grip. Now, what they want to do is focus on 'ground effect' (see the Lotus of 79) where basically the cars will have smaller front wings and will rely much less on them, and most of the downforce created will come from the ground effect/diffuser (which is barely effected by dirty air). Cars will still have considerable aerodynamic grip but they won't suffer when following another car as much as they do now.

 

My only worry is that the power to grip ration of F1 cars over the years has been reducing making the cars easier to drive, hopefully the tyres will be less grippy...Also, bring back manual gear boxes and get rid of Bahrain, Valencia, China and Abu Dhabi and bring back Imola.

[Retro_Link]

Not sure why it's taken until now but hey!...

 

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86442

 

Tilke promises more 'on the edge' tracks

 

Formula 1 fans have been promised track designs that will be more on the 'edge' in the future in a bid to help promote better racing and more excitement.

 

With a host of new countries getting added to the grand prix calendar in the next few years, F1 track designer Hermann Tilke has revealed to AUTOSPORT that Bernie Ecclestone has given him the green light to be more adventurous.

 

"I have discussed a lot of things, and a lot of good ideas come from Bernie Ecclestone," said Tilke, whose designs for the new Austin track in the United States were revealed last week.

 

"He has a good view on it. Now, we are going much more to the edge than we have some years before - in terms of elevation and the types of corner we have."

 

The Austin track layout has offered a glimpse of a more aggressive look at track design - featuring dramatic elevation changes plus a variation of high-speed and low-speed corners.

 

Although Tilke has been on the receiving end of criticism from fans in the past that his layouts have not been ideal for racing, he has called for some understanding on the limitations he faces in creating tracks.

 

In the AUTOSPORT interview he says factors such as land availability, local geography and the budget that track owners are willing to put forward all have to be taken into account before he can even begin sketching out a layout.

 

"It is hard to tell the people what we had in mind, what restrictions we had and what tools we had," he said.

 

"For example, nowadays you need the run-off areas. The FIA will not accept tracks without the run-off. Having wide run-offs is not ideal for the view - and is very different from the old tracks where the guardrail was right by the edge of the track. It used to be completely different, but in our times it is not possible to do that any more.

 

"Then, remember, most track owners and investors want to have motorcycles too. And motorcycles have to have even more run-off, and different types. And some corners where for F1 or cars you do not need any run off, for motorcycles you need it. Then people criticise it and say, 'it is stupid to have this run off!'"

 

He added: "You cannot please everybody. The new A1-Ring was always spectacular for racing – not just for F1 but also DTM and everything. But at the beginning, when we built it, everyone was saying, 'what have you done? It is a terrible track!' and so on. But then after a while, everyone changed their opinion and even the drivers liked it."

A1-Ring... BRING IT BACK!!! *sing it back!*

[Goron_3]

Have you actually seen the new layout of the A1 ring? It's fantastic

[Retro_Link]

Not since they last raced there in 2003... what have they done to it?

It was awesome when F1 was there!

 

Just read James Allens article on 2013... actually pretty excited now!

 

 

First laps of Korea: Onboard with Chandok

 

 

Wow, looks alot like a building site still!

 

And a bit windy isn't it?... and narrow!

Edited September 6, 2010 by Retro_Link

[Retro_Link]

Provisional 2011 Calender:

 

13/03 Bahrain

27/03 Australia

10/04 Malaysia

17/04 China

08/05 Turkey

22/05 Spain

29/05 Monaco

12/06 Canada

26/06 Europe (Valencia)

10/07 Great Britain

24/07 Germany

31/07 Hungary

28/08 Belgium

11/09 Italy

25/09 Singapore

09/10 Japan

16/10 Korea

30/10 India*

13/11 Abu Dhabi

27/11 Brazil

Brazil finish!!

 

If only Australia was starting the season!

 

 

EDIT:

 

Ferrari escape further punishment.

Edited September 8, 2010 by Retro_Link

[Goron_3]

Brazil finishing the season?! Fantastic

 

Not surprised about the Ferrari message. The 'fernando is faster than you' message was given to Massa at Australia too and he didn't give way so they probs said it was his decision. That and the fact that Ferrari no doubt brought up Mclaren's Turkey team order as well as Red Bulls in malaysia sealed the deal.

 

They need to get rid of the rule.

[Retro_Link]

I'd forgotten how good Monza was last year...

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8253351.stm

 

Practice tomorrow!!

Edited September 9, 2010 by Retro_Link

[Goron_3]

Ferrari are looking good, but so are Mclaren it has to be said. No idea whos gonna get pole!

 

Also Chandok is an AMAZING commentator, much much better than Legard. Loving the accent and his phrases and enthusiam top legard all the time. 'Hamilton on a MEGA lap'

[Retro_Link]

^ Yeah Chandhok is great!

 

Good qually, but a bit dissapointing from Red Bull compared to Practice this morning, so wasn't quite as close as it could have been.

 

Was really interesting to see all the different setups on the cars.

 

I have a slight suspicion Ferrari may have just developed an AWESOME Monza package (seeing as it's a one off setup) to really give the fans something to cheers about... what with the mistakes/scandals they've had this season. I'll be interested to see if they're as strong after this race.

[Goron_3]

Legard yesterday was appalling.

 

'Hulkenburg purple in his first and second sector!'

'It's his first lap....'

 

I was almost in stitches, incredible.

 

Anyways, todays race should be great especially for the championship battle. They're lining up on the grid in pretty much reverse championship order, fantastic.

 

Edit: LOL at Jake, Nick and Lewis Hamilton playing F1 2010 hahahaha, epic video. Lewis is actually a well friendly guy, he's grown a lot on me over the year.

Edited September 12, 2010 by Goron_3

[Emerald Emblem]

Feature with Lewis and his brother playing F1 2010 with Jake Humphrey. Goddammit I knew it was coming but it really doesn't help my anticipation levels.

[Will]

He'll yeah I'm so looking forward to that game, looked fantastic when they were playing.

 

Looking forward to a good race today, I just hope Fernando can get a good result, if he can't catch up at least a little this weekend then I think its all over for the title.

[Goron_3]

Alonso <3

 

Championship battle is back to 5 drivers!

[gaggle64]

That was raw brilliance from beginning to end, a thriller both as a race and in terms of the championship. Silly and disappointing from Hamilton after a great win in Belgium, don't know where the Red Bulls fell away to and an epic, epic, epic battle between Alonso, Button and Massa. To borrow the words of Murry Walker "This is classic, bish-bang Ferrari-on-Mclaren racing." Awesome all the way. Best season in generations.

[Retro_Link]

Don't understand why Button pitted first... that was always going to be the result in that case.

 

The F1 2010 feature was brilliant!!

 

Yeah Lewis is so much more likable from his '07/'08 seasons... '09 did him the world of good!

[Noodleman]

Yeah Lewis is so much more likable from his '07/'08 seasons... '09 did him the world of good!

 

I was still delighted that he crashed out tbh. I think Webber has come out of this pretty well, Red Bull always said they would struggle at Spa and Monza but expect to be back to their best at Singapore, with him leading the championship it could be pretty ominous for the rest.

[Will]

Very pleased with that result, the way things are going this could very well go down to the last race with all 5 of them in contention. If so I will definitely be moving plans around to go to the last race.