F1 - 2017

Bernie would have done a deal ensuring some crumbs got rolled in a different direction and the big teams would have continued to have a financial advantage, and Ferrari would have continued to receive their elephant choking slice. They've worked very hard behind the scenes  to hoover most of it up and keep the garagistes out after the humiliation of the 1960s, and they're not about to take another kicking and less income in the process.

Not exactly setting the world on fire with their "elephant choking slice" are they? It needs sorting soon, if Ferrari leave over it so well and good. F1 will manage without and may then even evolve.

Marranello have had too much say in F1 over the years, and should really be called out.  

I agree. F1 without Ferrari would still be F1. Many pundits seem to think it wouldn't. They've probably gone native.

Hamilton seems to be quite pleased with his new toy.  

It's by far the best looking of the cars so far. I know someone who works for Merc F1 and a couple of weeks back he virtually wet himself telling me how awesome it looked! I can see why he's excited. The others that have been launched already may also look as good but it's hard to tell from the still pics I've seen and this one certainly looks 'right'.

If points were awarded for the ugliest car on the grid, Mclaren would win hands down even beating Force India's nose job. Plain ugly livery!

Mike-B posted:

Hamilton seems to be quite pleased with his new toy.  

Good design and I quite like the lower, trimmed fin.

Tony2011 posted:

If points were awarded for the ugliest car on the grid, Mclaren would win hands down even beating Force India's nose job. Plain ugly livery!

Dastardly!

G

I hope they make a few tweaks to that paint job before the first race. 

Quite like the Sauber. Give it gold wheels and it is a Colin Macrae era Subaru. Painting the central fin black helps the profile (Force India take note).

A senior aero engineer for the one of the teams tells me these cars are going to be even worse in dirty air than recent iterations.  Aero grip going to be higher, faster lap times for sure but overtaking without DRS harder.

Bruce

Why McLaren decided to make the paint job so poor is beyond me. They've spent squillions on the car, at least make it look pretty.

Tbh, apart from the Merc., none of them look all that. At least Sauber made a nice effort with the colours.

I suspect they won't all look like they do now by the end of the seasonthough. Or Melbourne even.

Back to their visual roots. Although I thought they went off orange when Bruce was killed.

Watching (www) the first of the test days:  The big teams have all gone faster than last year on the first laps (as expected).  Times so far:  Mercedes 1:23.370,  Ferrari 1:23.509,  Force India 1:26.171, Williams 1:26.525, Red Bull 1:28.712, Renault 1:28.928.   early days & times change by the minute.     McLaren - or should I say Honda - have got off to a bad start with an oil system failure that is expected to take a while to fix.    

McLaren seem to be in the sticky stuff.   After 6+ hours in the garage with an engine oil issue, they sent Alonso back out, after one lap was back again with the engine off & the car back in the garage.

Lap times have been interesting:  Hamilton posted 1:21.765, with only 29 laps. next are Massa 1:22.076, Vettel 1:22.370 & Bottas 1:23.169 who have posted between 69 & 85 laps, Red Bull seem  to be struggling with Ricciardo in 10th with 1:27.881 but with only 8 laps posted.

1:24.8  in 29 laps for McLaren actually the second lowest improvement over 2016 testing. See what happens during the week.

Still it's not looking good. A friend commented see Alsonso crash into a wall so he can miss the first race.

Miserable time again at McLaren. A team in need of fairy dust.

Merc and Ferrari looking good and Williams too until they handed the keys to a goofy teenager who wanted to try out its rallycross capabilities.

Red Bull suffering their traditional testing issues, fast in the speed trap though. Must be it's secret nostril.

Haas making a decent fist of it and the others are a mixed bag.

Day 3 Testing - Mercedes with Bottas on board set the fastest time of the week.   Ferrari with Vettel was only 0.247 seconds behind.    Ferrari has impressed with performance as Bottas' time was on ultra-soft tyres, Vettel's on soft which is two grades more durable.  Vettel was 0.155secs faster than Bottas managed on the same tyre.

Hamilton had a 95 lap run in the afternoon that concentrated on race pace running & ended 7th fastest on the day

McLaren & Alonso had a trouble free day,  but seems like a troubled team as on lap times & speed traps they are slowest of all the teams.

Top 3 times:   1 Bottas 1:19.705 (75 laps) Ultrasoft,  2 Vettel  1:19.952  (139 Laps)  Soft,  3 Ricciardo  1:21.153 (70 Laps) Soft 

Last day tomorrow .......... might be fun 

..........  err not so much fun today.   Most of the day on artificially wet track testing tyres.    McLaren had a better day but with new driver Vandoorne.  Williams were not able to go out as the car was damaged.   Mercedes had an electrical problem & Hamilton did not go out;  Bottas took over for the afternoon.    

Next 4 day session is next week from 7th March

Dry times posted are .............

Thank you for the synopsis, Mike.  It looks like McLaren  is bound to have another miserable year and I wonder how long before  Alonso hangs up his helmet. 

I'm not so pessimistic over McLaren Tony - or maybe better say Honda - it's still early days.   The new kid seems to have posted some reasonable times today (I bet that didn't go well with Alonso) & the chassis (the McL bit) seems OK.   The Honda is effectively a new engine & its more than likely to have some issues,  but Honda is now at a stage in their F1 project where they are loosing credibility (Japanese need to save face).    I've got concerns with some aspects of the new engine, most have been well publicised - 120,000rpm blower shafts come to mind) ,  but pick an engine company that should be able to design an engine,  Honda has to be on that list.

Mike, although Honda have been slow with the development of the engine, the managerial structure of the team is also to blame. Not sure Boullier is the right man for the job - this is his fourth year with the team with very little to show in terms of results.

The team is a far cry from the Murray/Nichols of the MP-4 era. 

I'm not as optimist as you are. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Tony2011 posted:

Mike, although Honda have been slow with the development of the engine, the managerial structure of the team is also to blame. Not sure Boullier is the right man for the job - this is his fourth year with the team with very little to show in terms of results.

Sounds like a typical Japanese problem... take a look at Nikon (off topic).

McLaren

Major complications Lacking any reliability expecting nasties

Don't misunderstand me Tony,  I said I'm not so pessimistic (as you)  thats not saying I see a good outlook.  I see them in a make or break year,  but I'm still optimistic.  However if Honda don't perform,  & by that I mean make significant & constant progress,  I can see  one or other seeking a divorce.  With McLaren,  I'm really not sure who does what, it seems a bit fuzzy & undefined,  detactached corporate owners,  no real supremo team leader &/or clearly defined roles, & like you & I believe Boullier has a shorter life expectancy than Honda,  maybe even the life expectancy of one race engine if things don't start to improve tout suite.

It will be interesting to see if the "new" McLaren ie  a Ronless McLaren can be more decisive. I agree I think this is the make of break year with Honda. Challenging for podiums and poles is a must I think