25 Mar 2018 08:07:10
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new sports article, Formula 1: Melbourne Talking Points

1.) 26 Mar 2018
26 Mar 2018 21:12:32
Great view Ed. Hope you keep these up for the season!

My thoughts on your points:

1) I think it’s difficult to really say how close they are given the nature of the Albert Park track but they do look competitive. That being said Lewis' pace when in clear air (and he wasn't trying to manage things) was startling. I think the more telling point was Bottas' struggles. It looks like they still haven't addressed the Mercs achilles heel of fighting through the pack. I mean all of the current generation struggle given the aerodynamics but that car is so susceptible to it. Brilliant to see Haas so competitive though. Such a shame they can't change a tyre.

2) Is it really that bad? Admittedly it’s a fair criticism to say it’s not fit for purpose if you can gain an advantage in the pits when the whole purpose of it is to neutralise the race. They can surely work that out though somehow. The problem was that they couldn't shift the Haas manually and so had to get the heavy machinery in. Given what happened with Bianchi any time that they are deployed it’s an automatic safety car. Quite rightly to.

I suppose the thing is whether it’s any worse than the safety car. I love the fact the safety car brings the pack back together but then I detest when they let the back markers go and we have to wait for them to get clear to be lapped again in a few laps. Swings and roundabouts.

3) Agree absolutely entirely. Isn't it weird how the obsession has become making the cars just faster? Of course for F1 that's important and it should the pinnacle of the sport but if the cars can't race then what's the point?

4) I do agree but that being said having it entirely the other way isn't always great. Take parts of the 90s and early 00s for example. Brilliant for the drivers as they could just go flat out but that would quite often make the races quite dull. If the financial limits made the races more entertaining, then I don't mind it really.

5) I think it was Martin Brundle who said something like the last time he was in the merc there was something like 43 buttons , knobs or modes on the steering wheel. I will always think back to Lewis in Baku two years ago when his race was compromised because he couldn't figure out which sub menu of the sub menu of the main menu he needed to fix a glitch. is that really racing?

6) I suppose they thought that this was the best half way house between open wheel and closed cockpit. I don’t really mind the halo. I can see why they have done it and they must have decided that it offered better protection than the windscreen option. I just think it changes the nature of the sport to go closed cockpit. Formula 1 is and always should be open cockpit. Is it staying open wheel more dangerous than Moto GP for instance? Not in my opinion.

As for the technical aspect I suppose they are making a difference. If you look at the most recent Mclaren, Ferrari, Porsche, the turbo engine / hybrid technology with the energy recovery systems are the way they are definitely going. So it does still filter down even if only at the extreme end of the market.

What did you think of the new F1 graphics for the race by the way? They were a bit, erm, bold.

{Ed001's Note - I am going to try and keep them up throughout the season. Makes a nice break from the football stuff and I always watch the races at some point.

1. It really was a shame about Haas, they looked very competitive.

2. I just hate the VSC as it does nothing other than give people time to go and get a cuppa. The normal safety car at least brings the pack together, though they do need to do something about unlapping. VSC just makes it feel like a really bad computer game, while the safety car is something that has always been part of racing. If they would dump the pathetic blue flags and just allow everyone to race no matter the position they are in, that would solve it.

3. Spot on.

4. It wasn't brilliant for the drivers as they often moan that there were too many aids allowed in that period. Get rid of some more aids, then the speeds will be limited anyway as the drivers will make errors.

5. 43? That is just insane!

6. I just think the halo is silly as it is nothing like a road car would use. They are supposed to be just extreme versions of what we see on the motorway, so why halo?

I have to admit I never really take much notice of the graphics. sorry.}