[deetjohn]

What an amazing blog by Will Buxton.

Red Bull wants to quit? Let it…

Don't miss it guys!

[myavu]

Now a twist in the tale

China's ChemChina to buy Pirelli for £5.1bn

Source : http://www.grandprixtimes.com/news/display/10042

The deal will see ChemChina's own tyre division, China National Tire & Rubber, take ownership of a 26.2 per cent stake currently controlled by the family of chairman Marco Tronchetti, before launching a bid to acquire the remaining shares.

The takeover values the company at £5.1 billion ($7.7bn, €7bn).

It's unclear what affect the sale might have on Pirelli's involvement in the sport and whether a change in chairman and future objectives could see it pulling out of any future tenders.

Now Pirelli has contract till end of 2016. It will be interesting to see if they will continue or a whole new Manufacture(s) will step in. Bridgestone & Michelin, are you listening. When can we see a tyre war again?

Cheers!

Vinu

[deetjohn]

McLaren: could one of F1's top teams struggle for years?

Originally Posted by Andrew Benson, BBC

Engine the biggest problem

On paper, McLaren-Honda was the slowest car in Australia by a massive margin. On paper, they were 2.9s slower than Mercedes in the first knockout stage of qualifying.

F1 engineers have a formula for working out what a lap-time deficit is equivalent to in terms of horsepower. This is, on average, 0.016s per bhp. So 2.9s down is equivalent to 181bhp.

The real number is said to be at least 200bhp - equivalent, in effect if not in reality, to the whole hybrid part of the engine simply not working, and then some.

Honda's main problem is that the engine is too unreliable to run at full power - and in Australia it had to be turned down even further than planned because the company did not have enough confidence in its ability to sustain the higher temperatures than were seen in pre-season testing in a southern European winter.

[Fullrevs]

Could be the end of the Red Bull - Renault partnership after this season. A lot of finger pointing going on.

Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul has responded angrily to Adrian Newey's suggestion that the engine is the only thing holding Red Bull back in 2015.
Red Bull endured a difficult start to the season and after the Australian Grand Prix it was revealed Renault had a 100bhp deficit to Mercedes. Technical guru Newey said during the weekend there was no light at the end of the tunnel with Red Bull's engine supplier, suggesting the power unit had "all sorts of failings".
But Renault's Abiteboul has hit back at this remark, stating Red Bull deserves as much of the blame as Renault.
"Yes, it's difficult to have a partner who lies," Abiteboul told Auto Hebdo when asked if Newey's comments were hard to hear. "Adrian is a charming man and an engineer without parallel, but he's spent his life criticising engine partners. He's too old to change his ways."
In a Renault press release issued on Tuesday, Abiteboul elaborated on how both sides of the partnership were at fault.
"We need to work together to understand our issues, both within the power unit and the chassis. Our figures have shown that the lap time deficit between Red Bull and Mercedes in Melbourne was equally split between driveability issues, engine performance and chassis performance. It's therefore the overall package that needs some help and we have been working with the team to move forward.
"We've been particularly aggressive in development and we should see the results a lot more clearly in Malaysia, particularly since we have had the opportunity to refine the PU using the data from Australia. Work is still ongoing but even now we are in a completely different place to where we finished Melbourne.

Source: F1-live.com

[Chetan_Rao]

Red Bull have nowhere to go if they dump Renault (or vice versa). Neither Merc nor Ferrari will agree to sell them engines - they've already reneged on a Ferrari contract in the past when they switched to Renault engines for packaging advantages - and Honda will struggle for the foreseeable future so that's a no-go too.

They either stick with Renault or it's bye-bye Red Bull Racing.

[Fullrevs]

I dont think Mercedes will refuse to supply engines to Red Bull. However, if Red Bull are looking for equal treatment to the factory team then thats unlikely to happen. Maybe Red Bull can rope in Volkswagen/Audi?

Talk is also that Toro Rosso may sell to Renault and the French engine manufacturer could resurrect it as their factory team.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

I dont think Mercedes will refuse to supply engines to Red Bull. However, if Red Bull are looking for equal treatment to the factory team then thats unlikely to happen. Maybe Red Bull can rope in Volkswagen/Audi?

Talk is also that Toro Rosso may sell to Renault and the French engine manufacturer could resurrect it as their factory team.

Given Merc now have a factory team themselves, they won't supply PUs to and/or provide factory support to anyone they consider a direct threat. Everyone they supply right now is a midfield team with no real prospects of mounting a consistent title challenge anytime soon. Even if they do, it's not just about the engine (or even the PU package) these days. Integration with the chassis and other components can make or break the whole setup. Just look at Merc's current/recent past customers and you get the picture.

Moreover, RBR will feel entitled to factory-equivalent support after their FOUR WCC titles. If Renault buy TR, RBR are looking at an extended stint as a PU customer team, no matter who they buy from. Not a pretty picture at all.

[Fullrevs]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Given Merc now have a factory team themselves, they won't supply PUs to and/or provide factory support to anyone they consider a direct threat. Everyone they supply right now is a midfield team with no real prospects of mounting a consistent title challenge anytime soon. Even if they do, it's not just about the engine (or even the PU package) these days. Integration with the chassis and other components can make or break the whole setup. Just look at Merc's current/recent past customers and you get the picture.

Moreover, RBR will feel entitled to factory-equivalent support after their FOUR WCC titles. If Renault buy TR, RBR are looking at an extended stint as a PU customer team, no matter who they buy from. Not a pretty picture at all.

Well the disparity in Mercedes factory engine and customer engine is quite evident this year. Williams were relatively closer to the factory team last year and they could be seen as a direct threat. This year its quite evident that there is a difference. Even the Williams drivers reckon they dont have the full use of the engine yet. Red Bull will have to swallow their pride and accept customer status.

As far as integration goes, look at how Lotus have turned out this year just with a different engine and gearbox. If Red Bull needs wings, they will have to bite their lip and go for Mercedes as it is quite clear Renault arent sure about what they are doing. Or Red Bull need to bring in a completely new name to the sport. All this finger pointing at each other really hints at Red Bull dropping Renault.

My hope is Red Bull can convince the likes of VW/Audi, Toyota or BMW to return. Its going to be tough convincing them but then thats why they have 4 WCC's and Adrian Newey.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

Well the disparity in Mercedes factory engine and customer engine is quite evident this year. Williams were relatively closer to the factory team last year and they could be seen as a direct threat. This year its quite evident that there is a difference. Even the Williams drivers reckon they dont have the full use of the engine yet. Red Bull will have to swallow their pride and accept customer status.

Mercedes has to give the exact same engine that they use for the customer teams too. If it is found out to be otherwise, FIA would take action against them. If the advantage of Mercedes over Williams is purely the chassis and aerodynamics, Newey could potentially do a better job on that front than the Williams if given an identical engine and give Mercedes a run for their money.

[Fullrevs]

They have to give the same engine I agree Zen but the factory team doesnt have to share all the engine maps and the other possible tiny tweaks they do to gain that fraction. Not much was made of Massa's rant at Melbourne but this could go further if Ferrari are ahead of Williams again.

[zenren]

Teams have agreed to increase the engines without penalty back to 5 pending FIA approval. Honda might need it due to reliability while Ferrari and Renault might need the increased count to push out the upgrades sooner during the season.

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

They have to give the same engine I agree Zen but the factory team doesnt have to share all the engine maps and the other possible tiny tweaks they do to gain that fraction. Not much was made of Massa's rant at Melbourne but this could go further if Ferrari are ahead of Williams again.

I'm not sure they can hide something like that with so much telemetry available. A mapping that is optimized for Mercedes chassis is possible and would probably not work as well on Williams due to relatively lower downforce of their chassis.

[deetjohn]

Water sprinklers, double points, Mixed grid... Bernie seems to have gone nuts again! Source


And this picture below is so funny.

[Hatari]

Hamilton deal and on Vettel and Alonso earnings
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula-one/32124091

Unsurprisingly he's stumped on Alonso moving to McLaren as well.

[Fullrevs]

Engine allocations set to increase from 4 to 5 units for this season. The proposal is being reviewed by the strategy group.

Formula 1 drivers are set to see their engine allowance increased from four units to five for the rest of the 2015 season, following talks at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

GPUpdate.net understands that teams unanimously agreed to the change during a meeting at Sepang, a move that would return the allocation to last year's figure.

However, the rule still requires ratification from the FIA, with a spokesman for the governing body explaining to GPUpdate.net that the standard process must be followed.

"If any such proposal was presented it would first have to be approved by the F1 Strategy Group, then by the F1 Commission before finally being sent to the World Motor Sport Council for formal approval," he said.

Formula 1's engine allocation was originally reduced from five power units per driver to four for the second season of the turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 era.

But fears have been raised over the stricter limit, with a selection of drivers already taking on new power unit elements for the second of 19 planned races.

It remains unclear if an additional engine would be permitted for running throughout the entire Grand Prix weekend, or solely during Friday practice sessions.

Source: F1 racing.net

With some drivers already using their second unit by the second race it makes sense to increase the allocation.

[jfxavier]

http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en.html

Maybe I am used to the old layout, but the new style seems to be a bit too "different" for my taste.

If you like the latest Windows style, maybe you will find it to be fantastic.
However, something I liked very much is this logo in the bottom corner.