Reply With QuoteI guess we'll have to see what Williams' new hire does, but it doesn't bode well for the team...
Another slump into the doldrums they seemed to have escaped a couple of seasons ago?
M
Might as well start a new thread for the new season.
With the announcement of Sergey Sirotkin as the second inexperienced driver at Williams (see Mark Hughes' thoughts here: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/o...ntent=sirotkin) all available seats have now been allocated.
The front runners, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and Force India are all unchanged, and it's in the midfield where we find the new arrivals and most of the intrigue - will Sauber be able to move up the food chain with more money and an Alfa Romeo badged up to date Ferrari power unit? What will happen to Williams as a result of having two inexperienced drivers but one of the most experienced senior engineering lineups? What has Mercedes been up to with their new power unit (allegedly a completely new design)?
Pre-season testing begins on 26 February.
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I guess we'll have to see what Williams' new hire does, but it doesn't bode well for the team...
Another slump into the doldrums they seemed to have escaped a couple of seasons ago?
M
You were only a day or two away from getting a nudge from me to start the '18 thread, BP!
Shortly off to work so little time to comment...
As you've said, Williams announced their line-up earlier today. Interesting times ahead for the team given their relative depth of leadership experience and complete lack of seat time for their drivers - it's the Red Bull line-up that I'm really interested in though, and that of Force India. It would be easy to pick the fastest drivers from Merc and Ferrari yet the next pairings are harder to distinguish, and you can bet your bottom dollar that each of the 4 will be doing their absolute upmost to out-score their teammates.
Worried for Williams with that line-up - it looks pretty average and I can't see them coming close to FI or Renault. So battling with Sauber and Haas, which is a shame.
Money talks...................not talent
Originally Posted by adrianw
That statement epitomises F1 really. However talent certainly helps as well.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Completely agree. Think Williams shot themselves in the foot. The amount of screen (and other media coverage) time they would get with Kubica in the car would be massive. Certainly between now and the first race. You can't buy that sort of exposure and their main sponsors would have been very happy with the increased exposure pushing up sponsorship value for next season.
Clearly factors other than the money the Russian brings at play. Maybe a Russian title sponsor considering Williams for 2019 i.e. promise of much more money. Pressure from Liberty Media for the Russian market?
I'm slightly confused by the Alfa badged engine. Have they actually done anything to it or is it just slapping their name on the Ferrari engine as it came out of the factory and ponied up the sponsorship money?
This, no one has a hunger for success like RK, he has that champions drive and would have really pushed them, Sad to say but I think they have become too risk averse and are a spent force.
It'll be a "badge engineered" 2018 Ferrari unit, identical in all bar name. Last year Sauber suffered by having to use the '16 powerplants, in theory this season should see them take a step forward.
Ah ok, thanks.
Or Williams quite simply thought that the Russian was the best choice in terms of in-car performance.
It's pretty obvious to all, Williams included, that hiring RK would increase the team's exposure and that this may increase sponsorship interest - it would make a great story. You could argue that Williams deserves some kudos for not choosing him given how popular, and easy, decision it would be, certainly for many of the fans of both RK and the sport.
Perhaps we're being unjust to both Sirotkin and Williams, maybe they really did go for the driver they thought could give them the best results - that's the way, ultimately, to make money.
Lots of people are banging the Kubica drum but was he not already out of F1 when he had his rallying accident?
No, he had the accident pre-season when he was already signed to drive for Lotus-Renault.
Personally I'm interested to see how much Leclerc will beat Ericsson by - destroy him hopefully. I also reckon Sirotkin is going to make Stroll look worse than he already is.
I'm not saying Sirotkin isn't talented, he clearly can drive a car to a high level. High enough that Williams though he would be the equal to Kubica, which the tests seemed to bare out. But if Williams really want to challenge for that 4th spot in the championship, I don't see that line up being able to challenge what FI and Renault have put together. Indeed,I think Haas, on balance has a better line up.
Definitely interested in seeing what Leclerc can do, he's been hyped for a while so unless he's significantly faster than Marcus, it will be a disappointment. Sure the car is likely to be a bit of a dog but he'll need a decent gap to his team mate if he's being groomed for a top tier drive.
Ahh, ok, thank you for that. I thought he was already out of the sport and switched to rallying.
Martin Whitmarsh brought in as a consultant to look at reducing costs...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42719672
Sirotkin brings double the sponsorship the Kubica could. He was also faster in the testing they did when they analysed it. Though both were slower than Massa anyway. Di Resta is probably a bit gutted as despite a good drive when he had the chance he seems to have not really been in the running.
Don't forget that Williams have employed Pastor Maldonado in the past. Albeit for considerable financial reward. He did, however, win a Grand Prix for them, the last time that a Williams driver stood on the top step of the podium.
But in recent years they have had the significant experience of either Rubens Barrichello or Felipe Massa in one of their cars, so the 2018 pairing of Stroll and Sirotkin, with one whole F1 season between them is either an act of extreme faith, or a signal that the team really has had to sell their souls to the devil in order to stay afloat. And this in the season after they received compensation from Mercedes for the services of Valtteri Bottas.
Sauber? I'd like to think that they will have a more competitive season, and if so, on the strength of his performances in Formula 2, Charles LeClerc will show Marcus Ericsson up for the journeyman that he is. LeClerc was an absolute star in F2, and so far in tests he's looked like the real deal in an F1 car as well. I suspect that Ferrari are lining him up as a potential replacement for Kimi Raikkonen as soon as the Iceman decides to spend more time with his family.
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He's obviously found it safe to return now that Big Ron has left the circus
Looking forward to season and reveals in a few weeks time.
Just to throw McLaren into mix, I'm concerned the switch to Renault won't be as fruitful as they hope. Fingers crossed I'm wrong as would love to see a Ham, Vet, Alonso and Max duel.
Or, look at it this way: it is a Fiat engine with the badge of one Fiat division (Alfa Romeo) rather than another one (Ferrari).
It is more an Alfa engine (as B73 said, part of the same group) than RB will be Aston Martin...
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
http://www.racer.com/f1/item/146846-...it-car-in-2017
Paddy Lowe pretty much admits having a (very poor) rookie like Stroll in the team cost them a lot of points and 4th place last season which begs the question why are they doing exactly the same thing this season with Sirotkin?!
William's are becoming a laughing stock by prioritising revenue from lackluster pay drivers over results on track and ultimately the reputation of the team. This will cost them prize money and sponsor revenue and is a strategy I would expect from a struggling backmarker not a midfield team with William's heritage.
I know I've said it more than once before, but Williams do look disturbingly like Tyrrell in their declining years.
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As it's a miserable, cold, wet Saturday here's an interesting article from Mark Hughes on the likely evolutions of the 2018 Ferrari and Mercedes cars:
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/o...ercedesferrari
The 2017 regulations brought about some fundamental changes in aerodynamics, as the cars were bulkier, and the floors wider. Now, with a season's experience and terabytes of data available, we can expect to see some creativity from the aerodynamicists as each team strive for that elusive but all-important advantage.
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Channel 4 races have been announced today :
2018 F1 TV schedule in the UK
Race Date Live on Australian Grand Prix March 23-25 Sky Bahrain Grand Prix April 6-8 Sky/Channel 4 Chinese Grand Prix April 13-15 Sky Azerbaijan Grand Prix April 27-29 Sky/Channel 4 Spanish Grand Prix May 11-13 Sky Monaco Grand Prix May 25-27 Sky/Channel 4 Canadian Grand Prix June 8-10 Sky French Grand Prix June 22-24 Sky Austrian Grand Prix June 29-July 1 Sky/Channel 4 British Grand Prix July 6-8 Sky/Channel 4 German Grand Prix July 20-22 Sky Hungarian Grand Prix July 27-29 Sky Belgian Grand Prix August 24-26 Sky/Channel 4 Italian Grand Prix August 31-September 2 Sky Singapore Grand Prix September 14-16 Sky/Channel 4 Russian Grand Prix September 28-30 Sky Japanese Grand Prix October 5-7 Sky/Channel 4 United States Grand Prix October 19-21 Sky/Channel 4 Mexican Grand Prix October 26-28 Sky Brazilian Grand Prix November 9-11 Sky Abu Dhabi Grand Prix November 23-25 Sky/Channel 4
All races will ONLY be available via Sky in 2019
It'll be interesting to see if getting the F1 channel as part of the old HD pack is stopped. Up until now viewers have had a terrestrial semi-alternative so Sky have used it as an incentive to keep existing subscribers, but with exclusivity I can see Sky dropping it and forcing you to take the F1 channel (or Sports package) separately.All races will ONLY be available via Sky in 2019
Will there be fta highlights from 2019 or just nothing? Seems a really daft move from a sponsor pov as their exposure just crashes through the floor.
I'm hoping they just make the F1 channel, or highlights, available via NowTV. Otherwise bye bye F1 viewing for me.
Me too - no way I am signing up for Sky again
F1 - pay per bore...
Get a mistress/lover; cheaper and way more fun.
Well hopefully youll stay away from this thread and more time with your mistress/lover/fantasies. That would be nice albeit unlikely, I suspect.
Note for U.K. race fans, it seems Liberty are prposing to put back race times by an hour and ten minutes to jazz up the show and allow more guff. Between this and the death of free to air F1 ( for transparency I have Sky but the principle grates with me) I hope the (increased) monetisation of the sport doesnt remove it from our screens totally (unless you have Sky of course).
https://brujulacuidador.com/2013/08/...ner-un-amante/
Have a nice year.
Do we have a fantasy league set up for the F1? Which site do people recommend?
Might be a bit of a giggle and raise a few quid for the fundraiser....
If we ask very nicely, I'm sure that Paul (Tokyo Tokei) might be persuaded to set another one up?
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There is quite a long article on the BBC about what we can expect from F1 in 2018:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/42862496
Its well worth a read.
Grid girls now gone too. I guess it was on the cards given the current climate but was a part of the perceived glamour of F1. One does wonder what the girls who actually do this work think as their chosen sources of employment dry up. I'm sure the "get a proper job" will be comforting to them.
But the corridor of clunge stays
Lauren Pope grid girl of 8 years on several media channel's & very angry ...said she had being told by feminist they are doing it for them but no one asked the girls employed...one of her friends just had this years income wiped out in one fell swoop.... well done.... halo & fuel saving & engine penalties hurt brand values *ughh* so drop them too liberty....who bought us the cheerleaders cheese fest lets not forget....
Sent from my [device_name] using TZ-UK mobile app
I wonder whether the cheerleaders will be pulled from the SuperBowl?
Indeed:
"Formula 1 will end the long-standing practice of using walk-on grid girls, commencing with the start of the 2018 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season. These changes also apply to our other motorsports series that take place during the Grands Prix weekends."
Ever safer, ever cleaner, ever more politically correct.
The world is becoming a duller place...
Unbelievable.
Do grid girls make overtaking easier? Put GPs on classic tracks rather than in Baku? Nope, so I really couldn't care less about the news.
Ofcourse it has nothing to do with the racing perse but then F1 is a spectacle, a show.
The girls are part of the show; have been part of it for over half a century.
Oh man, F1 becoming also sanitised by feminist.
I bet James Hunt would have had a wonderful practical response to it.
Anyway, it is the way it is going; no noise, no fumes, no danger, no strong words, no sex = towards silent e-cars in a sterile package with īdriversī behaving on and off the track as per the official guidelines.
Only the main road.
There are exciting enough sidewalks.
Sanitising the main road ever more, just makes those sidewalks more accessible/acceptable/mainstream.
Just watching a James Bond film on TV, be interesting to see where this all goes
Interesting read, thank you. There's no doubt that Liberty will spin the sport in a way that Bernie never did, from a commercial POV I think they'll do well however it remains to be seen how well they manage the teams, or at least how well the teams perceive themselves to be managed. Personally I can't ever remember a time whereby everyone was happy with every aspect of the sport, be it prize money distribution, budgets and cost controls, regulations around technologies, materials, powerplants and so on. The smaller (read lower budget) teams will always ask for more, the larger teams will always fight for their own interests, there will be threats to pull out (an almost cyclical proposition from Ferrari) and so on - as long as F1 has a manufacturers championship I can't see this situation changing any time soon. It is a balancing act worthy of the highest calibre of tightrope walker to keep those already in the sport keen to stay on whilst also courting potential newcomers. F1 needs to be seen as the very pinnacle of single-seat racing with the cars using the most advanced boundary pushing technology that the teams/engine suppliers feel that a) is still relevant to their own road car requirements (promotion of the brand, for example) and b) caters for the current political climate with regards to green and efficient energy generation and consumption.
Regarding free-to-air TV coverage, I read that Italy lost this service as from the end of last season. I've no idea on the viewing split between FTA and paid-for services in that country however I can't imagine the Tifosi, or even Ferrari, being too chuffed with that. I haven't read about Liberty considering the possibility of influencing a return to FTA in the UK after this year however it seems obvious to me that viewing figures will only go in one direction once Sky become the sole broadcaster. I dropped Sky a couple of years ago and have found C4's coverage to be sating my needs along with watching the odd race live on Sky at a mate's when C4 missed one, I don't want to have to investigate some dodgy internet route to watch live races in the future.
As for the grid-girl situation, apparently Silverstone wanted to drop them a year or two ago yet they weren't allowed to. It makes no difference to me whether they're there or not, to be honest I barely noticed them anyway, it won't lessen my interest in the sport one jot. It will be extremely hypercritical if the glamour remains on display elsewhere though, for example as the top 3 drivers make their way to the "collect your sponsor's watch and cap" room and then when on the podium itself. A friend of a friend of mine works as a promo girl, she's a regular on the BTCC grids and does plenty of work at car and bike shows - she's not happy about the current PC stance that many sports have taken in recent weeks and I can perfectly understand why. To have others "campaigning on behalf of" those that work in the industry are completely forgetting that those who are involved do so of their own free will and can be just as professional about their own role as any other employee. The greater subject, that of women being reported as being underpaid/under-valued/sexually harassed is a topic of discussion not really suitable for this thread.
Last edited by CardShark; 2nd February 2018 at 03:20.
You are Jay Cartwright and I claim my fiver
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