In the round-up: Bernie Ecclestone isn’t concerned that postponing the introduction of Halo could be a safety risk.
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Ecclestone downplays potential legal issues of delaying Halo (Motorsport)
"What happens if there’s an accident and the Halo crushes a guy? Who’s going to take that responsibility?"
Former Ferrari driver Amon dies aged 73 (Reuters)
"Former Ferrari driver Chris Amon, often described as one of the best in Formula One never to have won a race, has died at the age of 73 after a battle with cancer, family of the New Zealand motorsport great said on Wednesday."
Chris Amon obituary (The Guardian)
"In 1968 Amon should have won the title. Seven retirements in 11 races wrecked a season that saw him starting four races from pole position."
Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene hints at McLaren-style restructure (ESPN)
"All the technicians talk to each other, but the difference is very important: there will be no more of 'this is 'Mr X's' car'. There will be a car that will be the result of the co-operation between all the working groups involved in the project."
Hamilton on Schumacher Jnr – 'He’s thinking I can beat them' (Crash)
"But he's a Schumacher so he probably takes it in his stride and is looking at us all thinking 'I can beat them', just like me when I was his age would have said the same about the drivers here."
Red Bull completes first day of testing at Mugello (Autosport)
"Sebastien Buemi completed 82 laps on his return to the cockpit of a Formula 1 car as Red Bull was given its first taste of Pirelli's new-for-2017 rubber on Wednesday."
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Comment of the day
Williams are after Jenson Button but @Deej92 suspects he’d be better off staying where he is:
I don’t fancy Williams as the place to go in the next regulations. Their chassis hasn’t been great for a while. They were helped massively by the Mercedes engine in 2014 and 2015. It isn’t helped by having one of the most uninspiring driver line-ups on the grid mind.
Perez is also linked with Williams. I see Force India as a better bet for the next regulations to be honest. Their cars have just got stronger over the last three seasons which is a promising sign.
@Deej92
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Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
4th August 2016, 0:58
Good move by Ferrari to adopt a Mclaren like structure.
MtlRacer (@mtlracer)
4th August 2016, 4:49
Yeah, because it’s really been paying off for McLaren.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
4th August 2016, 6:26
@mtlracer Yeah they’ve gone from fighting Manors and Saubers to fighting Williams and Force Indias in less than a year.
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
4th August 2016, 10:37
They are the most improved team on the grid. Enough said.
Gabriel (@rethla)
4th August 2016, 11:04
@ultimateuzair Manor has improved more.
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
4th August 2016, 13:01
Manor has gone from being last, to being second last. It’s an improvement, but not much of an improvement compared to McLaren, which has gone from being a slow backmarker team, to being a solid midfield team in a year and is on the verge of overtaking Toro Rosso for 6th place in the WCC.
just.daz (@nemo87)
4th August 2016, 22:12
Plot twist: has manor improved or has everyone else gone backwards..
VoiseyS (@voisey)
4th August 2016, 11:37
But over what time period @ultimateuzair? Do you mean just this season? They’ve spent probably 10 times what Manor and Sauber has spent (not including what Honda must have burned through) so it’s not a surprise that they’ve moved up from their lowly place as much as they have
You could argue over the last 2-3 years Force India are the most improved team?
Uzair Syed (@ultimateuzair)
4th August 2016, 13:03
Good point. Force India have also improved a lot, and they will probably end up 4th in the WCC as Williams is on a downwards slope.
Strontium (@strontium)
4th August 2016, 1:57
“When there is a figure like a mega-talent, it is normal for all the technical team to follow what he says. But we have not this kind of man. We are working on a new horizontal structure and the coordinator is Mattia Binotto.”
This sounds very forward and positive. Modern horizontal structures are believed to produce generally better results than structures based solely on hierarchy. As the article says, it creates more communication and collaboration on all areas. Of course you will always need somebody overseeing the operations, a group of people doing this is probably even better.
Hopefully, and I know we all tire of hearing / saying it, hopefully Ferrari can yield great things in 2017.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th August 2016, 2:16
@strontium A little late perhaps.
Ferrari doesn’t want to say it, nobody in their position does want to admit they might be clueless. One thing is clear, there’s something missing for Ferrari. Ferrari first blamed the tyres, then they opt to change the suspension but it’s still not right so now they say downforce, which sounds rather assuring… the number 1, 2 and 3 problems of F1 teams!
Fletch (@fletchuk)
4th August 2016, 2:46
And yet the company CEO chooses the team’s drivers..
Mr. X
4th August 2016, 5:12
This is the most Ferrari thing Ferrari can say. Why you ask?
Because no proper #1 technical talent wants anything to do with the sinking ship that is Ferrari.
What are they supposed to say? All proper number 1’s turned us down?
mog
4th August 2016, 6:10
Allison?
Mr. X
4th August 2016, 16:43
My point exactly.
CJRalston
4th August 2016, 7:58
It’s funny you refer to one of the three top teams as a sinking ship. What about Williams, then, my dear Englishman? It’s very clear Ferrari is struggling from the day FIA introduced videogame testing instead of on track ones. F1 is the very only sport competitors cannot make any real training: imagine what if tennis player could just play Wii before the Grand Slam. Anyone should be allowed to develop his car either virtually or on-track.
Mr. X
5th August 2016, 16:50
Who is Williams? Oh that midfield team who has resigned to never winning again and happy to be a Mercedes customer?
Anyways back to Ferrari. Yes I’m afraid they are sinking and simply rearranging the deck furniture as she goes down.
N
4th August 2016, 10:47
“…the difference is very important: there will be no more of ‘this is ‘Mr X’s’ car’.
Sorry to hear about that mate ;D
petebaldwin (@)
4th August 2016, 10:38
It sounds positive but in a year’s time, they’ll have got rid of Mattia Binotto, will have a completely different structure and will be planning their next change.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th August 2016, 2:05
Thank god today’s round-up has got no more bigotry. Rest in peace Chris Amon, another rich piece of f1 history that unfortunately passes away.
I think the Halo subject highlights who’s truly smart and who’s a little naive. In my view it’s simple, for the “Halo” to be introduced it needs to be unequivocally safer than not running the device, as it is not, work harder and bring a better solution, halo or another solution. I think the same happens with the topic of adoption, the government cannot be responsible for nothing but the best of families and even though they put so many hurdles some families are not the right families.
Rhys L
4th August 2016, 5:38
I agree with your point that the Halo needs to be unequivocally safer, however I question how you state that the Halo not safer than not having it in its current form?
I really can’t see the argument for an upside down vehicle. How does a driver get out of an upside down vehicle currently? What are the statistics of vehicles finishing upside-down?
I believe there were similar arguments against the HANS device.
mr ed
4th August 2016, 6:51
Alonso and Perez has both finished big crashes upside down in the last 12 months.
Michael Brown (@)
4th August 2016, 11:59
The roll hoop ensures that an upside-down car rests on a tilt. This ensures the driver has enough room to get out by using the space between the side impact structure (at the driver’s shoulders) and the ground. The Halo blocks this space, so it either needs to be removable in this state or a new method of extracting the driver needs to be created.
Michael Brown (@)
4th August 2016, 12:02
http://f1.imgci.com/PICTURES/CMS/26000/26097.jpg
Here’s an image of Massa upside-down in Hockenheim 2014. Granted, he is still moving, but even a still car would be in this position. Look at the space he has to get out of the car.
anon
4th August 2016, 18:53
@mbr-9, the thing is, in certain situations the medical crews sometimes prefer it if the driver stays in the cockpit.
If the car is upside down, the driver usually has to bend their back in order to climb out of the car – if the driver has sustained a spinal injury as the car flipped over, flexing his spine could potentially aggravate that injury. In that situation, it would potentially be safer for the driver to remain in the car and for the marshals to turn the car over in a controlled manner, allowing them to then lift the driver up and out of the car.
Robbie (@robbie)
5th August 2016, 13:27
I think it needs to be that in some extreme cases an unconscious driver can have his head and neck stabilized before they even consider turning the car over. The very action of turning a car over could paralyze a driver with a spinal injury. So for me so far the halo is the better option for access to the driver at least vs the aero screen with it’s high sides, and making a full canopy, were a narrow one able to be relatively bolted on, an impossibility.
mfreire
4th August 2016, 2:17
RIP Chris Amon. He had everything an F1 champion needed except for car reliability and really wanting to be world champion. He was just a nice guy who liked racing cars.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th August 2016, 2:20
Very sad news about Chris Amon. I’ve read a lot about the unluckiest man in our sport. I remember writing about the 1971 Italian GP and how his chances of a win went to pieces: instead of tearing off one of the plastic layers of his visor, he tore off the whole thing. And he had to retire from the lead because of that. I was researching for that article and couldn’t believe what I was reading.
Rest in Peace Chris.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th August 2016, 2:25
About the new tyres. People who wanted low profile tyres. Don’t you guys think these fat tyres with those big sidewalls look miles better??
I’ve never been crazy for low profile tyres on formula cars and it kinda proves my views… This 2017 Pirellis look the part!
ColdFly F1 (@)
4th August 2016, 6:11
I’m not a fan (yet); looks too much like a monster truck IMO.
But I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
The looks is not something I’m worried about, as long as performance is better.
@fer-no65
chris
4th August 2016, 7:35
agreed, the formula E cars look like 18th century wagons
chris
4th August 2016, 7:36
in comparison
bosyber (@bosyber)
4th August 2016, 8:08
Sorry, but who wanted low profile tyres for the look? I think exactly no one; certainly very few here @fer-no65; That said, I am surprised at how much better it looks on the Ferrari, I thought I didn’t mind the narrower tyres all that much – though on the red bull they look a bit too big to me, not sure why.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
4th August 2016, 8:28
@bosyber Me, for one.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th August 2016, 13:12
@bosyber a lot of people. I remember back then when we discussed it here.
The argument was that 13 inches wheels are not used anywhere else and bigger rims corresponded better with what was seen on the street. Technical bits aside (which I don’t think make an argument for 18 inches actually), a lot of people commented on the looks of it.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th August 2016, 17:02
@bosyber I think everyone wanted low profiles for the looks…apart from that I totally agree with you! I too don’t know why the tyres looked slightly different on the RB, I guess RB wasn’t using a 2017 dummy rear wing.
I don’t like low profiles on any car, I think there’s a balance and how it sits on the car and that’s all I think about the aesthetics because apart from that low profile tyres gives such an horrendous ride, it aches to think about it.
Dom (@3dom)
4th August 2016, 9:52
@fer-no65 I appreciate low profile tyres on road cars, a lot. So when some people expressed desires for low profile tyres in F1, I thought “cool”.
I was admiring some low profile tyres on a road car the other day, and reflected on how they look in Formula E, and after seeing these chunky 2017 tyres, I’ve realised that I FAR PREFER the 2017 tyres. They give the impression that there must be a lot of power in that car to warrant tyres like that. I’m now not really bothered about low profile tyres in F1 at all. I can’t wait to see the wider 2017 cars with those tyres, I think they’ll look immense! Here’s hoping that the compounds are a step up in terms of performance so that we get a good ratio of mechanical grip to aero, to give us a chance of decent racing too.
@HoHum (@hohum)
4th August 2016, 22:45
@3dom, I’m sure following drivers in 2017 will agree with you that they look immense, especially in Monaco, Hungary, Spain.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th August 2016, 16:57
@fer-no65 They do look great, they make the cars look more proportional.
Lee Porcelli
4th August 2016, 4:07
Rip Chris Amon . Remember seeing Chris during the Tasman series. F1 stars with Australia’s and New Zealand s best open wheeler drivers staged in both countries. One of our local greats.
Love from your Aussie fans.
Steve
4th August 2016, 7:16
I wish Mick Schumacher all the best but find it slightly depressing that the spotlight is on him and that will likely propel him to F1 (if he has sufficient talent). I can think of others who are more deserving of media attention, Lando Norris for example.
BasCB (@bascb)
4th August 2016, 8:15
Thank you Chris Amon for all the great racing you gave the world. Rest in peace now.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
4th August 2016, 11:44
I suggest you read the last Chris Amon (RIP) interview in AutoSprint (Italian) which dates the beginning of 2007
http://autosprint.corrieredellosport.it/news/formula1/2016/08/03-397789/chris_amon_morto_lultima_intervista_allicona_ferrari_anni_60/
One of the interesting things he said in the interview :
– Massa would be the man to beat, Raikkonen is not bad at all, Hamilton is strong but he will commit inexperience errors ( China and Interlagos immediately came to my mind) Fernando will be the real opponent of Ferrari, Ferrari will be slightly ahead at the beginning of the season…
-For overtaking the aero is the problem, I’m concerned of the limit of 19000 RPM which makes overtaking really difficult, because when a car follows another car exploiting the slipstreaming at the end of the straight the driver could do nothing because his engine is limited. I think there should be no restrictions on engine development, It’s seems less expensive using an engine for 2 races but i think it’s the opposite, it’s more expensive to make the engine durable than to develop it. The real solution for me is to give teams equal aero packages and give more freedom to the engine designers. I think that part of the staff that makes the rules are nut (This is hilarious…).
I don’t know how the teams accepted this, In the end i want the traction control banned.
PS : Excuse me for the quality of the translation.
Xusen (@xusen)
4th August 2016, 18:41
No, Thank you for the translation :)