Alonso gives thumbs-up to McLaren’s top speed tweaks

RaceFans Round-up

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Quotes: Dieter Rencken

In the round-up: Fernando Alonso says McLaren’s tweaks to improve the car’s top speed worked.

What they say

Although Alonso said the changes worked he still expects the team will be at a disadvantage on the straights.

I think we tested already a couple of things today. They were on the positive side. I think we picked up a little bit of extra speed compared with the previous races so I’m quite happy with those changes. It didn’t compromise the corners for the slow speed sectors so more things to come. I know it’s going to be one of our weaknesses this weekend but hopefully less than other races.

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Comment of the day

The FIA is planning to stamp out exhaust-blowing next year, but should they?

It is so stupid, it isn’t even a loophole, Renault placed their exhaust within the rules, and they are gaining a small benefit entirely on gases that are blown naturally with acceleration. This restriction on everything is so frustrating.

Ban blown exhaust created from engine mappings, that’s fine, there are reasons for that, but this is just nonsense.
Joao (@Johnmilk)

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On this day in F1

  • Ronnie Peterson put his Lotus on pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix at Monjuich Park today in 1973

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Keith Collantine
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23 comments on “Alonso gives thumbs-up to McLaren’s top speed tweaks”

  1. Ecclestone has never had anything nice to say about Hamilton. Although the article does state “Ecclestone, who has been a staunch defender of Hamilton over the years”.

    I still remember this. It was a Brundle grid walk, and it must have been after Hamilton won the Championship, maybe the year before, so it was maybe at the start of the 09 season. Brundle caught Ecclestone and asked him if he was supporting Hamilton to win another. His response was something along the lines of “no, I wouldn’t, we don’t want another Schumacher”, or something like that.

    I remember thinking what an odd response. Such a pot stirrer.

    1. Let’s agree to do this – don’t comment on anything he says. And, don’t click through or read any articles that talk about what he says. He’s cashed out of the sport, and while ignoring him might not make him go away, it will at least save us from unwarranted aggravation :-)

      1. agree a sad little old man trying to be noticed

      2. @phylyp Agreed :)

    2. @mach1 Back in 2014 Ecclestone actually said Hamilton was the best champion the sport had ever seen.

      “So yes, I was sure that Nico would do it. Privately I thought that Lewis would be a good champion. He is more widely known around the world than Nico. Consequently, he would be the better champion for the sport. I’m sure that, for example, 80 percent of the people in America know Lewis, and it’s probably the same for the rest of the world. Most people haven’t heard of Nico.

      “Therefore, Lewis would be the better champion as far as this sport is concerned.”

      Bernie Ecclestone says Lewis Hamilton is as good as Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and all the other greats of the track.

  2. Not sure about the TV graphics over the halo. I think the information was clearer previously. Maybe it’s just something to get used to then it’ll be fine.

    1. I’m fine with the acceleration/braking/gears/RPM, it effectively uses up “dead space” on the screen, especially since most teams either had it blank or had sponsors displayed there (Haas are an exception, they put their driver names there, which was brilliant, in my opinion).

      The only thing that grinds my gears is the speed display above the halo, which is where the nose of the car is. Combined with the blurred/coloured background that it is displayed on, it hides that part of the screen, which just happens to be center screen. They could maybe put the speed and tacho alongside one another below the halo.

      The tapering on the throttle bars is another small quibble I have – they’ve tapered it for the sake of coolness, but the tapered end is the business side of the bar graph, so when the tapered part is filled, the car is at WOT!

      In all, it does feel a bit like the heads-up display (HUD) of a video game, which is probably the aesthetic that Liberty were going for. I’m not that old, and I feel old.

      1. I hadn’t ‘3Ded’ it in my head so it’s not as bothersome now. Agree with what you say about keeping the centre of the screen clear. Good point about appealing to the kids. Gotta be done.

        I’m old and feel older…

  3. I like the new graphic by FOM over the Halo area. It gets rid of that big bar of black and hides it very well.
    I give it a big thumbs up, I’m sure it can be refined a little, but the concept is a good one.

    1. @thebullwhipper – yes, you’ve summarized it nicely – it’s a very smart idea to utilize the dead space caused by the halo, and for a first attempt it is very good. A couple of tweaks, and it will be a neat way of displaying information.

    2. +1 I like it a lot too

    3. Too much like Formula E for my liking …

      1. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
        29th April 2018, 10:52

        I prefer to see things how they actually look. Far too many things in F1 are beginning to look and sound like a computer game. All these silly beeps and noises when they show the driver line up just before the race. It just sounds over dramatic to me. And then even with the new graphics that came out last year during the race showing the driver order. They are more unreliable and they block far more of the screen. So much that the cars keep driving behind them. I think the graphics and many other things were better 2 or 3 years ago. There used to be a small discrete bar at the bottom of the screen in the centre. It may have only showed 5 drivers at a time but it was very narrow and well out the way. The box that shows all of them now is massive.

        With an onboard view, I think it should be as close to the drivers view as possible. The driver does not see all these fancy graphics all over their halo… They should put these somewhere where the driver wouldn’t be able to see them, so we get a better idea of what they actually see. Put them maybe at the top of the screen. As drivers don’t look up there.

        They just seem to be trying too hard with too many things. Even the sound. Why have a microphone in the exhaust and then show the camera from a different position? That means you are not getting the realistic sound from where you are watching the video. At least they haven’t continued to edit the sound and make it sound like an RC car like Froce India tried once. I do have a good audio system at home and when they change the view point, it is often quite clear that the microphone isn’t quite where the camera is. It makes it seem unreal. Just my opinion.

  4. So McLaren’s updates are finally working? Can they be confirmed? The gap to the frontrunners has come down significantly. On the same tyres as them, Alonso’s fastest was only .905 seconds slower than Ricciardo’s. Of course you get the full picture only on qualifying, but this performance really brought a smile to my face – seeing Alonso up there where he belongs. They were supposed to be really, really struggling here but they didn’t though the same can’t be said for Vandoorne who has probably had the worst ever practice showing in 2018, being around 1.5 secs slower than Alonso. What’s happening?

    I hope the tables aren’t turned for Alonso in qualifying. Ferrari may come up with some set up changes for Vettel. Hamilton will certainly turn the wick up, but the question is whether the other midfield teams can improve. Qualifying is the ultimate test of McLaren’s improvements. Am hoping that Alonso gets into Q3 with 6th or even better.

    1. It’s pretty impressive how they went from the bottom of the speed trap figures to around mid table that quick. I’m just hoping it was genuine and not a slip streaming tactic that improved his straight line speed. If they reduced drag without really sacrificing any race pace, they’ve done quite a stellar job.
      Either ways I don’t think they’re within a few tenths of the top 3, but even if they qualify within a second of the pole time, I think that’s a massive step forward. I was expecting them to be over 1.6 to nearly 2 seconds off pole at this particular circuit.

  5. It’s pretty impressive how they went from the bottom of the speed trap figures to around mid table that quick. I’m just hoping it was genuine and not a slip streaming tactic that improved his straight line speed. If they reduced drag without really sacrificing any race pace, they’ve done quite a stellar job.
    Either ways I don’t think they’re within a few tenths of the top 3, but even if they qualify within a second of the pole time, I think that’s a massive step forward. I was expecting them to be over 1.6 to nearly 2 seconds off pole at this particular circuit.

  6. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
    28th April 2018, 6:28

    Lewis is just in diva setting, we’ve seen it a lot, particularly after winning a title. He will flick the switch and be back when there’s enough challenge that excites him (prob when Seb’s 50 points ahead).

  7. I agree with the COTD. I also kind of like the speed, gears, RPM, and throttle/brake usage been shown in the Halo.

  8. Everytime Ecclestone is quoted or mentioned in the media, is a joyfull reminder of good riddance:-)
    I loved to hate him, now I love that he is history, but I don’t care about his rantings/oppinions.

  9. His experience at the FIA is three years versus well over 10 years as an aerodynamicist in teams

    He spent those three years inspecting all the teams wind tunnels,he knows the details of every chassis/PU on the grid and have an extensive idea of the possible development paths with regard to aerodynamic/suspension/PU design that many teams will follow this year and the next year since they always consult the FIA in order to know if they’re within the regulations or not.
    So I say that his stint at the FIA does worth his entire FIA career even though he was a brilliant aerodynamicist. However the knowledge he had access to is invaluable and that’s the reason why he was recruited at Renault as a senior figure within the management of its F1 team and not as technical guy.

  10. It’s my third time reading the round-up, and oddly enough I found myself agreeing with the COTD, only then I noticed it is mine. What’s wrong with me?

    Well, do we have the speed trap’s info to check that mighty McLaren

    1. It’s a good sign you agreed though @johnmilk

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