2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 21 Nov 2014, 09:26

tommykl wrote:I think he meant dead heat in the race. With double points, a 17-point gap can't be matched, obviously

Ooops. Of course it's not possible. I need to think a bit more maybe?

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 21 Nov 2014, 11:15

The FIA have decided to change the qualifying since Caterham are back, now 5 cars will exit after each session.

tumbano · Post by **tumbano** » 21 Nov 2014, 11:35

Sirotkin and Frijns... LOL

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 21 Nov 2014, 12:00

Oh shite

Frijns was 0.035 away from the 107% limit there!

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 21 Nov 2014, 12:06

Shizuka wrote:Oh shite Frijns was 0.035 away from the 107% limit there!

Which is impressive because he never actually drove the car.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 21 Nov 2014, 12:09

Salamander wrote:
Shizuka wrote:Oh shite Frijns was 0.035 away from the 107% limit there!

Which is impressive because he never actually drove the car.

Indeed :

At the back, new boys Adderley Fong and Will Stevens made their respective debuts with Sauber and Caterham.
The Chinese rookie, who'll make way for Adrian Sutil from FP2 onwards, managed 1m 48.269s,
while the British Renault 3.5 race winner managed 1m 50.684s despite suffering technical issues that limited him to 14 laps.

Post by **Londoner** » 21 Nov 2014, 12:41

Grosjean may as well not bother to race this weekend.

I see the stewards have found their new punching bag, now that they've got bored of penalising Mags.

Sublime_FA11C · Post by **Sublime_FA11C** » 21 Nov 2014, 12:59

That *is* funny. But they have to penalise him somehow, and the aim of the power unit components related penalties is to cost a driver places.
It would be better for PR if he had to pedal the car for the first 5 laps, then FIA can ban the pedal propulsion system mid race, and force Romain back into his V6 turbo powered car to complete the race.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 21 Nov 2014, 13:00

East Londoner wrote:Grosjean may as well not bother to race this weekend.

I see the stewards have found their new punching bag, now that they've got bored of penalising Mags.

Sorry, but that is just f***ing retarded. They need to re-think that for next year! What an utterly ludicrous rule!

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 21 Nov 2014, 13:17

Salamander wrote:
Shizuka wrote:Oh shite Frijns was 0.035 away from the 107% limit there!

Which is impressive because he never actually drove the car.

That's why I posted it; it's really a great effort from him!

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 21 Nov 2014, 14:30

The engine penalty rulework is standing in line for the 'Reject Of the Race Award' now.

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 21 Nov 2014, 14:35

Oh, and by the way, has there ever been anybody who has been a Team Principal for one single race weekend only? Is Finnbarr O'Connell really the first person to achieve this feat?

Most likely, he is the first administrator with a seat on the F1 pit wall ever.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 21 Nov 2014, 15:42

Yannick wrote:Oh, and by the way, has there ever been anybody who has been a Team Principal for one single race weekend only? Is Finnbarr O'Connell really the first person to achieve this feat?

Does anybody else think this guy turning up to play at F1 for a weekend sucks? Caterham should be barred from racing this weekend, they've become a farce. If an administrator deciding to pretend he knows what he's doing isn't bringing the sport into disrepute I don't know what is. I bet Andrea Moda is lounging back with a cocktail thinking "Mamma mia, whadda joke!"

Valrys · Post by **Valrys** » 21 Nov 2014, 16:13

CoopsII wrote:
Yannick wrote:Oh, and by the way, has there ever been anybody who has been a Team Principal for one single race weekend only? Is Finnbarr O'Connell really the first person to achieve this feat?

Does anybody else think this guy turning up to play at F1 for a weekend sucks? Caterham should be barred from racing this weekend, they've become a farce. If an administrator deciding to pretend he knows what he's doing isn't bringing the sport into disrepute I don't know what is. I bet Andrea Moda is lounging back with a cocktail thinking "Mamma mia, whadda joke!"

The team has shown up, Kobayashi has been on the pace he was before they took a haitus, Stevens hasn't embarrassed himself, the cars aren't detonating all over the track, and they are apparently still in discussions with several potential purchasers. I don't see where any farce of disrepute comes into it.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 21 Nov 2014, 16:53

I'm just disappointed that the Marussias are not competing this weekend. If they do not turn up next year, I hope that their prize money will be used to help keep other teams afloat rather than boosting the wallets of Bernie and co. (regardless of Sauber overhauling Marussia in the championship).

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 21 Nov 2014, 16:55

CoopsII wrote:
Yannick wrote:Oh, and by the way, has there ever been anybody who has been a Team Principal for one single race weekend only? Is Finnbarr O'Connell really the first person to achieve this feat?

Does anybody else think this guy turning up to play at F1 for a weekend sucks? Caterham should be barred from racing this weekend, they've become a farce. If an administrator deciding to pretend he knows what he's doing isn't bringing the sport into disrepute I don't know what is. I bet Andrea Moda is lounging back with a cocktail thinking "Mamma mia, whadda joke!"

Nice reject spirit you got there.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 21 Nov 2014, 17:07

UgncreativeUsergname wrote:
CoopsII wrote:
Yannick wrote:Oh, and by the way, has there ever been anybody who has been a Team Principal for one single race weekend only? Is Finnbarr O'Connell really the first person to achieve this feat?

Does anybody else think this guy turning up to play at F1 for a weekend sucks? Caterham should be barred from racing this weekend, they've become a farce. If an administrator deciding to pretend he knows what he's doing isn't bringing the sport into disrepute I don't know what is. I bet Andrea Moda is lounging back with a cocktail thinking "Mamma mia, whadda joke!"

Nice reject spirit you got there.

Very clever. I was all for Caterham as was but this new team appears to be functioning purely as a vehicle (pun intended) for this Finbarr geezer to promote himself and the companies he represents.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 21 Nov 2014, 17:11

CoopsII wrote:
UgncreativeUsergname wrote:Nice reject spirit you got there.

Very clever. I was all for Caterham as was but this new team appears to be functioning purely as a vehicle (pun intended) for this Finbarr geezer to promote himself and the companies he represents.

Honestly, wasn't that what Fernandes was doing all along?

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 21 Nov 2014, 17:17

DanielPT wrote:
CoopsII wrote:
UgncreativeUsergname wrote:Nice reject spirit you got there.

Very clever. I was all for Caterham as was but this new team appears to be functioning purely as a vehicle (pun intended) for this Finbarr geezer to promote himself and the companies he represents.

Honestly, wasn't that what Fernandes was doing all along?

Its what they all do really and its what makes the F1 world go round but at least there appears to be a desire to race at the heart of it wheras this Caterham situation taken as a whole just reeks of cynicism and a desire to self-promote only.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 21 Nov 2014, 17:35

CoopsII wrote:
DanielPT wrote:Honestly, wasn't that what Fernandes was doing all along?

Its what they all do really and its what makes the F1 world go round but at least there appears to be a desire to race at the heart of it wheras this Caterham situation taken as a whole just reeks of cynicism and a desire to self-promote only.

I am willing to bypass all that IF the guy manages to sell Caterham properly and they are present in the first race next year. Some Fernandes clearly failed to...

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 21 Nov 2014, 18:10

CoopsII wrote:Very clever. I was all for Caterham as was but this new team appears to be functioning purely as a vehicle (pun intended) for this Finbarr geezer to promote himself and the companies he represents.

What companies? He's just trying to find someone to buy the team as far as I've gathered.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 21 Nov 2014, 19:33

Salamander wrote:
CoopsII wrote:Very clever. I was all for Caterham as was but this new team appears to be functioning purely as a vehicle (pun intended) for this Finbarr geezer to promote himself and the companies he represents.

What companies? He's just trying to find someone to buy the team as far as I've gathered.

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/11/formula-finbarr-caterham-administrator-turns-team-boss-to-lead-revival/

Sublime_FA11C · Post by **Sublime_FA11C** » 21 Nov 2014, 19:36

Yannick wrote:The engine penalty rulework is standing in line for the 'Reject Of the Race Award' now.

How would you penalise Grosjean?

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 21 Nov 2014, 19:39

CoopsII wrote:
Salamander wrote:
CoopsII wrote:Very clever. I was all for Caterham as was but this new team appears to be functioning purely as a vehicle (pun intended) for this Finbarr geezer to promote himself and the companies he represents.

What companies? He's just trying to find someone to buy the team as far as I've gathered.

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2014/11/formula-finbarr-caterham-administrator-turns-team-boss-to-lead-revival/

Fair enough.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 21 Nov 2014, 20:06

Sublime_FA11C wrote:
Yannick wrote:The engine penalty rulework is standing in line for the 'Reject Of the Race Award' now.

How would you penalise Grosjean?

Personally, I wouldn't. Punish the driver for things that are the driver's fault. Punish the team for things that are the team's fault (eg via points?). Punish the engine manufacturers for things that are their fault. How, I don't know. Financial penalties? Refusal for some upgrades?

Sublime_FA11C · Post by **Sublime_FA11C** » 21 Nov 2014, 20:28

I guess if you fine the team, they will simply pay and the driver will race as normal and achieve normal results. The effect would be that a rich team is not affected, a poor team is hurt sufficiently and the FIA earns the money. But the car that has fresher components gets to race normally and has a reliability/performance advantage over cars that make their components last the agreed distance.

That is the problem, the car gets repaired while the others arent allowed to do so, and the penalties are there as a deterrent. Lotus, Red Bull, toro Rosso and Caterham had appaling reliability early in the year and went through their legal supply quicker than the rest. I can't pretend the way Grosjean's penalties stacked up isn't ridiculous, but it's accidental and ultimately a fair penalty for a team with miserable reliability.

It's not that Grosjean *needs* to be hurt, it's that others who are not replacing components can't be allowed to be hurt by another car having fresh bits. But yeah, ridiculous. 20/20 hindsights says that for the 1st year regulations should have been a little more permissive.

Post by **mario** » 21 Nov 2014, 21:20

East Londoner wrote:Grosjean may as well not bother to race this weekend.

I see the stewards have found their new punching bag, now that they've got bored of penalising Mags.

I would assume that the main reason for a harsh penalty is, given that we have seen an increasing number of teams starting from the pit lane by opting for a full powertrain overhaul, is to cut that trend out - particularly given that, with the number of points on offer available being doubled for this race, teams might be more tempted to stick a fresh powertrain in to eke out a performance advantage (there have been complaints that some engines - Renault in particular - suffer quite badly from a drop off in power with use).

Sublime_FA11C wrote:I guess if you fine the team, they will simply pay and the driver will race as normal and achieve normal results. The effect would be that a rich team is not affected, a poor team is hurt sufficiently and the FIA earns the money. But the car that has fresher components gets to race normally and has a reliability/performance advantage over cars that make their components last the agreed distance.

That is the problem, the car gets repaired while the others arent allowed to do so, and the penalties are there as a deterrent. Lotus, Red Bull, toro Rosso and Caterham had appaling reliability early in the year and went through their legal supply quicker than the rest. I can't pretend the way Grosjean's penalties stacked up isn't ridiculous, but it's accidental and ultimately a fair penalty for a team with miserable reliability.

It's not that Grosjean *needs* to be hurt, it's that others who are not replacing components can't be allowed to be hurt by another car having fresh bits. But yeah, ridiculous. 20/20 hindsights says that for the 1st year regulations should have been a little more permissive.

I'd have to agree that the problem with simply applying a financial penalty to the team is that it can have a disproportionate effect on a team.

Even a midfield team, like Force India, would find it quite painful if they were forced into taking a fine for changing engine components, let alone the smaller outfits at the back who are already hurting financially. By contrast, a wealthier team like Red Bull could quite easily weather a fine for exceeding their engine allocation - I could in fact see wealthier teams essentially abusing such a system.

As it is now, Red Bull went to a lot of care to try and avoid exceeding their engine allocation for as long as possible when Vettel's engines and ERS's were approaching the end of their lives - if, by contrast, they could simply buy their way out of such a problem by paying a fine, they could probably quite easily simply throw a completely new powertrain in the back of their car and simply thrash it as hard as possible.
After all, the team already gets free engines as the works team, so it would essentially cost them just the FIA fine to get a new engine; they might well believe that the performance boost from using a fresh powertrain that is turned up to the max in each race was well worth the money spent in fines.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 21 Nov 2014, 22:10

The logos plastered all over the Caterham makes for a hilarious livery! Reminds me of March at Canada in 1992! :lol:

Spot the difference:

More_Blue_Flags · Post by **More_Blue_Flags** » 21 Nov 2014, 22:16

CoopsII wrote:
Yannick wrote:Oh, and by the way, has there ever been anybody who has been a Team Principal for one single race weekend only? Is Finnbarr O'Connell really the first person to achieve this feat?

Does anybody else think this guy turning up to play at F1 for a weekend sucks? Caterham should be barred from racing this weekend, they've become a farce. If an administrator deciding to pretend he knows what he's doing isn't bringing the sport into disrepute I don't know what is. I bet Andrea Moda is lounging back with a cocktail thinking "Mamma mia, whadda joke!"

Perhaps, but I am prepared to bet that at least one team makes a worse tactical decision with far-reaching effects during the race than Finnbarr manages - probably Williams ...

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 21 Nov 2014, 23:04

AndreaModa wrote:The logos plastered all over the Caterham makes for a hilarious livery! Reminds me of March at Canada in 1992!

Spot the difference:

At least the Caterham is a nice green and white instead of various clashing colours. Also a lot of the logos on the Caterham have similar font philosophies compared to the March. It's just as desperate, but it looks all right.

IceG · Post by **IceG** » 21 Nov 2014, 23:29

Anyone happen to see the slo-mo of Maldonado about 28 +/-1 mins from the end of FP2?

There was a red laser-light dot under the front centre of the car, like you see on surveying stations for registering the position, just visible on the track surface. Anyone have a clue as to its purpose? Measuring the ride height perhaps?

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 21 Nov 2014, 23:59

IceG wrote:Anyone happen to see the slo-mo of Maldonado about 28 +/-1 mins from the end of FP2?

There was a red laser-light dot under the front centre of the car, like you see on surveying stations for registering the position, just visible on the track surface. Anyone have a clue as to its purpose? Measuring the ride height perhaps?

That's the aiming mechanism for when he needs to take another driver out of the race. He hasn't used it very much recently.

Seriously though, I don't know. Anyone?

Sublime_FA11C · Post by **Sublime_FA11C** » 22 Nov 2014, 07:26

I personally wouldn't mind seeing lots of stickers on the cars. Selling as much advertising space as is humanly possible is just as much a motor racing staple as is petrol. Or batteries... ok, times have changed.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 22 Nov 2014, 13:48

I remember hearing say that McLaren always tries to hire the two best available drivers out there. Today's qualifying further confirmed that. Alonso and Button are the two best drivers available out there.

Post by **Miguel98** » 22 Nov 2014, 14:04

Rosberg's reaction

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 22 Nov 2014, 14:13

Miguel98 wrote:Rosberg's reaction

That would be a great clip for the podcast's GMIF1P (even though it's technically not punditary...).

Post by **mario** » 22 Nov 2014, 14:14

IceG wrote:Anyone happen to see the slo-mo of Maldonado about 28 +/-1 mins from the end of FP2?

There was a red laser-light dot under the front centre of the car, like you see on surveying stations for registering the position, just visible on the track surface. Anyone have a clue as to its purpose? Measuring the ride height perhaps?

Although I have not seen the footage in question, I'd agree, based on your description, that the most likely explanation is that it was a ride height measuring device (Lotus have been testing a few 2015 spec parts in free practise sessions, so it is plausible that it would be linked to that).

Miguel98 wrote:Rosberg's reaction

That was a very strange reaction from him indeed - for somebody normally perceived to be fairly level headed, the way that he snapped back at his engineer was rather out of character. In fact, I have to say that he has been a bit out of character this whole weekend so far and, if I'm honest, a little overbearing at times.

Post by **Ataxia** » 22 Nov 2014, 16:13

mario wrote:
Miguel98 wrote:Rosberg's reaction

That was a very strange reaction from him indeed - for somebody normally perceived to be fairly level headed, the way that he snapped back at his engineer was rather out of character. In fact, I have to say that he has been a bit out of character this whole weekend so far and, if I'm honest, a little overbearing at times.

Y'see, I thought he was joking around...

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 22 Nov 2014, 16:28

Ataxia wrote:
mario wrote:
Miguel98 wrote:Rosberg's reaction

That was a very strange reaction from him indeed - for somebody normally perceived to be fairly level headed, the way that he snapped back at his engineer was rather out of character. In fact, I have to say that he has been a bit out of character this whole weekend so far and, if I'm honest, a little overbearing at times.

Y'see, I thought he was joking around...

Yeah, that was how the BBC commentators took it.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 22 Nov 2014, 16:35

Ataxia wrote:
mario wrote:
Miguel98 wrote:Rosberg's reaction

That was a very strange reaction from him indeed - for somebody normally perceived to be fairly level headed, the way that he snapped back at his engineer was rather out of character. In fact, I have to say that he has been a bit out of character this whole weekend so far and, if I'm honest, a little overbearing at times.

Y'see, I thought he was joking around...

I thought that as well...