The F1 Thread 2014 Season

[Rado_N]

TEAMS/DRIVERS:

Red Bull Racing
1 Sebastian Vettel
3 Daniel Ricciardo

Mercedes
6 Nico Rosberg
44 Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari
7 Kimi Raikkonen
14 Fernando Alonso

Lotus
8 Romain Grosjean
13 Pastor Maldonado

McLaren
20 Kevin Magnussen
22 Jenson Button

Force India
11 Sergio Perez
27 Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber
21 Esteban Gutierrez
99 Adrian Sutil

Toro Rosso
25 Jean-Eric Vergne
26 Daniil Kvyat

Williams
19 Felipe Massa
77 Valtteri Bottas

Marussia F1 Team
4 Max Chilton
17 Jules Bianchi

Caterham
9 Marcus Ericsson
10 Kamui Kobayashi

 

[Rado_N]

Race Calendar

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Australia Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit 16 March

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Malaysia Sepang International Circuit 30 March

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Bahrain Bahrain International Circuit 6 April

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China Shanghai International Circuit 20 April

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Spain Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 11 May

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Monaco Circuit de Monaco 25 May

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Canada Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 8 June

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Austria Red Bull Ring 22 June

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Great Britain Silverstone Circuit 6 July

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Germany Hockenheimring 20 July

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Hungary Hungaroring 27 July

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Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 24 August

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Italy Autodromo Nazionale Monza 7 September

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Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit 21 September

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Russia Sochi International Street Circuiti 5 October

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Japan Suzuka Circuit 12 October

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Abu Dhabi Yas Marina Circuit 26 October

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United States Circuit of the Americas 9 November

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Brazil Autódromo José Carlos Pace 30 November

 

[Rado_N]

BIGGER NUMBERS CONSIDERED

As well as considering the use of permanent numbers for drivers, teams have also been asked to consider displaying larger numbers and drivers' names on cars.

FIA president Jean Todt and commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone both believe that the current size of numbers is too small, and action needs to be taken.

However, teams have expressed a reluctance to change because it could encroach on valuable sponsorship space, either on the car itself or on the helmet.

That is why there was a proposal a few years ago for a large engine cover fin that would feature bigger numbers, but this was rejected by teams at the time, and has little support for now.

The matter has been left for further discussions among marketing experts about how best to move forward.

The proposed F1 system is similar to that used in motorcycle racing, where riders stick with numbers for a whole career, such as Valentino Rossi's iconic #46, and can choose whether or not to switch to #1 when champions.

In American motorsport, it is teams rather than drivers that usually run permanent numbers and champions switching to #1 has become a rarity.

 

[Rado_N]

Figured with the new cars and testing only being just over a month off, and the fact that any news coming out now will be related to 2014 we may as well have ourselves a new thread.

 

[Rado_N]

Formula 1 proposes two mandatory pitstops for 2014


Formula 1 drivers will be forced to make two pitstops, as well as face a strict limit on how long they can stay out for, if proposals for new 2014 tyre rules are accepted by teams next month.

AUTOSPORT has learned that detailed tweaks to the regulations, which will have a dramatic impact on strategy and spectacle, have been tabled for discussion at next month's F1 Strategy Group meeting.

The rules, if accepted and then agreed by the F1 Commission and FIA's World Motor Sport Council, will demand that each driver must stop twice during the race to fit new tyres.

Furthermore, drivers will not be allowed to use the 'prime' specification of tyres for more than 50 per cent of the race distance, while the 'option' compound will not be allowed to be used for more than 30 per cent of the race distance.

Should the rule changes be accepted, they will almost certainly reduce the importance of tyre strategy in the races as there will no longer be an incentive to eke out a longer life from the tyres.

Getting rid of the focus on tyres next year is something that Pirelli itself has been eager for, after a 2013 season that was dominated by talk about their products.

As well as delamination issues and the British Grand Prix blow-outs, Pirelli faced criticism from several leading drivers about the nature of the high-degrading tyres.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said earlier this month that his company simply wanted a clear answer from the sport's bosses about what type or product it wanted.

"We want a clear input and it clearly defined, because the characteristic [of criticism] this year is that people have maybe forgotten what we were asked to do," he said.

"That has got lost somewhere in the passage of time, and that is the important thing that we want to make sure is resolved.

"Somebody needs to tell us what they want to do."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111657

 

[Leg-End]

I'd be onboard with the numbers thing, let the drivers choose and display them on the cars so they can be clearly seen. It's small things like that which give MotoGP riders bit of an identity on track.

If we are faced with mandatory pitstops because Pirelli are rubbish then we are already starting off 2014 on a bad foot.

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

22 races seems too much IMO.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

I like the idea of the numbers , I think that could work well. but the pit stop's and how long a car can stay out for for me is wrong.
Teams that more out from their rubber are going to be at a disadvantage.
Teams should be allowed to race they way they want, forcing the cars to come in for 2 pit stops and only allowing the prime to be used for x number of laps, is stopping teams from doing that.
A big part of F1 is allowing the drivers to get what they can out of the rubber, see how close they can get to the cliff before times fall off.

This just smacks of Pirelli moaning to FIA, and them coming up with a stupid idea, I cant see many if any team wanting mandatory pit stops.

 

[Dargonk]

I agree with the numbers, I quite like how the guys have their numbers in motogp and such, makes them so easy to recognise as well. Compare that to F1, where you can barely see numbers at all and you usually have to wait for the commentory or screen display to let you know which red bull/Ferrari you are following at the moment.

Those tyre suggestions sounds annoying. Mandatory number of pit stops and set amount of laps you have to do on certain types of tyres. Makes it sound like the tyres are going to be just as much of a joke as last season, but they are removing the potential strategic options. If they just made tyres that last a decent length and can be pushed I would be happy. I want to see the guys actually at the limit, not driving around at 80% to get the most out of a set of tyres.

 

[gormless]

You could argue Vettel has the number 1 as his permanent number anyway.

As for the tyre issue, I feel a bit bad for Pirelli. They got told to make bad tyres in order to make it more exciting (which it did, just not in the way Bernie was hoping; I was glued to the TV at Silverstone waiting to see whose tyre would explode next) , they've done that, and then everybody threw a shitfit when it turned out that bad tyres resulted in problems. Not their fault in my opinion. Bernie's fault, in hindsight it was almost as bad as his, "let me have a sprinkler system" idea.

 

[Ubik]

Like the numbers thing, would prefer it to be teams like it was pre-96 but I'm guessing there was a reason for changing the system and I doubt they'd go back to that. Speaking of numbers, they're with the wrong teams in the original post, Nick!

You could argue Vettel has the number 1 as his permanent number anyway.

As for the tyre issue, I feel a bit bad for Pirelli. They got told to make bad tyres in order to make it more exciting (which it did, just not in the way Bernie was hoping; I was glued to the TV at Silverstone waiting to see whose tyre would explode next) , they've done that, and then everybody threw a shitfit when it turned out that bad tyres resulted in problems. Not their fault in my opinion. Bernie's fault, in hindsight it was almost as bad as his, "let me have a sprinkler system" idea.

Plus as soon as they made the tyres more durable, Vettel won (nearly?) every race (which I believe Pirelli warned about). I agree that it's not good for drivers to be more concerned with looking after the tyres than going quick, but I also don't like the idea of being able to do a qualifying lap each lap of a race - the better cars will just walk away with it.

Either way, looking forward to next season more than I have for years, the new formula will hopefully shake things up a bit on the team front and the new driver line-up will add a bit more interest there too. Magnussen in the McLaren the big question mark.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Lotus confirm Maldonado for 2014

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...-join-lotus-in-2014-alongside-romain-grosjean

 

[Ronnie O'Sullivan]

Lotus confirm Maldonado for 2014

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...-join-lotus-in-2014-alongside-romain-grosjean

I guess money talks! However Maldonado is still a race winner, let's see if any good comes out of this

 

[pauldyson1uk]

I guess money talks! However Maldonado is still a race winner, let's see if any good comes out of this

I don't rate him, I don't see him has a race winner, Hulkengerg would of been a better choice for me.
This is an even bigger mistake than Perez last season, this has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with money.

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Lotus confirm Maldonado for 2014

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...-join-lotus-in-2014-alongside-romain-grosjean

What an uninspiring signing.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Bahrain F1 Grand Prix to become night race in 2014

The Bahrain Grand Prix will be a night race in 2014.
The Gulf state is trialling a newly-installed light system at this weekend's final round of the World Endurance Championship.

Past Bahrain winners

• 2004 Michael Schumacher - Ferrari
• 2005 Fernando Alonso - Renault
• 2006 Fernando Alonso -Renault
• 2007 Felipe Massa - Ferrari
• 2008 Felipe Massa - Ferrari
• 2009 Jenson Button - Brawn
• 2010 Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
• 2011 Race not held
• 2012 Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
• 2013 Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull

"There can be no better way for us to mark our 10th anniversary in F1," said Bahrain's chief executive, Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al-Khalida.
Bahrain will be F1's second night race - Singapore has been held after dark since its inception in 2008.
Abu Dhabi is a twilight race - starting in late afternoon and ending after nightfall.

 

[Amir]

The Maldonado thing is why F1 can be so annoying at times. Only very few teams don't have to take money into their consideration when they sign drivers. Even Lotus, fourth last season, need to sign a driver based on what income he will bring. Hulkenberg deserves that sort of promotion so much more. Maldonado? I doubt he even deserves to be in F1.

As for Pirelli, I kind of wonder why they are even doing this. Even though many know they can produce good tyres and are only doing what their asked, surely having your name in the headlines for negative reasons time and time again isn't good publicity. But they still decided to stick with F1 for 2014 and I guess they believe it's still good publicity. So I don't see a reason to feel sorry for them.

 

[gormless]

Grosjean and Maldonado on the same team? They're gonna be lucky to have a car make it round the first lap, never mind win a race

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Grosjean and Maldonado on the same team? They're gonna be lucky to have a car make it round the first lap, never mind win a race

I disagree about Grosjean, 2013 season he proved he is a very good driver and put the troubles of 2012 behind him.
He will be fighting for podium places season 2014 and he could even win a couple of races.

 

[Amir]

Grosjean would do very well, given a good enough car. But who knows what car Lotus would produce and what effect their financial trouble would have had on car development.

 

[Leg-End]

Honestly I think Lotus have peaked and will now be on the downturn, they lost their techinical director James Allison mid-season to Ferrari, Kimi unpaid all season and also jumps ship to Ferrari, they need to find a new major sponsorship deal to stay afloat, they sign Maldonado a distinctively average driver with a habbit of chucking it into walls presumably for his money.

All signs point to a team struggling to survive and I fail to see how they can challenge the best on such unequal footing at a time when the sport is rapidly changing tech again.

 

[Count Orduck]

Yeh Lotus are done for. Maldonado doesn't deserve a drive in F1, let alone a decent team. He's not particularly talented and he's a massive cock to boot. He's only got this drive because he brings plenty of Venezualen money with him. F1 is slowly but surely getting taken over by pay drivers, when talented youngsters like Hulkenberg can't get a look in at the top teams because they don't have huge dollar signs backing them.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

I hope Lotus can sort out their money problems, not paying Kimi last season was a low stroke.
The money that Pastor will bring in could be wiped out in repair costs.
I would like to see Grosjean at one of the top teams, I think he would do very well.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Lewis Hamilton says winning both World Championships Mercedes' sole 2014 goal.
Unless Mercedes have developed an outstanding car for next season, this is going to be a tall order.
Lewis is one of the top drivers but has it stands his car is not good enough, while we don't know how the new engine will perform, Mercedes will have to build one hell of a car to beat Red Bull.
Rumours have it that Mercedes are more advanced than any other team with the new engines and who knows how Brawn's departure will affect the team.
Looking forward to the 2014 season, more than any other for a long time.

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/2...h-world-championships-mercedes-sole-2014-goal

 

[Leg-End]

I don't think Brawn's depature does much, Mercedes have so much knowledge and top staff they simply will brute force a race winning car eventually. Fair to say they cut back development quite early this past season too, I think the plan all along was a proper 2014 challenge and they surprised themselves how quick this years car was.

 

[Rado_N]

Speaking of numbers, they're with the wrong teams in the original post, Nick!

I don't know what you're talking about

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

F1 is slowly but surely getting taken over by pay drivers

Slowly but surely? It's been like this for ages. The low budgeted teams have always relied on this mode of income.

 

[Count Orduck]

Slowly but surely? It's been like this for ages. The low budgeted teams have always relied on this mode of income.

Yeh, it was one thing down the bottom of the order, but when teams at the top like Lotus are resorting to pay drivers it's a sad day.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Force India announce that Nico Hulkenberg will race for them in 2014 F1 season.

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...at-nico-hulkenberg-will-race-for-them-in-2014

 

[The Taurean]

Force India announce that Nico Hulkenberg will race for them in 2014 F1 season.

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/1...at-nico-hulkenberg-will-race-for-them-in-2014

Force India will have a great line-up. Hope they match it with their car. Potential to be the fifth best team?

 

[MajorTom]

Di Resta shouldn't lose his seat to Perez. That takes the biscuit really. Not happy with Lotus going with Maldonado either. I like Lotus as a whole and not just their F1 history but don't know if I can "support/follow" them next season as Maldonado is a right clown. Button and Mclaren will probably get my support for next season along with Chilton.

What teams do you think will capitalise from the new engines/aerodynamics? It should really suit the teams that currently prioritise acceleration/cornering speed, such as (unfortunately) Red Bull and Lotus. Mercedes and their high end speed, size of the wing etc. have a lot to alter. I think they could struggle next season.

 

[F-Red]

What teams do you think will capitalise from the new engines/aerodynamics? It should really suit the teams that currently prioritise acceleration/cornering speed, such as (unfortunately) Red Bull and Lotus.

Red Bull and Lotus cornering/corner downforce ability was driven by the exhaust blown diffusers, they're banned in 2014 so i don't think of the new regulations it'll be suited to any one team.

I've got a feeling it'll come down to those who are best on the tyres and how the teams manage their fuel loads

 

[MajorTom]

That's true but they still have the best aero package, the shape of their chassis allow for the most downforce to occur naturally. They already have a low front wing and not a massive rear in terms of width or height. It will be interesting to see how they cope with the exhaust system being built into the main structure of the car and being central to the car. Still, those two teams should be in the ideal position to change with relative ease.

The tyres, as with the past season or two will have an impact, of course. With the high torque and Pirelli's record I wouldn't be surprised to see many punctures early on in the season. Hope it shakes the field up a little and some unpredictable racing happens.

 

[F-Red]

Both front & rear wings have been changed in terms of size & construction for next year so they'll feel some pain in adjusting to it.

 

[MajorTom]

Indeed, they have been made lower (front) and smaller (rear). I'm hoping one of Caterham/Marussia (or if not both) can make a move as they are already playing ball in that park. Money will hit them hard in terms of engine development but they should be teams that can take a lot of data from their current/last seasons car in terms of aerodynamics.

 

[gormless]

Mexico, New Jersey and Korea have officially been dropped. Bit of a shame about New Jersey. Would have been an amazing spectacle I think. Korea not too fussed about, and no idea what the Mexican track was like so can't comment

 

[pauldyson1uk]

A 22 race season was always going to be ambitious, 19 races is about right.
Korea will not be missed, I agree a race round New Jersey would of been a spectacle.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

This is the race calender for next season, shocked that Brazil in not the final race.

The 2014 calendar in full:

16/03 Australia
30/03 Malaysia
06/04 Bahrain
20/04 China
11/05 Spain
25/05 Monaco
08/06 Canada
22/06 Austria
06/07 Great Britain
20/07 Germany
27/07 Hungary
24/08 Belgium
07/09 Italy
21/09 Singapore
05/10 Japan
12/10 Russia
02/11 United States
09/11 Brazil
23/11 Abu Dhabi

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Williams have moved to strengthen their technical team by hiring aerodynamicists from both Red Bull and Lotus.
After enduring one of the worst seasons in their long and illustrious history, the nine-times Constructors' Champions are determined to fight back in 2014 and deputy team boss Claire Williams made clear towards the end of the year that further signings could be expected at Grove to add to Pat Symonds' mid-season arrival.
That rebuilding process has now continued with the signing of aerodynamicists from two of F1's top teams, Dave Wheater from Lotus and Shaun Whitehead from World Champions Red Bull.
Wheater joins as Head of Aerodynamic Performance and will work under the team's existing Head of Aerodynamics Jason Somerville, while Whitehead is appointed Head of Aerodynamic Process.
Symonds, Williams' Chief Technical Officer, believes both men will prove to be major assets in the team's attempts to move back up the grid.
"These two appointments show our commitment to both improving the process of aerodynamic development while focussing on the application of that development to true on-track performance," the Englishman said.

"Dave and Shaun bring a wealth of experience to our team and I welcome them both to Grove and fully expect them to make significant contributions to the renewed competitiveness that we are all working so hard to achieve.​

"With Dave and Shaun on board, and under Jason's stewardship, we will be well positioned to make gains in this important area and support the continuing task of developing the FW36 in what promises to be an exciting year for the sport in 2014."
Somerville added: "I'm very pleased to have secured the first class talents of Dave and Shaun, both of whom have enviable track records within F1. With the exciting challenges ahead for 2014, I am confident they will both add strength and experience to the team here at Grove."
Having finally appeared to have turned the corner via with Pastor Maldaondado's victory at the 2012 Spanish GP after a near decade of indifferent fortunes, Williams slumped back to ninth in the constructors' standings this year having scored just five points all season - the joint-worst return in their history.
But the signing of the highly-regarded Symonds in August to replace ousted technical chief Mike Coughlan heralded the start of the rebuilding process, with the team since hiring the vastly experienced Felipe Massa to lead their on-track efforts in 2014.
Massa's long-time Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has also been rumoured as being on his way to Williams.

 

[gormless]

Sky reporting that there is a chance of Ron Dennis taking over at Mclaren again.