Yeah, it does pull air in, but if you give it a little boost from the speed of the NASCAR cars, the spooling becomes a lot smoother and faster. For cooling the intercooler, they actually use side intakes on one side. 😉
It’s actually a lot simpler when you look at how that fresh air flows; the way that pressure builds up from an opening really depends on both its size and how fast you're moving, so you don't always get a meaningful boost in pressure. It obviously plays a huge role in the aerodynamics and drag, and nowadays, teams tend to split those openings up so part acts as an intake while the other part handles cooling for specific components, much like what you see with some of the top teams. Everyone is also trying to minimize any messy turbulence trailing behind the car by keeping the sidepods as narrow and low as possible, hoping to funnel as much airflow as they can directly toward the rear wing and the diffuser. I also recall seeing in the NASCAR technical regulations that the intake has to be positioned higher up, and since there's a certain height requirement for safety during spins, designers just find clever ways to make that space work for them.
I'm pretty sure they caught the speed trap while he was using DRS... but from what I could see, Vettel managed to pick up about 10-9.3 miles/h more on the straight thanks to it, though his top speed didn't really seem to peak until they were pushing past 200-137 miles/h
I don't know, I just can't get behind this size paired with those wheel designs; they almost look like someone took them off an old-fashioned carriage or something 😁
😕 😕 Something feels a bit off here, because even though this is this year's car, there was all that talk about testing being done on the 2012 chassis.
Honestly, if they had just tweaked the wheels slightly, it would have been perfect, but these balloon-looking ones just don't look right at all
graniteharbor502 said:That was my first thought too, mostly because I honestly can't remember a time when Alonso fought off challenges quite that desperately after Monaco 2005. That whole intense duel between him and Schumacher really felt like the beginning of the end for Schumacher—which, looking back, makes sense since he didn't grab another title after 2004. ...
Ferrari had such a great race pace, but they just completely blew it during qualifying. It’s a real shame about Kimi going off track, because if he’d stayed out there, his race would have shown us just how much speed that Ferrari actually had. ...
I'm totally with you on that. They were fighting tooth and nail, but the fact that there wasn't a single collision really shows just how skilled both of those champions are.
I agree with every single word you said... honestly, if the FIA hadn't been listening to those low-pitched engine noises, and if they hadn't broadcasted it, we would have seen an absolute 10/10 legendary battle.
Anyway, does anyone happen to have any photos from the testing sessions? Like, what does the Ferrari solution for the sound actually look like? Or how are those 18-inch rims looking on the car?😍
darkmarlin16 said:Why did they let Rosberg off the hook when he clearly cut the chicane by flooring it instead of following the track?
I honestly feel like the pit wall reacted based on the fact that they weren't teammates, because if they were, I think the call would have been totally different, though even then any penalty seemed a bit much since Hamilton wasn't even right next to him and it turned out later that they both were actually struggling with vision issues.
stormybadger8 said:The only reason you’re claiming Ricci was bossing Vettel around is because Vettel had a slower pit stop compared to Ricci, plus the fact that they basically screwed him over with that early pit call—trying to cover Bottas and then leaving him stuck right behind a slow Hulkenberg.
I just realized this and it finally clicked for me, but I honestly don't understand what they're thinking over at Red Bull Racing, or even at Ferrari, when they decide to go out of their way to cover for someone in a Toro Rosso. Their cars were clearly faster, especially during qualifying, so it feels like such a waste when they dodge one driver only to get stuck behind another in those exact same situations, instead of just running their own race and trying to grab a few fast laps once they actually have an opening, rather than getting trapped behind drivers they have absolutely no chance of overtaking.
Honestly, Sergio Perez really did Nico Rosberg a massive favor there; if it weren't for him, both Red Bull Racing cars and Felipe Massa would have cruised right past him within just a few laps, though he was smart enough to nurse the car home to the finish. Part of me is glad to see it, though, because I'm really hoping someone eventually knocks Lewis Hamilton down a peg, since the moment their technical issues started, they should have stopped fighting each other and focused entirely on getting those cars to the line... I suppose if they didn't have such a huge lead in the championships, they would've been called out for it, but since they're so far ahead, they basically got away with it. It’s just frustrating to see them run into those kinds of struggles in a race they should have won easily.
Can we expect the same kind of thing to happen at Indianapolis?
I personally wish they'd give drivers back control over the MGU-K so they could actually show some skill again—I mean, remember how some drivers used to gain time or pull off overtakes just by being smarter with how they managed the Kinetic Energy Recovery System? It would be cool if they could just decide how much energy goes to the MGU-H for turbo acceleration versus what goes into the MGU-K, and then choose exactly when to hit the button to deploy it.
Huge props to Ricciardo, that win was well-deserved and felt like the perfect comeback after everything that happened in Australia. I honestly thought Nico Rosberg would drop at least five or six spots in the standings, but it looks like he managed to nurse the car just enough, especially since he was over two seconds slower once those issues started cropping up. I was also hoping Felipe Massa might fight his way back up to second or third, but he just couldn't quite capitalize on the advantage he had.
Watching Sergio Perez hunt him down really highlighted how much engines matter; you could see Rosberg struggling with 160 less horsepower and having to be so careful with his brakes, all while driving a car that isn't exactly top-tier—Red Bull Racing is realistically ahead in almost every department, but that engine deficit is killer. He’s driving well, but even though he can't pass the Red Bull Racing car which stays close in lap times, he's fighting against a Mercedes-AMG setup that feels a bit limited. I'd honestly bet that the Renault is nearly 100hp weaker than the Mercedes-AMG, and even Ferrari doesn't seem much closer to closing that gap.
Ferrari was a massive disappointment today; it seems like they were the only ones who went into Free Practice 1 running at full power. Sure, that gave the Mercedes-AMG teams an edge, but they actually put in a ton of work on refinements, and they were faster than Williams Racing and especially Formula 1 leaders... yet here we are facing a total disaster.
It looks like Lewis Hamilton and Nicole had a bit of a falling out....😁
The crash was definitely on Perez; he didn't have anything to work with and just went for it blindly, clearly lacking the experience there, and Massa probably should have taken a wider line to avoid the mess.
I can't help but wonder what Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen's actual lap times would have looked like if they had just managed things a bit better earlier on.
Looking at the pace, from what I could gather, everyone seemed faster during FP1, so it’s pretty obvious they cranked up the downforce for FP2, which explains why everyone was about 5-6.2 milesmph slower while still pulling faster lap times. It might have been due to some braking issues too, since it felt like almost everyone was overshooting at least one chicane yesterday.
Kimi's spin was clearly a result of pushing way too hard; it looks like he was right on the absolute edge of control there. Honestly, I don't quite get why they're struggling so much with traction in that Ferrari, because nobody else seems to be having nearly as much trouble with wheelspin, and I highly doubt that's what they're looking for in a driver. It feels like no one has figured out how to tune that engine to provide a bit of "artificial" traction control to help smooth out those exits from the corners.
ruggedhawk20 said:Christian Harris11, having those images around might make it a little easier for those of us just scrolling on our phones to follow along.
😱 Sebastian Vettel: ICE - 4 units Turbo - 4 units MGU-K - 3 units MGU-H - 3 units ES (batteries) - 2 units CE (electronics) - 5 units
We aren't even halfway through the season yet, and he's already starting from the pit lane because of penalties. 🙂
It doesn't necessarily have to be that way... these parts are used, but they haven't all failed, and sometimes teams just take a massive risk with them, though I suppose some will eventually be forced to pick up new components.
vividlynx68 said:This looks like it's being distributed team by team...
I actually noticed that too... the soft tires:
and the super softs: There were a few other small changes in there, but the main thing is seeing how Sebastian Vettel managed to push himself into third place.
It's pretty clear that engine power is playing a huge role here, with Mercedes-Benz being the strongest, followed by Ferrari, then Red Bull Racing somewhere in there, and then the rest of the Mercedes-Benz teams.
It’s pretty interesting to watch... it looks like they managed to tweak something at Ferrari, and while I doubt they can actually maintain this pace for long, it seems like (at least for Fernando Alonso) they might finally be able to pose a bit of a threat.
From what I can gather, the front wing looks slightly different; they seem to have refined the area just above the exhaust and went back to using two vertical reinforcements. Meanwhile, looking at Mercedes, it seems like one car moved from two down to just one, Red Bull is running a single reinforcement, and Williams doesn't seem to have any at all (??)
Does anyone have any inside scoop on what the other teams are working on? I’m really wondering where Ferrari got stuck with that nose design—it feels like they missed the mark compared to how sleek the Mercedes-Benz setup looks. They needed to get it right before heading to Spain and then Monaco...
So, what do you guys think about Massa being arguably the most fuel-efficient driver out there? It’s actually kind of surprising to see Lewis Hamilton being so conservative with his usage, especially since he usually has such an aggressive driving style when it comes to pushing the car and wearing down his tires, yet he’s consistently more efficient than Nico Rosberg. Everyone was pretty much in the same ballpark during this race, though the efficiency rankings haven't really shifted from where they started—Mercedes-AMG is leading the pack, with Ferrari and Renault trailing slightly behind, though Ferrari seems to have a tiny edge. I also can't help but notice that the Renault team still seems to be struggling quite a bit with top speed on the straights. I'm genuinely curious to see how both fuel consumption and straight-line speed play out in Canada, since those differences are going to be so much more obvious there.
What do you all think about all those DNFs in this race? It felt like way too many people dropping out today. I honestly wasn't expecting such a high number of retirements, let alone so many engine failures—if I remember correctly, two Renaults and one Mercedes blew up, on top of everything else... and we're only a third of the way through the season, so the hottest and most punishing races for these engines are still ahead of us.
Look, it just makes sense if you think about it. The concept isn't a failure at all—it actually works, and they've built the car around it, so the only logical move now is to follow Mercedes-Benz's lead and push it to the absolute limit... I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the top-tier teams decide to follow suit pretty soon.
And honestly, even looking at this photo, it seems like they finally smoothed out those awkward bumps, which should make the front end look a lot cleaner.
Tyler Bennett5 said:Doesn't the hybrid system provide up to 120KW of power for everyone? That’s about 160 horsepower. It's probably just the Mercedes Hybrid system hitting that full 120KW mark while everyone else is pulling a bit less.
My bad, I think I had my wires crossed when I was typing... I was actually thinking about horses and accidentally wrote kW instead.
As for all this talk about fuel, I honestly think it's mostly just noise, especially since they regulated those specs early on, and I doubt there's enough chemical wizardry involved to squeeze out a full 0.3 seconds per lap—not to mention the power boost, which is strictly controlled by the rules.
I honestly feel like if we try to follow the path Mercedes is taking, we might just end up flying right off the track instead.
When it comes to the power unit, it seems like both General Motors and Ford probably have their hands full trying to actually tap into that full 160kW of power, especially since everyone keeps mentioning they're currently stuck hovering around the 120kW mark.
