2016 season

Renault is looking a little yellowed out

jadeseal7 said:Renault turned yellow

It’s possible the livery changed—but the RS 16? That definitely didn't...

I hear you. I’m leaning towards it being an issue with the R23—though, honestly, I couldn't say for certain myself.

The Wall Street Journal (Umberto Zapelloni) is calling it—here’s his take on how the 2016 season is going to shake out:
http://topspeed.gazzetta.it/2016/03/...i-per-il-2016/

Champion: It’s gonna be Lewis Hamilton, but Sebastian Vettel is going to be breathing down his neck the whole way.
Race winners: Honestly, unless you're looking at Ferrari or Mercedes, nobody else really stands a chance at taking a win.
Biggest surprise: Definitely AlphaTauri.
Biggest letdown: Not Haas.
Middle of the road disappointment: McLaren

STR might be the surprise of the 2016 season, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves... they’re basically just handing a seat to Pascal Wehrlein at Manor ☕

The rest of it could actually be spot on.

stormybadger8 said:STR might be the surprise of the 2016 season, though perhaps not the biggest one... Manor actually bringing in Pascal Wehrlein specifically☕

The rest of the analysis could very well be accurate.

Why Pascal? I don't see anything particularly special about that guy. He’s fast, sure, but NASCAR is an entirely different beast.

I suspect Haas and McLaren will end up being the two biggest surprises, while if you're looking for winners, keep an eye on Ricciardo. He is just crazy enough, and fast enough, to threaten Mercedes and Ferrari the moment they make even the slightest mistake.

Timothy Castillo6 said:The Wall Street Journal (Umberto Zapelloni) is making these calls for the 2016 season:
http://topspeed.gazzetta.it/2016/03/...i-per-il-2016/

Champion: Lewis Hamilton—though he'll be breathing down Sebastian Vettel's neck the whole way.
Race wins: Aside from Ferrari and Mercedes, finding a third winner will be an uphill battle.
Biggest breakout: Definitely AlphaTauri.
Biggest disappointment: Not Haas.
The "meh" factor: McLaren

Do the Italians just have a soft spot for McLaren?

Personally, I suspect the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari is going to be even wider than what we saw in USA 2015—I'm expecting a Mercedes sweep, with maybe the occasional, shocking win from Red Bull.

So, I'm curious—which kind of driver is actually going to be brave enough to pull off that nose cone design?

mellowtiger83 said:Why Pascal? I don't see anything special about the guy. Sure, he's fast, but NASCAR is a completely different beast.

The only real surprise here will be for the media and the fans...
when they start obsessively hyping up Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button every single race weekend. 😬

So, I guess I really am stuck translating everything from The Wall Street Journal after all? 🤣
And apparently, according to Jolyon Palmer, the word on Rockie is...

So, what's the plan for the USA 2015 race?

steelmaker83 said:So, where's our discussion thread for Australia?

We're all just sitting here waiting on Maminho 😁

Maminho would undoubtedly have launched a thread of unparalleled quality, but if anyone else feels up to the task, perhaps they could start something even remotely resembling his usual standards.

It looks like Ferrari spent the most on development over the winter, while Renault did the least. If Renault actually managed to find 0.5 seconds, that’s pretty impressive considering they aren't expecting much from this first season.

stormybadger8 said:Are you entirely certain about that idea? 😁
Perhaps the real issue lies in the fact that every single team is required to take at least one set of every tire compound available 🤔
Is it possible that this is simply the strategy at play, where everyone picks up that specific set even if they have absolutely no intention of actually using them?

Goodyear sets the standard for one set, while the rest of the teams decide for themselves...

I noticed an Aston Martin sticker on the RB car.
http://prntscr.com/aggjds
It makes me wonder if we're looking at a much deeper partnership down the road.
Between those rumors coming out of the FIA about potential collaborations and Williams integrating battery tech into their electric Aston Martin road cars,
it looks like they've ultimately set their sights on RB
as their primary partner. Whether it’s just a standard sponsorship or something far more significant, I suppose we'll find out eventually.

Here is another bit of good news, fingers crossed!
Williams "should be fully up to speed" by the time we hit Bahrain.

I was just watching the predictions over on Sky, and when they posed the question about who’s going to walk away with more points—Jenson or Alonso—everyone jumped straight to Jenson. It seems like the consensus is pretty much that since Fernando is moving on from McLaren, the edge goes to him... well, it's clearly not just talk here on the forums, either!

Tyler Bennett5 said:I noticed a Ford sticker on the Red Bull car.
http://prntscr.com/aggjds
It’s hard to say for sure, but maybe we're looking at a much deeper partnership down the road.
Between those rumors flying around the FIA regarding potential collaborations—and then seeing Williams working on battery tech
for that electric Ford hypercar—it really looks like they've settled on Red Bull
as their main partner. Whether it’s just a standard sponsorship or something far more significant, I suppose we'll find out eventually.

http://www.topgear.com/car-news/supe...build-hypercar

And there you have it—that explains everything.

jadeseal7 said:http://www.topgear.com/car-news/supe...build-hypercar

And that’s exactly my point.

At this rate, Aston Martin will probably run through every single F1 team on the grid within two years.
https://www.astonmartin.com/en/media...ng-state-visit
It seems like their RapidE phase is turning them into a version of Williams.
They'll probably end up teaming up with Mercedes to build an SUV, then partner with McLaren to make a bicycle.
Maybe they'll tackle a tiny city car with Renault, and I'm sure they'll find something to do with Ferrari too.