I don't know what you guys think but I can see plenty of scope for Sundays F1 GP at Baku turning into a complete cluster f**k!
There are a few turns/corners that seem to consistently catch drivers out, they just don't seem to flow particularly well and offer very little leeway (if any) for error or unavoidable bunching up. I don't think that the turns/corners in question are dangerous (in as much as high speed impact etc.) but if the virtual safety car is called every time a driver overcooks it and aborts into the run off area then I fear the Baku GP is going to prove to be a bit of a let down.
Not to mention bits of curb flapping about and drain covers flying all over the place. Granted it's a new venue for F1 but shit like that should not be coming loose.
The GP2 race that has already taken place at the circuit was chaotic with only half the grid completing the race.
Baku circuit
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jap.slapper
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Re: Baku circuit
I was watching the practise sessions yesterday and thought. That's not going to work, with no where to recover cars to very few cranes and some tarmac'd over coble streets. Not the circuit to start mid field at that's for sure.
I also liked what Hamilton had to say about the direction of F1. He pointed out that in the last 2 seasons the cars have got 110kg heavier and faster but the brakes are till the same, as they can't currently make better brakes and next year the cars are going to get heavier still. Food for thought.
I also liked what Hamilton had to say about the direction of F1. He pointed out that in the last 2 seasons the cars have got 110kg heavier and faster but the brakes are till the same, as they can't currently make better brakes and next year the cars are going to get heavier still. Food for thought.
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jap.slapper
- Posts: 985
- Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:55 pm
- Location: On top of my Welsh mountain
Re: Baku circuit
Well Sunday's race was less eventful than I expected, no doubt lessons learnt from the GP2 calamity.
A very strange thing seems to have happened though...I have started to warm to Vettel?!?! How the f**k has that happened?
I think the seagulls incident last time round showed that he's not such a wooden tit after all.
There is obviously a smidge of controversy over the engineers and drivers not being able to discuss settings on the car as it's currently against the rules. Personally I feel that this is a restriction too far.
I agree that the pit wall shouldn't be able to tell the driver how to drive the car (in as much as 'brake later at turn 3 and coast for two more turns before opening DRS etc.' however if there is a problem with the car that the driver can rectify from the cockpit then I think it should be possible for the driver and his engineer to at least bat options off one another in order to get the car back to 100% competitiveness again.
If nothing else there is an underlying safety issue. Similar to a regular driver using a mobile phone at the wheel.
A F1 driver has so much going on just keeping the car out of the walls and avoiding other cars on track that any further distraction (such as looking down and fiddling with the switches and settings whilst trying to think about the multitude of mode configurations) are just too dangerous in my opinion.
Ultimately it's only a matter of time before a driver go's off as a result or slows down to sort his shit out resulting in his inhibiting a driver coming up behind. Neither of which are good.
A compromise of 'Yes' and 'No' answers from the engineer would go someway to preventing the Hamilton/Raikkonen mode shambles of yesterday but at the end of the day it's all about each team competing throughout the race at their maximum potential and a drivers engineer not being able to tell his driver that a particular switch position needs to be changed is just a bit daft (and potentially dangerous).
A very strange thing seems to have happened though...I have started to warm to Vettel?!?! How the f**k has that happened?
I think the seagulls incident last time round showed that he's not such a wooden tit after all.
There is obviously a smidge of controversy over the engineers and drivers not being able to discuss settings on the car as it's currently against the rules. Personally I feel that this is a restriction too far.
I agree that the pit wall shouldn't be able to tell the driver how to drive the car (in as much as 'brake later at turn 3 and coast for two more turns before opening DRS etc.' however if there is a problem with the car that the driver can rectify from the cockpit then I think it should be possible for the driver and his engineer to at least bat options off one another in order to get the car back to 100% competitiveness again.
If nothing else there is an underlying safety issue. Similar to a regular driver using a mobile phone at the wheel.
A F1 driver has so much going on just keeping the car out of the walls and avoiding other cars on track that any further distraction (such as looking down and fiddling with the switches and settings whilst trying to think about the multitude of mode configurations) are just too dangerous in my opinion.
Ultimately it's only a matter of time before a driver go's off as a result or slows down to sort his shit out resulting in his inhibiting a driver coming up behind. Neither of which are good.
A compromise of 'Yes' and 'No' answers from the engineer would go someway to preventing the Hamilton/Raikkonen mode shambles of yesterday but at the end of the day it's all about each team competing throughout the race at their maximum potential and a drivers engineer not being able to tell his driver that a particular switch position needs to be changed is just a bit daft (and potentially dangerous).