The 2018 Season

[Penfold]

Seems we are on for a wet qualifying so hopefully a few guys out of position come Sunday.  Just a shame that DRS tends to allow anyone in a top car to rapidly progress through the field... ooh, a 20 mph overspeed courtesy of pressing this little button, I wonder if that will be exciting to watch.

[Chrill]

In a wet FP3, Sauber rocked a 1-2 finish with Leclerc ahed of Ericsson by the usual 4-5 tenths. I'm told they have set their car up toward a rainy qualifying so as a Swede I'm hoping for that.

Could get real messy, any of the 20 could spin out which means the other 19 need to abandon the laps.

[Chrill]

Is Force India going into administration after the Hungarian Grand Prix?

Learn German:
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/force-indias-schicksal-bestimmt-fahrermarkt-renault-mit-option-auf-ocon/

To sum it up:
* Suspending payments starting this week
* Going into administration over the summer break
* Lawrence Stroll will buy the assets and move Lance Stroll there for 2019
* Esteban Ocon will replace Carlos Sainz at Renault for 2019

Could result in:
* Sainz to McLaren
* Alonso to leave F1
* Vandoorne to Williams
* Perez to Haas

Also mentioned in the article:
* Fiat/Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne's health has delayed a Leclerc-Raikkonen decision. Raikkonen may stay on for 2019

With Force India falling into administration, it is possible drivers may begin swapping teams mid-season. Let us keep our eyes open.

AMuS (the newspaper) is a very reliable source of motorsport news. They revelead Sauber's purchase to Strongbow and later to Alfa Romeo, they also first revealed Lewis leaving McLaren for Mercedes and Schumacher retiring from F1 at the end of 2012.

[Chrill]

Is Force India going into administration after the Hungarian Grand Prix?

Learn German:
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/force-indias-schicksal-bestimmt-fahrermarkt-renault-mit-option-auf-ocon/

To sum it up:
* Suspending payments starting this week
* Going into administration over the summer break
* Lawrence Stroll will buy the assets and move Lance Stroll there for 2019
* Esteban Ocon will replace Carlos Sainz at Renault for 2019

Could result in:
* Sainz to McLaren
* Alonso to leave F1
* Vandoorne to Williams
* Perez to Haas

Also mentioned in the article:
* Fiat/Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne's health has delayed a Leclerc-Raikkonen decision. Raikkonen may stay on for 2019

With Force India falling into administration, it is possible drivers may begin swapping teams mid-season. Let us keep our eyes open.

AMuS (the newspaper) is a very reliable source of motorsport news. They revelead Sauber's purchase to Strongbow and later to Alfa Romeo, they also first revealed Lewis leaving McLaren for Mercedes and Schumacher retiring from F1 at the end of 2012.

https://thesportsrush.com/lawrence-stroll-has-bought-force-india/
Some rather unreliable and unkown news site reports that Lawrence Stroll has already bought Force India outright.

[Penfold]

I guess technically Stroll would no longer be a 'pay driver'.  Not sure what would be an appropriate moniker....

Still, if true at least the Force India boys & girls would gain some long-term job security - though perhaps not for the management.


If Stroll heads to Force India, Ocon to Renault, and Perez to Haas... who fills the seat next to Lance?  The ejected Haas driver?  What level of talent would Stroll Sr. want to see destroying his lad on a weekly/fortnightly basis?

[Matt]

There was a rumor a couple of weeks ago that they wanted Kubica to go with them to Force India.

[Penfold]

Ahh, so they want someone to help Stroll with his driving.  Guess that's fair enough, and a great result for Kubica if it comes off.


Renault to hand Artem Markelov first taste of F1 in next week's Hungaroring test: https://www.racefans.net/2018/07/24/renault-hands-f1-test-debut-markelov/

[Chrill]

I guess technically Stroll would no longer be a 'pay driver'.  Not sure what would be an appropriate moniker....

This is Ericsson levels of pay driving. Sauber was rescued by his sponsors before being sold to Alfa Romeo and Fiat. Is daddy Stroll looking to do something similar, or is he genuinely buying an F1 team for his own kid? I mean, I once got a moped from my parents but that's nothing compared to an entire F1 team.

[Penfold]

An all-new power unit for Bottas means penalties galore and shunts him right to the back of Sunday's grid.

Hulkenberg also to start from the back - or one from the back, not sure whether he or Bottas will earn the biggest grid drop.

[Penfold]

So, Hulkenberg starting from the back didn't work out too well....

Race in general ruined (yet again) by the all powerful DRS, expect more of the same at Monza which is to have its DRS zones lengthened. 

[Chrill]

Monza which is to have its DRS zones lengthened.

To be fair, with the extremely slim wings used at Monza DRS loses efficiency. Then again, they don't need DRS at all at that track.

[Penfold]

I don't know how much slimmer the wings will be at Monza, but in Spa the top speed achieved at the 'Intermediate 1' trap (that's along the Kemmel straight) was Bottas's 345 km/h (Ricciardo managed 342 km/h); Vettel, who didn't activate DRS down the Kemmel, was the slowest of the lot with a best of just 320.6 km/h.  So that's a fairly huge margin and clearly Red Bull gained tremendous speed despite running a sliver of a rear wing.

[Chrill]

More related to slipstream than DRS, I'm sure. The slipsteam effect is insane with these cars.

[Penfold]

I'm not so sure, I mean I remember how potent the slipstream effect was back in the day (i.e. before cars were made narrower in '98) but I don't believe it compared to DRS.  Not only is the overspeed greater than from pure slipstreaming, but the speed holds at this high level (or even builds further) after they've pulled out into clean air, makes the overtake all too easy.  Vettel on Hammy on lap one: no DRS (obviously) and he jumps him courtesy of a slipstream (and a fast car!), but he is only just ahead of the Merc as they enter Les Combes because once Seb's car has to push itself through clean air Hammy is able to pull back up to the Ferrari - compare that with any of the DRS passes where the attacker just keeps pulling away right to the braking zone.  Actually, the best illustration of how dire DRS was at Spa, was Ericsson making a move on Hartley into La Source only for Brendon (on old tyres and in a car with lower top speeds throughout qualifying) to fly back past him down Kemmel, I found that absolutely laughable.

[Chrill]

Fair enough in regards to Hartley v Ericsson, that's a valid point.

I'd like to see F1 trial solutions like banning DRS for an entire race. Monza would be the place to try it. Or, for that matter, allow it for all cars always. That would negate the disadvantage of being at the front.