Mercedes and Ferrari are the favorites. Can Mclaren rebound? Will Red Bull rise again? Is this as good as Williams can be?
2016 could be a very interesting year....
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http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns33175.html
QuoteSergio Marchionne remains determined to see Ferrari win its first world championship in nearly a decade.
"We will work tirelessly to bring the championship back to Ferrari," the Maranello marque's president wrote in a letter to shareholders, "investing where necessary.
"The Ferrari racing heritage is not only the key to innovation in our road cars," Marchionne added, "it is critical to the value of our brand."
As the letter was being read, Ferrari's new red and white car was being driven to the top of the timesheets in Barcelona by Kimi Raikkonen, as the pre-season reached its mid-way point.
But that doesn't mean Ferrari's title dream is definitely on track.
"Quite certainly, Mercedes will again be the team to beat," Force India's Nico Hulkenberg said on Thursday as the first of just two four-day tests ended.
Indeed, the car that is stunning onlookers and rivals alike in Spain has been the new silver one.
Not only has the reliability - in Lewis Hamilton's words - been "incredible", the W07 is also truly innovative.
During the week, Mad Max-style bargeboards, and a new nose dubbed 'Bruce' due to its resemblance to the shark in the movie Finding Nemo, have appeared.
And yet, Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are yet to even try Pirelli's new 'ultra soft' tyres.
"My impression is that other teams have already laid their cards on the table," said Rosberg. "We still have our aces up our sleeves, but I am sure that we will be very fast."
No one disagrees.
"Mercedes is still in front," Ferrari insider Leo Turrini wrote on his blog. "If you take Hamilton and Rosberg's times on the medium (tyre) and do a quick calculation for the ultra soft, the situation is clear.
I hope Haas isn't one-and-done.
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on February 27, 2016, 08:14:20 AM
I hope Hass isn't one-and-done.
Agreed. I'd like to see them in the midfield somewhere and think they can pull it off.
We shall see....
Last year it's been less boring than the expected.
I still think there are too many rules that the public can't and won't understand...
About Hass, it will bring more viewers to the show but I won't expect miracles from a newborn team (more or less...)
I misspelled Haas - Just watched this video featuring one of their CNC machines - cool stuff!
https://youtu.be/8KLNJ8d8Vqc
Mercedes will take a lot of beating.
And I'm not expecting McLaren to be back at the top this year, much as I would like to see it...
It's Mercedes, lest they blow it, says my crystal ball.
I watched the race this afternoon on Channel 4 - a UK terrestrial channel. I thought the racing was much closer than usual, and was rather enjoying it, until I realised that the lap counter was going down too quickly, and I was in fact watching a highlights show.
It's Nico's championship to lose. With such a large lead already, even finishing second to Lewis in a few races will not do a lot of harm. It's reinforced my permanent opinion - Lewis is blindingly fast, but Nico's less prone to getting over-excited. Hamilton needs to remember it's not a game on X-box. I sometimes wonder how he's won 3 championships already.
It's all to do with team orders.
They've decided this year is Nico's turn to be World Champ so Lewis has to await his turn again!
Quote from: Carnut on April 17, 2016, 11:32:15 AM
It's all to do with team orders.
They've decided this year is Nico's turn to be World Champ so Lewis has to await his turn again!
;D. The sad thing is, you could be right. I wouldn't be surprised at anything these days - Bernie has it all sorted out behind the scenes.
My sincere congratulations to young Max Verstappen. No point in surmising what would have happened if the Mercedes hadn't crashed, it has no bearing on the matter - the race was there for the taking and he did it.
Jos Verstappen never had a competitive car to drive - he must be so proud of his kid.
Quite a a race!
An F1 race as it should be!
Jos Verstappen was interviewed after the race and he was clearly very emotional, which ios hardly surprising.
Clearly another World Champion elect!
Quote from: Carnut on May 15, 2016, 10:28:07 AM
Clearly another World Champion elect!
Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish GP too, you know ;D
I considered not watching this race as the Spanish GP is usually boring as hell, but I'm glad I changed my mind. Let's ban the Mercedes team for the rest of the season !
Quote from: nicanary on May 15, 2016, 09:47:50 AM
My sincere congratulations to young Max Verstappen. No point in surmising what would have happened if the Mercedes hadn't crashed, it has no bearing on the matter - the race was there for the taking and he did it.
I'm wondering how Kvyat is feeling right now !
Quote from: oko94 on May 15, 2016, 11:02:00 AM
Quote from: nicanary on May 15, 2016, 09:47:50 AM
My sincere congratulations to young Max Verstappen. No point in surmising what would have happened if the Mercedes hadn't crashed, it has no bearing on the matter - the race was there for the taking and he did it.
I'm wondering how Kvyat is feeling right now !
This^
Quote from: oko94 on May 15, 2016, 11:00:41 AM
Quote from: Carnut on May 15, 2016, 10:28:07 AM
Clearly another World Champion elect!
Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish GP too, you know ;D
I know but I can't remember the circumstances exactly.
I wouldn't quite compare it with Verstappen's victory, however - at only 18 and in his first race in a Red Bull.
The guy clearly has an enormous talent and astonishing maturity for an 18 year old.
One thing I would never accuse Maldonado of being was level-headed....!
Interesting to see Bernie's even "sold out" the title of Grand Prix d'Europe. Baku. How the heck is that in Europe?
It's all about the money, it's all about the ker-ching......
I'm watching the Hungarian GP as I type, although whether I watch it to the end is debatable. Not because I'm bored, rather it's because modern F1 isn't my sort of "sport". I'm waiting for the cricket to begin again after lunch.
It's the usual Mercedes procession, and without a doubt there'll be all the usual complaints on other motor sport websites about how boring it's been, and it's not right for one team to dominate, and how can they expect people to watch this........ blah, blah......(although everybody who understands the sport knows that the Hungaroring is a track where it's difficult to overtake, even with DRS).
Call me old-fashioned, but I can't understand their problem. There has, more often than not, been some team or other which has dominated a season. It's nothing new. It's all about having a designer/engineer who's made a better job of interpreting the rules. Which brings me to my point - is F1 a sport or an entertainment?
The modern F1 spectator seems to think that he/she has a right to be entertained. Personally I consider motor sport to be about the teams, entrants and drivers - it's a sport for them to take part in, and if people want to pay to come and watch, that's fine, but why on earth do they think they have some right to dictate what takes place in front of them? There should be absolutely no need for silly interference by Bernie to try and spice things up. Watch the racing, if you don't like it, don't watch.
Oh, I know it's all about TV, and if people don't switch on there'll be no money for the sport. Tough. It's time for a complete rethink IMHO. The cosy little coterie of teams and entrants needs to be broken up. Time for the FIA to take the sport back and begin again. Less showbiz, more pure sport. It won't cost much, about $500bn, chicken feed for the suits in Paris. Maybe we at AP could buy it?