Formula 1

[PJayBr]

Originally Posted by henryf

Apparently, the new owners are seeking to change the way money is allocated to the teams - too late for Manor, unfortunately. It has always struck me as slightly iniquitous that the teams who are the wealthiest in their own right have always taken by far the largest portion of the money distributed by Formula 1. I wonder what will happen regarding Ferrari's "Special Deal" whereby they receive more than the share their points actually earn them.

Current deals with the teams apparently run until 2020, so nothing can be done about spreading the wealth until then without a big legal hassle or the other teams being prepared to take a cut.

[Hikarufan]

The Mclaren this year looks horrible! I was going to say kill it with fire but I hope at some point it burn's itself out of shame.

It's not looking good for them as Honda have already said the power output will equal to last years Merc. So a year behind already. Just as well they painted it like a tail end team.

I am a Mclaren fan from Prost/Senna days and it all seems to be going to shit for them. I think they needed Ron still at the team, even though he is very difficult, sometimes it needs that big personality to drag it along the road to recovery.

[flake56]

it is different this time. but did you notice the Ferrari side pods compared to the others? wow wonder how those work out. other wise not much difference between them all. hope they do go faster than last year.

[pharoahegypt]

Originally Posted by Hikarufan

The Mclaren this year looks horrible! I was going to say kill it with fire but I hope at some point it burn's itself out of shame.

I am a Mclaren fan from Prost/Senna days and it all seems to be going to shit for them. I think they needed Ron still at the team, even though he is very difficult, sometimes it needs that big personality to drag it along the road to recovery.

Are you stark raving mad..? That orange paintwork looks much better than the dull matt grey of more recent times. Also harking back to their heritage, where Bruce McLaren himself adopted the colour after struggling to pass back markers in his then black car, black being the colour of his homeland, New Zealand.
For the record, back then they all raced in their countries selected colour not team liveries. Hence Britain = Green, France = Blue, Italy = Red. etc.

As for needing a big personality to lead the team; well in terms of a driver there are few more experienced or determined drivers than Fernando...?

[Hikarufan]

But a driver can only do so much with the tools he has. Behind the scenes is really important.

As for Mclaren orange, they can do it better. The test cars they use to run in orange in the late 1990's/2000's looked great!

[Motorboater]

Originally Posted by Hikarufan

I am a Mclaren fan from Prost/Senna days and it all seems to be going to shit for them. I think they needed Ron still at the team, even though he is very difficult, sometimes it needs that big personality to drag it along the road to recovery.

Ron is passed it as a leader in the F1 community. When he started out, F1 was no frills, there scope to be creative as a business. He made the most of that.

But now, everything's done. There's nothing left to do.

Originally Posted by pharoahegypt

Are you stark raving mad..? That orange paintwork looks much better than the dull matt grey of more recent times. Also harking back to their heritage, where Bruce McLaren himself adopted the colour after struggling to pass back markers in his then black car, black being the colour of his homeland, New Zealand.
d:

Outstanding knowledge you don't get on the specialist racing forums.

[Adam West]

Originally Posted by BCFC_1982

Ferrari fan by any chance?

Think the bulls have got more chance. Testing starts Friday

Ferrari ran well in Spain, but they did the past two years and haven't really done much to beat the Mercedes.

[stockingclad]

It now appears that McLaren are talking to Mercedes about engine supplies???
Although Ferrari showed speed during practice, I fear Merc will dominate 2017 as they did last season. I also think Bottas will be no threat to Lewis.
Will Alonso continue to drive a very slow car at the back of the grid? The vast salary is some compensation, but he would rather be racing for wins and another title.
All should be revealed in Australia.

[Roger Allott]

I think this season we'll have 6 cars on the grid capable of winning at least 1 GP.

Bottas is a better driver than Rosberg IMHO, so Hamilton won't get his way as easily as he's had it in the past. He's also wonderfully calm, so won't let Hamilton eat into him with silly mind games. If he shows that he belongs in a top team, I expect Hamilton to fall into one of his classic sulks.

Ferrari seem to have produced a competitive car for the first time since the Bridgestone years. It'll be ironic if it has come largely from the efforts of Merc's new Technical Director - James Allison - who they sacked last summer!

Seb Vettel will be a happy bunny for the first time since the hybrids came into F1, and I think the new rules could reinvigorate Kimi into pushing like he used to.

And then there's Red Bull. The new regulations feature much more aero downforce options, so this ought to play to their Newey-based strengths. But to what extent is Newey devoting himself to F1 instead of Ben Ainslie's Americas Cup challenge?

I expect Iggle-Maxie and Happy-Dan to be right up for a fight, even if only between the two of them.

As for the rest, WTF are McLaren doing???? They've gone from bad to worse to backwards. How is it that Honda, with race engine DNA in their soul, can produce something so hopelessly underpowered AND unreliable with a humongous budget?

Finally, we've got Force India going bright pink. Not for breast cancer (as Glenn McGrath and other Aussie cricketers did), but for sponsorship dollars.

.

[philll_77]

If McLaren went to Merc for engines it could cost them something like $100m per year!
Article by Andrew Benson on BBC F1 team:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39290908