The OFFICIAL 2013 Formula 1 thread!

[Cynical 1]

A team is a team, and the driver is but one of the larger cogs in the machine.

.

agreed. just look at schumi and mercedes amg... makes you wonder if it was the car or the driver all those years with ferrari...

[E-Thirty]

... Hamilton is going to make Nico look like the overrated driver he is...

I'm hoping for the opposite lol

[TDE30]

Hamilton is going to make Nico look like the overrated driver he is.

Agreed. I've never had any reason to dislike Rosberg (consistent, stays out of controversy, etc.) but I'm 100% sure Mercedes can find a more capable, more exciting driver for that seat. It'd be a great stepping stone for a driver from a backmarker team (Force India, STR, Sauber) to eventually graduate to.

2013 is shaping up to be another exciting season, I don't see RBR walking away with it (Vettel fan speaking here BTW,) nor do I see McMerc or Ferrari doing that either. Sounds like Button's been shining at Jerez, but it also sounds like the recently crowned ROC champ, Grosjean, has been as well. As much as I dislike him (French) I think he'll be one to watch in 2013.

[Jand3rson]

2013 is shaping up to be another exciting season, I don't see RBR walking away with it (Vettel fan speaking here BTW,) nor do I see McMerc or Ferrari doing that either.

Very much agree. As much as I want them to, I hope it doesn't become another 2011 season, where RBR just ran away with it the whole year. That's why I stopped watching the WRC, because Sebastian Loeb (must be the name) was winning EVERY SINGLE STAGE. It gets to be boring when one guy gets out front, even if it's your guy, and just cleans up every race. I LOVED the 2012 season, I hope we get another one like that.

[TDE30]

[R3Z3N]

^Bummed that DRS will not be free use during qualifying like it was last year.

[bmw325csi]

I'm hoping Lotus can make big strides this year! Go Kimi!!

Me too!

[GillesBigCowboy]

So are most of the races going to be tape-delayed on tv?

[Hick]

So are most of the races going to be tape-delayed on tv?

I will choke a bitch if we are forced to watch tape delayed or edited races.

[Pinepig]

So are most of the races going to be tape-delayed on tv?

Not that I saw when I looked at the schedule online. Looked like most were live and shown on the NBCSP channel.

ETA, found that page again for you guys,

http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nascar/schedule.asp?series=FORM1

[Jand3rson]

^Bummed that DRS will not be free use during qualifying like it was last year.

Why? Being able to use it at will during qualifying was the dumbest thing ever.

What's the point of qualifying if the methods you're using to set the fastest time aren't also allowed during the race? I think we're going to see vastly different qualifying positions than what we've seen before.

[R3Z3N]

Why? Because it lets the driver's and car's ability to shine/dissapoint even moreso, shows the confidence or lackthereof when and where they use DRS if not restricted during quali. Quali should be about setting the fastest single lap that the car can attain with all of its abilities, and free use of it during quali allows this. Just my opinion.

[tg318is]

Why? Being able to use it at will during qualifying was the dumbest thing ever.

What's the point of qualifying if the methods you're using to set the fastest time aren't also allowed during the race? I think we're going to see vastly different qualifying positions than what we've seen before.

What are your thoughts on the qualifying spec/ race spec era of the 80s? (Qualifying spec had 1500HP while race spec had 900HP IIRC)

I agree with R3Z3N. It reveals a car's weakness or strength better than any race could (by enabling DRS at any point on the track) It is a very good way to tell if a driver in a poor car is good or not, or how confident they are with their machine. I think the teams liked it as well- it gave them more opportunity to develop the "double DRS" and extra data to improve for the next year.

[pandaboo911]

What are your thoughts on the qualifying spec/ race spec era of the 80s? (Qualifying spec had 1500HP while race spec had 900HP IIRC)

they ran at 900 during race so the fuel would last more than a few laps, they had to run the cars extremely rich at those high boost levels (60+ psi) to achieve 1500hp

[Pinepig]

they ran at 900 during race so the fuel would last more than a few laps, they had to run the cars extremely rich at those high boost levels (60+ psi) to achieve 1500hp

The motors wouldn't make race distance at 1500hp, gas mileage or not. They were melting them down after just a few laps. Yep, they built motors that were designed to survive a handful of laps and then they were garbage.