The Official 2014 Formula 1 thread.

[GillesBigCowboy]

Great racing, and though I was initially pretty upset about the engine sounds, I think it might be better... For live spectators, they probably don't need earplugs because the sound is no longer drilling through your drums into your brain.
At one point in the race Mercedes had 1st-6th places!
Bottas or Hulk should get a win sometime when the two Mercs finally take each other out.

[Jon325i]

The safety car made the race not the new regs imho.

Totally agree with this. Whenever the safety car comes out, it essentially 'resets' the pack. The race leader had a comfortable margin until this happened.

It was entertaining though watching teammates battle each other.

Definitely. The best team order came from Red Bull "Seb....Ricciarrdo is faster than you, please let him by" That's a comment none of us were expecting. The battle at Williams was great too. Massa is determined to be the #1 in this squad.

Right now Newey is saying I told you asshats the cars will submarine with lower noses. Maldonado hit the lowest part of the car and scooped it. Imagine hitting the gear box, someone's head is gonna get taken off.

That really was a scary moment, and I agree the nose designs teams are using can have a 'scoop' effect in the right situation such as this one. Makes you wonder if the FIA might step in and order an immediate change, or wait until the off season to amend the rules in the name of safety.


Jon

[naplesE30]

The safety car made the race not the new regs imho. It was entertaining though watching teammates battle each other. Right now Newey is saying I told you asshats the cars will submarine with lower noses. Maldonado hit the lowest part of the car and scooped it. Imagine hitting the gear box, someone's head is gonna get taken off.

[spdracrm3]

hmmmm

just saw this on a another post ,hope it doesnt turn in to a one horse (four teams) race because of nobody being able to update their engines to compete with Mercedes

But while Mercedes' rivals are aware of the championship leaders' secret, they are essentially powerless to react. The engines for 2014 are now in lock-down, with February 28 marking the agreed homologation date by which all the teams had to register their design for the new season with the governing body, the FIA.

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12472/9243875/revealed-how-mercedes-packaging-of-their-turbo-engine-has-given-them-the-edge

[M-technik-3]

Rule changes have brought real racing back to F1 vs fuel stop race series. That flip was crazy!

[spdracrm3]

thats more like it

well even though i dont much care for the sounds of the cars that race in Bahrain will definately make me watch F1 again, seems the new season rules/changes have stirred things up and made it much more interesting to watch! great wheel to wheel racing with the closest finish of the season

[Eric]

I wonder what would happen if they were on the same team!


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[GillesBigCowboy]

First part of season seems like yet another predictable Brawn vs. Newey (yawn). Williams, Ferrari, and others need to find some magic.

[naplesE30]

Red bull still have the best chassis and Mercedes knows it. It's really up to Renault whether or not RB win the championship at this point. In the wet where power was not such a premium RB showed that despite their engine performance their chassis has serious pace. Vettel gets the points lead over his team ate despite finishing only one race. He catches some unbelievable breaks. Can rosberg step up and out qualify hammy?

Hammy or rosberg need to win the next 2 races in my opinion (meaning 3 wins for one or the other in the first 4 races) to have a chance at beating vettel. If they pick points off each other vettel will win the drivers champ. Look for fireworks in the Mercedes garage if the team starts to back one driver after Bahrain. If brawn were still in charge you know if either of them won Bahrain they would be the de facto no1 for the rest of the year.

[Jon325i]

I'm glad Massa didn't comply with the team order. He's been in the #2 role for a long time.....he stood his ground and drove quite well. As a team, Williams could have a good year, perhaps a podium if everything falls into their favor.

Mercedes powered cars are clearly the strong runners. Renault will catch up, but for now they aren't the force they used to be of past seasons. The factory Mercedes cars are clearly the team to beat. The factory Renault effort.....what's the French for double-you-tea-eff?


Jon

[z31maniac]

"Massa, Bottas is faster than you" LOL what the hell! Does all the teams don't know that it is against regulations to say something like that on the radio? 100k penalty last year for Ferrari when they did that. Im glad he didn't let him pass.

Team orders were reinstated after the 2010 Hockenheim Massa/Alonso incident.

The FIA realized the teams would just using code anyway.

Malaysia last year "Multi-21", meaning car #2 finishes in front of car #1. Of course Vettel didn't listen.

[mcr_driver]

I like massa standing up for himself but whining earlier for bottas to back of is meh. I do agree with his choice though, bottas wouldn't have passed button with a few laps to go fresher tires or not.

Thoughts on Bahrain? More Mercedes 1-2 finishes till the break when teams come out with their upgrade packages?

[GAbOS]

Team orders are allowed again so there will be no fines. The kicker is that Massa can not get away from this team order no matter what team he is driving for. Kudos to him for not giving way.

[naplesE30]

Come again? I don't think Williams is going to be fined, just a hunch.

[woc]

"Massa, Bottas is faster than you" LOL what the hell! Does all the teams don't know that it is against regulations to say something like that on the radio? 100k penalty last year for Ferrari when they did that. Im glad he didn't let him pass.