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Post by charleselan on May 11, 2019 16:21:40 GMT
The 2019 tyres do look peculiar, as if they are made from plastic, rather than of rubber. But perhaps they, technically, really are "plastic tyres" (?)
I'll try to find the link, but there was a good you tube video that explained how the current F1 tyres are manufactured. You are right that there is very little (if any) rubber in the tyres. They are a mixture of polymers, and the thing I found odd was that the tyres ar extruded into moulds - apparently to manufacture all the tyres needed at an acceptable cost. So definitely plastic tyres - so much so they can be melted down after use, and recycled. The shiny surface you see on the tyres this year is a special mould release agent, to ensure there are no surface imperfections when the tyre comes out of the mould. Apparently tiny surface defects from sticking to the chromed surface of the moulds were making the tyres more susceptable to the graining and blistering that was a problem last season. The recycling of car tyres is a great thing and good to see that F1 is doing it's part. In fact road car tyres are being recycled these days as well, we have some excellent buckets that we use in the paddocks for the animals that are manufactured from recycled rubber car tyres. They are real sturdy and not prone to cracking or breaking like their plastic counterparts, which are especially prone to do so in freezing winter months. |
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Post by charleselan on May 11, 2019 16:29:40 GMT
Brilliant qualifying by Mr Bottas, absolutely superb. If he can continue like this Valterri will make an excellent World Champion. Other than that Ferrari look like bystanders now, and Barcelona is a rubbish circuit.
Mikael your remark about circuit design and style made earlier in this thread is spot on, and is something i have remarked on many times in the past. These super smooth "perfect" track surfaces are one thing to blame and the same applies also to MotoGP. That is why drivers/riders brought up on these sterile environments have a culture shock when they return to the traditional tracks of old.
I for one would much rather see racing on circuits like Oulton Park; Road America or Suzuka than any of these Tilkedomes or similar. I also wonder if the competitors were really honest and loved what they do, that they too would rather race on them.
Moving on when is the next F1 race?
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Post by René on May 11, 2019 17:56:30 GMT
The 2019 tyres do look peculiar, as if they are made from plastic, rather than of rubber. But perhaps they, technically, really are "plastic tyres" (?)
As far as I understand, their plastic shiny look is a result of a new production process where they use aluminium moulds. It's only a thin layer that is gone after half a lap and the tyre looks flat black again. But what the actual substance is I don't know. |
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Post by René on May 11, 2019 18:03:12 GMT
Qualifying was not very encouraging for the rest of the season. Good job by Bottas, he looks very strong at the moment so hats off to him. But the championship seems done now, another Mercedes year. Don't know how much more I can handle...
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2019 22:47:51 GMT
Qualifying was not very encouraging for the rest of the season. Good job by Bottas, he looks very strong at the moment so hats off to him. But the championship seems done now, another Mercedes year. Don't know how much more I can handle... Hang in there Rene, it is extremely disappointing that Ferrari really don't seem to be able to get on the pace of Mercedes, but there is a long season ahead, and lots of developement time to go. As you suggest, this is probably now Mercedes season, but there will still be the interest to see if ferrari can claw their way up to Mercedes, and Red Bull really do seem to be getting very close to Ferrari pace, in this first year with a Honda p.u, so they might be the ones that take the fight to Mercedes. I'm really enjoying how close and competitive the midfield is this season, Haas almost bridging the gap to Red Bull in qualifying at least, the resurgence of McLaren, Torro Rosso also giving Red Bull a hard time. The only sour notes are Ferrari's lack of competitiveness, and Williams continued abismal performances. On a driver front; Bottas is certainly worrying Hamilton, and the recent comments about switching engineers looks like Hamilton is starting to get political. LeClerc has been very fast, but mistakes in qualifying at Baku and Barcelona are undermining his very shiny start to the season. Vettel is seeming a bit resigned that his Championship hopes are gone for this year, but is asserting his capability over Le Clerc. Verstappen is so confident this year, and really performing, no racing blunders so far this year. Lots and lots of other good news stories through the field, I'm happy to see Kyvat's return to F1 going well, but am sad to see that Kubica is struggling to be competitive even with his team mate. |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2019 0:11:38 GMT
The 2019 tyres do look peculiar, as if they are made from plastic, rather than of rubber. But perhaps they, technically, really are "plastic tyres" (?)
I've not found a link to the extrusion manufacturing of the tyres, but here are some links to an interview between Craig Scarborough (techincal journalist) and Mario Isola, Pirelli's head of motorsport.
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Post by Carl on May 12, 2019 3:20:01 GMT
Valtteri Bottas was simply awesome and risks the wrath of his teammate, who may demand the ruby slippers. Mercedes will stumble one day soon and the Scuderia will come right...
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2019 3:42:24 GMT
Valtteri Bottas was simply awesome and risks the wrath of his teammate, who may demand the ruby slippers. Mercedes will stumble one day soon and the Scuderia will come right...
Could we see another start like Barcelona 2016, where Hamilton's team mate bore the wrath from beating and out qualifying him in earlier races? Could open the way for another Red Bull and Ferrari podium..........and another inter-team battle at Ferrari...... |
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Post by chrisb on May 12, 2019 6:24:36 GMT
i have watched the briefest of moments, when i watched it on C4 all i got was waffle so watched the cricket instead, which was amazing by the way, but from a human perspective, how much longer will Lewis play second fiddle i wonder, not very long, what about the Scuderia i ask myself, all these resources, all this talent and it just seems confused,
Nico isn't doing well, but Riccy is which is interesting, but i fear we are in for a very dull year, sxy must be wondering why they invested so much, in quite frankly a very poor show
even the FE was more interesting, and that says a lot....
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Post by René on May 12, 2019 10:16:08 GMT
Valtteri Bottas was simply awesome and risks the wrath of his teammate, who may demand the ruby slippers. Mercedes will stumble one day soon and the Scuderia will come right...
Could we see another start like Barcelona 2016, where Hamilton's team mate bore the wrath from beating and out qualifying him in earlier races? Could open the way for another Red Bull and Ferrari podium..........and another inter-team battle at Ferrari...... Well, I hope so Jim. A crash or rain is probably what is needed to shake things up this afternoon. In the end I am always optimistic re. Ferrari but it's just not looking very good at the moment. And with that I mean the whole state F1 is in right now. I am also impressed with all the space technology in modern F1 but the sport is suffering. If not even Ferrari and Red Bull with all their financial- and brain power are capable of giving Mercedes a serious fight and all the other teams cannot even dream of a podium, something is not right with the sport. We will surely see a few wins for Ferrari and maybe Red Bull but a championship challenge seems far off now. And that is sad. |
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Post by René on May 12, 2019 10:25:07 GMT
But on a more optimistic note: Enjoy the race guys!  Forza Ferrari! |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2019 10:25:09 GMT
LANCE STROLL!
Is it just me or can we now classify Lance as definitely sh%thouse?
And is Lancey actually enjoying playing in his sandpit? How can he enjoy being knocked out in Q1 in every race while watching his journeyman team mate progress easily? How is Dad liking having a team with one decent driver and one sh&thouse driver, one car effectively nullified? Does he care? Clearly not.
It's a bit of a shame seeing Lance take a perfectly decent F1 seat with the likes of JEV and Ocon and even some of the other Formula E drivers like Bird and Wehrlein and Vandoorne unable to break in. Meanwhile, out he goes in Q1, every race, race after race.
What a shame.
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Post by René on May 12, 2019 10:33:41 GMT
LANCE STROLL! Is it just me or can we now classify Lance as definitely sh%thouse? And is Lancey actually enjoying playing in his sandpit? How can he enjoy being knocked out in Q1 in every race while watching his journeyman team mate progress easily? How is Dad liking having a team with one decent driver and one sh&thouse driver, one car effectively nullified? Does he care? Clearly not. It's a bit of a shame seeing Lance take a perfectly decent F1 seat with the likes of JEV and Ocon and even some of the other Formula E drivers like Bird and Wehrlein and Vandoorne unable to break in. Meanwhile, out he goes in Q1, every race, race after race. What a shame. 
I guess Lance is now begging his dad to buy Mercedes so he can at least go for a podium... |
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Post by charleselan on May 12, 2019 11:33:02 GMT
Could we see another start like Barcelona 2016, where Hamilton's team mate bore the wrath from beating and out qualifying him in earlier races? Could open the way for another Red Bull and Ferrari podium..........and another inter-team battle at Ferrari...... Well, I hope so Jim. A crash or rain is probably what is needed to shake things up this afternoon. In the end I am always optimistic re. Ferrari but it's just not looking very good at the moment. And with that I mean the whole state F1 is in right now. I am also impressed with all the space technology in modern F1 but the sport is suffering. If not even Ferrari and Red Bull with all their financial- and brain power are capable of giving Mercedes a serious fight and all the other teams cannot even dream of a podium, something is not right with the sport. We will surely see a few wins for Ferrari and maybe Red Bull but a championship challenge seems far off now. And that is sad. To use a well worn cliché. I feel your pain. F1 (I refuse to give it Grand Prix) is in a perilous state, the problem is that those who should see that, are either oblivious or too wrapped up in their own greed. We are seeing this in all walks of life sadly and the future doesn't look too rosey. Last evening i watched most of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the racing throughout was good, however the last 10 laps were something else; the best car racing I have seen in years. OK the series is a "spec" formula which is not what a premier class should be but I can forgive it that with racing like seen yesterday. It was observed recently that the Indy cars were some ten seconds a lap slower that F1 around COTA, well I defy anyone to say that they did not look quick at Indy, its all about perception. |
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Post by robmarsh on May 12, 2019 17:23:06 GMT
WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY
Millions of pounds spent on aero, motorhomes, data, drivers etc and the race is decided in the first few metres by a part the spectator doesn't even see. What a waste of money.
There was a time when Formula 1 tyres were the best of breed and were mobile labs on the cutting edge of trye technology which improved tyres and cars for the planet. No longer the case, why would you want a road tyre that can only operate on a hot day in summer. What a waste of money.
Ferrari spend millions on developing the car so they can be more competitive amongst the mid field runners. What a waste of money.
Ferrari spend millions on drivers, cars, etc but cannot hook the two race engineers up so they both understand the strategy of each car. What a waste of money.
Red Bull spend a fortune on a three story motorhome/coffee house that is bigger than my house and are content with third and sixth. What a waste of money.
I spend about GBP500 a year and at least eight hours every second weekend watching F1. What a waste of time and money.
F1 get your act together and get the field closer together very quickly before you all disappear up your own arses.
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