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Post by René on Jun 20, 2019 15:39:00 GMT
After the controversy in Canada, we’re back in Europe for the French Grand Prix on the insane LSD track of Paul Ricard. Will it be Mercedes business as usual or can Ferrari continue their good form and challenge the silver cars? I think they should remove the chicane in the middle of the Mistral straight, that would give the Ferraris a chance! And what about the Régie? There seems to be improvement and Ricciardo is gelling in better and better. A good result on home soil is exactly what this squad needs. Vive la France!  |
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Post by mikael on Jun 21, 2019 2:54:28 GMT
... the French Grand Prix on the insane LSD track of Paul Ricard... There's an old Danish revue song - from the 1930's - where the refrain goes like, "Det sku vær' saa godt, og saa' det faktisk skidt" (= "It should be so good - and then it's actually bad"). Somehow that refrain keeps coming to mind whenever watching photos of those over-executed run-off areas.   |
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Post by Carl on Jun 21, 2019 3:40:32 GMT
Picture yourself at Circuit Paul Ricard
With plasticine runoffs with looking glass ties,
Suddenly someone is there at the apex,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
-With apologies to John Lennon
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Post by robmarsh on Jun 21, 2019 7:32:39 GMT
Logic says it should be a Mercedes driver but I am going for karma and emotion hence Vettel.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2019 9:57:39 GMT
... the French Grand Prix on the insane LSD track of Paul Ricard... There's an old Danish revue song - from the 1930's - where the refrain goes like, "Det sku vær' saa godt, og saa' det faktisk skidt" (= "It should be so good - and then it's actually bad"). Somehow that refrain keeps coming to mind whenever watching photos of those over-executed run-off areas. It is a bit hard to look at, but an interesting bit of trivia, for the Round Table - the bands of colour have different roughness, used instead of gravel traps. The stripes in the runoff consists of an abrasive mixture of asphalt and tungsten. The blue stripes are mildly abrasive, a second, deeper run-off area is the Red Zone, with a more abrasive surface designed to maximize tyre grip and hence minimize braking distance, but at the cost of extreme tyre wear. If you really mess up, or something has broken, outside of that are the Tecpro barriers. So, going off track should slow a car down without breaking it, and, notionally at least, there is a penalty for exceeding track limits. just looking at the circuit on TV, it is actually the alternative track layouts are actually what causes the confusion for me. If the blue stripes fully outlined the F1 circuit, it would probably be a bit less distrurbing. |
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Post by charleselan on Jun 21, 2019 15:21:49 GMT
Picture yourself at Circuit Paul Ricard
With plasticine runoffs with looking glass ties,
Suddenly someone is there at the apex,
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
-With apologies to John Lennon
Absolute genius Carl. |
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Post by charleselan on Jun 21, 2019 15:28:27 GMT
To think that the French GP used to be run at such incredible venues as Rouen les Essart; Reims; Clermont Ferrand and little old Dijon. When Paul Ricard was first introduced it was more or less ridiculed by the old sages like DSJ, and why not! It is a god awful location that does nothing to promote the beautiful landscape that illustrates France to its fullest. It maybe quite near to the majestic Pyrenees but has nothing of its wonders, just flat dry arid plain.
Looking at Ricard 2019 it reminds me of a badly programmed Apple iTunes screen saver.
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Post by René on Jun 21, 2019 15:49:24 GMT
To think that the French GP used to be run at such incredible venues as Rouen les Essart; Reims; Clermont Ferrand and little old Dijon. When Paul Ricard was first introduced it was more or less ridiculed by the old sages like DSJ, and why not! It is a god awful location that does nothing to promote the beautiful landscape that illustrates France to its fullest. It maybe quite near to the majestic Pyrenees but has nothing of its wonders, just flat dry arid plain. Looking at Ricard 2019 it reminds me of a badly programmed Apple iTunes screen saver. Absolutely. I've been there once for the 1988 French Grand Prix. Even then not the most exciting track but at least you had the feeling you where in the south of France (the Ricard and Gitanes fags helped..  ) but this modern version is awful. It looks plain ridiculous! |
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Post by charleselan on Jun 21, 2019 15:58:09 GMT
To think that the French GP used to be run at such incredible venues as Rouen les Essart; Reims; Clermont Ferrand and little old Dijon. When Paul Ricard was first introduced it was more or less ridiculed by the old sages like DSJ, and why not! It is a god awful location that does nothing to promote the beautiful landscape that illustrates France to its fullest. It maybe quite near to the majestic Pyrenees but has nothing of its wonders, just flat dry arid plain. Looking at Ricard 2019 it reminds me of a badly programmed Apple iTunes screen saver. Absolutely. I've been there once for the 1988 French Grand Prix. Even then not the most exciting track but at least you had the feeling you where in the south of France (the Ricard and Gitanes fags helped.. ) but this modern version is awful. It looks plain ridiculous! Apparently Eric Boullier is the director, or some such title, there now. He promises that the appalling access that prevented many from actually getting in to see last years race has been improved, but we all know about eric's ability to spin  . |
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Post by René on Jun 22, 2019 17:01:04 GMT
No big surprises this afternoon but still some interesting developments, most of all the rise of McLaren. It finally looks like they are having a sense of direction again. Have to give it to Zak, he made a few good dicisions, most of all putting Andreas Seidl in charge of the race team. Lando Norris looks very good. I dare to say he will be Britain's next champion. Gasly looks out of his league at Red Bull. Hulkenberg is really not as good as was thought by many. Danny has him covered, easy. Kubica should call it a day. Stroll should go to Formula E.  |
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Post by robmarsh on Jun 22, 2019 18:56:42 GMT
Accurate summation René. I must say that this must rank as the most visually unappealing track in the season. I was excited at first when they announced Ricard was going to be used but it really is horrible with those runoffs.
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Post by Jamie on Jun 23, 2019 8:00:58 GMT
Hi all,
This track really is unappealing isn’t it.....and to think of all the magnificent French tracks, past and present.....it’s a reflection of modern F1 really, this season feels like the circus going through the motions, bland and boring.
However, I’m always hopeful on race day! Now, I’m a fan of Lewis’ driving and he really is at the peak of his powers at the moment, but I really hope of a different winner here. And not Bottas, that’s just more of the same.....I’ve got everything crossed for Leclerc.
Here’s to a great race (I might have to wait for the Indycars at Road America for that 😁).
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2019 9:48:56 GMT
No big surprises this afternoon but still some interesting developments, most of all the rise of McLaren. It finally looks like they are having a sense of direction again. Have to give it to Zak, he made a few good dicisions, most of all putting Andreas Seidl in charge of the race team. Lando Norris looks very good. I dare to say he will be Britain's next champion. Gasly looks out of his league at Red Bull. Hulkenberg is really not as good as was thought by many. Danny has him covered, easy. Kubica should call it a day. Stroll should go to Formula E. I think that it is a bit soon for Seidl to have made an impact on McLaren, he only joined them in May this year, and he certainly wasn't involved in the design of this season's car, so maybe you have to give Brown more credit for the turn around in the Team. It certainly has been an impressive turn around, they must be the Team that has made the biggest step forward this season. And it is not just McLaren that are closing up on Red Bull, Renault are pretty close too, for the second quali in a row. It might be different in the race, but, there is no longer such a gap between Red Bull and the mid pack. Hulkenberg is said to be disadvantaged over Ricciardo this weekend, Ricciardo has the latest upgrade power unit, and aero package, whereas The Hulk does not. The difference in the PU is said to be worth "at least a tenth", and the Gap in Q2 was just over a tenth. So maybe a bit early to write the Hulk off, he still kicks arse, especially in the races. In the power unit wars, this is the second race where there are more Renault powered cars in the top ten than Honda powered cars. And there has been another Honda p.u upgrade. Its good to see some convergeance on p.u performance. Gasly is certainly not coming close to matching Verstappen, and Red Bull being what it is, they're probably not going to give him more than this season to get on the pace. To be honest, they should have chosen Hartley over Gasley, much more capacity for improvement with the kiwi. I'm very disappointed to see that Kubica really doesn't seem able to get on the pace of Russell. I think we all had high hopes that he'd be able at least to do that, if not be the quicker of the two. I suppose that Kubica's dream really is over. Meanwhile, I wonder what is happening back at Grove. Is the review by PATRICK HEAD having any impact, and have they made any chnages to their structure or personell that could kick off the kind of turn around that we've seen from McLaren? And what is happening in Racing Point that has undermined their competitiveness this season (and no cheap shots at Lance, Perez is also struggling). |
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Post by René on Jun 23, 2019 11:07:11 GMT
Hi all, This track really is unappealing isn’t it.....and to think of all the magnificent French tracks, past and present.....it’s a reflection of modern F1 really, this season feels like the circus going through the motions, bland and boring. However, I’m always hopeful on race day! Now, I’m a fan of Lewis’ driving and he really is at the peak of his powers at the moment, but I really hope of a different winner here. And not Bottas, that’s just more of the same.....I’ve got everything crossed for Leclerc. Here’s to a great race (I might have to wait for the Indycars at Road America for that 😁). Hi Jamie  The track looks horrible. Indeed better watch the IndyCar race at Road America for a good track! But anyway, I am also always hopeful on race day! Lewis is driving fantastic but he should be challenged more. I sense with Lewis that he also wants to be challenged more by the Ferraris or the Red Bulls but it is not really happening. And when it does happen like in Canada, the race is ruined by a strange decision. But let's be positive. Charles has looked good so far so maybe with a good start we could have a race. And a Leclerc win would be very popular judging from the cheering of the crowd after qualy. |
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Post by René on Jun 23, 2019 11:30:23 GMT
No big surprises this afternoon but still some interesting developments, most of all the rise of McLaren. It finally looks like they are having a sense of direction again. Have to give it to Zak, he made a few good dicisions, most of all putting Andreas Seidl in charge of the race team. Lando Norris looks very good. I dare to say he will be Britain's next champion. Gasly looks out of his league at Red Bull. Hulkenberg is really not as good as was thought by many. Danny has him covered, easy. Kubica should call it a day. Stroll should go to Formula E. I think that it is a bit soon for Seidl to have made an impact on McLaren, he only joined them in May this year, and he certainly wasn't involved in the design of this season's car, so maybe you have to give Brown more credit for the turn around in the Team. It certainly has been an impressive turn around, they must be the Team that has made the biggest step forward this season. And it is not just McLaren that are closing up on Red Bull, Renault are pretty close too, for the second quali in a row. It might be different in the race, but, there is no longer such a gap between Red Bull and the mid pack. Hulkenberg is said to be disadvantaged over Ricciardo this weekend, Ricciardo has the latest upgrade power unit, and aero package, whereas The Hulk does not. The difference in the PU is said to be worth "at least a tenth", and the Gap in Q2 was just over a tenth. So maybe a bit early to write the Hulk off, he still kicks arse, especially in the races. In the power unit wars, this is the second race where there are more Renault powered cars in the top ten than Honda powered cars. And there has been another Honda p.u upgrade. Its good to see some convergeance on p.u performance. Gasly is certainly not coming close to matching Verstappen, and Red Bull being what it is, they're probably not going to give him more than this season to get on the pace. To be honest, they should have chosen Hartley over Gasley, much more capacity for improvement with the kiwi. I'm very disappointed to see that Kubica really doesn't seem able to get on the pace of Russell. I think we all had high hopes that he'd be able at least to do that, if not be the quicker of the two. I suppose that Kubica's dream really is over. Meanwhile, I wonder what is happening back at Grove. Is the review by PATRICK HEAD having any impact, and have they made any chnages to their structure or personell that could kick off the kind of turn around that we've seen from McLaren? And what is happening in Racing Point that has undermined their competitiveness this season (and no cheap shots at Lance, Perez is also struggling). Jim, thanks for responding to my post which was intended to create some debate. Some of my statements are therefore maybe a bit bold. As for Seidl, of course you are right. He has had no influence on the car whatsoever but I still think he is the right man in the right place. I had my doubts about Brown at first as he seemed more like a rich journeyman having some fun in F1. Not the man for McLaren. But the team looks in much better shape now and that must (at least partly) be credited to Brown. As for the Hulk, I remain with my statement. I like Nico, he's a really nice guy and a good driver but I've been having my doubts if he is really top class for years to be honest. Having this 'record' of most GPs contended without a podium is, in my opinion, not only bad luck. He's been driving for solid midfield teams for years so he should at least have scored one podium. He hasn't so in my mind that says he's not good enough. You could be right about Hartley. And as for Pierre, he really needs a sensational result now to change his luck I feel. Personally I never believed in the Kubica fairytale. It is a big shame as he really was a top line driver but he's just too slow now. Not even close to Russell. I agree Lance is not as bad as some say although he does look slower than Perez. Why Racing Point is not competitive is a mystery. You would expect them more in the midfield. But it is all very close so who knows, maybe they'll move up the grid in the seond half of the season. Money can't be a problem. |
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) but this modern version is awful. It looks plain ridiculous!
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