F1 news - Daniel Ricciardo poles P1 for Monaco

[gary]

Daniel Ricciardo has just polled P1 for tomorrow's race in Monaco.

This is his first pole position in Formula 1.

His Red Bull is fitted with an upgraded Renault engine and he was 0.169
seconds ahead of Rosberg, 0.32 seconds ahead of Hamilton and nearly a
second faster than Vettel.

New team-mate Verstappen crashed into the barrier in Q1. If the stewards
allow him to race, it will probably be from 21st position on the grid.

[julianh72]

I know what I'll be watching tomorrow night!

What a fantastic qualifying lap - and he gets to start on longer-lasting tyres than the other front-runners, thanks to some really clever tactics in Q2.

GO DANIEL!!!

[Andy01]

Go Dan! Hopefully he gets it off the line and is P1 into the first cnr.

[clive milne]

The forecast is for heavy rain... aside from that, 18C.
The RB's ability to get heat in to the tyres may ultimately decide the race.

http://www.bbc.com/weather/2993458?day=1

[scagman]

What a great drive/lap. Unfortunately this doesn't guarantee a win, you still need a team that's not asleep during pit stops. Someone has a lot of explaining to do.

I don't think I have ever heard or seen Danial so unhappy.

[goober]

Yep, Dan did nothing wrong in that drive. Essentially had a pit stop in hand - if the team were even half a second faster with the tyres, he would have kept the lead. That's racing. :(

[AndrewJ]

How hard is it to remember that tyres are required for a pit stop.???

Andrew

[xelasnave]

Why racing is structured to include pit stops as part thereof is beyond me.
It is BS corrupting outcomes.
It should not figure in the game.
I am sick of seeing drivers doing their best defeated by pit problems.
If pit stops were of fixed duration so they played no part in race outcome it would be so much better.
Its a joke and I don't know why the public tolerate such nonsense.
I bet every driver would agree with my view.
Alex

[xelasnave]

Forget racing cars lets just have teams competing in type changing competitions.
That's what I like about bike racing ..its all about the ability of the rider not the pit BS.
Alex

[astroron]

Hi Alex,the pit stops where introduced to spice up the race,as are the tyre degradation etc.
As proven in this race and others it does make for more than just going round and round.
If that kind of racing is what you want? Indie car racing is the way to go.
Strategy and skill in other parts of the package make the race unpredictable,well that's the idea anyway.
Humans being Human,there is always room for mistakes and for others to take advantage of those mistakes.
Daniel has a had a fair share of fortune from other drivers/teams mistakes in his time in F1, as all the top drivers have done over the years.
I definitely think he will have his time in the sun,World Champion:question:
There are a lot of up and coming new kids on the block in F1 and I can see exciting times ahead.:D
Cheers
Ron

[torana68]

you dont have to stop in F1 in fact they try and stay out of there but Tyres only last so long, plus you cant race in the wet on the wrong tyres so you have no choice but to change them now and then (tyres are made with no comprise for grip in wet dry and intermediate conditions). It would make F1 boring if they didn't come in, no change in leader , no chance to hop in front of someone via snappy pit stop. If your thinking of that Australian NASCAR thing (aka some plane company supercars) they have to make stops , but as I don't follow it much those rules could have changed recently, but they do specify a tank size and race distance for supercraps so its easy to make people stop without it being in the "rules"
(ex CAMS licence holder and occasional driver)

[Kunama]

Ban carbon/Kevlar/ceramic brakes......Modern F1 cars stop too quickly, it is beyond belief how they pull up. Then you will have far more interesting racing. I was in Monaco in 2007 when Alonso won, without pitstop strategies these days you could just declare the race positions after qualifying as in order to effect a pass you need an extra 50bhp and buckets of luck.

There is only one line to take in Monaco, everything else is covered in 2" layer of rubber marbles.

LH took the same shortcut while DR was pitting as he did when he 'misjudged' the corner. He should have been pinged for that after the second time.

[gary]

Hi Roger,

To clarify, in a nutshell, when it is dry, you will need to stop at least once.

Unless wet or intermediate tyres are used during the race, all drivers must use
at least two different specifications of dry-weather tyres in the race,
at least one of which must be one of the two mandatory sets nominated
by Pirelli, though the teams are free to decide which one.

A team is free to use wet tyres as they see fit during qualifying or the
race but they can only use them in free practice if the track has
been officially declared "wet".

If the race is started behind the safety car because of heavy rain, cars must
use wet tyres.

The wet weather tyres, which have treads, overheat and can then
degrade when the track becomes dry. In some races, where parts of the
track might be wet and other parts dry, it is not uncommon to see
a driver with wet or intermediate tyres on divert off the dry racing line into
wet sections to cool the tyres.

[gary]

In other F1 news, 'halo' protection has been agreed on for use in 2017.
See http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/36404898

The alternative 'aeroscreen' concept that Ricciardo tested in practice
in Russia may be considered by the FIA in the future, but there
were apparent concerns on visibility and aerodynamics that need to
be overcome.

[gary]

Trivia - a set of F! tyres, in Australian Dollars, is generally reported to run around AUD2700 a set, or AUD675 a tyre.

Dry F1 tyres typically have optimal temperatures of around between 100C
which keeps them 'sticky'.

Intermediate tyres have an optimal range of between 40C and 100C.

Full wets have an optimal range of around 30C to 50C.

For this reason, teams are always interested in track temperatures.

[julianh72]

Formula 1 has had mandatory tyre stops for several years now - you HAVE to run at least two different compounds during the race (unless it's a wet race for the full duration), and nobody has figured out how to change tyres without a pit stop yet.

[astroron]

What I find strange is, any of the devices they have tried would have not prevented the death of Jules Bianchi in fact the "Halo" device would probably have made it worse.
Felipe Massa got hit on the head quite a few years ago now and is still racing.
It is really just fate if a loose bolt/spring hits you,the chances are probably astronomical.
Indie Cars regularly have bits of metal flying all over the place in their multi car pile ups and accidents I have not heard of anyone in that form of racing asking for head protection.
The amount of accidents in F1 that have resulted in head injury or even other injuries is very low considering the speeds and danger of the job.
Are these halo's going to be strong enough to sustain the forces of a roll over, and in my mind could course injury by pressing down the driver and maybe even stopping him getting of the car in an accident.
I saw a mention that there is always Marshall's at hand to help extract them.
If a race crash I saw last week is anything to go by, I wouldn't count on them with any sort of certainty.
They took an inordinate time to even get to one of the drivers, and when they got there stood around deciding what to do,it seemed like forever before they even made a move toward the car,the driver was slumped over the wheel and not moving.
Fortunately the driver turned out all right.
At the same accident one of the drivers was wondering around obviously distressed and maybe even concussed and no one even went near him for at least a minute or more.
Marshall's are good but not infallible, I should know I have been one in the past.
Either it is open wheeler racing or it is canopy racing?
To me it should be without these additives.

[xelasnave]

Ron I take your point but I raced and you put your life in the line so I don't like the prospect of risking life and limb and somehow the pit crew can destroy all you work for.
Round and round for me and damn the entertainment factor..it works for bikes ..just a nonsense to please those in the crowd.
Alex

[astroron]

Alex, you forget that these drivers/rider perform for very big bucks.
Take away the entertainment factor and they would be doing another job or on the dole.
You can do what you like as an amateur, but when you are part of a world championship event,then you play by the rules of that event.
Just like life actually.
Cheers:thumbsup:

PS if you don't like the work of the pit crew, do races with you doing the pit work as well as driving.
I bet you would make more mistakes than a normally well drilled pit crew would
Just as in life,mistakes happen and can have a big bearing on what direction you go, so it does in sport.
As I said Daniel will bounce back,it will show his metal in the future.

[xelasnave]

Ron I will have you know I went in races where the prize money was as high as 50 bucks ...What do these guys get?
Alex

[pgc hunter]

That was an exciting race. These tight street circuits are so much better for action than those boring modern artificial jobs like Bahrain and Shanghai.

[astroron]

$50:00 wouldn't pay for a round of drinks for these guys,and that's only two of them.
Hamilton is on over $20+ million a year.
They are more than drivers,they are entertainers, and none entertained more in my opinion than Hamilton.
So you get what you pay for, if it is not to your liking then there is plenty of stuff out there to keep you happy.
The Moto GP last week was an example of really ballsie riding between Lorenzo and Marques, absolutely fantastic riding of the highest order.
Credit to both of them . :thumbsup:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[75BC]

I like the added strategic element of pit stops and it’s much easier to pass on a bike than a car purely because of the room needed. I don’t think many people would watch it if a drivers race finish position basically came down qualifying.

I think there was more to it than just a pit crew stuff up. During the broadcast they commented on the fact (and I saw) there were tyres out but maybe made a late (very late) change in compound choice.

He most likely wouldn’t agree but I think Daniel should take the glass half full approach. Seems the new spec engine is much more competitive than the old.

[gary]

Hi Alex,

When you adjust for inflation, with the increased prices on private
helicopter maintenance and the spiralling cost of an occasional night out
with a supermodel girlfriend, the pay scales today are probably roughly the
same as back then. :)

[Steffen]

Maybe they should make the drivers change their tyres themselves? That way it'll be all fair and square ;)

[xelasnave]

Given the money they get of course they should.
Alex

[xelasnave]

I only won two races in my career and did not get a cent.
The girl friend was pretty hot.
Did all the mechanical but I learnt from the experience.
Alex

[gary]

Hi Ron,

According to sources such as the BBC and Forbes, the current contract
Lewis is on puts it closer to a base salary equivalent to AUD40 million a year.
Then there are bonuses.

Alonso's contract with McLaren is reported to be around AUD49 million a year.

Vettel's contract with Ferrari is larger still.

Compare that to the F1 "pay drivers" who bring either personal
sponsorship or personal or family funding for a seat.

Lauda, Michael Schumacher and Alonso all started their careers
as pay drivers.