Formula One 2010 Season

[Troy]

I hope that they can gain some extra straight line speed to match it with the McClaren's on the straights. I am a Red Bull fan because of Mark Webber so I want to see them take out the Constructors championship. If this change works then they will be close to untouchable, the only thing that could bring them down in driver error.

 

[R.D Punk]

Update: A lot of changes have been made for next season! Saftey car rules have been changed to stop the sort of incident that happened at the end of the Monaco GP, Adjustable rear wings have been introduced so drivers can change the amount of downforce, Pirelli have been announced as the tyre supplier for next season and finally the "F duct" has been banned.

 

[Troy]

They have banned the F duct after one season, wow that is a surprise. Why did they even bother allowing it this season. I like the idea of the adjustable rear wings to give the drivers a bit more control during race day and their racing talent will be tested even more with them. What change did they make to the Safety car?

 

[R.D Punk]

Well at the end of the Monaco GP, the safety car was meant to end the race but race control wanted a big finally and let the cars finish at full speed so it turned into the pit lane and Shumi overtook after the safety car line and gained a position on the last corner. However, there was a misunderstanding about the rules so Shumi got a 10 second time penalty rather harshly. It's nothing big but it just makes everything more clearer. The F Duct was a worth while thing to have this season but next season with the adjustable wings, KERS making a comeback in a more powerful form and a better understanding about tyres and fuel, having the F Duct would just make the cars to fast and as recent years have been going, F1 is meant to be slow and no overtaking so advertising on the cars can be viewed. I think the rear wing adjustablitly lead to the dimise of the F Duct because that was designed to disrupt the flow of air over the wing and since you can change the down-force over the wing by adjusting it, the F ducts role is fairly pointless, also with the rear wing I think it is only for cars that are overtaking and only be adjusted a few times during a lap.

 

[Troy]

Thats alright then with the safety car, I wasn't sure what weird idea they were going to come up with for the safety car but it's good to hear they are making things clearer. It is a shame the F-duct will only be used for one season since it was a good concept, I prefer the idea of the adjustable rear wings though. KERS coming back will be interesting as it certainly played a key role last season, it definately gives teams an advantage on the straights.

 

[R.D Punk]

I think KERS making a come back improves the image of F1 being green. It will be interesting to see how powerful they will make it because last season the advantages weren't that good because of the weight of the whole device wasn't worth having such a poor output. If it's more powerful then just think of the speeds they could get on the straights of China, Malaysia, Fuji in Japan, and coming off Au Rouge at Belgium. That as well as the Rear Wing being lowered and running low on feul they could hit speeds that we havn't seen in a while in F1.

 

[Troy]

Qualifying for the European GP is tonight. The final free preactice session just ended with Vettel on top followed by Kubica, Webber, Sutil, Alonso, Barichello, Liuzzi, Massa, Button and Hamilton rounding out the top ten. The results for practice suggest a good spread for qualifying with Force surprisingly having both drivers in the top ten. I don't see both being there at the end of qualifying though, Sutil will be but not Liuzzi.

As I am Australian I have to go with Webber for pole.

 

[R.D Punk]

Interesting thing about the Rear Wing for next year, " The FIA said it would only be enabled via control electronics if the driver was less than one second behind the other at pre-determinded postions around a circuit". Well that takes alot of hype off the device, I was hoping drivers could use it whenever the like and however but it seems the FIA have made more regulations which kind of sucks. So far in Qualifying, Shumi is 18 with only time for one more lap. With Kubica on top in Q1.

 

[Troy]

It sucks that they have controlled it so much rather than letting the driver's use it when they want to use it.

Schumacher made it through and Q2 is just beginning now. Some big names are going to miss out since Renault and Force India have both performed well so far on this track. You would expect Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari to get all their cars through and then possibly Mercedes and Renault but it should be good close qualifying.

 

[R.D Punk]

WOW! Both Mceradeas and both Force India's are out! I think they are only controlling it so drivers don't try and get too risky with it by lessening downforce around a corner where you need loads. :\

 

[Troy]

I didn't expect to see that, Schumacher had problems with his car and nothing went right for him today. So only five teams get through, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and Williams. Great result for Williams and Renault to have both their drivers in Q3.

 

[R.D Punk]

For me, Schumacher has been a dismal fail this season. As the pundits on BBC say each week, if he was a newcomer, we would be calling for his head but since he is a 7 time world champion we are being kinder to him. It's a massive shame to see someone as talented as him struggle with a car that another driver can drive normally. Fair enough, he has had a few years out and the technology has changed but he has to at least get solid points each race which he doesn't.

 

[Troy]

Good call, if he was a new driver there would be a lot more criticism of him. He hasn't been worth the money, it would have been better spent on a cheaper younger driver and the rest on developing the car. Does he have a contract for next year as well?

 

[Troy]

Red Bull have another 1-2, this is the eighth time from nine races that they have secured pole position. Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Alonso, Massa, Button, Hulkenburg, Barichello and Petrov are the top ten. Should be a great race tomorrow with Red Bull using the F-Duct for the first time in a race situation. GO WEBBER!

 

[R.D Punk]

Red Bulls will not win this race I guarantee. It sounds all doom and gloom but at the moment the 'Bulls do not seem like they are race worthy because they always have some sort of problem with the cars be it tyres or just general reliability. I can see Hamelton winning then Alonso and then maybe a Reb Bull. Webber has the greatest chance of getting nearest the win but the Red Bull's just don't seem to me to be quick at racing just Quailying.