[Official] European Grand Prix 2016: Grand Prix Weekend Thread

[S griffin]

If you want to be a good driver of a new one for this weekend and next year, you will be a good one and only one, who is a great driver of a new one for this weekend, is going to be a good one for the next few drivers and the rest of the field to beat

[Mike Harte]

Q - What is the difference between Hamilton, and the private jet that he uses to fly to the races?

A - When the plane arrives at the airport and parks up, the engines stop whining

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Purist

For the most part, I don't really see anywhere that the risk to the drivers is any greater than Monaco.

That really narrow bit makes up a tiny portion of the lap, and you don't carry much speed there. The straight before the left at Turn 8 isn't that long. Turns 1, 3, and 15 have escape roads. I can't say that those spots worry me any more than the run into Ste. Devote or the Chicane at Monaco.

Impact angle at Tabac would be steeper than in Turns 13 and 14 at Baku, and an impact in those places would likely be no more harsh than clattering the barriers at Massenet. Not having the space for the momentum vector to change as much, or for the wall orientation to change as you go down the track further before you hit it, isn't such a bad thing. Tiago Monteiro faired pretty well in his accident at the Nordschleife this year, and those WTCC cars do NOT have the chassis integrity of an F1 car, plus they weigh quite a bit more.

I think the biggest issue might be that pit entry. If someone is slipstreaming, and ducks out to the left, because that's the inside for Turn 1, that would be bad if there happened to be someone decelerating for that chicane at pit-in. They maybe ought to move the chicane farther down the lane to reduce that hazard.

The most dangerous place to have an off on this track seems to be Turn 19 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...rcuit_Baku.svg because of the high speed the cars have in that part of the track. I'm not sure a SAFER barrier would be of any help there because F1 cars don't have the kind of side impact crash structures which would be required for oval racing where SAFER luckily is common these days.

[S griffin]

In my life is a great way to get a good view of the best drivers and the new onboard camera is a great way to get a good one for the first time since the 90s

[bella]

as i was saying..

Originally Posted by autosport.com

Romain Grosjean said he hoped Pirelli would review the rear pressure

Originally Posted by autosport.com

Pirelli chose to investigate the data overnight and found that the limit was a too conservative.

As a result, the tyre supplier has decided lower the rear tyre pressure by one psi to 21. The front will remain at 22psi.

[bjohnsonsmith]

It's not going too well for Lewis. He's 10th in Q2.

Edit:
He's up to 2nd just as Q2 finishes.

[bjohnsonsmith]

It's not going well at all for Lewis in Q3. He clipped the wall with his right front tyre and broke the steering arm.

Q3 has been Red flagged with 2 minutes to go.

[TheMightyM]

And then Lewis puts it into the wall in Q3.

It's going to be a very interesting race. Just hope there isn't a massive crash on lap 1.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Q3 to resume in about a minute.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Nico on Pole and Lewis back in 10th. Great lap from Ricciardo.

Looks like a tricky track in places, with the escape road coming into play. I'm sure it will come into play tomorrow.

[chunterer]

Checo?!

Shame he gets demoted to 7th but hey Ho. ..

[Purist]

Yannick, LMPs and GTEs aren't "designed for oval racing" either, but the FIA and ACO have seen fit to also install SAFER barriers in the Porsche Curves at Le Mans.

The speed at Turn 19 should be similar to Turn 14.

(Funny how the narrow bit from Turns 8-10 gets so much attention, but we seem to have forgotten how tight the confines are on the Anderson Bridge in Singapore.)

[TrapezeArtist]

I may be wrong (it has occasionally happened) but I thought there was a minimum width for a F1 circuit. If there is, I can't imagine 8-9-10 meeting the minimum. You'd be pushed to get two bicycles side-by-side there. If someone drops it there on one of the early laps, it's going to bring everyone to a complete halt. Memories of the shunt at Tabac in the mid-late fifties when the track was totally blocked. (And of course, just about every Macau GP there's ever been!)

[Purist]

At the very least, there are bits of Monaco, Singapore, and Baku that don't meet the minimum for new circuits, at least, new permanent circuits. Track minimum is supposed to be no less than 12m, and the grid is supposed to be at least 15m wide.

Then again, track width is supposed to be maintained through Turn 1, and overall should not decrease at more than a certain rate. Austin, Buddh, Sochi, Nurburgring, Hockenheim, Fuji, and Suzuka, at a minimum, all violate these in some way.

[TrapezeArtist]

Well Baku drives a coach and horses through that 12m minimum. At least, it would if there was room for them! With the exception of Monaco, I've never noticed anything wrong with any of the others, but that's what tape measures are for. No doubt someone would say you need to make exceptions sometimes, but if you need exceptions to a rule there's something wrong with the rule. I suspect any rule can be circumvented if you cross BE's palm with an adequate quantity of silver.

[Purist]

An exception doesn't bother me so much, if there is a clearly-stated, understandable reason for it. However, it needs to actually be an exception for use in just a few cases. It's becoming the rule when half the tracks on the calendar need an exception for a rule, or related set of regulations.

Thinking about it again, I think at least the run through the trees from Turn 5 to 6 at Albert Park may not be quite at the 12m minimum. A good part of Monza is not that wide, as well as at least most of the main stretch at Spa, from a little after La Source all the way to Les Combes, and that may extend all the way until the entry to Stavelot after the right/left at Les Fagnes. A majority of the lap at Montreal probably doesn't meet the 12m requirement either.

And this is to say nothing of the off-camber and/or banked corners at Austin, Istanbul, and maybe some other places also. Speaking of Istanbul, and circumventing rules, Turn 8 is kind of an attempt to get around the stuff regarding/limiting decreasing-radius corners. Austin also plays a little fast and loose with this in its stadium section. Alternatively, just look at Massenet at Monaco, the Interlagos infield, or the third sector of the re-modeled Fuji.

[Purist]

Now, back to Baku.

This is the most complete rundown of the minor changes made to the circuit Friday night.

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/story...y-curbs-061716

[wnut]

Having highlighted all the short comings of Baku against Tilke Ersatzring specifications, I really like the place, precisely because of these "short comings", and it actually punishes mistakes! Bumps too, excellent!

Best circuit on the calendar from what I have seen so far.

[wnut]

Let's see how Lewis goes bullying young Max.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by wnut

Having highlighted all the short comings of Baku against Tilke Ersatzring specifications, I really like the place, precisely because of these "short comings", and it actually punishes mistakes! Bumps too, excellent!

Best circuit on the calendar from what I have seen so far.

A bit like Belle Isle but not as severe.

[Iceman13]

According to Williams' data Bottas clocked 371 kph top speed during quali using draft from Verstappen. We might just see the world record speeds broken during the race. The straight will certainly provide some interesting moments as seen in GP2.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by Purist

An exception doesn't bother me so much, if there is a clearly-stated, understandable reason for it. However, it needs to actually be an exception for use in just a few cases. It's becoming the rule when half the tracks on the calendar need an exception for a rule, or related set of regulations.

Bear in mind that there is no need for exceptions as the FIA does not have rules or regulations for track design - they are guidelines and the final call is down to the track inspector appointed by the FIA: as you say yourself, the 12m guideline is for permanent tracks, there is not always the room on a temporary track.

Personally, I think I'm going to like Baku - it's a bit of a cross between Pau, Adelaide and a couple of other tracks in the way it feels and I'm looking forward to tonight's (Australian time) race to see how it goes.

Originally Posted by Iceman13

According to Williams' data Bottas clocked 371 kph top speed during quali using draft from Verstappen. We might just see the world record speeds broken during the race. The straight will certainly provide some interesting moments as seen in GP2.

That's getting well up there isn't it? With such a wide variance in track parameters, the cars will be compromised on setup maybe even more than normal and you'd think that for the first race at Baku, some are going to get that compromise more right than others.

[Iceman13]

Now Williams has confirmed on their twitter account that it was actually 378 kph! (that 371 was taken from a finnish newspaper article) That must be the fastest speed ever recorded during a race weekend.

[spider]

Fantastic track but shoddy attendance :/

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by spider

Fantastic track but shoddy attendance :/

Don't understand why they not give away free tickets.