F1 2006 Preview Thread

[The Bear]

Well, Bahrain is only two weeks away now so it's time for a F1 thread.

Can't say I'm as interested as in previous years. Mostly I'm interested in seeing how the new qualifying format works out and how everyone copes with the V8 engines.


The new rules

A quick round-up for anyone that doesn't know:

ENGINE CHANGES
* Engine capacity has been reduced for 2006 from 3-litre V10 units to 2.4-litre V8s.
* The '2.4-litre' refers to the maximum engine capacity which must not exceed 2400 cc.
* The 'V8' refers to the 90º V configuration of the engine, while the '8' is the number of cylinders the engine has.
* The new V8 engine has been introduced in the hope of cutting costs and improving safety - expect to add around three to five seconds to lap times at most circuits.
* Engines must also last two entire race weekends - the driver will earn a ten-grid slot penalty for a premature engine change. Bad news for Kimi Raikkonen, then...
* And did you know: Scuderia Toro Rosso is the only team that won't be using V8s this season - the team has been permitted to use V10 engines with rev limiters fitted that will reduce the engine's speed

TYRE CHANGES
* Tyre changes during grands prix will return in 2006, ending the one-season ban on changing rubber in pit stops.
* Teams may use as many as seven sets of tyres per driver during a grand prix weekend. (One consequence of this is that if say, Kimi and Fernando are going head-to-head in a grand prix, the driver who has kept a final set of new tyres in reserve for his final pit-stop could gain a decisive advantage - Ed)
* And did you know: 2006 will be the final season that Michelin compete in Formula One as they've opted to withdraw following the FIA's decision to change the tyre rules.

QUALIFYING CHANGES
* A new three-part qualifying system will be used in 2006, replacing the old one-lap shoot-out.
* Qualifying will last one hour and drivers may put in as many laps as they want to during any of the three sessions as long as they haven't been eliminated.
* The first session, which is 15-minutes long, will see all 22 drivers on track, each carrying a low fuel load. At the end of the session, the slowest six drivers will be eliminated and they will make up the final quarter of Sunday's grid filling the positions P17 to P22 in order of fastest to slowest.
* A five-minute break will follow.
* Following the break, the second 15-minute session will begin and the remaining 16 drivers will return to the track, once again carrying a low fuel load. At the end of the session, the slowest six will be eliminated and they will make up positions P11 to P16 on Sunday's grid in order of fastest to slowest.
* A five-minute break will follow.
* The final session, which is 20-minutes long, will see the final ten drivers battle for pole position. However, in this session they will have to carry the same amount of fuel that they plan to start the race with. The fastest driver will take P1, while the slowest will occupy P10 on the grid.
* And did you know: If you find this new format confusing don't worry, you're not alone. Max Mosley also doesn't understand it!


Teams/Drivers

2006 DRIVER LINE-UP

4 'new' teams in BMW Sauber, Midland F1, Super Aguri F1 and Scuderia Torro Rosso (Red Bull's sister team).

Renault - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/55480.jpg)
Fernando Alonso
Giancarlo Fisichella
Heikki Kovalainen (test driver)

McLaren - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/55965.jpg)
Kimi Raikkonen
Juan Pablo Montoya
Pedro de la Rosa (test driver)
Gary Paffett (test driver)

Ferrari - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/55118.jpg)
Michael Schumacher
Felipe Massa
Luca Badoer (test driver)
Marc Gene (test driver)

Toyota - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/54790.jpg)
Jarno Trulli
Ralf Schumacher
Ricardo Zonta (test driver)

Williams - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/55427.jpg)
Mark Webber
Nico Rosberg
Alex Wurz (test driver)
Narain Karthikeyan (test driver)

Honda Racing - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/55253.jpg)
Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello
Anthony Davidson (test driver)

Red Bull Racing - Testing Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/56348.jpg) (Not Officially Launched Yet)
David Coulthard
Christian Klien
Robert Doornbos (test driver)

BMW Sauber - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/54842.jpg)
Nick Heidfeld
Jacques Villeneuve
Robert Kubica (test driver)

Midland F1 - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/55743.jpg) (I really like this one)
Christijan Albers
Tiago Monteiro
Markus Winkelhock (test driver)
Giorgio Mondini (test driver)
Adrian Sutil (test driver)
Roman Rusinov (test driver)

Scuderia Toro Rosso - Testing Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/56373.jpg) (Not Officially Launched Yet)
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Scott Speed
Neel Jani (test driver)

Super Aguri F1 - Livery Pic (http://images.f1racing.net/large/56489.jpg)
Takuma Sato
Yuji Ide


Grand Prix Schedule

Sadly Spa has again been axed this year to much outrage, so the list is:

12 March Bahrain, Sakhir
19 March Malaysia, Sepang
02 April Australia, Melbourne
23 April San Marino, Imola
07 May Europe, Nürburgring
14 May Spain, Barcelona
28 May Monaco, Monte Carlo
11 June Great Britain, Silverstone
25 June Canada, Montreal
02 July USA, Indianapolis
16 July France, Magny-Cours
30 July Germany, Hockenheim
06 August Hungary, Hungaroring
27 August Turkey, Istanbul
10 September Italy, Monza
01 October China, Shanghai
08 October Japan, Suzuka
22 October Brazil, Interlagos


ITV are as in most seasons doing a preview show next Saturday:

Saturday 4th March 12.40 (ITV1)

The ITV Sport crew previews the new Formula 1 season from Bahrain, where the teams are gearing up for what should be a ferociously hard-fought world championship.

F1 has a different look in 2006, with an array of new teams, drivers and regulations set to shake up the status quo.

Martin Brundle explains the latest qualifying and engine rules, and describes the fastest way around the Sakhir track, which will play host to the season opener for the first time.

Ted Kravitz and Louise Goodman will assess the runners and riders as Fernando Alonso bids to defend his world championship against an ever more competitive field.

There is also an exclusive interview with Britain’s top racer Jenson Button as he prepares for what should be his best season yet.
Dont think there's anything else that needs to be added after all that lot :wave:

One thing I will add on the new qualifying format is if the final 10 drivers have to do the last session on their race fuel, when do the rest of them decide their race fuel? As all the previous sessins are on low fuel.

[bubbachups]

Cheers for the write up. I haven't paid much attention to the pre season news so I'm fully up to date now. The qualifying format is interesting and might possibly be a good thing. We'll have to wait and see.

Wasn't there something changed in the regulations with respect to the rear wing to make overtaking less difficult? I think there was some discussion about that at the end of last season. I couldn't care less about the engine regulations though. I just want to see fast cars racing and overtaking each other so I really don't care whether they change their engine every two hours or not at all. And I want them to run to their cars old school Le Mans style at the start of the race.....

[si2k2000]

Would be good to see this in HD sometime this year. Not sure what ITV's plans are for high def.

[Nujol]

Would be nice for it to be in widescreen!

[hedgie]

I'm sure I read somewhere that ITV are going to continue to show the racing in a corner of the screen during advert breaks this season. Long overdue if it is true.

Personally I think that this season will see the end of an era, with Michael Schumacher retiring at the end of the season. I think that if he isn't competitive this season he won't have the desire to continue, but if he wins the title, as I am expecting, he'll want to go out at the very top.

[The Bear]

You're expecting him to win the title this year hedgie? I can't say that I am, though you can never write Ferrari and Schumacher out of it.

Maybe with the tyre changes he will be back in with a shout but all the pre-season pace has been for Renault and Honda. I think he'll be a good enough driver with the new V8's to get 2nd or 3rd but not 1st. I don't think Ferrari will be quick enough to get 1st.

[hedgie]

You're expecting him to win the title this year hedgie? I can't say that I am, though you can never write Ferrari and Schumacher out of it.

Maybe with the tyre changes he will be back in with a shout but all the pre-season pace has been for Renault and Honda. I think he'll be a good enough driver with the new V8's to get 2nd or 3rd but not 1st. I don't think Ferrari will be quick enough to get 1st.

Yes - I think the tyre changes will be very much to his benefit and that Bridgestone will be the tyres to be on this season. With Michelin leaving the sport at the end of the season, I don't think they will be too motivated to develop their tyres as the season progresses. The only other car on Bridgestones with the potential to win the title is the Toyota and I think that Ralf and Trulli would take points off one another, if their car proved good enough to win. Indeed, I think Williams will make better use of the tyres than Toyota, but sadly don't have the resources as a private team to win the title.

I've seen enough in previous years to know that pre-season pace counts for little, and the fact that Ferrari have just about the highest budget out there, Bridgestone tyres and just one lead driver who was the best of his generation means that they really should be favourites.

I don't think Michael has lost anything at all and last year was all about the equipment he had available. I also just can't see him going two seasons without winning the title. I'd love to be proved wrong, as I'm not a Schumacher fan, but I genuinely think he'll win the title this year and go out at the top.

[Mr M0by]

I think this season could be fantastic. There are so many points of interest ahead.

In no particular order.

01 Qualifying changes - I think it's going to be a couple of GPs before all the teams, let alone the viewers, get their heads around this, but in essence we will have the low-fuel sprint laps of old melded with a fuel strategy too.

02 Alonso leaving Renault for McLaren - Announcing the intention to move teams a year in advance, didn't help JPM in his final year at Williams & i think this will be +1 for Fisi this year.... of course he starts the year at -5 to FA, so he's still got some way to go! Renault just want to win the championships & i don't for a minute think they'd throw their weight behind Fisi automatically, especially given that FA will probably be quicker and more reliable (so their best bet for the win) but this years R26 is said to suit the italian more & come the latter part of the season are they going to want FA to take all the latest development knowledge with him to Paragon?

03 V8 engines. Cosworth are said to have the best on the grid at the moment but won't have the development spend of their rivals throughout the season. Still, i think it could put the Williams in with a shout of podium positions for the first 2 or 3 races. McLaren up until the past fortnight, when a revised engine was introduced, were on the opposite end of the scale, with several failures at testing sessions. Reliability for them seems to have improved of late but their engines always seem to be the weak link. Renault on the other hand seem to be running everything in testing with metronomic precision.

04 The Friday 3rd Car. McLaren don't have it this year, Williams do, i think. That was a significant advantage for the Woking lads last season.

05 Tyre changes. I don't think Michelin will let up development until after the final race even though they won't be with us next season. Nor will Bridgestone feel the need to be as overly cautious again, given that their tyres only need to last for 'sprint stints' this year. Plus they have some added teams of quality, Toyota & Williams, in their camp.

06 Newey, Tombazis & Prodromou leave McLaren. I'm sure at least one of those names means something to everyone in this thread ;) but Tombazis to Ferrari would certainly help the tweaking of the F248 aerodynamics mid-season if required. I'd also question why such key figures where keen to leave Woking, it's not like RD can't afford to keep them.

07 New teams, new drivers. And some interesting scenarios that could pan out for the 2007 driver market. Will Michael retire. Does either of JPM or Kimi want to stay at McLaren in 2007. Were do they head to if not? Trulli doesn't have a contract for 2007 with Toyota, can he keep his head up & race consistently through the year? Will Jenson benefit from having a decent partner 'focused' partner for a change.... not JV bashing. Honest. ;) Although speaking of which he now has finally found himself back in a potentially big team, will Jacques make the most of it?

Plus loads more that i'll think of after hitting submit.

Testing isn't always the barometer of a successful season ahead and even if it was it would still be hard to say with any definitive wisdom the outcome of the Bahrain GP. Renault seem to be the pace setters, with reliability to match. The BAR-Honda looks v.quick & has performed well & more recently the McLaren chassis has suggested that with a better matched engine, they could be the frontrunners again. Perhaps in typical boom or bust fashion though. Toyota have recently launched their revised spec & as mentioned earlier, i think Williams could see some significant short-term benefits of Cosworth. As for Ferrari, I really don't know. The final day of their bahrain test showed the F248 has pace (assuming it wasn't running on fumes) and previous tests have put their pace closer to the front than last season but they've stuck to testing on their own for the most part & thus they're probably the hardest to evaluate. The Tombazis arrival could prove to be a big plus though.

I honestly think this season has the potential to be the most open since i've started following F1 in '91.

So some predictions then for the year ahead:

Constructors Standings

Renault
Ferrari
McLaren
BAR Honda
Toyota
Williams
BMW Sauber
Reb Bull Ferrari
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Midland F1

Drivers Standings

Alonso
Schumacher
Raikkonen
Fisichella
Button
Montoya
Massa
Barrichello
Schumacer R.

[The Bear]

You may be right about the tyres, especially Bridgestone being better now we're back to shorter runs. I wouldn't have thought Michelin wouldn't want to go out on a loss though and expect them to be on their game. I think it might be more of an even match this year as Michelin have last year's winnning tyres to form a sound base from.

I also think that Toyota will be a threat this year with the Bridgestones. They've been making good progress since they entered the sport and are sure to challenge for one of the top 3 spots in the constructors along with Ferrari, Renault and Honda. Like you said though I don't think they've got a title winning driver yet.

I think it has the potential to be a close championship with at least 3 teams this year. The sport certainly needs a good close fought competitive year to bring some much needed excitement back into race weekends.

[hedgie]

I do agree that this could be the most exciting season for years. Certainly difficult to predict right now. Whilst I think that MS will win the title, I can't see Massa getting even in the top 10, for example. Just don't think he has it to be a Ferrari driver. This will give Renault the constructors title.

Williams will be the surprise package, especially at the early races. The Cosworth is currently rated as the fastest of the V8's, but probably they will fall back as the season progresses.

I think that McLaren are going to underachieve this year. The engine appears frail and Newey has left. The drivers are unsettled with Alonso coming in next season. I believe that Kimi will take Michael's place at Ferrari next season and Montoya will also lose the drive after a poor season.

I can't see BMW Sauber doing anything this year - they'll be lucky to trouble the top half of the championship and I even think that if, as some predict, the V10 in the Scuderia Toro Rosso car gives them an unfair advantage along with some reasonable points at the start of the season, BMW may embarassingly finish behind them.

Super Aguri will only influence races when Sato makes his usual mistakes and takes out a front runner. Otherwise, expect them to be well behind even Midland!

I'll go for my predictions here, then!

Constructors Standings

Renault
Ferrari
Toyota
Honda
Williams
McLaren
Red Bull
Scuderia Toro Rosso
BMW Sauber
Midland F1
Super Aguri

Drivers Standings

M Schumacher
Alonso
Trulli
Raikkonen
Button
Fisichella
Webber
R Schumacher
Barrichello
Montoya

[rgfinch]

Would be nice for it to be in widescreen!

I always think it's funny how Bernie goes on about F1 being some sort of technological pinnacle but then he forces us to watch it in 4:3. I know some countries aren't geared up for 16:9 but Britain, Germany and Australia have been for years, the winter olympics is 16:9 so we know the Italians can do it too. A1 GP seems to manage to send 16:9 pictures from most parts of the world too.

I think the tyre change rules will be terrible for the racing - it's clearly a political shot at Michelin to assist Bridgestone.

[worthit]

It's about time hunts1uk let us into some insider knowledge :suspect:

Can/will Alonso do it again? or will they focus more on Fisi?

[Mr M0by]

And nobodys mentioned that we'll have no Rosenthal or Jardine this year on ITV, but Steve Ryder instead.:) Shame we'll still be subjected to Blundell. I'd rather keep Allen ahead of him. :gag:

[The Bear]

I'm not sure who's worse, Rosenthal or Ryder.

[Mr M0by]

I'm not sure who's worse, Rosenthal or Ryder.

I think given that Ryder is a longtime motor racing fan, I'd rather have him presenting.

Elsewhere in the Finnish press today, it's been stated that Kimi already has signed a contract with Ferrari for 2007 (regardless of whether MS is there) but it won't be formally announced until later in the season.

[The Bear]

Fair enough if Ryder's a racing fan, but I always think he's a bit drab presenting the golf.

[The Bear]

Super Aguri finally revealled it's race colours today at Silverstone:

http://images.f1racing.net/large/56489.jpg

Looks simple but nice.

[The Bear]

Just found a more in-depth guide to qualifying over at Pitpass, and I'm confused again now. The last 10 runners in the final session can put fuel back IN the car for each lap they are within 10% of their fastest time. But the other runners in the previous sessions aren't! Presumably to compensate for them running more laps than the others.

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_feature_item.php?fes_action=&fes_art_id=27210&fes_page=2

So does everyone including the cars outside the top 10 put their set fuel in before the session and that is locked or do they decide at some other point??? Aaagghhh!! Why can't they just make it simple again!

[derek_m]

Ah finally, the long winter is (almost) over and F1 can get started again. A1 was a pleasant distraction but its nothing like the real thing.

Testing times make for interesting reading, but you cant read much into them to judge how the teams will perform come the start of the season. So far it looks as if Honda have closed the gap to the leaders while McLaren are a good bit behind where they should be (dodgy engine) but even that could easily be proven wrong when everyone arrives in Bahrain. We'll see when qualifying gets going where everyone really stands.

Following up on a few random points:

The Bear: Cars failing to qualify in the top 10 can start with any fuel load they like, decided at the last minute as far as Im aware. Mixing low fuel & race fuel in 1 session in this way makes very little sense to me, the top cars will cruise around in the first 2 qualifying periods to avoid any accidents: the time gaps in F1 qualifying between 1st and 11th are typically far too big to produce any real spectacle in the low fuel sessions. Still, it should make for some interesting mid-field battles which hopefully we will get to see. The whole qualifying concept looks like a TV directors worst nightmare.

Mr M0by: Steve Ryder taking over is hardly news, Rosenthal himself mentioned it in his final link of the 2005 season. Surely noone missed the terrible pun: new runners and Ryders :nuts:

Press reporting the Raikkonen to Ferrari rumours now seems a little odd, the story has been around since last season. Reports last week suggested Kimi had turned down a 2007 contract offer from McLaren so maybe thats where this comes from.

Super Aguri's car does look very plain, it seems finding sponsors is another thing they havent had time to do, along with finding performance :razz: Still their testing times are even less meaningful than any other teams, until today they had been testing with the aero setup from the 3 year old Arrows car, which wouldnt even be legal to race in Bahrain. They are going to struggle badly until a new car arrives, and even then will they have had time to do it properly? I guess we'll find out eventually.

ITV's schedule for Bahrain doesnt appear to be on their own website yet, rather odd.

Qualifying live on ITV1 - 10.30-12.15
Race live on ITV1 - 10.30-13.30
Highlights - 00.10-01.10

[PTBurkis]

I have to disagree with some of the statements that have been said.

The third car on a friday - This doesn't help the teams as much as you might think as each car has their own engineer, their own mechanics, their own parts, and their own tyres. Each one is different, so when engineers try to test ideas out, they have to take the results with a pinch of salt. It's more of a way to show off what their test drivers can do and see if they might be able to cut it in a race. Although after last season with Pedro & Wurz racing for McLaren you can see that in testing they aren't very often faced with overtaking cars!!

Newey leaving mclaren - Ha ha, I don't think you'll find anyone at Woking reeling from that one. He's much more of a boat man these days, and has been for years. The only one they'll be slightly worried about is Peter Promedeu leaving from Aero.

Alonso joining mclaren next year - It's just a chance to give montoya a kick up the ar5e. Although he knows that Kimi has already signed a letter of intent for Ferrari in 2007. Montoya is actually a spectactular driver, but he's just sooooo unreliable. As you can see from last year, if kimi is in pole and there are 5 laps left (apart from in Nurburgring) he's going to win it. If there are 5 laps left and Montoya is in pole, then god only knows what's going to happen!!

I'll come up with some more later.... !

[The Bear]

The third car on a friday - This doesn't help the teams as much as you might think as each car has their own engineer, their own mechanics, their own parts, and their own tyres. Each one is different, so when engineers try to test ideas out, they have to take the results with a pinch of salt. It's more of a way to show off what their test drivers can do and see if they might be able to cut it in a race.
Surely it gives them more available runs and much more data about tyre and set-up choices for each particular circuit?

[PTBurkis]

Tyres possibly, but trust me, it doesn't help them that much. I ran telemetry on the third car last year.

[Napoleon]

Tony Jardine being dropped by ITV is a really stupid decision;even when the racing is dull (as it so often is) he contributes a lot of technical info,gossip and humour.

[Panavision]

Davidson broke the unofficial lap record at Valencia yesterday! Probably on fumes or doing a quali run. Their race pace is just shy of Renault but they do look very good. I think MAC are near Honda's race pace.

[derek_m]

Hondas testing times should be taken with a far larger pinch of salt than normal: remember the times BAR were putting up in testing last season, only for them to have a car that could hardly keep up with the midfield pace for most of the season.

It would be nice if they were a little more competitive than last seasons BAR, but from the (limited) testing times Ive seen taken from longer runs they dont seem to be threatening the leaders.

Guess we'll find out one way or the other in a week :clap:

[Nujol]

Info about ITV having Rider etc. here http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=35127

[Fraggle]

I'm going to try my best and follow the F1 better this year, past years just held no interest as it was so boring.

Anyway, shameless plug time now; my friend and I run a F1 Prediction league at http://www.fanf1.co.uk/ which is free to enter and a bit of fun.

Predict the results (and stats) for each race to gain points. If enough Forum members are interested, we'll get a DVD Forums Mini League setup so you can compete against other Forumites.

Thanks

Pete

[Matt KB]

Can't decide if I like Rider presenting it. Wasn't the best preview ever today but a nice taster for next week. Looking forward to it.

[The Bear]

Doh! Forgot about the preview and missed it. Doesn't look like it's repeated either.

[Malabbey]

Doh! Forgot about the preview and missed it. Doesn't look like it's repeated either.
There's an alternative preview show on Sky Channel 413 (Motors TV) at 3pm today.

[The Bear]

I don't have Sky :)

[Panavision]

Hondas testing times should be taken with a far larger pinch of salt than normal: remember the times BAR were putting up in testing last season, only for them to have a car that could hardly keep up with the midfield pace for most of the season.

It would be nice if they were a little more competitive than last seasons BAR, but from the (limited) testing times Ive seen taken from longer runs they dont seem to be threatening the leaders.

Guess we'll find out one way or the other in a week :clap:

Thought the testing race pace was rather good, bigger drop-off than Renault but consistent times and probably the most reliable after Renault as well.

[derek_m]

Oh they certainly seem to have the reliability, unlike say McLaren who I wouldnt bet on getting a single car to the finish next weekend.

What on earth have ITV done to their title sequence? I suppose they are at least telling the truth: it is the Jenson & Coulthard appreciation society after all.

[rbullivant]

Could be a classic season or the same bore-fest as every other one, to be honest it is in ITV's best interest to imply it will be a close run thing so more people will tune in.

Hopefully it is Kimi's year!

Rik

[GordonJ]

Hmm, the race thread (http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=416859) got closed :(

Is my memory dodgy or did we always have a separate thread for each race once the season started?

[unrealnils]

no tony jardine thats not clever :(

[Panavision]

Hmm, the race thread (http://www.thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=416859) got closed :(

Is my memory dodgy or did we always have a separate thread for each race once the season started?

Yep, we always had a separate thread for each of the races. Ah well.

[unrealnils]

just contact alan im sure he wont mind im guessing he closed as someone said it was a dupe.......

[T4V]

Anyone read the Guardian preview yesterday? The "Super" Aguri comic was very funny, and Coulthard prediction for the session was about right, "All F1 drivers have balls but none of them are crystal." :lol:

[weirdo109]

I have scanned in the Formula One 2006 Guardian Guide.
It's 68 pages in pdf format at 7.2mb
I will happily make it available if anyone wants it.

[The Bear]

Yes please weirdo109. That'd be great thanks.

I contacted Alan about the Bahrain thread, so hopefully he'll re-open it.

[Mr M0by]

Yeah hopefully, I think a one season only thread could get too unwieldy otherwise.

[T4V]

should re-title this thread pre-session or general F1 2006 then.

[The Bear]

Done.

[The Bear]

Some good news for the season in that there has been appointed a chief-steward who will go to all the races and ensure rulings are fair and consistent. Gets a thumbs up from me.

Also, Murray Walker will be back in the F1 paddock as Honda's Team Ambassador, taking care of their VIP guests and showing them around. It'll only be for half of the GP, but it's good news and we should see some interviews with him I expect.

[Andrew70]

What do people think about team liveries?
I predict commentator confusion between Red Bull and STR, and also possibly between Williams and BMW Sauber (looking so much like Williams 2005).

Also, if there is interest I can run a Forums F1 Fantasy league as I have it all set up and automated for work anyway. (It's the Autosport version.)

[The Bear]

Yeah I'll be in for the comp. A list of rules for the comp can be found here (http://autosport.fantasyleaguef1.com) for anyone else interested.

Perhaps if you started a new thread you may get more interest.

[Bearhorn]

What do people think about team liveries?

Once the McLarens are reliable and quick, any drivers in slower cars would be well advised to use a tinted visor if they aren't to be blinded by the sun reflecting off the chrome effect bodywork :)

Toyota really should update their 'brush stroke' livery. It looked cool and avantgarde in the mid-90s on the Toyota GT-One car but it's a bit tired now.

[Mr M0by]

What do people think about team liveries?
I predict commentator confusion between Red Bull and STR, and also possibly between Williams and BMW Sauber (looking so much like Williams 2005).

Also, if there is interest I can run a Forums F1 Fantasy league as I have it all set up and automated for work anyway. (It's the Autosport version.)

The official livery of RB and STR are unveiled tomorrow aren't they? Of course the fact that this years STR will look identical to last years RB has got nothing to do with the late launch, right?

[The Bear]

There's a nice Qualifying Guide by Ted Kravitz over on ITV's F1 site. It explains things a lot better:


New Qualifying

There’s no question the new F1 qualifying is complicated, but at least it won’t be boring. Here are a few things to bear in mind when you tune in on Saturday.

There are three heats in a 60-minute session. At the end of the first heat the slowest six cars are eliminated. At the end of the second, the next slowest six are knocked out.

And in the last 20-minute session the ten remaining cars battle it out for pole position.


Heat 1 (of 3)

The first heat is quite straightforward. Everyone will try to nail one hot lap on low fuel.

You don’t want to be doing lots of laps as 22 cars will all be trying to qualify for the next session simultaneously and traffic will be an issue in this 15-minute session.

Doing the fewest laps will also minimise tyre and engine mileage.

The three slowest teams (who are about to get knocked out) could use a set of new tyres to try and mug one of the midfield teams who are running the heats on old tyres, trying to save new sets.

A new set of tyres can give a car a couple of seconds extra per lap, which could promote a slow car into the second heat.


Heat 2

This involves the top 16 cars, and they all start again.

Traffic will still be an issue, but you’d expect drivers from the top five teams - Renault, McLaren, Honda, Ferrari and one of Toyota/Williams - to be going through to the third session.


Tactical Joker 1: Benefits of being a Drop-out

If you’re 11th or lower, you don’t have to decide your fuel load in advance. You can wait until qualifying is over, sit down and look at the cars in front of you and come up with whatever strategy you like.

At some tracks, that will be the thing to do.

So during Heat 2 there may be some interesting tactics involved if a team’s engineers decide that qualifying 11th, and having the freedom to start with whatever fuel load they fancy for the race, is more advantageous than qualifying 10th and starting with a pre-determined fuel load.

Only problem then is making sure you don’t progress to the third session (super-pole)!


Possible cock-ups

Drivers now have to finish their laps before the chequered flag comes out.

So no more of those old ‘crossing the line to start the lap with two seconds to go before the end of the session’ jobs.

Get your lap finished before the end of the heat.

Yellow flags also present an opportunity for a cock-up.

If you leave your one lap till late in the 15 minutes, being forced to back off for someone else’s accident could see your effort ruined with no time to try for another.


Tyre use

Each car has seven sets of tyres. Ideally, you’d want to keep three sets of new tyres for the race – one for the start, and one for each of your stops.

It follows that drivers going for three stop strategies would want four new sets, meaning they’d have to use just three sets of tyres for practice and qualifying.

We’ll keep on top of who has the advantage in terms of new tyres.


Super-pole session

The rules say the remaining ten cars have to begin the last 20 minute session with the amount of fuel they want to start the race with, let’s say 60kg, and they’re allowed to refuel back to that level before the race.

But naturally, all that weight will slow them down, and they only want the bare minimum of fuel in the car when they do their last qualifying lap - around 10kg.

That means we’re going to see 10 cars chugging round, each one deliberately burning off enough petrol to keep a family car on the road for a fortnight!

As an aside, at a time when world fuel prices are going through the roof and nations are struggling to control their greenhouse gas emissions this organised waste of petrol is not going to sit at all well with the public, never mind the environmental lobby.

Isn’t this a PR disaster waiting to happen?

Once the 10 cars have burned off enough petrol, more often than not, they will come back into the pits, put on a new set of tyres, and go out to deliver one brilliant lap.

If they mess it up, that might be tough – the new tyres will have delivered their best performance, and they won’t have enough fuel for another try.

So in a sense, it’s still single lap qualifying…


Tactical Joker 2

If a driver from one of the smaller teams does a brilliant lap to make it through the heats, he may be best advised not to run in the last session.

He’s not likely to move up too many places from 10th, and would get more benefit from saving a new set of tyres for the race.


Fuel Credit

You’ll hear us talking about fuel credits. This is the FIA deciding on a standard amount of fuel consumption per lap.

It will be around two or 3kg, depending on the circuit.

The FIA will count how many laps each car has done in the super-pole session and give them back that amount in petrol.

For example: say 3kg is the agreed fuel consumption per lap, and the car did 15 laps, that means the team will refill the car with 45kg petrol before the start of the race.

Of course one trick would be for a car to troll round, using a small amount of petrol, only to be given back more than they used from the FIA, gaining an advantage.

But the FIA is already wise to that one – each lap will only be given a fuel credit if it is within 110% of that car’s fastest lap.


Weather & Track conditions


We saw a handful of wet qualifying sessions last year, and it is obvious that a wet track will see everyone trying to set a time at the end of a heat when the track is drying out.

Similarly, if rain is expected, they will all rush out to get laps in the bank while it is still dry.

In both cases, the teams who can best manage their drivers through traffic will be successful. If qualifying is wet, at least cars will be able to save dry tyres for the race.

You would also expect that the best dry track conditions will be at the end of a session, when most rubber has been laid down, giving the best grip.

Again, finding a bit of clear track at the end of a session will be key.

Teams with the most sophisticated car-tracking computer programmes and drivers who can find themselves space will be at an advantage.


Strategies & Impact on the Race

Cars that run in the super-pole session will be on lighter fuel loads than those behind them, which means making earlier stops.

Because they are fast and light, many of the top 10 will try to break away from the pack so that they can make their first stop and still exit the pits still ahead of the chasing bunch.

In other words the lighter cars will need to protect their position relative to cars starting behind them who are on ‘ideal’ (heavier fuelled) strategies.

So strategies are now one-stop, then flexible, for the top ten. The second and even third pit stops may fluctuate significantly as cars try to gain or maintain track position.

By the same token, those eliminated in the heats will be driving with heavier fuel loads than their competitors in order to make up track position during the race, by running further in the first stint, or even making fewer pit stops.

But to do this they will need suitable tyres, which will need to be harder than those used by the front-running cars.

This is a lot to digest – all will become clearer when we see it in practice over the next few weeks.


One final thought…


It’s all going to be about tyres.

While driving round and round to burn off fuel in the super-pole session may save you a second, bolting on new tyres will give you two seconds or more, so fuel load is no longer the key to race strategy.

With shorter-life tyres, tyre degradation is now higher, and affects the strategic decision-making – because after a certain number of laps, the time delay of pitting for new tyres, is less than that of continuing to run old tyres with less performance.

As such, the ‘ideal stint length’ will be dictated by how knackered your tyres get, rather than just fuel load.

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=General&PO_ID=35160

[T4V]

Do we have an Official RB and TR livery yet?

[unrealnils]

guys what do you mean by livery ? cheers

[T4V]

Paintjob.

[Mr M0by]

Later tonight, (9 March) Red Bull is staging a party to reveal the new 2006 liveries for both its teams, but spare a thought for the Red Bull Racing team personnel who won’t even get to the launch party. Today, in the garage, the three cars – two race and one spare – have been partially disguised as the mechanics set about getting them ready for the first practice session on Friday. Later tonight, the shutters will come down, the doors will be closed and the job of redecorating the racers in their new colours will begin. It’s a major operation, as each of the Red Bull Racing cars needs 45 stickers and things like spare nose cones and wings also have to be re-liveried. Three guys will attack one car each, taking four hours to complete the job. Our friends the Toro Rosso gang have an even more complex livery, which means two men working on each car and taking a staggering eight hours to get the job done. None of the race drivers should even consider spinning off the track tomorrow if they don’t want to be lynched by their crew.

Source: Redbullracing.com (http://www.redbullracing.com/#page=NewsPage.1141912224504-399015839)

[T4V]

Well that sounds exciting at least. As long as they both don't look the same (at the far end of the straight) I'll be happy.

[Mr M0by]

http://sport.orf.at/060309-26671/f1_toro_rosso_popup_b_a.jpg

http://sport.orf.at/060309-26671/f1_toro_rosso_seile_popup_b_a.jpg

Not sure if i'm allowed to post the links with [IMG] tags.... is that 'leaching', unless i copy them to my own webspace and host from there?

[T4V]

mmmm... Can't beat a bit of Bully. ;)

BTW I read that the F1 show on Five Live that'll have Murray is to be Podcasted.

[The Bear]

F1 show on 5Live? Murray? (As In Walker?) Podcast?

Tell me more, tell me more...

[T4V]

Murray as in Walker yes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4788766.stm

Murray Walker heads to Five Live

Murray Walker began commentating on Formula One in 1949
Veteran Formula One commentator Murray Walker is to resume his career as part of BBC Radio Five Live's team.
The 82-year-old, who commentated on his last race for ITV five years ago, will contribute interviews and special features to this season's racing.

Walker will make his station debut on Friday with a team-by-team preview for a new slot, Five Live Formula One.

The broadcaster will also make its motor racing show The Chequered Flag available as a podcast.

For the first time, Five Live will provide commentary on practice sessions as well as qualifying from each circuit.

[Andrew70]

Having now seen the Red Bull and STR cars in their definitive liveries, I still think they're a bit too similar for their own good. The nose cones in particular will cause confusion.

[The Bear]

Yeah the STR looks gash as well. They should have gone for a completely different livery design, they're too similar.

[Andrew70]

I hope Berger's got deep pockets because there's sod all sponsorship on that STR car considering Red Bull is the co-owner and doesn't count as such.