F1. Grand Prix Sweeps. 2015 Season.

[Brandybee]

To the Winners of the Grand Prix  ABU DHABI.  Well done, claps and cheers to…

1st  =   1000 Achat Dollars – NICO ROSBERG –  Martinus
2nd =    600 Achat Dollars – LEWIS HAMILTON – Sexilicious
3rd =    400 Achat Dollars – KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN – JayC

Pole position =  200 Achat Dollars – NICO ROSBERG –  Martinus

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And To the Winners of the Tipping contest conducted over the whole F1 racing season. Well done, claps and cheers to …

1st = 700 Achat Dollars (each) – Sam_Hawke, Sexilicious, Tangoracer
2nd = 600 Achat Dollars – BrandyBee
3rd = 300 Achat Dollars – TonyG

All accounts have been awarded their prizes .

Congratulations to all the organisers and a big Thank you to The Square & Sponsors for making this F1 racing season such a successful event for Forum & The Square.  Hugs all round.

[AusWoody]

FIA ANNOUNCES REVISED 2016 CALENDAR, CLARIFIES RULES TO MAKE CARS LOUDER
30 Sep 2015

Formula One racing’s governing body the FIA has released a revised provisional schedule for next year’s world championship, with the season set to get underway in Australia in March, not in April as previously indicated.

A record 21 races remain on the calendar, with the brand-new event in Baku, Azerbaijan taking place the week after Canada – one of six back-to-back Grand Prix weekends.

Also announced at Wednesday’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) meeting in Paris were new rules to increase the noise of cars. From 2016, all cars must have a separate exhaust wastegate tailpipe through which all and only wastegate exhaust gases must pass. This move will not have any significant effect on power or emissions.

Several other changes were announced to the F1 regulations. They were:

• Cars must now comply with all cockpit and safety equipment requirements during testing; such as the position of the driver’s head, all headrest padding, cockpit padding and ease of driver egress.
  
• Sporting Regulations regarding track limits have been clarified and specify that drivers “must make every reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not deliberately leave the track without a justifiable reason”. Penalties will still be allocated based on whether a driver is judged to have gained an advantage.
• The WMSC approved the proposal of the F1 Commission regarding regulations for power unit and gearbox changes. Such penalties prior to qualifying will be applied based on the time of use. For changes made after qualifying, preference will be given to the driver whose team first informed the technical delegate that a change will occur.
• Any driver who causes a start to be aborted, even if he is then able to start the extra formation lap, will be required to start the race from the pit lane. The same process will be applied to a re-start from a race suspension where drivers have been brought to the pit lane.
• The WMSC confirmed a number of clarifications were made to aerodynamic testing restrictions for wind tunnel use and CFD, specifically focusing on reporting and inspection processes for these development tools.
• For 2017, on board cameras on stalks on the nose of cars will be prohibited.

[/list]

The revised provisional calendar in full:

March 20 – Australia
April 3 – Bahrain
April 17 – China
May 1 – Sochi
May 15 – Spain
May 29 – Monaco
June 12 – Canada
June 19 – Baku*
July 3 – Austria
July 10 – Britain
July 24 – Hungary
July 31 – Germany
August 28 – Belgium
September 4 – Italy
September 18 – Singapore
October 2 – Malaysia
October 9 – Japan
October 23 – USA
November 6 – Mexico
November 13 – Brazil
November 27 – Abu Dhabi

*race start to be scheduled to avoid conflict with the conclusion of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

[martinus]

F1  2016 Season is coming soon

On the eve of the start of the first winter training sessions next week the last seats for the 2016 season are filled.

With one extra team ( Haas F1 ) entering this year the field is back up to 22 cars.

Here is a report on who drives where this coming season.

Mercedes AMG Petronas – Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg

First and second again in the championship last year, Mercedes surely start as favourites for the forthcoming season.

Lewis Hamilton is a title away from drawing level with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, although his teammate will be desperate to stop him and finally become a world champion himself.

The German won the final three races of 2015, the first time in his career he’s won a hat-trick of grands prix. Keeping that momentum will be key to his prospects this year.

Scuderia Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel & Kimi Raikkonen

Mercedes’ main challengers last season as the only other team to win a grand prix, with Vettel collecting wins in Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore.

By the end of the year Ferrari’s engine wasn’t far behind that of the Mercs, which is a sign that the gap is closing. And the closer it is, the more competition we’re going to have at the front.

In any case, this will be a vital season for Raikkonen having been largely outclassed by his German teammate in 2015. A poor season could tempt Ferrari to look at other options.

Williams Martini Racing – Valtteri Bottas & Felipe Massa

Another unchanged line-up. Williams could well have won the British Grand Prix last year had they been a bit cannier with strategy, but typical struggles on low-speed circuits meant their opportunities to win races were lacking.

At 34 Felipe Massa is still going strong, although his Finnish teammate generally tends to get more out of the car. Bottas would surely be a candidate for bigger teams should a seat become available in the near future.

Red Bull Racing – Daniel Ricciardo & Daniil Kvyat

2015 was tricky for Red Bull, and it’s hard to see how 2016 will be any better given that they’re still using the Renault engine they were so desperate to get rid of last year.

Ricciardo was the star of 2014 after beating four-time world champion Vettel whilst he was still a relative rookie, although Kvyat held his own against the Aussie and outscored him in their first season together.

An interesting battle to keep an eye on, even if it doesn’t play out at the front of the pack.

Sahara Force India – Sergio Perez & Nico Hulkenberg

[img]http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Force-India-F1-Team-2015-Car.jpg?3a87fd[/img]

The team finished fifth in the constructors championship last year, pulling off a string of impressive results in the second half of the season.

The best of those was a sensational podium finish for Sergio Perez at the Russian Grand Prix; a sweet moment for the Mexican whose F1 career looked in decline after being ditched by McLaren in 2013.

Maintaining this position in the field would be a great achievement for Force India, but don’t be too surprised if they’re caught by richer teams.

Renault Sport – Kevin Magnussen & Jolyon Palmer

The French manufacturer returns as a full works team having bought the Lotus outfit which struggled with its finances last year.

Renault are in it for the long-haul having targeted podiums in 2018 and a world championship in 2020, but immediate progress this season is unlikely given the short amount of time they’ve had to focus on developing the car.

That said, their line-up is strong: Kevin Magnussen fills the void left by Pastor Maldonado, and Jolyon Palmer takes the seat vacated by Frenchman Romain Grosjean. Both are young, hungry and recognise the team’s potential. Neither will want to let this opportunity slip their grasp.

Scuderia Toro Rosso – Max Verstappen & Carlos Sainz

Without a single yard of F1 racing experience between them in 2015, Verstappen and Sainz proved to be the most exciting pairing on the grid last year.

The Dutchman especially thrilled fans around the world, producing a season stuffed with daring overtakes and two fourth place finishes in a car that few could have pushed that high up the grid.

Team boss Christian Horner has admitted that Toro Rosso are likely to outperform their parent team in the early part of the new season. It’ll be quite a sight if it happens.

Sauber F1 – Felipe Nasr & Marcus Ericsson

Sauber were eighth in the standings last year, with a smattering of points finishes and decent reliability ensuring they finished above McLaren.

With a limited budget and ambitious rivals, success will be hard to come by for Nasr and Ericsson this season. A Ferrari engine gives them the same power as newcomers Haas F1, over whom they should have the advantage of experience.

But with Manor and McLaren showing signs of improvement, Sauber need to have something up their sleeve to stay ahead.

McLaren-Honda – Jenson Button & Fernando Alonso

It would be remarkable if McLaren were to endure a repeat of last year’s disaster, especially when Honda have been working non-stop over the off-season to bring their power unit up to speed.

The team was miles off the pace because of a fundamental flaw in the engine which couldn’t be rectified last year because of F1’s ‘token’ development rules. 2016 should deliver big improvements, even if race wins remain out of reach.

Both drivers remain among the sport’s top bracket of names, although at 36 and 34 years of age, neither is getting any younger. Can they get the car into a position where it’s ready for a title challenge in 2017?

Manor Racing – Pascal Wehrlein & Rio Haryanto

After employing three drivers over the course of last season, Manor enter 2016 with two completely new faces in the form of DTM champion Pascal Wehrlein and ex GP2 driver Rio Haryanto.

The latter becomes Indonesia’s first ever F1 driver, while Wehrlein lines up on the grid for the first time having performed duties as Mercedes’ reserve driver last season.

Manor have secured a Mercedes engine and have agreed a technical partnership with Williams for the forthcoming season. How much they’ll improve remains to be seen, but don’t expect them to be lapped quite as much this year…

Haas F1 – Romain Grosjean & Esteban Gutierrez

Formula One’s newest team, backed by American owner Gene Haas.

Romain Grosjean has taken a risk joining the team, probably in the hope that their ties with Ferrari lead to an opportunity with the Italian outfit later in his career. He is joined by former Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez, who arrives having spent a year as backup to Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

The North Carolina-based team has bought as many parts as is legally permitted from Ferrari in order to hit the ground running. It would be a big disappointment from their point of view if that investment didn’t pay dividends during the season.

[Author]

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