Vettel Cruises to Korea Win

Bram Hengeveld submitted a new blog post:

Vettel Cruises to Korea Win

It’s been a familiar story all season, and Sebastian Vettel has once again taken the win at the Korean Grand Prix.

Starting from pole the German had a good start off the line and by the end of lap 1 had built up a 2 second lead to prevent those behind him really challenging for the lead without the use of DRS.

Felipe Massa had a spin on the first lap which almost ended teammate Fernando Alonso’s race and allowed the likes of Pastor Maldonado to jump from 18th to 9th and Giedo van der...
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what''s v4tt4l?
When no Team and or driver can't match him, it is not his fault! And look at Hamilton he couldn't get past Hülkenberg. Stupid rev and FIA rules.
Man of the Day! Nico Hülkenberg
Respect the Vettel, i am german but i didn't like him. I'm a Merc Fan!
 
I am getting really frustrated by the tippy toeing the drivers need to do with the tires. I think the FIA need to change their approach. Make the guys race again!
 
Refueling added quite a bit to the racing strategy overall. Throwing it out completely was maybe not the best idea for the racing. While you can never fully remove the risk of fire...you can certainly minimize it. How about a mandatory fuel stop time limit (monitored by the FIA)? That'd keep guys from dragging the fuel rigs down the pit-lane, since that stop time would be set. Penalty for early release. Tire stops would remain the same as now.
 
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Brilliant race from Grojean and Raikkonen ! Personally I never want to see refueling again ! I have been following F1 for almost 25years now and I always hated refueling part of the race ! Tire change is the only thing needed ! not to mention how much they save budget wise and how good it is for the environment and the safety in the pits !
 
How is not refueling good for the budget? They still need to bring refueling rigs to each race to... you know, fill the tanks :unsure:
And why the hate towards refueling? At least back then they didn't have to start the race with full tanks, which made the cars much easier on the tires. And just think about the strategy options that added - they could start the race with a lighter car and be quicker on the opening laps, but had to come in for refueling sooner, or they could fill up the tank and stay out for as long as possible (or at least for as long as the tires allowed).

Btw, why can't the refueling rigs be a standard equipment on each race track, that could be used by teams from any racing series? THIS would be a huge relief for the teams' budgets.
The tracks would have to invest a bit more, but I'm pretty sure that would be just a fraction of their usual expenses.
 
How is not refueling good for the budget? They still need to bring refueling rigs to each race to... you know, fill the tanks :unsure:
And why the hate towards refueling? At least back then they didn't have to start the race with full tanks, which made the cars much easier on the tires. And just think about the strategy options that added - they could start the race with a lighter car and be quicker on the opening laps, but had to come in for refueling sooner, or they could fill up the tank and stay out for as long as possible (or at least for as long as the tires allowed).

Btw, why can't the refueling rigs be a standard equipment on each race track, that could be used by teams from any racing series? THIS would be a huge relief for the teams' budgets.
The tracks would have to invest a bit more, but I'm pretty sure that would be just a fraction of their usual expenses.

He said environment, not budget.

And yes, I know you mean more transport of equipment = carbon footprint.
 
I once read that a single passenger plane taking off (for example a 747) blasts more contaminants into the atmosphere than 22 F1 cars during a whole race. :)
 
Environment and budget because there is less usage, so it equals both a budget saving and a lesser usage of fuel. I don't think a full tank does that much damage to the tires, when they can pit only twice withing the average of 60 laps...! Nobody can not knowledge how much the safety in the pits increased without refueling. Not refueling also brings a better leverage to strategy and ergo threw out the different teams Top teams vs small budget teams which gives them a more competitive advantage.

Seriously, refueling is plain boring ! at least pits are now focus on going has fast as possible !
 
Nobody can not knowledge how much the safety in the pits increased without refueling.
Oh yeah, the cameraman that got hit by a loose wheel will definitely agree!
With refueling they had twice as much time to fit all of the wheels, so the margin of error was a lot bigger. How many wheels on the run did you see each season until the ban on refueling? Maybe one such event every year or two? How many wheel incidents do we get now?
Besides, refueling was more dangerous than loose wheels? How? Cause a flexible hose can hit someone? Because of possible fires, that usually went out instantly as soon as the spilled bit of fuel burned out?

I don't think a full tank does that much damage to the tires, when they can pit only twice withing the average of 60 laps.
Two pit stops = three stints = they would have 66% less fuel on board for the first stint and 50% less for the second one. That IS a noticeable weight difference for such a light car.

Not refueling also brings a better leverage to strategy and ergo threw out the different teams Top teams vs small budget teams which gives them a more competitive advantage.
How? How is one available variable in the strategy better than two?
Right now you can only mess with the tires. Back then you could take a lot less fuel than everyone else and be quicker or take more fuel, be a bit slower, but save some time in the first pit stop by not taking more fuel.
There were all kinds of possible strategies. Right now it's just a matter of picking the moment to change tires before they disintegrate.
 
There were all kinds of possible strategies.

There were, but only one optimal one which all teams used unless they were going for a punt.

Variety went out the window when computers became powerful enough to simulate entire races. Teams even rock up to brand new circuits for the first time with their setups almost finalised based on simulations and just tweak them.
 
There were, but only one optimal one which all teams used unless they were going for a punt.
And the same still applies to current races. But at least with refueling there was more options.
Besides, optimal strategy for a team isn't the same as "every team does the exact same strategy". It all depends on the particular car, its setup, the driver and his tendency to make mistakes...
And it all goes even further out the window when a bit of rain falls or the safety car goes out.
 
Brilliant race from Grojean and Raikkonen ! Personally I never want to see refueling again ! I have been following F1 for almost 25years now and I always hated refueling part of the race ! Tire change is the only thing needed ! not to mention how much they save budget wise and how good it is for the environment and the safety in the pits !

Let's take a look shall we...
Everything has compromises...motorsport is no exception..
I too have been following F1...for 42 years.
During that time I've witness some of the most epic battles on track.
You say lack of refuelng saves the environment. I say how so?
Heavier cars wear more rubber from the tires at a faster rate. That accounts for more tire changing and more 'pollutants' on the track surface.
A heavier car will also use more fuel to overcome the additional drag. More fuel equals...more exhaust gases.
I'll give you the safety to a point. No more pulling the hose out of the refueling rig through errant pit signals or overly enthusiastic drivers....BUT...that means an extra 300lbs of fuel in the car. A potential for more spillage in a crash.
You see where this is going?.
 

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