F1: Massa Poised to Return to Williams, Opens Door for Bottas/Mercedes Deal

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

however less downforce also results in more sliding,

Surely that will make the cars more difficult to drive, which is what we want?

Another solution to the downforce problem is to go back to Ground Effect Cars, that means there would be less drag but still be as much downforce as you please

 

[Chris]

What I meant was that most racing drivers could drive an F1 car nowadays. You would've of needed more skill to be good at driving
An 80s F1 car than a car in 2016.

Again I don't really agree with that. The level of performance and driver fitness has only increased with advancements in sports, physiological and biomechanical sciences. The drivers now are as technically skilled as Formula One has ever seen. They may require a different skill set as the sport evolves (for example why you see drivers much leaner and fitter than back in the 80's), but in terms of driving the cars, the performance is as good as it's ever been.

The amount of information they have to process in the cockpit, all the while actually driving the thing around 21 competitors is utterly astonishing. I think people tend to look back on the past with fondness and somewhat rose tinted glasses, and I don't think the drivers these days get enough credit for just how good they are.

Schumacher was the the first driver to really take advancements in physical fitness seriously, which is largely why he was so impressive in his early years, so much so that he could talk to his team on the radio as if driving a grand prix car was not a concern. Since then it's only ever increased and the drivers are fitter and more mentally involved than they've ever been.

 

[Erwin Greven]

.....; we need simple F1 cars. When the driver made the difference, not the car.

The problem is that F1 made itself the pinnacle of motorsports because the technology. From the moment Lotus (Chapman) started to build chassis which had to make up the disadvantage of having less power than the Ferrari's, F1 went into a technology war. Formula 1 was never easy and simple and won't be in the future.

 

[InsaneOzzie]

Todays F1, is all about aero grip, KERS, DRS, a massive wind tunnel facility and multi-million dollar budgets.
There's only one real philosophy that F1 needs to remember & reflect on in my opinion "KISS"
Oh and Massa should stay in bed.
My 2cents.

 

[Yapci]

Problem for me is not technology neither cars been boring or easy to drive (which probably aren't). Problem is differences between teams are huge and that makes it boring.

Close racing is funny, no matter how fast, difficult or complex cars are. That's what should be the main focus. Close racing from start to finish. And there DRS got sense because it will be a crazy show of overtakes. Now it's little boring most of the time, and when a driver tries some strategy (see Hamilton last race) lot of people complain...

 

[Blimey]

He's a lovely guy but really it's time to do some Brazilian Stock Cars with his mates. They should have used the Mercedes money to buyout Sainz contract.

he said no to Brazilian Stock Cars.

 

[Erwin Greven]

A lot of people underestimate Massa. With tons of experience in many different f1 cars, he is a very valuable driver for Williams.

As much everyone thinks Hamilton should be the WDC because of Malaysia, the same you could say to Massa in 2008.

 

[Benutzername]

Can anyone explain to me why f1 regulates so much?

i mean the width of a car for example... why are the regulations for it?


F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport (or wants to be at least). -> we need innovation

Give teams a maximum budget and let them develop what they think is the fastest option. i believe we would see much more interesting cars and that alone would make the series more interesting, even if the teama are unequally powered

 

[Colin O Callaghan]

I really think they should have signed someone new or different, Massa said his farewells, New car, new tyres, new setup, new season, they should have getting new blood. I understand they also want experience to go along side Stroll but I feel they should have taken a risk and going out all new with new drivers, they have gone to the past and unfortunately ... as much as Massa is and WAS a talented driver, (like Alonso) i dont think they are future world champions.. but anyway good luck guys, would love to see Williams back at the top.. Seems like just another transition year or testing year for Williams

 

[Blimey]

I really think they should have signed someone new or different, Massa said his farewells, New car, new tyres, new setup, new season, they should have getting new blood. I understand they also want experience to go along side Stroll but I feel they should have taken a risk and going out all new with new drivers, they have gone to the past and unfortunately ... as much as Massa is and WAS a talented driver, (like Alonso) i dont think they are future world champions.. but anyway good luck guys, would love to see Williams back at the top.. Seems like just another transition year or testing year for Williams

Williams would be like Sauber, at the back of the field with new drivers, + who could say no to 5 million?

 

[paracletus]

Massa was, at times in the past one of the best drivers on the grid. Deserved a championship.
Recent performances though have been far from his best.
A case of "better the devil you know" from williams, and fair enough. The alternatives aren't great.

 

[Blimey]

Massa was, at times in the past one of the best drivers on the grid. Deserved a championship.
Recent performances though have been far from his best.
A case of "better the devil you know" from williams, and fair enough. The alternatives aren't great.

he was great with Schumacher and Kimi by his side, Alonso and the entire Hungaroring accident with Barichello caused a massive slump for him.

 

[Deleted member 130869]

Schumacher was the the first driver to really take advancements in physical fitness seriously, which is largely why he was so impressive in his early years, so much so that he could talk to his team on the radio as if driving a grand prix car was not a concern. Since then it's only ever increased and the drivers are fitter and more mentally involved than they've ever been.

Way before Schumacher, Senna placed great focus on that aspect in 1984 and it caused a shift in the sport. François Cevert was another prime example of fitness focus (despite him smoking).

 

[InsaneOzzie]

Schumacher was the the first driver to really take advancements in physical fitness seriously, which is largely why he was so impressive in his early years, so much so that he could talk to his team on the radio as if driving a grand prix car was not a concern. Since then it's only ever increased and the drivers are fitter and more mentally involved than they've ever been.

Way before Schumacher, Senna placed great focus on that aspect in 1984 and it caused a shift in the sport. François Cevert was another prime example of fitness focus (despite him smoking).

I would imagine the levels of fitness in todays F1 pilots was also to do with being able to cope with the massive G's they can pull with the downforce they develop, and to better resist injuries or to bounce back from an injury, would also help with focus and endurance too I guess.

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

Give teams a maximum budget and let them develop what they think is the fastest option. i believe we would see much more interesting cars and that alone would make the series more interesting, even if the teama are unequally powered

And while we are at it, let's get rid of independent teams, because they would stand no chance (apart from Red Bull). Then we would lose smaller manufacturers because there is no reason for them to spend stupid amounts of money when they won't be able to compete with the likes of Ferrari...

There needs to be a cost cap in order to make the field more equal so the sport is more interesting...

 

[Benutzername]

And while we are at it, let's get rid of independent teams, because they would stand no chance (apart from Red Bull). Then we would lose smaller manufacturers because there is no reason for them to spend stupid amounts of money when they won't be able to compete with the likes of Ferrari...

There needs to be a cost cap in order to make the field more equal so the sport is more interesting...

well thats what i said

cost cap=max Budget

 

[Andy 'Mars Bar' Graham]

cost cap=max Budget

Sorry, I thought you meant max budget as in they can spend as much as they want

 

[Deleted member 130869]

I would imagine the levels of fitness in todays F1 pilots was also to do with being able to cope with the massive G's they can pull with the downforce they develop, and to better resist injuries or to bounce back from an injury, would also help with focus and endurance too I guess.

It's all about extracting the most on every area. A very lean driver who is still strong enough to cope with forces and not get tired in a race. They also have to be very fit to put up with 1h45 at Sepang, etc. Back in the day the guys still had to drive 2 hours on very manual cars with heavy steering wheels, but there was greater disparity across the grid (cars with very different weights, engine, not the precise numbers today), and it was not for a stupid 17 races or more.

 

[fortyfivekev]

...There needs to be a cost cap in order to make the field more equal so the sport is more interesting...

Cost caps aren't going to work with factory teams. Daimler has ~300k people working for it and also big numbers at Fiat and Renault. It's way too easy for R&D and production costs to be buried in these huge businesses and the FIA would be none the wiser.

People don't like it but the only way to level performance is standard parts.