2020 F1 News and Prediction Tournament

[pharvey]

Hats off to Hamilton today, love him or loathe him, quite an incredible race - deserved win.

Verstappen showing his class once again, splitting the Mercs and a great drive from Vettel (for once).

Looking forward to Belgium.....

[Vital Spark]

^^Agree on all three accounts.
I do feel somewhat sorry for Vettel. I was a huge fan of his when he was on top form, but he's a sad and bitter man nowadays.
I absolutely love the Spa circuit, and it usually provides some good entertainment (especially if the weather's a bit damp).
Oh, I've decided to give the wooden spoon to Mr.VS as he does all the cooking in our household - he can get his own in a couple of weeks' time.

[pharvey]

F1 Teams All Sign Concorde Agreement to 'Help to Level The Playing Field'

"Formula One teams have unanimously agreed to sign up to the new concorde agreement which will govern the sport from 2021 to 2025.

Ferrari, McLaren and Williams announced their support of the revised terms of racing on Tuesday, with the other seven constructors now following suit. The agreement aims to produce a more equitable split in prize money.

A statement from the FIA read: “The FIA and Formula One can today confirm that all 10 teams have agreed to the new concorde agreement. This follows extensive discussions over the past 12 months with all teams, Formula One, and the FIA.

“The agreement will secure the long-term sustainable future for Formula One and combined with the new regulations, announced in October 2019 that come into force in 2022, will reduce the financial and on track disparities between the teams, helping to level the playing field, creating closer racing on the track that fans want to see more of.”

Teams originally had until the end of the month to sign the deal if they wished to continue racing beyond this year, while Tuesday initially marked the end of the early signing period during which teams received a financial bonus for committing.

Both deadlines had been pushed back a week after Mercedes led calls for revisions to the deal. Ferrari, McLaren and Williams made clear their willingness to sign during the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone this month, and became the first teams to confirm they had followed through. Championship leaders Mercedes have now joined them, along with Red Bull, Racing Point, Renault, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas."

Full Article: - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/ ... -agreement

[pharvey]

I wonder if this will improve their standings?

Williams F1 Team Bought by Investment Firm Dorilton Capital

"Formula 1 team Williams have been bought by US-based investment firm Dorilton Capital.

Williams, who were put up for sale in May, will still race under the same name and remain at their English base.

"This is the end of an era for Williams as a family-owned team, but we know it is in good hands," deputy team principal Claire Williams said.

"It ensures the team's survival but importantly provides a path to success."

A statement from the F1 team added: "This marks the beginning of an exciting new era in the history of Williams, which with its new owner is well positioned to capitalise upon the sweeping rule changes coming into Formula 1 with the new Concorde Agreement."

Founded in 1977 by Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head, Williams have won nine constructors' titles and seven drivers' championships, the most recent coming through Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in 1997."

[PeteC]

Formula 1 2020: Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi confirmed to conclude season

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/53906067

Formula 1 has named the races that will conclude the 2020 season.

Four Grands Prix in three countries - Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi - will bring the calendar to a total of 17 races, the lowest number since 2009.

The Turkish Grand Prix on 15 November marks a return for the Istanbul Park track for the first time in nine years.

Bahrain will host two races, on 29 November and 6 December, before the season concludes at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina track on 13 December.

F1 had been working on plans to hold races in China and Vietnam in November but those hopes have now been dashed.

The Chinese Grand Prix has been officially cancelled and while there is no official word on the Vietnamese race, that will not happen either.

Officials in Vietnam needed more time to formalise arrangements internally, but an official cancellation is expected soon.

An F1 spokesman said: "We are working closely with our partner in Vietnam and will provide an update on this shortly."

F1 said it was working on having "a limited number of fans" at some of the races, without providing details.

The Russian GP at the end of September has already said it plans to allow some spectators to attend.

F1 has been battling to finalise its calendar in the face of the challenges posed by coronavirus for some months as travel restrictions and virus outbreaks around the globe caused an ever-changing situation.

A statement said: "Due to the ongoing fluidity of the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to maintain close dialogue with all promoters and local authorities to ensure we operate in the safest way possible and monitor each national situation closely - including travel restrictions and local health procedures."

This will be the first season since the inception of the F1 world championship in 1950 that will have no race in the Americas, and the first time since 1970 that there has been none in South America.

And it will be the first season since 1986 that there has been no Grand Prix in Asia, and the first since 1984 that Australia has not held a race.

F1 chairman and chief executive officer Chase Carey said: "This year has presented F1 and the world with an unprecedented challenge and we want to pay tribute to everyone across F1, the FIA, the teams, and our partners who have made this possible.

"While we are all disappointed that we have not been able to return to some of our planned races this year we are confident our season has started well and will continue to deliver plenty of excitement with traditional, as well as new, races that will entertain all our fans."

The first 10 races of the season were either postponed or cancelled, starting with the Australian Grand Prix in March, which was called off on the Friday before the race with all teams already in Melbourne after a member of the McLaren team tested positive for coronavirus.

The problems caused by the spread of Covid-19 has meant F1 has been forced to reconstitute an almost entirely European calendar, with many of the races on tracks that had either not held a Grand Prix before or had fallen off the schedule some years ago.

The three events concluding the season are the only races on the 2020 calendar outside geographical Europe.

The Istanbul Park track is on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Sochi, which hosts the Russian Grand Prix on 27 September, is on the Black Sea coast in the European part of the federation.

[PeteC]

F1 teams banned from changing engine modes over a Grand Prix weekend

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/53906072

Yet more bull shite!

Formula 1 is to ban teams from changing engine performance levels over a Grand Prix weekend.

The move, which is coming into force for the Italian Grand Prix on 4-6 September, would prevent the use of high-power modes used in qualifying.

Governing body the FIA is making the change so the complex modern turbo-hybrid engines are easier to police.

Rivals believe world champions Mercedes have an advantage in this area and that the move could close up the field.

The rule will force teams to use a single engine mode throughout a race weekend.

This would effectively ban power boosts used in qualifying, and for brief periods in races, because teams could not afford to run their engines at that level of performance all the time without causing reliability problems.....

[pharvey]

F1 teams banned from changing engine modes over a Grand Prix weekend

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/53906072

Yet more bull shite!

Formula 1 is to ban teams from changing engine performance levels over a Grand Prix weekend.

The move, which is coming into force for the Italian Grand Prix on 4-6 September, would prevent the use of high-power modes used in qualifying.

Governing body the FIA is making the change so the complex modern turbo-hybrid engines are easier to police.

Rivals believe world champions Mercedes have an advantage in this area and that the move could close up the field.

The rule will force teams to use a single engine mode throughout a race weekend.

This would effectively ban power boosts used in qualifying, and for brief periods in races, because teams could not afford to run their engines at that level of performance all the time without causing reliability problems.....

That would be that team from Italy complaining then.... you know the one, the RED team, the one with incredible benefits from F1 and arrogant Germanic drivers.....

[PeteC]

It really gets to be too much. I would think F1/FIA has a staff of people sitting around thinking up what they can control/police next. They must be getting close to the bottom of the list and starting to panic.

It's becoming a robotic abomination. Just put a manikin in the driver seat and control it all via GPS. Save a lot on salaries.

....and we complain about government control of social media. They could learn from F1/FIA!

[pharvey]

Just seems ridiculous - what's the point in having a "Constructor's Championship"? Surely this is for the Constructor who has best developed the car and power unit, innovative etc? F1/FIA is taking this away completely....

[Parahandy]

Anybody else having trouble trying to register thier picks for Belgium? Being Belgium, of course, maybe it's the rain, but the website doesn't seem to be playing the game...

P.

Woops! Panic over - the site seems to have righted itself. I'll get back into the box...

[PeteC]

Yes, I panicked as well! like you it’s now back up here as well, but made quick picks which could be a mess.

[PeteC]

Belgium Qualifying

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[PeteC]

Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 to use new layout for second race in the Gulf state

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/53947251. (Track maps at link)

Formula 1 is to use a brand new layout of Bahrain's Sakhir track for the second race to be held in the Gulf state this year.

The first will be held on the usual Grand Prix circuit, while the second will be on what is known as Sakhir's "Outer Circuit".

This shortens the track to 2.28 miles and is expected to produce qualifying lap times of less than 55 seconds.

Bahrain will hold events on 29 November and 6 December.

The outer circuit deviates from the Grand Prix circuit just after Turn Four and rejoins it at Turn 13, cutting out the entire infield section.

In addition, the event will be a full night race, rather than the now-traditional twilight start for Bahrain.

F1 managing director Ross Brawn said: "We assessed a number of options for the alternative circuit layout and concluded the outer circuit will provide the best alternative and will provide a new challenge for all the teams and entertain all our fans with high speeds and fast lap times."

[PeteC]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/53966581

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[PeteC]

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