Formula One 2018 - General Thread

[Mactech]

The violence of the this incident is frightening.
It had the potential to be more devastating than the Mercedes at Le Mans 1955
Such are the advances in motorsport safety that, whilst it was not injury free, there was no loss of life. Judging by the impact speed, that is almost a miracle.
Changes to car, circuit, organisation and myriad of other advances have made this now possible.
I was regular at Macau in the 80’s and it now rates with the Isle of Man TT races in the of ‘how is that still legal?’ section.

 

[brucemillar]

The violence of the this incident is frightening.
It had the potential to be more devastating than the Mercedes at Le Mans 1955
Such are the advances in motorsport safety that, whilst it was not injury free, there was no loss of life. Judging by the impact speed, that is almost a miracle.
Changes to car, circuit, organisation and myriad of other advances have made this now possible.
I was regular at Macau in the 80’s and it now rates with the Isle of Man TT races in the of ‘how is that still legal?’ section.

I can’t disagree with a single word of that.

It is (to me) still unclear how badly everybody is injured. She seems to have recovered to a large degree. A testament indeed to the technology and design of these cars.

Graeme’s post also seems correct in that she was “blameless” caught out by another car braking for a “latent” yellow light.

I despair at the comments of some on other forums who feel it okay to chime in with a sewer of “woman driver “ comments, before they have the facts or any status update.

I hope all concerned do well in their recovery.


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[Stratman]

Was it really 'just' late braking? The speed she hit the car in front looked to be far in excess of what I would expect the normal cornering speed for that corner to be, based on visual cues. My first impression was she was running at race speed and for some reason hadn't braked at all.

 

[190]

I believe she made contact with another car further back before the braking zone and spun. So that may be the reason that no brakes were applied, not that the car had a brake failure.

Very scary and a reminder of how dangerous motor racing can be for both the driver and spectators.

Edit. Sorry Grober, I see now you have already linked the details of what happened further back in the thread.

 

[whitenemesis]

Certainly brings home to real speed of these cars, often missed in normal racing coverage..

 

[Stratman]

Excellent BBC piece on Alonso's relationships with his teams

The 37-year-old is a two-time world champion and has won 32 grands prix; a great achievement in absolute terms, but a relatively meagre one for a driver Lewis Hamilton rates as the best he has ever raced against.

Greater success evaded Alonso - fundamentally rooted in bad choices, personality conflicts, and plain rotten luck.

But what really happened along the way? Alonso's story will be published in a series of episodes this week, based on interviews with the key people directly involved in the various incidents at the time. Some spoke on the record, some on condition of anonymity.

It's in five parts, very interesting reading.

 

[Nat]

F3 driver Florsch suffers spinal fracture in Macau Grand Prix shunt
Evidently there were yellow caution lights flashing on the straight [ possible not switched off on the restart] which caused the driver in front of her to brake prematurely. She hit his rear at full speed estimated at 170mph and took off.

Ouch!

 

[grober]

Sophia Florsch: 'No fear of paralysis' for F3 driver after surgery

 

[Neiltodd]

Just watched the Billy Monger program on BBC2 v good

 

[artyman]

Just watched the Billy Monger program on BBC2 v good

He shows maturity well above his years, came across as a very down to earth guy, deserving of admiration for his courage.

 

[bob6600]

McLaren reveal one-off livery for Fernando Alonso's farewell race

 

[Steveml63]

Raining in Abu Dhabi this morning - would love to see a wet race this weekend!

 

[bob6600]

Kubica has apparently been given the Williams' other seat. TBC officially according to motorsport.com

Kubica agrees 2019 Williams race deal

 

[AMGeed]

^ Very happy for him if that is the case.
An extremely talented driver before his serious rallying crash.
I hope he can do well.

 

[brucemillar]

^ Very happy for him if that is the case.
An extremely talented driver before his serious rallying crash.
I hope he can do well.

.....,and a very nice guy. I would like to see him do well again.


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[Dryce]

It's in five parts, very interesting reading.

Very interesting: Fernando Alonso: Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 'spy-gate' & threats & demands to Ron Dennis

I wonder if they will have any additional detail regarding the Singapore controversy as well.

 

[Stratman]

Remind me of the Singapore controversy...

 

[Dryce]

Remind me of the Singapore controversy...

Alonso's win with Renault in 2008 - the following year from his fall out with McLaren. His team mate Nelson Piquet Jr crashes in the race at the right place and time for a certain Mr Alonso to benefit from the resulting safety car and ultimately take victory.

Now Mr Alonso - a prime beneficiary of this scheme apparently knew nothing of it after it came to light and various participants punished. However he has kept the win on his record rather than ensure it is discarded. So he still takes credit for driving to victory.

Now even with the most open of minds one might be inclined to think that it is unlikely that he didn't know what was going on.

My feeling from the BBC article is that a driver who tried to blackmail his team into short fueling his team mate is demonstrating the behaviour and mindset that would perhaps be consistent with a driver who would be involved instigating the scheme that unfolded at Singapore.

 

[bob6600]

Kubica has apparently been given the Williams' other seat. TBC officially according to motorsport.com

Kubica agrees 2019 Williams race deal

Confirmed

F1 2019: Robert Kubica returns with Williams

 

[BIG Sean]

Excellent BBC piece on Alonso's relationships with his teams



It's in five parts, very interesting reading.

Enjoyed that!