2016 Open Wheel Racing Chat

[lopernv]

Red Bull could test canopy concept at Russian GP, and might be ready to race in 2017.

 

 

 

Miles better than Ferrari's halo.

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from Alabama:

 

1. Pagenaud

2. Power

3. Newgarden

4. Dixon

5. Bourdais

6. Rahal

7. Castroneves

8. Hinchcliffe

9. Kanaan

10. Kimball

 

It seems that Pagenaud is having a pretty successful season with Penske so far. Although, it still looks bad for any Honda team right now with only Rahal & Mayor Hinch in the top 10.

 

Next up, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

 

Meanwhile in Paris with Formula E

 

1. di Grassi

2. Vergne

3. Buemi

4. Prost

5. Sarrazin

6.Bird

7. Frijns

8. Da Costa

9. Senna

10. Abt

 

Seems di Grassi is back to form. Next up, Berlin.

[lopernv]

Some actual images of Red Bull's canopy:

 

 

[rvrdgsfn]

It looks better than the halo concept I'll give it that.

 

Well time for some bad news.... Indy's GP of Boston has been given the axe...

 

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/128943-indycar-boston-gp-called-off

 

Promoters of the scheduled IndyCar race in Boston have ended negotiations with the city and are looking for an alternative venue, according to local reports.

John Casey, president of the Grand Prix of Boston, told the Boston Globe that he can no longer work with city representatives and that he intends to move the race elsewhere. Rival outlet the Boston Herald has also reported that the race has been called off.

 

Not really shocked by this, much as I would like to see this happen, there was just too much complaints. So this is the 2nd race in 2 years that has been cancelled. Things aren't looking good for IndyCar....

Meanwhile in Formula 1 news....

 

http://www.grandprix247.com/2016/04/29/formula-1-agrees-cheaper-power-units-from-2017/

 

Formula 1 announced a deal with the sport’s four engine manufacturers on Friday to reduce prices over three years from 2017, ensure all teams are supplied and reduce performance gaps.

The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that the agreement had been approved by its World Motor Sport Council and would now be written into the regulations.

As part of the agreement, thrashed out over months, the FIA committed to stable power unit regulations until 2020 — something the manufacturers needed to make the engines more affordable.

Research into “improving the sound”, which means cranking up the volume to appease fans yearning for the old ear-splitting V8 wail, was under way with the aim of implementation by 2018 at the latest.

 

It said the new agreement would reduce the cost by one million euros in 2017 compared to 2016 prices. From 2018, the price would drop by a further three million euros.

 

 

Here's hoping that they finally get their stuff together. Who knows what will happen next but here's hoping.

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for the Russian Grand Prix:

 

1. Rosberg

2. Hamilton

3. Raikkonen

4. Bottas

5. Massa

6. Alonso

7. Magnussen

8. Grosjean

9. Perez

10. Button

 

Where do I begin? How about Kvyat getting to Vettel again? I've never seen Vettel so mad in my life & I have a feeling this will come back & haunt Kvyat. Despite that, Nico is the 4th driver to win 7 straight F1 races. Plus a good day for Haas, Renault & McLaren!

Next up the Spanish Grand Prix

[rvrdgsfn]

Breaking news:

http://www.grandprix247.com/2016/05/05/verstappen-to-replace-kvyat-from-spain-onwards/

 

Dutch media are reporting that Red Bull have made the decision to replace under fire Daniil Kvyat with teenage sensation Max Verstappen as soon as the forthcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

In the wake of Kvyat’s shenanigans during the opening laps of the Russian Grand Prix, where he crashed twice into the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel and at the same time ruined his and his teammate’s race.

 

Well, I wish I could say I'm surprised but in all honesty, I'm not. Plus Verstappen is almost raring to go, unless Ferrari swoops him out.

[marble21]

3 hours ago, rvrdgsfn said:

Dutch media are reporting that Red Bull have made the decision to replace under fire Daniil Kvyat with teenage sensation Max Verstappen as soon as the forthcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

 

This is now being reported in many places as confirmed for the rest of the season with immediate effect - with Kvyat being demoted to Toro Rosso.

 

As you say, it's not the most surprising move given the performances so far. This move is also particularly good for Verstappen as the Red Bull TAG/Renault engine will no doubt vastly improve over the course of the season whereas the 2015 Ferrari engine used at Toro Rosso will not be receiving any development.

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from the Grand Prix of Indianapolis:

 

1. Pagenaud

2. Castroneves

3. Hinchcliffe

4. Rahal

5. Kimball

6. Daly

7. Dixon

8. Montoya

9. Hunter-Reay

10. Rossi

 

Pagenaud is on a roll! The guy has potential & could be a force to be reckon with once the championship comes into play. Plus a great showing for Conor Daly who lead 14 laps & Rossi finished in the top 10!

 

Next up, the Greatest Spectacle in Auto Racing, the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500!!!

 

Well, the bad news when it comes to the IndyCar schedule, we lost Boston but it's replacement? Oh, it's gonna be good!!!

 

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/129421-indycar-watkins-glen-labor-day-race-official

 

Watkins Glen will officially host a Labor Day weekend race to replace the canceled Boston street race, IndyCar and track officials announced today. The event, set for Sept. 1-4, will include Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and the Verizon IndyCar series. Tickets will go on sale next week. 

"It’s great to have the Verizon IndyCar Series return to Watkins Glen," said Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations. "A tremendous amount of thanks goes to track president Michael Printup and his entire staff for their efforts in helping make this a reality in such a short time frame. We got the news a couple weeks ago that something was going on, and that might have been around 5:00, and by 5:01 I was talking to this gentleman on the phone, and from that it kind of led a life of its own.

 

This is by far the best news to reach IndyCar right now, this is gonna be awesome!

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for the Spanish Grand Prix:

 

1. Verstappen

2.  Raikkonen

3. Vettel

4. Ricciardo

5. Bottas

6. Sainz Jr.

7. Perez

8. Massa

9. Button

10. Kvyat

 

What an impressive race by Red Bull especially Verstappen, he officially became the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to win a grand prix. The other bigger story was the Silver Arrows would take each other out, its only a matter of time to see what happens, but when all of Mercedes team was at the race including the CEO & you set a performance like that? Oh you know the consequences are going to be swift...

 

Next up, one of my favorite races, the Monaco Grand Prix!

[bosrs1]

On 5/15/2016 at 5:37 PM, rvrdgsfn said:

Results from the Grand Prix of Indianapolis:

 

1. Pagenaud

2. Castroneves

3. Hinchcliffe

4. Rahal

5. Kimball

6. Daly

7. Dixon

8. Montoya

9. Hunter-Reay

10. Rossi

 

Pagenaud is on a roll! The guy has potential & could be a force to be reckon with once the championship comes into play. Plus a great showing for Conor Daly who lead 14 laps & Rossi finished in the top 10!

 

 

 

Glad to see Mayor Hinch improving with each race. He looked very solid at the GP of Indy. Also very cool that Watkins Glen is back. Don't get me wrong, I had family that were excited about Boston and planning to go. But given the choice between a questionable street circuit or a solid road course I'm glad they're going with the road course. Few street races can be like say Long Beach (still can't believe it was caution free this year).

[rvrdgsfn]

Speaking of Mayor Hinch....

 

 

 

He won the pole today! I'm pulling for Hinchcliffe, this IMO would be the comeback of the year for any autosport! I would love to see him with his face on the Borg-Warner trophy!

 

Meanwhile in Formula E, they had the Berlin Grand Prix...

 

1. Buemi

2. Abt

3. di Grassi

4. Prost

5. Vergne

6. Frijns

7. Heidfeld

8. Conway

9. di Silvestro

10. Sarrazin

 

Team orders happened once again, this time with Abt & di Grassi, they told Abt to move, he refused.

 

Next up the 2 race finale in London

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for the biggest racing day in the world...

 

First up the Monaco Grand Prix:

 

1.Hamilton

2. Ricciardo

3. Perez

4. Vettel

5. Alonso

6. Hulkenberg

7. Roseberg

8. Sainz Jr.

9. Button

10. Massa

 

Lewis finally got his first win this season. Although I thought I would never say this about Red Bull, I really feel bad for Ricciardo. He truly had the better car but that pitstop cost him dearly. Kvyat is driving like Pastor Maldonado now (what a shock) Verstappen had a rough day, Raikkonen barely escaped a penalty & McLaren in the top 10. This truly was a very interesting & rainy Monaco Grand Prix

Next up, Canada

 

The greatest Spectacle in auto racing, the Indianapolis 500 results...

 

1. Rossi

2. Munoz

3. Newgarden

4. Kanaan

5. Kimball

6. Hilderbrand

7. Hinchcliffe

8. Dixon

9. Bourdais

10. Power

 

Rossi ran on fumes but it was fantastic. I was pulling for Mayor Hinch but I will definitely take Rossi winning. The first rooking since Helio to win the 500. I can always hope he could go the F1, but I think there is some great potential for him in IndyCar. Rossi truly is a great driver & earned this victory.

 

Next up the Duals in Detroit.

 

Last but not least some news in F1, Red Bull & Toro Rosso will be back with Renault engines & the Halo will be used in 2017 instead of RedBull's suggestion... Hopefully they'll modify it. It also seemed like the drivers prefer Red Bull's suggestion. Hopefully they're can be a mix of both. For those curious....

[LAWeaver]

This is the first Indy race I've seen from beginning to end. I've watched bits and pieces of the 500 and other races (including Wheldon's accident ). Loved seeing Rossi win, but I've got one thing to say about the cars as a NASCAR fan...

 

Those cars are waaaayyyy too fragile. I get it that their going at much higher speeds and can lead to bigger wrecks, but they were talking about Kanaan having a steering issue after brushing the pit wall. Then you have Helio almost losing the rear end of his car after what looked like small contact from Hilderbrand. Plus Bell & Hunter-Reay being knocked out after contact on pit road?

 

Most of this is new to me still, but as a NASCAR fan it was really odd seeing these things that are normally fixed with a big roll of Bondo tape and a mallet.

 

Despite that, it was fun watching the race even though my pick (Montoya) spinning early on. 

[dfwabel]

The race was, "meh", last year's was more exciting.

 

Rossi quietly had a nice month at Indy and winning the race was the culmination. Hondas were really good all month too.

 

It was a little weird not to see Scott Dixon much of a factor in a distance race.

 

I watched the first hour on DVR and the ABC/ESPN taped pieces were really good in talking to former winners. But man, Eddie Cheever loves to say the word, "perfect/perfectly" at every occasion. He was awful.

 

However, whem Rossi hit Victory Lane, the world's focus moved away from him and towards Florence Henderson aka "Mrs. Brady". Half of those I was with were interested in looking up her age (82) as opposed to what he has to say.

 

Yes, I would.

[Rockstar Matt]

I'm glad Rossi won. His car was literally running on fumes as his car died during the victory lap. Incredibly impressive drive from that team and Rossi.

 

Also really cool that he's the only American currently with a FIA super license, the only American F1 driver (I know he's just a reserve) and he's Californian too.

[lopernv]

2 hours ago, mr.nascar13 said:

This is the first Indy race I've seen from beginning to end. I've watched bits and pieces of the 500 and other races (including Wheldon's accident ). Loved seeing Rossi win, but I've got one thing to say about the cars as a NASCAR fan...

 

Those cars are waaaayyyy too fragile. I get it that their going at much higher speeds and can lead to bigger wrecks, but they were talking about Kanaan having a steering issue after brushing the pit wall. Then you have Helio almost losing the rear end of his car after what looked like small contact from Hilderbrand. Plus Bell & Hunter-Reay being knocked out after contact on pit road?

 

Most of this is new to me still, but as a NASCAR fan it was really odd seeing these things that are normally fixed with a big roll of Bondo tape and a mallet.

 

Despite that, it was fun watching the race even though my pick (Montoya) spinning early on. 

 

Open-wheelers are more susceptible to suspension problems after tire rubs, they don't have the side fender and quarter panel protection.

 

Here is a good slo-mo video of Verstappen crashing out of quali just this weekend in Monaco (not Indy but still applicable): https://streamable.com/n78f

 

For them being too fragile, it's all part of the sport: 1) lighter and thinner parts can save absolutely crucial fractions of seconds, and 2) open-wheelers in general are really about precise driving, where NASCAR is more about fighting through the field. Hard to get through a NASCAR race cleanly, but you absolutely need to in an open-wheeler.

 

They are also very dependent on aerodynamics for their grip, unlike NASCAR which, from what I understand, uses a large proportion of mechanical grip in comparison. Everything on the open-wheeler car is designed to go straight, the airflow around the car is so highly optimized, any deviation from that from either lighting up the rears or a bit of rear contact has the potential to send them wildly out of control.

[crashcarson15]

2 hours ago, mr.nascar13 said:

Those cars are waaaayyyy too fragile. I get it that their going at much higher speeds and can lead to bigger wrecks, but they were talking about Kanaan having a steering issue after brushing the pit wall. Then you have Helio almost losing the rear end of his car after what looked like small contact from Hilderbrand. Plus Bell & Hunter-Reay being knocked out after contact on pit road?

 

Most of this is new to me still, but as a NASCAR fan it was really odd seeing these things that are normally fixed with a big roll of Bondo tape and a mallet.

Nah, man, it’s chill. I’ll take my extra 40 miles per hour, you can have your mallet to fix cars.

 

IndyCar racing is, quite frankly, about small margins, especially at Indianapolis. That’s part of why we love it.

[dfwabel]

6 minutes ago, crashcarson15 said:

Nah, man, it’s chill. I’ll take my extra 40 miles per hour, you can have your mallet to fix cars.

 

IndyCar racing is, quite frankly, about small margins, especially at Indianapolis. That’s part of why we love it.

Front and rear fenders/body panels mean a lot. It's a different skill especially when younger NASCAR drivers start in Legends cars with a body. Kids on karting don't try those tricks worh fenders.

 

Ask Al Under, Jr. in '93, Montoya to a degree, Piquet, Jr. in trucks and the last decade of Sam Hornish's career.

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from the First Dual in Detroit:

 

1. Bourdais

2. Daly

3. Montoya

4. Rahal

5. Castroneves

6. Munoz

7. Hunter-Reay

8. Kimball

9. Kanaan

10. Rossi

 

A rough day for Team Penske, as his cars were doing good until later, Power was out due to a mechanical failure, Pagenaud ran out of fuel. It was a pretty good day for Bourdais & Conor Daly ended up with a podium. The pressure seems to be on Will Power though.

 

Next up, Round 2 in Detroit

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for the 2nd round in Detroit:

 

1. Power

2. Pagenaud

3. Hunter-Reay

4. Newgarden

5. Dixon

6. Daly

7. Kanaan

8. Bourdais

9. Andretti

10. Sato

 

Well, looks like I spoke too soon. Will got the win thank to the early pass against Pagenaud so that helped some. Good to see we have 2 different winners from the duals.

Next up, Texas