JasonM Posted July 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 Ferrari have fired James Allison from his position as Technical Director, and are fully into '2017' mode in terms of car design and improvement focus. So where at the half of the season with the red guys having thrown in the towel as far as being competitive goes. Mattia Binotto will take over as TD, but regardless this is a ridiculous decision and will not help Ferrari bridge the gap towards Mercedes, or even Red Bull for that matter. Making knee-jerk decisions is bad news in F1, and really reeks of their management not having any sort of future vision in regards to getting the title. And swapping one director for another just sets them back even more as a result. James Allison was in his first season as Director, after being Chassis Technical Director for two years before this season. So he never really got a chance to build something lasting. if you look at the other championship winning teams, they all needed a long-term process to build a championship winning car. Mercedes needed 3 years before they really got competitive and made a difference. Christian Horner's first Red Bull car debuted in 2007, and it took until 2010 until they got a championship winning car. Ferrari themselves needed 2-3 years with Ross Brawn to get Schumi a title winning car, so they as a whole know that you can't knee-jerk your way to success. I really don't see this being the right choice by Ferrari. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 27, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 I think the Allison move is more of a mutual thing, the recent passing of his wife is a big factor. I'd be amazed if Renault don't snap up Allison, allowing him to live and work in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted July 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 48 minutes ago, Lineker said: I think the Allison move is more of a mutual thing, the recent passing of his wife is a big factor. I'd be amazed if Renault don't snap up Allison, allowing him to live and work in the UK. Forgot about his wife. But yeah, it's still not very good for the continuity of Ferrari who have been throwing around the axe a bit too much in the past few years. You can have Vettel and Kimi for as long as you want, but if there's not a good group of engineers then you're still pretty much boned in respect to actually getting meaningful results. And Ferrari won't be happy with anything but a constructors title. Renault grabbing him would be a coup though, and might really help Renault break out the lower-grid hell they've been in since Lotus last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 27, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 Renault will be so much better next year. This year's car is essentially a half-baked Lotus-Mercedes car with a Renault power unit bolted in the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 27, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 Rio Haryanto will drive for Manor in this weekend's German Grand Prix after securing funds to see him through the weekend at Hockenheim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2K Posted July 27, 2016 Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 I wonder if McLaren might lure Allison giving him the opportunity to turn their current already improving car into a front-runner again. As for Haryanto I consider it a bit disappointing, he's shown very little this season and it's sad that money is still the deciding factor for who drives for Manor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 28, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 F1 bosses have voted against introducing the ‘halo’ head protection system next season, Bernie Ecclestone tells BBC Sport. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/36919451 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katsuya Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 They've completely scrapped the radio ban. The new twist is that they have to give access to ALL their radio communication. Also it seems that they've scrapped track limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 28, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 you couldn't make this shit up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted July 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 I guess I'm glad the radio ban was scrapped? I think? As a whole FIA is completely missing the point regarding the critique leveled towards the ban. People were annoyed because race control was using an insane zero-tolerance approach to everything said on the radio and handing down punishments without taking any sort of context into mind. The Button stuff in Hungary being the biggest example of how ridiculously draconic they made the rules, penalizing McLaren and Button when the driver literally had no braking power on his car, which is one of the most dangerous situations you can get, and if there's any way to fix it then you need to use that immediately without suddenly getting slapped with a drive-through penalty because of it. What people want to see banned is the baby-sitting of engineers towards drivers. Where the guys in the paddock are telling the drivers exactly where they need to brake (or brake less), and basically the engineers doing the drivers job for them throughout the race. Ban the coaching and them telling exactly how they need to tackle driving situations whether it's cornering, DRS, KERS usage, mode-settings, or when to overtake another driver. That's all fine to be banned, because the driver should be able to do that shit himself because that's what the guy is paid to do. But don't ban the fixing of technical issues, especially when dawdling around might cause extremely dangerous situations to happen. Don't punish them for protecting the car, driver, and everyone else on track. So if Button has no brakes, and they got the answer to fix it, let them fix it. If Hamilton has reduced power because he's still on start-mode, let them fix it because a slow car is a dangerous car. If Rosberg's gearbox goes haywire, allow them to fix it. Relaying information regarding technical issues should not be banned, but the baby-sitting should. But the FIA naturally grabs their shotgun and overreact like they always do... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katsuya Posted July 30, 2016 Report Share Posted July 30, 2016 Buemi is going to be testing the Red Bull in a couple of weeks, which might very well set him up nicely to head to Renault next year. Sounds like it'll be either him or Perez partnering Ocon there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 30, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 30, 2016 I thought that Magnussen had been confirmed already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted July 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) 6 hours ago, Lineker said: I thought that Magnussen had been confirmed already? Nobody confirmed yet by Renault for 2017, but it would be dissapointing if K-Mag is axed after a year. Ocon may or may not join Renault though, since Mercedes has final say on where he'll go and they might throw him in the Haas Manor too. Edited July 30, 2016 by Jasonmufc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 30, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 30, 2016 I can't see Haas changing. Unless Leclerc or Rossi get a seat. I imagine that Renault will probably end up fielding Magnussen and Ocon. Also, Nico puts it on pole. Very close, Hamilton had a costly lock-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonM Posted July 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2016 47 minutes ago, Lineker said: I can't see Haas changing. Unless Leclerc or Rossi get a seat. I imagine that Renault will probably end up fielding Magnussen and Ocon. Also, Nico puts it on pole. Very close, Hamilton had a costly lock-up. Actually meant Manor instead of Haas, Stoffel is most likely going to get into the open seat if Haryanto cant pony up the cash. But next season it might be a bit more interesting regarding seats, with Mercedes no doubt wanting Wehrlein in a more competitive ride, and Ocon really needing F1 time himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Lineker Posted July 31, 2016 Admin Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 Spa is now a must win for Rosberg otherwise the championship belongs to Hamilton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDK Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 WAR Hamilton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 I'd just give up if I were Rosberg, find a new career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJB Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 Lewis will be almost certainly at the back for Spa. If Rosberg goes on to win,7th for Lewis would put them level heading into Monza. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katsuya Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Manor have dropped Rio to reserve driver and replaced him with Esteban Ocon for the rest of the season. In the long run, it makes a lot more sense for everyone involved I'd say (bar Rio). Mercedes now have a direct comparison between Ocon and Wehrlein, their two young drivers. Ocon gets out of DTM, where he's had an absolutely shocking season so far. Renault will have a much easier decision on if they bring him up to replace K-Mag or Palmer next year (and it probably also saves Palmer's bacon, since now Ocon won't be replacing him mid-season). Speaking of Renault, rumour is they're vaguely trying to get Perez for next season now, though Perez might be stringing them along to get more out of Force India. So, predictions for the grid next year? Mercedes: Hamilton / Rosberg Ferrari: Vettel / Raikkonen Red Bull: Verstappen / Ricciardo Williams: Bottas / Button McLaren: Alonso / Vandoorne Force India: Perez / Hulkenburg Renault: Buemi / Ocon Toro Rosso: Gasly / Sainz Haas: Grosjean / Gutierrez Sauber: Ericsson / Kvyat Manor: Wehrlein / ? (maybe Markelov?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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