2014 Formula One Silly Season Thread
 

As this season is nearing its end and silly season is well at its peak, I figured I would start this thread.

Pastor "Money bags" Maldonado is looking at quitting Williams who are likely to keep Bottas and bring on board Felipe Massa who may bring Brazilian sponsors along with him.

Nico Hulkenberg is a likely shoo-in at Lotus based on this article where Eric Boullier says team investors have told him to sign Hulkenberg
http://www.racer.com/investors-tell-...rticle/319308/
Nico in a front-running car would be fun to watch.

Wonder who Sauber will pick and what Force India will do with its driver line-up, seeing how they are always fashionably late to confirming drivers.

New turbo engines for next year have increased weight because of the larger KERS system they pack. This could penalize heavier drivers like Hulkenberg and Button, who would appear malnourished if they were to stand next to someone portly like me.

It appears the front running teams have all finalized their line-up with the exception of Lotus, but as they say it is never over until the fat lady sings.

Ross Brawn has announced that he will be leaving Mercedes, although Nikki Lauda appears hell-bent on keeping him there. Rumors are that he could:
A) Head to McLaren
B) Head to Honda and run their engine program for 2015 onwards
C) Join the FIA as an official and be in charge of setting the technical regulations governing the sport.

Mexico and New Jersey also appear to be part of the silly season as they prepare to host a race for next year.

Lets start the discussion and keep it going here in this thread until the week prior to the first race in Albert Park next March ;)

Aren't they saying NJ is off again? It changes so often it's hard to follow, anyway I really hope they have the NJ race, I've got a whole group of people ready to go.

Rumor has it a deal between McLaren/Honda and Brawn will be contingent on Brawn being based out of England and not having to travel to Japan very often as he did during his last stint.

Honda is ahead of schedule with their engine development, I wonder if there's a chance McLaren will put one on the track next year?

Agreed with NJ. It keeps changing. A bunch of us from Upstate could also make the trip down from Albany as the Palisades is not too far away.

Thats the first I've heard of Honda being ahead of schedule. Will be an interesting development for sure. Got a link to info??

Not sure of the exact thread, it's on Temple of VTEC, but we've got a company insider who provides bits of information as he learns them.

McLaren considering replacing Perez with Kevin Magnussen for next season

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula-one/24844304

I have mixed feelings about this. Sergio has put in some impressive drives and while still raw could blossom into a solid points finisher given a good car. Both current drivers are not of the caliber of Alonso or Hamilton, but Jenson has experience and his race craft is very good. Whatever they choose to do, I hope it works out well for the team. Part of me wants Checo to keep the drive, if nothing to see what he can achieve in a competitive car. The pressures of working for McLaren are possibly very high as was evident from Heikki Kovalainen's brief spell with them. Hopefully Checo is able to deliver in a competitive car next season if he gets to keep his drive.

I agree, I think he has done enough to keep his drive. He hasn't exactly light the world on fire, but has done as well as can be expected in a dog of a car in a new team against a proven quality driver.

I guess it comes down to McLaren's expectations of him. If they thought Perez would be the next Hamilton, I can understand the disappointment.

Felipe Massa moving to Williams for 2014 in place of Pastor Maldonado

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24897809

Just when you thought it was all set, silly season kicks up a few notches.

Sergio "Checo" Perez is out at McLaren to be replaced with Kevin Magnussen. I wonder if Checo will be an option for Sauber :ponder:

http://www.racer.com/report-mclaren-...rticle/320458/

Perez may head to Force India per the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24903504

Perez confirms that he is leaving McLaren at the end of the season. McLaren is yet to officially announce his replacement.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24927323

McLaren confirms Magnussen and Button for 2014

http://www.racer.com/mclaren-confirm...rticle/320930/

I wonder if its too late for Checo to get into a decent car. I still think they should have stuck on with him for an additional season seeing how the car was uncompetitive this year. Granted they made the decision looking at metrics and comparing race pace between the two drivers, but just maybe the 2014 car would be better suited to Perez. Alas, we will never know that now. Will be interesting to see how Magnussen does. By all accounts he does look like someone deserving of a chance.

I'm excited to see button back again next year.

Bernie hints that Christian Horner could be his replacement in running the sport. What do you guys think? I personally think Christian Horner would make a good candidate, perhaps a better candidate than Bernie

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/25050604

Horner doesn't strike me as a shakedown artist so I don't know how he could replace Ecclestone. :rolleyes:

Maldonado holds the key to how the driver market and team line-up will change for 2014

http://www.racer.com/maldonado-set-t...rticle/322473/

Current 2014 F1 driver lineup:

Red Bull-Renault Sebastian Vettel Daniel Ricciardo
Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Nico Rosberg
Ferrari Fernando Alonso Kimi Raikkonen
Lotus-Renault Romain Grosjean tba
McLaren-Mercedes Jenson Button Kevin Magnussen
Force India-Mercedes tba tba
Sauber-Ferrari tba tba
Toro Rosso-Renault Jean-Eric Vergne Daniil Kvyat
Williams-Mercedes Felipe Massa Valtteri Bottas
Marussia-Ferrari Jules Bianchi tba
Caterham-Renault tba tba

Maldonado to Lotus, I *knew* that was going to happen. Damn...
http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/90...onado-For-2014
Was really hoping for Perez or Hulkenberg to get that seat.

Hulkenberg likely to go to Force India I guess? Maybe Perez back to Sauber?

^ you beat me to posting that. Damn! I was hoping it would be Hulkenberg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/25158108

Also Ross Brawn leaving Mercedes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/25125831

Maldonado to Lotus. If Lotus' 2014 driver lineup was this season lineup, they would have been dubbed the crash brothers. Thing is Grosjean improved from his mistakes last year. Hulk was flying in that sauber, too bad money dictated the move and Lotus needs the money.

So it looks like Toro-Rosso is switching from Ferrari to Renault and Marussia from cosworth to Ferrari. Is the Marussia deal done because Bianchi is part of Ferrari's young driver academy? How long did this stint for Cosworth last? 3 seasons?

3 seasons seems to be right.

With Maldonado set, I wonder how things will play out. It seems like Paul di Resta may move to Indy Car.

Also here is a link to an article from Gary Anderson of the BBC explaining the 2014 rule changes
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25158104

Hulkenberg signs multi-year deal with Force India

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25205390

FIA finalizes 2014 F1 calendar

http://www.racer.com/fia-finalizes-1...rticle/323600/

March 16 Australia
March 30 Malaysia
April 6 Bahrain
April 20 China
May 11 Spain
May 25 Monaco
June 8 Canada
June 22 Austria
July 6 Great Britain
July 20 Germany (Hockenheim)
July 27 Hungary
August 24 Belgium
September 7 Italy
September 21 Singapore
October 5 Japan
October 12 Russia
November 2 USA
November 9 Brazil
November 23 Abu Dhabi

Bernie says NJ will be definite in 2015. My fingers are crossed. Quit toying with me old man.

:D

Why are they alternating Brazil and Abu Dhabi as the season ender? Just stick with Brazil. The weather, track, and possible drama (if the WDC has not been clinched) makes it an exciting final race of the season.

Not getting my hopes up with NJ.

Double the points in season finale?

http://jalopnik.com/formula-one-will...e-s-1479677944

That and drivers will also pick a number to last them for their career....hmmm :ponder:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25310466

Vettel critical of double-points for season finale
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25324100

However F1 teams approve of it, while also disapproving the planned two mandatory pit stop rule as well as a few teams blocking weight limit increase
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25310485

The impact of double points for the season finale applied to championships past - Moss would have been champion twice and Massa would have been champion in 2008

http://www.racer.com/analysis-the-im...rticle/324867/

Ludicrous. F1 has gotten so contrived and constrained it's difficult for me to watch anymore anyway. DRS is NOT racing. KERS "push-to-pass" = another idiotic gimmick, which only adds to cost and further separates the haves from the have-nots. Mandated use of two tires? Dumb. Spec cylinder count and rev limit? No fun.

So now they're going to MANDATE 2 stops, and arbitrarily give the last race double-points? That's enough, I'm out...

LOL! I was just ready to post the Lotus Rule Changes.
Some even make sense!

Stupid contrived idea.

I thought it was a bit daft, until I realized it is basically an insurance policy against the rest of the rule changes. If the rest of the rule changes actually get the desired results, then they'll probably pull the double finale points out.

:rofl: Love those regs published by Lotus. They may yet get rid of the double points if there is enough opposition from the drivers.

What do you guys think of the permanent numbers to last a driver the length of their F1 career? Cool idea or not??

Perez to Force India btw. And I think the permanent numbers thing will surely lead to more merchandise at least

^ You beat me to posting that. :)

Perez to Force India alongside The Hulk. Di Resta likely moving back to DTM
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25346242

Shake to lose Di Resta, but DTM is what he is good at.

F1 to introduce "Pole Trophy" starting in 2014

Just like my mind a search of Google revealed the following image for "Pole Trophy"
This trophy will be awarded to the driver with most pole positions in qualifying next season.

Sutil to Sauber!

Sauber confirm Gutierrez for next season alongside Sutil

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25475940

Can't wait for the year to star and finally get a look at the new cars and power plants... So many changes happening, will follow this thread.

Ron Dennis back in charge of McLaren F1 after ousting Martin Whitmarsh. This could get exciting with Ross Brawn also expected to join per rumors.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image..._110855550.jpg

Ron Dennis has staged an internal coup and wrestled back control of the McLaren Formula 1 team.

The 66-year-old, who stood down as team principal in 2009 and had been at loggerheads with the board, has been appointed chief executive officer.

He replaces Martin Whitmarsh, whose role as team principal is under threat.


No-one at McLaren has been sacked or made redundant, with the identity of their team principal from the 2014 season to be announced next month.

Dennis has been in dispute with Whitmarsh over the past two years and has tried to remove his former protege from his position on several occasions, but failed because of his fractured relationship with the other board members. It is not clear how that has been repaired.

Dennis told McLaren staff on Thursday "there will be change" and "we will win again".

In December, he said he had spoken about the future with former Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn, who will be considered a front-runner to be McLaren's new team principal once he has finished a planned six-month sabbatical.

Brawn back when Honda joins in 2015 would be nice.

No no no no ... that will be too many cooks in the kitchen.

Let Ron Dennis take the team principal position, and he either rides into the sunset in glory, or fall on his sword.

Him making this move now basically means the 2014 car is already expected to be a dud.

I think RD's idea is to replace Martin Whitmarsh with Ross Brawn. So Brawn would have the autonomy he seeks.

But I think the board of director's idea is for Ron to do it himself.

Force India have become the first team to reveal an image of their 2014 F1 contender. I like the new livery. Although, as expected it doesnt show any clues to the new 2014 changes other than the lower nose.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...07-twitter.jpg

Alexander Rossi was just named "reserve driver" for Catherham. He is alos their full time GP2 driver for 2014. I was hoping he would have gotten a chance with the F1 team.

If this Haas racing F1 thing pans out I see Rossi in that car. American team, with an American driver?

Williams FW 36 for 2014

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19df.../ku-xlarge.gif

"Penis nose":LOL:

Double Points for last race of 2014 given go-ahead. WTF??? This is a knee jerk reaction.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25859321

The proposal - the idea of F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone - was raised at a meeting of the sport's bosses but no attempt was made to overturn it.

Ecclestone thinks the idea will help keep the championship alive for as long as possible after Sebastian Vettel's recent dominance of the sport.

The Red Bull star has won the drivers' title for the last four years.

BBC called it "Anteater nose" :D

Here is more about the design:

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25859150

MP4-29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbBVwh2Ybxc

Hope they return to the white/red livery when Honda joins next year.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...mp429-2014.jpg
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...01/79P0166.jpg
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...01/79P0197.jpg

That was due to their title sponsor being Marlboro and those are the sponsor's corporate colors. I doubt Honda would want anything other than a white car.

F14T. This thing just makes me laugh, the nose is so ugly.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...14t-2014-4.jpg
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...t-sideview.jpg
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...14t-2014-2.jpg

Agreed. When I first saw it I was kinda speechless

Surprised no one put up the pic of the Lotus E22

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BevlO5ACQAEyFE1.png
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BewTj9OCYAE-4os.png:large

E22 vs MP4-29
http://i57.servimg.com/u/f57/14/79/55/26/2014-m10.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bewt1QUCEAAiR_a.jpg

^ awesome Samer. Thanks for sharing those pics. Love that last one :D

Will be looking forward to your analysis of the aero. I think they all look ugly compared to the cars before them, but I am sure that in time their looks will not matter as much to me.

Sauber F1 revealed http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25902622

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...ber_sauber.jpg

I wonder what Adrian Newey will come up with. Will the Red Bull challenger look like the others with the ant-eater nose or will it be unique like the Lotus or Ferrari :ponder:

Toro Rosso unveil their new car

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...6_72551148.jpg

some more pics here

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media...u6rdbk6jpg.jpg

RB10:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfDPPGPCcAAdSeq.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfDPXdUCAAEODXb.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfDPAnbIQAErXLm.jpg:large

Mercedes W05:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfDLlVbCUAEqnAq.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfDLq18IgAAvVib.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfDNL1KCMAANMMY.jpg:large

Probably 2 of the best looking noses. The Mercedes is similar looking to Ferrari's, but the slope on Ferrari's is awkward. I haven't spent much time looking at all the cars. I will try to find some time and get more pics/analysis. Of course they are ugly now, but that will eventually go away. Kind of like the stepped noses. One thing that all teams will probably try to direct some of the up wash from the exhaust air with monkey seat

^ :iagree: those have to be the two best looking cars. The Red Bull, unlike the others, just looks like an evolution of last years car to my layman eyes.

Ferrari's cars from 2007-2014

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media...6b5mtffgif.gif

Kimi driving the F14T. Not pushing too hard, but not bad
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4hDJ7X0nNw[/media]

And ugliest car award goes to Caterham....

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...1/IMG_3790.jpg
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...ere-2014-3.jpg
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...ere-2014-2.jpg

More pics of Force India

https://i.imgur.com/Tk2rnfP.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mYQGFZ2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/orcn8tY.jpg

More pics of Williams

http://img1.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...030-751344.jpg
http://img3.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...9fd-751346.jpg
http://img1.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...f21-751350.jpg
http://img3.auto-motor-und-sport.de/...8b9-751351.jpg

More SAuber

http://www.jamesmoy.com/getpreview.a...22%2FUVw%3D%3D
http://www.jamesmoy.com/getpreview.a...UxZqxSuw%3D%3D
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfFc4goCcAAfHCE.jpg:large

THe camera mounts on the Mercedes reminds me of the dumbo ears on the 2008 Honda. Ferrari and Mercedes went with a lower nose to create a vacuum to force air under the car. Red Bull shaped their extension like a splitter, and behind that splitter there is a bulge similar to last seasons Lotus E21. The RB10 is very clean. It looks like an evolution of its predecessors. This year the cars won't have beam wings, so part of the reason rear df will be lost. Williams seem to have moved the "beam wing" lower and in front of the diffuser. Seems to be legal as it meets a certain height rule for the diffuser. The front wings are also narrower by 150mm, so the end plates are right in front of the tyres. It will be much harder to direct the air around the tyres like previous seasons. It will also be interesting to see how much rake the cars will be running without EBD. They just had day 1 of the first winter test in Jerez. Since this is the first test, the teams will be collecting data and see how they match with cfd and windtunnel data. We may see some minor updates at the end of the first test. Probably because data is matching up and teams using older parts because they know what they should do.

The Caterham actually looks super cool to me. The Ferrari is odd, but seems fast. And the Renault engines are all failing under less than race loads, which is worrying for red bull.

Day 2 Test times.

1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-29 1’24.165 43
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari F14 T 1’24.812 47
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes FW36 1’25.344 35
4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes W05 1’25.588 97 1.423
5 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes VJM07 1’28.376 37
6 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari C33 1’33.270 53
7 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault CT05 1’37.975 11
8 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault RB10 1’38.320 8

Day 3 test times

1 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes MP4-29 1’23.276 52
2 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes FW36 1’23.700 47 0.424
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W05 1’23.952 62 0.676
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-29 1’25.030 40 1.754
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari F14 T 1’25.495 58 2.219
6 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes VJM07 1’26.096 17 2.820
7 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault STR9 1’29.915 30 6.639
8 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari C33 1’30.161 34 6.885
9 Robin Frijns Caterham-Renault CT05 10
10 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari MR03 5
11 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault RB10 3

McLaren's unique rear suspension designed to provide more downforce at low speed and less drag at high speed.

http://cdn.images.autosport.com/edit...1391001327.jpg

Per this link, several teams looking to copy McLaren's design if it passes muster with the FIA

I've read that. Mclaren should have perhaps waited to test that on the final test to give the copy cats less time.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...1/IMG_4140.jpg
http://f1tcdn.net/images/development...suspension.jpg

Drivers expect plenty of sideways action in 2014 with the new car spec.

http://www.racer.com/index.php/f1/it...ideways-action

Too bad Diabolica aka Turn 8 at Turkey is not around to test the drivers

Simona De Silvestro signs up with Sauber F1 as Affiliated Driver (Whatever that means). Will Buxton on the development

Today’s news that Simona de Silvestro has become an affiliated driver with the Sauber F1 team is fabulous news for the Sauber, for Simona and for the Sport. Anyone who sees this as a gimmick needs to look again. It is so much more than that. I have long been a champion of Simona’s merits as a racer. Regardless of gender. Last year, before its untimely demise, I wrote an article for GPInternational Magazine on why Simona was exactly what Formula 1 needed.

I hope it gives some insight into the excellent driver Sauber intends to give an F1 debut in 2015.

Mercedes dominate second pre-season test. More trouble for Red Bull.

1. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes one minute 33.283 seconds

2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:34.263

3. Kevin Magnussen (Den) McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.910

4. Jenson Button (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.957

5. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 1:36.445

6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:36.516

7. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:36.718

8. Felipe Massa (Brz) Williams-Mercedes 1:37.066

9. Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.180

10. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams-Mercedes 1:37.328

11. Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India-Mercedes 1:37.367

12. Felipe Nasr (Brz) Williams-Mercedes 1:37.569

13. Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Lotus-Renault 1:38.707

14. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Toro Rosso-Renault 1:38.974

15. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:39.837

16. Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Caterham-Renault 139.855

17. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 1:40.340

18. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:40.443

19. Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso-Renault 1:40.609

20. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus-Renault 1:41.670

21. Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Caterham-Renault 1:42.130

22. Max Chilton (GB) Marussia-Ferrari 1:42.511

23. Robin Frijns (Ned) Caterham-Renault 1:42.534

I have to believe Vettel is still sandbagging.