TBK-Light.com

Mercedes funded the team back then although it wasn't a secret. Sauber entered at the behest of Mercedes and the plan was for them to become the official Mercedes team after a couple of development seasons.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

oh yeah, the car did say "Concept by Mercedes".

But I think they didn't want to fully commit yet because they first wanted to know how things went.

Yes that's right

_________________
BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

I don't know If it's the lightning but I found it beautiful! Much better than previous years!

I forget now, did the rules specifically outlaw the F-duct after 2010 or did the teams just go in another aero direction themselves with the return of kers for 2011 etc

Maybe we could see it back now, the only benefit of the ugly shark fins imo

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RIP Birmingham Wheels: here's some of the crash videos I recorded when it was there:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaKIE ... 5t9d5PvoHA

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/paulhadsley

I don't believe they would be allowed to use the shark-fin as an F-duct as I believe it's no longer allowed to get close enough to the rear wing. Also with the lower rear wings this year I'm not sure the sort of thing they had in 2010 would be possible.

In terms of the regulations, I believe that the wording bans driver operated wing stalling devices (As it was felt drivers going around 1 handed through corners like Eau Rouge wasn't safe) but that teams are still allowed to come up with passive systems if they can get them to work.

If you recall a few years back Lotus spent about 2 years trying to get a passive wing stalling device working via a pressure valve that opened above a certain wind speed & directed air through the end-plates & onto the main element to stall it. However they were never able to get it to work correctly as calibrating it proved difficult so they moved away from the idea.

Yeah, the one handed start stuff was a bit dodgy but Mclaren's solution by using a knee seemed like the best fit.

Every time I vaccum I think about it, there's always an F-Duct on a vacuum cleaner

_________________
RIP Birmingham Wheels: here's some of the crash videos I recorded when it was there:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaKIE ... 5t9d5PvoHA

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/paulhadsley

Gary Anderson has noted that that area was controlled by regs after the last batch of fins, but 'they seem to have missed it this year'...

F Duct+DRS

_________________
RIP Birmingham Wheels: here's some of the crash videos I recorded when it was there:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaKIE ... 5t9d5PvoHA

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/paulhadsley

Seems most likely. Either that and/or (probably and) the FIA missed it out of some draft, and everyone kept quiet for that very reason.

I have linked the Sauber launch thread from the first post - will do the same with the Renault launch today, so if you happen to spot it, start a thread

Oh, and did Lewis' comments about data sharing get mentioned in here? Seems like he is trying to put a line in the sand for Bottas, without taking into account that Bottas is a Finnish F1 Driver and therefore not signed up for mind games...

...also Lewis failed to mention the many times he took advantage of access to his team mate's data, because of course that is different!

I don't get the bad comments he got. He specifically said that sharing the data for the setup etc. to get the team forward was fine, but he doesn't like sharing explicit lines and braking points and he doesn't look at his teammates data regarding that. And I completely agree. It would be much more interesting that way and you could see the (in)abilities of a driver much more

I actually only read it at how much not of a team player he seems to be. And for a corporate team, it's almost silly to have such a person. I wondedr what 'actions' the board will take if Lewis would post the data on twitter like he did at mclaren. It seems the Austrian boys are protecting Lewis more then Vettel ever received at Red Bull. Don't get me wrong, at some level I understand it, but compared to the relative benign things Rosberg has been punished for, it's just silly.

It's just typical Lewis, not thinking things all the way through before saying things. He certainly does have a fair point, but it only works if everyone ignores how often he has directly benefited from it! The bit about him not looking is a lie - he definitely used Nico's data on several occasions after being affected by reliability or setup issues, and then there was tweeting a picture of Jenson's data at Spa(!).

Moreover, it's a lame attempt at psyching out Bottas:



Note how he is straight out of the gate with the 'the other driver' nonsense. If it barely worked on Britney, what on earth is he expecting!?

Let's not pretend like Lewis is the first and only person to not want to share data. His point is self-conflicting but I agree with what he's saying.

Some of the legends of the sport refused to share data with their team mates, Prost is a prime example.

_________________
BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Yeah, this is kinda what I meant, only worded in a way that makes sense

What he is doing/saying is nothing new, it's just clumsily done.

So all three of us agree when worded by kals I think it would be more interesting this way.

He's asked a question, he answers, he gets negative commentary as a result. It's not mind games or attempted oneupmanship, it's just fodder to fill column inches.

_________________
BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

I know the coverage of him is unfairly negative a lot of the time, but it does constantly surprise me that someone who has spent their entire adult life working with PR people and Ron Dennis is still worse at this stuff than Damon Hill (for example) ever was.