2014 too slow? (or not, as the case may be)

[fasterthanyou]

It kinda hurts to read that.

"Speed isn't everything."
~ no F1 driver ever

Tell that to Fangio - he always aimed to win in the slowest time possible. Not for him the silliness of Vettel trying to get the lap record at every track etc.

I bet he never won with slowest time possible because that would require him to just be (extremely) slightly ahead of the second place guy, a photo finish . I bet he never wait for the second place guy either.

[Artur Craft]

I think that maybe this year the tyres a step too hard which is exacerbating the problem. They're much harder and that's slowing the cars down as they're unable to get temperature into them and so lack grip. I suspect next year we'll see slightly softer tyres and the times will be much quicker.

No. I already addressed this issue before and the Softs from this year are only 0,6s from last year's Softs, comparing GP2 pole laptimes from Barcelona.

Also, if the tyre would be slightly softer, times wouldn't be much quicker

The SuperSofts are still incredibly softs, though. After 8 laps they are already much slower than the Softs and the amount of marbles is very big, as the GP2 race showed

I also already said here, with some based estimations, that GP2 and FR 3.5 cars are likely cornering faster the high speed corners than F1. Button thinks the same:

Q: Monaco is a very peculiar track. Did you have to change your driving style with the new car to meet the necessities of this special circuit?
JB: No, not really. The biggest problem is high speed because we are so much slower in high speed. I think even the World Series cars are quicker than us in high speed! That is no joke - unfortunately

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews ... 15858.html

[siskue2005]

1.15.9 is q3 is one par with 2007 q3 lap time

[Cam]

Taken out of context, but i'd much rather watch the drivers have to struggle with a car & be a few seconds slower over a lap than have them drive round a circuit on rails.

In that case, I can see how manufactures will use that 'relevance' and tie that back to road sales - "try the Mercedes XYZ, sure it's slower than last years model but at least it has no traction and handles like $hit".

Oh, gimme, gimme, gimme!

[johnsonwax]

Wow. Its like you've never even seen how they market cars.

[Cam]

Sure I have. "Fast, powerful, loud, handles on rails". Then I look at F1....

[beelsebob]

Sure I have. "Fast, powerful, loud, handles on rails". Then I look at F1....

Yep, you haven't seen how they market cars.

[bhall]

(I currently have the kind of insomnia in which very juvenile --- really entertains me. I don't know why I'm making this text small, though.)

EDIT: But, seriously, this is how they market F1.

They have to sell "road relevance."

Now with these new regulations I can clearly convince the [Daimler] supervisory board that the [F1 team] are doing exactly what we need - downsizing, direct injection, lightweight construction, fuel efficiency on the highest possible level, new technologies and combining a combustion engine with an e-motor hybrid.

It's up to consumers to know that technology transfer generally doesn't flow from race cars to road cars. But, they generally don't know that, so it's a winning strategy.

Which leads to...



"A partnership of excellence and technology leaders, Infiniti and the four-time FIA Formula One Constructors' World Champion Red Bull Racing build a future of daring skill on the track and engineering innovation."

#marketing

[johnsonwax]

Pirelli, tire supplier to F1.

[Cam]

Sure I have. "Fast, powerful, loud, handles on rails". Then I look at F1....

Yep, you haven't seen how they market cars.

Go into any Ferrari dealership and ask for a test drive. What do you think they are going to say to you? I proffer they'll say "Fast, powerful, loud, handles on rails". What about AMG? A Lotus? People buy those cars because they go fast, sound great, and handle like a mofo. Now show me where a Ferrari dealer says the opposite!

Edit: "I want a whisper quiet poor handling, slow Ferrari", said no car buyer, ever.

[johnsonwax]

I proffer they'll say "Fast, powerful, loud, handles on rails".

No, they won't. They'll tell you look great it in. They'll tell you your buddies will be envious. They'll tell you it will get you laid. They're not going to tell you that the 2014 F1 car lapped Monaco three tenths faster than the 2013 car, and nobody other than people on this forum are going to care, and most of the people on this forum don't even care.

[Cam]

Ok, we're getting off topic a touch. Why does Top Gear do so well? Yes, we see pretty girls front row in the audience (no mistake) and boys doing silly things and getting into trouble, but overriding that is the showcase of fast, loud, well handling cars. They even have a fastest lap time completion. Pretty women giving hand jobs is so 1980. Times have changed folks. Press ads are dead and stereotypes even deader. Average joe now knows the fastest car to lap the top gear circuit. This is no small coincidence. People either want fast, loud, rails or Eco or a family wagon. F1 caters to the first (well to its ever dwindling viewership).

[johnsonwax]

Why does Top Gear do so well? Yes, we see pretty girls front row in the audience (no mistake) and boys doing silly things and getting into trouble, but overriding that is the showcase of fast, loud, well handling cars. They even have a fastest lap time completion.

Because they're idiots doing interesting things. Their top rated episode is the Vietnam special, where no vehicle had more than 20HP. Then the Boliva special, American special, Botswana, various cars vs non-cars, north pole special, etc. Nobody cares about the Ferrari lap times. We want to see how these guys nearly kill themselves.

[Miguel]

Why does Top Gear do so well? Yes, we see pretty girls front row in the audience (no mistake) and boys doing silly things and getting into trouble, but overriding that is the showcase of fast, loud, well handling cars. They even have a fastest lap time completion.

Because they're idiots doing interesting things. Their top rated episode is the Vietnam special, where no vehicle had more than 20HP. Then the Boliva special, American special, Botswana, various cars vs non-cars, north pole special, etc. Nobody cares about the Ferrari lap times. We want to see how these guys nearly kill themselves.

OT: The Bolivia special was, erm, something special indeed. And I really don't care about 4WD cars at all (much to the disappointment of my missus)

[Cam]

Why does Top Gear do so well? Yes, we see pretty girls front row in the audience (no mistake) and boys doing silly things and getting into trouble, but overriding that is the showcase of fast, loud, well handling cars. They even have a fastest lap time completion.

Because they're idiots doing interesting things. Their top rated episode is the Vietnam special, where no vehicle had more than 20HP. Then the Boliva special, American special, Botswana, various cars vs non-cars, north pole special, etc. Nobody cares about the Ferrari lap times. We want to see how these guys nearly kill themselves.

Guinness Book of Records holder for most watched factual programme in the world - Sold to 214 territories worldwide

Yeah, but they're idiots lot's of people watch - motorsport fans and average joe's alike. And what does top gear sell? Fast, loud, well handling cars (among other things). That premise sits at the very top rung. It's what they want people to aspire too. In doing so, they directly cross reference to F1 so much. How much? The great F1 man himself posed as "the Stig". Hell, they have their own F1 lap time comp - to name a few. This is where average people join the line between F1 (motorsport in general) and domestic cars, not from press ads and websites. It may not be want FOM wants, but it's what happens. This is where the 'relevance' happens at ground level.

So, given that, let's see how a 'slow, quiet, hard to handle' car is accepted by the audience. Even better, put a Merc star on the front of that car and get the stig to do a lap. I bet no manufacture does it, ever. Why? Answer that and you can answer "is 2014 too slow".