Selection box - Out on the open road - Previewing the coming season and the far-flung future
Published by Christine
The pre-season is really starting to gather steam now, with last minute changes to the engineering lineups, sneaky peeks at new liveries and launch preparations, and so many social media posts from drivers doing their last minute training. Launches and testing are rapidly heading towards us, but until then, here are a few posts and links to keep you occupied.
Let's begin with some tyre talk, because we all know that those round black rubber things have dominated the sport for a few good years now. Here are two posts, one about what the tyre supplier thinks of the upcoming season, and the next about how tyres can be tricky when you're making your own F1 car.
How are Pirelli’s amazing powers of prediction? Judging by last year’s predictions during the season of how the tires would be used and the fastest strategy around each track, I would say they are there or thereabouts if I’m honest. They do a really good job of predicting how their tires will perform and what teams will do with that performance.
The Lilac reveals the seductive curvature of the car while the black was practical, elegant and matched the tyres. Even just sitting on the side in my bedroom, the body work of the car is so aerodynamic it looks as if it’s moving quickly. I’m incredibly excited to get it wired up with some electronics and out on the open road; or on a rainy day the kitchen floor!
Next up, we're still mourning the loss of the Manor team, and a couple of writers have recapped their F1 history - albeit a short one.
1st October 2015. This was the day that Mercedes-Benz announced they would be supplying Manor with power-units for the 2016 season. There was talk about a change in fortunes for Formula 1’s backmarker team, with highly-rated rookie Pascal Wehrlein being given a chance to show his talents on the grandest stage of all, and predictions of Manor becoming a midfield team 7 seasons after they debuted under Virgin Racing.
Since they joined the grid in 2010, the British outfit have struggled to break away from the back of the grid, and it took them 83 races to score points and that was purely down to the heroic efforts of the late Jules Bianchi and a crazy Monaco Grand Prix, rather than the ultimate pace of the car.
From the past to the future, a handful of articles follow that look ahead to how the sport may pan out - including what impact the new bosses will have, as well as much further ahead in time.
Bernie Ecclestone built Formula 1 by selling the sport to the masses. It created a perpetual cycle of increasing returns as mass audiences made sponsors hungry to get involved, even as the costs rose. Fans became hooked on the sport through relatively low-cost access. As popularity skyrocketed Bernie then charged increasing amounts for the TV packages.
Two different versions of a transparent frontal screen will now be developed in an attempt to avoid the halo's compromises. One is a development of the so-called 'aeroscreen' - a transparent material attached to a metal hoop - tried by Red Bull last year but abandoned after it failed the official tests that had been passed by the halo.
Consider this an invitation to a world of cautious speculation into what could await Formula 1 in the not too far distant future. The future, just like the past, is where people, places, objects and beliefs are far removed from our own. To quantify how much is beyond the bounds of possibility, yet at the same time undeniable.
To the 2017 season itself, then, with some hope for the coming races, a look at what the rookies may be like, and some insight into the new cars.
Launch season is an intriguing time of year, and that is especially the case ahead of a major rules revamp. The established pecking order could be shaken up or the front runners could extended their advantages – no one will know for sure until the cars hit the track for the two pre-season test sessions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
My biggest hope, however, is for a backtrack on the move away from any free-to-air races from 2019 – this will be the biggest test of my faith in the sport since I started following. I, like thousands or even millions of us, got into Formula 1 because I was able to watch it for free on terrestrial television.
Inevitably, there are questions about Stroll's talent. To fully understand why, you need to roll back the clock 25 years, to 1991, long before Stroll was born. At the time, Lance's father, Lawrence Stroll, was a newly successful fashion entrepreneur. That year, he began sponsoring Team Lotus, with rising stars Mika Hakkinen and Johnny Herbert, using the Tommy Hilfiger and Pepe Jeans brands. Lawrence was not subtle.
Finally, a recap of a night at the Zoom F1 auction, raising money for charity and having some fun at the same time.
For those who have never heard of the event, Zoom is an annual charity event where the famous faces of F1 send in their photos and are auctioned out for charity. This year was the sixth Zoom event and partnered alongside Starlight.
