We're on the eve of an exciting F1 season!
 

I didn't see a post in this board, or the off-topic section.... but c'mon, 2014 F1 is going to be epic!

For those not in the know.... Massive changes to the cars/teams/drivers this year.

-Turbos are back in play (more torque, less hp, less control out of cornering)
-Same Pirelli tires - mehh
-Much more strict fuel consumption regulations... 15k redline, worries of teams not finishing the races due to lack of fuel.
-HUGE energy recovery setup... the turbo can create electricity to be stored in the batteries, then can call on that energy to help electronically spool itself....say goodbye to turbo lag...not to mention the rear wheel generation and power output...plus can use this power for 33 seconds and not 6 like last season.
-Big safety changes to the chassis, primarily in the front (phallic nose shapes)
-Renault engine cars (including last 4 year world champs Red Bull) are showing huge reliability issues.

I could go on forever... many more changes...

GET PUMPED!!!

First race is this weekend, qualifying starts in a few hours. Race is early Sunday morning for most of us here in the States.

Not a bad first race considering all the changes.


You went to the Austin F1 GP last year?
pretty good discussion here. The Official Formula 1 2014 Season Thread - Honda-Tech

I like to watch F-1 cars and Indy cars on TV. Have noticed that in recent years, the engines in both classes are getting a lot smaller. What size engines are in F-1 cars now? V-12? V-10, V-8? All have turbos, but I'm just curious about the size of the engine. I know Indy cars have a V-6 W/ turbo, but the engines are like 140 CI - can still go 220 MPH +. Amazing to me how much HP those little engines make. Would be curious as to how much HP a Fit engine could make in race form.

OK, 1.6 liter V-6 with turbo - just looked at that site Honda-Tech.com. That is still a tiny little engine, but with 750 HP....wow! I've been around drag racing for years. I see Pro Mod cars with 930 CI engines on gasoline & nitrous oxide, putting out over 2000 HP. That is with an OHV engine -what would it do with DOHC heads / 4 valve per cyl?

1.) F1 only went to turbo power, this season, IE: yesterday.
2.) They are 1.5l V6 turbos making 6-700 bhp, with a 160 hp boost coming from their kinetic energy recovery system (KERS).
3.) Fit in race trim couldn't make much, at least not efficiently.

1.6 liters actually. The sound is nowhere near the same, but listening to it on Fuji Terebi with no commentators and just the sound of the circuit, they didn't sound horrible, but I have a feeling that the FIA will alter the rules to allow a higher fuel flow and also at a higher RPM versus the 10500 it is now. This in turn will up the sound output of the cars. Will it happen this season, probably not, but anything is possible.

There are parts of the circuit that the drivers are not on the throttle and just coasting to save their fuel, which goes against racing, racing supposedly at the pinnacle of motorsport. The racing wasn't bad, but the show wasn't improved as far as passing goes even with 33 seconds of KERS deployment versus just 6 seconds last year. The DRS didn't seem to do anything at Albert Park, maybe the next race at Sepang the DRS will be more pivotal with the 2 long straights and after that in Shanghai with its 1 long straight.

Hopefully the season is a good one, after 1 race I'm happy with McLaren's points haul, 25% of their total from last season.

Ahh yes, I always misthink the displacement.

Its 15k rpm, not 10.5k.

I didn't enjoy the race, a race without Vettel/Hamilton from the very start is not a good indicator of the rest of the season.

Yes 15000 max rpm, but max fuel flow at 10500.

Yah... I gotta feeling that's going to change especially with RB & Bernie leading the charge... lol

That's my biggest gripe... fuel saving, tire saving (especially w/last years fiasco), no refueling pit stops, etc, etc... If it's supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport the drivers should be allowed to push thru the race.

Yeah, glad to see McLaren back to some form... That youngster K.MAG looks like he has some skills. Should be nice with Honda coming aboard with them next year.