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Do you think thats because there car is setup do differently to everyone elses?Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivski
Engine different angle, and fuel tank different angle as well and they might have to change the camber abit more to suit a full tank?
Just a thought.
Also, anyone else see how quick the Minardi's are getting?
Raikkonen crash creates safety concerns
Over tyres used in Formula One
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Raikkonen's accident during the European GP
The spectacular crash suffered by McLaren's world championship challenger Kimi Raikkonen in the European Grand Prix has sparked safety concerns over the tyres used in Formula One.
New rules, introduced this year in a bid to stop the sport's costs spiralling out of control, have stopped teams from changing tyres during the race unless they are deemed to be in dangerous condition. But teams believe that puts them in an unfair position and McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh admitted: "These regulations gave us a dilemma on Sunday, which we would rather not have."
That dilemma was whether to risk Raikkonen's life by forcing him to drive on in a badly vibrating car after he damaged his tyres or to pull him into the pits and throw away a vital victory at a crucial point in the championship race.
Their decision to leave him out pitched him into a massive accident on the final lap of the race and Whitmarsh said: "The problem has often been talked about but this has created a precedent, which demonstrates how dangerous it is."
There are fears that, with high-speed circuits like Silverstone and Monza and the notorious Eau Rouge corner at Spa-Francorchamps still to come on this year's calendar, another incident may not see the driver walk away.
Raikkonen's crash was a consequence of a driver error which flat spotted the tyre badly midway through the race but the ultimate failure was down to the gamble to stay out that did not pay off.
It is up to the team to avoid the problem but many teams believe they should not be put in that difficult situation in the first place but BMW motorsport direct Mario Theissen said the situation is currently unavoidable.
"I think as long as you have competition on the tyre side every manufacturer will be on the edge and certainly you run into problems sometimes," said Theissen, whose company supplies engines to Williams. "The main reason to introduce the current rules is to save money and I think we could save more with a standard spec tyre with no testing and then change them as often as you want.
"It was quite a surprise what we saw today, but we had some tyre problems in Spa last year and that would certainly become critical there, so we have to closely watch the situation."
Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier, whose company provides McLaren's tyres, believes Raikkonen's problem was amplified every lap and suggested failure was inevitable at some stage.
He explained: "He flat-spotted his front-right tyre and we could see the problem very clearly in his second stop. The trouble is it becomes very easy to lock your brakes repeatedly when a tyre has been flat- spotted.
"That just amplifies the problem. We have seen cars locking up here on many occasions during the weekend and that seems to happen a lot here because one or two corners encourage drivers to turn while braking."
Fernando Alonso, who won Sunday's race, suffered problems at the last race in Monaco when the handling on his Renault deteriorated due to tyre wear but he did not create a flat-spot and managed to finish in fourth.
BMW's Theissen believes the tyre war between Michelin and rivals Bridgestone, which encourages competition to push designs to their limits, has been partially responsible for the recent trend in tyre performance.
And he added: "I was pleasantly surprised in the early races of the season because the manufacturers had to switch from three or four sets per race to one per race. That is quite a big change and I expected more problems than we had so to me it was a surprise what happened today, but maybe that is because companies are pushing to develop more."
Source AFP
I hope this sparks some debate about this rule, one or two more incidents, and then back to the previous tyre regulations/rules. Can't stand it this year:thumbdwn:
With BMW expected to buy out Sauber, the rumour mill reckons that Williams could be set to use Toyota power from the start of next season.
Meanwhile, Nick Heidfeld is expected to move to the new BMW-Sauber team, making room for Jenson Button at Grove.
However, Honda have now emerged as possible contenders, along with Toyota and Cosworth, as new engine partners with Williams if and when their partnership with BMW ends.
The paddock is also awash with talk that Frank Williams was spotted in talks with Bridgestone's Hiroshi Yusakawa at the weekend.
Bridgestone are known to be keen to bring more teams into their stable, accepting that only supplying Ferrari with tyres is a severe handicap.
From planetf1
Yeah, it's great! Gives the others a chance.Quote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
hmmm god thats hard to get your head around all those rumours lol!
Be nice having a second competitive team running bridgestones:thumbsup:
yeah, i agree, nice to get a more competitive tyre war going again, then we can tell if its the tyres messing up or the cars....
But i don't think BMW is going to buy out Sauber so quickly, i think they will supply engines for a season or two first. No way is Williams going to go Cosworth, they'll want a factory backed engine for sure.
yea vtec **tripping**, anyway i agree williams wont wont cosworth engines, and i dont think bmw will buy sauber...
No wonder peter sauber hasnt been worried about getting his opinions known and siding with the GPWC instead of with bernie. I say its a step in the right direction.
The politics never stops. We're already half way through the year and the rumours are starting... the rumours are starting late this year. ;)
lol i hate all the rumours, its just so complicated.
I think that since there is so much talk of BMW to buy Sauber Frank Williams will just break there agreement.
I got a DVD on Frank Williams and this is something he would do.
Williams to go to Bridgestone and Toyota to supply there engines, thats my prediction by mid way 2006. (I know its a big call)