Takagis F1 management game! Europe Qualifying Up

[Salamander]

Damn, all the drivers I want are taken... er, how about Gianni Morbidelli?

[takagi_for_the_win]

2nd drive is Wurz avalible?

No, seeing as he was only midfield in German F3 in '95. Besides, pasta and FMecha are ahead of you in the queue.

could I have a list of pay drivers please?

Ricardo Rosset will give you £5m
Giovanni Lavaggi will give you £4.5m
Pedro Lamy will give you £3m
Jean Denis Deletraz and Taki Inoue both bring £7m each
Pedro Diniz will give you £3m

[andrew]

I will have Jean Denis Deletraz then.

[pasta_maldonado]

Has Johnny Herbert been signed? If not Williams will sign him

[pi314159]

Has Johnny Herbert been signed? If not Williams will sign him

He has already been signed by Tyrrell

[pasta_maldonado]

Has Johnny Herbert been signed? If not Williams will sign him

He has already been signed by Tyrrell

In that case we will sign Giancarlo Fisichella

[pi314159]

Has Johnny Herbert been signed? If not Williams will sign him

He has already been signed by Tyrrell

In that case we will sign Giancarlo Fisichella

Fisichella has been signed by Ferrari

[pasta_maldonado]

We accept Coulthard's five million fee by the way. Are we picking for 2nd drivers now?

[takagi_for_the_win]

We accept Coulthard's five million fee by the way. Are we picking for 2nd drivers now?

Yep, and seeing as how all of your choices have been already snapped up, the likes of Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Eddie Irvine are all currently unattached.

[andrew]

I accept Trulli and Deltraz'es fee

[FMecha]

Is Mansell available for this season?

[Benetton]

Takagi can you please post the drivers selected in the first post. I guess it is not yet my turn to pick.

Some big names still out there

Irvine
Hill
Villeneuve
Barrichello?

[pasta_maldonado]

We accept Coulthard's five million fee by the way. Are we picking for 2nd drivers now?

Yep, and seeing as how all of your choices have been already snapped up, the likes of Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Eddie Irvine are all currently unattached.

Williams would like to sign Eddie Irvine then. We accept any fee

[FMecha]

And since Pasta has decided his option, I decide to sign Nigel Mansell, subject to availability (don't worry, our chassis has large cockpit to please Nigel).

[Ataxia]

Benetton, I think you can pick now

I'll take Pedro Diniz, by the way. I'm hopeful we've got a strong lineup.

[Benetton]

Benetton signs Jacques Villeneuve from Indy

[takagi_for_the_win]

Right, so here is the driver line up so far

McLaren-Mercedes
1. Michael Schumacher
2. Gianni Morbidelli

Benetton-Renault
3. Mika Hakkinen
4. Jacques Villeneuve

Williams-Ferrari
5. David Coulthard
6. Eddie Irvine

Ferrari
7. Jean Alesi
8. Giancarlo Fisichella

Ligier-Hart
9. Olivier Panis
10. Gerhard Berger

Jordan-Mugen Honda
11. Martin Brundle
12. Nigel Mansell

Sauber-Mercedes
14. Mika Salo
15. Mark Blundell

Arrows-Peugeot
16. Jos Verstappen
17. Heinz-Harald Frentzen

Tyrrell-Yamaha
18. Johnny Herbert
19. Luca Badoer

Minardi-Yamaha
20. Jarno Trulli
21. Jean-Denis Deletraz

Forti-Mugen Honda
22. Ukyo Katayama
23. Pedro Diniz

[takagi_for_the_win]

Budgets

Ferrari- £33m
Benetton- £31m
Williams- £29m
McLaren- £21m
Ligier- £15.5m
Jordan- £21.5m
Sauber- £12m
Arrows- £7m
Tyrrell- £4.5m
Minardi- £16m
Forti- £12m

Remember, if an engine blows, you have to buy a new one. Also, you can upgrade your chassis after every four races in handling, speed and reliability. Small upgrades are £1m, medium upgrades are £2m and large upgrades are £5m. You can't spend more than £6m on upgrades per event. Finally, what are your ideas for prize money etc?

[roblo97]

Budgets

Ferrari- £33m
Benetton- £31m
Williams- £29m
McLaren- £21m
Ligier- £15.5m
Jordan- £21.5m
Sauber- £12m
Arrows- £7m
Tyrrell- £4.5m
Minardi- £16m
Forti- £12m

Remember, if an engine blows, you have to buy a new one. Also, you can upgrade your chassis after every four races in handling, speed and reliability. Small upgrades are £1m, medium upgrades are £2m and large upgrades are £5m. You can't spend more than £6m on upgrades per event. Finally, what are your ideas for prize money etc?

£7,500,000

[takagi_for_the_win]

Australian GP Qualifying

1. David Coulthard 1.32.318
2. Eddie Irvine 1.32.867
3. Jean Alesi 1.32.965
4. Michael Schumacher 1.33.287
5. Giancarlo Fisichella 1.33.637
6. Jacques Villeneuve 1.34.180
7. Gianni Morbidelli 1.34.191
8. Mika Salo 1.34.196
9. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 1.34.198
10. Mika Hakkinen 1.34.279
11. Jos Verstappen 1.34.472
12. Johnny Herbert 1.34.711
13. Martin Brundle 1.34.717
14. Nigel Mansell 1.34.790
15. Mark Blundell 1.34.961
16. Gerhard Berger 1.35.134
17. Luca Badoer 1.35.612
18. Jarno Trulli 1.35.690
19. Olivier Panis 1.36.093
20. Ukyo Katayama 1.37.761
21. Pedro Diniz 1.37.841
22. Jean-Denis Deletraz 1.38.303

[pasta_maldonado]

Australian GP Qualifying

1. David Coulthard 1.32.318
2. Eddie Irvine 1.32.867
3. Jean Alesi 1.32.965
4. Michael Schumacher 1.33.287
...

[Salamander]

Holy shite, Morbidelli's 7th! I mean, yeah, he's a second off Schumacher, but damn. Maybe I'm on to something with him...

[takagi_for_the_win]

Australian Grand Prix
1. David Coulthard
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Mika Hakkinen
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
5. Gianni Morbidelli
6. Mika Salo
7. Gerhard Berger
8. Mark Blundell
9. Martin Brundle
10. Olivier Panis
11. Jarno Trulli
12. Ukyo Katayama

A perfect start to the season for Coulthard, who obliterated the field in Australia. His job was helped by the fact that team mate Irvine crashed into Fisichella at the first corner, resulting in both of their retirements. Alesi moved into second, holding up Schumacher, who forced his way past on lap 5. Schumacher was easily capable of matching Coulthards pace early on, but was on a 2 stop stratagy. Alesi was set for fourth before his hydraulics failed with 6 laps left. Hakkinen impressed, making his one stop strategy work well, moving up from tenth to third. Villeneuve was also running well, also one stopping, but a gearbox failure saw him retire from a probable points finish. Morbidelli in the second McLaren drove an assured race, coming fifth behind the impressive Frentzen and Salo. The 2 Ligiers also one-stopped, making up places through attrition mainly.

1. David Coulthard 10 pts
2. Michael Schumacher 6 pts
3. Mika Hakkinen 4 pts
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3 pts
5. Gianni Morbidelli 2 pts
6. Mika Salo 1 pt

1. Williams-Ferrari 10 pts
2. McLaren-Mercedes 8 pts
3. Benetton-Renault 4 pts
4. Arrows-Peugeot 3 pts
5. Sauber-Mercedes 1 pt

[pi314159]

What happened to Herbert and Badoer?

[takagi_for_the_win]

I'll do a team by team report of the race actually.
McLaren- Schumacher drove a solid race, not on Coulthards pace, but comfortably best of the rest. Morbidelli drove well, but didn't set the world alight, duelling with Fretzen and Salo all race.
Benetton- Hakkinen made a good start to the race, making up four places at the start, making his one stop strategy work, finishing 3rd. Villeneuve was set for 4th, but his car failed after 22 laps.
Williams- Coulthard absolutely dominated, leading every lap. Irvine made a poor start, and collided with Fisichella at the first corner, taking both of them out.
Ferrari- Alesi was set for a fourth place, but his hydraulics failed. Fisichella was taken out by Irvine.
Ligier- Both cars drove solidly, no where near the points though. Anonymous.
Jordan- Brundle spent most of the race fighting with Salo, Morbidelli and Frentzen before getting stuck behind Berger after his second stop. Mansell was anonymous and his engine blew when he was in 10th.
Sauber- Salo impressed, finishing 6th after fighting with a McLaren. Blundell was poor, unable to get the best out of his car.
Arrows- Impressive race from Arrows. Frentzen came 4th after seeing off arguably quicker cars. Verstappen spun off early on.
Tyrrell- Poor race from Tyrrell. Herbert, after qualifying well, dropped back quickly, and retired with transmission problems. Badoers engine blew after 11 laps.
Minardi- Trulli drove well to finish 11th, but it was through attrition he got this result. Deletraz was hopeless, lasting 4 laps before crashing out.
Forti- Katayama drove as well as he could, but still finished well last. Diniz spun out after 18 laps when he was in last.

[takagi_for_the_win]

And I'm getting rid of the buy replacement engines rule btw.

[pasta_maldonado]

And I'm getting rid of the buy replacement engines rule btw.

Great performance from Coulthard there. And just out of interest, how are you simulating the races by pen and paper?

[pi314159]

2 million on reliability and one million on top speed

[Salamander]

Not bad. I didn't expect Schumacher to be on the Williams' pace, so a clear best of the rest works for me. I expected Morbidelli to be a total deadbeat teammate in comparison, but 5th place isn't a terrible return - if he can keep scraping minor points and maybe a podium or two, I might consider resigning him.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Great performance from Coulthard there. And just out of interest, how are you simulating the races by pen and paper?

For qualifying, I look at what the real life team managed, and then I adjust it to suit the teams in the game e.g. IRL, Hills time for qualy in Australia was a 1.32.5, by my reckoning the Ferrari engine would be a tenth or two slower than the Renault engine around Albert Park, and Coulthard would be a couple of tenths slower than Hill. For the race, I have calculated the reliability of all chassis', engines and drivers, and what the attrition rate and causes of retirement are at each circuit. I also try and keep the strategys similar to the ones used IRL. I keep track of positions by making a grid of each driver, and his position after each lap. Hope that all makes sense

[takagi_for_the_win]

2 million on reliability and one million on top speed

You can only upgrade after every fourth race

[takagi_for_the_win]

1. David Coulthard 1.18.410
2. Michael Schumacher 1.19.030
3. Eddie Irvine 1.19.147
4. Jean Alesi 1.19.360
5. Mika Hakkinen 1.19.560
6. Jacques Villeneuve 1.19.604
7. Gerhard Berger 1.19.652
8. Nigel Mansell 1.19.711
9. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 1.19.793
10. Martin Brundle 1.19.826
11. Giancarlo Fisichella 1.19.945
12. Jos Verstappen 1.19.960
13. Johnny Herbert 1.20.104
14. Olivier Panis 1.20.107
15. Gianni Morbidelli 1.20.131
16. Mika Salo 1.20.310
17. Mark Blundell 1.20.576
18. Luca Badoer 1.20.616
19. Jarno Trulli 1.21.267
20. Pedro DIniz 1.22.319
21. Ukyo Katayama 1.22.610
22. Jean-Denis Deletraz 1.23.490

[Salamander]

... yeah, that's more along the lines of what I expected from Morbidelli. Good to see Schumacher spoiling the Williams' front-row, though.

[pi314159]

Let's see if Herbert's car manages to finish the race.

[takagi_for_the_win]

1. Michael Schumacher
2. Mika Hakkinen
3. Jean Alesi
4. Martin Brundle
5. Nigel Mansell
6. Olivier Panis
7. Giancarlo Fisichella
8. Mika Salo
9. Luca Badoer
10. Pedro Diniz
11. Ukyo katayama

McLaren- A brilliant race for Schumacher, who, after overpowering Coulthard on lap 4, sped away to an unchallenged win. Morbidellis race came to an early end when he piled into the back of Verstappen and Herbert at the first corner.
Benetton- Hakkinen again pulled off the one-stop strategy, finishing an impressive second. Villeneuve ran well before colliding with Irvine.
Williams- A disappointing race for Williams. Coulthard couldn't match the pace of Schumacher, Hakkinen or Alesi and spun out trying to catch them. Irvine was taken out by an out of control Villeneuve.
Ferrari- Alesi did well to run second, but was passed by Hakkinen, who made one less stop. Fisichella struggled for pace and could only finish 7th.
Ligier- Panis charged through the field in the wet and was unlucky to miss out on 5th. Berger was challenging for a podium when his engine blew mid way through the race.
Jordan- A strong race for the Anglo-Irish squad saw them pick up 5 points. Brundle drove solidly to 4th, while a late switch to inters saw Mansell grab 5th on the last lap.
Sauber- A bit of a comedown aafter the impressive race in Australia. Neither driver looked competitive, with Salo finishing 8th, and Blundell retiring from 10th.
Arrows- A double non-finish for Arrows, but another good showing. Verstappen was knocked off at the first corner by Morbidelli, but Frentzen drove solidly and had 4th in his sights until his engine gave up the ghost.
Tyrrell- Another poor race for Tyrrell. Herbert was another victim of Morbidellis banzai attack, while Badoer was easily the slowest of the non Minardi/Forti brigade, and could only come 9th.
Minardi- Trulli impressed, hanging onto Badoer before his electrics failed. Deletraz had another awful outing, spinning out of last place afetr just 20 laps.
Frti- Both Fortis made it to the end of the end of the race, which must be seen as a triumph. Diniz did well at his home event, finishing 10th, which will help on countback at the end of the season. Katayama pushed him hard, and came a close 11th.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Drivers Championship
1. Michael Schumacher 16 pts
2. David Coulthard 10 pts
3. Mika Hakkinen 10 pts
4. Jean Alesi 4 pts
5. Martin Brundle 3 pts
6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3 pts
7. Nigel Mansell 2 pts
8. Gianni Morbidelli 2 pts
9. Mika Salo 1 pt
10. Olivier Panis 1 pt

Constructors Championship
1. McLaren-Mercedes 18 pts
2. Williams-Ferrari 10 pts
3. Benetton-Renault 10 pts
4. Jordan-Mugen 5 pts
5. Ferrari 4 pts
6. Arrows-Peugeot 3 pts
7. Sauber-Mercedes 1 pt
8. Ligier-Hart 1 pt

[Salamander]

Holy crap, if he keeps this up, Schumacher might well win the title! In a 1996 McLaren!

Also, forget everything good I ever said about Morbidelli.

[tristan1117]

Darn. I suppose we'll have to buy a new engine for Frentzen now.

[takagi_for_the_win]

And I'm getting rid of the buy replacement engines rule btw.

Darn. I suppose we'll have to buy a new engine for Frentzen now.

Don't worry mate, I got rid of that rule at the start of the season

[takagi_for_the_win]

And another pole for Coulthard, but even better: JOS THE BOSS IS 2ND!!!

1. David Coulthard 1.30.253
2. Jos Verstappen 1.30.842
3. Jacques Villeneuve 1.30.976
4. Eddie Irvine 1.30.983
5. Mika Hakkinen 1.31.062
6. Michael Schumacher 1.31.162
7. Jean Alesi 1.31.260
8. Giancarlo Fisichella 1.31.597
9.Heinz-Harald Frentzen 1.31.617
10. Gianni Morbidelli 1.32.091
11. Mika Salo 1.32.094
12. Gerhard Berger 1.32.196
13. Mark Blundell 1.32.413
14. Nigel Mansell 1.32.419
15. Olivier Panis 1.32.513
16. Johnny Herbert 1.32.670
17. Martin Brundle 1.32.714
18. Jarno Trulli 1.33.168
19. Luca Badoer 1.33.414
20. Ukyo Katayama 1.34.619
21. Pedro Diniz 1.34.701
22. Jean-Denis Deletraz 1.35.090

107% time 1.36.571