2014 Season Preview: 14 Things To Look Forward To

[eytl]

Hi everyone,

As well as the season preview podcast, the written 2014 Season Preview is now up:

http://www.f1rejects.com/centrale/2014/preview/index.html

Is the looming chaos in Melbourne the end of the world as we know it? Far from it. Inadvertently, F1 might just be returning to some of the old-school values the purists have been crying out for. There's plenty to look forward to this season, and I've picked out 14 talking points to get excited about.

Enjoy the read!

Cheers,
Enoch

[Aerospeed]

Great read!

One question though - I wonder what'll happen if there's less than 10 finishers

And by the way, Caterham's car is far worse looking than Force India's

[dr-baker]

Damn it, Enoch. Why did you have to go and curse Williams like that? Just as it looked like they may have a competitive season, you had to go and ruin it all by putting your curse on them... Shame on you!

[Turbogirl]

Nice preview! I'm really looking forward to this season. It just has to be better than last year's snorefest or I'll finally lose interest in F1. Let's hope, those gimmicks will really be rendered completely useless (because they are), so that we can move on to 2015 without them. And why this pole trophy? So that we can witness more unnecessary interviews on the podium, but now after the qualifying already? Does... not... compute...

[SgtPepper]

Really great read! Particularly loved;

But, inadvertently, what the 2014 season might dish up as a result is what the purist aficionados have been calling out for. A return to old-school values, if you will. Where close lap times and DRS-assisted passes don't matter as much as a genuine battle for men to tame machines, where simply finishing is half the challenge, where mechanical elements are more of a determining factor than aerodynamic ones, and where drivers might be able to make more of a difference than they have in past seasons.

Summarises perfectly why I'm getting so excited for this season, F1 was absolutely desperate for a shake up like this, and I honestly reckon the formula is now approaching ideal (except for DRS and double points, which remain utterly appalling.)

[Jocke1]

7. Ronspeak returns!

From what he said in the press, Martin Whitmarsh seemed to be Mr Reasonable. But perhaps a touch too nice and lacking in mongrel.
The return of Ron Dennis to a prominent place in the structure of the McLaren F1 team at least polarises opinion.
Not to mention Ron's delightful mangling of the English language into incomprehensible business-talk, and you just know McLaren will be
good for a headline again in 2014. Whether it makes any difference to their on-track performance is another question ...

... and not only this, but also instead of yet another predictable season of 'Tooned', McLaren has joined up with Warner Brothers and will be
releasing their first non-animated full length motion picture during the third quarter of 2014:



Plot
Ron and Martin are elderly men working next door to each other in the McLaren Technology Centre.
They're continuously arguing and insulting each other, and have been this way for a long, long time.
One day, "Ariel" moves into Woking. Both men are attracted to her, and their rivalry steps up a gear.

[Collieafc]

The cruel irony will be if Vettel wins the championship solely because of the double points race.

But it sums up why I am looking forward to the season too, its as if a big "reset" button has been pressed

[Turbogirl]

The cruel irony will be if Vettel wins the championship solely because of the double points race.

But it sums up why I am looking forward to the season too, its as if a big "reset" button has been pressed

I would probably never stop laughing for the rest of my life, if that really happens. After all the high hopes and anticipations, that this season will bring a whole new F1 experience after four years of VETTELWINSLOL and then the most ludicrous idea of them all aids him to grab the title after all. Sounds kinda funny, when you say it out loud...

[watka]

The cruel irony will be if Vettel wins the championship solely because of the double points race.

But it sums up why I am looking forward to the season too, its as if a big "reset" button has been pressed

I would probably never stop laughing for the rest of my life, if that really happens. After all the high hopes and anticipations, that this season will bring a whole new F1 experience after four years of VETTELWINSLOL and then the most ludicrous idea of them all aids him to grab the title after all. Sounds kinda funny, when you say it out loud...

Well if Vettel wins the championship at last gasp in the final race then the rule would have served its purpose of spicing up the championship. I sort of agree that it makes things interesting, but it is only at the sacrifice of fairness, which I think is the main gripe hear.

To be honest, I'm not sure how funny it would be to see the ruccus if Vettel denies Alonso or Hamilton the title through double points. The Internet would become inhospitable.

[SgtPepper]

The cruel irony will be if Vettel wins the championship solely because of the double points race.

But it sums up why I am looking forward to the season too, its as if a big "reset" button has been pressed

I would probably never stop laughing for the rest of my life, if that really happens. After all the high hopes and anticipations, that this season will bring a whole new F1 experience after four years of VETTELWINSLOL and then the most ludicrous idea of them all aids him to grab the title after all. Sounds kinda funny, when you say it out loud...

I've been pondering over this precise scenario since double points was introduced, and I honestly think it would result in the scrapping of the rule altogether, a la 1988 etc etc, as the uproar would be so virulent and fierce. In some ways I think it could actually be preferable that it happens this year while the rule is not entrenched or acclimatised to, rather than it scrambling and skewing multiple F1 seasons before tension rises to the same level again surrounding it.

[DanielPT]

The cruel irony will be if Vettel wins the championship solely because of the double points race.

But it sums up why I am looking forward to the season too, its as if a big "reset" button has been pressed

I would probably never stop laughing for the rest of my life, if that really happens. After all the high hopes and anticipations, that this season will bring a whole new F1 experience after four years of VETTELWINSLOL and then the most ludicrous idea of them all aids him to grab the title after all. Sounds kinda funny, when you say it out loud...

I've been pondering over this precise scenario since double points was introduced, and I honestly think it would result in the scrapping of the rule altogether, a la 1988 etc etc, as the uproar would be so virulent and fierce. In some ways I think it could actually be preferable that it happens this year while the rule is not entrenched or acclimatised to, rather than it scrambling and skewing multiple F1 seasons before tension rises to the same level again surrounding it.

Because it is Vettel, people would probably turn berserk. But what if it is Vettel losing to someone else because of double points? Would anyone of those in the previous case mind? I known I would. The whole rule should be scrapped.

[SgtPepper]

Because it is Vettel, people would probably turn berserk. But what if it is Vettel losing to someone else because of double points? Would anyone of those in the previous case mind? I known I would. The whole rule should be scrapped.

This is the problem - if Renault/RB were to sort their issues out and the RB10 was to turn into yet another rocketship and go on a winning streak, to then be denied the championship due to double points, it would both deligitimise the victor and legitimise the rule, as this is what it was designed to avoid. It's a lose-lose situation, and I agree completely about scrapping it.

[jackanderton]

Interesting conspiracy theory-

Double points was introduced because the powers-that-be knew the problems Renault were having with the engine for the new season.

BOOM


I'll leave it up to you all to discredit that idea.

[watka]

Interesting conspiracy theory-

Double points was introduced because the powers-that-be knew the problems Renault were having with the engine for the new season.

BOOM


I'll leave it up to you all to discredit that idea.

They obviously didn't expect them to be this far behind though otherwise they'd have made it quadruple points!

[dr-baker]

Interesting conspiracy theory-

Double points was introduced because the powers-that-be knew the problems Renault were having with the engine for the new season.

BOOM


I'll leave it up to you all to discredit that idea.

They obviously didn't expect them to be this far behind though otherwise they'd have made it quadruple points!

Or even sextuple points?!

[watka]

Interesting conspiracy theory-

Double points was introduced because the powers-that-be knew the problems Renault were having with the engine for the new season.

BOOM


I'll leave it up to you all to discredit that idea.

They obviously didn't expect them to be this far behind though otherwise they'd have made it quadruple points!

Or even sextuple points?!

I'm guessing the use of that word with intentional Doctor?

[dr-baker]

They obviously didn't expect them to be this far behind though otherwise they'd have made it quadruple points!

Or even sextuple points?!

I'm guessing the use of that word with intentional Doctor?

Whatever do you mean?! Of course it was deliberate. How else do you express the concept of awarding 6 times the number of points for a race instead of double or four times?

[UncreativeUsername37]

Or even sextuple points?!

I'm guessing the use of that word with intentional Doctor?

Whatever do you mean?! Of course it was deliberate. How else do you express the concept of awarding 6 times the number of points for a race instead of double or four times?

Well, six is a composite number. You could say double triple points.

[dr-baker]

Well, six is a composite number. You could say double triple points.

But that just isn't quite as snappy or as concise as sextuple, is it?