2015 Austrian GP Discussion Thread

Scrap Thistlethwayte · Post by **Scrap Thistlethwayte** » 16 Jun 2015, 12:35

1. McLaren will be poor as will Red Bull and other teams who clearly have rubbish cars.

2. David Coulthard will describe the track as a living breathing evolving thing.

3. Pastor Maldonado will have a quiet weekend.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 16 Jun 2015, 13:14

More of the same, I imagine.

There's not really much to be enthused about. Only a Mercedes catastrophe (i.e. a double DNF through technical issues) is likely going to stop the silver arrows. Manor is still using their old car, so no progress expected there.

I guess the only real question marks are;

Which way will the pendulum swing for Williams this time? Will they be fighting Ferrari for second best again, or will they be unable to deal with the corners in the second half of the lap and fall into the clutches of the midfield?

Will Lotus finally have a weekend where both the cars are bulletproof and the drivers make no mistakes?

Will Nico Hulkenberg's win at Le Mans last weekend spur him on to greater results on his return, or will fatigue come into play and affect his performance?

Which midfield team will take the initiative and be best-of-the-rest behind Williams, with Red Bull stranded at the back and out of the fight?

None of these talking points are particularly exciting, are they?

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 16 Jun 2015, 15:37

Biscione wrote:More of the same, I imagine.

There's not really much to be enthused about. Only a Mercedes catastrophe (i.e. a double DNF through technical issues) is likely going to stop the silver arrows. Manor is still using their old car, so no progress expected there.

I guess the only real question marks are;

Which way will the pendulum swing for Williams this time? Will they be fighting Ferrari for second best again, or will they be unable to deal with the corners in the second half of the lap and fall into the clutches of the midfield?

Will Lotus finally have a weekend where both the cars are bulletproof and the drivers make no mistakes?

Will Nico Hulkenberg's win at Le Mans last weekend spur him on to greater results on his return, or will fatigue come into play and affect his performance?

Which midfield team will take the initiative and be best-of-the-rest behind Williams, with Red Bull stranded at the back and out of the fight?

None of these talking points are particularly exciting, are they?

Will we hear more Will Stevens team radio?

Post by **Miguel98** » 16 Jun 2015, 17:59

Sauber best team behind the current top 3.

Post by **Ataxia** » 16 Jun 2015, 18:19

Wouldn't be surprised if Hulkenberg's absolutely shattered still come Austria; I'm told that you need at least a week to recover from a 24-hour race...

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 16 Jun 2015, 19:15

Wouldn't be surprised if some random celebrity gets bored during the race on the Force India box, i dreamed that (with Silverstone instead of Austria, but anyway...)

Yannick · Post by **Yannick** » 16 Jun 2015, 20:28

With some of the drivers already on or getting their 5th engine out of 4 for the season, what is your early favourite for "Reject Of the Year"? Is it engine reliability or engine penalties?

razta · Post by **razta** » 17 Jun 2015, 04:28

Hope it rains..... on LewLew's parade

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 17 Jun 2015, 05:06

Yannick wrote:With some of the drivers already on or getting their 5th engine out of 4 for the season, what is your early favourite for "Reject Of the Year"? Is it engine reliability or engine penalties?

Well... McLaren-Honda.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 17 Jun 2015, 08:42

Biscione wrote:None of these talking points are particularly exciting, are they?

When you put it like that it does make me feel some sympathy for the broadcasters who still need to make an interesting televisual feast for the masses. I could almost forgive them for attempting to drum up the fierce to-the-death rivalry between two drivers who are in reality just a bit pissed off with each other.

I am interested in how the Toro Rosso lads do, they seem to be the most interesting thing in F1 for me. That and the possibility of more Will Stevens givin' it large on the radio again.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 17 Jun 2015, 09:45

CoopsII wrote:That and the possibility of more Will Stevens givin' it large on the radio again.

Constantly having to pull over to be lapped must get boring after a while. Maybe he's dictating the lyrics to his latest Backrow Boys smash hit over the team radio and we have absolutely no idea.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 19 Jun 2015, 07:56

This just in from the employees at Red Bull at their traditional celebration of their home race.

Admittedly attendance is down a bit on last year, as is the party budget Mateschitz has made available.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 19 Jun 2015, 08:28

CoopsII wrote:This just in from the employees at Red Bull at their traditional celebration of their home race.
[img]image[/img]
Admittedly attendance is down a bit on last year, as is the party budget Mateschitz has made available.

For a moment there I thought they were celebrating the test results of the new Renault engine.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 19 Jun 2015, 12:25

Verstappen radio: "i've got a headache..."

Protip for Max: don't drive an F1 car during a hangover

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 19 Jun 2015, 15:01

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Wouldn't be surprised if some random celebrity gets bored during the race on the Force India box, i dreamed that (with Silverstone instead of Austria, but anyway...)

Alicia Silverstone!

I remember watching Clueless. She's pretty.

Post by **Londoner** » 19 Jun 2015, 20:38

Both McLarens and both Red Bulls have heaps of penalties to get through this weekend. This mean, unless something happens to them which means they can't set times, Manor will start 15th and 16th at least. Perhaps even further up if Verstappen blows an engine or someone crashes in Q1.

#ThisIsManorsRace

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 19 Jun 2015, 23:34

Red Bull's comments are becoming more and more absurd.

Christian Horner wrote:It's in F1's interest for Red Bull to be in the sport.

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 20 Jun 2015, 01:48

East Londoner wrote:Both McLarens and both Red Bulls have heaps of penalties to get through this weekend. This mean, unless something happens to them which means they can't set times, Manor will start 15th and 16th at least. Perhaps even further up if Verstappen blows an engine or someone crashes in Q1.

#ThisIsManorsRace

Or the hills are alive with the sound of Pastor Maldonado winning.

pi314159 · Post by **pi314159** » 20 Jun 2015, 06:12

Simtek wrote:
Christian Horner wrote:It's in F1's interest for Red Bull to be in the sport.

Well, this depends. If someone would buy the teams, I wouldn't mind, but in its current state, Formula 1 can't afford losing any more teams.

Post by **mario** » 20 Jun 2015, 07:00

pi314159 wrote:
Simtek wrote:
Christian Horner wrote:It's in F1's interest for Red Bull to be in the sport.

Well, this depends. If someone would buy the teams, I wouldn't mind, but in its current state, Formula 1 can't afford losing any more teams.

And that, I suspect, is the leverage that Red Bull are trying to use - the fact that their departure could potentially remove two teams from the grid and leave Bernie precariously close to breaching his obligations to the broadcasters, as well as taking a race and a large chunk of sponsorship away from the sport.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 20 Jun 2015, 08:12

I think it's getting to the point where it's becoming irrelevant. Red Bull are dragging F1, Renault and anyone else they want to blame through the mud. They're bringing the sport into disrepute and should be punished accordingly. They should call Mateschitz's bluff and just boot them out. Then they'll have something to moan about!

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 20 Jun 2015, 08:38

20 place penalty for Alonso; 25 place penalty for Button. :badoer:

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 20 Jun 2015, 09:54

GwilymJJames wrote:20 place penalty for Alonso; 25 place penalty for Button.

They should start from like half way through the track. That's 20 and 25 right?

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 20 Jun 2015, 09:54

Even Taki Inoue thinks „F1 is more than comedy show”.

How can you even serve a 25 place penalty in a 20-car grid?

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 20 Jun 2015, 11:05

Shizuka wrote:Even Taki Inoue thinks „F1 is more than comedy show”.

How can you even serve a 25 place penalty in a 20-car grid?

Start in 6th place on the grid, but a lap down?

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 20 Jun 2015, 11:40

Biscione wrote:
Shizuka wrote:Even Taki Inoue thinks „F1 is more than comedy show”.

How can you even serve a 25 place penalty in a 20-car grid?

Start in 6th place on the grid, but a lap down?

Start from the pit lane. As in start behind the start line like everyone else, but in the pit lane....

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 20 Jun 2015, 12:10

Ahhh man. From inters to slicks. COME ON RAIN.

WET RAIN

Post by **Londoner** » 20 Jun 2015, 12:20

Kimi, please leave. Give your seat to Bottas or Grosjean.

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 20 Jun 2015, 12:23

East Londoner wrote:Kimi, please leave. Give your seat to Bottas or Grosjean.

Nah Maldonado in a Ferrari would like a Victoria Secret Supermodel

Post by **Londoner** » 20 Jun 2015, 12:30

Button sounded like a broken man in that interview. He's trying to keep a positive face on things, but deep down, you know he wishes he'd taken a WEC option.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 20 Jun 2015, 12:35

East Londoner wrote:Kimi, please leave. Give your seat to Bottas or Grosjean.

No, give the seat to GUTIÉRREZ, please

please...

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 20 Jun 2015, 12:41

God dammit Maldonado. BUT KVYAT!!!

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 20 Jun 2015, 12:46

There's something really strange going on at Red Bull. First Vettel had all the trouble in the world in 2014, and now Ricciardo is struggling to get the best out of the car. Especially since now Vettel looks as good as ever with Ferrari...

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 20 Jun 2015, 13:02

Both Mercedes off the track at the end of qualifying. Why couldn't they wait until the race to do this?

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 20 Jun 2015, 13:02

OH COME ON ROSBERG :facepalm:

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 20 Jun 2015, 13:04

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:OH COME ON ROSBERG

It's frustrating, but qualifying one position lower at the Red Bull Ring... meh.

Post by **Miguel98** » 20 Jun 2015, 13:05

Salamander wrote:There's something really strange going on at Red Bull. First Vettel had all the trouble in the world in 2014, and now Ricciardo is struggling to get the best out of the car. Especially since now Vettel looks as good as ever with Ferrari...

Ricky had troubles with the car. He reported he was having a lot of troubles downshifting.

Oh Nico :facepalm:

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 20 Jun 2015, 13:08

Anyway, great 5th by Hulkenberg

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 20 Jun 2015, 13:13

Miguel98 wrote:
Salamander wrote:There's something really strange going on at Red Bull. First Vettel had all the trouble in the world in 2014, and now Ricciardo is struggling to get the best out of the car. Especially since now Vettel looks as good as ever with Ferrari...

Ricky had troubles with the car. He reported he was having a lot of troubles downshifting.

Which is consistent with the repeated mechanical troubles Vettel had in 2014, which Ricciardo didn't really have to deal with.

Post by **mario** » 20 Jun 2015, 15:25

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Anyway, great 5th by Hulkenberg

That, in many ways, was the surprise result of the session - Hulkenberg managed to quietly stick the car between the two Williams drivers, which is a little surprising given that Lotus looked like they might be more of a threat during the practise sessions.