Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

The German Grand Prix (Großer Preis von Deutschland) – it will be the 59° edition (in the past 33 Hockenheim, 25 Nurburgring and 1 Avus)
only one week after the British Grand Prix, you run the GP of Germany, which this year takes place at the Nurburgring. The modern circuit called GP-Strecke is adjacent to the old race track, but completely different and worse than the legendary old circuit called Nordschleife(northern loop) used until the accident of Niki Lauda on 1 August 1976 when his Ferrari caught fire. On the old Nurburgring, nicknamed "The Green Hell” by Jacky Stewart, were held memorable races(1935: Nuvolari won against the powerful Mercedes and Auto Union driving his outdated Alfa Romeo P3 and in 1957 the greatest victory of Jaun Manuel Fangio is the stuff of legend. The Nordschleife was more than 22 km long and with 174 curves ran between the dark green trees of the Eifel mountains; but was abandoned for safety reason and television market. Perhaps not everyone knows but the Nordschleife is open to the public This means that anyone can pay the ticket and drive on this mytical circuit with a road car or motorcycle. The modern Nürburgring circuit, built in 1984, is characterised by medium speed levels and a mix of slow and fast corners. There are many ups and downs but the surface is not too abrasive and tyre wear is not high. Tyre: medium compound(white stripe)and soft compound(yellow stripe). After what happened last week at Silverstone Pirelli has announced some changes for this race and others, more important for the next GP in Budapest. Also FIA has thus taken the decision to alter the Young Driver Test, scheduled for July 17-19 at Silverstone to allow teams to use race drivers(only for one day) for tyre development work in a bid to solve the problems. it is clear that the only purpose is to test tyres for Pirelli. The Mercedes AMG F1 Team will not participate in this test, following the recent decision of the International Tribunal.
Winners, podium and pole position (last 3 editions)
2010 Hockenheim, 1° Alonso – Ferrari (2° Massa and 3°Vettel) – fastest lap: Vettel – pole: Vettel
2012 Hockenheim, 1° Alonso – Ferrari (2° Button and 3° Raikkonen) – fastest lap: Schumacher – pole: Alonso,
so the only recent statistics about Nurburgring are from two years ago
2011 Hamilton – Mc Laren (2° Alonso and 3° Webber) - fastest lap: Hamilton – pole: Webber, time 1m 30.079
Two DRS zones will be used: the first on the main straight and the second from turn 11 to the NGK Chicane

04/07/1960
30/04/1994 roland ratzenberger f1 driver
[Verstecktes Bild - Registrierung notwendig]

News :

Pirelli, explanation on Silverstone’ facts and next races :
A SERIES OF DIFFERENT CAUSES LED TO THE TYRE FAILURES AT SILVERSTONE: REAR TYRES MOUNTED THE WRONG WAY ROUND, LOW TYRE PRESSURES, EXTREME CAMBERS AND HIGH KERBS . THE 2013 TYRES DO NOT COMPROMISE SAFETY IF USED IN THE CORRECT WAY .TO DEVELOP AND MANAGE SOPHISTICATED TYRES SUCH AS THOSE USED IN 2013, IT IS ESSENTIAL TO HAVE ACCESS TO REAL TIME TYRE OPERATING DATA. CHANGE IN THE RULES HAS BEEN REQUESTED . ARRANGED WITH FIA WINTER TEST AND DURING THE SEASON FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TYRES
THE KEVLAR BELT REAR TYRES TESTED IN FREE PRACTICE IN CANADA WILL BE USED IN GERMANY .
FROM HUNGARY THERE WILL BE A NEW RANGE OF TYRES, WHICH COMBINES THE 2012 STRUCTURES WITH THE 2013 COMPOUNDS. THESE WILL BE TESTED AT SILVERSTONE, USING THE RACE DRIVERS AND 2013 CARS, DURING THE YOUNG DRIVER TEST PAUL HEMBERY: “WHAT HAPPENED AT SILVERSTONE UPSETS US. WITH THESE SOPHISTICATED TYRES IT’S VITAL FOR US TO SEE DATA SUCH AS TEMPERATURE, PRESSURES AND CAMBER. WHILE WAITING FOR A REVISION TO THE RULES, WE WILL SUPPLY TYRES THAT ARE EASIER TO MANAGE.”

Milan, July 2, 2013 – After exhaustive analysis of the tyres used at Silverstone, Pirelli has concluded that the causes of the failures were principally down to a combination of the following factors:

1) Rear tyres that were mounted the wrong way round: in other words, the right hand tyre being placed where the left hand one should be and vice versa, on the cars that suffered failures. The tyres supplied this year have an asymmetric structure, which means that they are not designed to be interchangeable. The sidewalls are designed in such a way to deal with specific loads on the internal and external sides of the tyre. So swapping the tyres round has an effect on how they work in certain conditions. In particular, the external part is designed to cope with the very high loads that are generated while cornering at a circuit as demanding as Silverstone, with its rapid left-hand bends and some kerbs that are particularly aggressive.

2) The use of tyre pressures that were excessively low or in any case lower than those indicated by Pirelli. Under-inflating the tyres means that the tyre is subjected to more stressful working conditions.

3) The use of extreme camber angles.

4) Kerbing that was particularly aggressive on fast corners, such as that on turn four at Silverstone, which was the scene of most of the failures. Consequently it was the left-rear tyres that were affected.

The only problems that had come to light before Silverstone were to do with delamination, which was a completely different phenomenon. To stop these delaminations Pirelli found a solution by suggesting that the teams use the tyres that were tried out in Canada from Silverstone onwards. When this proposal was not accepted, Pirelli found another solution through laboratory testing, with a different bonding process to attach the tread to the carcass. So the problem of delamination has nothing at all to do with what was seen in Great Britain.

Following the conclusions of this analysis, Pirelli would like to underline that:

1) Mounting the tyres the wrong way round is a practice that was nonetheless underestimated by everybody: above all Pirelli, which did not forbid this.

2) In the same way, under-inflation of the tyres and extreme camber settings, over which Pirelli has no control, are choices that can be dangerous under certain circumstances. Because of this, Pirelli has asked the FIA for these parameters will be a topic of accurate and future examinations. Pirelli has also asked for compliance with these rules to be checked by a dedicated delegate.

3) Pirelli would also like to underline that the 2013 tyre range does not compromise driver safety in any way if used in the correct manner, and that it meets all the safety standards requested by the FIA.

The logical conclusion is that it is essential for tyres with the performance and technical sophistication of the 2013 range to be regulated and carefully controlled by Pirelli itself. In order to ensure the optimal functioning of the tyres, the Italian firm would need real-time data from the teams regarding fundamental parameters such as pressure, temperature and camber angles. While waiting for new regulations that would permit Pirelli access to this data, vital for the development and management of these state-of-the-art tyres, the following measures are proposed for the forthcoming grands prix, in agreement with the FIA, FOM, the teams and the drivers:

1) The use of the evolution of the current tyre that was tested in Canada (and proved to be completely reliable) for the German Grand Prix this weekend. This represents the best match for the technical characteristics of the Nurburgring circuit. In particular, the rear tyres that will be used at the German Grand Prix, which takes place on July 7, have a Kevlar construction that replaces the current steel structure and the re-introduction of the 2012 belt, to ensure maximum stability and roadholding. Given that these tyres are asymmetric as well, it will be strictly forbidden to swap them round. The front tyres, by contrast, will remain unaltered.
2) From the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards, the introduction of a new range of tyres. The new tyres will have a symmetrical structure, designed to guarantee maximum safety even without access to tyre data – which however is essential for the optimal function of the more sophisticated 2013 tyres. The tyres that will be used for the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards will combine the characteristics of the 2012 tyres with the performance of the 2013 compounds. Essentially, the new tyres will have a structure, construction and belt identical to that of 2012, which ensured maximum performance and safety. The compounds will be the same as those used throughout 2013, which guaranteed faster lap times and a wider working range. This new specification, as agreed with the FIA, will be tested on-track together with the teams and their 2013 cars at Silverstone from 17-19 July in a session with the race drivers during the young driver test. These tests will contribute to the definitive development of the new range of tyres, giving teams the opportunity to carry out the appropriate set-up work on their cars.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said: “What happened at Silverstone was completely unexpected and it was the first time that anything like this has ever occurred in more than a century of Pirelli in motorsport. These incidents, which have upset us greatly, have stressed the urgency of the changes that we already suggested – which will be introduced during for free practice in Germany on Friday. We would like to acknowledge the willingness of the FIA, FOM teams, and drivers to act quickly to find an immediate solution to the problem. In particular, the adoption of winter tests, arranged with the FIA, that are more suitable for tyre development and the possibility of carrying out in-season testing will contribute to the realisation of tyres with increasingly improved standards of safety and performance. I’d like to re-emphasise the fact that the 2013 range of tyres, used in the correct way, is completely safe. What happened at Silverstone though has led us to ask for full access to real time tyre data to ensure the correct usage and development of tyres that have the sophistication we were asked to provide and extremely high performance that has lowered lap times by more than two seconds on average. While we wait for a change in the rules, we will introduce tyres that are easier to manage.”

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Ps: Sorry for the capital letters in the beginning of the post !!!

FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2013
[Versteckter Link - Registrierung notwendig]
Fri 05 July 2013
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Sat 06 July 2013
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00
Sun 07 July 2013
Race 14:00

constructors standings
1 Red Bull Racing-Renault 219
2 Mercedes 171
3 Ferrari 168
4 Lotus-Renault 124
5 Force India-Mercedes 59
6 McLaren-Mercedes 37
7 STR-Ferrari 24
8 Sauber-Ferrari 6
9 Williams-Renault 0
10 Marussia-Cosworth 0
11 Caterham-Renault 0

drivers standings
1 Sebastian Vettel German Red Bull Racing-Renault 132
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 111
3 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish Lotus-Renault 98
4 Lewis Hamilton British Mercedes 89
5 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull Racing-Renault 87
6 Nico Rosberg German Mercedes 82
7 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 57
8 Paul di Resta British Force India-Mercedes 36
9 Romain Grosjean French Lotus-Renault 26
10 Jenson Button British McLaren-Mercedes 25
11 Adrian Sutil German Force India-Mercedes 23
12 Jean-Eric Vergne French STR-Ferrari 13
13 Sergio Perez Mexican McLaren-Mercedes 12
14 Daniel Ricciardo Australian STR-Ferrari 11
15 Nico Hulkenberg German Sauber-Ferrari 6
16 Pastor Maldonado Venezuelan Williams-Renault 0
17 Valtteri Bottas Finnish Williams-Renault 0
18 Esteban Gutierrez Mexican Sauber-Ferrari 0
19 Jules Bianchi French Marussia-Cosworth 0
20 Charles Pic French Caterham-Renault 0
21 Max Chilton British Marussia-Cosworth 0
22 Giedo van der Garde Dutch Caterham-Renault 0

30/06/1975 ralph schumaker f1 german driver
[Verstecktes Bild - Registrierung notwendig]

The result of the British Grand Prix :

Rosberg wins chaotic race amid tyre drama :
Nico Rosberg fended off Mark Webber to win a thrilling British Grand Prix littered with tyre blow-outs and featuring a late retirement for championship leader Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg's Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was leading until he became the first man to suffer a tyre blow, with Vettel then controlling the race until his Red Bull lost drive in the closing stages. That set up a thrilling finale as Vettel's team-mate Webber, who had fallen to 15th on lap one, hunted down Rosberg, while Fernando Alonso and the recovering Hamilton charged past Kimi Raikkonen into third and fourth. Hamilton had established a two-second lead over Vettel, who jumped Rosberg off the line, by lap seven, when his left rear tyre blew going down the Wellington straight.
That was followed soon after by a seemingly identical failure for Felipe Massa. The Ferrari driver had thrust from 11th on the grid to fifth at the start and was pushing Adrian Sutil for third when his tyre gave well while accelerating out of the The Loop.
When Jean-Eric Vergne's left rear tyre also exploded on the approach to Stowe, the safety car came out for seven laps, with engineers urging their drivers to avoid the kerbs. Vettel kept Rosberg at arm's length once the race restarted. Sutil ran third until leaving his second pitstop too late and being jumped by Raikkonen, Alonso and Webber. The Australian was on a charge from 15th after a slow start and a first-corner brush with Romain Grosjean, and overtook Alonso going into the closing stages.
Just as the result seemed settled, Vettel ground to a halt on the pits straight with a loss of drive.
With the stranded Red Bull prompting a safety car, Rosberg dived in for a third tyre stop and rejoined still ahead of Raikkonen. Webber and Alonso also went for tyres and dropped to fifth and eighth, elevating Sutil and Daniel Ricciardo to third and fourth.
Webber made sublime use of his fresh tyres to quickly pick off Ricciardo and Sutil, then battle past Raikkonen.
By the final lap the Red Bull was within a second of Rosberg, who held on to win by seven tenths of a second.
Alonso also made rapid progress on his new rubber, dodging the McLaren of Sergio Perez as it became yet another tyre-blow victim, then fighting through to third. The recovering Hamilton followed through, demoting Raikkonen - who had questioned Lotus's decision not to pit under the late safety car - to fifth. Massa climbed back to sixth after his puncture, with Sutil and Ricciardo pushed back to seventh and eighth ahead of Paul di Resta (from the back of the grid) and Nico Hulkenberg. Jenson Button had been on course for points for McLaren until the final laps, when he was elbowed down to 13th.

1. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP
2. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing
3. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari
4. Lewis Hamilton : Mercedes GP
5. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus
6. Felipe Massa : Ferrari
7. Adrian Sutil : Force India
8. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso
9. Paul di Resta : Force India
10. Nico Hulkenberg : Sauber
11. Pastor Maldonado : Williams
12. Valtteri Bottas : Williams
13. Jenson Button : McLaren
14. Esteban Gutierrez : Sauber
15. Charles Pic : Caterham 2
16. Jules Bianchi : Marussia F1 Team
17. Max Chilton : Marussia F1 Team
18. Giedo van der Garde : Caterham
Did Not Finish
19. Romain Grosjean : Lotus
20. Sergio Perez : McLaren
21. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing 1
22. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso

Fastest Lap : Mark Webber - 1:33.401
Pitstop Kimi Raikkonen : : 2
Bat.2 Teams : Daniel Ricciardo > Paul di Resta
Grid.Pos. Jenson Button : 13th place

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

kyke50 wrote:What happens with the tires?
They have already burst three.
It seems that Pirelli is going to have problems to explain it.

At this moment they are thinking its cutting turn 4, that is doing the damage but, this is 4 in 2 days with the same issue.

Most or all drivers have been instructed to keep away from the curbs, there racers and curbs are straight lines lets just hope this ssue is sorted and no more blowouts, lucky so far of no driver as been hurt.

ADDED: the teams have upped the tire pressure to try to stop punctures.

What happens with the tires?
They have already burst three.
It seems that Pirelli is going to have problems to explain it.

3 Left rear tires in 16 laps have failed on different cars and different compounds safety car now this will be interesting.

Paul di Resta excluded from qualifying as car underweight :
Paul di Resta has been excluded from qualifying at the British Grand Prix after his Force India was found to be under the minimum weight limit. The Scot had secured fifth on the grid at Silverstone but his car came in 1.5kg underweight in post-qualifying scrutineering. Even with a mandatory fuel sample on board, the car weighed only 641.5 kg - which is 0.5 kg below the minimum weight. After the FIA drained the car of fuel, it was found it weighed just 640kg, two kilogrammes under the limit.
With a 0.5kg tolerance accepted for the scales' accuracy, it was ruled that the car was officially 1.5kg underweight.
After the matter was referred to the race stewards, it was decided that the team had been in breach of the regulations and di Resta was thrown out of the results. He can now start the British GP from the back of the grid. It is understood the issue revolved around the weight of di Resta himself after qualifying - as the driver and car are combined to reach the 642kg limit. There are suggestions that di Resta's weight check at the end of qualifying was 1.5kg below his normal weight - which he had been after free practice.
Although some consideration was given to appealing the matter because of the discrepancy, Force India in the end has decided to accept the verdict - meaning di Resta will start his home race last.

Revised starting grid after Paul di Resta penalty :
1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull-Renault
4. Mark Webber - Red Bull-Renault
5. Daniel Ricciardo - Toro Rosso-Ferrari
6. Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes
7. Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Renault
8. Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus-Renault
9. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
10. Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes
11. Felipe Massa - Ferrari
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13. Sergio Perez - McLaren-Mercedes
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Sauber-Ferrari
15. Pastor Maldonado - Williams-Renault
16. Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Renault
17. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber-Ferrari
18. Charles Pic - Caterham-Renault
19. Jules Bianchi - Marussia-Cosworth
20. Max Chilton - Marussia-Cosworth
21. Giedo van der Garde - Caterham-Renault
22. Paul di Resta - Force India-Mercedes

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

The British Grand Prix grid changed post-qualifying. Paul Di Resta, fifth in qualifying, will be forced to start from the back of the grid after his car was found to be underweight.

Result of the Qualifying :

1. Lewis Hamilton : Mercedes GP - 1:29.607 -
2. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP - 1:30.059 + 0.452
3. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing - 1:30.211 + 0.604
4. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing - 1:30.220 + 0.613
5. Paul di Resta : Force India - 1:30.736 + 1.129
6. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso - 1:30.757 + 1.150
7. Adrian Sutil : Force India - 1:30.908 + 1.301
8. Romain Grosjean : Lotus - 1:30.955 + 1.348
9. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus - 1:30.962 + 1.355
10. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari - 1:30.979 + 1.372
Q2
11. Jenson Button : McLaren - 1:31.649 + 2.042
12. Felipe Massa : Ferrari - 1:31.779 + 2.172
13. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso - 1:31.785 + 2.178
14. Sergio Perez : McLaren - 1:32.082 + 2.475
15. Nico Hulkenberg : Sauber - 1:32.211 + 2.604
16. Pastor Maldonado : Williams - 1:32.359 + 2.752
17. Valtteri Bottas : Williams - 1:32.664 + 3.057
Q1
18. Esteban Gutierrez : Sauber - 1:32.666 -
19. Charles Pic : Caterham - 1:33.866 + 4.259
20. Jules Bianchi : Marussia F1 Team - 1:34.108 + 4.501
21. Giedo van der Garde : Caterham - 1:35.481 + 5.874
22. Max Chilton : Marussia F1 Team - 1:35.858 + 6.251

Pole Time : 1:29.607
Pole : Lewis Hamilton
Team Bat . : Maldonado > Bottas
Grid Pos. Charles Pic : 19th place

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

The result of the 3rd practice session :

Nico Rosberg pips Lewis Hamilton in final practice :
Nico Rosberg snatched the top spot from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the final seconds of British Grand Prix practice three at Silverstone. Hamilton had established himself as the fastest man by the end of the hard-tyre runs with a 1m31.750s lap.
He looked set to improve on that when on mediums late on, but slid over the run-off at Brooklands. While Hamilton gathered himeself up for another go, Rosberg came through with a 1m31.487s to grab first place. Hamilton also improved on his last lap but had to settle for second on a 1m31.633s, 0.146 seconds off his team-mate. Mercedes enjoyed a half-second cushion over the rest of the field. Sebastian Vettel secured third with his last lap, just ahead of Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. Romain Grosjean was fifth for Lotus, while Toro Rosso's impressive weekend continued as Daniel Ricciardo took sixth. The session had to be red-flagged early on after Sergio Perez's left rear tyre blew. The incident will be a concern to Pirelli on the weekend when it introduces its new bonding process, designed to prevent delaminations. A brief stoppage was required to remove tyre debris from the circuit.
Perez's McLaren sustained quite a lot of damage at its rear end, but was able to rejoin for the final minutes, only for the Mexican to slide off at Becketts. Fernando Alonso also had a moment at the same spot before putting his Ferrari seventh. Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus and the Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta completed the top 10. Home driver Jenson Button was back in 12th for McLaren. Felipe Massa spent the final minutes parked in the Ferrari garage with an apparent .

1. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP - 1:31.487 -
2. Lewis Hamilton : Mercedes GP - 1:31.633 + 0.146
3. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing - 1:32.037 + 0.550
4. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing - 1:32.078 + 0.591
5. Romain Grosjean : Lotus - 1:32.391 + 0.904
6. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso - 1:32.440 + 0.953
7. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari - 1:32.454 + 0.967
8. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus - 1:32.459 + 0.972
9. Adrian Sutil : Force India - 1:32.536 + 1.049
10. Paul di Resta : Force India - 1:32.571 + 1.084
11. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso - 1:32.580 + 1.093
12. Jenson Button : McLaren - 1:32.926 + 1.439
13. Pastor Maldonado : Williams - 1:33.133 + 1.646
14. Nico Hulkenberg : Sauber - 1:33.225 + 1.738
15. Felipe Massa : Ferrari - 1:33.273 + 1.786
16. Valtteri Bottas : Williams - 1:33.309 + 1.822
17. Esteban Gutierrez : Sauber - 1:33.370 + 1.883
18. Sergio Perez : McLaren - 1:33.607 + 2.120
19. Charles Pic : Caterham - 1:34.971 + 3.484
20. Jules Bianchi : Marussia F1 Team - 1:34.990 + 3.503
21. Max Chilton : Marussia F1 Team - 1:36.694 + 5.207
22. Giedo van der Garde : Caterham - 1:37.443 + 5.956

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi