Does McLaren fabricate their own bolts? Or are these off the shelf parts? EB said the bolt that failed was a $3 part.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by falcongsr

this is a very good question. i would hope it is DVR style where you can start watching an event and pause/continue at any time after it has started and even after it is finished

If it's a DVR style, I will drop my cable immediately..

I'm sure some of the hardware is purchased. Red Bull makes some bolts though.

 

Jared, might be too little, too late if the F1OTT is all we dream it to be....but.... Not sure what you're using for cable right now but we've been getting our "cable" via Playstation Vue for about a year now. We only needed "cable" so we could watch F1 and were able to save a little money compared to other, more standard, options this way. There are a couple downsides but for us it was the best option.

Oh, and are you going to the LBGP this year? If so we should see about meeting up while you're out here in my neck of the woods.

 

I ran into Jared last year at Long Beach.

 

I'll definitely be in Long Beach this year. $12 Tecate is my favorite! we should get together for sure.

I'm still on cable because it's wrapped into my Internet. I've looked at PlayStation Vue, but if I included the DVR option it didn't really save me any money. Jackson has been using YouTube TV and the F1 quality is pretty good. inexpensive too!

Outrun and I seem to run into each other a lot.

 

https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2018/...on-tops-times/

For reference I think Alonso's top speed last year at Spanish GP was 314 kph. Of course it is testing so who knows what is going on.

TR did the most mileage of any team during the test. 1508 km to Merc with 1434 km.

I think TR, Haas and possibly Ferrari did a race sim today. I was watching the laps/pit times and other than being broken up by redflags they were not loitering in the pits.

 

I want STR to beat McLaren in the standings again this year.

 

So it wasn't a true race sim but it was extended long running:

I can't see TR beating McLaren (I realize you want it to happen and aren't saying it will happen). Anyway TR have 2 much less experience drivers, they aren't a development machine like McLaren is and the fast lap by VAN with a relatively low top speed says the chassis is likely very good.

Once Renault turns up the wick a bit McLaren will outpace TR. You want a B team (scrappy as they are) to beat a team that is top notch. It might happen on a rare occasion but over a season you'll see McLaren and Renault separate themselves from the mid field. I don't think they will reach top 3 level this year, but they won't be far off.

 

In other news, for Falcon, GOES S made it into orbit today.

Don't know how long it will be available but...

 

I read something interesting comparing Honda's 2018, and why it was always supposed to be better in 2018.

The first is their own concepts are matured now. 2015 was a wreck with a new concept, 2016 was the same concept refined (still bad but better). 2017 was a wreck with a new concept, 2018 is the same concept more refined. Doy.

Then there's the PU installation, and the comparison between two Renault teams in 2014. The Caterham's had huge terrible aero and didn't have anything like the problems RBR had. Not for nothing, the RBR was a more tightly packaged, aggressive car where cooling and the like was more complex. The same analogy can be applied to McLaren, STR, and Honda. McLaren has the resources and (perhaps arguably) the expertise to develop and aggressive, leading pack car. STR does not. The Honda PU is much more suited in that environment.

So good for McLaren and Honda to split up. Neither were going to be happy in that setup.

 

fair and balanced

 

mean.

 

it was a compliment doe

 

That would suggest that a RB Honda in 2019 would be a bad idea. Unless the stint with TR can help Honda get their house in order. GA made an interesting point in his day 4 wrap up podcast. He said that with McLaren, Honda were trying to pump out update after update without working to maximize each update. Honda ended up with a lot of half-assed updates that didn't amount to much because they were under so much pressure to deliver they didn't have time to make them proper updates. Gary asserts that won't be an issue with TR (no **** Sherlock lol).

McLaren Honda was able to run a lot of laps late in the season and during the post season test without failing so maybe things are already getting better. I wonder if there will be any improvement with the PU when Honda moves the MGU-H production/development in house.

GA also seemed to think that RB might be moar of a threat to Merc than Ferrari. I think it's hard to draw those kinds of conclusions after 3 days of testing in less than ideal conditions.

 

should be a good improvement if they go with a P28 ECU and Hondata

 

I got a lightly used V3 set up for boost they can have for cheap!

 

If Honda want to hang in the top tier of F1, they better get up with that type of rapid development.

 

Rapid development when you only get 3 PUs a season isn't going to be very rapid tho. Last year the PU was so shitty they kept having to roll out new ones. Of course developing the PU as fast as possible is still an advantage, but the PU regs limit this aspect.



Decent read if you are bored.

 

Even with 3 engines a season, you better be iterating like hell throughout the season so each engine is a step forward. Merc has been the class of the field in this regard. Their in season engine updates are always on target.

 

a few years ago I said Haas wold finish higher in points than McLaren, I'm calling it now, ToroRoso will finish ahead of McLaren this year. the Alonso curse is real.

 

did ron put the hex on him in '07? or did ham? or did flava flavio do it for leaving benetton?

 

McLaren takes STR this year. Finishes 6th in the WCC.

WCC 2018 Standings:
Merc
RBR
Ferrari
Renault
Indians
McLaren
Team *****
Haas
STR
Sauber

 

I see it ending this way

 

Insights & Analysis - MEDLAND: Tempering the Honda hype

Trying to decipher what is happening in pre-season testing is a dangerous game at the best of times, let alone at the end of one of the coldest sessions F1 has ever experienced while preparing for the year ahead in Barcelona.

The pre-season test at Jerez back in January 2014 – when the new V6 power units were being given their first run in one of four scheduled tests – was also freezing, but that was mainly due to the lack of sunlight early in the morning. But the track's location on the southern edge of Spain – closer to Morocco than Madrid – ensured that by the time running had begun, the temperatures had start to climb relatively quickly.

Back then, there was also testing in Bahrain to follow, and three tests in total.
This week though, a large chunk of the first four days in Barcelona were written off due to the unseasonably cold conditions.

But there was still a feel-good story that cut through icy weather by the end of the fourth day of running: the encouraging start of the Toro Rosso Honda partnership.

This time last year, Honda was in crisis. Introducing a new power unit concept was never going to be an easy task, but the lack of reliability, drivability and outright performance combined to trigger the beginning of the end of its time with McLaren. In the first test it only managed to complete 207 laps, but it was the variety of problems and numerous power unit changes that were most damaging.

There was only one team with fewer laps to its credit over the first four days of 2017 testing, and that was Toro Rosso. The Renault power unit in the back of the STR12 proved troublesome as the team made the switch from a year-old Ferrari engine the year before.

McLaren and Honda was a partnership that so many were keen to see work, and it seemed to be only a matter of time before it would come good. But after the disastrous start to last season the relationship was irreparable, and the eventual split was best for both sides.

Despite the much-needed fresh start, the ingredients were all in place for another difficult beginning when Toro Rosso and Honda joined forces. After the struggles of the previous three seasons, Honda partnering with a smaller team could not be interpreted as a quick fix. Even after a successful fire-up and filming day, nobody was predicting the new partnership would sit top of the mileage charts at the end of the opening week. Not even the team itself.



"If we looked at the situation last year it's a bit of a surprise, but having worked with [Honda] for a while now, it's less of a surprise," Toro Rosso technical director James Key said of the smooth opening week. "Looking at the facilities that they've got and the desperate will that they've got to make it work, it's less of a surprise to me now.

"But obviously you never know until you hit the track, and I have to say – touch wood - there haven't been any major issues at all. Any minor stoppages we've had have been on our side.

"They've just been super-smooth to work with. We're very inclusive, so they attend all our meetings and all that sort of thing, so we all know what's going on, and we're working together with them on optimizing everything. So it's been very, very smooth so far, and I'm sure that will continue."

But Key's quotes don't tell the full story. By the end of the first morning in Barcelona, both Toro Rosso and Honda employees were buoyant. In fairness, their demeanor was more the product of relief than excitement, but that highlights the depth of trepidation with which it went into this past week.

And it is exactly that reaction that should be used to keep expectations in check. There were so many unknowns before the season started, and so many areas to improve upon, but the answers will not have been found over the past four days.

Firstly, there has been little in the way of performance shown so far. The weather conditions limited the possibility of more significant running and ensured the track time teams did get was of only limited relevance, as the tires were so difficult to operate at such low temperatures.

Key himself admits the power unit has not been overly stressed during the opening week, and highlights some fundamental areas that remain untested at this stage.

"I think things like cooling systems, because we're all running blanked off at the moment, so we don't know how effective they really are," he says. "Warmer conditions with the higher pace that you get as well, you get a better indication. But that's the same for everyone."



Pierre Gasly was the lucky driver behind the wheel when the conditions were at their best on Thursday, completing 147 laps. The Frenchman says Honda has "hopefully" answered its critics with its encouraging start, but he also warns there is much to do in order to be competitive come Melbourne.

"I think we have shown that the engine is fine," Gasly said. "Toro Rosso is working really hard with Honda in terms of communication to have the best package possible. We have a common target. We are working as a team all together, not as two different teams. I think it's something really positive.

"There are still a few things we need to improve, I guess like every team. But so far, it's been great working with them. They are pushing really hard. That is always nice."

It shouldn't be overlooked that Toro Rosso needs to do significant mileage because it is the only Honda-powered car running. Much as McLaren found in the past, any gremlins can completely halt a program during testing as there is no other car gathering data. Honda's 324 laps were impressive in the context of its recent history, but Renault still has 742 laps worth of data from its power units to work with off the back of this week, despite occasional trouble for both Red Bull and McLaren.

Once again, history should also be taken into account. The most troublesome years for McLaren-Honda were 2015 and 2017, but on both occasions the team was dealing with a new power unit concept. This year, as in 2016, the Honda concept is a continuation of last year's design, and therefore a much better starting point.

For comparison, McLaren averaged just shy of 89 laps per day two years ago, but still only finished a distant sixth in the constructors' championship. Improved reliability doesn't necessarily translate into a significant step in performance. This is still an evolution of a power unit that could only take a former championship-winning team to ninth in the standings last year. That's not a deficit that can be erased overnight.

Next week will be a much more telling test, with warmer temperatures increasing the demands on the cooling systems as well as aiding tire performance and allowing teams to push their cars harder. This week has simply been an encouraging platform from which to build on, and that's all Toro Rosso and Honda could ask for.

 

GOES S clearing the tower