[Mtxzptlk]

Fri 17 June – Sun 19 June 2016 GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Baku)




Tyre Allocation for Baku GP



Fri 17 June – Sun 19 June 2016

Practice 1 Fri 13:00 (Local)| Thu 9:00 PM EST | Fri 12:00 AM PST

Practice 2 Fri 17:00 (Local)| Fri 1:00 AM EST | Fri 4:00 AM PST

Practice 3 Sat 14:00 (Local)| Fri 10:00 PM EST | Sat 1:00 AM PST

Qualifying Sat 17:00 (Local)| Sat 1:00 AM EST | Sat 4:00 AM PST NBCSN

Race Sun 17:00 (Local)| Sun 1:00 AM EST | Sun 4:00 AM PST NBCSN

[E90SLAM]

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ha...torway-783002/

Hamilton not won over by Baku "motorway"

Lewis Hamilton says Baku has not made much of an impression on him after he sampled it in the Mercedes simulator recently.

The world champion expressed his frustration that modern street circuits are no match for a classic venue like Monaco.

"I don't really know what to say about it," he said when asked by Motorsport.com. "It's just another new track.

"There's one very tight spot on it. It's got a very long straight... I don't really have a lot to say about it.

"Monaco is the street circuit. And they don't make them like that. I don't why they don't, but why don't they just make street circuits like they used to? I don't understand.

"It's super wide in some places, as wide as a motorway almost in some places!

"But hopefully it will be fun. I heard the weather will be good, and hopefully they'll have a good turn out there."

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel indicated that he'd prefer to wait and see the real thing.

"It was a bit difficult to find my way round to be honest!," the German said of his simulator experience.

"I don't think it's fair to judge the track, because we have to wait to get there.

"I saw some footage as well the other day. I think it looks fairly exciting, some parts of the track. Other parts are a bit more straightforward. We'll see when we get there."

[E90SLAM]

Pirelli fears standing wave issues on Baku's straights

Pirelli boss Paul Hembery admits that the tyre company is concerned about Baku's long straights potentially generating a standing wave issue, which, in an extreme case, could lead to failures.

Standing waves can become a threat to the integrity of tyres under certain combinations of high speeds and cornering forces.

They created the problems suffered by Michelin at the 2005 US GP, and again became a talking point after last year's Belgian GP, where Sebastian Vettel suffered a failure.

That led to stricter monitoring of temperatures and pressures by the FIA and Pirelli.

Baku features a series of straights, and the unprecedented long run from the high-speed kinks at Turns 17-20 and back to the pits represents an unusual challenge for Pirelli.

"Long straights can create standing wave issues," Hembery told Motorsport.com. "It seems to be a circuit that shouldn't be too dramatic, but it has that straight, so we have to be very careful on that in terms of what's going on with the standing wave management.

"If you go to a new circuit, it can throw up some surprises. The tendency to new circuits in recent years is smooth surfaces with very low levels of wear, but there is quite an aggressive straight and standing wave is something we have to manage, so there is an aspect of tyre integrity that we have to monitor well."

Meanwhile, some F1 insiders have also expressed concerns about an area of temporary tarmac which has been laid over cobblestones, and there are fears that the high 32-34C temperatures expected over the weekend could lead to the track breaking up.

"These things, you have to check them, because sometimes they do appear banal, until you actually get into them.

"A temporary surface, if it does start breaking up, you have a major issue, because repairing it is a major issue.

"That's something that needs to be monitored and needs checking. In fact, Singapore's got something similar. We go over some paving this year where they've slightly changed the routing of the circuit."

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/pi...ts-782624/?s=1

A brief explanation of the "standing wave phenomenon".

Standing wave phenomena existing in tires at high speeds in terms of tire pressure, tire speed and the tire's stiffness as expressed by its spring constant.

http://papers.sae.org/770873/

https://www.isma-isaac.be/past/conf/...a2010_0264.pdf

http://www.techscience.com/doi/10.39...08.007.123.pdf

What a science!!!

[DieGrüneHölle]

^
Great info!

[E90SLAM]

Max Verstappen: Talks needed over kerbs, pit exit in Baku

Max Verstappen has raised concerns about Baku's kerbs and pit exit after Friday practice, saying the drivers need to discuss both with the FIA.

Loose kerbs delayed GP2's qualifying session, which was supposed to be held between FP1 and FP2. That delay was prompted by the discovery that 90 percent of the left rear tyres had suffered damage on the kerbs, leading to FIA race director Charlie Whiting to conduct a track inspection.

The kerbs in question were welded down in time for FP2 to begin, though one still appeared to be loose in the subsequent session. Verstappen thinks that, and Baku's pit lane exit, needs a closer inspection.

Asked if he considered the kerbing to be dangerous, he said: "Yeah, some kerbs are coming off I heard. I think Sebastian [Vettel], I saw him come over the kerb and the kerb came up, so yeah we need to have a discussion. Maybe the exit of the pit lane is also not ideal so maybe open it up a little bit."

The Red Bull driver enjoyed his first day at the Baku City Circuit, however, though he thinks the narrow run-off areas in some places could cause problems for drivers who push the limits of the track too far.

"I think in general it's quite OK to drive. Just sometimes the run-off areas are a bit tight, like I went wide in Turn 3 and I had to reverse twice to get out of it again. That's not ideal but in general the track itself is quite fun to drive."

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/...-pit-exit-baku

[DieGrüneHölle]

Interesting practice sessions, the track is very slick.

[DieGrüneHölle]

Vettel is proper comedic form this year.

"I'm losing tyre temperature like crazy because Alonso's taking a bus tour around Baku," said Vettel over the radio.

[E90SLAM]

Vettel has been golden hilarious recently.

[solstice]

If I don't hear another baby crying foul this year it will be a win. This is F1 for crying out loud not a knitting convention. Please just drive and shut up. The fastest package will win as always. The rest who whines...are well f*ckers.

[Mtxzptlk]

FP1 / FP2

[Mtxzptlk]

Unfortunately I'll be missing out on the race this week due to work travel..

At least I'll have 24h Le Mans to enjoy on Saturday. lol

[DieGrüneHölle]

Well Mercedes should have a walk away victory tomorrow. They are leagues quicker around Baku. Ham messed up his and Rosbergs Q3 times. The speed of the Mercs should help Lewis get up to second. I suspect some safety car periods tomorrow.

[Mtxzptlk]

FP3 / Qualy

[Elsabor67]

That last picture, replace Vettel with Ricciardo and you have your winners there. Perez passed Kimi on the last lap for 3rd. Rosberg 1st and Vettel 2nd.

Very boring race with the exception of the outbursts from Kimi and Hamilton throughout the race.

Wonder if SHITHEAD Bernie comes to COTA after his comments.

[M_Six]

Agreed. Mostly a dull race. Beautiful city and certainly an interesting track, but that didn't translate into an interesting race.

[EdM5]

Interesting historic city, but "european" GP come on...

[Doctor///M]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Agreed. Mostly a dull race. Beautiful city and certainly an interesting track, but that didn't translate into an interesting race.

Not an interesting race, but this was the real finish to the day

[six_timer]

Lewis Hamilton says Baku has not made much of an impression on him after he sampled it in the Mercedes simulator recently.

"I don't really know what to say about it," he said when asked by Motorsport.com. "It's just another new track.
"There's one very tight spot on it. It's got a very long straight... I don't really have a lot to say about it.

What a freakin' moody little baby. How can a 3-time champion not have anything to say about what appears to be one of the most interesting tracks in F1?

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Agreed. Mostly a dull race. Beautiful city and certainly an interesting track, but that didn't translate into an interesting race.

Qualifying was more interesting, because the 0.1 sec makes the difference, and drivers are pushing harder on that one lap.
However in the race, they drive to the limit to their race strategy and tire life. Which was no-where near the limit of the track, everyone kept their distance to the wall.

[ptack]

Amazingly boring race considering how many incidents there were during practice and qualifying. I think we were all waiting for the pile-up crash at turn 8-9. Maybe if they go back next year we'll get some rain to make it interesting.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by ptack

Amazingly boring race considering how many incidents there were during practice and qualifying. I think we were all waiting for the pile-up crash at turn 8-9. Maybe if they go back next year we'll get some rain to make it interesting.

And I also think because of the long straights, faster cars didn't have to take the risk and "force the issue" of slower cars in front. There's long straight, too effective slip-stream tow, and DRS. No need to risk overtaking at anywhere else.

[E90SLAM]

How do you guys felt about the "radio ban"?
It was a nice idea when it was introduced, to eliminate on track coaching like NASCAR, and driving tips like "brake earlier", "feed throttle at apex at turn 12", etc. Those coaching needs to be restricted to face-to-face in garage only.
But when it comes to driving modes and some electronic settings on the car, in yesterday's case, it kind of robbed our chance to see Hamilton climb up a few more positions. At least the track is capable for overtaking.