Oh brother, F1 gets it's own Deflate-gate.

Lewis Hamilton had the usual rocketship at Monza, upgraded engine and all.
Rosberg had a different car and is showed, his pace was nowhere near and eventually exploded a couple of laps from the end.

But the talk is of the pending penalty to Mercedes over tire pressures.

You can argue this until you turn blue but it should be cut and dry:  If a car was not operated within the technical regulations then it's not legal and it should be excluded.

If you argue .3 PSI makes no difference then you have to argue 2mm on a wing or .5 psi more fuel flow does not "really" make a difference.

It seems a black and white issue, at least when it comes to the starting set of option tires it really should have been resolved before the podium ceremony.

We don't know if the second set tires were within pressure specs but for sure Lewis made his tires last the longest in the first stint.   Lower pressures make tires last longer,  Lewis said as much himself after the race.  

Unfortunately the talk will be of plots and stupid rules and Pirelli being "terrible"

Did .3 psi make the difference?  Possibly not but there is no point to a rulebook if you make exceptions.

That's going to leave a bruise....

Two huge crashes on the first laps of the Formula Renault 2.0 race at Silverstone.

Reports are of no serious injuries to the drivers who surely will require new underpants.

2016 Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM

Spa was a dirty, dirty track says Pirelli

Pirelli released results of its investigation of the catastrophic tire failures on Rosberg and Vettel's cars, two weeks ago in Belgium.

Pirelli blamed the failures on debris and to a lesser extent, extended use on a very demanding circuit.

"The external factors are demonstrated by a total of 63 cuts found in the tread of the Formula One tyres used over the course of the Spa weekend, following numerous incidents that took place during the support races before the Formula One grand prix. 

In the previous 15 events (10 races and five test sessions) an average of only 1.2 cuts per event were noted. All this indicates an anomalous amount of detritus on the track in Spa, with a consequent increased risk of encountering a foreign object.

If even a small piece of debris – made of carbon or any other particularly sharp material – penetrates and cuts the various structural parts of a tyre (which is obviously subject to high-speed use, and more susceptible if used for a prolonged period) without penetrating the actual structure, this can cause a failure that is different to that found in the event of a normal puncture, which is characterised by a loss of tyre pressure. And the former was the type of event seen on Sebastian Vettel’s tyre at Spa.

As for Nico Rosberg, in whose case the tyre usage was less, the tyre held up – as the footage clearly shows – and the failure was not instantaneous. For four corners previously, an element of the internal structure of the tyre was visible, coming out of the tread pattern. This highlighted the existence of the damage and the consequent start of the tyre’s attrition.

Throughout the Spa weekend (including practice, qualifying and the race) cuts caused by debris were found on the tyres of other drivers, which damaged the construction but did not cause any failures."

Pirelli concluded by suggesting the FIA undertake a study on proper track cleaning procedures.

The full text of Pirelli's statement can be found HERE

"Nothing will change as long as Bernie's around" Jochen Mass says F1 has lost its soul.

"There is no soul anymore"

We had a chance to ask Jochen Mass, a survivor of 114 Grand Prix in the 70s and 80s, what he thought about the current state of Formula One.  

Mass' views reflect those of many fans and racing insiders: that the formula has "lost it's way in the technical regulations since quite a long time" and that while a spectacular technological exercise it is "too complicated and people are too removed from understanding what's going on"

Mass is currently a Mercedes Benz works driver for Historic Cars and was at Lime Rock Park for this coming week end's vintage festival where he will join Sir Stirling Moss for some demo runs in some priceless Mercedes racers.

"you don't have to be a brain surgeon to find out why (Formula One) is losing appeal"

In Mass' view Formula one should become a little simpler and more "readable" for everybody.  Current F1 is "spectacular" but "there is no soul anymore"  

Mass is convinced something will happen and F1 will eventually get it right but "As long as Bernie's around it will not happen".

"It's a big international money game" concluded Mass" I wish it would happen rather sooner than later"

In other words, drop dead Bernie?

Here is the complete clip.

Braaaap, Braaaap: Grand Prix cars used to sound like this

I was invited up to Lime Rock ahead of their Historic Festival to have a look at some special Mercedes race cars.  Some of the Silver Arrows come from the Mercedes Classic collection and some from The Revs Institute,  the Miles Collier collection in Naples, Florida.


This one is one of the Revs cars,  a 1939 W154/39 raced by Von Brauchitsch and was rescued after World War 2 in Romania.   You should look it up, it's a fascinating story.

I wish I could convey smell over the internet : Castor Oil, Alcohols, NitroBenzene and Acetone. A wiff and you'll never forget despite all the destroyed brain cells!

3 Liter V12, 48 valves, twin superchargers, 88 Gallon fuel tank, 480 HP, 200 mph+... a beast.

Like all race cars of the era, you don't just get in and turn the key,  the engine block has to be warmed with a special heater, engine has to be fired first with a set of soft plugs when are then changed for the running ones before the actual run.

After the week end the car has to be completely drained and the engine flushed to get rid of the corrosive fuel which would damage the precious magnesium parts.

It's a joy to see cars like this one up close, the quality of the workmanship, the surprise of details like the hydraulically adjustable rear suspension (to compensate for fuel load).

Jochen Mass will be behind the wheel of the W154 this week end at Lime Rock while Sir Stirling Moss will be back behind the wheel of the famous 722 Mille Miglia car.