2020 Motorsports thread.

[ralphc1]

Formula One seems to be in a bit of a mess over it's joint statement with Ferrari.

For those who haven't followed this, In the 2019 season, the Ferrari Formula One cars seemed to have a straight line speed advantage over the rest of the cars. Formula One has a set amount of fuel allowed per race. They also have a regulation on how much fuel can be fed to the engine which is monitored by a flow meter. More speed usually requires more power which requires more fuel which should show on the flow meter data. Red Bull suspected that Ferrari were manipulating the data and relayed their suspicions to the governing body. Formula One issued rules clarifications noting that it would be a violation of the sporting regulations to do that and put Ferrari under scrutiny. After that, Ferrari lost their pace in the last few races. The teams had been waiting for Formula One to make those findings public. At the end of pre-season testing, Formula One made this statement.

“After thorough technical investigations, it [the FIA] has concluded its analysis of the operation of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Power Unit and reached a settlement with the team,” read the statement. “The specifics of the agreement will remain between the parties.

“The FIA and Scuderia Ferrari have agreed to a number of technical commitments that will improve the monitoring of all Formula 1 Power Units for forthcoming championship seasons as well as assist the FIA in other regulatory duties in Formula 1 and in its research activities on carbon emissions and sustainable fuels.”

The other teams issued their own statement this week.

“We, the undersigned teams, were surprised and shocked by the FIA’s statement of Friday 28 February regarding the conclusion of its investigation into the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Power Unit,” it read.

“An international sporting regulator has the responsibility to act with the highest standards of governance, integrity and transparency.

“After months of investigations that were undertaken by the FIA only following queries raised by other teams, we strongly object to the FIA reaching a confidential settlement agreement with Ferrari to conclude this matter.

“Therefore, we hereby state publicly our shared commitment to pursue full and proper disclosure in this matter, to ensure that our sport treats all competitors fairly and equally. We do so on behalf of the fans, the participants and the stakeholders of Formula One.

“In addition, we reserve our rights to seek legal redress, within the FIA’s due process and before the competent courts.”

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...ttlement-with-fia.2T30ZzkHTswYcgsrVDYVEz.html

This is important to other teams because they get money determined by how they finish in the points. If Ferrari were cheating, the other teams feel some penalty should be applied. The participation of Ferrari is essential to Formula One so it puts the governing body in a tenuous position. Their statement was meant to assure teams that Ferrari will not be breaking the rules without saying that they were and they hoped the other teams would settle for that. It seems to have inflamed the situation.

The FIA would have been better off saying that Ferrari might have been cheating but they couldn't prove it conclusively instead of announcing a confidential arrangement.

The threat of court action isn't looking good.

 

[DangDaGawd]

The fact that Ferrari cheated and still couldn't beat Mercedes tells you all you need to know about their current state.

 

[DangDaGawd]

Anyway provided this blows over and Coronavirus doesn't cancel all the races, should be an interesting season. Last year of the current technical regulations which means Red Bull and Ferrari should have caught up to Mercedes by now.

 

[ralphc1]

Anyway provided this blows over and Coronavirus doesn't cancel all the races, should be an interesting season. Last year of the current technical regulations which means Red Bull and Ferrari should have caught up to Mercedes by now.

Ferrari's team principal has talked about suspending development on the current car to get a head start on next years car. I doubt he was serious but there are spending limits in place so it might be an advantage to use the money on next season. Do other teams spend money to develop a steering system like Mercedes did? Ferrari has asked for an official opinion on the legality but it appears that Mercedes has consulted with officials during the development of the system.

 

[ralphc1]

Bahrain is banning travelers from Italy.

 

[ralphc1]

No fans for the Bahrain Grand Prix. They are testing all Formula One team members and personnel.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...virus-formula-1-fans-spectators-a9385146.html

 

[Prex32]

Anyway provided this blows over and Coronavirus doesn't cancel all the races, should be an interesting season. Last year of the current technical regulations which means Red Bull and Ferrari should have caught up to Mercedes by now.

ferraris weakness is their drivers and red bulls probably still the car

 

[ralphc1]

McLaren have confirmed they are withdrawing from the Australian Grand Prix after a member of the team tested positive for the coronavirus.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...team-member-tests.1SdS7APKH9kjZRrrJ1RFJ3.html

 

[Frank23]

Kyle screwed Kyle.

 

[Foppa21]

Secord guy in NASCAR fired/lost sponsors in these virtual races in two weeks from what I've read

 

[Graves The Elder]

lol when will dudes learn to keep their mouths shut.
Larsen is apparently Asian/American though.
Does he get a free pass on this?
Only White ppl can be racist after all.

 

[Frank23]

 

[ralphc1]

Kyle screwed Kyle.

A guy competing in what is probably the most racist sport with the most racist fan base is fired for racism?

 

[Frank23]

A guy competing in what is probably the most racist sport with the most racist fan base is fired for racism?

That reminds me of this:

 

[Graves The Elder]

A guy competing in what is probably the most racist sport with the most racist fan base is fired for racism?

It had to be said.

 

[rambosabeast]

The fact that Ferrari cheated and still couldn't beat Mercedes tells you all you need to know about their current state.

I am less bothered by motorsport "cheats". Or just CHEATS without quotations because that's what it is, but after many years of watching NASCAR, that's kind of the name of the game. Drivers and crew chiefs are constantly finding ways to pass the pre- and post-race inspections while being out-of-regs to go faster during the race.

I kind of view it as a testament to brilliant engineering because they have to begin from a point of conformity with the rules, and then work from there to satisfy the inspectors while making the most of their design and skills.

Every time a team gets caught, it's a scandal, but like anyone operating under a regulatory body, the one's who don't get caught are deemed to be above board when they're probably just better engineers.

 

[ralphc1]

They must think NASCAR will be back. Matt Kenseth has been hired to replace Kyle Larson.

 

[PG29 red0 Jr]

My Champcar races at Daytona and Road America were canceled. At least Daytona resecheduled us for July 4th. I wish it was a different weekend but Daytona is Daytona, I'm just happy to have the honor to race at the track.

Our series like many others went iRacing while real racing is banned. Here is a race I ran earlier this month:

 

[rearnakedchoke]

F1 hoping Austria in July is their first race. I’m hoping so also. Need Lewis to solidify his goat status with tying wins and titles.

 

[ralphc1]

NASCAR is rebooting their season in North Carolina, racing without fans in attendance.
https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2...cing-returns-beginning-at-darlington-raceway/