63Corvette

Anyone wnat to comment on the 1st lap, 1st corner antics at Spa

Zoxxo

Sure. It was a racing incident like so many others before and in the future. The fact that the result was spectacular this time doesn't make it any different from any other collision between two cars.

You take 22 ultra fast open-wheel cars with ultra-sticky tires, have the highly motivated drivers do a standing start in relatively tight quarters with one of the slowest corners in F1 just a couple of hundred yards away and folks are then surprised that things like this happen? That's precisely what makes standing starts so exciting - the possibility that things like this will occur. The real surprise is how often they don't happen.

All this hand-wringing about how Grosjean is the biggest evil since <fill in the blank> is a serious crock. He did what any other driver would have done (and was doing!) In all that split second decision making he misjudged by a few inches and chaos ensued. Duh.

Here's a take on it from PlanetF1.com that I agree with 100% (the first block entitled "Grosjean's ban remains harsh on these terms")

http://planetf1.com/race-features/80...s-From-Belgium

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Charley Hoyt

It could have been a lot worse. Alonso was about a feet from that being his last race. Glad everyone got through it without any permanent damage.

Jason

I don't understand the penalty, and even less why the moved the start/finish to that short straight.

63Corvette

It seems that the stewards of the meet used "a curious and dangerously arbitrary criteria on which to base so swingeing a penalty."

"The stewards, surely, have lurched into dangerous territory themselves by making such a self-acknowledged subjective ruling."

I would think that explicit penalties should be stated so that all drivers know which penalty is required for which infraction.

acrace

Interesting that there is renewed discussion of a canopy or some type of protection and that work has been going on since Massa's accident. I knew that there was development work, but kinda lost track of it:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102213

Zoxxo

The penalty is peculiar for the reason stated in that link. Grosjean has had a lot of first lap accidents this season and they felt he needed a knock in the head to get his attention. Fair enough. But the reasons the provided are borderline nonsense.

They moved the start line there precisely because of that tight corner - it forces the field to spread out to (mostly) single file. The old way sent the entire pack scrambling down to Eue Rouge - a decidedly bad place to have everyone trying to gain positions in a scrum. It was for much the same reason that they place a chicane before entering the pits - it controls the traffic flow.

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Zoxxo

Just imagine 90% F1 car and 10% sprint car.

The canopies create more problems than they cure. Just think "upside down and on fire."

Here's another piece on it (not that different from the one you posted.)
http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/09/03/f...it-protection/

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Bill32

Yea, really, they'd just make the drivers more aggressive.

You don't need to make open wheel politically correct.

Things like this happen in open wheel and these guys are pros.

If you want see insanity, watch the amatures like the start of a San Francisco open wheel group.

I've been thru it, upside down, 8 feet in the air in 3B at Sears Point, 6 barrel rolls after it hit.
Fix the car, race again.

Zoxxo

Precisely. The more "invinceable" you make them the more they drive like fools.

On a related "politically correct" topic:

In the open to yesterday's SpeedTV coverage they did a bit on Eau Rouge. The statement was made (paraphrasing) that "there's no place for the old Eau Rouge in modern Formula One."

"Huh?" I thought. It's just a corner. How does that "not belong"? What they meant to say was "the consequences of screwing up at (old) Eau Rouge have no place in modern F1." But you deal with that by moving the barriers back and allowing the drivers to screw up with minimal consequences to life and limb. It does not mean you reprofile the corner so that the drivers can take it flat out with minimal chance of screwing it up while continuing to call it the greatest, scariest corner in all of racing.

In the first days of the C6 Z06 GM was allowing *auto journalists* to speed through Eau Rouge in the demo car to show how great the active handling stuff worked!! Seriously? That corner must really keep Alonso awake at night

Next we'll have speed bumps on the approach to the corkscrew.

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Bill32

Yes sir and they need to get rid of that dangerous tunnel in Monaco, tear down some buildings and widen the corners.

I find screaming in my helmit slows me down enough on the corkscrew approach.

Painrace

Its racing. Sh*t happens. Sorry for the guys involved but the race and life goes on. We can't have a perfect start everytime. F1 is tough!

Jim

acrace

Agreed - one of the challenges with additional safety measures are accounting for the unintended consequences. There was certainly a lot of talk about canopies/cages/etc after Dan Wheldon's fatality last year.

John Shiels

other cars are enclosed with potential for fire. I don't think fire it as big a threat as it once was. Alonso could of easily lost his head.

John Shiels

Who will replace him in the seat?

I guess this is why he was banned


He said he thought he was clear so that is bad judgement on his part.

What did Hamilton say?

Zoxxo

Lotus hasn't said yet, but most likely their test driver, Jerome d'Ambrosio.

Sometimes the thing to do is to just act contrite, shut up, keep your head down, and let it all blow over regardless of how you feel about the fairness of the accusations and/or punishment.

http://en.espnf1.com/belgium/motorsp...ory/87639.html

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