imi Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 http://images.planetf1.com/14/09/496x259/Lucas-di-Grassi_3203410.jpg Lucas di Grassi took the chequered flag in the first-ever Formula E race which ended in controversy in Beijing. Are they broadcasting this on any channel? EDIT - ITV 4 - here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Race highlights were on yesterday. Nick Prost did a shocking move on Heidfeld on the last lap, it was a nasty looking crash for Heidfeld and he was lucky to walk away unhurt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bailey Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Looked a nasty crash at the end, saw the highlights on the news last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jord Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Saw the crash yesterday, looked really nasty the way he hit the barrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossco Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 More import than all that lads........fan boost. Never heard of anything more ridiculous in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 [video=youtube;_KzzBN-YNA0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KzzBN-YNA0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 Prost was an idiot and ruined it for both Heidfeld and himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I hope he's taken to task for that. Could have easily been a fatality in the news there. That's just not on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Its a shame this series didnt get more coverage, I remember reading about it a while back but the first I heard of an actual race was this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Prost should have had a 1 race ban. You don't move in a braking zone. Did anyone else notice, though, that he chacked his right hand mirror twice on the straight but not his left... I do wonder if he got confused and thought Nick was on the outside in his blindspot - it's the ONLY thing I can think of to justify his actions. I've also noted and found frustrating the language used by the BBC website to describe the crash. They wrote that Heidfeld "clipped" Prost which is just a complete fabrication. And there was another article where a quote from Alain somehow apportioning blame on Nick too. Utter tosh and buncom I see they have now posted another story where Prost has admitted fault, but still the video clip text needs editing. Bl**dy media... As for the racing - it was kinda interesting - the circuit was sh*t - I'd like to see them run at an oval. The noise was erm lacking....but then we knew it would be. I want it to succeed from a technical boundaries pushing perspective but as a sport it needs to get better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Agree it was a really poor circuit for the first ever race, I guess it was a financial decision to hold it in Beijing. I expected the cars to be faster not necessarily top speed but more torque and acceleration out of the corners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 I expected the cars to be faster not necessarily top speed but more torque and acceleration out of the corners. me too, rear tyres were narrow due to the lack of power and torque, not to mention the swapping of cars during the pit-stop. Do appreciate that this is Gen 1, perhaps by Gen 3-4 they will have made significant improvements in terms of speed and range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 The battery tech in them is from Williams Adv Eng - hope this research project helps boost their F1 project too I hope they can extend the range enough to not necessitate the car change - I'd rather see hot swap battery trays... batteries on a rail system unloaded from one side and loaded from the other, lever latched in and away they go. If they could do a decent hotswap systems for road cars you'd have a lot less of a reason not to have one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 You're right Alex. And with not enough torque to burn out the tyres the pit times could actually be lowered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJI Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Watched a few mins of this new formula over the weekend, as that was all I could take before I totally lost interest. The cars looked very slow and also quite ghey with those front wheel 'mud guards'....the cars also sounded like an asthmatic trying to blow down a straw. And having to change cars because the technology is not able to do a decent amount of laps?...come on. I understand that there seems to be pressure on bringing this so called green tech in to motorsport but I think this is being done way too early from what I saw at the weekend. Also, having seen what electric racing is all about I can't see me wanting to follow it even if they were able to do a full race in one car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Bl**dy media... The media and its understanding of racing is the main issue here. It was plain to see what happened - there was no fault. It was simply two very accomplished racers going for the same bend. The driver in front lost track of where the rear driver was, and the rear driver went for the obvious gap once the inside line was covered. Any sort of ban is an absolute joke, and IMO puts the new formula into a very awkward position. Great PR for FE though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 The media and its understanding of racing is the main issue here. It was plain to see what happened - there was no fault. It was simply two very accomplished racers going for the same bend. The driver in front lost track of where the rear driver was, and the rear driver went for the obvious gap once the inside line was covered. Any sort of ban is an absolute joke, and IMO puts the new formula into a very awkward position. Great PR for FE though You can't diminish guilt by saying you simply lost track of another car. He didn't lose track, he knew fine well he was in his left quarter.... as he checked his right twice to be sure. He could have had any line he wanted right up until the braking line but he chose to wait till right before the corner to try and block out his opponent, deliberately. He didn't bother to look and caused a serious accident, which could have been fatal had his head hit the corner of the barrier rather than the car. "If I don't see it, it's not illegal" should remain in the Simpsons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 You can't diminish guilt by saying you simply lost track of another car. He didn't lose track, he knew fine well he was in his left quarter.... as he checked his right twice to be sure. He could have had any line he wanted right up until the braking line but he chose to wait till right before the corner to try and block out his opponent, deliberately. He didn't bother to look and caused a serious accident, which could have been fatal had his head hit the corner of the barrier rather than the car. "If I don't see it, it's not illegal" should remain in the Simpsons. The track was at fault, agreed. Not the driver though. I've watched this incident over and over because I simply don't agree with the ban or the way this has been dealt with in the media. I'm sorry, but you've obviously not driven a single-seat racing car if you think that. It's nearly impossible to know everything going on around you in situations like that, and both drivers did exactly what I'd have expected them to do. The driver behind went for a gap and the driver in front tried to close the door. Both of those moves are legitimate racing moves. It just so happened that the driver behind took his chance at the wrong time for the driver in front. The 'conventional' line to take would have been to try the outside line, but since it was the final corner, he went inside instead and because the timing was off the cars had a coming together. It's funny really, the commentator called it live during the race before any of the reaction kicked off. This incident was no more unusual than Lewis/Nico, except that the track wasn't suitable for that sort of racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 When you "close a gap" surely you need to at least look first to make sure you aren't crashing though? I don't think you need to have driven a single seater to understand that. He knew he was closing the door on the opposition, but the opposition was already halfway through. He didn't even bother to look to his left to see if there was a door to close so he slammed him into the wall instead. Ban is the right thing IMO, but hey I'm no expert, it's just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 When you "close a gap" surely you need to at least look first to make sure you aren't crashing though? I don't think you need to have driven a single seater to understand that. He knew he was closing the door on the opposition, but the opposition was already halfway through. He didn't even bother to look to his left to see if there was a door to close so he slammed him into the wall instead. Ban is the right thing IMO, but hey I'm no expert, it's just my opinion. He looked twice, and both times the car was in the same position, which looked very much like he was going to take the outside line. I'd think that's why he pulled over to cover the inside, by which point the car was alongside. I genuinely believe most racers would have done the same as both drivers in this incident. It will be interesting to see if it's a symptom of these new cars with 100% torque at all times - that moves happen quicker than people are expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 He looked twice, and both times the car was in the same position, which looked very much like he was going to take the outside line. I'd think that's why he pulled over to cover the inside, by which point the car was alongside. I genuinely believe most racers would have done the same as both drivers in this incident. It will be interesting to see if it's a symptom of these new cars with 100% torque at all times - that moves happen quicker than people are expecting. Ok I've watched it again. Here is where I see the fault. 8 seconds in he looks into his right mirror before moving right. IMO this is the correct thing to do. Just before the crash he checks his right mirror twice then waits before moving left. IMO this is the wrong thing to do. At no time do I see the crash being deliberate. I don't think he intentionally crashed the car, that would be pretty stupid. I think he was negligent with his manoeuvre though as he checked where the opponent was, then paused for a second, and THEN made a move. I understand what you mean with the torque though. Conventionally maybe he would have had that split second to pause before closing the door on an avenue. I still believe it was a mistake by the driver and bad judgement to pull out sharply without checking if his opponent had moved into the path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 well done for having the championship on terrestrial TV. Qually in London looks interesting - especially in the wet. If they can get the cars to speed up, improve on the tech - figure out a way to keep the driver in the same car - then perhaps like Branson says, it may challenge F1 in a few years time. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/33300035 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Get it on a proper circuit would help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy442 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 With the current lithium Ion technology and energy density, its as good as its going to get. Williams exclusively make all the batteries for the series, and after next season that is open to other manufacturers, so we'll see what if anything, happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formatzero Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Dissapointing but early days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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