i think it's pronounced anal retentive...

Interesting summary...apparently electronic systems issue contributed along with driver error and weather.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/12/04/fia-accident-panel-jules-bianchi-official/

damn, everything but bad karma

“Volkswagen Group considering future Formula 1 entry

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/30336569

By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer The Volkswagen Group, the world’s second biggest car maker, is conducting a feasibility study into a potential Formula 1 entry.

Sources say the review is being conducted by ex-Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, who was hired by VW’s Audi brand earlier this year.

Its interest is being piqued by the global marketing success achieved by rivals and new F1 champions Mercedes.

But any entry would depend on management changes at VW or F1.

Ferdinand Piech, the head of the supervisory board of the VW Group, and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone have long had a difficult relationship.

At least one of them would need to leave their current position before a VW Group brand could enter F1.

VW was on the working group of car manufacturers that decided on the new turbo hybrid engine rules introduced into F1 this season, but decided against entering at that time - and, publicly, has not changed its stance since.

But sources say that some senior board members now believe F1 would be a more effective global promotional tool than its existing motorsport programmes.

BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan
“The Volkswagen Audi Group is the second biggest car maker in the world and as such it needs to be in Formula 1. But it will not enter it while the sport remains under the control of Bernie Ecclestone, who VAG boss Ferdinand Piech dislikes on a personal and professional basis. Martin Winterkorn - the chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen - is being groomed as Piech’s successor and he has always believed that F1 is a great platform for the group’s brands. I am told he privately believes VAG should be a part of F1. If VAG did come to F1, I believe it would be with their own team, with the car designed and made in Germany.”

snip

now THERE'S a horse of a different color,,,

“now THERE’S a horse of a different color,,, “

They could run some care, but what to call the team?

VW
Audi
Porsche
Bugatti
Lambo
Bentley
Skoda

Now only behind Toyota worldwide, and ahead of GM.

LOL... ya think they'd run Audi or Porsche engines????

oops...

Korea return takes race organisers by surprise

Organisers of the last Korean Grand Prix claim they were given no notice of the return of the race on next year’s calendar.

After four years in F1, the Korean GP was dropped in 2014 following poor ticket sales and failed negotiations to lower the sanctioning fee for the event. However, it made a surprise return to the 2015 calendar - published by the FIA on Wednesday - as the fifth round of a 21 race calendar, albeit with a “to be confirmed” note next to it.

Speaking to AFP, one official for the last race in 2013 said: “We were given no prior notice. The FIA just announced it, although we’ve already conveyed our position about the difficulties of hosting a race next year.”

Two theories are doing the rounds to explain the surprise addition. Reuters reports that the race has been added to find a way around next year’s engine regulations, which are set to limit the amount of power units available to each car from five to just four.

Drivers face large grid penalties for exceeding their allocation of power units, and meeting the more stringent regulations could prove difficult for some manufacturers next year. Changing the regulations in a straightforward manner would require the unlikely unanimous agreement from all the teams, but there is a provision in the regulations to allow a fifth power unit to be used if there are more than 20 races on the calendar. However, given the race officials’ surprise at Korea’s proposed return, it remains to be seen whether the race would actually go ahead or if the clause will be triggered even if it does not.

The second theory is that the round has been added to generate support for a street race in Seoul. But with the event scheduled to take place on May 3 next year, it is very unlikely a street race could be prepared in time, especially as officials at the existing circuit in Yeongam have already flagged their concerns about being ready in time.

In strictly technical terms Korea belongs because it builds vehicles.

And if it is being used as a ploy to circumvent ridiculous engine rules, well that is wonderful.

And if they can actually host a race, that is wonderful too.

a race on the calendar, even WITH TBC after it, without bernie/FIA getting their upfront $$$$$???

there's definitely more going on here than meets the eye...

Daily Mail reporting McLaren set to announce Button-Alonso as their driver line-up:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-2869019/Jenson-Button-stay-McLaren-Brit-beats-Kevin-Magnussen-partner-Fernando-Alonso-season.html

i hope Button kicks his azz!!!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/12/05/inside-the-3-billion-business-of-formula-one/

Inside The $3 Billion Business Of Formula One

Comment Now

Formula One has no shortage of controversy. CEO Bernie Ecclestone may be on his way out and last month he said the most prestigious auto racing circuit is in deep financial crisis and he doesn’t know how to repair it. Formula One is burdened by $4.1 billion in debt, according to Moody’s Investor Services.

There were also rumors of a threatened boycott of the U.S. Grand Prix by a trio of Formula One teams (Lotus, Force India and Sauber) in Austin, Texas in late October to protest the the sport’s financial mess.

The Formula One racing team valuations compiled by my colleague Chris Smith last month showed the average Formula One team is now worth $494 million, up from $337 million two years ago. But while a few teams like Ferrari and McLaren make money, the average operating result (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in 2013 of the nine current teams was a loss of $28 million.

Yet, despite its problems, some believe that should Formula One go public, it would be valued at $8 billion, or roughly 17 times this year’s projected operating income of $456 million.

In the video below, my partner on the YES Network’s Forbes SportsMoney, Bob Lorenz, and I get inside the business of Formula One.

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/320048/technical-the-story-behind-the-w05-s-success/

Technical: The story behind the W05's success

12 December 2014 – The 2014 season saw Mercedes clinch both world titles with its F1 W05 Hybrid. But how did the team move into such a dominant position? GPUpdate.net technical guru Matt Somerfield overviews the journey.

Forward Planning

Let's not think of this as an overnight success. An increase in performance of this level takes careful planning over a considerable length of time, whilst also requiring the team to endure a certain level of pain in the process. Mercedes has not only invested heavily over the last few years, luring top personnel from their rivals, but also created an environment in which they can flourish. The team's change from 50-60 per cent scale modelling and wind tunnel testing in late 2012 was pivotal, not only in terms of timing but also in releasing performance. 10 per cent may not seem like a great deal but when we are dealing with fractions of a second, that 10 per cent is significant. It can be the difference between taking something to a Grand Prix and knowing it will improve the car or taking something that potentially loses performance.

Unification

2014 provided something much needed for Mercedes; a clean slate. The regulatory changes imposed by the FIA were the largest ever seen in Formula 1 and meant that a performance disparity between the teams was almost inevitable. The level of performance that Mercedes were able to achieve, however, was shocking. Not only did the team have to heed the aerodynamic changes afoot, they also had to be fully aware of the implications of the new power units. The regulations require that the power unit manufacturers, Mercedes High Performance Powertrains in this instance, supply the FIA with a sample unit for which they must provide to all of their purchasing teams. Having Mercedes AMG F1 as its 'works' team meant that the two started to work in harmony on the 2014 project at its genesis.

This crossover of engineering minds helped to shape the way in which the chassis and power unit seamlessly integrated. This even gave it the edge over the teams that Mercedes HPP would supply; McLaren, Force India and Williams. Lest we forget, these other Mercedes-powered teams had the same power unit as the 'works' team. In terms of ancillary components, however, all four Mercedes-powered machines look very different, with the 'works' team the only one opting for an air-liquid-air cooler.

Power Up

The W05's air-liquid-air cooler was sandwiched between the fuel tank and the engines front face, which meant an extremely short boost tract, not only providing uplift in performance (reduction in turbo lag) in its own right, but also allowing the team to run a conventional radiator arrangement in the sidepods, balancing aero performance.

Much was made about the turbocharger layout of the Mercedes engine early in the season, especially as most simply saw it as a way of isolating the hot side (turbine) on one side of the engine, whilst the cold side (compressor) lay on the other. This decision was also fuelled by being able to place the MGU-H in between the engine's 'V', saving space when considering the other option was mounting the turbo & MGU-H at the back of the engine, increasing the PU's length.

Following the same 'shortest distance to the goal' approach was the log style manifold used by Mercedes HPP in 2014, whilst its rivals still toyed with tuned length manifolds. The log design also freed up internal sidepod space, not only allowing more room to package ancillary components, but also to tighten external bodywork where possible.

Ultimately, the tuned length manifolds may give up a little more performance, but unlike the ones used in the previous V8 era their design won't contribute to significant gains. That's because over time the teams had refined their setup to create a very narrow power band, much higher up the rpm chain, tuning the exhausts not only to cater for the power requirement but also in order to use exhaust blowing aero tactics. Contrary to this these, lower revving 1600cc turbocharged engines make the bulk of their power below 10,000rpm and, with a singular exhaust now placed along the car's centreline, it made exhaust blowing a much trickier endeavour.

Old Tricks

Having said that, F1 engineers don't easily forget, they simply adapt, taking old ideas and making them relative to the constraints they currently work within. The change from two exhausts to one and its centreline placement is one such challenge, and was not only born out of the FIA's insistence on a singular turbo but also in order to prevent the teams from blowing the diffusers edges. The energy expended by the exhaust is not something the teams can afford to forget and all the teams have made effort to exploit its potential throughout the season. The energy expended when compared to the V8s will be lessened, especially with the turbo and MGU-H dampening it, but nevertheless it remains.

The question is raised: How can they blow the diffuser from the exhausts new home?

They aren't, instead they're creating flow structures to marginalise its loss. It's rare to look at an F1 car and say with any certainty 'X, Y or Z' is creating aerodynamic performance; you need to look at the car as a whole to understand why certain areas work. Pre-2014 the teams had the beam wing which helped to create an aerodynamic link between the diffuser and rear wing (upwash). These three surfaces were designed to interact with one another in order to create the most downforce for the least amount of drag. With the beam wing eradicated for 2014 onward it was hoped that the teams would simply lose performance. They of course had other ideas.

In the case of Mercedes, the team has a set of rear wing endplates designed differently to the rest of the field, shaped with an upsweep that is purposely designed to 'upwash' the surrounding airflow, influencing the airflow structure below to assimilate.

Like the other teams, Mercedes utilises a Y100 Winglet or Monkey Seat that surrounds the exhaust, with the intention to control the exhaust plume and further enhance the 'upwash' from below, creating a connection with the lower surfaces of the rear wing's mainplane and top flap. This means it can run with a more aggressive rear wing angle of attack, increasing the peak downforce achievable The team has made several changes to the winglet's design throughout the season, as it looks to exploit the exhaust plume energy in differing way.

Boxing Clever

Much of the performance that the W05's predecessor had was left unlocked owing to issues with how quickly it used its tyres. The team introduced a twin case gearbox for the W04 to remedy some of these issues but this was only a halfway solution when compared to the W05's gearbox. The twin gearbox case solution is not new to F1, with a similar design used on the Ferrari F2004, the brainchild of Aldo Costa, who of course is now in Mercedes employment. The principle idea is that a gearbox must last 5 events. Suspending a self-contained gearbox cartridge within the carbon fibre case/crash structure means that the team can make changes to the outer carbon fibre casing at each event if they see fit. This means that should new suspension geometry offer a performance gain, the team can use a new outer case with differing pick up points without incurring a penalty.

Great stuff.
F1 truly is a “jobs program” for engineers.
I’d love to be able to see one of these powertrains completely torn down and inspect it.

and i'd love to be there too

"I’d love to be able to see one of these powertrains completely torn down "

I'd think the metallurgy of the parts would be a huge part of the puzzle that would not be obvious in examining th e parts.

Talk about unobtanium!

and now for something completely different...

Lewis Hamilton and Ken Block

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFGqSQvt55I

Pretty neat! C’mon Looie.......take that jump! lol!!

LOL... now THAT would be a site to see