[Dr K]

Originally Posted by JmuRiz

Rossi had a good day too, finished 14th in his first race. Hopefully he'll have a bright future.

Yes. Ran a nice, clean race and finished other than DFL (of those finishing). Great news. Will be interesting to see what he does in the next race, when he'll probably be trying to do more than just "finish cleanly."

[racer]

Originally Posted by Dr K

I think the days of Rosberg giving a spot up to Hamilton are past. At this point I think he'd block Hammie to the point of wrecking both cars.

I'd like to think so, but he's behind in points and clearly the 2x world champ is the teams #1 driver. Nico takes out both cars? That doesn't help the team. And the team is behind Hamilton.

As for Rossi, all he can do is go out and beat his teammate to make a case for him to continue. Anything more would be great, but not realistic.

[N0tt0N]

I think he might be who Rossberg wishes he was. I liked his dad.

[Dr K]

Op Ed Piece in today's NY Times:

Close Formula One Cockpits, Save Lives

JUSTIN WILSON, my friend, my colleague, the man with whom I first stood on top of an IndyCar podium, is dead. His death last month was preventable. We in the racing industry had the technology and ability to prevent his death and we chose not to.

In the 1950s, our engineering capabilities were such that racing cars would destruct on impact. They became cages of flaming death. The cars had no seatbelts and open cockpits, since a driver’s best hope for survival in a crash was a prayer to be thrown clear of the wreckage.

We now have carbon fiber safety cells that cradle the driver. We have Zylon anti-intrusion panels that prevent other cars from spearing through the side in a T-bone. We have fireproof suits. We have six-point safety harnesses and head and neck restraint devices. Many of our professional drivers will now complete their careers walking away from crashes with no more than bruised ribs and wounded egos, the same as in any other professional sport.

But we still have fatalities. Justin Wilson’s death was not a freak accident that no one could have predicted. It was not a perfect storm of circumstances. He was hit in the head by a piece of debris on the track at an event at the Pocono Raceway in late August. He raced an IndyCar in a series that uses open cockpits with no protection for the driver’s head other than a helmet, and he died.

Photo


Justin Wilson. Credit Michael Conroy/Associated Press
Just as Jules Bianchi died in July, succumbing to head injuries sustained in a crash that had left him in a coma since 2014. And just as Dan Wheldon was killed when his head struck a post in 2011.

These incidents, and too many other serious injuries, could have been mitigated — or even prevented — with a canopy or other protection for the driver over the cockpit.

We have the technology. We just don’t use it. So why do we let our racing heroes travel at speeds triple what they used to, over 230 m.p.h., with their heads exposed to the open?

For many, it comes down to the romance and tradition of it all. I remember a childhood spent watching Ayrton Senna’s yellow and green helmet flash by on TV, open to the elements. It created an imprint of what open wheel racecars should look like. But romance and tradition are not valid excuses for the death of our friends.

I have heard many technical arguments against closed cockpits, every single one of which has been overcome in other racing series.

The arguments include: Closed cockpits get too hot; windscreens distort the view with their curvature; dirt can build up on the screen; drivers could be trapped in a fire.

These are serious concerns. But the International Automobile Federation, or F.I.A., which sanctions Formula One, has resolved these issues in the World Endurance Championship, or W.E.C., which it also sanctions. There the top cars operate at similar speeds and on the same tracks as Formula One and yet have closed cockpits.

W.E.C. cars have “cool suits,” which run cold water around the driver’s body, or “helmet blowers,” which blow cool air over their heads. These cars have had curved windscreens for years and successfully operate at the same speeds as Formula One. They wipe their screens at each pit stop, or have windshield wipers. The cars have emergency releases from both inside and outside for canopies and doors; regulations require that the driver be able to exit in seven seconds.

Racing teams spend millions each year perfecting their vehicles. They have staffs of hundreds of designers. They calculate down to the thousandth of an inch, the fraction of a millimeter. As a sport, we are fully capable of making this safety improvement, and we have been already for a decade.

Many on the senior staff of IndyCar and the F.I.A., the decision makers, were competing in the dangerous world of racing in the 1960s and ’70s. In order for them to choose this career path, they made peace with the risks, the danger and the frequent death. That’s what they had to do to follow their unyielding drive to race.

I, too, have that same passion, but I refuse to make peace with the death of my colleagues, because now we do have an option. The risk of having an open cockpit is too great, and it is also unnecessary.

IndyCar and the F.I.A. have mandated many, many safety improvements over the years, to prevent crashes and flips, and to make the ones that do happen significantly safer. The F.I.A. is reportedly now testing closed cockpits.

It is time to mandate closed cockpit cars. They will not bring Justin Wilson back, but they will save the lives of many generations of racers to come.

[N0tt0N]

Maybe this will be one? We can only hope!

[jbailey930]

http://www.racer.com/f1/item/122157-...louder-in-2016

[N0tt0N]

YouTube

YouTube

[Eric S]

A couple of big changes post-race: https://www.formula1.com/content/fom...lap-clash.html

[HoodPin]

Last Sunday's Russian F1 race was fun to watch. Sad that Rosberg was side-lined by a mechanical glitch; was hoping the battle between him and Hammy would continue till the last race. I'm not so comfortable about Kimi's penalty for the last lap incident. I feel it was a lot closer to a "racing incident" versus someone being at fault. As much as I like Bottas, his comments afterwards about not knowing where Kimi was before the apex don't ring true with me. He knew...... Plus, if they had to give Kimi some sort of reprimand, it should have been a grid penalty at the next race, versus handing the Constructor's Championship to Mercedes after everyone had left.

And is it only me....or is it a bit creepy that Putin was handing out the trophies? Hammy may have gotten a bit of champagne on Putin before Putin left the podium; he'll need to watch his back for a while. Pretty good birthday week for Putin I guess, including scoring 7 hockey goals on Wednesday. I hope Putin doesn't try to displace Kvyat in the car next year.

[Eric S]

USGP Qualifying coverage: After delaying the start of the session five times in a bid to allow for a break in the weather, race control eventually opted to postpone qualifying until Sunday morning.

The broadcast of qualifying will be at 10 a.m. ET, 9 a.m. CT and local time LIVE on CNBC, and also available via NBC Sports Live Extra.


...And yes, extremely creepy and unsettling to see Putin laughing, shaking hands and handing out trophies given his actions and motivation in Syria. Then again, he started invasion of Ukraine while still hosting the Winter Olympics. Like Teflon, nothing sticks; he knows that no one will do anything.