[Jaspersharpe]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26914127 More of this ta. 

[tomtom]

Of course the Mercedes racing each other in the first 5 and last 10 laps was spectacular - but for the rest of the race the midfield battle was superb. Williams, Force India's, Mclarens, Ferrari's and over-caffeinated sugary drink companys all slugging it out.

I think the fuel flow and total fuel limit is a very very clever way of managing this. You effectively limit the energy and rate of energy the cars can consume... so its all down to making them more efficient..

Its taken it away from the tyres, that IMHO is a good thing... that was boring/stupid last season..

[andyd]

Definitely the best racing in ages. I'm a big fan of an airborne F1 car provided the drive walks away. Shame it was due to Maldonado's signature driving style. I'd be interested in some driver error stats from the BBC. They're always talking about 'who's the best driver'. Let's find out what the data says about the worst...

[mr__j5]

Be careful about declaring the new rules to have sorted out F1 and making it really exciting now.

Yes, Bahrain was one of the best races in years. However, the week before, we had Malaysia, which was one of the most dull races that I had seen in years.

[andyd]

Be careful about declaring the new rules to have sorted out F1 and making it really exciting now.

Yes, Bahrain was one of the best races in years. However, the week before, we had Malaysia, which was one of the most dull races that I had seen in years.

I'm guessing some of last season's races were so dull that you've forgotten them! Who was that bloke who kept leading from start to finish..?

[Dolly]

Latest from my favourite Sniff Petrol character

http://sniffpetrol.com/2014/04/08/crazy-dave-coulthard-in-bahrain-2014/

[mark s]

Not sure if i like all the eco rules that keep coming in.after all the cars fuel is a nail cutting on the carbon footprint of the whole f1 circus.
watching the flame spitting turbos of old makes me wonder why these cars sound so different.new exhausts have been talked about.
in time everyone will like it again.whats not to like about cars doing 200.
soon be faster than the v8's

[tomtom]

Already faster! And more torque..

Main diff in sound is they only rev up to 10K so different sound..

[Paul B]

Not sure if i like all the eco rules that keep coming in.after all the cars fuel is a nail cutting on the carbon footprint of the whole f1 circus.

You're missing the point, such rules drive novel fuel technology such as electric motors that help your turbo spool up faster etc. In some guise these technologies will filter down to normal vehicles (over time) and thus the global impact is (or will be) huge.

The rules I don't like are those engineered to stop teams having an advantage by being good at a certain aspect (i.e. under-car aero-dynamics and over-caffeinated sugary drink company) in order to try and manufacture competition. If it's meant to be a level playing field then set-budgets and formula ford type racing would rule, but it doesn't.

What's been shown time and time again is that rule changes simply favour those with the most time (and resources) to throw at meeting them.

[tomtom]

Nice BBC article about why the Mercedes Engine is boss at the moment... interesting stuff for those into engines etc... Turbo split between either side of the engine with a connecting shaft spinning at 120k!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26946444

[Paul B]

Good article. Are they still only allowed a certain no. of engines (perhaps 1 now?) for the entire season?

If so it'll be 'interesting' to see if Mercedes have actually managed to effectively meet that design challenge or whether we'll be seeing turbo failure on some of the most expensive engines ever built.

The article alludes to what I was saying above, things like energy recovery were only in the F1 domain until fairly recently. The next generation of performance cars will have motors to spool up the turbo's etc.

It'll be a shame if turbo lag completely disappears, it makes slow cars feel fast.

[tomtom]

I'm sure you could re-map the ecu to give you Renault 5 turbo like lag kicks in the back

[cowboyhat]

The next generation of performance cars will do have motors to spool up the turbo's etc.

It'll be a shame if turbo lag completely disappears, it makes slow cars feel fast.

Yes as you've said before thats whats so appealing about the turbo diesels.

918, P1 'Torque Fill' as Mclaren are calling it. The much more affordable 'Twin scroll'/ 'Twin turbo' type stuff is already attempting a similar effect.

For those who haven't seen it:

[erm, sam]

I could only watch the first 30 seconds before I was too sickened by the misogynistic banter shit so I had to stop.

[cowboyhat]

I can for forgive a little bit of knuckle dragging, he's a car journalist.

For those of a sensitive disposition if you skip the first minute you can learn something about the future of powertrains.

[Paul B]

The much more affordable 'Twin scroll'/ 'Twin turbo' type stuff is already attempting a similar effect.

TBH this is what initially put me off BMWs. I drove my folks' 123d M Sport a few times and found it distinctly bland (coming from VAG cars with their torque in one massive spike). Finally I drove it in anger across the Peak (I'd just bought a caddy and had a stone crack the windscreen within 5 minutes) and boy did it come alive. Instead of feeling like a turbo'd engine they just feel like a HUGE naturally aspirated motor (which is nice).

Of course, you could just buy a huge naturally aspirated engine in a little car, like a 135i perhaps?

[cowboyhat]

The much more affordable 'Twin scroll'/ 'Twin turbo' type stuff is already attempting a similar effect.

Of course, you could just buy a huge naturally aspirated turbo charged engine in a little car, like a 135i perhaps?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_N55

[Paul B]