posted Apr 28, 2008

Hi Mark,

Great colum. I was just wondering what the paddock thinks of the WDC and WCC this year. The general consensus of F1 fans is that it will be a Ferrari procession. What do you reckon?

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posted Apr 28, 2008

Mark,

Its 14 Years in 2/3 days since the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna.

After their deaths, safety was top priority. As member of the GPDA what do u think has changed, do u think its better or for worse?

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posted Apr 28, 2008

I have a question for Mark Webber. I keep banging on about this but it is only because I believe so strongly that it would have a positive effect. Does Mark think that bringing back a manual gearbox would help promote closer racing and more importantly provide overtaking opportunities. There are arguments about F1 being the pinnacle of motorsport and this goes hand in hand with the technology, but every season the commercial side of the sport wants to make the racing more of a spectacle for obvious reasons. More so than any rule tweeks, refueling and other revisions I think a manual gearbox could be the answer. Missed gears a hand off the steering wheel the element of error instead of just blasting out of a corner and letting the computer help with the work. I am not diminishing the skill of the current batch of drivers but probably playing the devils advocate. I am really interested to hear your opinion Mark. By the way well done on Sunday.

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posted Apr 28, 2008

Mark,

Great article by the way.

I am interested to get a current driver's perspective on the rule changes for next season. Do you think the move towards mechanical grip is a good one?

And will it ultimately improve the spectacle of the sport by encouraging more overtaking?

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posted Apr 28, 2008

What happened to Andrew B?

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posted Apr 28, 2008

Hi Mark

I too was pleased to see Heikki remove his hands from the wheel prior to impact, as I have been surprised that a number of F1 drivers (including Lewis) do not do this.
Having hit CONCRETE walls at up to 180mph on a number of occassions in NASCAR style machinery, (and having never even broken a nail I'd like to give you one more tip. When you KNOW you're 'going in' cross your hands on your chest, pull your feet back from the pedals, and RELAX your whole body by breathing out rather than "bracing yourself", your belts and Hans device can then do their work. Remember a (relaxed!) drunk rarely breaks a bone when he falls! Good Luck for the rest of the season! T

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posted Apr 28, 2008

Excellent article, thank you both.

In awe of all Grand Prix drivers, respect for what you do, the dangers faced and the pleasure you give to millions of fans worldwide.

You certaintly need Bulls, Red or otherwise to do what you do.

Keep the articles coming.

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posted Apr 29, 2008

Great article Mark. However, I would be interested to know why you radioed to ask if it was Heikki or Lewis Hamilton in the wall ????

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posted May 2, 2008

Hiya Mark, your columns

certainly give a unique perspective on things. Ever since the first one I've come to look forward to the next installment. Besides, any time you've ventured to offer a sort of a prediction, it's been pretty much spot on. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have noticed that! The racing, of course, is the main thing but beyond that I believe introducing that "human element" inspires many on another level. So again, thank you for your effort.

Some questions for consideration:

1) Safety: I've seen MotoGP testing these airbag thingies integrated into the driving suit. Any chance something similar could be introduced into F1? I'm thinking in terms of something that'd pre-deploy in case of catastrophic structural failure (steering arm, wheel, suspension) or an impossible vehicle attitude (angle), only deflating in a controlled way upon a forceful impact or once the harness lock is released.

2) Safety: Should the FIA look into banning the so called rim shields/wheel fairings on safety grounds? After Kovy's shunt there's some suggestion that a foreign object (a rock from a gravel trap, a car part come loose) can get lodged between the stationary part and the rotating wheel. This would quickly damage the structure which is already manufactured to absolute limits in a quest to reduce unsprung weight.

3) Performance: I think it was Pat Symonds of Renault F1 who said quite recently that they are experiencing a slight disadvantage in power (without specifying to what exactly he was referring to). Is this something tangible that RBR also has to take into account in devising a tactic towards a race? Does this mean that your most serious challenges for positions will come in "twisty" circuits like road courses and has this affected your overall design aims this year?

4) The future: Some designers have already commented that they're well on their way into fashioning the shapes of things to come towards 2009. The parameters of the changes have been kept from the general public but indications are that we'll see something "different". Without going into the specifics, can you reveal to us whether you've been privy to what Newey et. al. are planning and whether things on that front, generally speaking, look exciting to a racing driver?

5) Fitness: I've the impression that you're pretty enthusiastic about training and like all sorts of sports. Being roughly your size and shape but never having quite found "my thing" in looking after my physical health, care to give any motivational pointers to those of us still looking to discover activities that we can happily commit ourselves to? How do you decide, what are you looking for in a physical activity?

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