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Archive: 2011 April

When will something be done about flying wheels?

17 April 2011 21:30

Categories: *, Formula 1

One of the most worrying trends in F1 is the increasing tendency of wheels and tyres to come loose and fly off. Since refuelling was banned for the start of the 2010 season, the speed of tyre changes has become easily the most crucial element of a pitstop. With the greater number of pitstops this year as a result of the current deliberately dodgy tyres, this has become even more critical.

During the Chinese Grand Prix we saw Jaime Alguersuari’s right rear wheel roll itself off the car soon after a pitstop. It flew off towards marshals, photographers and other bystanders, while Vitantonio Liuzzi took to the inside to avoiding being hit while he passed the stricken Toro Rosso.

Top F1 journalist Adam Cooper reported on Twitter that the wheel came dangerously to hitting him:

#F1 Here's the wheel that Jaime Alguersuari @squire3 tri... on Twitpic

# Hoping to bump into @squire3 [Jaime Alguersuari] tonight after his STR wheel nearly killed me! Luckily he missed…

# I was behind an opening in the debris fence and hit on the next secition, about 2m away, head height. Bit scary…

# Here’s the wheel that Jaime Alguersuari @squire3 tried to kill me with! Scared the #### out of me… http://twitpic.com/4m224g

For me, loose wheels are easily the most dangerous thing in F1 today. When two marshals died in he space of a few races just over a decade ago, they were both as a result of flying wheels. Stronger wheel tethers were introduced after those incidents, but these do no good if the wheel is not properly attached to the car in the first place.

With the emphasis on tyre changes now at the very forefront of every race, it is no surprise that teams have been looking to save time in this area. Mercedes have been particularly inventive, developing a wheel nut that is attached to the wheel itself.

But there have been lot of wheels coming off since the start of 2010, clearly as a result of not having been attached properly in the first place. Robert Kubica’s wheel detached after a few laps of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Mercedes also had a few wheel failures last year. Among these was the truly scary moment in Hungary when Nico Rosberg’s wheel came off the pitlane, causing all sorts of havoc as it bounced and rolled around while several dozen mechanics were busy working.

It is high time this was nipped in the bud. I am sure the teams would take more care in their pitstops if a real penalty was applied. This isn’t a sporting issue. It is a safety issue, and any teams that are not attaching wheels securely enough should face a ban.

Flying wheels are not just putting drivers at risk. They are putting marshalls and mechanics at risk. But worst of all they are putting spectators at risk.

Renault were suspended in 2009 after Fernando Alonso’s wheel came off in Hungary that year. However, the suspension was lifted. That was fine. Then, it was a one-off incident — in the refueling era there is little to suggest that Renault were cutting corners.

But today, the loose wheel problem is truly endemic. It must be stopped.

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Harlech ident (1968)

15 April 2011 14:30

Categories: Television presentation gem of the week

I am conscious that I have not yet featured any ITV idents, despite the rich treasure trove waiting to be delved into.

This is the classic, eye-straining original ident for Harlech.

You would never — never — see an ident like this these days. In fact, you probably wouldn’t have seen any other idents like this in those days either.

At the very least, this ought to carry a “flashing lights” warning if it were broadcast today!

And what a strange name for a television station. A bit egotistical for it to be named after the station’s founder. Harlech shook off the weird name when it began broadcasting in colour and became HTV.

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Scottish Vote Compass

14 April 2011 22:16

Categories: Current affairs, Politics, Scotland

It has become de rigueur for every election to have at least one online quiz that tells you how you should vote. The 2011 Scottish Parliament electon has Scottish Vote Compass.

I have not exactly found myself becoming hooked on the Scottish Parliament election campaign. To be honest, I care much more about the alternative vote referendum. Nevertheless, I thought I would give it a go and see what it said.

On this chart, I am represented by the star icon towards the bottom-right.

My position on the Scottish Vote Compass

It is perhaps no real surprise to learn that the Liberal Democrats are my closest match. The Greens are second apparently, although it doesn’t really look like it from the graph to me.

While I was at it, I decided to once again take the daddy of all political quizzes, the original Political Compass.

This time my score was:
Economic Left/Right: 0.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.51

So I have moved a bit to the left, and have become slightly less libertarian, since the last time I took it in 2009 — a reversal of the trend.

2 comments

How to dance to intelligent dance music

12 April 2011 22:25

Categories: Humour, Music

Intelligent dance music — IDM. It’s a great genre with a naff name. Aside from the snootiness of ‘intelligent’, it has always raised the question: how on earth do you dance to this?

Well we now have the answer, thanks to this video I found the other day. It demonstrates how you should dance to the IDM smash hit Cfern by Autechre.

I will be trying it in my bedroom tonight!

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Hamilton’s major weaknesses exposed in Malaysia

11 April 2011 23:20

Categories: Formula 1

Whether you like or dislike the philosophy behind Pirelli’s tyres, which have been designed to be dodgy, there is one undenable benefit. It leaves those that cannot manage their tyres exposed.

Lewis Hamilton has long had a repuation for ruining his tyres too quickly. Up to this point, it has only bitten him once in a while. The benign Bridgestones were, for the most part, accommodating to Hamilton’s excesses.

But with Pirellis that are designed to drop off in performance quickly, Hamilton may find himself being bitten more often. The McLaren car is performing well, yet Hamilton was only able to finish 8th in the race.

He put this down to having to stop early, then stop early again, and again — and again. And it is that final fourth stop that really sealed Hamilton’s fate. While early stops may not have been ideal, if he only made three of them he could have salvaged a few more points.

But here we come to Hamilton’s second weakness — his lack of strategy nous. Hamilton has been feeling the heat for being weak on strategy and relying on McLaren to call too many of the shots.

What is interesting is that in this instance, according to Ted Kravitz, Hamilton went against the advice of his McLaren strategists. McLaren advised that, despite the excessive tyre wear, Hamilton might have been able to hang on to finish 5th or 6th if he stayed out. However, Hamilton decided to make the extra pitstop nonetheless.

It is not often that we see Hamilton act autonomously like this, but sadly it backfired on him. If F1 in 2011 is going to involve better tyre management and more strategic thinking, this could play right into the hands of Jenson Button.

While tyre management and strategy are two of Hamilton’s biggest weaknesses, they are Button’s greatest strengths. At least twice in 2010 we saw Button use making smart strategic decisions that helped him win races. In Australia he went against the advice of McLaren, and went on to win the race. China, too, saw Button capitalise on good strategy.

If Hamilton seemed overly despondent after the Malaysia Grand Prix, it may be because it was the moment the penny dropped that he is going to find F1 a whole lot more difficult from now on. And it won’t be fixed by having a faster car — because in these conditions, Button will always come out on top.

Thanks to those on Twitter — thescottwilkes, davedpg, f1givesyouwings, Khan_F1 and cmckinleyF1 — that helped me out on remembering where Button capitalised on strategy in 2010.

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