Grand Prix 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

On the surface a triangle is a simple 3-sided shape. At some point in our education we learn that all of a triangles interior angles add up to 180’. Then the mathematics gets a little more complicated as various theories and concepts are added in to the mix. Most of us give up at that point as the reason or purpose for all this understanding is lost on us.

Some of us carry on in education and take up careers in engineering where, among many of its individual disciplines, the triangle takes on a new importance. From mechanical to structural and even electronic engineering, the maths and science surrounding this simple three shaped side, is used to develop everything from buildings to cars and complex electronic circuits.

In vehicle engineering the triangle plays an important role in the early formula one cars as the prime shape of its space frame. The frame is made up of sections of tubular structures formed from triangles. These tetrahedral truss’s form some of the strongest man-made structures since the shape is rigid and light weight relative to the materials used in its construction.

The first true space frame chassis appeared in the 1930’s and, like many other aspects of vehicle design, mirrored ongoing work in the aerospace industry. After the second world war, sports car makers such as Maserati, Porsche and Jaguar launched vehicles with space frame technology. Small British sports outfits such as TVR and Lotus followed the trend and soon, space frame technology found its way into motor racing.

While the monocoque replaced the space frame by the end of the 60’s, triangle shapes still play a key role in F1 cars, with body panels and suspension components still carrying this distinctive shape right up to the present day.

That triangular journey to the present day, didn’t start in the 1930’s. The history of the triangle dates back thousands of years. Its history spans cultures, people and the globe on a journey of scientific development the is far greater than its humble shape would have you believe. We tend not to dwell too much on the origins of things that we see every day. You don’t imagine that triangles and the science around them would have a beginning.

The most basic principles of a triangle are wrapped up in Pythagorean Theorem. Named in honour of the great Greek mathematician Pythagoras. In simple terms it’s written as a2+b2=c2 or, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

Of course, triangular structures long predate Pythagoras. As an example what is the primary shape of the Pyramids of Giza? There is a great deal of evidence that the understanding of Pythagorean theory existed long before the man himself, even if it wasn't as well recorded.

This is where the culture of maths enters the story. The principle use of maths in the earliest periods of its development was for the study of astronomy. One of the cultures at the forefront of this research was the Islamic faith. Far from being the stereotypical people that we read about today in various right-wing papers and see misrepresented on our TV screens in one way or another, while many people in Britain were daubing their faces with plant dyes and charging at other people with pointy sticks, Islamic scholars had created the foundations for the scientific principles that frustrate and confuse school children across the globe today.

The word Trigonometry derives from the Greek words Triangle and Measure. Without the mathematical functions that this science gives us engineers in the pitlane would not be able to calculate huge amounts of data related to the speed and performance of a range of systems on their cars.

Sumerian astronomers studied the ratios between angles and circles and later, Babylonians discovered links between these ratios and types of triangle. The Greco Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy created the first trigonometric tables known as a table of chords. These tables were used across the growing world for the next 1200 years until more accurate tables could be produced. By the 10th century Islamic scientists were using all 6 trigonometric functions and were applying them to all sorts of geometric problems. The Persian mathematician Nasir al-Din al-Tusi has been described as the creator of Trigonometry as its own mathematical discipline and the first person to move trig fully away from astronomy and to create the mathematical uses that we still apply to problems in the present day.

So, when you watch the Bahrain GP, keep in mind that our scientific understanding of the world and the science that we see applied in almost every aspect of the GP we are watching, from the cars to the construction methods used in the steel stands that the race goers are sat on, owe a huge debt to the work of Islamic scholars who applied themselves to the puzzles of the world, thousands of years before.

Enjoy the GP.
 
What exactly happened to knock both cars out within a few seconds of each other? The commentators speculated that they might have run out of fuel, but I haven't seen any coverage that makes it clear what happened.
Well, it looked to me like Ricciardo had an electrical failure and everything just shut down. Hulkenberg engine was giving out the rather telling swirling smoke trail....so I gather he lost an engine....not that I am an expert on these things.

By the way Aleck, welcome to the forum.
 
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Looked like someone just flicked an off switch on those Renault's. Very odd for both to go on same lap in same place.

Massive Ferrari own goal in a race they should have won at a canter. Have to give props to Hamilton for keeping pressure on them though. Good drive from them.

I was defending Gasly before the race but it was a pretty awful race at what is his best track. However I will differ my view to others and say if they do drop him they should give Alex Albon a shot.

What to say about our friend Charlie? Dominant and supreme and then let down by his tools. Gutted for him.
 
Okay this is only race two but my responses to the BBC on the following were

Who will be the worst driver this season - I went for Giovinazzi or Stroll .

-Giovinazzi he's been in the Ferrari simulator and clocked a lot of hours but he has not been on Kimi's pace which is surprising given Kimi is getting older and slower it has to be said . He was the only Ferrari powered car that did not get into Q3. Like I said Ferrari have lined up Schumacher Jnr and Illott potentially to take over so he really needs to do better

- Stroll . Okay he got two pts in Melbourne but his quali is poor and he tangled with Grosjean when he can see him in front at the start and messed his whole race . He is not a rookie anymore

Who will be surprise of the season - Norris

Two Q3's , he needs to work on his starts but 6th is a brilliant result for him. Mclaren are definitely going to be up there battling Haas in the midfield.

I think Mclaren need to make sure they keep hold of him .. Vandoorne and Alonso must be sick at seeing where Mclaren are to 12 months ago

Disappointment - Williams

I am afraid they won;t improve any sooner so they will be bringing up the rear
 
Gasly - he's had two poor races not helped by bad luck and poor team decisions on Saturday but make no mistake he is under pressure

52 seconds down on Verstappen and he only finished 4 seconds ahead of Albon who is proving to be very rapid and Ticktum is also waiting in the wings

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Vettel - what can you say that was a clumsy spin:facepalm:his position at Ferrari might end up:teary:. The Ferrari team are already showing a lot of love for LeClerc. He has to bounce back in China because today would have been a crushing defeat were it not for the MGHU problem for LeClerc. Those 10 pts lost for LeClerc could be huge on the team dynamics

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Bottas - he was aggressive earlier but that was about it . Hamilton out drove him especially during the pit stop windows

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An interesting development Toto Wolff admitted he does not like fastest lap being awarded in the risk that drivers would blow the engine or crash. So I am not sure that message Bottas meant in the last race was aimed at Toto - watch this space
 
I sincerely believe that this race will be the one that tips Ferrari to drop Vettel. We’ve seen before that Vettel collapses when he is challenged by a teammate - I would not be surprised to see Ricciardo have his Renault contract bought out for 2020.

for me if so they are going to try to get hamilton or verstappen
 
F1Brits_90 Publius Cornelius Scipio We need to get snippets of the Italian press tomorrow to find out if its a repeat of Monza where they slaughtered Ferrari and Vettel for lacking leadership and praised Hamilton for being a real racer

For me Verstappen probably is not going to get the Ferrari drive now because they already have LeClerc and love him and want Schumacher Jnr as a successor so if its anyone its got be Hamilton with maybe Ricciardo as the fall back option
 
they love hamilton & hamilton wants to have driven for ferrari. so certainly 1st choice. also you make a great point it gives mick Schumacher years to develop
 
What exactly happened to knock both cars out within a few seconds of each other? The commentators speculated that they might have run out of fuel, but I haven't seen any coverage that makes it clear what happened.

Both stopping at almost the same place an time actually made me think how hard would it be for someone with the skills to hack and shut down a F1 car.
 
LOL
Like I said not something I had ever considered but given it has been done with road cars one would think it would have to have been tried in F1.
Follow the money, who are the biggest gamblers on F1
 
2021 Drives
Yeah, I know it is way too early to predict but I can't help it...My apologies

Ferrari - LeClerc , Schumi Jnr ?
Merc - Hamilton , Ocon?
RB - Max Verstappen, KVyat,? Albon?
There rest of the team, not sure
 
So the fake excitement over the fastest lap point lasted exactly 1 race.

Nobody tried to get a fastest lap at the end of the race. It wasn't even mentioned on radio or by the commentators other than 'oh Yeh Leclerc has the fastest lap'

I hate gimmicks.
 
what an odd race, eventful but somehow tainted by the tyres and DRS. The tyres were hopeless and the DRS irrelevant as they could overtake even without it, and when when they didn't go for push button overtakes the action was rather good. anyway

Hamilton - he drove well, I wouldn't say as far as saying that he was the driver of the day because his car looked much more balanced than the Ferraris and in windy condtiions and on a dusty track that certainly helped him, having said that he seems to be at a stage in his career when he makes no mistakes and that is good

bottas - a bit sad, he was way off his team mate's pace

Leclerc - what a pity, IMHO he deserved to win, he drove very well, his car seemed to be less affected by tail wind than Vettel's and the fact that he seems to be running with a set up less biased on the front meant that even if he was sliding around quite a lot he didn't compromise his speed and didn't ruin his tyres. The fact that he lost it at the start makes me like him even more because he comes across as a functioning human being (unlike, say, Verstappen)

Verstappen - he was his usual self, ie not very sporty, his car didn't seem to have much speed but I'd say that I was expecting a bit more of him. The fact that he still races drivers who want to unlap themselves seems to suggest that he's not as smart as other top drivers

Vettel - wow, what happened? let's admit for a second that his set up wasn't ideal for the conditions, let's admit that being behind the timing of his pit stop wasn't great, but how could he make such a mistake? I was amazed. People say that he needs to feel loved by his team, if that is the case then Ferrari is not his ideal team, I think that they respect him but he's not a ruling dictator like Hamilton is at Mercedes, Ferrari are giving Leclerc a fair chance (and that's fair enough). I think that mistakes like yesterday's hurt

Norris - he did well, I'm glad that McLaren are fighting back, IMHO Sainz looked much better in the first few laps but there you go. Norris is certainly a very good driver

Raikkonen - that Sauber looks like a very sorted package, I don't think that Kimi did anything extraordinary, he drove well and didn't make mistakes, my feeling is that there was a little bit more to get out of that car

The Renaults - IMHO both drivers drove well, ok Ricciardo went a bit wide when defending from his team mate but with tail wind and a dusty track that can happen (and in effect many drivers missed the apex at that corner), it's amazing that they both managed to have to stop their cars at the same corner on the same lap

Ferrari - not quite there yet, Vettel's car looked very difficult to drive, Leclerc's one was all over the place, this time Ferrari's speed was all down to their engine, pity Leclerc's engine didn't last. I fear that it's going to be a painful season for Ferrari
 
F1Brits_90 Publius Cornelius Scipio We need to get snippets of the Italian press tomorrow to find out if its a repeat of Monza where they slaughtered Ferrari and Vettel for lacking leadership and praised Hamilton for being a real racer

For me Verstappen probably is not going to get the Ferrari drive now because they already have LeClerc and love him and want Schumacher Jnr as a successor so if its anyone its got be Hamilton with maybe Ricciardo as the fall back option

It hasn't started yet, no one seems to be asking for Vettel's sacking. I don't think that Schumacher Jnr will be in a position to move into Ferrari anywhere soon, the pressure would be too much for him, if he does well (and Giovinazzi keeps on underperforming) he might have a chance at Sauber, even if I would assume that wehrlein is the first in the queu for that Sauber's seat
 
I did that but I can't sleep anymore after I was devastated with LeClerc mishap.
I slept 4:00AM and sleepy at work now :givemestrength:

Oh dear Radical F1 I hope you recover soon. I recorded the race and watched it back this morning, I wished I hadn't now :teary: Poor Leclerc and what was going on with Vettel AGAIN?

It wasn't just the two Renault drivers that broke down, Sainz went out in he Renault powered McLaren on the same lap.
It was like the engines had a suicide pact or something. As I said in the other thread, Norris was lucky to finish given that. He drove well again. Oh and Kimi in the Alfa looked pretty racey for a while there too.
 
Wasn't Sainz going out one of those cases of "the car has broke honest guv" as he was as running last and retiring means they can make changes to the car without penalty at the next GP?
 
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