Webber's Whinges

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Not my cup of cake
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As we all know Mark "Arthur Scargill" Webber is always keen to share his opinions and generally have a good old moan about everything he believes is not right about our favourite sport (although he singularly failed to criticise Flabio during Crashgate, now why would that be?).

He's now had a pop at the new layout of the Bahrain circuit, without having taken an F1 car round it, bemoaning the fact that it's "Accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake". Well Mark, I think that's what you're paid to do, let's hope he remembers to steer at some point...

http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/10684.html

Please feel free to add any new whinges from Mark during the season or add any of his historical complaints. And the Aussies have the cheek to call us whingeing Poms LOL
 
He's got a point though. The extension is just a fiddly set up of curves and bends with no real straight, and removes the straight/high speed curves that lead to the 'inner' hairpin.

200px-Bahrain_International_Circuit--Endurance_Circuit.svg.png


The addition looks like leftovers from the Hungaroring.
 
There's a decent image (copied below) and simulation video of the new circuit in the thread here: Bahrain - Bahrain International Circuit
I aqgree that the new extension just seems like a series of slow corners and probably won't do much for the racing.
I'll reserve judgement until after the race though.

Regarding the subject of the post, I think we're all used to Mark now.
He and DC used to make a right pair when they were together at Red Bull, like a couple of old, moaning women :D

f1_circuit_bahrain_bahrainint.png
 
Fortunately the new section doesn't remove any significant turns and certainly no high or even medium speed ones. But adding a load of wiggly bits then claiming that it will improve overtaking is such severe BS as to be worthy of the "Wrath of Webber". :mad:

There is often a certain flow and rythm to a circuit, Sakhir had its own unique qualities and the extention certainly doesn't fit with my experience and feel for the place. I have done a lot of laps round the old layout in GTR2 and rFactor the past few days and have grown to like the place. No one has released the new layout yet so I can only judge it by it's appearance on the map. Perhaps it is OK in real life... :bored:
 
The old turns 5, 6 and 7 (now 15-16) were quite fast and challenging, blind coming down the crest. Now with such a slow corner preceding them I assume the challenge will have been lost.

I have yet to hear an explanation for the change of layout, actually. Does anyone know why?

(I have often been accused of being a Grumpy Old Man so have no fears of agreeing with Webber over something)
 
Here's what it says on the official Bahrain Circuit website.

In 2010 a new loop with eight new corners over dramatic elevation changes was added. It began just after the old Turn 4 with a fast flowing corner leading into a sequence of five bends followed by a fast kink and then a challenging hairpin. The new track extention will bring exciting overtaking opportunities as well as a fresh challenge to the drivers.
Click to expand

It seems like everyone has looked at Brazil and said why has there been so much overtaking there in the last few years? Oh it must be the hills. So now we are going to see changes of elevation at every track.
 
They'd be half right. Interlagos has uphill and downhill bends leading onto long straights. Looks like they've forgotten about the 2nd bit.

Addition - Unfortunately Google haven't got round to doing 'Streetview' in Bahrain, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what the elevation changes are like.
 
"With the addition of the new extension, we've got a fast, flowy section that's undulating, rises and falls," Sheikh Salman Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, another member of the Bahraini royal family and a professional racer, told CNN. "It's very challenging."

"We've got four straights here," said Sheikh Salman, who was the first Arab to win a single-seater championship in 2005. "And technical sections leading onto those straights. So the track presents a lot of overtaking opportunities, which is very rare to find in circuits around the world."
Click to expand

All the local opinion seems to suggest the twidly bits are quite fast.
 
Thanks guys.

We'll have to wait and see but I don't think the organisers will see the benefits they hope to achieve. Yes, they've got four straights...but they had four straights before!
 
ramilas1 said:
If, as I did, anyone wants to compare the old layout with the new, the wiki page has all the Bahrain track layouts including the F1 old and new versions.
Click to expand
They're also in the Gallery under F1 Circuits 2010 and F1 Circuits 2009.
 
Our friends at F1 Junkie are carrying a story about Vettel insisting that he and Webber get on well (sounds like all is not well Chez Red Bull) but the other comments from Webber are frankly astonishing:

This week, 33-year-old Australian Webber again dismissed F1's new generation as not "real men".

"Every now and again - whether it's a Lewis Hamilton or a Sebastian Vettel - they can come in and do a good job," he added.
Click to expand

What is his problem? You would think as a director of the GPDA he would make a little more effort to keep good relations with the other drivers, wouldn't you?

http://formula-1.updatesport.com/ne...ossip/Vettel-and-Webber-get-on-well/view.html
 
That just looks like a filler story whilst waiting for the season to start.
There aren't actually any quotes attributed to Webber that mention 'real men' in that story, and the context of the questioning isn't there but what he has been quoted for is correct, isn't it - Out of all the newcomers, you get a couple of stars (LH, SV), but more often than not they aren't WDC material (although Mark should be more careful in what he says, as he's not exactly set the world alight himself)
 
Found the original "real men" article from Webber.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...rivers-are-not-real-men-says-Mark-Webber.html

His complaint appears to be that the cars have power steering and paddle gear change (I presume MW doesn't avail himself of such lady boy devices on his RB6?). This is as ridiculous as Fangio saying Jackie Stewart wasn't a real man when he first wore a full face helmet, what do you mean you don't want your faced mushed up by bits of flying debris?; or Graham Hill wasn't a real man when Lotus bolted wings onto his car - makes it far to easy to drive round corners.

I like some level of outspokeness (is that a word?) from drivers but it has to be tempered with the realities of the situation. Webber doesn't appear to realise what century it is...
 
FB said:
when Lotus bolted wings onto his car - makes it far to easy to drive round corners.
Click to expand

Hang on a minute, you mean it's their fault racing is crap due to the use of aero devices and the corresponding turbulence? :givemestrength: :mad:

Right, that settles it, let's all go round and lynch Mike Gascoigne, since he's TD at Lotus. LOL
 

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