Live - Turkey Grand Prix practice

[BensGrandad]

I do not like F1 as I do not class it as a sport where everyman/driver is equal and given the same opportunity to show his ability but have often wondered if the petrol companies didnt waste so much money on F1 would the price of petrol for normal usage be cheaper.

Crude oil is probably at its lowest price now for many months but at the pumps that isnt reflected.

 

[Icy Gull]

I do not like F1 as I do not class it as a sport where everyman/driver is equal and given the same opportunity to show his ability but have often wondered if the petrol companies didnt waste so much money on F1 would the price of petrol for normal usage be cheaper.

Crude oil is probably at its lowest price now for many months but at the pumps that isnt reflected.

Not sure that Petrol companies invest that much in F1 these days do they?

As for blaming F1 for the price of fuel at the pumps I think you are barking up the wrong tree, can I suggest you look to the government?

 

[BensGrandad]

I would assume that the petrol companies give the fuel to the race teams for free as a form of advertising/sponsorship. I think that the price of the fuel at the pumps is down to the inneffective government that we have, which hopefully David Cameron will be able to put right soon, but that this freebie fuel is a contributory factor. If a company is giving away £1m they have to aim recoup it from somewhere.

 

[Dr Q]

Crude oil is probably at its lowest price now for many months but at the pumps that isnt reflected.

Crude is virtually twice the price it was 6 months ago, albeit half as much as it was a year ago.

Much of the R+D that gies into developing F1 race fuels filters down into the road car petrol market. F1 fuel is also fairly regulated, and contains none of the "exotic" chemicals that it had in say the early 90's.

 

[Marc]

F1 is reportedly going to a more eco friendly fuel like V8Supercars already have (E85 or something), even so the Petrol argument is abit whack BG!

I do agree however that it is more machine vs machine than driver vs driver like it used to be, the recent rule changes are slowly turning back that way but theres still a long way to go IMO. For now the proper driver vs driver series like NASCAR, V8SUpercars etc etc have my uppermost attention as the racing is just fantastic...F1 is somewhat down the list.

 

[Marc]

on a brighton note seems Lotus might be returning which would be cool!

BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1 | Lotus name ready for return to F1


Lotus name ready for return to F1

The historic Lotus name is poised to return to Formula 1 after submitting an entry for the 2010 championship.

The Norfolk-based Litespeed team have bought the rights to the name Team Lotus, which disappeared from F1 following financial problems in 1994.

 

[Marc]

...and just as I have been saying all along, a breakaway F1 championship could happen!!

"The Fota teams - which include big names such as Ferrari, McLaren and Renault - lodged entries that were conditional on FIA president Max Mosley acting on a compromise agreement negotiated at the Monaco Grand Prix last month.

But Mosley appears to have hardened his position in the fortnight since then and is now saying that the Fota teams would have to organise their own championship if they want to write the rules."

 

[BensGrandad]

Crude is virtually twice the price it was 6 months ago, albeit half as much as it was a year ago.

.

Just looked on the Crude Oil website 5 months ago it was trading at $150 barrell latest price is just under $69 next 12 months forecast not to exceed $79 but petrol has shot up over the last few weeks to over £1 a litre in most petrol stations.

 

[Dr Q]

I think if you look closer you'll see that crude hit $149 in about July last year. It hit lows of mid-upper $30's at the end of last year/start of this. There has been an upward trend in the last couple of months to its present price. Personally I see it bounding around $50-$70 for the next year, but as someone who works in the oil industry, I'd obviously rather see it much higher (despite the ultimate effect on petrol prices (which is what approx. 70% tax anyway!)).

 

[BensGrandad]

I will bow to your superior knowledge as I am just 'a barrack room lawyer' who googled crude oil price and that is what it showed. To an outsider like myself there appears no justification in the continual price rise but can it all be down to the tax or as in the case of beer some is tax but also some is the greedy brewers.

They set a income eg £1m they dont care if 1m people pay £1 a pint or 500k pay £2 as the production cost for 500k is lower or even 250k pay £4.00

 

[Dr Q]

The price rises last year were crazy, it became almost a game, as there were, as you rightly say, no major economic drivers behind it. Breaking the £100 bbl mark was seen as the major ceiling, after that it was anyones guess. Low dollar prices did contribute to this, as did the Asian demand for oil, and the knock on effects were the rises in food, fuel and pretty much everything. As soon as America and the rest of the west hit recession it dropped, but as it was from such an unrealistic high, it was more of a nose-dive. The recent rises are primarily a result of OPEC sticking to their output cuts (for a change) and a reduction of US stocks, along with some indications that the global crisis is easing, although there are many that support that $70 bbl is still too high given that we are not out of the woods yet, globally.

 

[Dr Q]

Oh, and come on Jenson today!

 

[BensGrandad]

Would Michael Schumacher or Nigel Mansell, reputed to have been the 2 best drivers ever, have been World Champion driving Lewis Hamiltons car. Simple answer NO. Would any number of F1 drivers driving their respective cars at the time have been champion answer= probably.

 

[Taybha]

Rosberg = regular points scorer
Nakajima = regular wall visitor
same car different class of driver

 

[BensGrandad]

I dont know the answer to that as I am not heavily into F1 but people who are, assure me that any of the top 10 drivers would have been World Champion if they had had Schumakers car.

 

[Scotty Mac]

jenson is obviously in the best car, but when is he going to make a mistake? it is his FLAWLESS driving that is raping this championship

they may have had similarly-standard cars last years, but the cock ups that massa and hamilton made kept the season interesting. jensons perfection is ensuring that this season is going to be over very quickly

still, it should spell the death knell for the LUDICROUS medal idea

 

[Icy Gull]

jenson is obviously in the best car, but when is he going to make a mistake? it is his FLAWLESS driving that is raping this championship

Ain't that the truth. Yes he has the best car but his driving has been close to perfect, you can have the best car but you can't buy the quality that he has shown behind the wheel. I'm really chuffed for him, he was being written off as a playboy who was going nowhere by F1 people who should have known better only 6 months ago.

Shame on McClaren and Ferrari for not offering him a drive whilst he was driving that dog of a Honda for years. Some of us have had faith in his abilities since his storming arrival in F1 for Williams when he was dropped after a few great performances for the ever so disappointing Montoya.

Personally love to see him in the same team as Hamilton or Alonso or Vettell.