We had numerous SC periods today, however the actual SL 63 AMG seemed to be quite slow - say compared to last years CLK 63 AMG

The problem, is that's its quite a heavy - tipping the scales at 1715 kg from 1940 kg from the actual standard car. However if Merc were to use the Mercedes Mclaren SLR 722, that 135 bhp more and weights 1724 kg - that could go through a weight reduction programme to around 1500 kg.

It would be much faster than the SL 63, faster through bends and would take less time to brake.

The F1 cars need something faster I reckon, not that even a Mclaren SLR would be faster enough (obviously for F1 cars) - but that hefty SL looked to be seriously holding up the pack - more than last years CLK.

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i thought the whole idea of the safety car was to slow the pack down to a safe speed, if some of the drivers cant handle that slow speed then thats their fault

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Midge25

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Yes thesafety car was bunching the drivers up too much - in endurance racing that's fine but with these sensitive single seaters they looked frustrated.

Oh well.

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is the problem because they have to keep accelerating,braking and weaving to keep temps high? it would be safer if they just trundled calmly behind the safety car?

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Midge25

my love of England is my strongest emotion

The engines don't like going slowly, like Brundle has said many times. Also the brake temperature and tyre temperature go down, and that could be dangerous...

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i think its to slow, they should have a Ferrari 430 or a Porsche GT3 or GT2

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It isnt really as the drivers should know the performance wont be there straight away so they should know to work them upto the temps they need.

As the advert keeps saying they are the top drivers in the world "well if they are they should know the limits of the car running fast or slow" and yes they always say the engines dont like going slow but when was the last time a car overheated under a safety car ?? (that one for the F1 fans to answer )

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I did go for a bit of a look around the interweb the reports are so vague and my memory is so bad that I couldn't find anything.

I did however learn that the 2005 Italian Grand Prix was the last one that the entire field finished, the only other time this happened was the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix.

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im not an F1 fan and i am 100% sure no car has ever overheated and had to retire due to the safety car so the only issue is the drop in trye temps and that is down to the driver to deal with TBH (from what i was told along time ago a drop in temp is a bigger issue for F1 cars as that can cause the engine to seize as the fluids used have to run at certain temps)

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Kimi's main off yesterday on the first restart, which put him to the back of the field, was blamed on tyre temperatures - I recall it was also thought to be a factor in the death of Ayrton Senna at Imola 1994...

Sean

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Mikeward, at the 2006 Monaco GP Kimi's Mclaren engine overheated due to the slow pace of the safety car when Mark Webber was stranded on the track.

I agree with Big-Al, we need something lightweight perhaps like a Ferrari F430 Scuderia or 997 GT3 - something actually track focused if Merc don't wish to use the SLR.

The problem is, is the SL 63 really suitable in the first place...

More than usual, everybody yesterday was so stacked up behind the SC it was a little strange to watch.

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Maybe, but seeing Maylander, Heikki and Lewis all in front was good advertising though...

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22Lewis Hamilton
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Pedro de la Rosa
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That yes, bet the Mercedes PR department liked that.

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It has just occurred to me that the pace car might be going at the speed it does for a reason, and while the safety of the drivers is important I have to wonder have the marshals been forgotten in all of this?

Yes the drivers to a dangerous job but they have a safety cell to protect them and even if an engine overheats behind the pace car it is doing it at a safe speed.

Perhaps the answer isn't making the pace car quicker but making a Formula 1 car that can run behind a pace car since the pace car seems to be making more appearances than it used to.

After all if you wanted to undo a 10mm nut you would not use a 17mm spanner.

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Possibly, but there was a BBC interview with Bernd Maylander last year, and he said that he is driving flat out while he leads the field - despite it doesn't look fast. According to him, the previous SC car CLK63 AMG could do 143 mph down hanger straight at Silverstone.

But what my point is, is why not use something lightweight and maybe more powerful that is suited to circuit driving...

However making the F1 cars more suited to run behind the SC car sounds like a good idea to me, last Sunday's race saw 3 SC periods, after two of them we saw accidents and spins. As Brundle as demonstrated, the cars are very tricky to drive flat out on the restart.

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