Data picture: The World Formula One (F1) Championship was held at the Shanghai Circuit. The picture shows the starting scene of the race. China News Service issued Hou Yushe
China News Service Client, Beijing, July 3 (Wang Hao) On the 3rd, Beijing time, with the roar of the practice engine, the 2020 F1 Grand Prix will kick off in Austria. The new season, which has been delayed for nearly four months due to the impact of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, is a key season before major F1 reforms. There are many suspense awaiting announcement.
New season games are still unknown
For FI events in the 2020 season, the biggest suspense is how many games will be in the entire season. Affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the opener originally scheduled for mid-March, the Australian race, was urgently stopped a few hours before the start of the game. Since then, the start time of the season has been undecided, and multiple races have been announced to be cancelled due to the outbreak.
On June 2, Beijing time, F1 officially announced the new version of the calendar, which includes the arrangements for the first eight races of the season. The opener was Austria on July 3, Beijing time, and all eight races were concentrated in Europe.
F1 latest calendar.
Although some of the previous sub-stations have been cancelled, there are some circuits that were not originally planned that may host the race. So far, how many races will there be in F1 in the 2020 season? Where will it take place? Still unknown.
F1 Sports Director Ross Brown introduced in April that according to the FIA's regulations, eight games are the minimum standard for the World Championship. "If we can start the game in early July, we can finish 19 games this season."
However, the rest of the season has not been announced. The epidemic prevention situation in the world is still grim. How many games can be completed in F1 this season, it is still difficult to have a definite answer.
On March 13, local time, the official website of the FIA issued an announcement, deciding to cancel the F1 season opener originally scheduled for March 13-15 in Australia. The picture shows the empty maintenance area of the F1 Australian Grand Prix after the event was cancelled.
Is there still no suspense in the championship situation?
Last year, the Mercedes team hardly encountered a real challenge and won the driver and team double champion with absolute advantage. From the performance of the pre-season test this season, Mercedes still seems to be in a leading position.
In the pre-season test, Mercedes' cars not only proved their speed, their DAS system has also become a hot topic for fans. Although this system will be disabled in 2021, if it is applied in the 2020 season, its effect is still worth looking forward to.
The "Winter Test King" Ferrari performed mediocre in the pre-season test, and F1 officials rated it as "not so easy to interpret". However, during the time that the season was delayed due to the epidemic, Ferrari's research and development did not stop. According to media reports, Ferrari has developed an upgraded engine, which is 20 horsepower higher than the original version. Whether this is the case or not, we will meet each other during the season.
Data picture: The 2018F1 Formula One World Championship ended in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton of Mercedes-Benz Racing Team held the pole position and won the 11th sub-season championship this season, crowning the driver's championship. The picture shows Hamilton driving a Mercedes-Benz racing line.
And Red Bull, the third-ranked train team last season, did not conceal their ambitions. In the pre-season test, the team showed good stability and speed. It seems that Ferrari will be in a dilemma with enemies in the back.
After many boring "one-sided", I don't know if F1 in the 2020 season will bring more suspense to the audience.
Hamilton is about to surpass Schumacher?
After harvesting his sixth driver's championship in the 2019 season, Hamilton's individual champions have already tied Fangio, with only seven champions Schumacher ahead of him. Last year, Hamilton took 11 championships into the bag. At present, it is only 7 points away from Schumacher's record of 91 championships.
Judging from the current situation of Hamilton and Mercedes teams, if the new season can guarantee enough sub-stations, then it is very likely to tie Schumacher's championship record, the sub-championship, and even have a lead Possible. The discussion about who Schumacher and Hamilton are more dominant is increasing.
Data map: Schumacher returns to the Shanghai circuit.
Surpassing at the data level is not enough. This stems from many people's doubts: in the current F1 race, the driver's driving skills and tactical literacy have less and less influence on the results of the race. With a good car, it is easy to win.
It is difficult to say whether this argument is due to a filter with "thick and thin", the peak period of the two people does not overlap, and this comparison is sometimes more like "Guan Gong vs Qin Qiong".
But it is obvious that if Hamilton wants to overtake Schumacher and conquer discerning fans, it will need to show more dominance in future competitions.
Data picture: Hamilton raised the championship trophy at the award ceremony. On the same day, in the 2016 World Formula One Grand Prix (F1) US race, Mercedes British driver Hamilton won the championship.
Will there be new technology surprises?
Affected by the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the entire sports industry's revenue has been impacted to varying degrees, and F1 is no exception. Before the epidemic, F1 originally planned to introduce the "budget cap" for the first time in the 2021 season, with an annual cap of $175 million per team.
As the impact of the epidemic on the 2020 season becomes more and more serious, F1 has to adjust this. The "budget cap" for the 2021 season has been reduced to $145 million, and will be further reduced in the next few years.
In addition, F1 officials also stipulated that some components including the chassis and gearbox will be frozen from 2020 to 2021, and the R&D quota system will allow the fleet to be upgraded a limited number of times. Judging from the current situation, after the start of this season, each team's investment in research and development may be discounted.
Data map: The World Formula One (F1) Championship was held at the Shanghai Circuit. The picture shows the Ferrari team pitting to change tires. China News Service issued Hou Yushe
Originally, the 2020 season was the last chance for all teams to "spend a lot of money" in research and development. Mercedes' "black technology"-DAS system also made people think that this year will be the beginning of various technological surprises.
However, the sudden epidemic has disrupted the preparation rhythm of the F1 teams this season. It is still unknown whether new technologies will emerge in the season.
How far are Chinese drivers from F1?
On February 12, Beijing time, Renault Racing officials announced that the 20-year-old Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu became a test driver. In 2019, Guanyu Zhou joined Renault Sports Academy as a development driver for Renault. Last year he represented the UNI Virtuosi team in the F2 race and became the first Chinese driver to reach the F2 podium. Many people are looking forward to whether he can be the first Chinese driver to appear in the F1 race.
Judging from the hard conditions, the champion Zhou has not yet reached the standard for obtaining a super driver's license. To obtain a super driver's license, you need to accumulate 40 points in the FIA's competitions within three years. Earlier this year, Zhou Guanyu revealed in an interview that he is still 20 points short.
On February 12, local time, the Renault F1 team's 2020 season kick-off meeting was held in Paris. Team F1 drivers Likado and Aokang, team management, and Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu of the team's youth training system "Reynolds Sports Academy" attended the kick-off meeting. China News Service reporter Li Yangshe
However, Zhou Guanyu will have more exposure to F1 cars this season, and he may be seen in some test driving occasions. Zhou Guanyu said: "(This year) I also have more opportunities to drive F1 (racing cars) and more F1 tests."
In addition, the huge Chinese market behind Zhou Guanyu will be a big boost for him to become an official F1 driver.
In May, Renault team officials announced that Ricardo will leave the team after this season. With regard to who will fill the vacancy in this driver's seat, there are media reports that the team has revealed that its youth training driver or Zhou Guanyu is a good choice.
As the F1 season begins, the F2 season will also kick off. Zhou Guanyu's performance in this season's F2 event will likely determine whether he will become an official F1 driver next season.
Screenshot of Zhou Guanyu's Weibo.
Who will laugh to the end when fighting off the court?
At the beginning of March, McLaren, Mercedes, Race Point, Red Bull, Renault, Red Bull 2 and Williams issued a joint statement to reach a non-public agreement on the FIA and Ferrari investigation of the power unit of Ferrari Racing 2019. protest.
This incident stemmed from last season, people suspected that Ferrari has a way to bypass the fuel flow sensor limit to improve power. However, the FIA has never found a Ferrari violation during routine inspections, and no team has officially reported the Ferrari engine. The FIA announced that it had reached a settlement agreement with the Ferrari team, but the agreement was not made public.
Data Map: The first race of the 2014 F1 Grand Prix and the main race of Australia were held.
After the 7 teams jointly protested, the FIA responded to the matter, saying that this practice is in line with practice and has evidence.
Of course, F1's off-court fight is not limited to this. Foreign media reported that Red Bull questioned the FIA about the compliance of Mercedes' rear brake vent ducts. After the FIA issued a technical instruction in this regard, Mercedes had to modify the brake vent duct design.
Affected by the epidemic, F1 has been forced to postpone the new season again and again, and the big show off the court has come to an end temporarily. As the sound of the engine in the paddock sounds again this weekend, the unfinished plot may continue to be staged. This season's F1, the level of excitement of the off-court scenes may not be as inferior as the game. (Finish)