It was after the damage, when he was driving the front of the nose cone looked visibly flappy The skin seems intact but the internals looked pretty mashed to me.

Quote from Storm_Cloud :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc0wFyCIDfE

Exactly. A very rigid, energy absorbing structure. Or do you actually think nose cones are flexible deforming things? The video shows no deformation, just disintegration.

Cannot wait for Texas!

Quote from tristancliffe :

Exactly. A very rigid, energy absorbing structure. Or do you actually think nose cones are flexible deforming things? The video shows no deformation, just disintegration.

Yeah, wrong word, but I was talking to Kev as the nose is clearly not the strongest part of the car.

On Jenson button's page on Facebook some are saying it's a unlocking mechanism to release the nose quicker. The pit man definitely twists the nose on purpose.

Quote from CSF :

In other news:



Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This is what you have been talking about in this thread all this time? Front nose cone mounted camera that has been partially ripped off by a collision?

A broken camera does not explain the nose section moving in the way it does in that gif.

Oh I did not even notice the front nose cone moving. Let's all pretend I didn't say anything.

Did you say anything?

I don't think he did.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Exactly. A very rigid, energy absorbing structure. Or do you actually think nose cones are flexible deforming things? The video shows no deformation, just disintegration.

you must be blind then
at ~0:15 you can see the tip of the nosecone (first 10-15cm of it) deform and break away and by the looks of it its not part of the nose crash structure (presumably to allow modifications to the shape of the nose without having to go through crash testing again)

my guess is the tip not being part of the rigid crash structure is probably made from very few layers of carbon (the small frontal area of it means it doesnt have to bear a lot of load and it should get a lot of strength from its round shape so they can probably get away with a very thin layup) which has obvious advantages considering the nose is fairly high up on the car
if that bit breaks it will lose a lot of its rigidity and will easily bend as much as you can see on the red bull

On some other forum people are saying that this could actually be a very effective mass dampener. The rigid crash structure is underneath, then over some pliable material, and with cameras attached it could serve as one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuCdZLQOrAw

If that is what this is then you have to applaud. This is what F1 is about - innovation to squeeze around the rules. Like the F-Duct or Super Duper DRS or double diffusers.

Quote from CSF :

Ugh, you just reminded me of the irritating Nick Heidfeld fans that sprung up when he was booted out of Formula One at the end of 2009. Suddenly some were claiming he was a superstar that was somehow unlucky not to have won multiple championships. The same people were thinking he was in with a shot of a Ferrari drive for next season.

True, I LOL when his fans call him "Quick Nick", on the other hand I am surprised he is not employed by some of the backmarker teams since they need a driver that always gets to the checkered flag and does quite consistent lap times.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20267305

Kimi is simply awesome.

Quote from Kid222 :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20267305

Kimi is simply awesome.

Best possible way to break the ice over that stupid discussion...great find

I want one of those shirts.

Kimi does what Kimi wants continues eh?

CotA looks like an interesting race track. I'll likely watch the Ford 400 and the US GP equally. Since the Ford 400 will end around an hour and a half later though I'll honestly watch more of the F1 race while it's on than the Sprint Cup season finale. That depends on how close the points battle coming into Homestead is.

Does F1 plan on having any early testing in Texas or just the practice sessions which are typical of a race weekend? CotA has never been raced on before..

Quote from Cornys :

Does F1 plan on having any early testing in Texas or just the practice sessions which are typical of a race weekend? CotA has never been raced on before..

I think Jerome D'Ambrosio has driven around it in a 2010 Lotus, but yeah as with all new tracks the first competitive F1 running will be the usual Saturday morning practice session.

Not sure whether it was in the 2010 or 2011 model, but here is a video of him lapping the circuit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBjZrOcMPhY

He's obviously far off-pace. I think we'll be seeing laptimes of around 1:35 to 1:40.

Gotta say i'm impressed with the track, reminds me of Virginia. And if it rains, fatburgers might see very good race.

Quote from Kid222 :

And if it rains, fatburgers might see very good race.

I can't beleive I can stand to admin races with you! (just kidding)

In any event, Texas is going to succeed from the United States, so it shouldn't be called the US GP.. There's just not ment to be another US GP

http://now.msn.com/15-states-start-petitons-to-leave-the-usa

In all seriousness though the track looks very nice. The elevation changes and all are great, and as said I'll be watching for the 3rd stright F1 race.. record for me . Looks like there are plenty of passing zones . Any word on tire (tyre) compounds? I assume harder for the new pavement or no? Hard would be better so long as they have to pit once.

Edit: Found tyres. Medium & Hard. Good choice.

Would a small swear word on the podium indeed be headline news in the USA?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104131

http://www.nascar.com/2004/new ... 0/05/dearnhardtjr_points/