Sorry this one took a bit longer, I was busy with other things, but I've managed to complete Mick's helmet that he used at the British GP, as well as testing his dad's Jordan 191.
I'm growing to love these driver videos where they try to say something about very little! In the words of Mick: 'it's a home race... kind of... for us' for Haas, the American team with the German driver and the Russian livery. Mick's added the names of the team members onto the side of this helmet and he adds, 'and we made it orange too, so two great things.'
Thanks to Jvinu for his Schuberth helmet shape and template.
Like the Monaco GP helmet, I was hoping to find the paintings that was used by MDM designs, but I could only find the telephone booth/Big Ben painting by Mark Tisdale. I literally searched for hours for the other two and failed to find them.
So I went to plan B with this, which was to add it directly from photos. The actual helmet is different again from the blueprints, but the blueprints were easier and cleaner to add onto my helmet, so I used them. I'm quite pleased with how this turned out, and it wasn't too time consuming in the end.
Thanks to Jvinu for his excellent Bell helmet and template.
George Russell 2021 British GP Helmet
As I've started with my other helmets, the new helmet updates will be in a single pack per driver. Next up is George Russell with which now includes his British GP helmet.
Here it is, the special helmet used by Lando Norris at the British GP, full of fan messages in support of key workers around the world (plus a few sneaky hidden messages).
This one set me back about a week, the blueprints that I could find were quite low resolution so I had to get most of my placing done off whatever photos I could find. I felt a bit like a super villian trying to stitch together a secret message from newspaper offcuts. The hardest bit was finding good enough angles to get a clear shot of each message.
Then it was a mix of re-drawing, or blending the messages in, touching up here or there to create the base livery with all the messages on. Then it was a case of embossing Lando's helmet livery on top of it, using the alpha channel to enhance its visibility.
I added this message, this helmet dedicated to the GP4 community, both modders and players. A special thanks goes to Jvinu for his template.
This is the first Norris special helmet I've created this year, even though he's had a few, they have been created by other authors. Any further helmets I do will be added to this pack.
Whilst there's a reusable template from Vettel's helmets, the driver with the most changes is Charles Leclerc, with many having to be started from scratch. Thankfully his British GP helmet is largely the same as his white helmet he's been using this season.
Charles had a great weekend, leading much of the British GP, but was unable to stop a flying Hamilton. I really like his red helmet, one of my favourites of his helmets this season.
Here's the pack, thanks as always to Jvinu for the Bell helmet and template.
Rather than doing separate releases, I'll aim to do one pack for each driver and add to them as the season progresses. First up is an updated pack of Sebastian Vettel helmets.
You can see the subtle, and some not to subtle, changes he's been making all the way through the season, even changing helmets half way through a race.
Vettel does not do social media much, so there's no quotes for his helmets, but for the British GP, he's got a tribute sticker to Carlos Reutemann, who passed away recently.
Welcome to Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, and my home track.
For this round, we are using a beta version of the Silverstone track by F1Virtual.
Championship Standings
1
Fongu
82
2
Gildoorf
54
3
32bobo32
28
4
Carl_gpgames
23
5
Prblanco
22
6
Duffer
20
7
KerleyF1
5
Having taken 7 victorys from 9 rounds, I have a commanding lead in the points scoring table. Gildoorf has been excellent all year, but has been a victim to the steering wheel advantage at some tracks. 32bobo32 has had 5 podiums so far this year and is in third place. Prblanco and Duffer have both missed a round this season and bring up the tail end of a competitive midfield.
The Track
I was quite busy once more and could only manage one session on the keyboard and about an hour on the steering wheel. I really enjoyed the lap on the wheel, but on some of the quick corners, particularly Copse, Maggots and Becketts, I just didn't have the same confidence on the same setup. There were clear gains on the long corners like Luffield and Stowe, but all in all, I was about a tenth behind my keyboard lap.
I ran with 13 on the rear wing, it was about as low as I could go to be flat out on corners like Copse and Abbey (I'm starting to sound like classic Jacques Villeneuve and setting up for one specific corner). I ran a lot extra front wing with a rear brake bias. It meant the car was really nervous if you took too much speed into the corner.
Gildoorf: "@Fongu I will get your setup once again, if u don't mind."
Prblanco: "This circuit is INSANE! I love it"
32bobo32: "really a nice track"
Carl_Gpgames:
"not my track."
The Hotlaps
Once more we all had busy weeks, so the laps are not quite as polished as usual, with Duffer unable to make this round at all.
Prblanco: "And as with almost every round, I regret not starting my practice a day earlier 😁"
32bobo32: "I was able to do some laps 😱"
Doesn't fill me with confidence that the lap times will be low this round!
Just Prblanco and Carl_gpgames on the wheel for this round, the rest of us on the keyboard.
Thanks again to Carl for another fabulous video.
0:07 - It looks like we are all running similar amounts of wing, Carl being the fastest just before we turn into turn 1, and Kerley the slowest.
Abbey (Turn 1) should in theory be flat out, you want to avoid any tyre screeching which means there's sliding and scrubbing of speed. On the keyboard that means you can't just turn all the way through the corner, you have to feather the turn towards the end of the corner. Same for turn 2 but to a lesser degree.
Carl has to use the brakes a bit into Abbey, whilst Prblanco has to lift. The keyboard users have more confidence in the high speed turn 1, or it may be due to setup, we'll see in the other high speed turns.
0:13 - Coming into Village (T3), and 32bobo32 is in the lead, closely followed by me, Gildoorf, Kerley, Prblanco and Carl. 32bobo32 runs wide, whilst I am drifting through Village. The two wheel users are able to take some kerb. A burst of wheelspin as I turn my TC off out of turn 3 for me to straighten the car quicker.
All the wheel users are able to take a wider turn in at The Loop (T4). On the exit of turn 4, Gildoorf is in the lead, just marginally ahead of Prblanco and me. Kerley and 32bobo32 are just a shade behind with Carl at the rear. The Loop is key to get a good exit, and it appears Gildoorf and I have very similar techniques, but Gildoorf really gains in the speed he's able to carry down the straights.
0:30 - Carl tops the speed trap at the end of the long straight, with Kerley the slowest.
1
Gildoorf
00:26.191
2
Fongu
00:26.421
3
Prblanco
00:26.440
4
32bobo32
00:26.576
5
Carl_gpgames
00:26.598
6
KerleyF1
00:26.735
Here are the sector 1 times, Gildoorf taking a 3 tenth lead from a very close midfield lead by me, only 0.177 seconds separating 2nd and 5th place. Kerley's lack of top speed hurts him a bit as he drops slightly behind.
Brooklands (T6) is a late apex, so you don't want to turn in too soon. Everyone takes a similar line through here.
Luffield (T7) allows a few different approaches. I personally like to take lots of speed in, get my turning done quickly, and then straighten my exit. Having said, I hug the kerb on the inside on this particular quick lap, with Prblanco,32bobo32 and Kerley taking wider lines. The wheel users are able to get more steering lock whilst carrying more speed around here, and both of them gain time here.
By the end of the exit kerb, Gildoorf is starting to pull away. Prblanco has edged into second with me in third. Carl is in fourth ahead of 32bobo32 and Kerley.
0:52 - Turn 9 at Copse is another flat out corner if you are brave enough with the right setup and timing your turn in is essential. Only Gildoorf and I are able to take this flat. It means on the exit, we are carrying 300kph whilst 32bobo32 is some 10kph slower and Carl losing out the most here.
1:03 - Maggots and Becketts are about taking smooth lines, with Maggots being flat, but Prblanco and 32bobo32 have to lift. The left hander at turn 13 is key to setting you up for Becketts (T14). I take a slightly wider line through the right hander and allows me to carry a bit more speed on exit.
Having done a few laps through here on the steering wheel, although I could keep it smooth, I didn't have the confidence to carry the speeds I could on the keyboard.
1
Gildoorf
00:36.464
2
Fongu
00:36.835
+0.371
3
Prblanco
00:37.449
+0.985
4
32bobo32
00:37.656
+1.192
5
Carl_gpgames
00:37.725
+1.261
6
KerleyF1
00:37.951
+1.487
Gildoorf extends his lead with a whopping 4 tenths advantage through this sector alone. I'm 6 tenths ahead of Prblanco in third who is almost a full second slower than Gildoorf through this section. Interestingly the order is exactly the same as in sector 1, so there's no change in the overall running order, only the gaps.
1
Gildoorf
01:02.655
2
Fongu
01:03.256
+0.601
3
Prblanco
01:03.889
+1.234
4
32bobo32
01:04.232
+1.577
5
Carl_gpgames
01:04.323
+1.668
6
KerleyF1
01:04.686
+2.031
Gildoorf looks uncatchable now with a six tenth advantage on me. I carry the same advantage over Prblanco, with 32bobo32 and Carl running very close together. Kerley is not far behind.
1:17 - Into Stowe corner (T15), and I found on the keyboard it was better to run wide as you could get a better exit, whereas if you kept to the racing line, you had to lift more on the exit. Gildoorf, me and Kerley all take this line, whilst 32bobo32 keeps it tight. Carl is using the steering wheel input to his advantage. Prblanco manages to take some kerb, but runs a little wide on exit, but no harm done. A wiggle from my rear end as once more I turn off my TC momentarily.
Carl locks up and runs wide into the left hander at turn 16, compromising his line through Club.
1:41 - Across the line we go, and as usual let's consider the sector times first
1
Gildoorf
00:26.933
2
Fongu
00:27.102
+0.169
3
Carl_gpgames
00:27.609
+0.676
4
Prblanco
00:27.808
+0.875
5
KerleyF1
00:27.811
+0.878
6
32bobo32
00:28.026
+1.093
Gildoorf gains a hat-trick of quickest sectors, I believe he's the first to do so all season, with a dominant performance. I'm close behind in this sector. The two wheel users head the midfield with Prblanco and Kerley separated by only 0.003 seconds. 32bobo32 continues his trend of having a poor final sector.
1
Gildoorf
01:29.588
2
Fongu
01:30.358
+0.770
3
Prblanco
01:31.697
+2.109
4
Carl_gpgames
01:31.932
+2.344
5
32bobo32
01:32.258
+2.670
6
KerleyF1
01:32.497
+2.909
Gildoorf takes his second victory of the season with a commanding 7 tenth cushion from me in second. I've watched the laps a few times, and our setups are very similar (because Gildoorf took my setup and fine tuned it), but just knocking 1 click off both wings seemed to give a huge advantage on the straights, whilst Gildoorf was able to take the corners just as fast as I could. Anyway, congratutlations Gildoorf on a super lap, thoroughly deserved. I look forward to returning the favour if we have a Brazilian round.
There's a fairly equal spread in the midfield, Prblanco was consistently third in all the sectors and brings home another fine podium finish, his second of the year. Carl, the other wheel user, was locked in a battle with 32bobo32 all the way around the lap until the final sector, which where 32bobo32 lost four tenths to Carl and fourth place in the process. Kerley was right in there in the midfield, with his middle sector slightly letting him down, but he brings home another point.
Prblanco: "Best lap so far [at Silverstone], made an error at S3... A decent S3 wouldn't give me a better position after all... 🥉🥳"
32bobo32: "My traditional bad S3... Stunning lap @Gildoorf!"
Carl_gpgames: "I was lucky with S3, messed up both s1 and s2"
Gildoorf: "I'm surprised about advantage at S1 where CCline really needs fine tuning. Thanks, @Fongu for sharing a strong setup."
Fongu: "Congrats @Gildoorf for a resounding victory, great lap .... don't use my setup again 🤣"
Carl_gpgames: "Congratulations to @Gildoorf for winning all 3 sectors! amazing drive! 🍾🍾🍾🏎️🏎️🏎️"
Championship Standings
1
Fongu
88
2
Gildoorf
64
3
32bobo32
30
4
Prblanco
26
=
Carl_gpgames
26
6
Duffer
20
7
KerleyF1
6
Gildoorf closes in on the lead, but is still 24 points behind. 32bobo32 clings onto third place, but Carl and Prblanco are tied in 4th place. Duffer loses ground having missed another round, and Kerley is up to 6 points.
Welcome to Spielberg, now known as the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
In this round, we're using a slightly patched version of the beta 2015 F1Virtual track.
Championship Standings
1
Fongu
72
2
Gildoorf
48
3
32bobo32
24
4
Prblanco
21
5
Duffer
20
6
Carl_gpgames
20
7
KerleyF1
3
My notes on the track
For this round, I followed a similar set up style to Canada, though I ran with a mid-level rear wing and almost full front downforce for my keyboard attempts, and a similar brake balance to Montreal. I personally didn't want to go any lower, with the sectors 2 and 3 requiring a good level of downforce, but the first half of the track requires good top speed.
I managed one session on the steering wheel, and I struggled with confidence to attack any corners. I was hoping to be able to attack turn 1 a bit more, but in the end, I could find no benefit over the keyboard here. The main advantage I found on the wheel was in the final two turns, particularly being able to use more exit at turn 10 and thus taking more speed through there. In the end, I was faster on the wheel, but only by two tenths, and my turn 6 looked particularly messy, though the laptime says I managed to get away with it. Let's see how I get on against the other competitors.
The Hot laps
It seems like all of us did not have much time to set a lap, with Duffer not able to participate in this round and thus sits in the pits, and many others only able to do a handful of laps. Just two of us on the wheel this round, myself and Carl. As ever, thank you Carl for another awesome video.
Duffer: "I think, I'll have no time for me to made a time for Red Bull Ring 🙁."
32bobo32: "Unfortunately I cannot use the steering wheel at this turn as I still have pain in my injured elbow"
0:10 Gildoorf leads the charge on the top speed front, quite a way ahead of the rest of the field.
1
Gildoorf
315 kph
2
KerleyF1
308 kph
3
Carl_gpgames
307 kph
4
Fongu
305 kph
5
32bobo32
304 kph
=
Prblanco
304 kph
Into turn 1 and we all try our best to avoid taking too much kerb. All of us take similar lines, with similar apex speeds, so Gildoorf takes a clear lead on the exit of turn 1, the rest of us really too close to call at this stage.
0:22 As we round turn 2, yes, that curve on the straight is classified as a turn, and under the bridge, Gildoorf extends his lead, travelling 6kph faster than Kerley who is in third place. I've just snuck into second.
0:25 As we choose our braking points carefully into turn 3, the sector one times are set:
1
Gildoorf
00:17.113
2
Fongu
00:17.337
3
KerleyF1
00:17.410
4
Carl_gpgames
00:17.510
5
Prblanco
00:17.527
6
32bobo32
00:17.531
With only one proper corner and straight line speed the only factors in the short first sector, it's no surprise that Gildoorf's setup has him in the lead whilst the whole pack is very close, particularly 4th to 6th places separated by 0.021 seconds.
Into turn 3, and Kerley and Prblanco run wide. It's possible to intentionally run a wide line through there if you can get a good exit out, but Kerley in particular just looks to have braked too late and lost time. Gildoorf, me and 32bobo32 seem to have taken turn 3 the best, and that's the order we exit the hairpin. Prblanco, Kerley are just a whisker ahead of Carl as we all race down to turn 4.
0:38 Turn 4 is downhill in the braking zone, so it's easy to brake too late and run wide. But it is a wide corner, offering different approaches. Gildoorf and I approach the turn in very similar ways, but I am able to get more steering lock on with the wheel, and I'm able to close in. Carl also uses the steering wheel advantage to bring himself into contention at the front of the midfield, but its 32bobo32 who leads this battle. It's all still very close though.
0:48 Turns 5 and 6 are where you need the downforce, but it also plays into the advantage of using a wheel where you can put on much more steering lock whilst maintaining your speed. I run too wide on the entry, which engages lots of steering input and neither Carl or I trouble the exit kerb. It means I don't lose anytime compared to Gildoorf in turn 5, and Carl takes third place. Kerley has a bit of a slide into turn 5, and drops a little behind Prblanco.
On the entry to turn 6 and it looks like I have taken the lead, I'm right on the limit of the white line in order to get a wide turn in. But Kerley has another wobble, this time at the exit of turn 7. You can use the kerb in turn 8 as we all cross over the timing beam for sector 2.
1
Fongu
00:30.754
2
Carl_gpgames
00:30.958
3
Gildoorf
00:31.012
4
32bobo32
00:31.018
5
Prblanco
00:31.195
6
KerleyF1
00:31.519
No suprises that it's the wheel users who top the sector times, with me just a bit ahead of Carl. Kerley's little mistake into turn 5 and turn 7/8 means he loses out a bit in this sector.
1
Fongu
00:48.091
2
Gildoorf
00:48.125
3
Carl_gpgames
00:48.468
4
32bobo32
00:48.549
5
Prblanco
00:48.722
6
KerleyF1
00:48.929
Adding the two sectors up and I've taken a slender lead from Gildoorf. Carl is just ahead of 32bobo32 with Prblanco and Kerley both not far behind.
1:05 It's a short lap as we approach the final two turns on the track, Gildoorf looking to use his straight line speed to close in on me. Lots of confidence required in turn 9, the dark green astroturf is there to be used and Gildoorf and I are the only ones to maximise it, within but close to the track limits. Carl is very hesitant, and 32bobo32 and Prblanco both take advantage through turn 9.
Similarly in turn 10 and you can really attack that and use all the exit, and it's Kerley who tops the apex speeds as he reels the midfield back in. Prblanco, in contrast, is by far the slowest, nearly 30kph slower at the apex. It does mean that Kerley runs wide at the exit turn 10 and has to correct it too.
1:18 Across the line on the shortest track of the year, let's look at the sector 3 times:
1
Fongu
00:21.224
2
Gildoorf
00:21.671
3
32bobo32
00:21.753
4
Carl_gpgames
00:21.931
5
KerleyF1
00:22.054
6
Prblanco
00:22.267
No real mistakes from me, taking full advantage of more aero and the steering wheel input to lead the field through this sector, with Gildoorf dropping four tenths through there. 32bobo32, who was only 0.006 slower than Gildoorf in S1, is within a tenth in S3 too. But it's Prblanco who brings up the rear of the field in this sector.
1
Fongu
01:09.315
2
Gildoorf
01:09.796
3
32bobo32
01:10.302
4
Carl_gpgames
01:10.399
5
KerleyF1
01:10.983
6
Prblanco
01:10.989
That massive advantage in the final sector means I take a huge win, with Gildoorf nearly half a secnod behind, and 32bobo32 a second behind me, in third. Gildoorf takes the keyboard honours in this round. 32bobo32 earns another podium, but it's incredibly close at the finish line between him and Carl. Even close are Kerley and Prblanco, just 0.006 between them at the line, both earning points finishes.
