F1 Thread

[Bucket]

On 7/26/2020 at 3:28 AM, mcbush said:

How/where do you guys watch F1? I'm not usually a huge car guy, but I'm interested in checking it out. Where do I start?

F1TV is pretty cheap for a month, maybe $10? It shows the entire weekend: both practices (FP1 & FP2) on Fridays;  FP3 and qualifying on Saturdays; Race on Sundays. It also has multiple viewing options... You can watch the official race coverage, individual driver in-car cameras, the lap & sector timing (really good for qualifying), the map view, and the pit-lane channel which is a combo of all the above. Best bang for your buck would be to start this week since there will be 3 races in 3 weeks starting this weekend! Good luck; I got addicted last year and now watch pretty much everything with multiple screens. Pretty cool for qualifying and the races. 

[brickhistory]

19 hours ago, GrndPndr said:

Lewis doesn't really know what his "kneeing" and "Black Power" symbols mean to those in the US outside of the cause.

One wonders if this wokeness at the circuit will just fade away?

The only color F1 (and all professional sports ((it's in the name)) cares about is green.*

And rightfully so.

 

 

 

*assuming the team accepts dollars.  If not, then it's whatever color the preferred currency is...

[brickhistory]

Racing Pont's driver Perez has the 'rona so he's out for the race this weekend.

And Racing Point doesn't have a dedicated reserve driver.

RUMINT is that Hulkenberg will get the drive since he's the most recent driver that's available.

But for him, or anyone who gets this drive, man, from 0 to 200 in a day in a strange car.  

[GrndPndr]

12 hours ago, brickhistory said:

Racing Pont's driver Perez has the 'rona so he's out for the race this weekend.

And Racing Point doesn't have a dedicated reserve driver.

RUMINT is that Hulkenberg will get the drive since he's the most recent driver that's available.

But for him, or anyone who gets this drive, man, from 0 to 200 in a day in a strange car.  

It will be interesting, but at least Hulkenberg has experience with F1:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/racing-point-waiting-hulkenberg-covid-test-result/4846714/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-22

[brickhistory]

Another boring race until the final lap.

As to Hamilton's "brilliance" on the last lap, I don't see it.  He won the race, as usual, in qualifying and in building up a massive lead.  

The tire armegeddon experienced by so many on that last lap could've just as easily taken him out.   Time and distance in front of Verstappen were his friends.  As was the Red Bull decision to go for fastest lap with a pit stop for fresh tires.  

Woulda/coulda/shoulda...once again Mercedes and Hamilton turned in a commanding performance.  Well (yawn) done.

[brickhistory]

Reasonably interesting race today.

[busdriver]

4 hours ago, brickhistory said:

Reasonably interesting race today.

You should be watching MotoGP instead.  Today's race was incredible.

[SurelySerious]

56 minutes ago, busdriver said:

You should be watching MotoGP instead.  Today's race was incredible.

I cannot explain the why, but motorcycle racing has no draw for me despite the time I will take to watch F1. 

[busdriver]

I cannot explain the why, but motorcycle racing has no draw for me despite the time I will take to watch F1. 

You're not alone, no one could rationally explain that position.

[SurelySerious]

4 hours ago, joe1234 said:

Idk why people come on the thread to whine about it being boring. This sport is what it is. If that doesn't float your boat, then idk maybe NASCAR is more where you belong.

NASCAR is dumb, but the “boring” that brick talks about is a legit critique because F1 has the potential for much more strategy implications if they a) forced the teams to use softer tires so that two stop was a more probable thing (like this weekend where you get an unlikely bold strategy to work), or b) had different rules with respect to the aerodynamics so the wake wasn’t so huge that it’s a nearly static sport because no one can get close enough to pass (or afford to research the car to compete). 
 

Even F1 has figured out they need changes because they’re too static during races and have one team who has won everything for like 8 years; that’s the whole force behind the rule changes.  It’s sometimes brilliant right now, but it has the potential to be much better. 
 

Or you could get on the thread just to nay-say whatever brick says, which is as boring as NASCAR. 

[brickhistory]

8 hours ago, SurelySerious said:

I cannot explain the why, but motorcycle racing has no draw for me despite the time I will take to watch F1. 

I have to agree.  I can appreciate the skill/guts it takes to ride, let alone race at insane speeds on two wheels, it just doesn't do it for me.

I like F1 due to the technology being demo'd at insane speeds.  But with four wheels, I can at least imagine I can relate.

But the absolute dominance by one constructor massively out-spending everyone else is a dual-edged sword.  Mercedes wins bigly because they are spending and performing so far in front of everyone else, so good on 'em.  Fans of everyone else get bored and choose to spend their money elsewhere which isn't good for the sport overall.  Hence, the new owners of F1 are going to change things up next year.

But for a "race," then Surely Serious' critiques above apply.

[17D_guy]

This weekend was the first time I got to watch a race in real time.  Very much enjoyed it.

[GrndPndr]

8 hours ago, 17D_guy said:

This weekend was the first time I got to watch a race in real time.  Very much enjoyed it.

We're you watching with F1 tv?

[17D_guy]

1 hour ago, GrndPndr said:

We're you watching with F1 tv?

Is this legal questioning?  You haven't read me my Article 31 rights, so I'm going to invoke the 5th Amendment. 

Also, I found a stream online.  Next week I think you can watch them free on Youtube if you're from certain countries.  Thankfully I have a VPN that makes it look like I'm from those countries.

[GrndPndr]

10 hours ago, 17D_guy said:

Is this legal questioning?  You haven't read me my Article 31 rights, so I'm going to invoke the 5th Amendment. 

Also, I found a stream online.  Next week I think you can watch them free on Youtube if you're from certain countries.  Thankfully I have a VPN that makes it look like I'm from those countries.

No harm intended (nor should you be apprehended (or apprehensive)).  I really was just curious, as I watch it live with that service.  It's hi res, and during the race at least, utilize the Sky commentary.  The pre and post shows are pretty lame though.  I wish I could get Sky, but I can only watch that a day later with a torrent.

[17D_guy]

Vettel seems very pissed off.  Interesting to see if they capture any of it on Netflix.

Hamilton broke some records...that's cool.  Track seemed way too small, but I'm new.

[brickhistory]

Meh.

Still, cool to spend a few hours watching fighters on fat tires go stupid fast.

[brickhistory]

On 8/16/2020 at 9:59 AM, 17D_guy said:

Track seemed way too small, but I'm new.

This struck a chord, but had to check to ensure before I wrote anything:

If you think the Spanish track was small, wait until you see the Monaco race happen, hopefully next year..  Cancelled this year due to 'rona, it is amazing to me that they still conduct a Gran Prix in the absurdly narrow lanes and tight corners with the current wide cars.

Although the race itself tends to be boring, IMO, another cars in single file parade since there's almost nowhere to pass, the mere challenge of the course is neat to watch as there's literally inches on some corners for the drivers to get to the apex of a corner and make the next one.  Mistakes are common here.  That there aren't more is a testament to the precision these guys bring while go amazingly fast.

Qualifying is usually the best part due to the need for good starting position because of above reasons.  But that's also where the mistakes usually happen as well.

 

Edited to add:  Not to mention the course runs along the harbor so the number of gazillionaire yachts and accompanying world class honeys on display is pretty James Bond-cool.

Edited August 17, 2020 by brickhistory

[busdriver]

Not sure if it's still a requirement, but years ago the teams would run a different steering rack for Monaco.  The normal one didn't have enough angle to make some of the turns.

Some of the best video of that track is old school Senna qualifying.

[SurelySerious]

1 minute ago, joe1234 said:

Here's why it's not a legit critique; runs of dominance have been part of this sport for a while now. I'm sure people would talk about how boring Schumacher and Ferrari were during their dominant years. I remember people talking about Seb and Redbull being boring, too. If that is a dealbreaker, then like I said, this is not the sport for you. Formula 2 uses spec cars, so does IndyCar. Try them, maybe. And it's fine to think it's boring, but we don't need to rehash that fact every single week. It's like complaining about people shooting too many 3's in the NBA. Complaint noted, let's move on.

And I'm not here to naysay brick, but we do have a lot of disagreements. If that bores you, then I'm sure you'll keep with tradition by complaining and then watching it anyway.

Nah, Merc is factually boring. The midfield is fun. Get over it brah. 

[SurelySerious]

Nah, just messing with you at that point. Even with Merc it’s interesting when Bottas is on vs inconsistent. And the driver variability is super interesting at Red Bull, although some of Albon’s confidence was probably destroyed both time he was top five and got bounced by Hamilton. I’ve enjoyed the McLaren/Renault/pink Merc. 

[mp5g]

1 hour ago, busdriver said:

Not sure if it's still a requirement, but years ago the teams would run a different steering rack for Monaco.  The normal one didn't have enough angle to make some of the turns.

Some of the best video of that track is old school Senna qualifying.

It’s a few years old, but I finally got around to watching the Senna documentary on Netflix (I believe?) and it was well worth the 2 hours of runtime. Good insight into the transition that F1 went through during the late 80’s, early 90’s. 
 

[17D_guy]

9 hours ago, brickhistory said:

If you think the Spanish track was small, wait until you see the Monaco race happen, hopefully next year..  Cancelled this year due to 'rona, it is amazing to me that they still conduct a Gran Prix in the absurdly narrow lanes and tight corners with the current wide cars.

Saw this on the Netflix show.  It was insane, but figured it was in for nostalgia/tradition sake.  Wasn't picking up the same vibes from this track.

[17D_guy]

2 hours ago, mp5g said:

It’s a few years old, but I finally got around to watching the Senna documentary on Netflix (I believe?) and it was well worth the 2 hours of runtime. Good insight into the transition that F1 went through during the late 80’s, early 90’s. 
 

Watched this with my daughter. Both loved it.

[brickhistory]

Did not know about the different steering rack for Monaco.  Makes sense, however.

As to "legit"critiques of the sport, I failed to get the memo that anyone else was responsible for my opinion.  Nice gig providing an approved viewpoint for everyone if you can get it, I guess.

And my view must be so outlandish that Liberty, you know the new-ish owners of F1, have determined that to keep the sport healthy and competitive, thus profitable, that the massive spending by one, maybe two teams, and the rest there for pretty show, isn't sustainable.  Thus the new regs and spending caps forthcoming.