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Post by Carl on Oct 20, 2018 21:22:27 GMT
I guess NASCAR has always been another world but it used to be better than what it is now. Can still remember seeing the first NASCAR races on Eurosport in the 90s and they were quite spectacular at times. Not on the same level as F1 or Indycar, by far, but I still enjoyed watching the occasional race. Not anymore. The article about Brian France is interesting to say the least. Rene, When I first became interested in motorsport, there wasn't much to choose from on television so I would often watch the Daytona 500 when stock car racing seemed less controlled and more honest. When Richard Petty and David Pearson collided approaching the checkered flag in 1976, Pearson recovering first to win, the excitement was almost too much for expert commentator John Young Stewart!
David Pearson and Bobby Allison were my favorite stock car drivers because both were also outstanding road racers. As great as he was on circle tracks, Richard Petty never understood road racing.
Forza Raikkonen this weekend in Austin! Cheers, Carl
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2018 21:38:09 GMT
As others have said, Ferrari (well Vettel) keep making unnecessary errors. The grid place penalty for slowing insufficiently quickly on the red flags is another small error, with big consequences. Initially I thought it was a trivial 'offence', but now I hear there were 17 other cars on track, who all managed to slow quickly enough. It's great to see that the Ferrari car is at least competitive on pace in FP3 and (so far) in qualifying.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2018 21:54:11 GMT
It is looking like the claims that the latest Honda p.u version is ahead of the Renault p.u are a bit premature. Red Bull are still off the pace of the Mercedes and Ferrari, but Renault are comfortably ahead of Toro Rosso. And McLaren and Williams don't seem to have been able to develop their way off the back of the grid so far this season. You have to wonder what is going on in their engineering teams, and if they are capable of coming back next season, or at least getting off the back of the field.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2018 22:18:51 GMT
Hamilton with another great qualifying session, mere 100th's ahead of both Ferrari, but a strong margin up on Bottas. It looks like the race at the front is going to be tight, it should all be down to tyres and strategy. I hope it won't be down to errors or contact. Further back, Will Verstappen finish ahead of Ricciardo? Or will his nemesis Ver-crash-en make an appearance? Or more positively, on race pace, can Ricciardo get in the fight with the top four? Class B is so competitive, six teams and twelve cars are all in close in pace, that should make for some good racing, on this track.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2018 22:29:39 GMT
Have you seen Gene Haas's comments about his Team's chances of being competitive at the front of F1? www.grandprix247.com/2018/10/19/gene-haas-we-are-racing-formula-1-5/I find it very difficult to imagine that he didn't know about the financial divide in F1 before he entered. So I wonder what is the context and point of his remarks? Is he preparing a path for getting out?
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Post by mikael on Oct 21, 2018 14:17:40 GMT
Regarding the now dominant Mercedes F1 team, it's interesting to think about that this was once Brawn GP, which once was the Honda Racing F1 team, which once was British American Racing (BAR), which once was the renowned Tyrrell Racing Organisation.
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Post by Carl on Oct 21, 2018 16:15:12 GMT
Have you seen Gene Haas's comments about his Team's chances of being competitive at the front of F1? www.grandprix247.com/2018/10/19/gene-haas-we-are-racing-formula-1-5/I find it very difficult to imagine that he didn't know about the financial divide in F1 before he entered. So I wonder what is the context and point of his remarks? Is he preparing a path for getting out? He's more likely lobbying for cost containment by indirectly implying that possibility.
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Post by charleselan on Oct 21, 2018 16:56:11 GMT
Following last evenings transmission by UK C4 a number of interesting matters being raised.
(1) An interview with Claire Williams illustrated her discord with regard to the state of teams being aligned with the majors. She mentioned that all teams should be fighting each other as individual entities and not some running as secondary teams to the likes of MB; Ferrari and Red Bull. Also the unequal distribution of wealth within F1 which acts as another inequality.
Also mentioned was the distinct possibility that Esteban Ocon would be in the other car to George Russell; so who therefore is funding that move? It has to be MB and its sponsors, and if so would make Ms Williams something of a hypercrite. Should we take this as accurate then it also must be assumed that MB are putting their eggs in the Williams basket rather than Forced Stroll, nothing to disagree with here as the comparative driver strengths of each team speaks for itself, Williams just have to design and build a half decent car.
(2) Jordan excelled himself with his hyperbole during the program, saying that in his opinion no driver he has ever seen race could have beaten Lewis Hamilton this year. Some statement even from that comedy act; somewhat pandering to the Hamilton fans and hugely disrespectful to the greats of the past.
(3) With regard to Jim's point about the comparative performance of Honda and Renault; i don't believe that final qualification or more accurately Q2 was an ideal comparison as Toro Rosso didn't really try to go for a fast time in Q2 due to grid penalties. Just check to see where Pierre Gasly was in Q1 and FP3.
(4) Sebastian Vettel's mistakes. Far too many happening particularly from a four time World Champion, even considering the amount of pressure on the guy. Sebastian's fallibility is a worry for the future; any ideas about Teflonso doing a better job from some quarters are wishful thinking as he would have "thrown the team under the bus" as soon as things went pear shaped.
(5) Seven thousands of a second off pole, not bad for an old boy celebrating his 39th birthday.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2018 21:08:33 GMT
Regarding the now dominant Mercedes F1 team, it's interesting to think about that this was once Brawn GP, which once was the Honda Racing F1 team, which once was British American Racing (BAR), which once was the renowned Tyrrell Racing Organisation. That Brackley factory has certainly had a long history of F1 engineering, and some spectacular periods of success. I wonder what are the consistent factors that have lead to that? You sometimes hear the former drivers on commentary teams talking about seeing familiar faces from their racing eras in the teams and factories. I'm guessing must be some people with phenomenal skills and experience at the heart of the facilities where the teams are based.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2018 21:17:45 GMT
Well that was quite an enthralling race, wasn't it? Great move from Raikonnen to get the lead, and then uncharacteristically good strategy from Ferrari to help him stay there. Vettel really can't catch a break, another light front wheel contact leads to another spin. Maybe he should / could have avoided the contact, but it seems the Ferrari reacts differently to other cars to front wheel contact. It lead to another impressive recovery drive, and a great pass on Bottas to secure fourth, but where could he have finished without the Ricciardo incident?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2018 21:28:10 GMT
(3) With regard to Jim's point about the comparative performance of Honda and Renault; i don't believe that final qualification or more accurately Q2 was an ideal comparison as Toro Rosso didn't really try to go for a fast time in Q2 due to grid penalties. Just check to see where Pierre Gasly was in Q1 and FP3. Taking this race (and Suzuka) as a comparison, I think the Honda p.u is not yet on a par with the Renault, I don't think the (Team) Renault chassis is more than a second a lap quicker than the Toro Rosso. However, good for Hartley, getting a bit fiesty with Toro Rosso, and out-racing Gasley in this part of the season. It probably won't keep him in a seat for next season, but at least he's showing what he can do.
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Post by Carl on Oct 21, 2018 21:48:33 GMT
Following last evenings transmission by UK C4 a number of interesting matters being raised. (1) An interview with Claire Williams illustrated her discord with regard to the state of teams being aligned with the majors. She mentioned that all teams should be fighting each other as individual entities and not some running as secondary teams to the likes of MB; Ferrari and Red Bull. Also the unequal distribution of wealth within F1 which acts as another inequality. Also mentioned was the distinct possibility that Esteban Ocon would be in the other car to George Russell; so who therefore is funding that move? It has to be MB and its sponsors, and if so would make Ms Williams something of a hypercrite. Should we take this as accurate then it also must be assumed that MB are putting their eggs in the Williams basket rather than Forced Stroll, nothing to disagree with here as the comparative driver strengths of each team speaks for itself, Williams just have to design and build a half decent car. (2) Jordan excelled himself with his hyperbole during the program, saying that in his opinion no driver he has ever seen race could have beaten Lewis Hamilton this year. Some statement even from that comedy act; somewhat pandering to the Hamilton fans and hugely disrespectful to the greats of the past. (3) With regard to Jim's point about the comparative performance of Honda and Renault; i don't believe that final qualification or more accurately Q2 was an ideal comparison as Toro Rosso didn't really try to go for a fast time in Q2 due to grid penalties. Just check to see where Pierre Gasly was in Q1 and FP3. (4) Sebastian Vettel's mistakes. Far too many happening particularly from a four time World Champion, even considering the amount of pressure on the guy. Sebastian's fallibility is a worry for the future; any ideas about Teflonso doing a better job from some quarters are wishful thinking as he would have "thrown the team under the bus" as soon as things went pear shaped. (5) Seven thousands of a second off pole, not bad for an old boy celebrating his 39th birthday. John Charles, A few comments regarding your brilliant analysis...
1) Claire Williams desperately needs something (Mercedes money) or someone ( !! ) to bring a smile to her face, but instead wastes time with Eddie Jordan.
"Forced Stroll" is a masterful designation.
5) The curmudgeonly Raikkonen will win again after tasting corse sangue rosso
Cheers, Carl
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Post by Carl on Oct 21, 2018 22:25:15 GMT
Even though the early focus on tyre strategy threatened to become oppressive, the wonderful confluence of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes over the final laps was great racing!
Poor Daniel Ricciardo could have been in that mix. I hope he leaves all bad luck behind next year.
Once again, Sebastian Vettel drove brilliantly after trying too hard in the early laps.
The short duel between Hamilton and Verstappen was like a breath of fresh air to jaded race fans. Both made mistakes, both drove brilliantly.
The Japanese model for fan enthusiasm is greatly reduced but still carries over to Austin. My favorites were a young couple, he in Mad Hatter top hat, both brandishing inflatable hammers, both waving Union Jacks and never sitting down. At some point they apparently changed seats with the people originally behind them to avoid a sight line dispute. It should be hammer time next week.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2018 23:42:02 GMT
Even though the early focus on tyre strategy threatened to become oppressive, the wonderful confluence of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes over the final laps was great racing! Poor Daniel Ricciardo could have been in that mix. I hope he leaves all bad luck behind next year. Once again, Sebastian Vettel drove brilliantly after trying too hard in the early laps. The short duel between Hamilton and Verstappen was like a breath of fresh air to jaded race fans. Both made mistakes, both drove brilliantly. The Japanese model for fan enthusiasm is greatly reduced but still carries over to Austin. My favorites were a young couple, he in Mad Hatter top hat, both brandishing inflatable hammers, both waving Union Jacks and never sitting down. At some point they apparently changed seats with the people originally behind them to avoid a sight line dispute. It should be hammer time next week. That was quite cool how the different strategies and responses brought such a close run to the finish amongst the top 5, and for the 6th to 10th places (wish the TV coverage could have picked some of that up). I agree Vettel's recovery drives are brilliant, but I do wish he'd stop making them necessary. Perhaps he needs to have a chat with Grosjean's psychologist (or whoever calmed Ver-crash-en down). A championship where Vettel, Hamilton, and Verstappen race at their best throughout would be something to see. I also enjoyed the Hamilton/Verstappen dual, very skillful driving from both. Though I wonder if the Hamilton fans will be as harsh on Hamiltons error of running wide onto the marbles as they are on anything Vettel does. I also enjoyed Vettel's pass on Bottas, Vettel pressured Bottas into the mistake, and kept out of his way to be able to take advantage, nice.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2018 2:56:50 GMT
Well done to the racer who picked Raikonnen as the race winner, good call :-)
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