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Post by René on Dec 9, 2023 11:29:45 GMT
The racing season is over, the prizes have been awarded and I have taken some time off from the forum in recent weeks!  It was a long season, too long and I don't think we witnessed an epic season, either in Formula 1, IndyCar or MotoGP or the WEC sports cars. But of course there were fantastic moments and races last season, in all classes. My personal highlights are somewhat Ferrari related! The most memorable moment for me was Ferrari's victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. To return to the highest level of the endurance championship after 50 years and win the most iconic race was simply fantastic. Goosebumps. And I also got that during my visit to the Spa 6 hours, when I could admire the 499P in real life.  In Formula 1, Carlos Sainz's victory in Singapore was also great. In an unprecedented dominant season for Red Bull, this was a very welcome change. It was a brilliant victory and also the most exciting race of the year. Charles Leclerc's many pole positions were also impressive. It's just a shame he couldn't convert that into victories. Furthermore, the performances of Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson stood out this season. Piastri could be a future champ and Lawson certainly deserves another chance.  In IndyCar, Alex Palou has once again shown that he is a great driver and once again a deserved winner of the championship. It's just a shame that he appears to have just as much talent for regularly getting himself into legal conflicts. I think he is really good enough for Formula 1, but that is (probably) not going to happen. I see this happening more for Patricio O'Ward who is now also an official McLaren F1 reserve driver. He is also very good and a fantastic personality. Josef Newgarden's victory in the Indy 500 was also great by the way. Really enjoyed that.  I have not followed MotoGP intensively, but what I remember from this season, even more than Bagnaia's second title, was Johann Zarco's victory in Australia. This is because John Charles was such a fan of his, but Zarco was gradually starting to look like the Chris Amon of MotoGP, as JC put it. Fortunately, Johann managed to break this with his win on Philip Island. John Charles would have been very happy with this!  There are of course more highlights, but these stood out for me. I'm curious what you guys remember most.  |
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Post by chrisb on Dec 10, 2023 19:39:17 GMT
Great post Rene and one that does reflect well after what was a rather poor year
F1 was just farcical and so disappointing that it was hardly worth bothering
i loved the concept and impending competition of WEC and it did live up to the expectations of hope, the major disappointment to me was that there wasn’t a race in the UK so annoying
MotoGP introduced sprint races and I am struggling to remember a race that was a full grid with one or more riders being injured, the sooner they stop the sprint races the better, John and I were both fans of both Fabio and Johan, vive la France and it was a relief to hear the Italian national anthem at race end. Yet MotoGP is going in a very negative direction, copying F1 with its aerodynamic and rider aids and increasing the number of rounds and races, I fear for the future and of course every race was dominated by Ducati
similar story in WSB where a lightweight rider on a Ducati dominated
John and I’s favourite series was the BSB and although not as dominant yet again Ducati were champions
here’s to 2024!!
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Post by Carl on Dec 10, 2023 23:13:30 GMT
To race, or not to race, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
by focusing on corporate fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and race, perchance to win- ay, there's the rub 
The essential contest is between drivers only intermittently, more often directed by team principals and strategists, often with a nod to the needs of Pirelli. The drivers are aware and complain once in a while about the dullness of team strategy. George Russell has several times asked his controllers what strategy will allow him to win and was never given one. That says it all! Neither Plan A nor Plan B allows real competition between drivers. It's engineers and algorithms that decide how to proceed, often, as stated earlier, with a nod to corporate fortune. No wonder the prope ad cadaver Rupert and callous son Lachlan have a certified moron in the broadcast booth. A competent professional would denounce the state of top level racing and quit.
Indycar is somewhat better because it allows more competition between drivers, but there's no escape from idiotic announcers. I would pay to see Leigh Diffey and David Croft confined in an elevator. In less than two hours, the oxygen would be depleted, replaced as they wrestle for supremacy by foul intestinal gases, and the problem solved.
A real confederacy of dunces
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Post by mikael on Dec 11, 2023 15:56:46 GMT
I fully agree on your verdict, Carl. If I were asked, I would say that the biggest mistake F1 ever made was to introduce radio communication with the drivers. I still cannot comprehend what good it has done the sport, and how anyone could get the idea that the racing will be more interesting if the drivers are freed from doing any strategic thinking, leaving that to a whole battalion of strategists at each team instead.
One good thing - apart from many others, of course - of watching a race live, is that one can forget about those dreadful advisory teams and imagine that it's just driver against driver, like it used to be ...
Mercedes F1 mission control centre. Had it not been for the T-shirts, it could easily be mistaken for being at NASA ...
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Post by René on Dec 11, 2023 18:58:27 GMT
i loved the concept and impending competition of WEC and it did live up to the expectations of hope, the major disappointment to me was that there wasn’t a race in the UK so annoying Agreed Chris, it’s strange there’s no race in the UK. It would be a sell out for sure. And also for 2024, there’s no UK race on the calendar unfortunately…  |
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Post by René on Dec 11, 2023 19:04:48 GMT
To race, or not to race, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
by focusing on corporate fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and race, perchance to win- ay, there's the rub - most words shamelessly purloined
The essential contest is between drivers only intermittently, more often directed by team principals and strategists, often with a nod to the needs of Pirelli. The drivers are aware and complain once in a while about the dullness of team strategy. George Russell has several times asked his controllers what strategy will allow him to win and was never given one. That says it all! Neither Plan A nor Plan B allows real competition between drivers. It's engineers and algorithms that decide how to proceed, often, as stated earlier, with a nod to corporate fortune. No wonder the prope ad cadaver Rupert and callous son Lachlan have a certified moron in the broadcast booth. A competent professional would denounce the state of top level racing and quit.
Indycar is somewhat better because it allows more competition between drivers, but there's no escape from idiotic announcers. I would pay to see Leigh Diffey and David Croft confined in an elevator. In less than two hours, the oxygen would be depleted, replaced by foul intestinal gases as they wrestled for supremacy, and the problem solved. A real confederacy of dunces
Very much agree Carl. All we want is racing, simple and straightforward racing. Nothing more and nothing less. The fans want that, the drivers want that but somehow the people in charge have no idea how to accomplish that. They must be dumb and incompetent I guess… The elevator idea sounds like fun. Live coverage I may hope. |
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Post by René on Dec 11, 2023 19:05:59 GMT
I fully agree on your verdict, Carl. If I were asked, I would say that the biggest mistake F1 ever made was to introduce radio communication with the drivers. I still cannot comprehend what good it has done the sport, and how anyone could get the idea that the racing will be more interesting if the drivers are freed from doing any strategic thinking, leaving that to a whole battalion of strategists at each team instead.
One good thing - apart from many others, of course - of watching a race live, is that one can forget about those dreadful advisory teams and imagine that it's just driver against driver, like it used to be ... Mercedes F1 mission control centre. Had it not been for the T-shirts, it could easily be mistaken for being at NASA ...
Looking at the cars on screen, this is probably almost 10 years ago! It will be even worse now. |
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Post by Carl on Dec 11, 2023 20:11:08 GMT
Very much agree Carl. All we want is racing, simple and straightforward racing. Nothing more and nothing less. The fans want that, the drivers want that but somehow the people in charge have no idea how to accomplish that. They must be dumb and incompetent I guess… The elevator idea sounds like fun. Live coverage I may hope. A remote camera would be best. When the elevator doors open, the escaping flatulence may be toxic.  |
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Post by mikael on Dec 12, 2023 16:09:43 GMT
As to the topic of radio communication and "remote strategic thinking", I believe drivers like Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen experienced the transition from basically zero to too much radio communication (although rudimentary radio contact goes back much longer).
I imagine also that those two drivers would not, by any means, accept any advice regarding their driving and their race strategy. In particular, I imagine that Michael S. would be furious if he was told to go faster or to go slower; and that he - at best - would ignore it completely.
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Post by René on Dec 13, 2023 18:01:52 GMT
In particular, I imagine that Michael S. would be furious if he was told to go faster or to go slower; and that he - at best - would ignore it completely.
Going faster was never an issue for Schumi.  But there certainly was already race strategy and tech talk during the race or practice. Ross Brawn and Michael talked quite a lot during a race. Ross said many times how impressed he was with Michael for having so much 'free space' in his head to talk and think while going 300km/h. |
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Post by mikael on Dec 13, 2023 19:54:32 GMT
Very interesting facts, René, about Schumacher's use of the radio, and also about the use of radio in the pits around 1990. I was really not aware of these facts. (There have been several years where I have had a break from following F1, so to say, at any rate, from following it closely. During the ten years 1986 - 1996, I did, in fact, not follow it so closely.) Best,
M.
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Post by René on Dec 13, 2023 22:09:26 GMT
Very interesting facts, René, about Schumacher's use of the radio, and also about the use of radio in the pits around 1990. I was really not aware of these facts. (There have been several years where I have had a break from following F1, so to say, at any rate, from following it closely. During the ten years 1986 - 1996, I did, in fact, not follow it so closely.) Best,
M.
No problem of course Mikael, and I don't know everything either but I do remember those Schumacher years very well. And communication via headphones in the pits has existed since the 1970s by the way (not wireless of course ).  |
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Post by René on Dec 28, 2023 12:01:57 GMT
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Post by mikael on Dec 29, 2023 10:53:50 GMT
Atmosphere in the Main Grandstand by the Abu Dhabi GP 2023, at lap 57 (of 58)!?  |
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Post by René on Dec 29, 2023 15:46:51 GMT
Atmosphere in the Main Grandstand by the Abu Dhabi GP 2023, at lap 57 (of 58)!?  |
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