Formula One Fans?

[Patriot36]

Does anyone here have an interest in Formula One racing? I've been following it for 20+ years and I really enjoy the sport.

[Rudi]

Having been raised in the land of 5 time world champion Fangio, I've been following F1 closely since the days of Jimmy Clark. Sad to see it severely restricted by ever tightening technical rules and nonsensical sporting regulations.

Sorry that I'll be gone for a week and won't be able to follow this thread for a while.

[Thujone]

I too am a fan, not sure I agree with all of the impeding of technology. It should not only be the best drivers but also the best machines we can build. I do not understand the handicapping and tight restrictions on new aero designs.

[Pumaman]

LOVE World Rally Championship racing and have just started watching F1. australia was quite interesting, malaysia less so.
check out racing-underground.com for teriffic torrents for those without tv coverage(no WRC in US).

[DCarlton]

I am indeed a fan of F1.

I do not follow other sports but always glad when the F1 season starts again.
Unfortunatly there is no race in the US this year but there will be one in Montreal - Canada on the 08 June 2008.

F1 is not the most exciting of sports as some circuits have very few overtaking areas, but each race is tactical and entertaining to watch anyhow.

Sebastien Bourdais of the Champ Car World Series is joining Formula one this year so look out for him he used to race in the US. I hope Lewis H will get the championship this year he did a brilliant job on his debut season to come 2nd overall.

I believe some of the rules are introduced so the teams with the most $$$ can not win race after race in the mose aerodynamically perfect machine they have spent multi mililons of $$$ testing in a wind tunnel. Gives teams with a tighter budget a chance of meeting the required minium lap time to be allowed to takepart on race day.

Dan

[Patriot36]

Well, for those who don't know yet, Kubica and BMW qualified P1 in Bahrain this morning. He's probably low on fuel, but it's stacked up to be an interesting race. Tires and brakes will be a huge issue at this track. I'm pulling for Ferrari an hope they've got a good race set-up. Massa claimed that he was messed up by traffic during qualifying. He was quickest in practice yesterday.

Speed TV is re broadcasting qualifying late tonight or early morning depending where you're at.

[Col. Light]

Became a fan in the mid 90's, unfortunately the Australian F1GP round moved from Adelaide where I live to Melbourne, although I've seen it in both places.

I only casually follow the seasons at the moment, a shame Mark Webber sabotaged his career early on by going with Williams when he could ridden with Renault.

Good to see F1 has followers in the US, I was worried it was Indycar-only territory. I've seen some CHAMP car rounds on TV, although I've learned that's the less successful division.

The World Rally Championship is interesting viewing although there coverage is less regular than F1. Playing Colin McRae rally gives you an appreciation of the concentration levels required of the drivers.

[Thujone]

I was worried it was Indycar-only territory. I've seen some CHAMP car rounds on TV, although I've learned that's the less successful division.

They are now one in the same, merged earlier this year. I am going to the IRL race in KC in a few weeks, also have pit passes Hoping to get some great pictures!

[Patriot36]

Good to see F1 has followers in the US, I was worried it was Indycar-only territory. I've seen some CHAMP car rounds on TV, although I've learned that's the less successful division.

If the US is known for any kind of racing ....these days it would be Nascar. Open wheel racing is not very popular in the US and it's sad actually. Formula One is a chess game played out and it seems the most Americans just don't have the appetite for it. Part of the problem is the networks and the other problem is that F1 isn't explained very well so people don't understand it.

It turned out to be an interesting race and I was hoping that Massa would win. He had such a rough start to his season and hopefully this will be the boost he needed. I enjoyed it!

[greenstuffs]

If the US is known for any kind of racing ....these days it would be Nascar. Open wheel racing is not very popular in the US and it's sad actually. Formula One is a chess game played out and it seems the most Americans just don't have the appetite for it. Part of the problem is the networks and the other problem is that F1 isn't explained very well so people don't understand it.

It turned out to be an interesting race and I was hoping that Massa would win. He had such a rough start to his season and hopefully this will be the boost he needed. I enjoyed it!

F1 these days have become on whose got the best car type of competition. Nothing much to see during the race, it only gets exciting when the cars go to the pit lane that is when someone has a chance to overtake the one in front of you.

This yr Alonso has gone to the mid low grid, May not be hamiltons yr, Ferrari have a lot of chances again.

[Rudi]

Nice Avatar, Greenstuffs -- Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina), nick-named "el chueco" (the crooked one) on account of his bow-legs. Five times World Champion: 1951 (at age 40!), '54, '55, '56 and '57, in four different teams/cars: Alfa, Masseratti, Mercedes, and Ferrari. After a half century (even after Senna and after Schumacher) he still remains way ahead in wins-per-start (47%), poles-per-start (53%), championships per season raced, and many other categories. Nice avatar.

[Bimmerboy]

Nice Avatar, Greenstuffs -- Juan Manuel Fangio

+1 Very cool.

There's definitely been an increased awareness of F1 here over the last 10 years, which has been great. My Dad and I were at Indy for the '04 season (which ended in a Michael/Rubens/Ferrari 1 - 2 ), and turnout was pretty high! Been good to see a major broadcast network pick up a number of races over the last couple years as well (although the commentators suck!... lol).

Sadly though, Ecclestone's decision to charge Indy Motor Speedway an extra 30,000,000 dollars (IIRC), effectively killing F1 in the U.S., isn't helping. I'm still upset about that, as there's no opportunity to go again.

It was cool when I was little... I remember seeing this stuff on regular TV, and being completely fascinated by these machines, and their speed. It left a most definite impression.

[Patriot36]

+1 Very cool.

There's definitely been an increased awareness of F1 here over the last 10 years, which has been great. My Dad and I were at Indy for the '04 season (which ended in a Michael/Rubens/Ferrari 1 - 2 ), and turnout was pretty high! Been good to see a major broadcast network pick up a number of races over the last couple years as well (although the commentators suck!... lol).

Sadly though, Ecclestone's decision to charge Indy Motor Speedway an extra 30,000,000 dollars (IIRC), effectively killing F1 in the U.S., isn't helping. I'm still upset about that, as there's no opportunity to go again.

It was cool when I was little... I remember seeing this stuff on regular TV, and being completely fascinated by these machines, and their speed. It left a most definite impression.

I was there in 04 also. It was quite the spectacle.

I think Bernie and Max are two of F1's biggest obstacles to making the sport even better. The performance of these cars is even astounding to me as an adult. I guess we've got a 3 week break between races this time....

[Patriot36]

F1 these days have become on whose got the best car type of competition. Nothing much to see during the race, it only gets exciting when the cars go to the pit lane that is when someone has a chance to overtake the one in front of you.

Well, it's not a spec series of racing so the best cars are often going to win. Nothing new there. Even in the 50s and 60s the best cars won unless the driver made a big mistake or they had mechanicals. Even the grid times were more separated back then than they are now, so I know that there were large performance differences between cars. With the ever increasing reliability in F1 the top cars don't break down that often and therefore we see their drivers on the podium more often. My other thought is that sometimes certain drivers take a car that's not the best and do very well. I saw that from Micheal most of his career with Benetton and also during the years that Ferrari struggled so badly.

As long a down force is a major ingredient in F1 passing is always going to be difficult. But there is passing in F1 obviously...it's just not we see in NASCAR or CART. The rain races are another exception and are often intensely exciting.

What do you think?

[ViReN]

I m a big fan of F1, Been following since 1991 ... very few races missed... (on TV of Course) .... Enjoyed each year when Shumi became the world champ... Saw him take over Senna in early days.. Benetton... and wished he had won Champ... his last season... too bad Alanso took it away by hook/crook.

I still am a Fan of F1. and love watching Races... Hope to visit Live Race... sometime in near future...

[Patriot36]

I m a big fan of F1, Been following since 1991 ... very few races missed... (on TV of Course) .... Enjoyed each year when Shumi became the world champ... Saw him take over Senna in early days.. Benetton... and wished he had won Champ... his last season... too bad Alanso took it away by hook/crook.

I still am a Fan of F1. and love watching Races... Hope to visit Live Race... sometime in near future...

You sound like me talking about Shumi...lol. I enjoyed watching is whole career and miss watch him drive. I'm not a fan of Alonso and all and wished Micheal had taken it his last year in the sport. He built up Ferrari to what it is today. They were always 2nd or 3rd best over the years until he worked with that team so hard and for son long. I'm still not used to F1 without him in there.

[Phil_B]

Speaking as a Brit, which is where most of the cars are made, I'm really pleased to hear the US is waking to the spectacle of F1.
Yes, it can be a chore when it just seems no-one wants to overtake, or a "tactical" race where the overtake is in the pit lane, but overall, what an amazing display of tallent.
The reduction in driver aids is a great step forward, not backward, and adds to the drama. No more traction control, auto start , braking assistance etc.
If you weigh up the skills fron using 800 bhp through a hot clutch the size of a fist, braking with 50 yards to go from 200 to 50 mph, putting 800 bhp on the ground when still turning and the inside wheel is light.
These changes are primarily to give some form of parity to the teams, and as correctly pointed out above in another post, to make sure the best budget doesn't neccessarily win.

I'm always astonished that the more you learn of the cars the more you don't realise. ie, the aero package is so good, that when braking at the max, as the speed reduces, so must the pressure on the pedal, as the grip for braking reduces with airspeed. All this is calculated, against available traction/tyre wear/fuel weight in an instant BY THE DRIVER whilst steering and looking in the mirrors for Messrs Hamilton et al.


We brits find it hard to understand the popularity of oval racing.
Perhaps someone would try and sell it to me??? (opens can of worms!)

[Bimmerboy]

I was there in 04 also. It was quite the spectacle.

Hey, Stickers!

Brothers in photons, brothers in rwhp... ... lol.

BTW, not sure if Schumi is your personal fav, but he is mine!

Remember when he got stuck in 4th gear (back with Benetton) and still came in 2nd? Or, one race in his earlier Ferrari days when team orders were he had to make up something like 13 seconds in 11 laps in order to win, and simply did it? Freakin' amazing.

I think Bernie and Max are two of F1's biggest obstacles to making the sport even better.

Very politically correct answer?... that's a large subject, but I think they hurt as much, or even more than they help.

The performance of these cars is even astounding to me as an adult.

Hehe... how could they not? Even a mid-60's F1 machine would make one soil one's trousers. Even with all the restrictions/regulations, and all that entails (trying to make up for it with slick aero, etc.) they're by far the overall (combined acceleration, top speed, cornering, braking) most extreme land based vehicles. Just watching watching them change direction through a corner is mesmerizing, much less a full lap. A true tribute to the heights of human ability in engineering, and driving skill.

[Patriot36]

Hey, Stickers!

Brothers in photons, brothers in rwhp... ... lol.

BTW, not sure if Schumi is your personal fav, but he is mine!

Remember when he got stuck in 4th gear (back with Benetton) and still came in 2nd? Or, one race in his earlier Ferrari days when team orders were he had to make up something like 13 seconds in 11 laps in order to win, and simply did it? Freakin' amazing.



Very politically correct answer?... that's a large subject, but I think they hurt as much, or even more than they help.



Hehe... how could they not? Even a mid-60's F1 machine would make one soil one's trousers. Even with all the restrictions/regulations, and all that entails (trying to make up for it with slick aero, etc.) they're by far the overall (combined acceleration, top speed, cornering, braking) most extreme land based vehicles. Just watching watching them change direction through a corner is mesmerizing, much less a full lap. A true tribute to the heights of human ability in engineering, and driving skill.

I"m laughing my tail off at the "hey, Stickers!" comment. That's pretty darn funny to me. Yeah...I'm a fan of the movie and I've seen it too many times. What's funny is that my girl friend calls me Stickers too.

Yes Schumi is my all time favorite and I've seen more unbelievable driving from him over the years than any driver ..... including Prost and Senna. I remember all those moments that you mentioned and I believe I even have them on VHS tape...lol

With regards to the Max and Bernie comment....if you check me statement again you'll see that it was a negative statement. I don't support them at all and I think they've done some really stupid things that have limited F1 popularity in the states. Plus, I read a lot of insider information and these guys are not nice folks at all. If they left tomorrow it would be soon enough for me...

I love those fast sweeping tracks and high downforce corners. The left-rights at Maylasia, the sweepers at Silverstone, Eau Rouge at Spa and many others. It's truly and extraordinary thing to watch. Phil_B made a good point about the caliber of drivers in this sport. They're a rare breed and have to be well rounded. They're highly skilled, very intelligent and in great physical shape. Most have been in karts since they were old enough to throw a rock..lol.

I guess we're in a three week break right now huh? It's almost as bad as waiting for a new flashlight.

[greenstuffs]

Predictions for this Year's WDC and WCC, I vote for Kimi and Ferrari. Don't see hamy winning this yr because he is still very inexperienced and talks too much. BMW may give a run to Macca . Yes you guessed right i'm a Ferrari fan, then BWM.

[Patriot36]

Predictions for this Year's WDC and WCC, I vote for Kimi and Ferrari. Don't see hamy winning this yr because he is still very inexperienced and talks too much. BMW may give a run to Macca . Yes you guessed right i'm a Ferrari fan, then BWM.

Good predictions! I hope that's the way is goes too. I'm not a gigantic Kimi fan but hey he's ok and I think has a better chance than Massa. I still miss Shumi's personality in F1 a lot. As you mentioned I like BMW a lot too and would love to see them do well. As for hamy, I definitely think he has tons of talent but I'm not sure if you knows now to consistently control it all...haha. He seems like a good guy though and doesn't annoy me like Montoya, Irvine, and young Villenuve used to. Hamy at least has some class and doesn't come across like a cave man.

[greenstuffs]

Good predictions! I hope that's the way is goes too. I'm not a gigantic Kimi fan but hey he's ok and I think has a better chance than Massa. I still miss Shumi's personality in F1 a lot. As you mentioned I like BMW a lot too and would love to see them do well. As for hamy, I definitely think he has tons of talent but I'm not sure if you knows now to consistently control it all...haha. He seems like a good guy though and doesn't annoy me like Montoya, Irvine, and young Villenuve used to. Hamy at least has some class and doesn't come across like a cave man.

Schumi was my fav of all time, i don't care if people call him cheater or what not, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do in order to win, didn't we see this in Hammy last year with the crane, going to cry with poppy hammy to the Judges at hungary or having the marhals push his car in China i think hammy is favored by the FIA or what they call conspiracy because he is a great marketing tool for the F1 to reach a wider public afterall this is another biz show .

Again i would love to see Alonso and Kimi in Ferrari since we will never know who is faster Schumi or Kimi, Ferrari owe to the pubic this, 2 WDC in the same team, Massa should go testing or Force India such a waste for a Ferrari.

Again Alonso is another bomb waiting to explode, when things don't go right his mouth is louder than his R29's engine. this is the reason i dislike him, even being spaniard i hope he loses how ironic .

[ViReN]

You sound like me talking about Shumi...lol. I enjoyed watching is whole career and miss watch him drive. I'm not a fan of Alonso and all and wished Micheal had taken it his last year in the sport. He built up Ferrari to what it is today. They were always 2nd or 3rd best over the years until he worked with that team so hard and for son long. I'm still not used to F1 without him in there.

indeed, I really dont like alanso too... and guess what... what goes around comes around too.... like last year.... you see what happened.... lewisalanso.... that was really beautiful.... and both suffered...

Some times one(alanso) should just have respected Shumi to honour his life time... but any ways....

Shumi did make Ferrari of what it is today... for sure.... I still see Shumi behind the stage and hope he will some day become F1's manager at Ferrari.

[Patriot36]

indeed, I really dont like alanso too... and guess what... what goes around comes around too.... like last year.... you see what happened.... lewisalanso.... that was really beautiful.... and both suffered...

Some times one(alanso) should just have respected Shumi to honour his life time... but any ways....

Shumi did make Ferrari of what it is today... for sure.... I still see Shumi behind the stage and hope he will some day become F1's manager at Ferrari.

Prost had the technical ability to improve the Ferrari back in his day but not the personality. He and Senna were a couple of talented sour pusses. It used to crack me up how they'd take each other out at 190mph on a routine basis. But back to my our point.....yeah, Shumi was very loved by the entire team and that says a lot. It strange now with Shumi and the two team bosses gone. Brawn and Tot stay though, after Micheal left? I'm sure they missed him enormously after nearly a decade of brotherhood with each other.

It looks like we all feel about the same way towards the Spaniard....LOL!! What went around certainly has come back around to him. I was laughing really hard at Greenstuff's comment about Alonso mouth being louder than his R29 engine!! Freakin Hilarious!.

If it wasn't for his attitude and lack of respect for the "old boys" like Shumi I could have possibly liked him. He does have talent it's just to bad that he fits into the big mouth club.....Alonso, Montoya, Villenuve, Irvine, etc.

I also think Greenstuffs is right about hami being an F1 marketing tool. There is a certain obviousness about it.

Who's going to win this coming weekend guys?

[ViReN]

it would be Massa or Riko... i guess

[Patriot36]

It looks like you were right. 1st and second place for them.

[24thMED]

Formula 1 is the best. Thank goodness for Tivo. Been following it for a few years now. This year has been pretty good so far. I really like that the other teams are more competetive this year.

It was nice to see that Super Aguri has another deal in the works and will probably keep racing.

Anybody watch the GP2 series. That's some good open wheel racing also, not F1 but good...

[isc]

I had the pleasure of being involved with administration of the Australian GP this year, and assisted with the escort and safety of the drivers.

Hamilton, and his father, are both consumate gentlemen of the highest order in every way. My opinion of certain other drivers, however, will not be discussed publicly

I had a fantastic photo which I took from my mobile phone from where I stood about 20 metres from the track, without a fence in the way, as the Ferrari (sp?) took off up the track at the start of the race. I did send it to someone, but I lost the phone on duty not long after... Now that I think about it, I really hope she still has that photo, I'll call her on Monday.

[Patriot36]

Any luck with the photo?

[half-watt]

Became a fan in the mid 90's

+1

Good to see F1 has followers in the US

many of my fellow engineers at work are avid F1 fans.

i do understand why the US Formula One Grand Prix is at Indy, but our best road course is Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin. Long course, diverse track with several points to overtake under braking. Champ raced/races (i stopped watching CHAMP a few years ago) on it.

The World Rally Championship is interesting viewing although there coverage is less regular than F1.

too bad Speed Channel stop good coverage of the WRC a few yrs ago. i miss it.