F1 Racing

[Burley Wright]

I did not know that. I would think they would be squeezed out a lot more on ESPN.

Actually ESPN just carries the Sky broadcasts which are very good with David Croft, Martin Brundle, Damon Hill, et al. The coverage for most races includes all 3 practice sessions, quali, and the race and often with no or few commercials. The sessions are shown on the various ESPN channels. As much as I loved the NBCSN coverage with David Hobbs and Steve Matchett, the Sky coverage has much higher information density and I think has been a definite step up.

There's a series on Amazon (I think) called Formula 1 Drive to Survive which is quite good.

[NogbadTheBad]

Fully agree.

[chalkpie]

There's a series on Amazon (I think) called Formula 1 Drive to Survive which is quite good.

Yes, this documentary is phenomenal! The production of this thing is so outstanding, and I have learned a lot about the various drivers and teams and their highs and lows. Worth watching for sure. It's on NF btw, not Amazon.

[SteveSly]

Quick question for those of you into F1 racing. I have been watching the excellent documentary on Netflix and have a question about qualifying. How do they do it? It appears that it is not a single car on a track like most U.S. racing is done and there are multiple cars on the track. Do they select the laps they want to have timed or do they just let a group of cars out and however fast they go that is their qualifying run? I have occasionally seen that system used in Sprint Car racing, but the documentary never really explains how qualifying works in F-1 even though they focus on it quite a bit.

[NeonKnight]

Qualifying is 3 timed sessions of I think 10 or 12 minutes each. Teams can send their cars whenever during these periods and they go for best lap time. After each session the slowest cars are eliminated and are slotted into the starting grid by lap time. The last 10 fastest cars determine pole and the final grid during the 3rd session.

[chalkpie]

^Yes!

[SteveSly]

Qualifying is 3 timed sessions of I think 10 or 12 minutes each. Teams can send their cars whenever during these periods and they go for best lap time. After each session the slowest cars are eliminated and are slotted into the starting grid by lap time. The last 10 fastest cars determine pole and the final grid during the 3rd session.

Cool, thanks for the information!

[NogbadTheBad]

Cracking tactical drive by Hamilton and Mercedes today, lost 20 seconds in a pit stop to put on softer tires then caught and passed Verstappen with 3 laps to go, been some great races recently

[chalkpie]

Mercedes is clearly out classing the others...not that Lewis isn't an amazing driver because he is, but when it comes to sheer power on a fairly open course they are on top. I'm seeing this sport as one where the equipment is not an equal playing field. Still great though, and Hockenheim was a killer race!

[Hal...]

Wow. Did not know this thread existed.

Been a long time F1 fan; since about '87. Hardly watched any races between '02-'04, when it seemed Schumacher & Ferrari would win every time (I hate when a driver & team become too dominant). But once Alonso showed he could compete w/Schumacher, I started watching again and have been, since.

[NogbadTheBad]

Ferrari threw away another race yesterday with bad tactics, how do you lose the front row with a faster car? Hamilton is a great driver but doesn't half sound whiney when he thinks the strategy is wrong.

[Hal...]

Ferrari threw away another race yesterday with bad tactics, how do you lose the front row with a faster car?

I agree, Ian. In fact, I think Ferrari threw away last year's championship for Vettel, who made a couple mistakes himself I should add. And they could have made this year's championship a lot closer if it hadn't been for driver mistakes and poor strategizing, mostly the latter. Still, the Scuderia have been a lot better this year than in the recent past; especially since the mid-season break where they've been somewhat dominant.

But as for Ferrari "losing the front row with a faster car", I'm not sure what you mean. If you mean not finishing 1-2, then I'd point out that while they've got a great qualifying car and great top end speed, their race pace hasn't been stellar for a whole stint. Remember when Mercedes was like that a few years ago? And there was some other team - Renault, maybe? - that qualified poorly but had excellent race pace.

Hamilton is a great driver but doesn't half sound whiney when he thinks the strategy is wrong.

Well, you Brits have a low tolerance for "whinging". I've never thought he sounded whiny but he does seem to complain more than other drivers when the strategy goes wrong.

And how about that start? Lewis had/has a nearly insurmountable lead in the championship and he's fighting with Vettel for 2nd??? It reminded me of when he threw away his first driver's championship in both China and Brazil in 2007. Not that I minded. I was rooting for Kimi. But still, Lewis is a 13 year veteran, now, and he's driving like a 19 year old rookie. Vettel sometimes pulls stupid shit like that, too.

[NogbadTheBad]

I didn't mind the start from him, Vettel came right across the track & pushed him into backing up, that led to him getting tangled up with Verstappen. I thought they both did well not to wipe each other out.

[Hal...]

[NogbadTheBad]

Pretty quiet race this last weekend. Hamilton has proved again the the best current driver. I'm hoping Ferrari & Red Bull continue to be more competitive next season. There's still very much a top 3 and 'the rest'.

[Hal...]

There's still very much a top 3 and 'the rest'.

Given the lack of wins at Red Bull, I'd say it's more like a top 2+1 and then the rest. The best of the rest seems to be McLaren. And I'd be willing to bet that had Alonso stayed there, he would have regularly finished in the top 6, possibly even getting some podiums. Just look at what he did the past few years when McLaren was a dog. Of course, McLaren switched to Renaults for this year and has done much better. Surprisingly, Red Bull has done very well with the Honda, who must have finally gotten their shit together.

So, once again, Alonso's timing has been an example of rotten luck. He should have had at least 2 more championships.

[SteveSly]

Curious if any of you guys have seen the film "Ford Vs. Ferrari"? I just saw it in a theater yesterday and really dug it. I would guess many of you would like it. Netflix also has an excellent documentary about the same story too, which I am about half way through.

[Hal...]

For you F1 fans, the new season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive dropped about a month ago on Netflix.

[SteveSly]

I just finished the most recent season of Drive To Survive on Netflix. I am not a person who follows Formula 1 that close, but I have really enjoyed the series. For those of you more familiar with F-1 I have a few questions that after watching the series I am not clear on:

• What is the difference between the Red Bull team and the Toro Rosso team? One appears to be considered a higher level than the other one, but that is never really explained. Pierre Gasley gets cut from the Red Bull team, but then ends up on Toro Rosso and finishes the season ahead of one of the Red Bull driers in the standings. How does that all work? Are they the same team just with different names or are they different teams?

• Mercedes appears to own young drivers who are on other teams? The kid who drives for Williams (name escapes me) is actually managed and owned by Mercedes? There was another driver on the show that seemed to be in the same situation. How does that work? I have never heard of anything like that in U.S. based racing.

• Why does the show feature some teams and drivers and completely ignore others? I am thinking of teams like Alfa Romero who have well known drivers but are hardly mentioned in the series.

[NogbadTheBad]

Toro Roso is essentially Red Bulls minor league team so they'll groom young drivers there to be called up. Teams can have long term rights to drivers and let them driver on smaller teams to gain experience.

[SteveSly]

Toro Roso is essentially Red Bulls minor league team so they'll groom young drivers there to be called up. Teams can have long term rights to drivers and let them driver on smaller teams to gain experience.

But Toro Roso is not Formula 2, so they have a minor league team within the major league series?

[NogbadTheBad]

But Toro Roso is not Formula 2, so they have a minor league team within the major league series?

Yes, quite normal within F1, and they'd be very happy to beat them in a Grand Prix, winning is entirely the thing in F1. The issue is that they aren'r funded as well as the main team so have a built in disadvantage as does every team who aren't Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull.

[SteveSly]

Yes, quite normal within F1, and they'd be very happy to beat them in a Grand Prix, winning is entirely the thing in F1. The issue is that they aren'r funded as well as the main team so have a built in disadvantage as does every team who aren't Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull.

Interesting.

[SteveSly]

Toro Roso is essentially Red Bulls minor league team so they'll groom young drivers there to be called up. Teams can have long term rights to drivers and let them driver on smaller teams to gain experience.

One more quick question. Do the two Red Bull / Toro Rosso teams share the same facilities or are they independent operations?

[NogbadTheBad]

They are based in different cities, Milton Keynes in the UK for Red Bull & Faenza in Italy for Toro Rosso. They have the same engine manufacturers, Renault.