Formula 1

[birchesgreen]

Danny Ric is who i think it'll be, he just had a pretty decent audition!

 

[sannox]

Why not just give it to Liam Lawson who did well enough and is a young Red Bull driver. Riccardo has, Mexico apart, been very average since his return.

 

[Geezertronic]

I did have to chuckle at the disappearing Charles Leclerc under the advertising when he was recovering back on track after his collision with Perez at the first corner. Just shows that the advertising shown on the TV screen is not always that which is displayed at the track

 

[birchesgreen]

Why not just give it to Liam Lawson who did well enough and is a young Red Bull driver. Riccardo has, Mexico apart, been very average since his return.

Danny Ric is a lot more marketable.

 

[AM9]

I did have to chuckle at the disappearing Charles Leclerc under the advertising when he was recovering back on track after his collision with Perez at the first corner. Just shows that the advertising shown on the TV screen is not always that which is displayed at the track

I suppose we will succumb to 'virtual' * advertising boards in all televised international sports events sooner or later.
* As an aside, I do have a mental conflict using the word 'virtual' sometimes given its derivation from 'virtue'.

 

[JamesT]

I did have to chuckle at the disappearing Charles Leclerc under the advertising when he was recovering back on track after his collision with Perez at the first corner. Just shows that the advertising shown on the TV screen is not always that which is displayed at the track

I noticed that too. I thought they'd got smart enough with the adverts they could have the players etc. on top. Perhaps that only works with grass pitches where there's effectively a natural green screen.

 

[PG]

Why not just give it to Liam Lawson who did well enough and is a young Red Bull driver. Riccardo has, Mexico apart, been very average since his return.

If, and it is an  if, Dani Ric gets the Red Bull gig then surely Liam Lawson is a shoe in at AlphaTauri given his decent performances against Tsunoda?

 

[JD2168]

Mercedes Chief Technical Officer Mike Elliott has left the team after a long spell.

 

[JD2168]

This weekend is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on a track including the Strip. The timings are similar to the Japanese Grand Prix son the drivers are staying on Japan time. There was An opening ceremony including Kylie Minogue & Journey, it included the drivers appearing on podiums on the pit straigt & it is fair to say that Max Verstappen was not a fan. He said he felt like he was a clown & that it was 99% Showbiz & 1% racing.

 

[DelW]

This weekend is the Las Vegas Grand Prix on a track including the Strip. The timings are similar to the Japanese Grand Prix son the drivers are staying on Japan time. There was An opening ceremony including Kylie Minogue & Journey, it included the drivers appearing on podiums on the pit straigt & it is fair to say that Max Verstappen was not a fan. He said he felt like he was a clown & that it was 99% Showbiz & 1% racing.

That seems strange - the Japanese GP was in late September, since when there's been one race in the Middle East and three most recent ones in the Americas.

The timings are certainly unusual on Nevada local time (PST), with quali' at midnight on Friday and the race at 22:00 on Saturday (GMT times: 0800 Sat and 0600 Sun respectively). It's expected to be cold at night too, leading to concerns about how difficult it will be to generate and maintain adequate tyre temperature.

 

[gabrielhj07]

it is fair to say that Max Verstappen was not a fan. He said he felt like he was a clown & that it was 99% Showbiz & 1% racing.

As much as 1%? That must be a mistake

 

[357]

Well FP1 was an absolutely amazing watch! What am hour of thrilling track action!

 

[DelW]

Well FP1 was an absolutely amazing watch! What am hour of thrilling track action!

It could have been worse - you might have paid $$$ for a trackside view of eight minutes of running!

Since it seems to be the concrete surround of a manhole cover that has failed, a visual inspection of all the others may not be enough to ensure that it won't occur again. I can't see drivers being very happy at any possibility of a large lump of iron coming loose under their car. However we shall see, nothing is certain about FP2 yet and it's only an hour away.

Edit: Sky now has clips of a very spiky team principals' press conference!

 

[357]

It could have been worse - you might have paid $$$ for a trackside view of eight minutes of running!

Most of the stands looked empty to me!

Fred Vasseur: "We damaged completely the monocoque, the engine, the battery. I think it’s just unacceptable. It cost us a fortune. We f##ked up the session for Carlos. We won’t be part of FP2 for sure. I think it’s just unacceptable for F1 today."

The FIA technical delegate has referred to the stewards the fact that Ferrari has to change Sainz's chassis, ICE, ES and CE, as well as Ocon's chassis.

Might be to allow dispensation as it was noted as "due to the impact with a foreign object on the race track".

I think the track should pay for the repairs too! It's not only massively unfair for it to be taken from the drivers allocation but also from the team's budget cap.

 

[DelW]

Most of the stands looked empty to me!

I think the track should pay for the repairs too! It's not only massively unfair for it to be taken from the drivers allocation but also from the team's budget cap.

To add insult to injury, Sainz has been given a grid penalty for using a replacement engine. You really couldn't invent this stuff.

FP2 pushed back to 10:30 GMT which is 02:30 local time. The big problem with that is that spectator areas closed at 01:30, and the track has to be cleared for local traffic use at 04:00. Does any other street circuit reopen to normal traffic between sessions?

There will be some massively unhappy people out there, and the US is notoriously litigious. I think the organisers will need to process full refunds quickly before the stuff hits the fan, or it will rival Indianapolis 2005 in unpopularity.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There's a lovely photo on the BBC News website showing a dozen officials standing around the offending manhole - which looks like a water valve cover rather than a sewer access point - and all of them are staring at it, which is just inviting the obvious caption...

 

[357]

Having received a report from the FIA Technical Delegate concerning Car 55 (Document 16) stating that the Survival Cell, Internal Combustion Engine, Energy Store and Control Electronics were damaged beyond repair following an impact with a foreign object and Having received a request from the Competitor requesting a derogation of the Sporting Regulations in order to allow a replacement of the Energy Store from outside the pool, without penalty, and Having heard from the Team Representative, the Director FIA Single Seater Department, having viewed video evidence and examined the Team's declaration sheet, the Stewards, determine that notwithstanding the fact that the damage was caused by highly unusual external circumstances, Article 2.1 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations obliges all officials, including the Stewards, to apply the regulations as they are written.

Accordingly, the mandatory penalty specified under Article 28.3 of the Sporting Regulations must be applied

The Stewards note that if they had the authority to grant a derogation in what they consider in this case to be mitigating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances, they would have done so, however the regulations do not allow such action.

Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits

Decisions of the Stewards are taken independently of the FIA and are based solely on the relevant regulations, guidelines and evidence presented.

I feel like this is the fallout from Abu Dhabi 2021. In this case, people are asking for the rules to be applied differently and the FIA are saying "no, not doing that again".

 

[DarloRich]

I feel like this is the fallout from Abu Dhabi 2021

they have to follow the rules carefully after that situation. it is both right to punish Sainz and harsh to punish Sainz! Catch 22.

There is a lot of negative waves around the Las Vegas GP - my big issue is that it is on a stupid O'clock but at least the delayed session this morning meant I could tune in when I was working.

I am not getting up at 3 am for a zzzzzzzzfest!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The timing works in my favour... I can get up as normal on a Sunday, have a looong soak in the bath then watch the highlights on Channel 4 at 12.30 without having had to try to avoid the internet or TV for several hours. Added bonus: the long thumb twiddling during any red flags will be edited out...

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Yes here in the US I have not heard that much positive about the Vegas F1 Grand Prix - hotel prices, massive disruption ( yet they manage in Monaco) etc. They recently dropped prices as well.

 

[gabrielhj07]

Track evolution over the weekend will certainly be interesting with the road re-opening to cars in between sessions.

 

[JD2168]

Charles Leclerc has qualified on Pole Position for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz finished second in the session but because of the penalty will start 12th which means Max Verstappen will start second instead. In a strange session both McLaren’s were knocked out in Q1 & both Sergio Perez & Lewis Hamilton were knocked out in Q2. Among the unusual names in Q3 were Logan Sargeant, Alex Albon, Kevin Magnussen.

 

[Mogster]

Yes here in the US I have not heard that much positive about the Vegas F1 Grand Prix - hotel prices, massive disruption ( yet they manage in Monaco) etc. They recently dropped prices as well.

Vegas only has F1 cars running. Monaco (like many of the European and a few of the flyaway races) has F3, F2, Porsche Cup and other demos. Most of the flyaway races tend to have a card with local racing as well as F1. If I’d bought an overpriced ticket I’d feel short changed with this knowledge. If you are going to have F1 then Vegas should have accepted more disruption and then FOM should have made an effort to bring the full European race card to the US for the first time.

If I were a US F1 fan I’d either have a trip to COTA or have a holiday to Europe and attend one of the less rammed European races, Barcelona for instance.

I have this dream where Liberty buy Watkins Glen, update the facilities and add some Techpro. Then we could have the USGP North at its historic location on a gorgeous track. OK there wouldn’t be much overtaking but as with Zandvoort and Imola the cars would look great and the drivers and fans would love it. Unfortunately Watkins is in upstate NY in the woods and so isn’t prawn sandwich eater friendly…

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I do agree that Watkins Glen would be a great destination - but getting to it surely is not that much worse than Silverstone?

 

[Mogster]

I do agree that Watkins Glen would be a great destination - but getting to it surely is not that much worse than Silverstone?

I’ve never been unfortunately, but the backwoods location is often used as a reason for F1 not going to Watkins Glen. I’ve seen 4 hours from NYC quoted and little accommodation in the area. There’s no international airport in the area with cargo facilities.

Silverstone is less than 90 minutes from London, Birmingham, Manchester. It’s also the home race for most of the teams. Many of the European races are just historic fixtures, for teams and fans. Spa isn’t great for access but the teams have always gone there have everything worked out. The teams are set up to drive their stuff and people around Europe and accommodate them, much less so in North America.

 

[DelW]

FP2 pushed back to 10:30 GMT which is 02:30 local time. The big problem with that is that spectator areas closed at 01:30, and the track has to be cleared for local traffic use at 04:00. Does any other street circuit reopen to normal traffic between sessions?

There will be some massively unhappy people out there, and the US is notoriously litigious. I think the organisers will need to process full refunds quickly before the stuff hits the fan, or it will rival Indianapolis 2005 in unpopularity.

Well, it was an easy prediction:

F1 Las Vegas GP hit with lawsuit after practice chaos and fan ejections

A Nevada law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on behalf of fans who were kicked out of Thursday’s disrupted practice sessions.

www.crash.net

F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix hit with lawsuit after practice chaos and fan ejections​

A Nevada law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix on behalf of fans who were kicked out of Thursday’s disrupted practice sessions.

Meanwhile a surprisingly entertaining race still ended with an unsurprising Verstappen win.

 

[357]

That race was actually pretty good. Was worth getting up for.

 

[nlogax]

Looked like a good race but the crap reality of hosting it in Vegas was pretty evident. Limited, very pricey views and a huge inconvenience to those visiting town who had no interest in the race. To the point that security staff were barking at members of the public who had the audacity to even pause on the walkways across the strip for fear they might witness a glimpse of a 200mph car they'd not paid to see.

I’ve never been unfortunately, but the backwoods location is often used as a reason for F1 not going to Watkins Glen. I’ve seen 4 hours from NYC quoted and little accommodation in the area. There’s no international airport in the area with cargo facilities.

I've done the four hour drive up from NY and it is an increasingly pretty slog but a slog nonetheless. Lovely part of the world but I doubt that Syracuse or Rochester airports could handle the influx of F1 fans either.

 

[swt_passenger]

… it is fair to say that Max Verstappen was not a fan. He said he felt like he was a clown & that it was 99% Showbiz & 1% racing.

He seems to have been re-programmed now, as quoted by the BBC:

”Verstappen, after his criticisms of Las Vegas throughout the weekend - one for each day - said: "It was a lot of fun. The DRS helped a lot with good racing and the tarmac you could push on the tyres. It was a lot of fun. I hope the fans enjoyed it and already excited to come back here and hopefully do something similar."

BBC race report here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/67462385

 

[Mogster]

Looked like a good race but the crap reality of hosting it in Vegas was pretty evident. Limited, very pricey views and a huge inconvenience to those visiting town who had no interest in the race. To the point that security staff were barking at members of the public who had the audacity to even pause on the walkways across the strip for fear they might witness a glimpse of a 200mph car they'd not paid to see.

Would you really go to Vegas this weekend if you weren’t interested in the racing? The weekend date was set over a year ago. It’s really up to the city and its burgermeisters To decide if the disruption is worth the $$$. I’m sure they’ll send FOM packing if that’s not the case and there are probably contract out clauses if they really aren’t happy.

After all the moaning that was one of the better races this season. The circuit seems poor for qualifying, with little driving challenge, but much better for racing.

I do understand some of the reservations but it does seem that new venues are slated then achieve acceptance after a couple of races, Jeddah, Baku we’re like this. I do hope Miami disappears or changes site soon though…