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2019 Formula 1 Season Thread

Roger Penske is going to make a play at Liberty to bring the US Grand Prix back to Indianapolis.

Thoughts? Anyone think the issues with the track still settling at COTA could be an issue? Personally I’d rather see it stay at COTA. :apple:
 
Glideslope said:
Roger Penske is going to make a play at Liberty to bring the US Grand Prix back to Indianapolis.

Thoughts? Anyone think the issues with the track still settling at COTA could be an issue? Personally I’d rather see it stay at COTA. :apple:
Click to expand...

My thoughts, Penske didn't buy Indy without already having spoken to all the key players and understanding what it would take to bring F1 (and other events) there.

From what Liberty has said, wanting more American events and 25 race weekends it sounds like they want to capitalize on a lucrative TV deal which is difficult to do with only one US event. COTA thinks they will take a massive hit if there's another American race and even worse if they add Miami. The way the sport is right now I think they are right. However, Liberty has a view that they can make the sport more exciting and the US is a massive untapped market that can support three races.
 
BenTrovato said:
My thoughts, Penske didn't buy Indy without already having spoken to all the key players and understanding what it would take to bring F1 (and other events) there.

From what Liberty has said, wanting more American events and 25 race weekends it sounds like they want to capitalize on a lucrative TV deal which is difficult to do with only one US event. COTA thinks they will take a massive hit if there's another American race and even worse if they add Miami. The way the sport is right now I think they are right. However, Liberty has a view that they can make the sport more exciting and the US is a massive untapped market that can support three races.
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Three US races? They would have to drop a number of the others to do that. Sounds like a terrible idea to me.
 
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Glideslope said:
Roger Penske is going to make a play at Liberty to bring the US Grand Prix back to Indianapolis.

Thoughts? Anyone think the issues with the track still settling at COTA could be an issue? Personally I’d rather see it stay at COTA. :apple:
Click to expand...

The US viewing numbers appear to be as appalling as usual so I am very skeptical adding more races in the US will improve that.

I like COTA and my worry is by bouncing the race all around the US like they did in the 1980s and early 1990s, attendees are going to start staying away like they did then.
 
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The-Real-Deal82 said:
I personally think the COTA is a much better track than Indy, but that’s just my opinion.
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It does look like a much better track for watching a road-race than Indianapolis, which was designed for oval racing and has been retrofitted (a "roval").

COTA also appears to be trying to make it appealing to road-racing fans in general with current or former events involving F1, WSC, IMSA, IndyCar, MotoGP and their support series. I would prefer WSC come back to COTA rather then run at Sebring.
 
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BenTrovato said:
My thoughts, Penske didn't buy Indy without already having spoken to all the key players and understanding what it would take to bring F1 (and other events) there.

From what Liberty has said, wanting more American events and 25 race weekends it sounds like they want to capitalize on a lucrative TV deal which is difficult to do with only one US event. COTA thinks they will take a massive hit if there's another American race and even worse if they add Miami. The way the sport is right now I think they are right. However, Liberty has a view that they can make the sport more exciting and the US is a massive untapped market that can support three races.
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F1 already has more races than the drivers like. Adding another race or two would lead to quite a bit of dissension within the paddock. Adding more races will simply head F1 down the NASCAR road IMO.

I have 0 desire to watch an F1 car on a banked roval. ;)
 
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Akrapovic said:
Gotta be honest, WEC at Sebring is amazing. COTA WEC did very little for me, whilst Sebring is very special.
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Well in a perfect world, we'd have both rounds - and they'd be televised on a "real" network so I could actually watch the bloody things live. :mad:

Thank the maker for MotorTrendTV and CBS Sports TV so I can now at least watch highlights coverage of Le Mans / WSC, BTCC, DTM and such. If I could get WRC back, I'd be in heaven.
 
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Anyone watching Abu Dhabi? They gotta do something about this race, especially since it’s the last one of the season. Really boring so far 🤑
 
BenTrovato said:
Anyone watching Abu Dhabi? They gotta do something about this race, especially since it’s the last one of the season. Really boring so far 🤑
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Had to wait for highlights. Lewis was miles in front. Never makes for a good race whatever the track.
Without Bottas starting last it would have been an easy Merc 1-2.
 
Apple fanboy said:
Had to wait for highlights. Lewis was miles in front. Never makes for a good race whatever the track.
Without Bottas starting last it would have been an easy Merc 1-2.
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It was so bad today. They did have a DRS technical issue for a while. I don't remember how many laps until they sorted it out. It's a tough track for competitive racing. I get why they have it as the last race, but it feels like a major buzz kill to end the season.
 
2019 Driver Standings

POSDRIVERNATIONALITYCARPTS
1Lewis HamiltonGBRMERCEDES413
2Valtteri BottasFINMERCEDES326
3Max VerstappenNEDRED BULL RACING HONDA278
4Charles LeclercMONFERRARI264
5Sebastian VettelGERFERRARI240
6Carlos SainzESPMCLAREN RENAULT96
7Pierre GaslyFRASCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA95
8Alexander AlbonTHARED BULL RACING HONDA92
9Daniel RicciardoAUSRENAULT54
10Sergio PerezMEXRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES52
11Lando NorrisGBRMCLAREN RENAULT49
12Kimi RäikkönenFINALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI43
13Daniil KvyatRUSSCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA37
14Nico HulkenbergGERRENAULT37
15Lance StrollCANRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES21
16Kevin MagnussenDENHAAS FERRARI20
17Antonio GiovinazziITAALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI14
18Romain GrosjeanFRAHAAS FERRARI8
19Robert KubicaPOLWILLIAMS MERCEDES1
20George RussellGBRWILLIAMS MERCEDES0
[automerge]1575237292[/automerge]

2019 Constructor Standings
POSTEAMPTS
1MERCEDES739
2FERRARI504
3RED BULL RACING HONDA417
4MCLAREN RENAULT145
5RENAULT91
6SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA85
7RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES73
8ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI57
9HAAS FERRARI28
10WILLIAMS MERCEDES1
 
pachyderm said:
2019 Driver Standings

POSDRIVERNATIONALITYCARPTS
1Lewis HamiltonGBRMERCEDES413
2Valtteri BottasFINMERCEDES326
3Max VerstappenNEDRED BULL RACING HONDA278
4Charles LeclercMONFERRARI264
5Sebastian VettelGERFERRARI240
6Carlos SainzESPMCLAREN RENAULT96
7Pierre GaslyFRASCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA95
8Alexander AlbonTHARED BULL RACING HONDA92
9Daniel RicciardoAUSRENAULT54
10Sergio PerezMEXRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES52
11Lando NorrisGBRMCLAREN RENAULT49
12Kimi RäikkönenFINALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI43
13Daniil KvyatRUSSCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA37
14Nico HulkenbergGERRENAULT37
15Lance StrollCANRACING POINT BWT MERCEDES21
16Kevin MagnussenDENHAAS FERRARI20
17Antonio GiovinazziITAALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI14
18Romain GrosjeanFRAHAAS FERRARI8
19Robert KubicaPOLWILLIAMS MERCEDES1
20George RussellGBRWILLIAMS MERCEDES0
[automerge]1575237292[/automerge]


2019 Constructor Standings
POSTEAMPTS
1MERCEDES739
2FERRARI504
3RED BULL RACING HONDA417
4MCLAREN RENAULT145
5RENAULT91
6SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA85
7RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES73
8ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI57
9HAAS FERRARI28
10WILLIAMS MERCEDES1
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Poor old George! I thought he had a good session all things considered. I think Lewis would come last or second to last in that dog of a car.
 
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What do you think the over under on Williams constructor points would be for next season? If it was 10 I would bet under but I wonder what it’s gonna be.
 
BenTrovato said:
It was so bad today. They did have a DRS technical issue for a while. I don't remember how many laps until they sorted it out. It's a tough track for competitive racing. I get why they have it as the last race, but it feels like a major buzz kill to end the season.
Click to expand...
There was actually quite a bit of overtaking. LeClerc overtook max on the first lap. Bottas worked his way through from last, he did an amazing job for the first 15 laps where there was no DRS and old fashion means of overtaking was necessary. Great battles in the middle of the field. Lewis dominated no doubt but there was a lot going on elsewhere.
 
nebo1ss said:
There was actually quite a bit of overtaking. LeClerc overtook max on the first lap. Bottas worked his way through from last, he did an amazing job for the first 15 laps where there was no DRS and old fashion means of overtaking was necessary. Great battles in the middle of the field. Lewis dominated no doubt but there was a lot going on elsewhere.
Click to expand...

There were a few good moments. Perez on Norris was great and maybe the highlight was Sainz on Hulkenberg in the final lap but overall I wouldn't say there were great battles. Even the commentators lamented how bad it was.

Bottas in the best car starting from the back passing backmarkers isn't exciting (to me anyway). It took him three laps to pass Lance Stroll without DRS.
 
I have to say I'm reasonably optimistic about F1 after the end of the 2019 season.

We now have a situation where we have at least three teams that, from circuit to circuit, have a good chance of winning. There is a lot of competition in the mid-field. We have a very strong class of young drivers. And we have a sport that is expanding into parts of the world that I - a dinosaur - would have never dreamed possible when I first started watching F1.

Part of me still wishes that tire strategy didn't play as big a part of the sport as it does. But if you accept the fact that similar considerations come into play in many other sports, and that once you understand the amount of skill and judgement a driver has to employ to "manage" his tires - then you can sit back and enjoy the races for what they are.

Still my favourite televised sport, by a long shot.
 
nebo1ss said:
There was actually quite a bit of overtaking. LeClerc overtook max on the first lap. Bottas worked his way through from last, he did an amazing job for the first 15 laps where there was no DRS and old fashion means of overtaking was necessary. Great battles in the middle of the field. Lewis dominated no doubt but there was a lot going on elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Personally this was the highlight of the race IMO. Bottas’ drive through without DRS was “Beast Mode.” Easily would have been on the podium without the DRS bungle. P2 would have been possible.:apple:
 
Glideslope said:
Personally this was the highlight of the race IMO. Bottas’ drive through without DRS was “Beast Mode.” Easily would have been on the podium without the DRS bungle. P2 would have been possible.:apple:
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Felt a bit bad for Valteri this weekend. His marriage has come apart, took an engine penalty to the back of the grid. And was apparently quite unwell earlier in the week.

Great, highly skilled, and highly entertaining drive through the field.
 
vrDrew said:
Felt a bit bad for Valteri this weekend. His marriage has come apart, took an engine penalty to the back of the grid. And was apparently quite unwell earlier in the week.

Great, highly skilled, and highly entertaining drive through the field.
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Do you think Bottas’ best chance at a title will be next season?

It must have been rough for him this year emotionally and mentally with the marriage not working out. If he can come into next season with a clear head and no distractions, it will be interesting to see if he can put together more consistent performances and take the lead early on.
 
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