Formula 1 Extravaganza

One of the sports writers I heard said the Merceds cars at 10 kilos heavy — 22lbs — and that that is enough to make a difference. Crazy that it’s that tight.

Its the same math that increases lap times as they burn off fuel - every lap they burn off a few kilos and that's enough to shave a tenth of a second, which adds up over the course of a race. It wasn't long ago that the total car weight meant that some drivers were basically put on harsh diets to lose weight; this penalized taller drivers especially no matter how fit they were. Now however the driver weight is a separate number; if the driver is under that number they have to use ballast.

I still can't get over Hammy's helmet that looks like the cover of an F1 For Dummies book.

Haha, his old carting helmet supposedly.

It throws me way the fuck off that he took the #2 driver camera pod.

HAAS has created the best poster of the 2022 season for the Miami GP.

This fake marina shit in a stadium parking lot is America to a T.

I'm curious as to what kind of loser will be seen lounging on a boat in said fake marina. Probably the same type of person who goes to an NFL stadium luxury box and doesn't watch the game. Wonder what the "slip fees" are LOL. They probably have to pay people to park their boats there.

Wonder if they'll conjure another paddock controversey like they did with Megan Thee Stallion last year in Austin. They are trying to position this as the next Monaco so no doubt we'll be subject to more celebrity sightings than usual. Hence why I skip the pre race show .

I've heard the ticket prices are very expensive,even by F1 standards. Miami Beach prices for a fucking parking lot 20 miles away from the beach.

If you're going to put a track near water, make the cars jump it. It's just that simple.

This fake water thing will be a point of controversy until lap 2. No clue why anyone would want water in the first place, just one more thing for Sainz to drive his car into.

And yeah, that Haas poster kicks ass. Let's hear it for American marketing!

I personally think the actual Las Vegas strip putting together a package and being adopted means that Miami is not long for this world with such a shitty (on its face) track package---no Miami city streets wanted to be part of the race so that's why they're doing a Sochi style ugly around the stadium race.

I've heard the ticket prices are very expensive,even by F1 standards.

You know, about that. Has anyone watched an F-1 race live? It seems to me that the grandstands see maybe 15% of the track, even with only a two hour event it seems downright counterproductive to be in the stands. I could see buying a ticket to the booths and stuff, but it seems to me the race itself is far and above best viewed on TV, more than just about any other sport I can think of.

I'd like to see a race live as sort of bucket list thing. I have many friends in Montreal, which is usually a good race and I can couch surf and thus avoid the usual hotel gouging.

Several history buffs and I have mooted the idea of going to Spa Francorchamps - its one of the best tracks of all, relatively cheap, and is close to several WW2 battlefields/museums we'd like to see. We almost pulled the trigger several years ago when I considered getting European delivery on a new car, but that fell thru when I had to pull the trigger on a new car in a hurry .

Euro delivery means you get a registered insured car in Europe ( so no rental fees ), two round trip tickets and a factory tour. After you're done with the car, you drop it at a designated port and its shipped to the US for you to pick up a month or so later. Sadly you can't get a Euro spec car ( it has to be one certified in the US, so none of the glorious wagon options the Europeans get that we don't ) and BMW recently discontinued the practice.


Maybe someday.....

Sagrilarus wrote:

I've heard the ticket prices are very expensive,even by F1 standards.

You know, about that. Has anyone watched an F-1 race live? It seems to me that the grandstands see maybe 15% of the track, even with only a two hour event it seems downright counterproductive to be in the stands.

Not F-1, but far more interesting than NASCAR or Indy, I went to Can-Am races at Laguna Seca several years in a row around 1970. It was loud. It was exciting. We sat in the stands not far from the hairpin turn, and I remember being a little disappointed the cars had to slow so much near us. The acceleration was cool. I think like most sporting events, you go for the experience, not the view. Being there in the flesh for the sound and the emotion is the reward.

There I am in the background of this photo, somewhere. You bet.

I went to most of the Qualifying days during the Detroit Grand Prix years and it was amazing with the crowds and the cars. I've not had the chance to get back to an event like that since. Moving to FL might change that given the tracks close by.

I don't know if I would pay for grandstand seats or not. Deffo not at Miami prices. lol

My wife's friend told her to watch the Drive to Survive a few months ago and she started watching Season 3 (not season 1 on accident) on her own. I stated watching it and we restarted at season 1 and watched all 4 together. After that investment, we started watching the F1 qualifying and races this season since it's fairly low investment from a time perspective. The drivers personalities are what really sell the sport to us. But I think we're both still struggling to comprehend how much money there is in the sport, it's insane. Miami seems to be bringing out the best/worst of this.

Fun fact, back in 2017 with my old job I got to go to London for a press event of a product I worked on, and I got to see Christian Horner in person (team principal of Red Bull F1). I had no idea who this guy was (outside of the team lead for an F1 team) and why everyone seemed so dumbstruck around him. I later looked up that he was married to a Spice Girl, but didn't quite comprehend his celebrity beyond that. Fast forward 4.5 years with me getting into F1, and I have more perspective.

And I will never root for Max Verstappen. I feel like the guy's racing is basically either give me room or I'll crash into you (but I'm still an F1 newb). That, and anyone who wears a flat-brimmed ball cap is a punk.

There is a story up on espn about Max Verstappen's background. A story about how his dad left him at a gas station after he fucked up at a karting event. Crazy shit, so completely consistent with his vibes.

"As he watched his dad's van pull back on to the Autostrada without him, Max Verstappen was struggling to digest what had happened. In all of his 14 years and 11 months on this earth, he'd never seen his dad as angry as he was at the go-kart track a couple of hours earlier. And he'd certainly never been left alone at a gas station in the south of Italy. This seemed pretty serious.

There was only one option left: call Mum.

As he sat waiting for his mum, who was in a separate car a little further back on the same road, Max was still working the mistake over in his head. It was a silly mistake. A costly mistake. One of those weird moments in motorsport where a number of seemingly unrelated factors lead to a split-second decision that ultimately ruins a whole weekend's work."