Formula One - 2016

[MiniDave]

Anyone here follow F-1?

First race next weekend in Australia......

Everyone wonders whether Ferrari will  be able to take it to the Mercedes this year, no one knows for sure but I expect it to be really close racing at the front!

New American team Haas had a tough test season, but did manage to get some decent laps in, as Ferrari's defacto "B" team I expect them to be solid mid-field runners by the end of the year.

Going to be an interesting season, and I wonder who will step in to fill Maldonado's shoes as season goat? He's supposed to be going to one of the Indy car teams this year to run the street and road races - THAT should be interesting!

[Jims5543]

2015 season was my last that I will pay to follow.  I had plans to attend more races but killed all those plans.

Bernie says he only wants people who buy Ferrari's and Rolex's to be his fans. The normal folk who use social media are the poors and he is not interested in appealing to them.

There has been a shift of races on historic scenic tracks to tracks that have to use tight camera angles so you do not see the empty stands. Those tracks are mostly in the Middle east now and and other places where there is no fan base but the government is willing to dole out the money needed to pay Bernie to have the race in their country, even if it is at a loss.

Lets add in a new qualifying format which will most likely end with the same 2 cars from the same team being the only cars on track fighting for the pole position on 75% or better of the F1 weekends.  It was bad enough the same 2 cars are on every single podium on race day.

This all leaves me conflicted, I will somewhat follow if I can watch streams of the race.  Otherwise, I will be a Sunday evening check the F1 news websites fan.

I am very interested to see if Hass can be a midfield runner right out of the hole. I am also interested to see what Ferrari have for Mercedes. Fingers are crossed that this is not another season of Mercedes 1-2 finishes.  We have not seen such a dominant season even in the Red Bull and Schumacher Ferrari years there was more variety.  I also want to see if Red Bull with the Tag engine tweeks will be a faster car too, also McLaren / Honda that is a super budget that is not going to languish for long.

Curious so see how this season pans out.


Go Kimi!!

[MiniDave]

I just watch the races on TV, I can usually find them on Fox or one of the majors for the North American races, tho I have to say getting rid of Bob Varsha for Leigh "I cant' shut up" Diffey was a huge mistake.

I want to see if the McHonda can drive itself out of last place this season, and I think the Toro Rossos will be giving the Red Bull fits this year - nothing like having the junior varsity beating up on the big team!

The midfield is where all the real action will be this season, I don't expect Haas to be in there swinging, at least in the first few races, in fact if they can even finish the first few races that will be a big step for them. But there will be some solid teams in the mid bunch including the McHonda, Force India and Williams cars.....

As log as the Benzer boys don' just run off and hide from the rest, it should be a fun season.

I don't really care where Bernie holds his races or how many people show up in Carjackistan to watch, it's just a TV show any more for me.

[Jims5543]

I don't really care where Bernie holds his races or how many people show up in Carjackistan to watch, it's just a TV show any more for me.

I will politely disagree. You do not repeatedly shit on your fans and expect them to stay. Once he made that statement, I for one refuse to pay for additional service to see F1. I dropped Direct TV which I had only to watch races. I found a cool app on my Fire TV that I am pretty sure will give me access to the races 1 day later. If I read a race was a good one, I will go find it and watch. F1 is the only sport I follow and now I am barely following it.  I used to be that guy, the one that tivo'd every race, then transferred the races to DVD, cataloged and filed them. I have about 10 seasons on DVD in a case. Now I am kind of put off by the entire show.

F1's technology sucks.  F1 took forever to even go to HD broadcast quality. Their live timing sucks it is always behind, like 30 second or more. Their on screen information compared to the likes of Nascar (which I cannot stand, it is insulting) is a joke. The lack of options for a fan is a missed opportunity.  Being able to subscribe to a driver like Nascar would be a good move too.

Our American broadcast team sucks if Diffy is not explaining for the 1000 time some mundane rule or feature on the car (do they explain the bases and rules of baseball every single game?) then Hobbs is identifying the wrong driver or team on screen, or missing something on screen because they are too busy trying to out do each other. Then the commercial breaks are maddening.

I started watching on Univision even though I cannot understand Spanish, I found the commentary to be 100x better.  Plus they do not break for commercials at all, even after the race, you realize how much you miss.

I am not a fan of many of the tracks on the calendar, when great European tracks are removed from the schedule so Korea can have a race or China or some ME country that would prefer to blow up the infedels and refuses to let the drivers have champagne on the podium I get pretty put off by it. Bernie is chasing money, money that may not be there much longer unless gas prices go up.  Many ME countries are hurting right now. I have to wonder if this gas price thing is a behind the scenes tactic to hurt them.  Meanwhile the stands are empty which I think really takes away from the weekend. There is a reason drivers love certain venues like Montreal where the drivers always comment on the energy of the fans and city. That should always be a part fot he weekend.

Do you ever go to Axis of Oversteer?  It is a great site and there is a great video on there right now of an amateur  racer at Mount Panorama.  The one race was more exciting than the entire 2015 season of F1.
http://blog.axisofoversteer.com/

Plus he gives a fresh view on the happenings in all motorsports. It is a great site and the writer on there is a track tard as well a a Bimmerforums member.

[MiniDave]

I respect your opinion, but since I can't do anything about any of that /\, I've decided to simply watch the races......and recognize them for what they are NOW, a TV show.

Yes it used to be different back in the day - I've been watching F1 since the 1960's - but then pretty much everything was different back in the day.....this is now. None of my bitching and complaining has done a single thing to change anything in F1, never will. So I can get upset and rant and rave over how I'd like things to be, or I can simply watch how they are.

I choose the second...... and I still find plenty of reasons to watch.

I do have to turn the sound just about off tho, I don't understand why broadcasters decided they had to talk every second of a broadcast now, but that's the way they do it in pretty much every sport, be it football, basketball or racing.

[MiniDave]

This ad for the 2016 American F1 race is exactly what I'm on about.....what are they really advertising here, the race or the concert?

[Jims5543]

The USGP is in financial trouble, after that tropical system hit last year killing revenue of concession sales, and the Texas govt. not 100% backing the event anymore, plus Bernies huge fee that you have to pay to get the event at your venue, they are digging deep to make sure the place is packed.

Bringing Americas sweetheart to perform was probably a very good move.  Sadly this is what is going to be needed to keep F1 in venues where the government will not pay for the event to happen.

Give Univision a try for the broadcast, I think you will like it, especially after the race when the camera is planted on the drivers int he green room, in some cases the tension is remarkable.

Story behind USGP being in trouble.

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2015/11/is-the-f1-future-of-the-us-grand-prix-at-the-circuit-of-the-americas-under-threat/

[MiniDave]

Well, now that the US GP is on solid ground again (BTW - this is one fantastic track, I've been a couple of times and it is on my bucket list to drive some laps here one day - soon I hope) now I hear that the Brazilian GP (how many are there in a brazillion again?)  is on the rocks. Losing the season ender would be terrible.....

I also saw where Bernie said he wants to expand to Africa, since they've never held a race there........really? Bernie never heard of Kyalami in South Africa? Where they held the GP from 1961 - 1985??

[Jims5543]

Bernie is out of his flipping mind.

I guess I am a traditionalist. Australia should start each season and Brazil should end it.

When they end it in the M.E., if seems kind of weird.

It is ironic, I am not a traditional person at all, I have no traditions and do not care for them.

I am curious to see how this qualifying format works. It could be a fantastic disaster turning things upside down. I fear it will make Sunday boring as teams will be out of tires by then and spend the day managing in stead of racing.

[MiniDave]

So, the bride and I stayed up last night and watched the F1 race from Oz, and what a race it was!

  I won't spoil it for the rest of the group in case someone has recorded it or is watching the delayed broadcast today - but that was one of the best races in recent memory, and bodes well for this season!

Congrats to Haas, an excellent finish to their first race!

[Jims5543]

***Spoilers below***


Rule #1 - Do not read a F1 thread if you do not want to see results, it is a pretty simple rule.  When I want to be surprised, I stay off the internet and social media. We should not have to refrain from discussing the race in a F1 thread.








There are glimmers of hope shown that this may not be a Mercedes dominant season.

I watched the race last night, Vettel got a rocket start and the 2 Mercedes guys got horrible starts.  Once they sort that out I am afraid it will be lights to Flag Mercedes races.

They are obviously blistering over a single lap, and it appears they are very fast in race trim too. Not sure Ferrari has an answer. We will see in the next race if this was a fluke.

Random thoughts:

I was amazed to see Alonso emerge from that wreck unscathed.

Ferrari may not have been able to take 1st or second if they chose tires better, I do not think Seb had the pace on Mediums to hold off the Mercs.

Kimi still has anvils falling from the sky on him.

Hass, has come to race, good for them, I am so happy to see the US F1 team is not a joke. A Nascar team boss (where my friend works) said it would be impossible for Haas to score points, he just ate crow.

[MiniDave]

I think you're right about the outright pace of the Benz vs the Ferrari on equal tires, but if Vettel can get out in front I think he can stay there.......the temp of the track seems to have a lot to do with tire degradation between the two cars too, with the Ferrari seeming to be easier on it's tires in hotter conditions.

Any way you cut it, the whole world wants to see someone challenge the Mercs and not have it be another runaway season....Vettel sure seems happy at Ferrari, doesn't he?

I was encouraged by Haas performance, but I'm not sure they're really a 6th place team - still they were ready for the challenge this weekend, so kudos to them. One thing I thought was interesting, Guttierrez was faster than Mr. BigJeans all weekend......

Wonder how Manor feels to see the new team score points on their first outing and they've only scored one time in the five years they've been on the grid.....even with their new Mercedes power! And McHonda and Sauber also have to be feeling a little blue right about now too over Haas' performance......

All in all, a good start to the season, I'll be looking forward to seeing what the lads do in Bahrain next......

[Jims5543]

I was also amazed to see Riccardo finish 5th, I really though the STR's were going to be faster.

I am glad they ditched the qualifying format and are going back to last years, that was a disaster, I did not watch just read about it and decided to not even bother looking for the qualifying.

[Jims5543]

Holy shit...





Saw this pic on Instagram and laughed. I used to really hate this guy, but he is growing on me.




I was touched my Esteban running to make sure he was o.k.  he scored big points with me for that.

[Jims5543]

Race summery video if anyone is interested.

http://blog.axisofoversteer.com/2016/03/2016-australian-gp-executive-summary.html

[Jims5543]

Formula One is at it again.  This time deleting all Instagram and Twitter, accounts if they contain, F1, Fomula One or Grand Prix.  Further alienating their fans, you know, the fans Bernie said he did not care about because Social media was for the poors that do not buy Ferrari's or Rolex's.

Sad indeed.

http://www.grandprix247.com/2016/03/27/fom-bullies-die-hard-f1-fans-on-social-media-and-internet/

It is not a new phenomenon that FOM bullies small media organisations to stop using so called Formula 1, Formula One and/or F1 'trademark' – this site changed name due to this. We even have an alternative to GrandPrix247, should the need arise...

Nevertheless, in an age when most mainstream sports embrace 'new age' fans, those who use social media platforms and the web to debate and promote the sport they love. However FOM and the powers that be in F1 will rather go to war with this free (and widespread) promotional weapon rather than leveraging this as a massively powerful marketing resource for the sport – make them happy not sad....

Clearly there are some very shortsighted people at the the top of FOM making bizarre decsions and clearly very bored with their desk jobs.

Or perhaps the order is coming from above, directly from the desk of their geriatric leader, whose disdain for new age media (and anything new for that matter) is well documented.

To the FOM bullies we say shame on you as your pettiness knows no bounds – leave the little guys alone and think bigger picture.

In retrospect, maybe this only happens because the majority of the F1 social media crowd don't wear Rolex watches or frequent the Paddock Club?

Whatever the case, these actions described below by a social media using F1 fan – Nicholas Malanga – boggles the mind as the sport continues to alienate aficionados and remain entrenched narrow mindedness.

Hi,

I am I big fan of Formula 1 and like some others, have a Formula 1 based social media account on Instagram (@valtteribottasfanpage).

Well, some not-nice stuff is going on in the F1 community on social media right now, and there could be a story in it. Right now, the FOM (Formula One Management) are currently banning/ deleting any and all accounts with names that include F1, Formula 1, Formula One and Grand Prix(?).

This means that a LOT of accounts are getting deleted just because of their name, and the FOM doesn't even give us a chance to change them; the accounts just disappear. It's really stupid on multiple levels, as it means that all of our hard work into making these accounts stick goes to shit, and it really alienates us fans!

It's like you pour tons of time into them and the sport that you poured that time into deleted your work! It's horrible and a lot of people are mad ATM. There's no real point in it either, all of the accounts deleted show formula 1 in its best light and is pretty much free advertisement for F1 as a business.

This only really started happening a week ago, when one major account disappeared. We assumed he just deleted his account, but then tons more just started disappearing and we figured it out as it was only pages with the names including the copyrighted stuff l said earlier.

The three largest that have disappeared (@f1.images, @racing.moments and @formula1team) had a total of around 230k followers between them those guys have already made new "title-neutral" accounts, but 6 years of combined effort when down the drain, and 15k-110k followers lost!

The FIA and FOM seem like they want to mute us fans. It really angers us, as fans, to be slapped in the face by the sport we love. It really is incredible, there's no other word for it. I think that this could shed some light on the idiotic way that the sport operates and how little they care about the very people that make them rich.

There's already actually been an article about this written online; a friend of mine asked a Spanish journalist to write an article which the journalist did do here>>>

One can only assume that this is happening on other social media platforms as well. Thanks for reading.

If your Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+ and/or Website has been affected let us know and we will highlight the way FOM is shunning F1 fans.

Open letter from @valtteribottasfanpage

[John Gervais]

Reminds me of what BMW did to sites containing the word 'mini'.  BMW was extremely heavy handed, suing everyone with the word 'mini' in their name. 

Edit:  I forgot the emoticon.   20.gif

[Jims5543]

Yup, I never understood that.

Mazda embraces it.

Miatanet RX7 Club and various other Mazda model specific forums exist and get this, in some cases, Mazdaspeed sponsors sections.

Mazda not only embraces it, they get it.

[94touring]

Even dooderwear had to stop using the word mini on his shirts cause BMW threatened to sue.

[tmsmini]

Ford did the same with Mustang as well. It is just incomprehensible that they do  not see the marketing it generates. Some bean counter somewhere sees a penny to be lost on the bottom of a spreadsheet...

[MiniDave]

F1 Bahrain

Nico takes full advantage of the Hamster getting stabbed in turn one by Bottas and makes it 5 in a row, Haas continues to impress and Ferrari's reliability woes continue with Vettel out before the race even starts.

A couple of Rookies have the race of their lives too!

Fun times in F1  4.gif

[Jims5543]

Kimi especially loves the Rosewater.




I like you, I wish I could be like you, glass half full and all.  30 seconds separating the top 3 and another 32 second to P4 at the finish made us look down to p7+ for an actual race.  I am getting tired of all Mercedes and Ferrari podiums and I am a huge Kimi / Vettel fan.

I was hoping during the first half of the race that Haas would finish higher than 5th, but damn, 5th is good!!  I fantasized Romain could get her on the podium, I knew we would need a Mercedes or another Ferrari failure for it to happen but a girl can dream.  Haas appears to be the 4th fastest team out there, RBR seems to have just a little more than they do.  I am not sure Haas will enjoy this past Montreal.

I also thought Max was going to better Daniel earlier on in the race he still had a great finish splitting the Bulls, it just seemed like he was much faster than Daniel during parts of the race.

I watched on Sky Ports, fed to me through Russia for free. Take that Bernie!!  I have to say while slanted towards Lewis, the commentary is much better than the American broadcast and ZERO commercials!! 

Not sure how I am going to watch if the race is in the middle of the night, but this is a great alternative to lining Bernies pockets.

[MiniDave]

OK, how do you watch the race that way?

[Jims5543]

Amazon firebox with Kodi app installed. It was not an easy install, it took about 30 minutes following a you tube tutorial. It works o.k. I had to switch feeds a couple of times but for free who am I to complain?

I knee our coverage was bad now I realize it is horrible.

[Jims5543]

Executive Summary compliments of Axis of oversteer.

http://blog.axisofoversteer.com/2016/04/2016-bahrain-gp-executive-summary.html