SQuaLZ

If you FF through all the commercials, the race would last 10 laps...

MicVelo

Hahahahahahahaaaaaaa..... too true.

In a 100 lap F1 race, I'll watch intently for about 25 laps. The rest of the time, it's on for background noise while I go about doing something else. I look up at the standings on the screen once in a bit and if there's been a change in the order, I'll rewind to find out why.

Attention deficit disorder?

No, why bother watching the leader when he's so far ahead (running his own time trial in clean air, zzzzzzz....) that the focus of the cameras and commentary is on the "battle for 2nd place" or "somewhere down the field they're fighting for the last point position". That's where the REAL racing is. Leader, psh.

MicVelo

Dammit, we can't even blame Bernie Ecclestone for that any more!!

SQuaLZ

If you guys have not watched MotoGP yet, please do. Literally nail-biting action from start to finish. I was literally sweating the last 5 laps of the first race this season.

MicVelo

Too true. I've not been into bikes (with motors) since "the big crash of '75" (long story) but the handling skills of these riders FASCINATES me. And the competition is CLOSE!!

In keeping with my "love for anything with wheels", I've watched bikes at the track and MotoGP on TV (and the nuts running the TT on Isle of Man!) with steadfast appreciation of the skills involved.



I snapped this shot of bikes at last year's Spring Classic (at Laguna Seca) watching them drop down through the Corkscrew and it was unnerving. And this was just a parade lap of "vintage" race bikes! Watching them attack turn 8 at full song is just downright chilling.

Great stuff!

While on bikes.... ever watch those "Top Fuel Harleys" on the strip? Good lawd! 1,000 ponies between their legs and legs hangin' off the back of the bike to the tune of six second, 200+ mph passes. Now that's just C-R-A-Z-Y-!!!!!

JMII

Read this: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/h...-mercedes.html
This goes to prove the leader (Hamilton at the time) was driving around trying to hit a number. As they say the race is "under control" or he is "controlling the field". What nonsense is that? Shouldn't the leader be driving as fast as possible to maintain his lead?

I often wonder what F1 racing would look like with no behind the scenes computer simulations to tell them how fast to drive? It's been said before (by Berine himself) the best way to make F1 entertaining is having sprinklers that come on randomly during the race. Modern F1 has too many systems that can predicable everything: weather, pace, tire wear, pit delta, back marker location. You pretty much have to pray something wacky happens like the VSC in Melbourne or Haas forgetting to torque down wheels to mix things up.

MicVelo

Well, I have mixed feelings about everything in F1 these days. Fuel preservation, tire strategies, simulations, etc.

There are times I wish we could go back even just a few years - like to a time when Schu was setting fastest race lap times (at Australia, a record still standing) with nothing close to the computerization we have today.

Or, when I'm feeling particularly old, back to the Senna, Lauda, Fangio days and before when drivers had more "say" in the outcome than what the supercomputer is directing them to do from back in Germany. Hell, drivers are barely able to adjust brake bias or steering attitude settings these days without a telemetric input from thousands of miles away! (In my formula car days, I had a ****/lever for brake bias and a set of big allen wrenches to loosen and adjust sway bar leverage - IN THE PITS!)

But then, I realize and come to my senses that tech is available today to do things we could only dream about in the pre-wired-world days, so why not use it? And, it does take a very savvy team to manage all of the overwhelming amount of data available. Even NASCAR and NHRA (both semi-archaic throwbacks to days gone by VIS A VIS F1) are all about computers controlling everything with drivers ALMOST "just along for the ride."

So, I kinda take a viewpoint of "Is what it is and if I don't like it, I don't have to watch/follow it."

But I love motorsports too much to not follow and enjoy. My wife thinks its amusing that she'll be in another part of the house and she'll have to come and ask me why I screamed, "Are you f**king kidding me?!?! Give that a'hole a grid penalty!!!"

Then there's that.... grid penalties cuz they had to change the gearbox. C'mon, really??????

SQuaLZ

3 engines for an entire season is a big problem. The entire season is about conserving everything, engine, tranny, fuel, tires.

Back during the glory days, an engine would last 1 session. As Ron Dennis said, if the engine blows as you cross the finish line, you used it properly.

SQuaLZ

Isle of Man TT is just sick. That is on the bucket list (to watch in person, not race of course lol)

I need to fly out and check out Laguna Seca one day. Wish MotoGP still raced there.

MicVelo

Well, they do host the FIM Superbike Championship which is pretty cool and draws out all the bike people around here. One of my good friends goes to all of the big bike races there and has done so since the '80s. Keeps pestering me to go. "Uhhh, no thanks, no longer ride and I get sympathetic pains watching."

http://www.mazdaraceway.com/fim-supe...d-championship

They also have a lot of track day events for bikes so there IS a reason to visit. Haha.

SPM350Z

iTrader: (1)

Just got done watching the race from this morning. Won't say who won in case anyone hasn't watched yet but as far as the broadcast I was pretty happy....no commercials at all. They showed it exactly as they broadcast it in Europe. And I do love the excitement in the voices of the commentators...Paul Di Resta does well in the pits too. So all good for me.

MicVelo

One of my friends, whose company sponsors the Mercedes F1 team, texts me this morning.... "You watching?"

Me: "Naaahhhh, recording it so I can skip through commercials and the horrific coverage by ESPN."

Him: "No commercials thus far!"

Me: "Really? Must be payback for the fans who endured the Australian GP on ESPN. You know, the one they had to apologize for."

SQuaLZ

I hope they stay with the no commercials and that it wasn't a one time deal to make up for Australia.

Or else I'm going back to Univision and not understanding a word lol.

LexD

First off, what a race. Congrats to Gasly in four... Who could've predicted that! Hats off to KMag in 5, McLaren double points finish... good stuff.
With 3 kids its almost guaranteed I'll miss critical parts of the race, so I too watch the "recorded" race so I can pause, rew, etc.

Very pleased to say as soon as the ESPN2 (re)broadcast at 8-10PST ended they made the entire pre-race and race available on their WatchESPN site, and as alluded to above Not A SINGLE commercial! The final dozen laps of the race were so uninterrupted / action packed even the kids couldn't even resist watching (and cheering the red and pink cars on!) to the final checked flag. While I do like the commentary of Croft, and DiResta and Brundle I don't care for their bias towards all things English. Forza Ferrari!

SQuaLZ

It was always like that. Even the last set of commentators all were Ferrari haters and were so far up Lewis' @$$

David Hobbs was the biggest Ferrari hater

JMII

It was amazing they never took a break. I kept waiting for the "fix" for the commercials and it never came... because there were NONE. Color me shocked, I can't believe something aired on ESPN for nearly 3 hours nonstop. This must be some kind of record. How long can they keep this up? They can't give us an entire season for "free" like this.

The race itself was pretty decent too as long as your not a Red Bull fan. Funny to hear "plan D" on the radio to Vettel. Ferrari was forced into a new strategy and Vettel had drive on tires that were toast. Those last few laps were very entertaining. Also for the 2nd week in a row Hamilton seemed to be having trouble understanding what team management wanted him to do - hit a target number or close the gap?

And what is up with Kimi just getting out of the car in the pits? Clearly a major violation, but is that situation an automatic DQ? I know once before a car went back on track with the wrong tires fitted and they got a penalty plus a fine.

A Honda finished FOURTH? Alonso in 7th? Crazy talk... but I guess that is what happens when both Red Bulls plus a Ferrari drops out and the other Hass has damage. Williams looks terrible this year.

Side note: Rossi's drive to 3rd in the Phoenix Indy Race was amazing, he was down a full lap on a one groove track where everyone was fighting for grip yet was flying somehow.

MicVelo

With ESPN simply re-broadcasting the Sky coverage of the race without commercials was amazing. I think they're just paying us viewers back as I mentioned before but possibly, they're trying to figure out their own formula for covering the race or at least trying to figure out how to make the re-broadcast smoother than Australia.

Now that I was able to see the pre-show (unlike Race #1 down under), I am able to better personify the voices behind the commentary. That helped me to better appreciate the coverage. Martin Brundle's "grid stroll", IMO, wasn't as entertaining as Will Buxton, but hey, it provided some of the human side behind the racing.

In any event, it was a very interesting race! (I'm only saying that cuz Hamilton didn't win. Hahahahaha.)

Amazing drive by Vettel on toasted-sh*t tires and the mix of points winning cars at the end, now THAT's how F1 racing should be! No runaway-and-hide by Mercedes-AMG and some of the "underdog" teams - as was mentioned here - scoring high, particularly Toro Rosso and McLaren. Awesome.

I always feel bad for Ricciardo though.... he's a driver and he's very human. It's sad that RBR hasn't been able to give him a car.... Oh well.

SQuaLZ

Once a driver is released in an unsafe manner, it is the responsibility of the team to tell the driver to immediately stop the car, as "Cars must not be released from a garage or pit stop position in way that could endanger pit lane personnel or another driver."

I believe once they leave the pit box, they cannot return and have to DNF.

MicVelo

Speaking of.... "fortunate" that the pit member "only" got a broken leg during that whackjob pitstop.

Bad call by the pit boss.

Amazes me that they never even got the yellow SOFT tire OFF the car before he was given green; while the other three corners were on Reds (as I recall.)

Other miscellany: Hamilton calls Verstappen a ********. Hahahahahahaha. While I'm not a huge Hamilton fan, from my vantage point, Verstappen was just being his usual bull-on-a-rampage self and is to blame (if such can be cast in the heat of battle). To which I have to say gets me into more trouble when discussing F1 because while he's a very talented driver, he can be overly reckless in his pursuits. Same thing I've said about Daniil Kvyat.... and where is he now? Not in a halo'd cockpit, that's for sure...

SQuaLZ

I'm willing to bet the nut was cross-threaded on the first pitstop.

Was hilarious, and it was great that Vettel backed him up in the press conference. Everyone is hating on the bromance.

In other news, hope Ricciardo is the next Ferrari driver.