Circuit officials said more than 30,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday's grand prix. Site that large, only 30K people...
30K tickets...that's it?:shocked: Heck the ACC Basketball Championship game today had well over 22K in Greensboro... A Sprint Cup race in Charlotte has 200K..... My money is on cardboard cut outs...:lol: Don't get me wrong, I've loved F1 over the years but what I witnessed today is not racing.. Matter fact you couldn't tell much difference in today and qualifing yesterday as far as on track action....and certainly didn't encourage me to go out and purchase a ticket for a race.
Yes, that was a pretty dull race. I want to believe that when the teams sit down and study the details they'll realize where they were too conservative and where they can push limits, and things will get more interesting over the next few races as they adapt to the new environment. That's probably just wishful thinking though. I had high hopes for the season and still hope things will turn around...but I'm starting to think the new formula is a bust. I guarantee there are people brainstorming. The only suggestion I've seen so far is to mandate two pit stops. The problem is, now that the cars are built almost every effectual change proposed will be countered with "but we designed our cars for X, not Y" or "that will force us to spend millions to adapt" or worse...not easy to change anything for the better at this point.
.....and still not change much because then they will all be on the same stategy anyway. I am starting to think that the support races would be more fun to watch now....
I love the fact that the teams all spent tons of money developing new wheel nuts and torque wrenches to make changing tires faster during the new, no-fuel pit stops. No matter what you come up with, F1 teams will find a way to spend more money as a result! As for increasing on-track action: It ain't gonna happen. F1 is F1 and the cars aren't going to pass each other on the track very often. Unless you want to go to NASCAR-style phantom cautions to bunch up the field, or start racing on tracks with lots of long straights leading into tight corners and chicanes, rule changes are not going to make for more action.
Bit comical too was how many people the teams had out on pit lane during stops just to change four tires. What was the old line.. "How many _____ does it take to change a light bulb?" Really do think maybe going to small fuel cells where the amount of fuel on board during any segment would not make that much difference in speed. Cut down on the number of people allowed over the wall during stops making stops longer and put the race back in the hands of the drivers and teams. For tighting up the race nothing works better than full course cautions (only when something has happened) and the excitement of the restarts where driver skill is a major factor....
in my humble opinion the no refueling rule has proven itself a bust in the very first race. I am hoping that once Shumi figures out that he has a good car and knocks off some of the rust he will inject some life into the rest of the field. Probably too much to hope for, but yesterday was a good start.
15 Mechanics for a tire change. 3 Per Wheel, one to remove and replace the wheel nut, one to take away the old tire, one to place the new tire. Total of 12 2 to jack up car, one at each end 1 with lollipop to let the car go. That is 2 less than last season, the refueling guys are no longer needed.
I think it's at least 16 because you need one person holding the car by the roll hoop to keep it steady. Steve Matchett pointed that out when one of the new teams made its first stop and the car almost wobbled off the jack stands. On Wind Tunnel, one of the F1 guys suggested Bridgestone needed to make softer tires so degradation would be more of an issue. Matchett was saying during the race that new tires were worth maybe 2 seconds a lap yesterday. Given that a stop took over 20 seconds on pit lane, there wasn't enough to gain by changing to new tires (and that was a 2-second difference in 95 degree heat). Go to super-soft tires with a bigger drop-off in performance and you'll get more strategies in play, like when F1 has a wet-to-drying track, or dare I say like NASCAR where no tires, 2 tires or 4 tires can all be in play at times and each have its own set of risks and rewards.
Think it's seven in Sprint cup and a four tire and fuel stop is 13-15 seconds with all those lug nuts. Six men over the wall are allowed in Indy Car for a four tire and fuel stop and takes 12-16 seconds... Times are for the actual service and does not include time on and off pit roads. 15 is overkill and leaves little time for any kind of strategy on a stop to make up some major ground on the track and get a team and driver back into the mix for a podium... Competiton!
Mark Webber is the latest to cry 'bore' after spending his Bahrain GP staring at his rivals' gearboxes with no way to pass. Instead of being the spectacle that many had hoped given the new regulations and four World Champs on the grid, Bahrain proved to be little more than a dreary procession. Already Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button, as well as some team bosses, have expressed their fears that Bahrain could be a sign of things to come while Webber has now added his voice to the growing discontent. "It got pretty boring," the Red Bull racer, who finished eighth on Sunday afternoon, told AAP. "I spent 48 laps staring at the gearboxes of first Schumacher and then Button and there was nothing I could do to pass them. "I tried everything - different lines, pressure, everything. But they're both good drivers and neither of them made a mistake." The Aussie also expressed his thoughts on the new regulations on Twitter. "Wow! New rules, not sure huh?" he wrote. "Why do they keep d**king with it? Followed Mercedes power for the whole race, no chance to overtake - again." But despite his damning verdict on F1's new regulations, Webber is confident his Red Bull RB6 can produce the goods when the F1 circus stops in Australia in two weeks. "The RB6 was competitive in Bahrain which proves what a phenomenal job the guys in Milton Keynes have done over the winter," he said. "We've now got to put the icing on the cake by getting the results that the car deserves on a Sunday afternoon. "We've done it in the past and I'm absolutely sure that well do it again."
Lock the Drivers and crews in a room and lock out the owners and F1 officials including Mr Egostone and don't let them out until a new set of rules are produced. Then go back to the good old style circuits with some grit and character, where the fans can see and be seen and I'd bet money we'd have better racing...
F1 Racing(?) or a Parade :confused5: Thanks Nathan. I was quite underwhelmed also but I'm no expert and wanted to know from you guys:"do y'all really enjoy watching this CRAP?" Also, what is that 'Praying Mantis' body front? I'm no aerodynamacist but ,I don't understand what it could possibly accomplish. So I'll be watching for y'all to tell me when some good racing will be coming on.:lol: Jason
Aerodynamically the nose with it's very narrow frontal area creates very little drag being that high and allows a front spoiler/wing with a larger area thusly creating more downforce than if the nose was lower and the front wing was attached to the sides.
This is a one of my big complaints about F1. For several years now we've seen F1 abandon older circuits in Europe in favor of new circuits in Asia and Middle East. I don't have any qualms about the actual locations, but other than the 4-apex Turn 8 (?) at Turkey these tracks offer nothing compelling to television viewers. The only explanation is that these countries are willing to pay the piper and willing to develop the modern facilities. Look at the 2010 schedule: Bahrain - Always a terrible track, made asinine with all the new corners this year. Melbourne - Likely the best street circuit in the world, a definite sense of place. Malaysia - One of the first of the modern tracks. Too long, but it does have some interesting high-speed curves. China - Terrible modern track. Spain - Decent, more traditional track with some interesting sections. Monaco - A ridiculous place to have a race, but that's okay. Turkey - One great corner with 4 apexes makes it steps above most modern circuits. Canada - I wouldn't want the entire series to run on tracks like this, but as an oddball it has great character. Indy - Not held in 2010, but I just have to say that track was awful. Valencia - Street circuit. Awful. Silverstone - One of the best tracks for TV - amazingly fast corners. Hockeheimring - Terrible - bring back the old version with the fast straights in the forest. Hungary - Not suitable for F1 cars. Spa - Not as glorious as the days of the real Bus Stop, but still the best. Monza - Like Canada, wonderfully quirky Singapore - Street circuit. Awful. Suzuka - Wonderful - what F1 tracks should be. Korea - We shall see Interlagos - Wonderfully quirky - you know it's Interlagos at first glance. Abu Dhabi - Awful. A perfect example of modern tracks distinguished by the buildings around them rather than the circuit itself.
We've been having a similar discussion over at my site Carnuts.us and most of the consensus follows what you all are writing, but I take a different view.... Since when does the track have to favor the cars? Since when do the rules have to be written to favor the cars? Since when do the rules have to be written to favor what the drivers want? When was F1 ever that way? Those old European racetracks you all love were real hazards back in the day, and trying to make them safe enough to race on is what's neutered them, and why the new tracks are laid out the way they are - that and the fact that you need slow corners to maximize the exposure time of the sponsor's logo on the car to television. My position is that we now have a crop of drivers who have been babied all their lives, who have been coached what to say, and who's main impetus is to make sure they get an even bigger contract next year, by saving the car. Consequently, when I hear a Mock Weeber complaining that he can't get around Jenson "smooth but slow" Button, I have no sympathy. You're an F1 driver, grow some balls dude.....find a way past and get on with the race! Everyone complains that the racing's not as exciting as it used to be - back when races were decided more by who's engine didn't blow up, by who didn't lose a wheel in turn one, by who's car didn't understeer and oversteer at the same time and throw them off the track, by the one who did not catch fire in the pits while refueling, overheat in the pits while changing tires, or by who didn't run out of brakes completely before half the race was over? Those good old days? Wanna see a lot of passes for the lead? Watch NASCAR Wanna see lots of passing in an F1 race? Look down the grid to those drivers who are paying for their rides..... Leave the rules alone and let the teams get on with it and stop changing them every year, then you'll see some racing. It's not the tracks, it's not the aero, it's not the rules, it's these weak assed drivers, IMHO of course!