I’m sure this commenter was even more bummed by the blue unis on the qualification platform.
F1 - 2024 Season
- Thread starter FrankTGucker
- Start date
It’s surprising to see qualification P5 McLaren take the lead … perhaps this season will deserve more attention.
NOR benefited from a couple of timely yellows, but the performance was there on the medium tyre all weekend. I’m not a big fan of Lando but this win was well deserved. Guessing this will make Zak Brown even more insufferable than normal
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Yes passing in the pits and yellow flag luck have been a bane of pure racing for a long time.
For some reason I don't really care for Lando, which is odd since everyone seems to love him. He seems exceptionally dumb to me.
Trust fund baby.
Also, Hamilton still has it and is going to kill it at Ferrari. Especially if Newey ends up there. His pass on Tsunoda was.....chef's kiss.
I don’t find Lando too interesting. He’s a very good driver but not a win at all costs guy who might challenge for a title someday.
So, big whoop he won a race in a stadium parking lot.
So, big whoop he won a race in a stadium parking lot.
Even if Ferrari can’t beat RB next year, Lewis v Charles will be extremely interesting to follow. Lewis is aging, but he is still obviously an all-timer, and Charles is the best of the rest outside of Lewis and Max (Fred is older now).
In a call with any straight line speed, Ham would have cruised past Perez. Also, his gapping of Russell was embarassing.
That Mercedes is schizo depending on track, tires (tyres), and temps. What a mess of a car.
Great. Another parking lot race. How's 80's of you F1.
Wow. This idea is insane.
First, the locals didn't like the NASCAR race much with all the street closures. An F1 race would require so much more:
- Probably needs a longer circuit -- I'm not even sure where they could route it
- Would absolutely need the entire circuit to be repaved with fancy F1 pavement, a massive job (see Vegas)
- The construction of all the temporary stands/pits/paddock/fences would be 2-3x what NASCAR requires
This would be a logistical nightmare in a city that would struggle to handle it. Also, Chicago spent $3.5M for the NASCAR race -- who is going to pay for all this paving and the $25M+ F1 fee (maybe they could make it a collab like Vegas). But still...
They may try it, but it would be wild to see how they actually execute it.
If F1 wants another US race in the middle of the country, just go back to Indy. It's a real racecourse, they would get huge crowds, and you can actually see the cars. But Liberty seems fixated on the glitz and glam of a big city with some skyscrapers in the background.
F1 here in Indy started out great but ended poorly. Does Penske's ownership of IMS help or hurt?
Hard to tell. When he bought the track he said he was open to F1 and other races. Probably helps he’s not the Hulman-George family who had the bad experience.
Imo Roger has been disappointing — he hasn’t done a good job with IndyCar. There are all kinds of delays with the hybrids and new chassis. There is no third engine mfg, and it’s going the wrong way with Honda threatening to leave. They botched the Nashville race and had to move it. The charters aren’t moving and the team owners seem generally unhappy with the series — very little investment has been made. Ratings are down and the new TV deal looks so-so in terms of $ and network (Fox?). Then there is the cheating incident.
Given the above, Penske’s organization doesn’t seem like one that is about to make F1 work here unfortunately.
Bright spot is Doug Boles does an awesome job selling tickets to the 500 and running IMS. And I guess the series is cheap enough for a lot of entrants. And lastly attendance at the first few races this year has been good.
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Get the effing lights at the Speedway man. Night racing. Can you even imagine? Also, you might be able to sneak a 12 hour IMSA race in there as well.
I’d love it!
Would have to deploy all of IMPD to secure a few parking lots around the track (some areas would be dicey!), but if there is a will there is a way.
Come on Roger. Use the asset you bought you penny pincher.
I remember at the press conference his grand plan was to improve the facility and develop the area around the track. Has anything been done?
He did some maintenance on the bathrooms and grandstands — nothing amazing, mostly fresh paint. They spruced up the golf course and raised the greens fees. There is a building in the north infield for a BMW driving school. That’s about it.
The museum is being redone, but that is owned by a non-profit that isn’t Penske related.
No new hotels, retail, or mixed use has gone up. No new notable events. In fairness F1 and/or MotoGP, etc. may not be actionable for reasons out of IMS’ control.
IMS is in good shape, just not doing much with the facility. And the biggest issue for anyone who cares about IndyCar is the series is struggling a bit.
I’m getting in the weeds though on this issue. I’m looking forward to all the upgrades coming for Ferrari and RB (plus Piastri gets all the Macca updates) at Imola.
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I'm not sold on whether it'd be a good thing or a bad thing, but someone like Liberty buying the series might at least drag it into the 21st century. I feel like there's just not enough money behind it to do much these days beyond simply exist. Look at the post race optics for most races (other than the 500). They resemble the Biggest Turnip awards at the County Fair, right down to fat chicks in halter tops milling about in the background. IndyCar doesn't have a bad product, but they have a bad look. They need an image overhaul if they want any popularity beyond the month...er, two weekends in May. It's basically The Indy 500, surrounded by a bunch of races that bear no resemblance to The Indy 500. And no one cares about them.
Looks like the Ferrari upgrades helped their top speed with no adverse affects in the corners…
RB was off today. I’m sure they will be better tomorrow. Interesting.
RB was off today. I’m sure they will be better tomorrow. Interesting.
