F1 - 2015 United States Grand Prix

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
Have you thought about how they might modify Laguna Seca for an F1 race? Racing at COTA must have been quite a thrill.. Was it raining when you went into the wall there?


Laguna Seca would have to be lengthened to run F1. Their tracks have to be at least 4km long, with the exception of Monaco. And F1 tracks have to have garages that open directly to pit road. I don't know how pit road at Laguna is configured.


The pit layout there is not too bad but it would surely require new construction to satisfy F1. Apparently there is actual discussion of it as New Jersey still wobbles in the breeze. I would hope that the track extension would go over the edge of the hill to add even more interest. If you went cheap a .4km loop could be built in the infield I suppose just to bring it up to 4km but it would be boring.


America needs 3 Grands Prix: New Jersey, Texas, and California. Eastern, Central, and Western. I really was hoping that Port Imperial event could happen. That's as close as F1 could get to the cultural and money center of Manhattan.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: DeepFriar
Rosberg must have been nursing a grudge for Hamilton having pushed him off the track at the start. But he lost the race on his own.


I'm undecided about what Hamilton's intentions were on the first turn. It sure looked from the outside that he pushed Rosberg out, but the in-car camera didn't show Hamilton steering right when he got close to Rosberg. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that the car understeered wide. But come on, why drive with so little margin on first turn of the first lap when you don't know the grip level? Just get through it and you've got 167 other opportunities to pass during the race.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I'm undecided about what Hamilton's intentions were on the first turn.


They hate each other, pure and simple. The same way he and Alonso hated each other at McLaren. There is far more racism in Continental Europe than here. And they're not so worried about displaying it, and being politically correct like they are here. Hamilton pushed him wide, period. There was zero reason for him to go so wide on that corner, when he cut it far closer on every other lap. He risked suspension damage on both cars doing it. It was stupid. Then he tossed the second place hat at Rosberg as a cheap shot at rubbing it in. I've never liked Hamilton because he's a whiner and a blamer when things go bad. He's a good enough driver with a good enough team where that doesn't happen very often. And he's been far luckier than Rosberg with reliability this year.

A lot of this wasn't Rosberg's fault. He had a lot of car issues Hamilton didn't have throughout the season. That's racing. I much prefer a personality like Vettel's. He keeps his private life very private. You see him at the track, and no where else. He doesn't parade his girlfriend in front of the cameras. Like Schumacher, you rarely see her at the track, if ever. Hamilton likes bling and glitz. He's much like a black boxer like Mayweather. That's his prerogative, but he doesn't have me for a fan because of it. There are many others who think the same. He's good, I'll give him that. But I'll be rooting for anyone who is against him.... Even his own teammates. Because even they will NEVER be with him.

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: billt460
Perhaps another "rule change" is in order...... Hosing down the track 5 minutes before the start of every race!

I was thinking the exact same thing!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I'm undecided about what Hamilton's intentions were on the first turn.

Yes, that's a hard one to call. It looked questionable, but Lewis claims he had understeer. Others have been less kind to Nico, noting that if he hadn't flubbed his pole position start, Lewis wouldn't have been in the position to "guide" him off the track in the first place.

Originally Posted By: billt460
True, but it was pretty classless of Hamilton to throw the second place cap at him.

I would disagree. I'm not a Lewis fan at all, but he has grown up over the years. I may certainly be wrong, but it looked to me as if Lewis was trying to lighten the mood, since Nico was very obviously and very literally sulking in the corner.

 

[Brad_C]

It seemed to take Merc a couple of laps to switch the tyres on.

Looking at the in-car from Hamiltons view it looked like he was torn between winding it in tighter and risking losing the front end entirely, and pushing Rosberg out a bit further.

Personally I'm not much of a fan of either of them, but I don't think it was as deliberate as Rosberg wants to make it out to be.

I've been wrong before though.

 

[IndyIan]

I think turn 1 was a questionable move by Lewis, if it had been Vettel in a Ferrari pushed off the track there, the stewards would've been "investigating".
Also I downloaded the Sky sport F1 broadcast since my PVR missed the race. I think in the future I'll just download the races as it has the full race without commercials, plus an hour long post race show from in the paddock, and its in HD. I normally only get TSN in very low definition with 1/3 of the race taken up by commercials...

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think turn 1 was a questionable move by Lewis, if it had been Vettel in a Ferrari pushed off the track there, the stewards would've been "investigating".


I agree. Hamilton gets away with a lot that other top drivers would be called on. It was so obvious he pushed Rosberg. Just where was Rosberg supposed to go? There was no need for Hamilton to go that wide. He never did after that. The only thing I wish would have happened, was to have him break the front end on both cars. Or better just his. Then, they would have been all over him like stink on dog dung. But because nothing happened they all looked the other way.

 

[IndyIan]

Lewis has been pushing Rosberg around a lot this year on the track because he knows he will yield. It will be interesting for the last 3 races how they race each other now that its all been decided though, Rosberg doesn't have anything to lose now...
Hopefully Rosberg can get a few chances to push back this year and then at the start of next season, make sure he shows that he will crash them out if Lewis just tries to run him off the road again. The team might give him some grief for racing hard, but they won't replace him mid-season. If he can't beat Lewis he has no chance to be WC anyways.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Lewis has been pushing Rosberg around a lot this year on the track because he knows he will yield. It will be interesting for the last 3 races how they race each other now that its all been decided though, Rosberg doesn't have anything to lose now...
Hopefully Rosberg can get a few chances to push back this year and then at the start of next season, make sure he shows that he will crash them out if Lewis just tries to run him off the road again. The team might give him some grief for racing hard, but they won't replace him mid-season. If he can't beat Lewis he has no chance to be WC anyways.


I'm hoping that is exactly what happens.... Starting next week.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I normally only get TSN in very low definition with 1/3 of the race taken up by commercials...

And they did it again, as soon as pit stops happen, they decide to roll the commercials. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If Bernie wants to cement his legacy and capture new markets (and new market segments), the number one thing that needs to be done is this: cross-platform Bernie-Vision.

 

[bdcardinal]

I have seen the Sky and BBc broadcasts and they are top notch. I would love it if we could get our NBC announcers Leigh Diffey, Steve Matchett, and David Hobbs on a commercial free broadcast.

 

[Brad_C]

As sad as it is, I'm paying $600/yr for satellite just to be able to get the F1 & MotoGP add break free. Still get [censored] of awful commercials, just not during the race. Luckily we get the Sky broadcast, so the commentary is ok and the pre & post is a worthwhile watch.

Prior to this our free to air used to screen every race live, but place long commercial breaks right where you didn't want them.

 

[Garak]

I'm going to be exploring different options, if at all possible, as this season winds down, and get myself ready for next season. TSN can't time commercials to save their souls, and there certainly must be a live feed out there somewhere that I can stream or save or something.

I really wish Bernie et al would get on it, themselves, though. I have no problem paying for the WEC premium subscription. I'd do the same for F1 in a second.

 

[weasley]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Lewis has been pushing Rosberg around a lot this year on the track because he knows he will yield.


Yep - it has been happening as long as people have been racing each other. It is called "racing". Lewis had the corner and made sure Nico knew it. Good for him and good for the race stewards for letting the racing do the talking and not interfering with every little bump and shuffle.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
It will be interesting for the last 3 races how they race each other now that its all been decided though, Rosberg doesn't have anything to lose now...


On the contrary, Nico will very much NOT want to come third in the championship - it is bad enough being beaten by your team-mate, but to be beaten by a supposedly inferior car...?! He will be racing for second very firmly. I predict that Lewis will, where he can, run interference for Nico to help achieve a Mercedes 1-2 in the drivers' championship.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Hopefully Rosberg can get a few chances to push back this year and then at the start of next season, make sure he shows that he will crash them out if Lewis just tries to run him off the road again. The team might give him some grief for racing hard, but they won't replace him mid-season. If he can't beat Lewis he has no chance to be WC anyways.


Nico has form in this area - and he got slapped down for it. He comes across as desperate and needy with all his pit radio chatter and post-race justifications of his actions. Not only has he got to beat Lewis but I predict that Sebastian will be up there next year too. Nico has got himself a good seat, but he is not in their league.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: weasley
I predict that Lewis will, where he can, run interference for Nico to help achieve a Mercedes 1-2 in the drivers' championship.


Oh, I'm sure.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Garak
I'm going to be exploring different options, if at all possible, as this season winds down, and get myself ready for next season. TSN can't time commercials to save their souls, and there certainly must be a live feed out there somewhere that I can stream or save or something.

I really wish Bernie et al would get on it, themselves, though. I have no problem paying for the WEC premium subscription. I'd do the same for F1 in a second.


I'm tempted now just to wait for the SkyF1 broadcast to show up on the torrents a day or two later. I actually didn't hear anything about the US GP before I watched it on Tuesday night and it was so much better to see the whole thing with no commercial breaks. Last night I watched the Sepang motoGP after hearing that it was good, and it was, in HD too! If you haven't watched a motoGP race recently its quite amazing what they can do on the bikes now.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: weasley


Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Hopefully Rosberg can get a few chances to push back this year and then at the start of next season, make sure he shows that he will crash them out if Lewis just tries to run him off the road again. The team might give him some grief for racing hard, but they won't replace him mid-season. If he can't beat Lewis he has no chance to be WC anyways.


Nico has form in this area - and he got slapped down for it. He comes across as desperate and needy with all his pit radio chatter and post-race justifications of his actions. Not only has he got to beat Lewis but I predict that Sebastian will be up there next year too. Nico has got himself a good seat, but he is not in their league.

Except sometimes he is, but not often enough I guess. And too many mistakes at critical times. I think a good sport psychologist to help him settle when he needs too, and him not being such a team player and happy "for the teams result" and act like he's in a one car team, he could give Lewis a better run next year.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I'm tempted now just to wait for the SkyF1 broadcast to show up on the torrents a day or two later.

The standard TV broadcast regime is slowly but surely dying. People who are in their teens now are very likely to not be buying satellite or cable when they move out of their parents' houses in three or four years. They play racing games on their Playstations and watch TV through their Playstations and other streaming devices. If you want these people as an audience, since you may have already piqued their interest, you had better have a content delivery system that works for them.

WEC streaming is getting there, but really should seek some better integration with gaming consoles. Bernie-Vision was a great idea, but just too early, and they need to move forward on that. Now is the time. I can already watch some racing live in HD through Youtube on my PS3, things that I can never get on satellite or cable TV, no matter how much I spend.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: weasley
I predict that Lewis will, where he can, run interference for Nico to help achieve a Mercedes 1-2 in the drivers' championship.


Oh, I'm sure.



Mercedes would want Rosberg to beat Vettel for second in the championship, and should be able to count on Hamilton to help Rosberg.