Formula One 2019

[Red October1984]

Anybody following this season? If not, it's not too late! Only two races down.

I'm curious to see how many fans we have here and what team/driver you're pulling for and why. If there's interest, I could start up a fantasy F1 league.

Unfortunately for me, I'm a Ferrari fan. So blood pressure runs high during races. I'm absolutely heartbroken for Charles LeClerc after today's Bahrain GP finish. Guess I've got two weeks to cool down before China. Hoping he (LeClerc) can keep it together for a WDC contention this year.

[Buddahaid]

Yep, I watch it all including P1, P2, P3, and qualifying. The hard part for me is not accidently reading the winner before I watch since I record it all beforehand.

I pull for Ferrari as well but I also root for Haas. Seems to me that Ferrari has the edge lately but looses to Mercedes over mistakes, bad luck and mistaken strategy more than their share.

Too bad for LeClerc but he was saved by the bell when the Renault cars both failed bringing out the safety car and turning the bad luck into a save although I hate races ending on the safety car.

That said it's looking like a great season and look at McClaren! They've pulled themselves off the bottom. I hope Williams can get back in the game this year as well.

[Jimbuna]

Hamilton for the win

[Schroeder]

I stopped caring a few years ago after 20 years of being a fan.
Too many garbage rules and regulations and no drivers I can root for.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

I stopped caring a few years ago after 20 years of being a fan.
Too many garbage rules and regulations and no drivers I can root for.

I thought you'd be a fan of the finger man

[mapuc]

I'm one of those who read about it afterward and to see how Magnussen performed in the race.

We really don't have any Swedes left. Ericsson or was it Eriksson have left

Yesterday he got position 6 in the startup line, but ended on 13th place.

Markus

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Hamilton for the win

LeClerc/Vettel 2019

Hamilton is definitely NOT my cup of tea....but he's a talented driver and I can respect that. I respect how he treated LeClerc this weekend. Would have liked a Ferrari win, but Hamilton fought hard.

Originally Posted by mapuc

I'm one of those who read about it afterward and to see how Magnussen performed in the race.

We really don't have any Swedes left. Ericsson or was it Eriksson have left

Yesterday he got position 6 in the startup line, but ended on 13th place.

Markus

I really like watching KMag but he's got a crap teammate. I have to root for Haas, being American and all. I just wish they could finally pull it together. It'll be a tough battle for them this season.

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

LeClerc/Vettel 2019

Hamilton is definitely NOT my cup of tea....but he's a talented driver and I can respect that. I respect how he treated LeClerc this weekend. Would have liked a Ferrari win, but Hamilton fought hard..

I didn't really care for him for some time but I think he's matured into a class act. He drives offensively but knows how to stay out of tangles and chooses his battles wisely. Keeps his head. Verstappen seems to finally get how to channel his aggressive driving style this year but there a a lot of races left.

Overall the drivers this season look like they are better at staying out of contact with each other and the new wings seem to be working even though Vettel got messed up in some wash.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Overall the drivers this season look like they are better at staying out of contact with each other and the new wings seem to be working even though Vettel got messed up in some wash.

Tis a long way to go and I predict Vettel will resort to his usual tactics should matters not go his way

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I thought you'd be a fan of the finger man

Nope. Never really was.


I used to be a Schumacher / Hakkinen fan but those days are long gone.

[skidman]

F1 suffers from stupid regulations, the drag reduction system is a good example. It kills the race. And it suffers from too much money spent to buy mediocre drivers into cars.

I like multiclass endurance racing: WEC (it's such a shame Porsche and Audi left the party), IMSA (Weathertech), Blancpain, VLN, Creventic. The best races of the season are LeMans, 24hrs of Spa and of course the 24hrs on the Nürburgring. The 12hrs of Bathurst, Daytona and Sebring are great fun too. But nothing beats a LMP1 Prototype going down Mulsanne Straight overtaking GTEs like a hot knife through butter, or a GT3 in the hands of a high-profile driver through Fuchsröhre or Wippermann/Brünnchen on the Nordschleife.

Turn up loud:

[Buddahaid]

How does DRS kill the race when it makes passing possible?

So the 1000th F1 race has come and gone and Mercedes still finds themselves on the top. This was a clean race with few surprises and nobody knocked out at the start even with the McClaren's getting bumped. I was nervous Max was going to punt Seb out trying to overtake when Seb's tires were cold but it settled down.

My only disappointments were Ferrari not being able to challenge Mercedes for the win and Haas not coming through despite good qualifying.

[Platapus]

Concerning that lap record video


I can't comprehend the amount of focus a driver needs to have in order to do this. A split second distraction would be all it would take.


Yikes!!!

[skidman]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

How does DRS kill the race when it makes passing possible?

Because it makes overtaking far too predictable. And thus we see the same move in the same part of the track over and over again. And though there are much smarter regulations to facilitate passing like "push to pass" in Indycar, limited number of DRS activation in DTM or even the boost system in Formula E, they all make the race less exiting.

Good motorsport requires a well thought-out BOP (Balance of performance). We won't see that in F1 anytime soon. In GT racing you usually have cars with very different specs: AMGs with 6l displacement engine against R8s or Huracans with 5.2l or 488s with 4l all in one race. Still the Ferraris can win, because of a clever BOP. And we see fights for positions, that take a few rounds in which the opponents find out about weaknesses and strengths of the car/driver in front/behind.

This makes races exiting, not pushing a button, flipping the wing open, and fly past the other car.

[skidman]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Yikes!!!

Amazing, isn't it. Timo is among the most capable drivers in prototype racing and the Nordschleife (the "green hell", as Jacky Ickx put it) is the most challenging race track on earth. That is why any driver who wants to race there needs a special permit. A FIA super license or even a platinum license is not good enough. A side note: Hamilton atm does not hold the Nordschleife permit.