Motorsport Off Topic Thread

Associate
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Other then Silverstone I think the only permanent track that has the location and space to be modified would be Donington. Also the precedent is there from when it almost happened a few years back?

However good it would be to see the F1 cars around Brands, there would be some much work to get the run-offs up to scratch, theres already housing near by that would need to be consulted, the track is surround by either housing/m20 should they want to make the track any longer I just cant see it happening.

Think the London GP is most likely as an alternative, however will probably end up not being anywhere near the prominent sites etc due to the disruption involved preparing the track and closing down the surrounding roads for 3 days of running.
 
Soldato
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https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/mot...ontinues-to-expand/ar-BBPutus?ocid=spartanntp

Lewis Hamilton has threatened to quit Formula One if organisers keep adding races to an already congested calendar.

The 2019 schedule also has 21 races but will run from mid-March to early December, while owner Liberty Media is keen to add further grands prix.

In 2020, the first Vietnam Grand Prix will take place, while there have been suggestions an extra race in the United States – in Miami – could be added.


Hamilton is not a fan, though, and has suggested he would leave the sport should further additions be made.

Long F1 season for Hamilton
"I am not going to be here if it gets to 25 races, that's for sure," said the Mercedes driver ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"It already feels like we are on race 25 this year, so I don't think that's a good thing. I think 18 was probably the best back in the day. I'm someone who really loves racing but the season is long. It's a lot of commitment for all of us and a lot of time away from families, and the seasons are getting longer and the off time is getting shorter. All I can do is speak is for myself. The turnaround is so short, you start preparing for your next season often as soon as the season is done. Getting your mind turned. That's very difficult. Then you have to find a way of switching off and recovering at the same time."
 
Caporegime
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Let's hope 25 race seasons happen, some one posted on reddit how that could work out

It's a bit of stretch but it should work

The only way I could see it is more double headers with a 1 week gap in between and the reorganisation of the calendar which isn't easy. Some races have dates set due to other events such as Monaco and others are at certain times of the year due to weather or climate.
 
Soldato
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I occasionally ride with a couple of chaps who work for F1 - one's a trackside camera man and the other in charge of a rigging crew. They don't do every race but work in shifts across a few races. I always enjoy talking to them, because I find what they do really interesting plus of course they have a load of great stories. My impression was that the jobs are really cool and they're living the dream - good annual pay in return for around 20 weeks work a year.

The reality is, of course, quite different. They're already really feeling the impact of Liberty's arrival. Every race weekend is now longer for them, and every day longer too. The current bug bear are the F1 experience packages being sold, where the paying punters get more access and get driven around the track etc. They now have to film all that too, and the working days are significantly extended as Liberty are demanding more and more content, and the supply management are terrified of demanding more people and increasing the cost. It must be exactly the same for the teams - if they go to 25 races a year then surely they're going to have to rotate people in and out - it just isn't sustainable.

Plus, the elephant in the room is that if the actual racing isn't competitive, more races will just magnify the problem, not create more entertainment.
 
Soldato
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I occasionally ride with a couple of chaps who work for F1 - one's a trackside camera man and the other in charge of a rigging crew. They don't do every race but work in shifts across a few races. I always enjoy talking to them, because I find what they do really interesting plus of course they have a load of great stories. My impression was that the jobs are really cool and they're living the dream - good annual pay in return for around 20 weeks work a year.

The reality is, of course, quite different. They're already really feeling the impact of Liberty's arrival. Every race weekend is now longer for them, and every day longer too. The current bug bear are the F1 experience packages being sold, where the paying punters get more access and get driven around the track etc. They now have to film all that too, and the working days are significantly extended as Liberty are demanding more and more content, and the supply management are terrified of demanding more people and increasing the cost. It must be exactly the same for the teams - if they go to 25 races a year then surely they're going to have to rotate people in and out - it just isn't sustainable.

Plus, the elephant in the room is that if the actual racing isn't competitive, more races will just magnify the problem, not create more entertainment.

I think the teams said a year or two back that they were already having to supply therapists to help team members deal with the workload, stress, and being away from their families, and that if races were to go above the current number, they were going to have to double up on staff to rotate people out so they didn't burn out.
 
Soldato
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The only way I could see it is more doubleheaders with a 1-week gap in between and the reorganization of the calendar which isn't easy. Some races have dates set due to other events such as Monaco and others are at certain times of the year due to weather or climate.

yh here the reddit race calendar I was referring to, ok it's 24 but still

YEmjHBS.png
 
Soldato
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BBC are going to stream/red button all the Formula E races for next year and put one of them on BBC1/2.

https://www.autosport.com/fe/news/140014/bbc-to-screen-live-formula-e-races-in-201819

Interesting for the UK as it's not really something that many people I talk to seem to be aware of, but may raise it's popularity if the racing is good. Expect to see BBC really push this over F1 on it's website over the coming months then :p
 
Man of Honour
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Like it or not I think F1 will eventually merge with formula E once the tech can sustain f1 tracks/lap times for the whole race.

It seems inevitable, but a long way off. Formula E is a joke currently, but it has to start somewhere and eventually when the technology is there I am sure it will come to the forefront.
 
Soldato
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Indeed, the only reason formula e can now do a race distance in one car is because the tracks have low average speeds, they wouldn’t get anything close to a full distance at an f1 track.

That being said the racing is close with wheel to wheel action which is what we want to see unlike F1
 

JRS

JRS

Soldato
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Not going to be a name that the majority of folks on here recognise, but David Pearson - a legend of NASCAR and three-time champion - has died aged 83.

Mario Andretti called him one of the best drivers that he ever raced with. High praise indeed.

***edit***

An example of Pearson magic - the '74 Firecracker 400 at Daytona, and how he won it:


He knew that if Richard Petty was behind him on the last lap then he was vulnerable to Petty drafting by him...so he got out of it, made it look like he was having trouble before drafting clean back past Petty at the end of the final lap. By most accounts King Richard was deeply unamused :p
 
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Caporegime
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https://streamable.com/iau1e


Holy christ man, huge huge crash in F3, 17 year old Sophia Florsch gets launched straight through a catch fencing and then into a photographers stand. The other driver at the apex has also been taken to hospital but was conscious I believe. She was conscious when taken to hospital and apparently latest information is likely spinal fracture.

I think it's two marshals and one photographer also taken to hospital, poor information some sources saying some/all of those in grave condition, others saying they were conscious.

Insane crash.
 
Associate
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She's since tweeted that she is fine and is going into surgery tomorrow for a fracture on the spine.

Other updates about the Marshals and Photographers are here:

https://www.motorsport.com/f3/news/floersch-spinal-fracture-macau-injury-report/3216291/

The marshal, Chan Cha In, suffered a laceration of the face, abrasion of his upper abdomen wall and a fractured jaw.

Photographer Chan Weng Wang sustained a liver laceration and is being observed in hospital, with fellow photographer Minami Hiroyuki suffering a concussion and likewise under observation.

All incredibly lucky.
 
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Caporegime
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Holy christ man, huge huge crash in F3, 17 year old Sophia Florsch gets launched straight through a catch fencing and then into a photographers stand. The other driver at the apex has also been taken to hospital but was conscious I believe. She was conscious when taken to hospital and apparently latest information is likely spinal fracture.

That's got to be one of the most horrifying crashes I've seen in motorsport. I'm amazed it wasn't a worse outcome. I wish everyone involved a swift recovery.
 
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