I was thinking this morning about F1. How is was cool to see Alonso do so well at the beginning of the season. How is has been fun to see the bi-polar driving of Sergio and not knowing which of him will show up from week to week. How it has been nice to see a much improved McLaren.

And then I thought about how great of a season it would be if Max simply did not exist on the field. Both points races would be tight. We would have had multiple drivers and teams winning races and making podiums.

I know I should appreciate seeing history in the making, but I am so ready for a PU failure, for a tire blowout, for a wheel gun to strip a nut, etc. Anything to put Max out of a race so someone else can claim the top spot.

Ricciardo getting punted to the back by the Alfa was unfortunate. Him fighting his way back up to what was effectively his starting position was probably best case.

Still awesome to see McLaren leaping up the order. Not sure how Piastri got screwed on that first stop order, but in fairness he really isn't as fast as Lando I don't think?

RBR dominance is something beyond what we've seen even at peak of Merc, Ferrari or old RBR. Whatever upgrades they brought should scare the crap out of everyone else, and their comments about needing to get them dialed in better for spa, well, damn.

Sergio got the broadcast's driver of the day. I'd say at least a toss-up between him and George Russell. Russell seemed to have been screwed by his team again and got killed by qualifying. Quite a drive for him at the notoriously hard to pass Hungaroring.

The tv knee-pad brigade were so enthused by Hammy's pole, kind of funny to see him swamped at the start (notice the lack of replays as they dwelled on the back marker shenanigans). And, as always, Hammy entertained with his tales of woe during the race.

I saw some discussion, true I guess, Merc opts for tire pressures that compromise their starts for better tire longevity. It worked fine when they were the dominant team.

I think part of Hamilton's poor start and loss of position to the McLaren's, was that he and Verstappen race each other so differently than the rest of the field. No quarter given by either.
He was so focused on squeezing Max in a move that failed to achieve the results, and then Lando and Piastri got a run on him that he was out of position to defend, because Max shoved him wide.
As long as they didn't crash in turn one, I don't think it would have made much difference to the final result for either one of them.

I think it's too early to say Daniels finishing position was a definitive indication of things yet.
He and Yuki were within thousandth's in qualifying and the bump at the start and the rest of their race weren't covered closely enough to really see a clear difference.
The fact Daniel didn't get beaten in his first race back is a good sign for him but the next race will give more to talk about over the break if both have clean races.

Ferrari's don't seem to have much going for them at this point except tire wear is a bit better. Driver confidence in the team seems to be missing and easy to understand why.

The Astons seem to be lagging in development and due for another successful update package.

Of course, Alpine made everybody's race look at least OK.
Poor qualifying and both out in turn one, no fault of the drivers except racing in the dumpster fire area of the grid.

Ok a few things.

I love qualifying almost as much as the race. Watching them go flat out through the three stages is fun and entertaining. When George was locked out at the end of the first stage, I was like "uh oh, he will be pissed." The commentators wanted him to make an issue of the so called "gentleman's agreement". he was like, "no, I would have been fighting just as they did." He blamed their timing, poor decisions and his own missteps. I was impressed.

The F1 race broadcast is far more fun than any other series I have ever watched. They do a great job of spreading around the cameras and talking about most of the drivers. In contrast I cannot stand NASCAR broadcast, I do not think they even do the sound right. My favorite, going to the track, listening to my team switching to the radio (MRN) and the emergency crews when needed.

I doubt I ever get to go to a F1 race. It is just cost prohibitive, and frankly I wonder if the F1 broadcast is better anyway.

I have not been to see the IRL in about 10 years, so I cannot speak but I had just as much fun watching them at Texas Motor Speedway as I did NASCAR.

Having been to COTA twice, it's a different experience, but you do get a better overall view watching at home on TV
F1 has gotten better at the camera game, there have been a few instances where the cameras are following a battle for position, cut to a crowd reaction or some celebrity in the pit hospitality area, then back to the fight & the overtake is done. Lot of complaints about that.

My dad made a similar comment about Indy & that he's enjoyed the little bit of Indy coverage he's watched over the F1 season this year.

F1 accused of extortion over Las Vegas track view demands

I always feel like some of the F1 reporting is just one step above National Enquirer. Not sure it that's the case here or this is for real.

Since it's Vegas, does give that nice mob vibe. "We think the chances of you having a strike or fire at your casino/grocery/pizza joint will be much less if we get 10% of gross."

I read about that too & some similar comparisons drawn to Monaco.
Some of the comments, like 'does the restaurant/bar at Rascasse have to pay extra for an unobstructed view?'

I'm still holding out hope on some free Vegas tickets (the only way I'd go). Know someone whose company has some of the F1 contracts for the race. Keeping tabs on if they get some VIP tickets

The race [Vegas] is outrageous already, and priced outside the average person's budget, so something like this doesn't seem surprising.

Wet FP1 in Spa. Waste of an FP1 session. We'll see how they handle it for Quali due to happen today. Drivers going into it a bit blind & IIRC cars are parc ferme for the weekend as of the start of quali.
Really hoping conditions improve, we don't need a repeat of the 21 race.

Rain forecast for today & tomorrow, cloudy for Sunday.
I'd be upset if I paid F1 $ for tickets & had nothing to watch, again.

I wonder how much the scheduling change (to before the summer break) raised the rain chances?
The place seems to get it's share of rain anytime but a month or so later seems a better option.

Just saw on Twitter that Vegas is behind schedule on the construction. I hope they get it together.

quote:

Originally posted by redstone:
Just saw on Twitter that Vegas is behind schedule on the construction. I hope they get it together.

I know someone whose company, I believe, has some contracts with the Vegas GP. Pit/paddock area facilities, IIRC.
Shot him a message to ask about it.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
My dad made a similar comment about Indy & that he's enjoyed the little bit of Indy coverage he's watched over the F1 season this year.

Careful now, or you'll get people crying that this isn't the IndyCar thread. I will say the irony of the timing is their next event is the Crashville Street Circuit that will likely pay all of Dallara's expenses for the next year.

As for Sprint Quali, no matter how much I want to trash Stroll for screwing everyone and his teammate over with his crash, what idiot thought it was a good idea to go from Inters to Mediums?

Of all the places to stuff it, No Name is better than Radillon.
Bummer for Alonso & DR3.

Glad I watched Sprint Quali late.
They swapped SportCenter & the Sprint, so it wasn't going to record.

Still don't like the Sprint format, but that was a good race.
Stewards a little overzealous, imo. Hard racing [Ham/Per] & unintentional. Also, how do you impede [Alo/Hul] someone that you're racing for position?

yawn

I'm about done with F1 in 2023.

If this is the "pinnacle of motor racing," I'll stick with my exciting spec series that isn't a fancy parade. If I want more chassis options and innovation, WEC and IMSA can do that and showcase racing. I'm just wondering when F1 is going to lose all the Drive To Survive fans because all the excitement is not on the track, and Spa is probably the greatest track in the world.

Outside of the top 5, some good scraps through the midfield.

Any thoughts about what's going on with Russell?