Well that was an anticlimactic Q3.
Hoping for a good race, love Suzuka.

Alonso mentioned that it will be dry tomorrow which is a shame because that will probably make it a snoozer.
Let’s see if Vettel can gain some places quickly and make it through the first laps without contact.
Sounds like most will need more than one stop so that may help make it more interesting.

Saw an article where Hamilton is calling for a significantly softer compound set for next year, to push for at least a 2 stop race.

Ferrari dropped the ball again with Q3 tires, stupid mistake but they seem to be going through the motions at this stage of the championship.

Other teams have had multiple dominant years -- Ferrari and Red Bull this century -- but Merc's consistent spread on the field is unprecedented. I'm guaranteed to fast forward through the "race" tomorrow and do something useful with that time. There is no best case scenario that will renew my interest in this shit season.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:
...There is no best case scenario that will renew my interest in this shit season.

I'm only following it through this thread, not recording or watching any of it now.

Looks like both championships have been wrapped up again by Mercedes. Congrats to them, but it really does make for a poor on track product.

If they wanted a real drivers champion and a real constructors champion, the drivers should rotate amongst the teams. Two races with each team per driver. Never happen, but would be fun to watch.

The race venue is always a pleasure, but the competition on track was odd.

Max seems to think that if you make a mistake, the driver behind should stop and wait for him to regain composure within the car, and not loose a spot. Vettel pushes in places where the upside is low, and the downside is tremendous. Hamster was on cruise control, but Ricciardo was a man on a mission today.

^^^^^
So, Same Shit, Different Day?

I didn't watch.

Lots of mistakes made today, Vettel has a lot of work to do.

Lots of passing and wheel to wheel action today although not for the lead.
Vettel was doing real good up until he wasn't.
Didn't mind seeing Kmag getting the short end of it this time. Poetic justice for once.

quote:

Max seems to think that if you make a mistake, the driver behind should stop and wait for him to regain composure within the car, and not loose a spot.

A point he tried to drive home again post race.
That’s just whacky.

Translated to football he’d have you think that if someone has a poor grip on the ball and fumbles, you should give them a moment to pick it up before anybody else’s so rude as to dive on it!

two bad races

watched both today - 15X speed for Russia and then Japan

wasn't a race, the race was the sprint to turn 1

stupid mistake by Vettel yet again cost him a race

IMO, Japan was a better race than Russia.
Lot more action on track & Suzuka is such an awesome circuit.

2 weeks to Austin! I'll be en route Thursday night & seated at the COTA esses Friday morning!

Red Bull has their new team "across America" video featuring Max Verstappen out at Jalopnik. https://jalopnik.com/max-verst...a-is-goin-1829706916

Forecast is showing rain all weekend (60/70/50% | Fri/Sat/Sun) in Austin.
Hoping for the best & the weather to clear up. Temps expected in the 60s-70s.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Forecast is showing rain all weekend (60/70/50% | Fri/Sat/Sun) in Austin.
Hoping for the best & the weather to clear up. Temps expected in the 60s-70s.

Sorry to hear that for those in attendance but it's likely to make the event more memorable and exciting to us tv watchers.
I went to the Glen for most of the 70's races and suffered through some miserable conditions just above freezing (and raining, usually both) several years.
Good luck to those that go and we'll be watching.

It was wet last year for FP1 & started drying out for FP2.
Quali & the race were brutal hot.

The cooler temps will be welcome this year, hoping the rain holds off.

A friend of mine was at ACL last weekend and looks like a cooked lobster. He would have paid for some clouds and rain.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
...I went to the Glen for most of the 70's races and suffered through some miserable conditions...

Did you experience the famous "Bog"? I remember reading about it in C&D and R&T, but never got there to see it myself. I'm jealous!

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
...I went to the Glen for most of the 70's races and suffered through some miserable conditions...

Did you experience the famous "Bog"? I remember reading about it in C&D and R&T, but never got there to see it myself. I'm jealous!

I even have some pictures of the famous, or infamous bog. That part seemed kind of funny at first with a few beers but was actually pretty disgusting. Mob rule at its worst.
I have a Hesketh Racing magazine that Lord Hesketh sold to me at 10:30 n the morning, drunk. Sitting on a stack of the team shipping crates.
You could buy a weekend garage pass ($5) and go down the middle of the garage area. There was a chain link fence "hallway" down the middle and each team garage was divided but very visible.
That was the last race each season and the team members would sell car parts and uniforms for a little beer money. Quite often you could talk to the drivers. You can't even see them today. Even at the Indy F1 race you were pretty isolated from the cool stuff.
They had well over 100,000 spectators each year and in '78, when mario was champ, well over 200,000. Got to see Villeneuve drive in torrential rain one day and the real Hunt/Lauda story in '76(?). Japan was the last race that year.
F1 was a lot more dangerous then too. The first year I went, '73, Cevert was killed in the qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Jackie Stewart went out in the next session for a few laps then retired the next day so I didn't get to see him actually race. The next year Koinigg, in a BRM, went off in the race and the lower rail of the guardrail gave way and he went under the top one. The corner workers ran over there to help then came back with a tarp and covered the whole thing up. The race went on. Seemed very strange and we wondered if we just saw what we just saw.
Things are a little different today.