It's official, F1 has cracked America -- and this is just the beginning https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/32471853/official-f1-cracked-america-just-beginning "Formula One's made a big statement this weekend this weekend in the U.S.," Red Bull boss Christian Horner said. "Big crowd, maybe a world-record-breaking crowd for Formula One over a grand prix weekend. "Fantastic to see the American fans and public engaging in Formula One. We can thank Netflix, but without great content then it's not a good show, and I think the racing today really delivered and I think the fans are really engaging with what F1 can deliver.""
Good friend was out there for it. Said it was stupid crowded, worse than a Superbowl. I took that as a good sign fanwise.
I was last there in 2016 and thought the hill overlooking turn 1 was crowded..........it was nothing compared to yesterday. Glad to see, and hope the Amazon Prime MotoGP series can have even a fraction of the effect.
Seemed like they were on strict corporate overlord orders not to disparage it too much, but the cars were pogo-ing all over the place from turn 2 all through the esses. But then again, that kind of stuff is more of an inconvenience to these guys that something truly dangerous like it can be for the GP blokes.
Yea, me too. Definitely not nearly the reach, but hoping the better personalities and on-track action that GP offers can help draw some eyes. I will be promoting the hell out of it to my friends.....
There is absolutely no way Raikkonen, Alonso, or Vettel would hold back on anything they felt they had to say. Hamilton and Verstappen are almost as likely to speak up. If the track was still as bad as it was for MotoGP, it would have been very public. My theory is that the fixes that they hurriedly planned between the two races improved things just enough to keep the drivers quiet. p.s. Grosjean theorized on TV that the track broke Gasly's suspension.
I knew more about the teams solely because of Netflix. Would I have liked more tech talk on the documentary? Sure. But I get it.
I'm sure it's been discussed before but why are our tracks more bumpy than euro tracks? We don't grind them down or repave as much?
It's in production. I'd look for the series to premiere in late 1Q 2022 ahead of the season opener in Qatar.......as it typically the approach used by Drive to Survive premiering in late Feb/early March to drum up interest in the upcoming season.
CotA specifically is due to the underlying clay soil moving a lot due to moisture and the fact that Austin can see anything from searing heat to biting cold in the same year, and drought to torrential downpours. This makes the clay soil shift/expand/contract and the bumps emerge no matter what they do. Most euro tracks are built on comparative bedrock with likely less severe weather extremes.
The other thing that was commented on by Jenson Button and Paul di Resta, a couple guys that know a thing or two about driving F1 cars (derp), was that the riders were commenting that the Istanbul track was so improved and smooth it was almost boring. IOW they viewed the manageable bumps as a challenge. Imagine going 200 mph and being a little bored, lol.
yeah I thought it was pretty cool seeing them bounce a little in those turns. Made it actually look like they were on the edge. As a driver or motorcycle racer I'd rather have smooth but as a viewer it made me appreciate how good they are even more.