OT - Formula 1 Fans
The OT sports topics on this forum run the gamut from the the NHL to the NBA and others. But one sport I've never seen discussed is Formula 1. Anyone else interested in F1? Driver/Team favorites? Most exciting storylines? I've only been paying attention since the 2004 season, but my loyalties lie with the old guard: Schumacher, Barichello, Massa, and Kubica. Now that he's with Ferrari, I even like Alonso. Drivers/teams I don't typically cheer for but have no ill towards include the Red Bulls (advertising scheme spawns a race team, yuck) and Lewis Hamilton. I've seen too much immature behavior from him. This, of course, makes me seem insane for being an Alonso fan I realize. Anyway, with Monte Carlo just a week away, I thought I'd provide a place for fellow fans to discuss.
i'm very glad to see something about F1 because it's something i've been hooked on for the past 8 years. being from the south where nascar is the only racing anyone talks about it's hard to find knowledgable fans to discuss it with. i've been a huge schumacher from day 1 and i guess he's made me stick with ferrari ever since he retired 3 years ago. as much as i dis-liked alonso from his renault days and even worse in the year with mclaren, he's probably my favoite driver these days. lewis hamilton is one i don't care for, mainly how the media and f1 seems to coddle him so much as the next great thing, so needless to say i was smiling a little bit when he crashed out with 2 laps to go this weekend.
to your point about alonso and immature behavior, he is without a doubt one of the bigger egos in f1 but once i stopped hating him so much for beating my beloved ferrari team, i realized he really is an incredible driver and the one i'm rooting for to bring home the world championship. i'm really looking forward to monte carlo, it's always one of the most hyped races and one you feel like you have to watch even though a lot of times it is a little more boring than other races as far as overtaking and what not go.
At first when I started following it, I didn't have any reason to dislike anyone, but I was still able to recognize Michael's legend. I'm glad to see him back, but really, he's just not on the team that will give him success this year. The announcers made a good point this morning that, even though the Brawn team won the championship last year, they still had basically no sponsorship money and so weren't able to develop the 2010 car very well. Thus, the Mercedes team isn't a top team this year. Maybe next year.
Since I've been watching, I have found that I don't care for certain drivers as much as others. Like I mentioned, Hamilton is certainly one of them. He hasn't really faced any adversity, seems very entitled, and has been at the center of controversy and irresponsible driving. I think that I like drivers much more when they've gone through a rough stretch, or simply dominated for years and years even in years where they shouldn't have. I think that I would have been an even bigger fan back in the heyday of the sport, though. When it was more dangerous, more spectacular, and the cars slid around more. As it is though, I'm still amazed every time I watch the cars drive. The open wheel offerings in the US are just not even close to being in the same league. The cars look like 20 year old F1 cars. It's too bad that there isn't much of a US fanbase to get more money into those series. What I'd really like to see, though, is for the US to get involved in F1. Too bad Peter Windsor's team crashed and burned in the weeks leading up to the start of the season...
a lot of people forget , or don't realize, how important ross brawn was to schumachers success back in the day so, to me, last years run by brawn wasn't as big of a surprise to me as much as this years down year is. i understand what you're saying about sponsership money but it's not like the team is broke this year. i know the guys that cover the races know tons more than i do about the details of it all, but this team won the WC last year and i know button got a good sum of that money but to think that a racing and aerodynamic genius like ross brawn would be this far behind after 5 races is astonishing to me,
i think you're spot on by calling hamilton "entitled" because that seems to be the way he's treated. the race in china two weeks ago is a perfect example of what seems to be the rules being bent to keep lewis looking good as well as, i believe it was the race in australia, with lewis basically weaving back and forth over the whole track to block a pass. i do agree that i liked the sport much better when the cars were basically balls out and it was all about speed more than science, but i guess i've grown accustomed to what we have and enjoy it still the same.
I've been a fan since '99, when I was able to attend the Spanish Grand Prix. Got hooked, started going to the USGP's (before greedy Bernie ruined the fun) and now have withdrawn a bit from the sport. I have enjoyed Kimi since he started with Sauber; I think the sport misses him. Yes he is monotone and yes his ego is equal to Alonso's ego but I think he is really missed this year. Hopefully we can start some F1 OT topics as they come up; glad to see others that enjoy F1.
And I guess I still am, but the CART/IRL disaster almost completely turned me off. I honestly enjoy reading about the behind the scenes soap opera than watching the actual races.
I've always been interested in F1 for its exotic appeal, but the racing is usually non-existent. Money rules, and usually the person who goes into turn 1 wins unless he screws up in the pits. Monaco is my favorite race, and I went to practice at Indy when they were here.
I was a huge F1/Schumacher fan ever since the Benneton days but when he quit racing I kinda lost interest in the sport. I do think Formula 1 drivers are easily the best in the world but I've switched to following NASCAR and Pablo Montoya.
I'm a fan, been following since the late 90s. Schumacher basically was F1 when I first started following. But the changes have actually allowed a lot more teams to compete. It used to be only Ferrari and McLaren in the first few years I watched.
I'm much less a team fan than an individual though. I rooted for Schumacher over the Coulthard/Hakkinen McLarens (hard to contemplate but MS' first Ferrari WC was their first driver champ in like 20 years). But things change so quickly. I absolutely loved Kimi pipping Hamilton to the title 3 years ago, but then last year I found myself hoping against hope that Hamilton would beat out Jenson Button. I don't love the media-fawning that follows Hamilton, but at least he can drive. Button is the worst WC since Jacques Villeneuve. Relatively, he's a fine driver, but I'd take about 6 other guys right now over him.
At this point, I'm pulling for Seb Vettel but I'm liking that this season is pretty wide open. Although I wonder if Red Bull are on the verge of taking charge over the next 4-5 races.
i must admit that i really like kimi and was elated when he won the WC, partly because it was with ferrari but also because the guy is a dick and knows it and wants to make sure everyone else knows it but when it came to on track he was always professional, to my best recollection,.
100% agree on button, this guy's career was all but done when he drove for BAR honda and then later just honda. never made Q3 in qualifying, never had a podium but as soon as he was in a superior car, by default since honda became brawn gp, he's the best thing in he world now, according to the media.
sebastian vettel is a great driver, you could see that in the couple of races he drove for bmw when kubica was injured a few years ago. add adrian newey into the mix and he has a great car week in and week out. red bull was garbage until they got their first podium and then race win and since then basically have become, team wise, the best team out there, baring reliability issues.
In 1993, I saw a F1 race in Belgium, way back in the day when Schumacher was still with the Benneton team. Williams-Renault had the kings of the world driving for them in those days, and Ferrari was mostly an also-ran, (it was also the year that Michael Andretti was racing for the McLaren team).
After the race, my friends and I went across the German border and had dinner in Aachen, which happens to be Schumacher's home town. He was like a god there. Memorabilia was everywhere, and since it was only an hour from Spa-Francorchamps, I'm sure the Belgian race's proximity had something to do with the festive spirit in town that day.
I also remember the day in 1994 when Senna was killed in Italy. A colleague of mine was addicted to F1 and was shocked by Ayrton's death.
I don't get a chance to watch F1 like I used to, but there is nothing like it, especially in person. Back in the early 1990s, before all of the changes to the cars imposed by Senna's death, the speed and acceleration of the cars was outrageous. The amount of down-force the cars generated was truly awesome. They were a technical tour de force, and still are, in many ways.
I think it would have been great to see him in his prime v Schumaker. The battles between him an Prost were epic and even more entertaining since they were supposedly on the same team.
I haven't been glued to it since he did, but will watch it if I catch it channel surfing.
I remember how stunned I was when Senna died. I was watching the race and thought the accident was nasty but had seen other drivers walk away from similar crashes and just assumed that he would too. I believe it was that race where another driver had died during qualifying. It was a really strange incident. I'm not sure whether they ever really confirmed whether the steering gear just snapped and why the car never even turned before it hit the wall.
Senna was a pure race car driver. He was certainly my favorite after Schumacher. I think the only similar accident was when Earnhardt died at Daytona.
The parallels between Senna and Earnhardt came to me as I wrote my original remark. Their deaths were several years apart, but both shocked their respective motor sports into significant changes to improve safety. Both were among the most popular - and controversial - drivers.
I never really got into F1 because it is never on TV here, but I'm a big Indy fan. I go to the Indy 500 and Mid-Ohio every year. It makes for a fun family outing or day with friends. I'm a fan of Helio Castroneves and secondarily the other Penske drivers Will Power and Ryan Briscoe.
F1 is actually carried by Speed Channel, if you get that channel. They show practice, qualifying, and the race each race weekend. The announcers do a great job, too.
You are so right - great announcers and with Speed Channel in HD, F1 is a blast to watch. 800+ HP in a 1400 pound car, including the driver. 0-60 in 2.2 seconds, and pushing almost 5 G's in braking.
I dislike this year's format with no fuel stops - takes a lot of fun out of the races.
Now you're just rubbing salt in my basic cable wounds.
from Sky Sports, would proclaim victory moments before many failures. So frequent was this, his colour man would call it the Murray Kiss of death. Speed has a nice crew.
If thrilling racing is what your after though MotoGP is by far the most spectacular exciting experience going. Theres some good ole southern boys in that too.
I think that the only real beef that I have with Vettel is that he races for Red Bull, which is a team that was formed only as an advertising vessel. The only reason they exist is to sell Red Bull to us. It wasn't borne of a singular man's passion, it isn't the playground for the elite engineers of a manufacturer. It's an advertising gimmick. They are the Anaheim Mighty Ducks of F1. Blah. They also have 4 frickin cars on the grid if you include Toro Rosso. Enough already, I say. Give me the old standbys, the tried-and-trues like Williams and the manufacturers, especially Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes. Even though I'm a relatively young person, I respect those that have been around for awhile, proven themselves, and have a real dedication to the sport.
I can't wait for Monaco!! The only worry I have about going to see a race would be the problem with going to a golf tournament - that you can only see a small part of the action at any one time. I suppose at Indy that wasn't an issue, but most of these courses, I could imagine that you only see a couple corners or maybe just a straight. Not sure if that would be much fun...
Wasn't ever llowed to watch weekend cartoons, only F1. Dreamed of being a race car engineer,
Schumacher is a dirty cheat. Twice tried, once succesful (Mansel), in crashing out his competition in the final race to win a world championship. Numerous other Qulifiying and Race antics. He has no personality and promotes mens conditioner. Alas a legend no less.
The flying fins come off so dead pan but are absolutely hilarious in any interview. Mika will always be one of my favourites for his ability to get in an untouchable zone, Schueys got single laps but Mika could put 15 laps within a 1/100 of a second.
Jackie Stuart once said the fast cars go to the fast drivers, ( except maybe button), but its team sport. Im still young but sadly the glory days seem to have drifted away in favour of traction and personality controlled drivers.
Heres to Ferrari never making an ugly car, Frank Williams eye for talent, and Bernie and Max still managing to fuck everyone after all these years.
"Heres to Ferrari never making an ugly car, Frank Williams eye for talent, and Bernie and Max still managing to fuck everyone after all these years." - Brilliant!
I forgot to mention my affinity for the Fins. One, because I'm of Finnish heritage myself, and Two because of the reasons you mention. They seem to be more stereotypically German than the Germans even. Devastatingly accurate and precise and controlled, but somehow don't come across like, well, Germans in interviews. They are great underdogs and I love rooting for them.
I've been into F1 since the 60's and have seen races here and In Europe starting with Watkins Glen and saw all nine races at Indy. Go to a Purdue game on Saturday and an F1 race on Sunday - not a bad guy's weekend.
F1 is simply the best form of racing there is. After F1, Nascar and IRL seem like a joke, particularly when they run road courses.
Kind of a dull race today in Barcelona, but Monaco is next week...the crown jewel of F1.
Big Alonso fan here, and think that Schumi should have stayed retired. Mercedes is not what Ferrari was in their 500-700 million dollar a year hey day a few years back.
They have a rep of having the best "groupies" in all of sports. That alone makes it a great sport in my book.
no passing. very few wrecks.
world's fasters circuit race cars and world's best drivers and its boring. I liked it much more when Senna and Prost duked it out.
BTW, Senna and Prost would have driven Schumacher into the weeds.
I don't agree. Schumacher certainly dominated with superior cars but he also won with inferior cars. Senna was also able to win with inferior cars but I would put Schummi ahead of Senna although it would be close. While Prost was a great driver I would put him third.
I've been following F1 since the mid 80's. I actually took part in the Elf Winfield (Paul Ricard) program in '93, while I was a student at Michigan. Had to miss classes for two straight weeks in the fall for the semi-finals. So I was close to moving to Europe to pursue it, but it didn't work out. I raced here in the states until '03 before giving it up.
Teams - Ferrari used to be a basket case. I remember at the Detroit GP in the 80's they were more worried about their lunch than their cars. They didn't become modern until Jean Todt came over from Pugeaut. I've always been a fan of Williams and McLaren. They are the standard of all modern teams. Lately, I've liked the Renault team.
Drivers - Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet, Lauda, they were the guys I admired. Hamilton looks good. I liked Kimi and Mika. I've always liked Alonso...seems like a good fit for Enzo's Ferrari. Schumi is a dick (see Australia '94, Jerez '97).
I liked everything before May 1st, '94. Tracks were fast, cars were good looking. Oh, well.
Exactly. For those too young to know or remember, F1 on the streets of Detroit was an amazing event. Senna was a young, up-and-coming driver for the JPS Lotus team who would race through the field to challenge the leaders. It was better racing than I've seen anywhere, anytime. I caught myself crying a little when he was killed. I've been to Spa and Barcelona, and I'll always look forward to my next F1 race, but I miss Ayrton Senna - the best there ever was.
Schumacher killed Senna. End of story. I will always hate Schumacher.
except for the drivers and the politics. F1 should be about technical achievement. if the drivers can't hack it, we should be putting in AI and developing that field along with moveable aero surfaces and any other number of things that have been eliminated for 'cost cutting' bull. /aerospace rant