Racing Season 2020 (Spoiler Alert)

[Dave]

Not a big surprise to hear the Indy 500 will be held without fans this year, going to be a weird experience for sure.

[Dave]

Alright fellas, who's your pick for the 500 this weekend?

I'm having a hard time making any further than Hunter Reay or Rossi, but based on the last couple practices at the race boost it sure looks like Honda's big advantage is limited to the qualifying boost so it is a pretty wide-open race. Should be fun watching guys like Pagenaud starting so far back, it'll be a good early gauge on just how hard it might be to pass this year.

Still weird as hell watching the cars go around without anyone in the stands, but I got goosebumps watching everyone head out on track at the start of practice today. The pit stalls are painted, equipment is in position, and someone's putting on the wreath on Sunday. Can't wait to watch it.

[pk500]

Dixon. Been among the fastest cars in every session the last 10 days. Way overdue for win No. 2. The best driver in the field on the team that's clicking better than any in the series.

[DChaps]

I am so excited for this race despite it being in August and without fans for the first time in the 50 years since I have been listening to, watching, or attending the race. Hard to pick. My heart wants to go with Marco. Hard to believe it's been 14 years since he almost won the thing in his rookie debut with that great battle with Sam Hornish Jr. My brain says Dixon or Rossi. Ok, so my pick is going to be Josef Newgarden, as I just can't count out Penske in the 500 and Newgarden wants the Indy 500 bad.

[GB_Simo]

I don't have a clue who's going to win it and this might just be my imagination, but does it feel like the pot of cars that definitely won't win the race is a pretty small one this year?

[pk500]

I don't have a clue who's going to win it and this might just be my imagination, but does it feel like the pot of cars that definitely won't win the race is a pretty small one this year?

As Sage Karam told me when I drove him to a ticket holder's house in Speedway yesterday to surprise them with a grab bag of goodies: "Everyone's car is sh*t right now. It's just a matter of whose car is less sh*t than the others."

The Aeroscreen has changed the balance, center of gravity and aero of the cars. Teams are still trying to unlock those secrets on a high-speed oval, and that's to what Sage referred.

Since no one has solved that entire Rubik's Cube, this could be one of the more wide-open "500s" in recent history.

[DChaps]

Congrats to Sato on #2. Would have liked to see what might have played out over those final laps, but understand. That barrier was crushed. Glad everyone was ok. There were some scary impacts.

[Dave]

Seeing a lot of complaints about ending under yellow and yeah, it stinks, but that attenuator was absolutely destroyed--how long would it take to get it repaired/replaced? Guessing NBC wouldn't have stuck around for that long and it was already pushing 6p Eastern.

After the first one, the yellows kept falling at places that made the race less interesting. All strategies converged, fuel mileage became more (too) important, and then finally ended it before we could have possibly seen a great final battle with 2 to 4 cars.

Sato is a deserving champ, for sure. No attack, no chance works well at Indy and he's smartened up over the years (most of the time).

Really wanted to see it come down to Dixon and Rossi and think the penalty was pretty severe, but I get it.

Hardest part of the race for me was seeing my 6-year old break down in tears when Conor Daly spun out and got collected by a spinning Askew, he was gutted, bringing back my own memory of crying in the stands at Michigan after Rick Mears crashed late in the race to give John Paul, Jr. the win.

Now we have the shortest time between Indy 500s ever, at least.

[GB_Simo]

Hardest part of the race for me was seeing my 6-year old break down in tears when Conor Daly spun out and got collected by a spinning Askew, he was gutted, bringing back my own memory of crying in the stands at Michigan after Rick Mears crashed late in the race to give John Paul, Jr. the win.

Mansell, Portugal '91. I was 6, willing Our Nige on against those evil McLarens and refusing to accept that disqualification was a permanent, non-reversible thing no matter how often I had the concept explained to me. 29 years on, I would like to tell you I'm better equipped for these things...

It's possible that my sinking heart had already made peace with the idea that Conor's day didn't look like amounting to all that much, which was never the case for our winner. Sato was there the entire day, quietly lurking, biding his time in a manner that reminded me of a great many drivers much calmer and more methodical than I imagine Takuma Sato to be. Whether we were deprived of a finish for the ages by the yellow flag, I know not, but I'm not convinced any of Taku's pursuers had enough to bridge that gap he'd built, any more than I'm convinced he'd have been willing to consider having someone drive past him.

An awful lot of the folk suggesting red flag should have been thrown seem to further believe that NASCAR's approach to the final laps is the right one, as it promotes "real racing". If you didn't laugh, you'd cry.

[Dave]

An awful lot of the folk suggesting red flag should have been thrown seem to further believe that NASCAR's approach to the final laps is the right one, as it promotes "real racing". If you didn't laugh, you'd cry.

I have...a lot of opinions about what NASCAR's "sugar high" approach to racing has done for the series and the mindset of some fans.

[pk500]

Glad to be among knowledgeable racing fans who understand why a red flag wasn't an option at the finish Sunday at Indianapolis!

[Dave]

I typically really enjoy Jeff Gluck's work, but he's got NASCAR brain on this one.

[pk500]

Jenna Fryer of the AP gets it: https://apnews.com/1e042f51e39d8f022372 ... ce=Twitter

Speaking of Gluck, who I like, I saw him in the men's room of the Media Center right after the race. We chatted for a few minutes, and he told me he found the finish "unsatisfying."

I tried to explain to him the many reasons why a red flag wouldn't work and why INDYCAR doesn't use "green-white-checkered." One of those reasons is that Indy cars don't have onboard starters like stock cars. Jeff looked at me flummoxed. I was pretty surprised that he apparently he had no idea that Indy cars must be started by a crew member manually, outside of the car.

[Dave]

Great to see George Russell mixing it up with the Ferraris on the time sheet day 1 at Spa!

[Rodster]

Great to see George Russell mixing it up with the Ferraris on the time sheet day 1 at Spa!

I'm pretty sure Ferrari doesn't feel the same way. Their faces should glowing RED from the embarrassment (pun intended). Something tells me there may have something more to James Allison's exit than the wanting to be closer to his family excuse. So many have thrived outside of the Ferrari pressure cooker.

[Rodster]

I never thought i'd see the day I would be rooting against Ferrari. Mattia Binotto is a failure as Team Principal. He ousted Arrivabene by threatening to leave for Mercedes. He's an engineer and his bad choices have led Ferrari to battle Williams. You know by now i'm not the biggest Vettel fan but the guy has been screwed over by stupid Ferrari decisions.

Toto Wolff even said that Ferrari is where they are because of certain individuals making bad decisions. As Bernie Eccelstone has repeatedly said, Ferrari is too Italian. That's why they won't win again.

[pk500]

Dear Chase Carey:

I love your form of motorsport, but please only schedule the minimum races to earn your global TV money. No extras, please. Even with fast-forward on my DVR, I have better things to do with my time than sleepwalk through another dull F1 race.

Mercedes dominance, Red Bull is pretty feeble, Ferrari is a mess. I'm sorry, but I can only be captivated by those "rousing midfield battles" for so long.

Chase, please take a look at MotoGP for a template for cost-saving measures that also breed incredible racing. There is no more compelling major series on this planet this season than MotoGP; it's beyond amazing.

I can't wait until the next MotoGP race. Please wake me after the F1 season finale or if someone besides Hamilton, Bottas or Verstappen wins a race.

Sincerely,
Paul Kelly
Marcellus, NY

[Rodster]

Dear Chase Carey:

I love your form of motorsport, but please only schedule the minimum races to earn your global TV money. No extras, please. Even with fast-forward on my DVR, I have better things to do with my time than sleepwalk through another dull F1 race.

Mercedes dominance, Red Bull is pretty feeble, Ferrari is a mess. I'm sorry, but I can only be captivated by those "rousing midfield battles" for so long.

Chase, please take a look at MotoGP for a template for cost-saving measures that also breed incredible racing. There is no more compelling major series on this planet this season than MotoGP; it's beyond amazing.

I can't wait until the next MotoGP race. Please wake me after the F1 season finale or if someone besides Hamilton, Bottas or Verstappen wins a race.

Sincerely,
Paul Kelly
Marcellus, NY

The problem with your wish list PK is that the teams are competing against themselves proving Bernie Eccelstone correct. That Formula One needs a Dictator and not someone who wants to gain a consensus amongst the teams. It won't happen, just look at Ferrari, they got extra money and retained Veto power, again. Every team wants what's best for themselves. Look at the complexity of the engines, it was suggested for the 2021 rules and I can't remember if it was Ross Brawn but there was a call for simpler ICE's and all 4 engine mfg opposed it saying it went against the DNA of Formula One. Meanwhile those overly complex engines have produced a crap product since they were introduced.

And Mercedes signed a 5 yr Concorde Agreement and yet Chase Carey said he can't stop a team if it wants to leave F1. To me that's code for the Concorde Agreement was signed with invisible ink.

[Dave]

Dear Chase Carey:

I love your form of motorsport, but please only schedule the minimum races to earn your global TV money. No extras, please. Even with fast-forward on my DVR, I have better things to do with my time than sleepwalk through another dull F1 race.

Mercedes dominance, Red Bull is pretty feeble, Ferrari is a mess. I'm sorry, but I can only be captivated by those "rousing midfield battles" for so long.

I was thinking about just why this season is so terrible and settled on this.

One team is better than everyone else, and one of their drivers is clearly better than the other.

Another team on its best day can maybe battle the best team, and one of their drivers is clearly better than the other.

And to your point, PK, I can only care about Renault-McLaren battling for 4th or so for a while if it isn't a scintillating battle. And it rarely is.

IndyCar at Gateway was interesting this weekend, if not great races. It was almost like a good F1 race on steroids where choosing when to pit and finding clear track was more important than outright pace.

Pato O'Ward's first win isn't far off, that's for sure. That kid has "it"

[pk500]

Subtle whisper in your ear, Dave: Set your DVR for season pass for MotoGP. It's on NBCSN this season.

You will NOT be disappointed. Most exciting, unpredictable, competitive racing on this planet right now.

Speaking of Pato, this will be Penske's three-headed INDYCAR driver lineup by 2022: Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Pato O'Ward. Just a hunch, but mark it down.

[Dave]

That's a group of stars, right there. Really hoping we see McLaughlin on this continent soon.

[DChaps]

Not surprising, but I didn't expect it was going to be this quick. Sad day. I followed Williams and it's many champion drivers ever since I was a kid.

Williams family to step down from F1 team after Italian GP
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/15184 ... om-f1-team

The Williams family is to end its involvement in Formula 1 after this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, it has been announced.

Just weeks after the Williams team was taken over by investment company Dorilton Capital, team principal Frank Wiliams and deputy team principal Claire Williams are to step down after the Monza race.

It brings an end to a 43-year history in the sport for Frank Williams, whose team has won 114 grands prix and seven F1 drivers' championships.

Having overseen Williams commit to F1 by signing the new Concorde Agreement last month, Claire Williams will relinquish her role after this weekend's Italian GP. The team has made no announcement about who will succeed her as the day-to-day boss of the Grove outfit.

[GB_Simo]

Who among us had Honda down as the first engine manufacturer to win with two different teams in the F1 hybrid era?

I seem to be going against the grain a bit in not considering today's race a classic, but it was good fun playing Guess The Winner. Sainz would have won a race that lasted for 54 laps, which I suppose means Gasly was faultless in making his tyres last exactly as long as he needed them to and no longer.

I was ultimately spared from having to type the words 'Lance Stroll: Grand Prix winner' but am forced yet again to concede that he doesn't half race well, to the point that his restart adventures had a touch of surrealism about them. Without them, he might have won. Should he have won? I have no idea and anyone who says they do is lying.

At Mercedes, we wait to see what exactly was in that secret plan Valtteri "COULTHARD: THIS IS MY YEAR" Bottas had to beat Hamilton. It doesn't seem to involve overtaking him, or indeed anyone else.

Hamilton and Giovinazzi became the first drivers to cop a deserved penalty for entering a closed F1 pitlane, following on from those nonsensical ones circa 2007 where you could get a stop-go penalty for pitting behind the safety car because you had no fuel left. Gio isn't likely to get another Italian Grand Prix, at least not with his current employer. You suspect Hamilton might be kept on.

For a few races now, I've been meaning to ask when Ocon is going to start blowing the doors off Ricciardo. His reputation, not to mention his chances of eventuality getting that Mercedes drive, surely depend on it. In the absence of that, his best chance would seem to be having a 2021 team mate who isn't known for pace, tenacity or gamesmanship. Fernando who, sorry?

Meanwhile, at Ferrari, the "Come Back, Ivan Capelli - All Is Forgiven" campaign starts here.

[pk500]

Was really pleased for Gasly in what must be the most shocking F1 result since the legendary "Candy" Maldonado won at Barcelona for Williams in 2012. Grew to like Gasly very much during the second season of the Netflix "Drive to Survive" documentary. He seems like a thoughtful, appreciative kid, almost too nice for F1.

Sainz shouldn't beat himself up too much for finishing second. McLaren was near the front all weekend on pace, not through Safety Car roulette like Gasly and Raikkonen. Still, Gasly did a mighty job to stay out front once he got there.

While Stroll never will be the second coming of Niki Lauda, who used a large family fortune to get to F1 and then became a legend, I must revise my earlier opinion of him as a wanker. The kid is more than Daddy's money. He's not a World Champion in waiting; he may not even win a race. But I think he belongs in F1 more than his Canadian counterpart Latifi, who is little more than another Canadian check book.

It still boggles my mind that Ferrari has not sacked Binotto. Why is it waiting? Is the Scuderia trying to poach a team principal or deputy team principal from another team during the offseason? Is the cupboard in Maranello that bare that there's no rock star in waiting? What an embarrassment, especially now that we know the ONLY reason Ferrari was remotely competitive last year was because of its illegal fuel flow. It rode that deceit for a while without further development, and now it is caught having a 1 cm dick once its pants were pulled down.

Speaking of pants being pulled down, any chance Sainz is having contract remorse about leaving McLaren for Ferrari? I suppose his bank roll will benefit, but that's about it. And how happy must Ricciardo be to know he's leaving the sh*tshow at Renault for McLaren? If there's a more overrated team principal in the paddock than Cyril Abiteboul, I've yet to see him. The guillotine should be as close to his neck as it is Binotto's. Cyril talks a great game and plays a sh*tty one.

[Zlax45]

Was really pleased for Gasly in what must be the most shocking F1 result since the legendary "Candy" Maldonado won at Barcelona for Williams in 2012. Grew to like Gasly very much during the second season of the Netflix "Drive to Survive" documentary. He seems like a thoughtful, appreciative kid, almost too nice for F1.

Sainz shouldn't beat himself up too much for finishing second. McLaren was near the front all weekend on pace, not through Safety Car roulette like Gasly and Raikkonen. Still, Gasly did a mighty job to stay out front once he got there.

While Stroll never will be the second coming of Niki Lauda, who used a large family fortune to get to F1 and then became a legend, I must revise my earlier opinion of him as a wanker. The kid is more than Daddy's money. He's not a World Champion in waiting; he may not even win a race. But I think he belongs in F1 more than his Canadian counterpart Latifi, who is little more than another Canadian check book.

It still boggles my mind that Ferrari has not sacked Binotto. Why is it waiting? Is the Scuderia trying to poach a team principal or deputy team principal from another team during the offseason? Is the cupboard in Maranello that bare that there's no rock star in waiting? What an embarrassment, especially now that we know the ONLY reason Ferrari was remotely competitive last year was because of its illegal fuel flow. It rode that deceit for a while without further development, and now it is caught having a 1 cm dick once its pants were pulled down.

Speaking of pants being pulled down, any chance Sainz is having contract remorse about leaving McLaren for Ferrari? I suppose his bank roll will benefit, but that's about it. And how happy must Ricciardo be to know he's leaving the sh*tshow at Renault for McLaren? If there's a more overrated team principal in the paddock than Cyril Abiteboul, I've yet to see him. The guillotine should be as close to his neck as it is Binotto's. Cyril talks a great game and plays a sh*tty one.

PK what are your rankings of Team Principals?