Racing 2018

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Dave
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Racing 2018

Post by Dave »

Figure it is time to get this thread started.

We've got the Roar before the 24 in the books - can anyone touch the Cadillacs, even with the smaller engine?

Pre-season IndyCar testing is underway as teams get their hands on the new, great-looking universal aero kit. Only one seat still open, not exactly excited at the most recent names (Claman de Melo and Hawksworth) linked to Coyne's $$$ car but that's the cost of putting Bourdais in the other car I suppose.

And we have Guenther Steiner appearing in his first of many "no US drivers are ready for F1" stories of the year. Is he contractually obligated to say that every 3 months or something?
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Dave wrote:And we have Guenther Steiner appearing in his first of many "no US drivers are ready for F1" stories of the year. Is he contractually obligated to say that every 3 months or something?
Typical F1 arrogance. Half of the F1 grid are pay drivers and probably a third of the F1 field would get dusted in an Indy car by the top drivers in the 2018 IndyCar Series lineup.

Dixon is the great lost talent to F1 in this generation. He still is one of the five to eight best drivers in the world, period. But I'm glad he's still in IndyCar!
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Rodster »

F1 has always been arrogant. Pre Indycar split the best drivers were in Indycar and it was the most diverse and challenging racing series. My favorite driver was Paul Tracy. He was a badass on the track and a very talented dude.

F1 always says it's the best and yet Jaques Villeneuve won the title in his second year who came from Indycars.

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Godspeed, Dan Gurney. An absolute giant of global motorsport whose influence and legacy was captured beautifully in this piece by Robin Miller:

http://www.racer.com/more/viewpoints/it ... n-treasure
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Rodster »

Well said PK and might I add, a journalist legend writing about a racing legend.

RIP Mr. Gurney

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Rodster wrote:Well said PK and might I add, a journalist legend writing about a racing legend.

RIP Mr. Gurney
Indeed. Robin is a gem! Fighting bone cancer right now like a mofo. I just texted him last night for about 10 minutes -- you would think nothing is wrong with him. Thankfully, the chemo appears to be working well, and we should see Robin in the Media Center in May. :)
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Rodster »

Let Robin know that racing fans are cheering him on to the checkered flag.

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Rodster wrote:Let Robin know that racing fans are cheering him on to the checkered flag.
Will do! He sincerely appreciates all of the well-wishes. Robin has a heart of gold.
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Dave »

Love this line from Miller's piece:
It was because of that mindset that Gurney never became an F1 or IndyCar champion, because instead of going with a conventional car or engine that were reliable, he wanted something different, faster, zoomier. And something that was his.
An absolute legend, we won't see another like him.
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Another nice remembrance of Dan Gurney from the incomparable IMS Historian Donald Davidson:

http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.co ... startrow=2
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by DChaps »

Sorry for the separate thread on this. Thanks for posting Paul, Dan Gurney was one of my Dad's favorite drivers and one of the first names I remember him telling me about when he first introduced me to racing: Jimmy Clark, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Mark Donohue, Jackie Stewart, Gordon Johncock, the Unsers, and of course AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti. My Dad said he thought Dan was the smartest of them all. :)

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

The Donald:

Your dad was right!
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by DChaps »

I guess I should have seen this coming....


Formula 1: 'Grid kids' to replace 'grid girls' from start of the season


http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/42950040
Formula 1 is to replace 'grid girls' with a new programme called 'grid kids' this season.

F1 bosses plan to use budding racing drivers "to make the pre-race ceremony more relevant and interesting for fans, especially the younger ones".

The sport said last week it would no longer be using female promotional models on the starting grid.

The children used will be competitors in karting or junior categories, chosen by national motorsport authorities.

A joint statement from governing body the FIA and the F1 Group said the choice would be made "on merit or by lottery".

FIA president Jean Todt said: "Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and the dream of every young racer competing the junior series that make up the FIA's single-seater pyramid, from karting all the way to F1.

"We are therefore delighted to bring that dream a little closer by giving the future champions of our sport the opportunity to stand alongside their heroes on the grid in the build-up to the race start.

"For the wider FIA, this is an excellent initiative that provides additional support to our member (sporting authorities) in their efforts to grow motorsport worldwide through a unique reward they can make available to youngsters participating in their national series."

F1 managing director of commercial operations Sean Bratches said he hoped the opportunity to "stand beside their heroes" would be for the children chosen "an unforgettable experience for them and their families" and "an inspiration to keep driving, training and learning so that they can dream of one day being there themselves".

He added: "What better way to inspire the next generation of Formula 1 heroes?"

Bratches said last week that using 'grid girls' "does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms".

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Eh. If the racing improves, I don't care if farm animals roam the F1 grid during pre-race.
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Rodster »

pk500 wrote:Eh. If the racing improves, I don't care if farm animals roam the F1 grid during pre-race.
The racing won't improve, give us the Grid Girls :)

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote:Eh. If the racing improves, I don't care if farm animals roam the F1 grid during pre-race.
The racing won't improve, give us the Grid Girls :)
LOLOLOLOL. The racing and female grid talent will be FAR better this year in MotoGP. :)
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by GB_Simo »

Confirmation that you too can spend your Sundays shouting at Crofty.

I'm assuming this is going to be a fade in 10 minutes before the start, fade out after the podium job. If so, you'll get to wonder where the likeable, talented David Croft went and why we can't have him back, note that Brundle is still well worth a listen even after 21 years and completely dodge any of the bits where Johnny Herbert can't complete a sentence without ooh look at that tree!
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Rodster »

One thing i've noticed so far in the unveiling of Formula 1 cars is the need to integrate the Halo into the look of the cars. Williams so far has done a nice job with the look of their car and Red Bulls car looks like a mess, just my opinion.

Image

Image

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Red Bull's livery is temporary. Testing only.

And the halo looks HIDEOUS in all liveries.
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Rodster »

I totally forgot that RB uses a temporary paint scheme to hide it's aero designs and ditto on the Halo crap.

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Dave »

That Williams gets uglier every time I look at it.
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Dave wrote:That Williams gets uglier every time I look at it.
Really sad to see Williams descend into a "cash and carry" pay-driver team. Plus the experts on the Autosport podcast expressed their fear that the 2018 car features attractive bits and design concepts from other cars without any unifying overall concept. More of a "greatest hits" car instead of a well-designed piece.

I don't see any way Williams finishes better than seventh in the Constructors' championship this season. These teams surely will be ahead of them: Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Force India, Renault and McLaren. Williams will battle with Toro Rosso, Sauber and Haas for the scraps, and all three of those teams have stronger driver lineups.

Yes, Ericsson sucks at Sauber, but LeClerc is a proven GP2 champion and is being groomed for Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari as early as next season. Plus Ferrari probably will provide Sauber with uprated engines compared to 2017, as it doesn't want LeClerc to look bad.

Williams has arguably the weakest driver lineup on the F1 grid. That's sad. Man, I hope Williams doesn't become the next Lotus or Tyrrell. But I have my fears.
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Re: Racing 2018

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pk500 wrote:Yes, Ericsson sucks at Sauber, but LeClerc is a proven GP2 champion and is being groomed for Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari as early as next season. Plus Ferrari probably will provide Sauber with uprated engines compared to 2017, as it doesn't want LeClerc to look bad.
Ferrari typically doesn't put a youthful driver in one of it's two cars unless he's proven himself in F1. I could be wrong but I don't see LeClerc taking Kimi's seat unless he has a Max Verstappen type of rookie season.

However I do see Ferrari possibly bringing in Riccardio to sit alongside Seb. I think Ferrari needs to up Seb's game a bit. While he had a good year in 2017 he went off the rails towards the end with Kimi once again having an inconsistent season.

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Re: Racing 2018

Post by pk500 »

Rodster wrote:However I do see Ferrari possibly bringing in Riccardio to sit alongside Seb. I think Ferrari needs to up Seb's game a bit. While he had a good year in 2017 he went off the rails towards the end with Kimi once again having an inconsistent season.
I think Vettel would be much more comfortable with LeClerc. Fast, but probably not a threat like Ricciardo.

Let's face it: Ferrari loves to put all of its chips on one driver more than any team in F1. So I don't think it would risk pissing off Vettel by adding another proven ace to the driver lineup.
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Re: Racing 2018

Post by Rodster »

pk500 wrote:I think Vettel would be much more comfortable with LeClerc. Fast, but probably not a threat like Ricciardo.

Let's face it: Ferrari loves to put all of its chips on one driver more than any team in F1. So I don't think it would risk pissing off Vettel by adding another proven ace to the driver lineup.
I agree with you on what you said however I do believe Seb lost some goodwill with Ferrari. He was given a championship winning car that could have beaten Mercedes in a tight battle last year and he became unhinged at the Baku race and his Championship hopes went up in flames. Kimi didn't help Ferrari win the constructors title with his inconsistent season.

Seb is top class but he needs to be pushed and Riccardio is the one to do it. I can see Ferrari allowing LeClerc to develop, now if he burst on the scene like Mad Max did then yeah, no reason not to give him Kimi's seat. Riccardio has made it known that he wants Bottas seat if it's available. He's also stated that Seb wouldn't get in the way if he went to Ferrari.

And unfortunately this is what keeps me glued to F1 because the on-track racing sure as hell doesn't.

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