Teal wrote:Yeah, Big congrats to Stewart and team. VERY entertaining last couple of races, and epic finish. First time the new 'Chase' format has actually worked as advertised, and boy, was it good.
Change in the points system definitely was a big plus this season and helped create such a tight Chase finish.
I still think a race winner should get about three to five more points than now. Sort of ridiculous that a guy who won five of the last 10 races needed a tiebreaker to take home the big trophy.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Gotta love the Sebastien...cough..cough we got a serious problem with your gearbox, you may need to back off and short shift. So he lets Webber through.
Funny how Martin mentioned that he was Tweeted about that very same thing while calling the race.
My favorite driver signed a 2 year deal with Renault, good choice as they are somewhat more competitive than Williams. There are still doubts whether Kube can come back to F1 and race again.
My favorite driver signed a 2 year deal with Renault, good choice as they are somewhat more competitive than Williams. There are still doubts whether Kube can come back to F1 and race again.
Awesome news. Kimster is my favorite driver as well. I really hope he does well. His entry back into F1 makes next year's field even more interesting than before.
Renault probably signed Raikkonen at a bargain-basement price.
The Regies and Williams were the only teams interested in the Kimster, and scuttlebutt from the paddock at Interlagos indicated the talks with Williams broke down because Raikkonen's asking price was exorbitant considering his two-year absence from F1 and the meltdown of the world economy since he last raced in F1. With Renault being the only remaining option, I bet Kimi's asking price dropped.
The Renault-Raikkonen experiment will end in mediocrity because the entire Renault package needs a lot of disciplined work and man hours, both of which Raikkonen has shown little interest during his entire motorsport career.
Kimi's idea of a driver's role is to show up at the track, jump in the car, debrief for a few minutes and then leave. That doesn't work anymore in F1, especially for a team lacking a top-flight car. Kimi was in top-notch F1 equipment after leaving Sauber, so his natural talent, mated with a good piece, masked his insouciant work ethic.
He won't have that luxury at Renault.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Agree with what Paul said but I think what Renault is hoping for is for Kimi to help the team move up to the #4 team on the grid in front of Mercedes. And wait and hope that Kube can make a healthy return back to F1 with the team. If Renault guesses right and things work out their way they could have one helluva 1-2 punch wrt their drivers. Neither Senna or Petrov can match the speed and pace of Kimi or Kube.
I've gotten the impression that Robert is a driver who works well with the team and puts in the hours to help the team with feedback of the car.
Rodster wrote:I've gotten the impression that Robert is a driver who works well with the team and puts in the hours to help the team with feedback of the car.
Accurate impression. Kubica is the most no-BS driver in the F1 paddock. No drama. Just hard, hard graft by a hard, hard man who expects the same from his team.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Veteran F1 journalist Joe Saward nails it regarding Kimi's move to Renault in this blog:
"Renault too need a better car because otherwise Kimi will quickly get bored. He has won 18 Grands Prix and the World Championship so messing about in 15th place is not going to be appealing."
Sadly, I was reading this morning that Newman/Hass has quit the Indy Series due to the economic conditions. That was one helluva team plus RIP Mr. Newman was in a class of his own.
It boggles the mind how F1 can still attract stupid money and teams in Nascar and Indycar are struggling to stay in operation. Even a top team in Nascar comes nowhere close to what Ferrari or McLaren spends in F1 to operate their teams.
Rodster wrote:Sadly, I was reading this morning that Newman/Hass has quit the Indy Series due to the economic conditions. That was one helluva team plus RIP Mr. Newman was in a class of his own.
It boggles the mind how F1 can still attract stupid money and teams in Nascar and Indycar are struggling to stay in operation. Even a top team in Nascar comes nowhere close to what Ferrari or McLaren spends in F1 to operate their teams.
Three simple words: Global. TV. Ratings.
I believe F1 and the Champions League are neck and neck as the most viewed annual sporting competitions on the planet.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Austin race remains on 2012 calendar
By Dave Doolittle | Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 06:40 AM
The World Motorsport Council kept a planned Austin race for Nov. 16-18 on the 2012 Formula One schedule this morning, and circuit officials say they have reached an agreement with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to keep the races in place for 10 years.
Ecclestone had said the council meeting in India would be the firm deadline for striking a deal with the track to host the Grand Prix next year. Ecclestone has not commented publicly on the Austin race today.
“Mr. Ecclestone received his check today for the USGP. We want to thank the fans supporting us, the local officials and businesses that have encouraged us, the state of Texas, Circuit of The Americas’ staff and Bernie himself,” Red McCombs, chairman of McCombs Enterprises and a founding partner in the circuit, said in a statement.
“Our investors have believed all along that this project has tremendous benefit for our region, and provides a strong economic engine for the future,” founding partner Bobby Epstein said in the statement. “We remain committed to reaching our goal of being valuable community partners as we establish a platform for sports and entertainment.
“We’re glad that Tavo’s vision of bringing F1 to the people of Texas will become a reality,” Epstein’s statement said, speaking of promoter Tavo Hellmund, who was a key player in bringing F1 plans to Austin.
“We have a substantial number of fans who have expressed interest in buying tickets and hospitality, so today is a win for all of them as much as it is for Circuit of The Americas,” Steve Sexton, president of Circuit of The Americas, said in the statement.
Three weeks ago uncertainty about the status of Austin’s Grand Prix caused work to be halted on the $300 million circuit being built in southeast Travis County.
The statement said construction on the 3.4-mile circuit and buildings would resume immediately.
I still cried during the Imola scenes -- at home and in the theater -- despite knowing the outcome. Any film that evokes that kind of emotion from me is excellent.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Something that struck me while watching this video is how very few square inches of tire are actually making contact with the track. There is not a whole lot between the pavement and the rider going well over 150 mph. It makes you appreciate even more the importance of good tires, as well as the skill of the athletes. There are very few things in sport that take as much balls as competing in Motogp.
toonarmy wrote:Something that struck me while watching this video is how very few square inches of tire are actually making contact with the track. There is not a whole lot between the pavement and the rider going well over 150 mph. It makes you appreciate even more the importance of good tires, as well as the skill of the athletes. There are very few things in sport that take as much balls as competing in Motogp.
The contact patch of a tire on a MotoGP bike is roughly equal to the dimensions of a credit card. Fact!
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
