December 18, 20205 yr Welp, off to 2021 we go! Hope it's at least a little more compelling than 2020. Alonso, in. Perez, in RBR. Alex, out. Mazepin in (assuming he doesn't torpedo himself before the season starts). Toto, back for 3 more. Lewis, next to re-up? Aston Martin & Alpine, in. Carey, out. Domenicali, in. Danny to McLaren. Carlos to Ferrari. Vettel to Aston Martin. Kimi and Alonso will have raced with Jos and Max, and Michael and Mick. Amazing. Check out this Alpine concept livery by Dessga Arturo Garcia. Wow ... https://www.behance.net/gallery/105559233/Alpine-Formula-1-Team-2022 Edited December 18, 20205 yr by wood
December 18, 20205 yr Cannot wait to see Danny and Lando on the grid. My two favorite drivers on my favorite team hopefully at the pointy end.
December 18, 20205 yr Author Oh yeah ... COTA Turn 1, out. "Big Red", in. LOL. Dumbasses. The fuckery never ceases out there.
December 18, 20205 yr Author So, EJ was right. At least mostly. Merc no longer has a controlling share of the team. Edited December 18, 20205 yr by wood
December 19, 20205 yr Danny and Lando racing as team on the track will be cool and interesting but seeing them together off the track will be just as fun.
December 20, 20205 yr On 12/18/2020 at 2:07 PM, wood said: Welp, off to 2021 we go! Hope it's at least a little more compelling than 2020. Alonso, in. Perez, in RBR. Alex, out. Mazepin in (assuming he doesn't torpedo himself before the season starts). Toto, back for 3 more. Lewis, next to re-up? Aston Martin & Alpine, in. Carey, out. Domenicali, in. Danny to McLaren. Carlos to Ferrari. Vettel to Aston Martin. Kimi and Alonso will have raced with Jos and Max, and Michael and Mick. Amazing. Check out this Alpine concept livery by Dessga Arturo Garcia. Wow ... https://www.behance.net/gallery/105559233/Alpine-Formula-1-Team-2022 That is sharp as hell!
December 21, 20205 yr Just to sum up silly season:Ex-Red Bull driver gets replaced by ex-Red Bull driver at Ferrari, who is also replaced by ex-Red Bull driver, while the original ex-Red Bull driver replaces a non-Red Bull driver, who then becomes a Red Bull driver.
December 21, 20205 yr We can go further. Ex-Red Bull driver becomes an ex-Ferrari driver and is replaced by ex-Red Bull driver, who's also replaced by ex-Red Bull driver, who's replaced by ex-Ferrari driver. The original ex-Red Bull driver replaces an ex-Ferrari (academy) driver, who then gets a Red Bull drive.
December 21, 20205 yr RBR and Ferrari, just desperately searching for something, anything to compete with Merc.
December 21, 20205 yr Well, to be more accurate and before someone else corrects me-- RBR trying desperately to compete with Merc. Ferrari trying desperately to compete with Alfa Romeo and Alphatauri... *sigh* Edited December 21, 20205 yr by utee94
December 21, 20205 yr And HAAS once again. with a craptacular livery ... no rhyme, no reason, no identity. As vacuous and forgettable as the team itself.
December 22, 20205 yr Author 20 hours ago, Lidig8r said: And HAAS once again. with a craptacular livery ... no rhyme, no reason, no identity. As vacuous and forgettable as the team itself. Are there pics out there, or is this your prediction? I agree though ... shitty, uninspiring team. I don't see them being on the grid past next year as Haas.
December 22, 20205 yr 2 hours ago, wood said: Are there pics out there, or is this your prediction? I agree though ... shitty, uninspiring team. I don't see them being on the grid past next year as Haas. I have not seen any pics and don't know anyone on the inside. Just random speculation. It's livery last year looking a lot like the old John Player Lotus looked sharp. They're an embarrassment.
December 22, 20205 yr https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-setting-up-haas-hub-in-maranello/4930483/
December 24, 20205 yr On 12/22/2020 at 5:11 PM, Anton Chigurh said: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-setting-up-haas-hub-in-maranello/4930483/ The quotes from Ferrari were a bit funny in that they were said as if they were coming off a really strong season, rather than after the shit show they just gave the fans.
December 27, 20204 yr In. And belatedly want to thank all you guys who add to my knowledge of the sport - I've been fairly casually following it for +/- 20 years (still kind of like to get up at the crack of hell West Coast time to watch the races live) - but I've learned a ton from reading you surly bastards and the info you've posted both here and at TOS. Cheers to the lot of you - and hopes for normal racing in 2021 (although I'd really liked to have seen Portimão back on the calendar).
December 30, 20204 yr Author TIL Steve McQueen tried to make an F1 movie before Le Mans, called "Day of the Champion"... The First Steve McQueen Race Movie https://drivetribe.com/p/the-first-steve-mcqueen-race-movie-UQaFtdgUTmqU4pZRnw6voQ?iid=VIJkgrZwS16eNlQErlYofw Motorsport just came out with an article about it too, but it's paywalled.
January 4, 20214 yr Australia likely to get postponed till "later in the year." Apparently, Melbourne has a 14-day quarantine policy in effect, which would require all personnel to arrive three weeks prior. https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12179113/formula-1-2021-season-opening-australian-gp-set-to-be-postponed
January 4, 20214 yr Author 3 hours ago, Dutch said: Australia likely to get postponed till "later in the year." Apparently, Melbourne has a 14-day quarantine policy in effect, which would require all personnel to arrive three weeks prior. https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12179113/formula-1-2021-season-opening-australian-gp-set-to-be-postponed Yeah I've been hearing for a couple of months that Australia is in doubt because of the travel restrictions there, and that all the Americas races are in doubt as well. Of course they put everything on the calendar as normal because they have to honor contracts & all that. While I don't see this year's calendar being quite as messed up as 2020, I think there will still be a fair amount of disruption and they'll have to continue in Semper Gumby mode. ETA: ...and here we go. Todt not expecting "a normal F1 season" in 2021 https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/todt-2021-season-not-normal-covid/4935656/ Quote I'm sure that over the next days, we will hear quite a lot of potential changes on the different calendars, not only Formula 1, but on other calendars. "If I had to commit on a back to kind of normal, even if I feel it will be a different life behind the COVID-19 crisis, I think half of next year, in my opinion, will not be as we could have expected to have in a normal season." Edited January 4, 20214 yr by wood
January 5, 20214 yr Yep, it will be another fluctuating season and we'll be happy when there's a race. And also Hamilton probably shouldn't consume any food or drink that Russell brings him.
January 6, 20214 yr Author Lando Norris self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 in Dubai https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.lando-norris-self-isolating-after-testing-positive-for-covid-19-in-dubai.2rhG8YKi3kQ15wBgQVLFYt.html
January 6, 20214 yr https://www.racefans.net/2021/01/06/f1-races-will-start-on-the-hour-again-in-2021/ Quote In a further change which will also be discussed, Formula 1 may also bring the start times for European races forward by an hour. Most European races began at 3:10pm local time last year; this year’s races could therefore start at 2pm instead.
January 8, 20214 yr Author Not F1, but ... 2021 MotoGP Calendar: only Texas and Argentina are in doubt. https://www.gpone.com/en/blog/paolo-scalera/2021/01/07/2021-motogp-calendar-counter-moves-being-prepared-for-possible
January 11, 20214 yr Definitely not. He was expected to be the Alpine CEO, and Davide Brivio (in a shock move coming over from Suzuki in MotoGP) has been expected to be CEL of the F1 team, with Marcin Budkowski possibly being promoted to TP.
January 11, 20214 yr Author Cyril was apparently all set to be Alpine CEO and was even announced as such to the F1 team recently. Some big shit must have happened to derail that. Losing out to a customer team yet again and coming in P5 in the championship even with a shit year from Ferrari couldn't have done him any favors though. From everything I can tell, De Meo is a racer at heart and is going after guys who can get shit done in that regard. Everything I've read about Brivio tells me he's a fantastic hire for Alpine. From what I'm reading on Autosport, the guys there think Brivio will run more in the TP role on the pit wall, reporting to Rossi as CEO of the Alpine brand. This Motorsport article reads like Cyril left of his own accord. They also seem to think Budkowski will assume TP duties. I have no idea what to think. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/cyril-abiteboul-leaves-renault-alpine/4961628/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-1 Edited January 11, 20214 yr by wood
January 12, 20214 yr https://www.autoweek.com/racing/formula-1/a35173837/alpine-f1-team-principal-cyril-abiteboul-out-as-part-of-major-shake-up/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_aut&utm_medium=email&date=011121&utm_campaign=nl22624908&utm_term=AUT_Autoweek_Racing_Daily_Newsletter_Subscribers There has been a big shake-up at Alpine with Laurent Rossi being named as the CEO of the company and in charge of the company’s sporting activities, including the Formula 1 team. The news is a surprise. Abiteboul, 43, is leaving the company after 20 years. It remains to be seen whether he is moving to a new role in Formula 1. ----------------- interesting to read the stories about this.
January 12, 20214 yr Author Now there's some talk that Budkowski's spot is in doubt as well. F1 Calendar adjusted, too. Austin, Mexico, and Brazil are now a triple header, if they happen. Revised F1 2021 calendar March 28 - Bahrain (Sakhir) April 18 - Italy (Imola)* May 2 - TBC (TBC) May 9 - Spain (Barcelona) May 23 - Monaco (Monaco) June 6 - Azerbaijan (Baku) June 13 - Canada (Montreal) June 27 - France (Le Castellet) July 4 - Austria (Spielberg) July 18 - United Kingdom (Silverstone) August 1 - Hungary (Budapest) August 29 - Belgium (Spa) September 5 - Netherlands (Zandvoort) September 12 - Italy (Monza) September 26 - Russia (Sochi) October 3 - Singapore (Singapore) October 10 - Japan (Suzuka) October 24 - USA (Austin) October 31 - Mexico (Mexico City) November 7 - Brazil (Sao Paulo) November 21 - Australia (Melbourne)* December 5 - Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)** December 12 - Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi)
January 12, 20214 yr Author ...and bad news for Brazil. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/154546/f1-sao-paulo-gp-contract-suspended-by-judge?_ga=2.83295954.557632029.1610284709-1350308604.1597156039
January 14, 20214 yr Author Alpine A521 "temporary winter livery" ... Edited January 14, 20214 yr by wood
January 14, 20214 yr Not going to dog F1 because it is like soccer with its world wide popularity but... What is the allure exactly? I have tried to watch it and the cars are amazing but there is no actual racing. How many times does the pole sitter win the race? Seems like a lot to me.
January 14, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, Steamboat1874 said: Not going to dog F1 because it is like soccer with its world wide popularity but... What is the allure exactly? I have tried to watch it and the cars are amazing but there is no actual racing. How many times does the pole sitter win the race? Seems like a lot to me. The allure for me IS the cars. Absolutely. You're right that the racing could be better, at least at the top. It wasn't always this way. And having one team so dominant, isn't helping either. Not unlike the Alabama fatigue in college football, lots of people are tired of watching Mercedes and Lewis dominate. When the world feed directors CHOOSE to show the middle of the pack, a lot of times there's some good racing there. I'm not talking about the back-markers, but when you have quality drivers like Ricciardo and Leclerc in cars that most weeks aren't vying for the podium, it's still fun to watch them race each other midpack. The problem is, television doesn't show a ton of that.
January 14, 20214 yr Author Yeah aside from a handful of drivers, the cars are the stars, even if less so than in past formulae for many fans. For me, the often exotic locations also play a role. There's always been dominance in one form or another in F1, but the sheer predictability at the pointy end right now is just a beating, as is the huge gulf between the top teams and the midfield. Even when RBR had their run, the pecking order varied more from race to race and the outcomes of the races and championships typically weren't essentially a foregone conclusion the way they are now.
January 14, 20214 yr If you're gonna get it, now's the time. And if you must isolate, then doing it in your home in Monaco is the place. Hope his symptoms remain mild and he recovers quickly, of course.
January 14, 20214 yr A lot of people also try to compare it to MotoGP, but the problem there is that they have Marc Marquez. He got hurt in the first race, was out the entire year, and the rest of the season was basically a show of inconsistency by everyone else. It was really cool that Suzuki and Mir won, but the season was kind of a Tour de France type thing. Now, obviously in MotoGP the rider makes quite a big difference, but when Marc is riding, he’s pretty much guaranteed to win the championship every year, not unlike a Mercedes. Also, it obviously helps that my driver keeps winning, but I enjoy looking at the super high res photos of the updates to the cars every race just as much as anything else, because they are absolute works of art.
January 15, 20214 yr Hopefully I will get to see the Austin F1 race in person this year. I had lots of fun going to my first one in 2019. My family also became one of the liquor sponsors for COTA around the time of that race.
January 15, 20214 yr 12 hours ago, Steamboat1874 said: Not going to dog F1 because it is like soccer with its world wide popularity but... What is the allure exactly? I have tried to watch it and the cars are amazing but there is no actual racing. How many times does the pole sitter win the race? Seems like a lot to me. All the money and all the tech propelling humans down the asphalt as fast as they can go.
January 15, 20214 yr 11 hours ago, pops said: All the money and all the tech propelling humans down the asphalt as fast as they can go. That is great and all but I like to watch a race and not a parade as F1 seems to be. Pretty sure NASCAR has more passing (overtaking) and lead changes in one race than F1 has all year. Not knocking it, just do not understand the allure.
January 15, 20214 yr 12 minutes ago, Steamboat1874 said: That is great and all but I like to watch a race and not a parade as F1 seems to be. Pretty sure NASCAR has more passing (overtaking) and lead changes in one race than F1 has all year. Not knocking it, just do not understand the allure. Then I guess this thread isn't for you? NASCAR has what what I call "fake passing." if you're on a massive oval going 200 mph with a line of cars behind you, and someone in that line moves out and breaks your draft, and the other line of cars immediately next to you also going 200 mph all of a sudden starts passing you in great numbers, there's nothing interesting to me about that "pass." It's just a matter of physics. That doesn't entertain me. But, I'm not headed over to the NASCAR thread to tell fans of those races that there's no allure to the things they like. Several of us have explained why we enjoy it. You don't get it. That's fine. Not sure what else you really need to say about your opinion. Edited January 15, 20214 yr by utee94
January 15, 20214 yr However, I'll certainly agree that some of the races become pretty processional, and I'd love to see more movement especially at the top of the field. We're in an era of F1 where overtaking is pretty difficult, and where one team dominates the championships, and that's not nearly as interesting as many of us wish it were.
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