F1- Formula One Fans! - Page 12

Schlyder · #**221** 11-19-2012, 01:51 PM

Vettel was slowed down when he ran into cars getting lapped that did not give way....and then had the disadvantage of no DRS in the straight. That gave Hamilton the chance to pass. And he took advantage of it.
I agree with getting rid of the DRS and KERS. Any kind of computerized traction assist, or breaking assist is not enjoyable to me. Let the drivers drive the car.

And Vettel also had a great weekend.... he was fastest in practice, qualifying, and had pole position. I think after Hamilton passed him he was not giving it 100% for the win, as he had to make sure he didn't break his car or go off. He had to collect all the points he could to pretty much lock things up next week. If he DNF'd things would be a lot tighter next weekend.

Ripper · #**222** 11-20-2012, 05:21 PM

The DRS did exactly what it was designed to do: Make passing easier. Vettel and Hamilton were running near identical laps throughout the entire race. If Vettel hadn't got stuck behind the lap car, he wouldn't have been passed by Hamilton. The DRS made it easier, but in the laps prior to that, it wasn't helping Hamilton at all. He was just maintaining distance.

I actually enjoy it, but then again I'm a dumb American so what do I know :P

Was a great race this weekend. Glad I was at it. Not sure if it would have been better if Vettel would have won, or if it was better seeing the reaction of the Brits that were sitting behind me when Lewis won. That track in Austin is amazing. I really wish I could get the chance to run a car around it for a few laps. The facilities aren't quite all there yet, but what is there is spectacular. Traffic wasn't as big of an issue as people were making it out to be, the new ampitheatre is nice, and they actually had enough bathrooms at the event. Really hope I can make it back next year.

(Oh, and I snuck up into the T1 stands after P2 and snapped this. Would be up there with T12 and GA for the tickets I'd get if I were to go back)

spindoc · #**223** 11-20-2012, 08:35 PM

Fantastic event! We roamed the track on Friday, watched qualifying from turn 19, and watched both Ferrari Challenge races and the GP from turn 1. Turn 1 was awesome with a great sense of speed of the cars coming up the hill, a view of the pits, turn 2 and 16-20 in addition to the jumbotron screen and timing tower, along with the action in turn 1.

As soon as the race ended we were at the gate to get on the track in front of the podium for the trophy ceremony. What a scene! A flood of people streaming onto the track when the gate opened, sprinting down to the podium hollering. Had to chant "Alonso! Alonso!" along with the crowd during the interviews - just an incredible experience.

Got to see some music in Austin, including at Antone's. I regret we didn't stick around at the track on Saturday to see Collective Soul. Ate Tex-Mex at Trudy's and barbecue at Rudy's. The FanFest downtown was fun, and got to be part of a Q and A session with Christian Horner there.

For us the most pleasant surprise was that traffic was not an issue all weekend. We were on the airport shuttle which made it easy; the only time there was any significant wait was to get on the buses after the race.

People who were buying food and drink and souvenirs usually had long lines to contend with, and the shuttle going around the track was insufficient - fortunately none of this affected us as we brought our food and water, and walked where we needed to go. All in all the organizers did a fantastic job with putting together such a large scale event for the first time, and my hat's off to them.

spector_boogie · #**224** 11-21-2012, 07:38 AM

Totally disagree about DRS/KERS. I do not want it going back to the Ferrari/Schumi days where nobody else has a chance bc the car is that much better, and neither does Formula 1, especially with now one (and maybe 1-2 more) US race. Even with DRS/KERS Vettel has dominated bc of Adrian's designs. He lost an race and again, really needs to st!u about it. I didn't hear him complaining about FULL CIRCUIT cautions in Abu Dhabi that allowed him to move into P4, but maybe others did??

Such a baby when he's going to win 3 in a row anyway. This isn't NASCAR- the car/engineering aspect of it is a huge part of why I watch in the first place.

bassbrad · #**225** 11-25-2012, 03:31 PM

Well there we have it results are in for 2012, and what a season it was.

Brazil was an interesting end for an interesting season, a bit disappointed for Alonso but certainly congrats to Vettel/RedBull for the hat trick.

Sad to loose the Speed team in the US, hope NBC Sports will do as good a job. Happy to see that Hobbs, Matchett and Buxton will remain as a part of the team but will certainly miss Posey's perspective and commentary.

Looking forward to 2013!

**MiJaKo** · #**226** 11-25-2012, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassbrad

Well there we have it results are in for 2012, and what a season it was.

Brazil was an interesting end for an interesting season, a bit disappointed for Alonso but certainly congrats to Vettel/RedBull for the hat trick.

Sad to loose the Speed team in the US, hope NBC Sports will do as good a job. Happy to see that Hobbs, Matchett and Buxton will remain as a part of the team but will certainly miss Posey's perspective and commentary.

Looking forward to 2013!

Agree, great race, crazy as it was. Most entertaining season I can remember in years.
Glad that Matchett is going to be part of the NBC coverage; that guy is a wealth of info. Sad that Varsha isn't. He's been synonymous with F1 coverage for me since I began watching in '94. (Mike Joy and Derek Daily were painful to listen to.)
Wonder why Varsha decided to stay with Speed? I heard that network is being phased out. Maybe he's moving into a position at Fox?

Angus · #**227** 11-25-2012, 05:47 PM

I stopped watching the US coverage because I can't stand Matchett- he's so dutifully parked in the 90's that it's hard to listen to. But I used to work for one of the current F1 teams so I suppose I'm a little more sensitive than most to technical inaccuracies.

Buxton was a great addition to the team so I'm glad he's staying with them. He does a great job with GP3 and GP2.

I just watch Sky or BBC these days, though it was best when Coulthard and Brundle were together last year. Perfection.

Insane last two races- so much fun. Bring on next year!

hgiles · #**228** 11-25-2012, 05:56 PM

Enjoyed the season also! Next year is all KIMI!!

Atoz · #**229** 11-25-2012, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angus

I stopped watching the US coverage because I can't stand Matchett- he's so dutifully parked in the 90's that it's hard to listen to. But I used to work for one of the current F1 teams so I suppose I'm a little more sensitive than most to technical inaccuracies.

Just curious... which F1 team did you work for, and what was your job description? Would like to hear your POV on the current state of things.

9mmMike · #**230** 11-26-2012, 07:41 AM

So nice to see Sam Posey was there. Loved when he dared to call the Schumacher-era "boring".

Jim Nazium · #**231** 11-26-2012, 07:48 AM

OK guys, excuse me for being a total F1 noob. I watched part of the Brazilian GP yesterday, and the first pit stop I saw, I was like ... wait ... what just happened? The car came in, stopped, then took off. Did they do anything? The announcer said something about switching tires. The next time I watched more closely. They changed all four tires in 3.5 seconds! Holy cow!

Frank Tuesday · #**232** 11-26-2012, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Nazium

OK guys, excuse me for being a total F1 noob. I watched part of the Brazilian GP yesterday, and the first pit stop I saw, I was like ... wait ... what just happened? The car came in, stopped, then took off. Did they do anything? The announcer said something about switching tires. The next time I watched more closely. They changed all four tires in 3.5 seconds! Holy cow!

That was slow. Watch McLaren do a 2.31 second stop in Germany this year.

bassbrad · #**233** 11-26-2012, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Nazium

OK guys, excuse me for being a total F1 noob. I watched part of the Brazilian GP yesterday, and the first pit stop I saw, I was like ... wait ... what just happened? The car came in, stopped, then took off. Did they do anything? The announcer said something about switching tires. The next time I watched more closely. They changed all four tires in 3.5 seconds! Holy cow!

3.5 seconds is considered slow these days. Pit stops are a part of what F1 is all about, one of the reasons it is considered a team sport, as most drivers are quick to point out.

Truly appreciating an F1 race calls for a lot of background to understand all that is going on, and one of the hurdles it will face in America, the land of NASCAR and drag racing. I know that when i 1st started watching it was interesting but as I learned more it became even more interesting. Several of my neighbors knew we are F1 fans and watched several races with us and now get what it is all about.

jbaird · #**234** 11-26-2012, 11:41 AM

What a great season! I started watching last year which was a bit of a blowout but enjoyed it too but definitely better that it had to go to the last race and had more teams involved and winning races than just RB/McLaren/Ferrari. Can't wait to see what next year is like with the regs not changing much, Perez at McLaren.. whether Mercedes can do any better with Hamilton driving.. etc.

Is New Jersey still on? I thought someone mentioned in passing on Sky it was off but can't see any reference to that anywhere else. Makes sense since its more important to clean up hurricane damage than prep for F1.

Am I the only one confused that there was no more talk about Vettel passing Kamui under the yellow flags? They showed it on TV and even again with a replay but then no on mentioned it again, didn't see any hint the stewards made a ruling one way or another. I can't believe Ferrari wouldn't have been on the phone to try and push to have a pentaly or whatever. Alonso couldn't really hope for better than 2nd that race so it was all up to where Vettel placed. Not crying conspiracy or anything, just curious.

Angus · #**235** 11-26-2012, 11:56 AM

The lights were yellow because they only flash solid colors, but the flags the marshalls were waving were striped yellow/red- slippery surface flags. It was not a yellow flag zone. Pat Fry from Ferrari also said this straight after the race and did not consider it an issue.

In addition, Charlie Whiting stated that for this race (and potentially beyond), if the passing maneuver is initiated prior to the yellow flag zone and is on a straight, then it can be completed because it is unlikely to be of massive danger. Dive bombing into a corner where a new yellow flag zone is being waved would not be allowed, however.

No New Jersey- they don't have the money, and it will be replaced with a race in France.

Schlyder · #**236** 11-26-2012, 12:24 PM

Another great race to end a fantastic, and entertaining season. Looking forward to the 2013 season.

9mmMike · #**237** 11-26-2012, 02:32 PM

I wonder if Petrov saved Heiki's job with that 11th place?

jbaird · #**238** 11-26-2012, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angus

The lights were yellow because they only flash solid colors, but the flags the marshalls were waving were striped yellow/red- slippery surface flags. It was not a yellow flag zone. Pat Fry from Ferrari also said this straight after the race and did not consider it an issue.
.

Ahh.. makes sense

Ripper · #**239** 11-26-2012, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Nazium

OK guys, excuse me for being a total F1 noob. I watched part of the Brazilian GP yesterday, and the first pit stop I saw, I was like ... wait ... what just happened? The car came in, stopped, then took off. Did they do anything? The announcer said something about switching tires. The next time I watched more closely. They changed all four tires in 3.5 seconds! Holy cow!

If you really want to get into some of the crazy stuff that they do in F1, here's some good sources of information from one of the best (IMO) armchair analysts in the sport, Craig Scarborough.

On the basic level for those getting into the sport (like yourself) he has some writeups on this site: http://www.gocar.gr/en/races/f1-tech-files/ explaining all of the general characteristics in relatively laymans terms.

And when it gets to the more advanced stuff, there's his proper blog www.scarbsf1.com which has incredibly detailed analysis of race-to-race aero changes, as well as a yearly rules analysis and other fun information.

Enjoy!

Angus · #**240** 11-26-2012, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atoz

Just curious... which F1 team did you work for, and what was your job description? Would like to hear your POV on the current state of things.

Sorry I missed this- Toro Rosso, engineer (intern, really), on Liuzzi's side of the garage. How I got there is a long story. I turned down a job at Red Bull when I decided to change career paths.

What about the current state of things? I follow things on an unhealthily-close level.