It won't be as bad as Spain. There aren't any high energy corners at Monaco

.

Oh, and expect more Red Bull whining

Canadian Grand Prix is on NBC right now. WATCH IT YOU ****S

Vettel is the new Shumacher -

Three World Championships and only 25 years old...

It does not look like they will slow down any time soon - They have an amazing package.

Yes. Vettel's success is unprecedented. Just out of curiousity, I want to see how he performs outside of an Adrian Newey car. That's not meant to take anything from him. Mark Webber is in the same car and has not had the same success as Seb.

First F1 race I ever watched, and it was boring.

Because you're a dipshit. Today's race was badass.

Sure, whatever. Pole sitter leads wire to wire, never once threatened, and wins by 15 seconds. If that is "badass" then you have a weird concept of what racing is.

:spock:

I wouldn't be too sure of that. At least not the exact car.

Did you notice the other 21 cars on the track?

Damn, I missed it again this week.

Not really, although TV did spend an inordinate amount of time on the 8-9 battle. Pretty engrossing stuff there finding out who would eke out the 8 spot. I just think wire-to-wire winning is lame but maybe you enjoy that type of racing?

Sure, I enjoy watching the race unfold behind the leader.

Fair enough. I thought the AFC West race was lame last year but I can see why others might've enjoyed how it unfolded behind the Broncos.


In other news, I do love the look of the Red Bull cars. Probably the best paint jobs in racing history, honestly:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Malaysia_2.jpg

At his age, it is unprecedented. Youngest 3 time world champion. #3 (IIRC) on all time wins list. He is a machine.

And no, not the exact but similar enough that Webber should be winning more races than he does with a Newey car.

Should be rebroadcast a couple times during the week on NBC Sport Network.

And you missed Alonso's fabulous drive to go from 6th on the grid to 2nd on the podium. DiResta's and Massa's drives were also phenomenal. Even a backmarker team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, put a car in the top 10.

I had a lot going on this weekend, so i might have missed it anyway...but they need to do a better job of advertising the times/channels.

Thanks, ill be on the lookout for the rebroadcast.

I just set my DVR to record everything F1 and have it as a high priority on the series manager.

Meh, don't care about the age part. Much of his success is because of his car. Friggin Alonso win win every race in a RB.

I agree. Adrian Newey is a genius. Alonso is the best pure driver on the grid IMO.

Most complete driver (car skill, tire management, intelligence, not seeing "red"). I'd say that Kimi is the most talented car handler. Lewis for sheer speed.

I would put Kimi before Lewis. Kimi is a beast. The pace he has pulled out of the Lotus has been nothing short of amazing. If you give him a car that doesn't chew up tires then he always has a shot to win the race.

Keep a mental note.

Indy 500 weekend is the start of F1 with Monaco.

Every weekend thereafter until it ends.

That's wrong. There are some GPs that are scheduled consecutive Sundays, some are two Sundays apart, and some up to three weeks between.

For example, the British GP isn't until June 30.

http://www.planetf1.com/race-hub

Webber icky:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F0vdLNVLW4E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Yeah but you get the idea.

Just start watching beginning Indy weekend.

The Formula One season starts in March.

Yeah I know.

But I don't start watching until Monaco.

I do like the Melbourne race however.

You're missing great races if that's your starting point. Spain, for example, is awesome.

Best circuit (track for you mouth breathers)?

Spa.

Eau Rouge...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_fpMxuY05IM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/K2cNqaPSHv0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Yes, Eau Rouge is ****ing awesome.

that is awesome. It's staggering how much faster they are. The Ferrari Challenge guys and Porsche GT3 Cup racing that were the support races for F1 in Austin looked like they were go carts in comparison.

Honest question: Saturday night I caught a glimpse of not Nascar cars on a circle race track in Dallas that I thought was interesting. I then tried to watch the Montreal thing yesterday but could not keep interest. What is the difference in the two that I watched?

I've never seen a Nascar race either, so I guess I am just confused in general. Perhaps I should Google it instead.

I'm trying to talk the wife into having a date weekend for the US GP this year. You went last year, yes?

F1 is a very different beast. Honestly, if my Dad hadn't gotten me up at the crack of ****ing dawn to watch when I was a boy, I probably wouldn't watch now. It's an acquired taste to be sure. It is the epitome of motorsport, however, at least from a ME standpoint.

It's in Austin better get a room NOW.

Getting a room won't be an issue.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/51735205" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/51735205">Grand Prix: The Killer Years</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/formula1blogger">Formula1Blogger</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

You can also get the entire Senna movie at Vimeo. The Killer Years got removed from YouTube, seems i have to go to LiveLeak or Vimeo these days to find the best stuff.

Yes, it was phenomenal. The shuttles were on point. The people were welcoming. I was impressed how smooth it went for the first time hosting it. I already have my tickets and will be going back this year too. Should be even more of a blast because there is a UT game that weekend too. Last year 6th St was a little dead when I was there because it was the weekend before Thanksgiving and UT and TCU played on Thanksgiving.

F1 is all about the engineering and precision driving. NASCAR and affiliated series are what are called Spec Series. All the cars must fit a narrow set of specifications. F1, while having more specs recently, allows for whatever type of build as long as it doesn't run afoul of the rules.

I don't know about that. There were a lot of unsold rooms last year because of how much Austin hotels tried to jack up the prices. A lot of people stayed in San Marcos, New Braunfels, and San Antonio.

:thumb: Rush looks like it is going to be a badass movie too.

F1 is the superior circuit with the superior cars, drivers, technology, purses, and worldwide appeal. It runs on racetracks, Nascar & Indy run on some tracks but mostly ovals. It's whatever you are into.


I've tried for decades to get into road racing but it just pains me to watch it. They never pass.


A friend of mine told me he tried to watch an hour of Montreal Sunday. "It was as boring as another person's dream" he said. F1 has to find a way to get more passing.

Thanks.

Your friend must have fallen asleep then. There were over 20 passes on Sunday. F1 cars are heavily dependent on aerodynamic down force, and "towing" actually upsets the cars' balance horribly.

Now, that being said, I HATE DRS and KERS, which were introduced to aid overtaking.

Make sure you hit the Salt Lick BBQ when you go next time.

It's SW of Austin in Driftwood.

No problem. I forgot to even mention the track. It was awesome. There were plenty of good food vendors. It was a little dusty but that should be better by the next race because they will have the landscaping done. I highly recommend it if you are an F1 fan. Oh and be prepared to walk. So wear comfortable shoes.

Yea we tried to make it there but it just didn't work out. Definitely making it by there this time.

Also go to:

Franklin's BBQ - try to get in line before it sells out
Stubbs BBQ - good food and music
Threadgill's - where Janis Joplin started to sing
La Zona Rosa - good blues and former SRV hangout
Antoines - blues and former SRV hangout
Hippy Hollow - naked bitches everywhere
Barton Springs - 68 deg natural spring
Austin City Limits - if you can get tickets
Steve Ray Vaughan Statue - spiritual

Went to Franklin's. Being from KC, I was not very impressed.

I've been to County Line on the Hill a few times. Quite good. Nice views (for Texas) too.

I am an avid F1 Fan. Well, at least for the past two seasons. That being said, here are some of the things I dislike and like about the race:

Likes- The venues, particularly Spa, Silverstone, and Monaco. I always get nostalgic watching those races. The rivalries between constructors (it's been said Honda will re-enter next season). Felippe Masa and Lewis Hamilton--the two drivers I root for. The driver's women-damn! The car's-eye view and radio comms during the broadcast. The detailed info provided by the announcers about the cars, the rules, and the drivers.

Dislikes- Pirrelli Tires that all cars must use, and the mandatory tire change. Hell, if they're going to have constructors competition, then why not foster competition between the component vendors as well? DRS enabling for the trailing car--that seems unfair. No purse for the drivers--Huh?! The cash prizes all go to the constructors. The endless doting on Redbull's Sebastian Vettle by the announcers. I mean, he's a likeable guy and all, but jeeze!

But, I thoroughly enjoy F1; warts and all!

:thumb: Nice, I like the tire degradation but it should be reduced a little. Tires are the controversy for now until the constructors find something else to argue about.

Aside from cheering from Lew Ham, you seem like an alright guy.

Ecclestone needs to die though. **** that greedy troll.

anyone who thinks Vettel is a likeable guy doesn't pay attention.

This. He is a prick that knows how to win. Can't fault him for wanting to be first every race though.

I don't fault him for wanting to win, they all do or they wouldn't be there. But consistently ****ing over your teammates comes back to haunt you someday.

My limited understanding of who Ecclestone is gave me the impression he is one of the main underwriters of the sport, and it might not be around today were it not for him. Educate me, please.

I guess NBCS didn't do me any favors by the profile they did on Vettle then. He must have been told to mind his P's and Q's. I'll continue to watch and see what you are talking about. It just seems to me like all the announcers ever do is gush about him. That made me suspicious, but I don't know enough to form a reasoned opinion of him as a driver or a person.

Of course Vettel comes across as lovely in interviews and TV appearances, most of them do because they get paid unholy sums by their sponsors etc. It's on the track and in the pits the real dude comes out. He isn't very popular with anyone.
Kimi Raikkonen is the exact opposite, it's hard not to like him and he's probably the most popular driver among his peers. Loose Hamilton used to be an enormous dick but he's grown up some and learned to get over himself.
I'm a Ferrari man and wish they'd get Kimi back, though Alonso is pretty cool. Give Kimi a car equal to Vettel's and I'll put my money on Kimi winning.

I would love to see a Kimi and Alonso team. I don't think Kimi can handle the Ferrari promotional commitment again. That's a big reason why he quit after winning the championship. Lotus doesn't ask him to do nearly as much as Red Bull and Ferrari would.

I love Kimi though. He is my 2nd favorite driver. I love that he came back to F1.

Aweseome gif on Alonso's pass on Hamilton from Montreal

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18qe.../ku-xlarge.gif

Might not be around, but Ecclestone has lined his pockets with F1 money while there are constructors who struggle to find funding every year.

He also sanctions races that should never happen (Bahrain for example) and is unwilling to negotiate substantial reductions to sanctioning fees for historic grand prix.

Oh, FIA underwrites the historic races as well? I was thinking about going to Nice, France next year so that I could catch the Monaco De Historiques before the actual GP. Anything I should know before I plunk down the plane fare?

Well, the British GP was a farce. Nothing like tires exploding to spice up a race...

I kind of got discouraged after both my favorites were "blown" out of the race--Hamilton and Masa. Fortunately, it wasn't a total loss, as Vettle and RedBull finally got that dose of bad luck Alonzo said they were due for. And, Nico Rosberg added another win to his 2013 campaign. Gotta hand it to Weber too. That was a brilliant comeback from a lousy start. Though I guess you could argue the cautions helped him.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in this thread it must be spelled, "tyres". :)

Anyway, I was watching this race this morning, with Spanish commentary and the typically cryptic F1 graphics, so I was even more clueless about what was going on than I usually am. I couldn't even figure out where they were. I did guess, "Silverstone, maybe..." to myself, so yay me.

The commentators were having a good laugh about Vettel breaking, though. I understood that.

Just finished it a couple mintues ago. Holy shit. Pirelli really screwed the pooch. Glad to see a dnf for vettel though.

Nonsensical Bump!

Just about every Sunday morning I'll flip through the bullshit on TV and often land on F1 on one of my five Spanish language channels (blow me Comcast) and I'll play a little game called, "Where the hell are they this week?"

Well, it's just past halfway through and the place looks kind of exotic, the sun has set and they are night racing. That in and of itself is pretty awesome; never saw that before. So, I guess it's in the Far East. Singapore, maybe? I'm not gonna Google it for a while.

Eh, I think I've got time differences all screwed up. It's probably Monday morning in the Far East. I also see Arabic writing on some signage. So, like, Bahrain or something. Final answer.

NBC

Vettel wins fourth World Championship and wins historic ninth consecutive race win in a season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix

Vettel, 26 is the youngest four-time Formula 1 champion.

Michael Schumacher in critical condition after skiing accident

Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula One history, is in critical condition after suffering "severe head trauma" in a skiing accident in the French Alps on Sunday, hospital officials said.

Sucks. Schumi is who got me into F1. Hope he ends up being ok.

Wow! hope it turns out ok for him.

Stunning news. Wow... Awesome race car driver, sad news...