*****Official Formula 1 Thread*******

[KC native]

Everyone else gets an official thread, so I want one too.

I've seen several people make mentions of F1 on here. So, I'm giving us a thread. No more Speed bs coverage. NBC looks like they are taking it serious and will have some good coverage.

With DVRs now, it's no longer a pain in the ass to watch the races. So watch them and discuss

And if you don't watch F1. You suck. Best racing on the planet.

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Following is this week’s coverage schedule for the Rolex Australian Grand Prix on NBC Sports Network:

Date Program Time Network
Friday, March 15 Practice #1 12:00 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Friday, March 15 Practice #2 1:30 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Sat., March 16 Qualifying 2 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Sat., March 16 Qualifying Re-Air 1:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sunday, March 17 Australian Grand Prix 1:30 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Sunday, March 17 F1 Extra 4 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Sunday, March 17 Race Re-Air 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network
-

More practice times for the entire season can be found here.

2013 FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (Subject to change, all times ET):

Date Grand Prix Time Re-Air (NBCSN) Network
Sun., March 17 Australia 1:30 a.m. 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., March 24 Malaysia 3:30 a.m. 3 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., April 14 China 2:30 a.m. 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., April 21 Bahrain 7:30 a.m. Noon NBC Sports Network
Sun., May 12 Spain 7:30 a.m. 2 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., May 26 Monaco 7:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. NBC
Sun., June 9 Canada 2 p.m. 7 p.m. NBC
Sun., June 30 United Kingdom 7:30 a.m. Noon CNBC
Sun., July 7 Germany 7:30 a.m. Noon CNBC
Sun., July 28 Hungary 7:30 a.m. 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., Aug. 25 Belgium 7:30 a.m. Midnight NBC Sports Network
Sun., Sept. 8 Italy 7:30 a.m. 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., Sept. 22 Singapore 7:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., Oct. 6 Korea 1:30 a.m. 4 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., Oct. 13 Japan 1:30 a.m. 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., Oct. 27 India 5:00 a.m. 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., Nov. 3 Abu Dhabi 7:30 a.m. 6 p.m. NBC Sports Network
Sun., Nov. 17 USA (Austin) 1 p.m. 6 p.m. NBC
Sun., Nov. 24 Brazil 11 a.m. 4:30 p.m. NBC

[KC native]

.

F1 Primer: The teams and cars

The F1 rules have been largely stable since 2009. The current generation of cars use 2.4-liter V8 engines which produce around 750bhp.

This is enhanced by the addition of a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). This is basically a hybrid engine which gives drivers an extra 80bhp for up to 6.6 seconds per lap.

Another acronym which comes up often in F1 is DRS. The Drag Reduction System was introduced in 2011 to increase overtaking. It allows a driver to lower his rear wing and increase his top speed, but only on designated parts of the circuit and only when they’re within a second of the car in front.

F1′s engine specification has been ‘frozen’ for several years. That has led teams to focus on the aerodynamics of their cars as the best way of improving performance. And the undoubted masters of that at the moment are Red Bull.

Technical director Adrian Newey has been a key part of the team’s dominance of the past three seasons. His unending quest for performance has brought Red Bull in conflict with the sport’s rule makers on several occasions.

A team with the passion and heritage of Ferrari needs no introduction. They are the only outfit who’ve participated in every season of the world championship since its inauguration in 1950.

They wield immense political clout within the sport and their impatience at going four years without any championship silverware is clearly growing.

McLaren’s status as one of the sport’s top teams is belied by the fact that they haven’t won the constructors’ championship for 15 years. Their relationship with engine supplier Mercedes, which began in 1995, appears to be in its twilight phase.

Mercedes returned to F1 as a full factory team in 2010 but have only won one race since. The hiring of Lewis Hamilton from McLaren this year is a clear signal of their intentions.

The Lotus name appears in F1 but it is no longer connected to the sports car maker. The team which was known as Renault until last year have won championships before and are dark horse contenders for success this year.

Sauber mark the 20th anniversary of their arrival in F1 this year. The independent team owned by Peter Sauber is now run by F1′s first female team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn. Fellow independents Williams have multiple championships to their name and ended an eight-year winless streak last season.

Force India has two home races per year: the Indian Grand Prix and the British Grand Prix, the latter held at Silverstone circuit outside their factory gates.

The role of Toro Rosso in F1 is as a junior team for Red Bull who use it to evaluate potential drivers of the future.

There is room for 26 cars in Formula One at present, but only 22 of the spaces are filled. Three new teams entered F1 in 2010 but one of those, HRT, collapsed during the winter. Only Caterham and Marussia remain, and they are yet to score a point in three years.

[KC native]

.

The Formula One world championship is contested by 22 of the best drivers from around the world.

The champions

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (Germany) is shooting for a four consecutive drivers’ championship title, which has only been done twice before in the sport’s 63-year history.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (Spain) is among those trying to stop him. Since winning the 2005 and 2006 titles Alonso has come within a whisker of three more championships in 2007, 2010 and 2012.

Lewis Hamilton has turned his back on the McLaren team which propelled him into F1 and to the 2008 title, and taken over from Schumacher at Mercedes. Fellow Briton Jenson Button, Hamilton’s successor as champion in 2009, remains at McLaren.

And finally there’s Lotus’s enigmatic Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) who won last year on his return from a two-year lay-off which included rally and NASCAR appearances.

Race winners

Mark Webber (Australia) and Felipe Massa (Brazil) have the unenviable task of partnering two of F1′s top talents, Vettel and Alonso respectively.

Nico Rosberg (Germany) and Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) scored their breakthrough Grand Prix victories last year. Rosberg, son of 1982 world champion Keke, is yet to establish himself as a regular front-runner, and faces a stern challenge from Hamilton this year.

Maldonado’s win was one of few high points in a season which saw too many incidents. The same can be said of Romain Grosjean (France), who was quick but too incident-prone in 2012.

Up-and-comers

One of the most interesting storylines ahead of the 2013 season is how Sergio Perez (Mexico) will fare having been promoted to McLaren in Hamilton’s place.

Another one to watch is Nico Hulkenberg (Germany), who led 30 laps of last year’s season finale in an unfancied Force India. He’s moved to Sauber, and is tipped as a future Ferrari driver.

His fellow German Adrian Sutil returns to F1 following a one-year absence. He is reunited at Force India with 2011 team mate Paul di Resta (Britain), which promises to be an absorbing intra-team battle.

Red Bull junior drivers Jean-Eric Vergne (France) and Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) remain at their junior team Toro Rosso for a second year, bidding for a chance to join the senior team. Sophomore driver Charles Pic (France) moves from Marussia to tail-end rivals Caterham.

Rookies

Five new drivers arrive in the sport this year. You can read more about them in this earlier article:

[Bugeater]

Schedule in the OP would be helpful. I don't normally watch this but I'd be willing to check it out if I had a clue when it was on.

[KurtCobain]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Schedule in the OP would be helpful. I don't normally watch this but I'd be willing to check it out if I had a clue when it was on.

You should've started this thing then.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by something cooler

You should've started this thing then.

I'm not THAT interested in it.

[KurtCobain]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

I'm not THAT interested in it.

I don't even know how I got in this ****ing thread.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by something cooler

I don't even know how I got in this ****ing thread.

That generally happens when you click on the thread title on the front page. So ya gonna watch some F1 or not

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Schedule in the OP would be helpful. I don't normally watch this but I'd be willing to check it out if I had a clue when it was on.

Added. Didn't even think of that.

[Bugeater]

Shit, when you said NBC I thought you meant network NBC. I don't think I have NBC Sports Network.

[Dylan]

NBC Sports Group has signed a four-year deal with Formula One for the exclusive U.S. media rights to the world's most popular global motorsports series.

The deal that begins next season will air four races on NBC. The remaining 16 races, and all practices and qualifying sessions will be on cable NBC Sports Network in what's expected to total more than 100 hours of annual programming.

All 20 races will be live streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra, the NBC Sports Group’s live-stream platform that is available online at NBCSports.com as well as on mobile and tablet apps.

“We are thrilled to add the top international open-wheel racing series to our already-strong motorsports portfolio,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “Formula 1 is a perfect fit for the NBC Sports Group as it provides content across three platforms — broadcast, cable and digital — for nine months a year with more than 100 hours of premier programming annually.”

The 2013 F1 Grand Prix schedule includes 20 races in 19 countries from March through November, including the Austin, Texas, race on Sunday, Nov. 17 on NBC. The 2013 season begins on Sunday, March 17 in Australia on NBC Sports Network and concludes on Sunday, Nov. 24 in Brazil on NBC. NBC’s first race will be the Grand Prix of Canada, which will be broadcast on Sunday, June 9. The famed Grand Prix of Monaco is scheduled for Sunday, May 26, on NBC Sports Network.

“NBC and its various media assets have a huge profile throughout the United States, and I am obviously delighted to have concluded this agreement. I feel that they will promote Formula One to a level not seen before in the United States,” said Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Group CEO. “I very much look forward to working with NBC. Together, we will endeavor to broaden the scope of Formula One coverage available to U.S. viewers incorporating additional digital content in particular that has not been available before.”

Cable network Speed had been the U.S. rights holder to F1 for the last 17 years, but told The Associated Press on Friday it had been outbid by another network.

[Dylan]

F1
Friday, March 15 Practice #1 12:00 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Friday, March 15 Practice #2 1:30 a.m. NBC Sports Network

Sat., March 16 Qualifying 2 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Sat., March 16 Qualifying Re-Air 1:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network

Sunday, March 17 Australian Grand Prix 1:30 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Sunday, March 17 F1 Extra 4 a.m. NBC Sports Network
Sunday, March 17 Race Re-Air 1 p.m. NBC Sports Network

[HIChief]

I started watching F1 last season. There were some real good races that went right down to the wire. You never knew who was going to win, what with tires and fuel management being major factors. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this season, especially if the Chiefs lay another egg. And, thanks for posting the schedule.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by HIChief

I started watching F1 last season. There were some real good races that went right down to the wire. You never knew who was going to win, what with tires and fuel management being major factors. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this season, especially if the Chiefs lay another egg. And, thanks for posting the schedule.

No problem. Last season was awesome. I think we're in for something similar due to the planned tire degradation making most of the races 2 stoppers at least.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Shit, when you said NBC I thought you meant network NBC. I don't think I have NBC Sports Network.

If you have cable/sat and have ESPN and Foxsports you should have it.