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Formula 1 2022


Anton Chigurh

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1 hour ago, utee94 said:

See @wood, Bobby was just ahead of his time.  A visionary!

There probably will actually be pit lane walks, just not for us regular folk. They already have separate pit lane walks for VIPs, Paddock Club, certain ticket holders, etc. Even on Friday and Saturday. I doubt that'll change. They'll probably just leave out all of us unwashed peasants. That's Bobby's wet dream, of course, but then again F1 might control all of it rather than letting the venues have access for their VIPs.

Seriously though, it's disappointing, but outside of the first year when there was practically nobody there and you could roam freely, COTA's pit walks have pretty much sucked anyway. I'll definitely miss it in Montreal though. I think it's a bad move for F1. The pit lane walks were the only time most people can ever get close to the cars, garages, and team atmosphere. F1 is already exclusive enough. Making it less real and relatable to the fans is a step in the wrong direction imho. 

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6 minutes ago, Anton Chigurh said:

It does suck for the fans, but it is a positive for the team members who are now on the road more than ever, so I’m good with it.

The easy solution is of course to just have fewer races, but yeah.

Yeah I'm fine with most of it, but eliminating pit walks is a step backward. Also, like Dieter says there at the end, it likely won't result in any more time at home for team and F1 employees, and FOM will likely use it as a reason to add even more races, which like you say is also the opposite direction they should probably be headed.

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1 hour ago, wood said:

There probably will actually be pit lane walks, just not for us regular folk. They already have separate pit lane walks for VIPs, Paddock Club, certain ticket holders, etc. Even on Friday and Saturday. I doubt that'll change. They'll probably just leave out all of us unwashed peasants. That's Bobby's wet dream, of course, but then again F1 might control all of it rather than letting the venues have access for their VIPs.

Seriously though, it's disappointing, but outside of the first year when there was practically nobody there and you could roam freely, COTA's pit walks have pretty much sucked anyway. I'll definitely miss it in Montreal though. I think it's a bad move for F1. The pit lane walks were the only time most people can ever get close to the cars, garages, and team atmosphere. F1 is already exclusive enough. Making it less real and relatable to the fans is a step in the wrong direction imho. 

We specifically planned our trip to Montreal in June so we could attend the pit lane walk.  My wife is not going to the race, but she was excited to go to the pit lane walk on Thursday.  

 

Furk.

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Look at the big brain on Zak! He's on a roll.

Some teams ‘holding F1 hostage’, B teams still a problem - Brown https://racer.com/2022/01/17/some-teams-holding-f1-hostage-b-teams-still-a-problem-brown/

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McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown says Liberty Media and the FIA need to take more control of Formula 1 because some teams are “effectively holding the sport hostage”.

Teams have been part of the governance of F1 through various groups, allowing them to vote on rule changes and play a key role in the future direction of the sport. However, Brown believes that system is used too often for the benefit of each team individually rather than the sport as a whole, and wants to move away from a situation where customer teams can become B teams.

“The current governance structure of the sport enables a situation where some teams, to protect their own competitive advantage, are effectively holding the sport hostage from what’s best for the fans and therefore the sport at large,” Brown said. “These teams seem unable to accept that a budget cap is in the best interests of the sport and cannot kick their habit of spending their way to the front.

“In addition, the threat of A and B teams has not gone away, and it is vital that the governance of the sport is strengthened to prevent this. The regulations, as they stand today, are heavily biased towards B teams/customer teams, which is not in line with F1’s principle of a group of genuine constructors competing with one another on even terms. It is diminishing what being an F1 ‘team’ means and the fabric of the sport.


“F1 needs to be 10 true constructors, where each team — apart from sharing the PU and potentially the gearbox internals — must design and produce all parts which are performance relevant. Right now, there is too much diversity in the business models between teams. Trying to apply the same set of complex regulations to each, and then policing them effectively, is needlessly complicated and compromised as a result. This cost-capped environment should allow teams to become more recognizable entities in their own right within a realistic budget, without the concern of significant performance differences based on how much each team can spend.

“In a nutshell, the current situation allows B teams to be overcompetitive compared to constructors, and A teams to be overcompetitive by having the benefit of a B team. Without a correction, the way things stand mean that any team with championship aspirations needs to have a B team in place and that simply is not Formula 1.

“On top of this, the voting pressure placed by the A teams on their B teams is not consistent with the promotion of an equitable sport based on individual team merit. As I have said before — and these teams won’t admit to it — there are times when some smaller teams vote against their own interests to satisfy the agenda of their A team.”

Having previously told RACER he feels the FIA needs to review a number of areas of the regulations, Brown says the arrival of new president Mohammed Ben Sulayam provides an opportunity to reform the way F1 works. And the McLaren boss believes removing power from the teams would be better for the sport overall.

“The signs of organizational difficulties could be seen at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix and at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, both hallmarked by a seeming lack of preparation for the events unfolding and temporary inertia on the solutions.

“Greater clarity on the roles of the FIA and F1 and the need for increased leadership of the sport will undoubtedly be on the agenda for Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Stefano Domenicali and their respective teams. Previous administrations pursued a mainly autocratic style of governance, so to point the sport in the right direction it was necessary to take a more consultative approach with teams and stakeholders. But now the sport has been successfully reset, moving forward there is a need to shift back to stronger, more directive leadership and governance at the top of the sport.”

Brown also added that the teams’ collective influence has not always led to positive outcomes for F1, stating the use of radio messages to race control being broadcast are one such example: “At times, it’s felt like a pantomime audition rather than the pinnacle of a global sport.”

 

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We specifically planned our trip to Montreal in June so we could attend the pit lane walk.  My wife is not going to the race, but she was excited to go to the pit lane walk on Thursday.  
 
Furk.

To be fair it’s not officially official yet, but coming from Dieter Rencken is pretty solid info.
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1 hour ago, Anton Chigurh said:

The easy solution is of course to just have fewer races, but yeah.

This. I'll watch every one of them, but 23 is a ton.

Maybe I'm just grumpy old man. The NFL moving to 17 games seems dumb. NBA Playoffs have too many teams and last too long. Baseball? Move from 162 games to 81.

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4 hours ago, Anton Chigurh said:


To be fair it’s not officially official yet, but coming from Dieter Rencken is pretty solid info.

Yeah Dieter has really become a favorite of mine the last few years, and he doesn't take any shit from Joe's Award, either, which is a nice bonus.

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On 1/14/2022 at 7:33 PM, Chewbacca said:
On 1/14/2022 at 2:36 PM, Anton Chigurh said:
Good stuff from VB. Translated from a podcast. I copied and pasted this from somewhere else so the added note is not mine.

host (oskari saari): you’ve been also following from very close distance someone who i think is the – well, let’s but it this way, one of the greatest f1 drivers of all time, who has been your teammate: lewis hamilton

vb: i can say that the greatest of all time

oskari: yeah?

vb: yes!

oskari: what makes him the greatest?

valtteri: i have never before, until a few days ago when i saw lewis (note: my understading is that this episode was filmed a little after the mercedes factory celebrations), said that to anyone, because it’s compeletly against the nature of a racing driver to say someone is better than you. so i told lewis that you’re the first and only person i’m saying this to, but you’re better than i am, and you’re the best in the world. and lewis is! he’s been through a hard childhood, he’s got the talent and natural ability towards this sport but he also works incredibly hard. when lewis is working he works so hard that he makes sure he stays in that top level. when you but together the talent, the experience and the the hard work he does, you have to say that he is in his own level compared to literally everyone else. of course i have my days when i can beat him which always feels great, but when you but together the whole season i simply can’t beat him. lewis’ stability over a season, how rarely he has bad weekends and how he can always maximize every situation - you know it’s always about very small things but the stability is where he is a step forward. maybe it’s about having better nerves or something else, but to me he is in a different level than anyone else in that paddock.

oskari: i don’t think anyone is in a better place than you to observe these things, so we’ll take your word for it. i think many would also become very demoralisized by that but to me it’s seems that for you it’s the opposite.

valtteri: yeah i mean it did take many years, literally it was a couple of days ago that for the first time i could really admit it to myself and also tell lewis that. the first years i was really fighting that and i strained myself a lot - thinking you know, it can’t be, i can beat everyone, but to me now i’ve just had to accept that that’s how it goes. i think in every sport there has to be someone who is the greatest of all time and it’s obviously not me, but it has not always been far off you know. lewis also told me that there has been days where he has felt that he has performed in a really good level but still didn’t beat me, and to me i can take positives from things like that. that you know, on my days no one can beat me but those days just simply aren’t everyday.

oskari: so the difference is over a very long season. do you think that in a way it’s inspiring having witnessed all of that from so closely?

valtteri: absolutely, and i have learned a lot. like i said it’s all about very small details and there is just certains things where he is a step ahead – specially with lewis on sundays he can always find some extra energy and power no matter the situation.

oskari: do you think that it has fed your hunger to be the best having witnessed how lewis does things?

valtteri: absolutely: as long as you are in this sport i think you can get better and find always something a little bit extra. i truly think that i can still get better even though i’m 32. so of course it’s still a dream to some day be the best. i also have to say that lewis did tell me that he has learned a lot from my driving as well. we have honestly quite similar driving styles, but of course still different, and many times there has been some corner where he has never managed to beat my time but gotten really close, and he said that if he wouldn’t have seen how i do places like that on the track he wouldn’t have been able to get a great time in quali, so i think our teamwork has been great in that sense also.

Bottas gets shit on a lot for how good he is. I'll be surprised if Russell can match what VB did at MB.

It will be fascinating to see how George does this year. He’s been in F1 three years, yet it’s hard to take a whole lot away because the Williams have been dogshit in race conditions and he’s never had a good teammate to race or qualify against. I think his quali record gets overblown. It’s largely a function of terrible teammates. 
 

Kubica was obviously a shell of his former self, and Latifi doesn’t get a lot of flak because he’s a very nice guy, but he’s in the same tier as Mazespin as far as having no business in an F1 seat based on his junior record. To be fair, he has improved a good bit, but he’s still solidly below average. Even then, he challenged George more often this year. 
 

Anaywys, I think we know George is at least quality based on his junior record, but not much more than that. I could see him having some very good qualifying performances, but I expect he’ll struggle a lot in race pace and tyre life next to Lewis. 

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2 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

It will be fascinating to see how George does this year. He’s been in F1 three years, yet it’s hard to take a whole lot away because the Williams have been dogshit in race conditions and he’s never had a good teammate to race or qualify against. I think his quali record gets overblown. It’s largely a function of terrible teammates. 
 

Kubica was obviously a shell of his former self, and Latifi doesn’t get a lot of flak because he’s a very nice guy, but he’s in the same tier as Mazespin as far as having no business in an F1 seat based on his junior record. To be fair, he has improved a good bit, but he’s still solidly below average. Even then, he challenged George more often this year. 
 

Anaywys, I think we know George is at least quality based on his junior record, but not much more than that. I could see him having some very good qualifying performances, but I expect he’ll struggle a lot in race pace and tyre life next to Lewis. 

Yep.  He's gonna find out first hand why everyone not named Max struggles compared to Lewis.  

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50 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Who on the grid (other than Max) doesn't struggle compared to Lewis?  

I was referring to Lewis's teammates, not just guys on the grid now. You can't really compare them very well across teams in cars with varying levels of performance.

Of Lewis's teammates, I'd say Button, Alonso, and Rosberg have fared pretty well against Lewis. Button beat Lewis in 2011 and overall across 3 seasons. Alonso and Lewis tied on points in 2007 in a team whose cars and sims Lewis had been driving for years - a team which was openly racing against Alonso on the other side of the garage more and more as the season wore on. Alonso beat Lewis 9-6 head-to-head in races they both finished, and as Alonso got more comfortable with the car (and the Bridgestone tires that were also new to him) he beat Lewis on the track 6 of the last 7 races that they both finished. Nico had to dig deep to beat Lewis, but he still beat him, and he generally did well against Lewis even in losing causes. Lewis beat Nico by something like 30 points per season on average. Nico's time as Lewis's teammate was pretty much the polar opposite of Lewis vs Bottas.

On a side note, Button beat Alonso in 2015 at McLaren, too. He might be the only guy who's beaten both of those guys in a season. At least I can't think of any others right now.
 

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4 minutes ago, wood said:

I was referring to Lewis's teammates, not just guys on the grid now. You can't really compare them very well across teams in cars with varying levels of performance.

Of Lewis's teammates, I'd say Button, Alonso, and Rosberg have fared pretty well against Lewis. Button beat Lewis in 2011 and overall across 3 seasons. Alonso and Lewis tied on points in 2007 in a team whose cars and sims Lewis had been driving for years - a team which was openly racing against Alonso on the other side of the garage more and more as the season wore on. Alonso beat Lewis 9-6 head-to-head in races they both finished, and as Alonso got more comfortable with the car (and the Bridgestone tires that were also new to him) he beat Lewis on the track 6 of the last 7 races that they both finished. Nico had to dig deep to beat Lewis, but he still beat him, and he generally did well against Lewis even in losing causes. Lewis beat Nico by something like 30 points per season on average. Nico's time as Lewis's teammate was pretty much the polar opposite of Lewis vs Bottas.

On a side note, Button beat Alonso in 2015 at McLaren, too. He might be the only guy who's beaten both of those guys in a season. At least I can't think of any others right now.
 

I was referring to now.  Not sure what Alonso/Hamilton from 14 years ago says about the situation on the grid today, and Rosberg beat Lewis and then immediately retired because of the toll that fighting Lewis took on him.

 

But today, Max is the only one that can go toe to toe with Lewis race in and race out.  Everyone else either is in an uncompetitive car, or they wilt under the pressure.

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18 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

I was referring to now.  Not sure what Alonso/Hamilton from 14 years ago says about the situation on the grid today, and Rosberg beat Lewis and then immediately retired because of the toll that fighting Lewis took on him.

 

But today, Max is the only one that can go toe to toe with Lewis race in and race out.  Everyone else either is in an uncompetitive car, or they wilt under the pressure.

I was just responding to what was actually in your post - that everyone not named Max who goes up against Lewis struggles. The best way to cxompare drivers is through teammate comparisons in like equipment. And anyway, one of those guys is still on the grid and in great form.

And yeah, I've never believed Nico retired just because of that. From what I can tell and have been told, it was more a mutual parting of ways. I think the toll on Lewis was just as much of a factor.

Re: Max being the only one capable of going toe to toe with Lewis, that's because until this year there's been no real competition for the Mercs from other teams, and since Nico left, Lewis hasn't faced any real competition from across the garage. I'm not making any predictions about how Russell will do (because who really knows), but that could change this year. But as always, wewillsee. 

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So you older guys, why doesn't McLaren rock that livery anymore, even on a special occasion? The papaya is ok. The special Gulf livery is amazing. Having the throwback white/orange would make heads spin. 

Is there some reason they retired that scheme? 

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46 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

So you older guys, why doesn't McLaren rock that livery anymore, even on a special occasion? The papaya is ok. The special Gulf livery is amazing. Having the throwback white/orange would make heads spin. 

Is there some reason they retired that scheme? 

Because you can't have a tobacco sponsor in most countries these days.

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Just now, Hawndoh said:

Because you can't have a tobacco sponsor in most countries these days.

Didn't realize it was the sponsor who was tied to the livery. Though they just slapped the Marlboro name on there but had the livery design themselves.

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40 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Didn't realize it was the sponsor who was tied to the livery. Though they just slapped the Marlboro name on there but had the livery design themselves.

The Gulf livery isn't McLaren specific either, for example the Ford GT40 famously sported it too. It just is still acceptable since it's not tobacky.

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19 minutes ago, G650 said:

The Gulf livery isn't McLaren specific either, for example the Ford GT40 famously sported it too. It just is still acceptable since it's not tobacky.

And your favorite auto manufacturer-- Porsche-- has had some success whilst sporting the Gulf livery throughout the years.

Canepa's Gulf Porsche 917 restoration to Monterey - Total 911

 

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1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Didn't realize it was the sponsor who was tied to the livery. Though they just slapped the Marlboro name on there but had the livery design themselves.

Yep, the team builds the car, and the sponsor (if they pay enough to be the title sponsor) paints it. There have been some really great liveries that have come from that, and some really shitty ones as well.

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Zak Brown: McLaren boss says no sprint events in 2022 a possibility

Zak sure seems to be rocking the F1 boat the last day or two, potentially getting under the skin of his team's engine supplier. Seems very interesting imho, given the rumors of a future Audi connection.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/60036659

Quote

 

Formula 1 is in danger of not having any sprint events this year as a result of a stand-off over money, says McLaren boss Zak Brown.

F1 had an agreement in principle from the teams to increase the number of sprints from three to six in 2022.

But eight out of 10 teams need to agree on details to secure the sprints, and some are holding out for more money.

...

Last year a financial deal was agreed to provide the teams with a small payment to offset potential damage from more racing.

But Brown said the big teams were trying to take advantage of this by pushing for a larger than necessary increase in the budget cap, which is set at $140m (£103m) this year.

"A couple of teams, and one team in particular, wanted a $5m budget cap increase, which was just ridiculous," Brown said.

"And no rational facts behind it. When you challenged them, they go to what if and could and you've got to anticipate. You sit there and go 'This is just nonsense.'"

 

 

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Just posted a few hours ago by a poster on another board who has a history of getting things right. He hadn't posted about it in weeks. WeWillSee ...

Quote

 

Okay folks, this is the end game.

Rumors have it that the numbers have been agreed to by all parties involved for Audi to buy all of the McLaren Group. All that needs to happen to finalize it is approval from the VW Group board. Supposedly that will happen at their next meeting in February.
 
The plan is to treat McLaren in a similarly way to Audi's purchase of Ducati. Zac Brown will remain as CEO for the near future. The Formula 1 team will continue to run Mercedes engines until the 2026 changeover but the Mercedes branding will be deemphasized. The McLaren road car division will be completely revamped with the imperative of making it profitable ASAP. There will be no "entry level" McLarens going forward. The brand is going to be brought much further upscale. Specializing in limited edition super special hyper-cars, all new models will be hybrids for now with some models possibly going all electric in the near future. The hybrid power trains will all be branded as McLaren powered by Audi. The McLaren applied division pieces will be absorbed by the Audi/VW group or sold off.

 

 

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On 1/17/2022 at 1:04 PM, Chewbacca said:

We specifically planned our trip to Montreal in June so we could attend the pit lane walk.  My wife is not going to the race, but she was excited to go to the pit lane walk on Thursday.  

 

Furk.

Yeah, same here.  We just booked our AirBnB 2 nights ago and planned it around getting there so that we can do the pit walk on Thursday, that was one of the things we were most excited about since we are pretty new to this and have never done that before, real bummer

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13 minutes ago, justinjc7 said:

Yeah, same here.  We just booked our AirBnB 2 nights ago and planned it around getting there so that we can do the pit walk on Thursday, that was one of the things we were most excited about since we are pretty new to this and have never done that before, real bummer

Tragedy. From the looks of it, there is nothing else in Montreal to see at all. May as well cancel the trip. 😁

We had tossed around the idea of doing the pit walk, but then saw that it's a "sprint" weekend so figured that we will end up spending enough time at the track during the weekend. Plan on using the Thursday just to get a feel for the city and explore a bit. 

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3 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Tragedy. From the looks of it, there is nothing else in Montreal to see at all. May as well cancel the trip. 😁

We had tossed around the idea of doing the pit walk, but then saw that it's a "sprint" weekend so figured that we will end up spending enough time at the track during the weekend. Plan on using the Thursday just to get a feel for the city and explore a bit. 

Exactly, I texted my girlfriend and told her well, bad news, no pit walk like we were looking forward to. But good news, that gives us another day to explore Montreal 

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Wow. Welp, apparently military flybys are getting the ax, too.

Pay no attention to F1's huge carbon footprint behind the curtain...

https://racingnews365.com/f1-moves-to-ban-select-part-of-the-race-build-up

Quote

Race promoters for Formula 1 races in 2022 won't have the option of putting on a military aviation display as part of their pre-race build-up.
A firm favourite of many promoters, displays of military aircraft flying overhead have become synonymous with certain Grands Prix.

For instance, Monza frequently has flyovers of the Italian Air Force before the Italian Grand Prix, while the Red Arrows, part of the Royal Air Force, entertain the crowds at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix.

However, in an email sent by F1 to race promoters, seen by RacingNews365.com, displays of military aviation are no longer permitted.

Citing a desire to reduce carbon emissions as part of F1's drive to become carbon neutral, the ban is being introduced to "support F1's sustainability objectives".

RacingNews365.com understands that, aside from environmental considerations, there were also concerns from within the sport that such aerial displays could be seen as military posturing or as giving countries a platform for demonstrations of their military strength.

From another board:

Quote

"For your benefit and convenience, your ticket will no longer subject you to such unpleasantness as a pit-walk, nor an aviation display.Don't even think about getting within fifty feet of an actual formula one car, much less a driver. You'll only see the top of their helmet at best.Ticket prices will naturally be rising in line with inflation, or possibly higher if we think we can squeeze a few more dollars out of you.Motorsport is dangerous. Lots of Love, Liberty"

 

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Concessions will no longer include any meats (takes lots of energy to produce, you know) or food that needs plastic containers or utensils. So we will be charging you $12 for a banana. And you can't bring in your own food/drink because... uh the environment. 

Geesh. No flyovers because of sustainability. You needlessly race cars all over the world, you tools.

 

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27 minutes ago, wood said:

Wow. Welp, apparently military flybys are getting the ax, too.

That honestly doesn't hurt my feelings. Now if we could get dipshit Americans sports to quit doing the national anthem we would be on to something.

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