Any Formula 1 fans here?

[Big Stig]

Winter is finally over. I know that because the Formula 1 race season kicked off this weekend. I've been a huge fan for most of my life and I've attended races on 5 different continents over the years. I already have tickets and travel arrangements for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in August...cant wait.

Anyone else into F1?

[bambino]

I used to follow when guys like Schumacher, Lauda and Senna were racing. Attended the Miami F1 race which was awesome. Real racing.

[Big Stig]

Heh, I was at the first Miami Grand Prix. It was a ton of fun, but a little hokey and cheesy in true American fashion. LOL

[bambino]

Originally Posted by Big Stig

Heh, I was at the first Miami Grand Prix. It was a ton of fun, but a little hokey and cheesy in true American fashion. LOL

I was on a boat, then walked around watching at different spots. There was no shortage of hot chicks!!!! The Monaco race was always a bucket list event to see.

[Big Stig]

I went to the 2003 Monaco Grand Prix. It was definitely a great experience, but the cost was insane. I was still married at the time and my wife organized the entire trip as a surprise birthday gift. It was part of a special Monaco Grand Prix cruise package on Seabourn Cruise Lines. The overall Monaco experience is great, but the actual race is pretty much shit. To this day, she won't tell me how much the package cost. LOL

The best F1 race I've ever attended is the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. Amazing city, amazing people, amazing racing and very budget friendly. I would highly recommend it.

[bambino]

Originally Posted by Big Stig

I went to the 2003 Monaco Grand Prix. It was definitely a great experience, but the cost was insane. I was still married at the time and my wife organized the entire trip as a surprise birthday gift. It was part of a special Monaco Grand Prix cruise package on Seabourn Cruise Lines. The overall Monaco experience is great, but the actual race is pretty much shit. To this day, she won't tell me how much the package cost. LOL

The best F1 race I've ever attended is the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. Amazing city, amazing people, amazing racing and very budget friendly. I would highly recommend it.

How were the Hungarian Ho’s????? I’m sure you tested those waters too!!!! Where is the closest F1 race in the states now?

[bambino]

BTW Stig, what manufacturer is dominant today? Back when Senna and Prost were winning, Honda was dominant. Then for some reason they forgot how to build a F1 race car. Poor mileage and less power.

[Big Stig]

Well from 2014 to 2021 Mercedes pretty much won everything. Much like McLaren Honda back in the day, they too forgot how to build fast F1 cars. The dominant team currently, since 2023 is Red Bull Racing, with Honda power units (sort of). No one seems to be able to touch Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

The cars are radically different than they were back in the Senna/Prost days. Gone are the tiny cars with the giant tires and screaming V12 engine cranking up to 20k RPM. Modern cars are much bigger and heavier, run hybrid power units and max out at 15k RPM,so they are much quieter. I miss the old screaming cars, but the new ones are still fast as fuck. As fast or faster than ever actually.

If you have a chance, watch Drive To Survive on Netflix to ger a pretty good inight into the current state of F1. It's pretty interesting and hilarious at times.

[Dorian Gray]

Verstappen's dad is about to ruin Red Bull
This year's cars don't matter as much since the regulations are changing, & will result in smaller cars again
Hamilton to Scuderia-Ferrari next year as well
F1 won't let Andretti Racing have a seat at the big boys table
HAAS is just av moving chicane

[Big Stig]

I really don't get what Verstappen's big issue is? His son is in the fastest car with the best designer ever and an excellent team. It seems like a real pissing contest.

The changes don't come until 2026. I really think Andretti is going to find a way in. The Audi plan is falling apart and he could be there to pick up the pieces. Haas cant seem to get their shit together and could result in a sale to Andretti. Renault is another team that is disintegrating and could be a takeover possibility. Bottom line, they don't want an 11th team, so Andretti's only way in is buying up an existing team.

Haas seems to be on a better foot this year, but they are still pretty much a shit show. Guenther said it himself.

[Big Stig]

One more point on Andretti, its not F1 that doesn't want Andretti. Quite the opposite, actually. F1 owners and the FIA desperately want Andretti and GM. The sport is literally exploring in the US. Tickets for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix sold out in a matter of hours. We currently host three races in the USA which is basically unheard of. Only Italy hosts more than one with two races. They want to tap into the US market and money.

Having household names like Andretti and General Motors (Cadillac) would be huge. Sponsors would line up like crazy. You're already seeing major US sponsors like Oracle, Microsoft, Visa, Moneygram, Amazon and HP.

Andretti's big impediments are the current F1 teams. They have a big say in what happens and they universally do not want an 11th team. F1 prize money, which is well over a billion dollars, gets split between the current 10 teams based on where they finish in the constructor's championship. Even last place receives tens of millions. Cutting another slice out of the pie means less pie for them with more competition for the less pie. So, its easy to see why they don't want it. At the end of the day, its all about the Benjamins, baby.

[bambino]

https://x.com/eifelronaldo/status/17...0AMolspcYxY9QA

[Big Stig]

Yeah Bam, there is certainly a sentiment that harkens back the "the good ol' days" of Formula 1, especially among the older fans who followed it back in the 80s, 90s and 00s, myself included. It was much more visceral and intense. There was nothing that quite compared to 24 cars at that starting line all revving to 18 thousand RPM and dropping their clutches for a standing start. It was so fucking intense.

But, the sport is still pretty amazing to watch in person. The capability of a modern F1 car is just astounding when you see it live. You can really appreciate technology, and the amazing acceleration, braking and cornering these machines pull off. They are as fast as ever, despite all the regulations over the years aimed at slowing them down.

And the worldwide popularity of the sport is at a level never seen before. There will be 24 races this season, all of which will certainly be sellouts. That's not something you could have said even 10 years ago when a 24 race schedule would have been inconceivable. US owned Liberty Media purchased F1 in 2014 for $4.6 billion. The current value if F1 is now nearing $18 billion. Not a bad return on investment, eh?

So yeah, some luddites out there long for the Formula 1 of old, but a hell of a lot more people are buying what they are currently selling...and it aint cheap.

[bambino]

Originally Posted by Big Stig

Yeah Bam, there is certainly a sentiment that harkens back the "the good ol' days" of Formula 1, especially among the older fans who followed it back in the 80s, 90s and 00s, myself included. It was much more visceral and intense. There was nothing that quite compared to 24 cars at that starting line all revving to 18 thousand RPM and dropping their clutches for a standing start. It was so fucking intense.

But, the sport is still pretty amazing to watch in person. The capability of a modern F1 car is just astounding when you see it live. You can really appreciate technology, and the amazing acceleration, braking and cornering these machines pull off. They are as fast as ever, despite all the regulations over the years aimed at slowing them down.

And the worldwide popularity of the sport is at a level never seen before. There will be 24 races this season, all of which will certainly be sellouts. That's not something you could have said even 10 years ago when a 24 race schedule would have been inconceivable. US owned Liberty Media purchased F1 in 2014 for $4.6 billion. The current value if F1 is now nearing $18 billion. Not a bad return on investment, eh?

So yeah, some luddites out there long for the Formula 1 of old, but a hell of a lot more people are buying what they are currently selling...and it aint cheap.

https://x.com/sennatheking/status/17...0AMolspcYxY9QA

https://x.com/sennatheking/status/17...0AMolspcYxY9QA

Those were the days when I really paid attention to F1. Senna was the Bambino of Brazil.

[bambino]

https://x.com/paulmcg92/status/17653...0AMolspcYxY9QA

Shumahcher/Ferrari