The F1 thread

stickyfiddle · February 2023

90 mins to the Williams launch. There's a lot of orange and blue in the press shots so far...

Image: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FoSEuSBXoAEnOI_?format=jpg&name=large

Image: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FoRuimWWcAAFhh9?format=png&name=900x900

goldtop · February 2023

Nicked an interesting graphic from reddit - past and present F1 tracks to scale:

Image: https://i.redd.it/f2m3hq7jfega1.jpg

goldtop · February 2023

(right click to open in a new tab for the full 10,000 pixel size)

Cols · February 2023

*googles Pescara*

stickyfiddle · February 2023

Gulf but no orange. They've finally turned the airbag into a AA battery though, which is long overdue

Image: https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/racefansdotnet-21-01-24-20-52-18-3.jpg

Dontgiveupyourdayjob · February 2023

And the next one...

I think I prefer the black and red to the white and red of previous seasons.

stickyfiddle · February 2023

That's much better than the previous white & red

My guess is we're going to see a lot more black in liveries this year so they can use bare carbon to save weight

TimmyO · February 2023

stickyfiddle said:

That's much better than the previous white & red

My guess is we're going to see a lot more black in liveries this year so they can use bare carbon to save weight

...which is where Mercedes' traditional silver colour association comes from, back in the day

Dontgiveupyourdayjob · February 2023

Oh this is sad news for the sport (said absolutely nobody)...

BBC News - Mohammed Ben Sulayem to step back from direct Formula 1 involvement

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/64572992

Boromedic · February 2023

Dontgiveupyourdayjob said:

Oh this is sad news for the sport (said absolutely nobody)...

BBC News - Mohammed Ben Sulayem to step back from direct Formula 1 involvement
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/64572992

About time like, no bias in his treatment of Red Bull at all......

stickyfiddle · February 2023

To be fair he stated from the start that he intended to install someone else as "FIA head of F1". But no argument from me that he's been too outspoken.

Cols · February 2023

I think the main breaking point was his inability to form an effective working relationship with the F1 commercial rights holders, repeatedly clashing on Andretti F1 entry, driver gagging, Hamilton’s various body piercings, sneering at the $20 billion valuation of F1 by the Saudi bid, and so on.

fretmeister · February 2023

That whole F1 valuation thing did not sound like "I have mates who want to buy it on the cheap" at all.

No sir. No way that was the intention. Thought never crossed my mind.

euan · February 2023

You say that but he did make the point that if that was the valuation, then the cost of putting on a race increases and the only way to recoup that is more expensive ticket sales, or more Middle Eastern tracks or…

…the model currently being used by Liberty for Vegas(which despite having never run a race has extended the contract with itself well into the 2030s).

With Vegas, Liberty is the rights holder, the promoter, the venue holder and the ticket seller. This might sound familiar, almost like Ticketmaster and Livenation.

Liberty is a substantial share holder in Livenation btw

chillidoggy · February 2023

As far as I can see, ticket prices are already eye-wateringly steep. To the point that I no longer bother going to live events any more. By the time you take ticket prices, travel, and subsistence costs into account, plus any over-inflated accommodation prices, it’s serious money to sit and watch a race for a couple of hours.

Cols · February 2023

fretmeister said:

That whole F1 valuation thing did not sound like "I have mates who want to buy it on the cheap" at all.

No sir. No way that was the intention. Thought never crossed my mind.

“The Saudis made you a great offer, you won’t get a better price. Best cash in before they change their minds.

Nice motor racing series, be a shame if anything happened to it…”

As hard as they try, no-one will ever beat Max Mosley selling Bernie Ecclestone the F1 commercial rights 100 year lease for the princely sum of $360 million back in 2000. Deal of the century.