RMweb Gold 57xx Posted January 7 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7 I'm hoping McLaren continue their upward resurgence. Whilst I'm not as partisan as some fans towards drivers/teams, I've been following them since the 80's and always had a soft spot for them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 8 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 8 14 hours ago, 57xx said: I'm hoping McLaren continue their upward resurgence. Whilst I'm not as partisan as some fans towards drivers/teams, I've been following them since the 80's and always had a soft spot for them. And whoever it is, having another team join the top-mix of F1 increases the interest. McLaren appear to have the resources to stay there, too, although that didn't seem to work for similarly-affluent Aston Martin in 2023.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 On 06/01/2024 at 19:37, woodenhead said: There was a recent story about Verstappen, he hired out a racetrack for himself and some friends but he wasn’t allowed to drive an AMG Mercedes because he was under 30 and the rental company couldn’t insure him. His manager had it instead and Verstappen had to make do with a lesser car. The rental company said that in fact they could have made an exception but it goes to show that he was grown up enough not to make a big deal from it and just accept the situation. He’s probably not the ar$e people imagine him to be. Agreed. The media do a good job of twisting things in order to sell a story. When you actually watch the interviews, you can see how they edit their quotes to deliberately make it sound like something different was intended. Many critics also ignore the fact that these guys are driving wheel to wheel at over 150mph, often while also making adjustments & trying to work out how best to get past or defend their position. Is it any wonder they sound stressed out when we hear their radio messages? They do not seem to take many collisions personally either. It may sound like it over the radio but once they have a chance to look at things after the race, most accept that misjudgements happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejstubbs Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 On 06/01/2024 at 19:37, woodenhead said: He’s probably not the ar$e people imagine him to be. I think his tendency to lose his rag at the tiniest perceived on-track unfairness and resort to potty-mouth expletives doesn't endear him to some people. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Just now, ejstubbs said: I think his tendency to lose his rag at the tiniest perceived on-track unfairness and resort to potty-mouth expletives doesn't endear him to some people. They all do it, it's just some are shown more than others to make it a spectacle. If I was driving at the pinnacle like he is, I'd be swearing too, it's a known way to let off steam - NFG - no Fs given 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Apologies for having just revived last year's thread. I'm not yet ready to face 2024 if it turns into a repeat of last year's "competition". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didcot Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 (edited) https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13045181/guenther-steiner-haas-team-principal-leaves-ahead-of-2024-f1-season-as-ayao-komatsu-named-as-replacement Guenther Steiner to leave Haas. Real shame, a proper character. Edited January 10 by didcot 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 (edited) 34 minutes ago, didcot said: https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13045181/guenther-steiner-haas-team-principal-leaves-ahead-of-2024-f1-season-as-ayao-komatsu-named-as-replacement Guenther Steiner to leave Haas. Real shame, a proper character. Just seen that, and about to post it myself, that's a real shock, although having said that, he has not delivered the results the last two years or so. Edited January 10 by Andrew P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNERandBR Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/67934824 A shame as he's a real character. Much better then Horner the moaner. Netflix must be upset. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steadfast Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 The story I read made it sound like Gene wanted rid. Apparently the whole team is Gunther's project, he went to Haas looking for a backer to get behind his "buy lots of bits from Ferrari for a not quite customer team" idea. Simone Resta is out too, will the pair of them rock up somewhere together, perhaps Andretti or Audi? Jo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 13 hours ago, didcot said: https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13045181/guenther-steiner-haas-team-principal-leaves-ahead-of-2024-f1-season-as-ayao-komatsu-named-as-replacement Guenther Steiner to leave Haas. Real shame, a proper character. Have to say he was one of the highlights for drive to survive for me. Every time a Haas breaks down/crashes I can imagine him on the wall ranting away ("Fok, what do we fokking need to do??") Followed up with the inevitable call where all you hear is "Gene I know.....I know Gene..... Gene its fokking me off too.. I know Gene...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium SR71 Posted January 11 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 11 I was reading yesterday about the exodus at the FIA. It may not be any of the teams that are the focus this year as it seems to be people brought in to enact reform after 'that' championship. It suggests we could again have more bizarre and inconsistent stewarding this year. As for the championships I have it in my mind that red bull have previously struggled to achieve successively over more than three years but I can't recall if that was always assisted by rule changes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jol Wilkinson Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 The Spanish GP to be held in Madrid from 2026. Another circuit with a boring street track section, but presumably the FIA/FOM get more money out of it. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 23 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 23 2 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said: The Spanish GP to be held in Madrid from 2026. Another circuit with a boring street track section, but presumably the FIA/FOM get more money out of it. I suspect this has been on the cards for years, with the sort of rivalry between cities that happens worldwide. I have never been to Spain, but infer from others that Barcelona does rather well in the tourist market, with some major attractions. Madrid wants to up its share. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM666 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 I have been a regular attendee at both racing and testing at the Circuit de Catalunya since 1995. It is easy and relatively inexpensive to get to - for example a week in March for testing cost less for flights, hotels, car hire and tickets than a weekend ticket for the Silverstone GP weekend. It’s also a fantastic circuit for viewing with virtually unrestricted views of at least half of the circuit at any one time. But F1 and the FIA have been desperate to take the race away from Barcelona for years with a campaign of last minute renewal of short term contracts and the removal of all testing in favour of Bahrain. Add into the mix the animosity between the national government in Madrid with the regional government of Catalunya and today’s announcement comes as no surprise. The circuit owners in Barcelona must be particularly miffed that after an expensive programme of circuit improvements, turn 10 hairpin, removal of the last corner chicane, completely rebuilt paddock, changes to turns 1,2 and 3, that they lose the race to a street circuit with a chicane before each of the straights. 4 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 3 hours ago, Oldddudders said: I suspect this has been on the cards for years, with the sort of rivalry between cities that happens worldwide. I have never been to Spain, but infer from others that Barcelona does rather well in the tourist market, with some major attractions. Madrid wants to up its share. 3 hours ago, SteveM666 said: I have been a regular attendee at both racing and testing at the Circuit de Catalunya since 1995. It is easy and relatively inexpensive to get to - for example a week in March for testing cost less for flights, hotels, car hire and tickets than a weekend ticket for the Silverstone GP weekend. It’s also a fantastic circuit for viewing with virtually unrestricted views of at least half of the circuit at any one time. But F1 and the FIA have been desperate to take the race away from Barcelona for years with a campaign of last minute renewal of short term contracts and the removal of all testing in favour of Bahrain. Add into the mix the animosity between the national government in Madrid with the regional government of Catalunya and today’s announcement comes as no surprise. The circuit owners in Barcelona must be particularly miffed that after an expensive programme of circuit improvements, turn 10 hairpin, removal of the last corner chicane, completely rebuilt paddock, changes to turns 1,2 and 3, that they lose the race to a street circuit with a chicane before each of the straights. I visited Barcelona City a few years back, the week before the GP, and asked in two Sports shops for any info and any Shirts / merchandise, and all I was offered was Kikball shirts. No interest in F1 or any Motor Sport. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM666 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 1 hour ago, Andrew P said: I visited Barcelona City a few years back, the week before the GP, and asked in two Sports shops for any info and any Shirts / merchandise, and all I was offered was Kikball shirts. No interest in F1 or any Motor Sport. Not really surprised as all team and F1 merchandising is strictly licensed and not given out to any old outlet. My last visit was 2020 at the start of covid and the main streets were adorned with flags and banners for F1 - and that was just for testing. It was the same in Portimao in 2021, plenty of flags advertising the race but nothing to buy unless you were at the track. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted January 23 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 23 Oh great, another street circuit. ☹️ 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
didcot Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 What is it with street circuits. They are mostly boring. A local radio station reported that the British GP was going to take place around the Oxford ring road in the mid 90s. My rather thick charge hand at the time got over excited. I had to point out it was April 1st! I suspect RB would love a race around the concrete cows in Milton Keynes. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM666 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 1 hour ago, didcot said: What is it with street circuits. They are mostly boring. A local radio station reported that the British GP was going to take place around the Oxford ring road in the mid 90s. My rather thick charge hand at the time got over excited. I had to point out it was April 1st! I suspect RB would love a race around the concrete cows in Milton Keynes. Well they did have the Birmingham Superprix for F3000 - that was cr#p as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Reorte Posted January 24 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24 16 hours ago, SteveM666 said: Well they did have the Birmingham Superprix for F3000 - that was cr#p as well. All I can remember of that was going up one side of a dual carriageway, around a roundabout, and then back down the other side. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 24 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24 Then there was the F1 demo in Regent Street in 2004. A paddock set up in lower Regent St, just for the purpose. A lot of fuss about an event that, of the thousands there, only those near the front saw anything! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM666 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 28 minutes ago, Oldddudders said: Then there was the F1 demo in Regent Street in 2004. A paddock set up in lower Regent St, just for the purpose. A lot of fuss about an event that, of the thousands there, only those near the front saw anything! And that sums up the problem with street circuits - extremely limited views at very high prices. Virtually anywhere you stand, you will be stuck behind fencing and maybe able to see 50m either side of your position. I find a similar thing with Silverstone - unless you have sold a kidney for a grandstand seat, the fencing is very intrusive. Contrast that with Barcelona, Jerez, Portimao and Brands Hatch for example. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted January 24 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 24 3 minutes ago, SteveM666 said: I find a similar thing with Silverstone - unless you have sold a kidney for a grandstand seat, the fencing is very intrusive. Contrast that with Barcelona, Jerez, Portimao and Brands Hatch for example. But Silverstone is owned by the BRDC, the cream of the British motor racing establishment, so it MUST be perfect! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 30368 Posted January 24 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 24 53 minutes ago, Oldddudders said: But Silverstone is owned by the BRDC, the cream of the British motor racing establishment, so it MUST be perfect! One of the least interesting circuits, Brands was always prefered when the British Grand Prix alternated between the two circuits. Kind regards, 30368 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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