January 24, 2014
Just A Note
Yes, I know F1 cars are debuting today. I'm at work, I'll do it when I get home.
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January 10, 2014
I've Finally Seen "Rush"
Holy crepe, that's a good film.
Holy crepe, that's a good film.
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December 30, 2013
Michael Schumacher In Bad Shape
Sad and troubling news from the world of Formula 1 today as recently-retired and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is currently in a medically-induced coma and is "fighting for his life."
Schumacher was skiing off-trail in the French Alps with his teenage son when he went down and slammed his head into a rock. He was taken to a local hospital where initial reports were that he had suffered a concussion. Doctors recognized something more serious than that, as he could not respond to questions and his limbs moved involuntarily. He was quickly sent to University Hospital in Grenoble. Once there, his condition quickly deteriorated, and surgery was required to lower intercranial pressures. Postoperative scans showed that he had "bilateral diffuse hemorrhagic lesions" on the brain.
He was put into a medical coma to make recovery easier, as well as being kept in a cooled state. His medical staff has publicly said that they have no idea "what the outcome will be yet. All we can do is wait." His family is at his bedside, and he's being monitored closely. The frightening thought is that brain injuries often get worse after hours or days; the case of Natasha Richardson is a chilling example.
Unsurprisingly, the F1 world and beyond is rallying to his support. Former President Bill Clinton, with whom Schumacher has worked on The Clinton Foundation, chimed in with good wishes, as have pretty much the entire F1 grid, most if not all the teams, ex-drivers... you name it, they've probably said something. I think the best one that I've seen has to have been the one from Sauber, for whom he raced sportscars in 1991:
Hard to argue with that. It's no secret that Schumacher wasn't F1U!'s favorite driver, but today, we'll call him "Slappy" affectionately: Good luck, Slappy, we're all pulling you.
Schumacher was skiing off-trail in the French Alps with his teenage son when he went down and slammed his head into a rock. He was taken to a local hospital where initial reports were that he had suffered a concussion. Doctors recognized something more serious than that, as he could not respond to questions and his limbs moved involuntarily. He was quickly sent to University Hospital in Grenoble. Once there, his condition quickly deteriorated, and surgery was required to lower intercranial pressures. Postoperative scans showed that he had "bilateral diffuse hemorrhagic lesions" on the brain.
He was put into a medical coma to make recovery easier, as well as being kept in a cooled state. His medical staff has publicly said that they have no idea "what the outcome will be yet. All we can do is wait." His family is at his bedside, and he's being monitored closely. The frightening thought is that brain injuries often get worse after hours or days; the case of Natasha Richardson is a chilling example.
Unsurprisingly, the F1 world and beyond is rallying to his support. Former President Bill Clinton, with whom Schumacher has worked on The Clinton Foundation, chimed in with good wishes, as have pretty much the entire F1 grid, most if not all the teams, ex-drivers... you name it, they've probably said something. I think the best one that I've seen has to have been the one from Sauber, for whom he raced sportscars in 1991:
Hard to argue with that. It's no secret that Schumacher wasn't F1U!'s favorite driver, but today, we'll call him "Slappy" affectionately: Good luck, Slappy, we're all pulling you.
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November 23, 2013
F1 Quals: Brazil 2013
Rain. Rain is the great equalizer. Rain mushes up the playing field, makes everything harder and slower. Rain during Qualifying can put backmarkers on pole and champions into the wall. Rain Is Good.
It rained during Quals today. Here's the provisional grid for the 2013 Grand Prix of Brazil:
It rained, and it still doesn't matter. In fact, it was only in the closing stages of Q3 that Rosberg cut the gap to Vettel to under a second. Let me repeat that: Vettel was going to take pole by over a second. In the rain. Guess what it's going to do on raceday? If you said "rain," you're right. Hopefully not as much as we had today, when Q3 had to be delayed nearly 45 minutes, but rain.
With the race on NBC, I wounder how they'd handle a major delay? Guess we might just find out! See ya at 10am Pond Time for the final Grand Prix of 2013.
It rained during Quals today. Here's the provisional grid for the 2013 Grand Prix of Brazil:
It rained, and it still doesn't matter. In fact, it was only in the closing stages of Q3 that Rosberg cut the gap to Vettel to under a second. Let me repeat that: Vettel was going to take pole by over a second. In the rain. Guess what it's going to do on raceday? If you said "rain," you're right. Hopefully not as much as we had today, when Q3 had to be delayed nearly 45 minutes, but rain.
With the race on NBC, I wounder how they'd handle a major delay? Guess we might just find out! See ya at 10am Pond Time for the final Grand Prix of 2013.
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November 20, 2013
F1 on NBCSN: Brazil 2013
I hate the Brazilian Grand Prix (that's a lot of grands prix!). I always have. I've pretty much realized that it's irrational and left it at that. Here's the track map of Interlagos, home of the 2013 Grand Prix of Brazil:
There's no reason for my hate. This isn't a bad circuit, actually. Oh, I could do without the technical section in the middle, sure, but other than that it's pretty good. Lots of elevation change... it's downhill from Turn 1 to the end of Turn 3, and then it's back uphill from Juncao to Turn 15. Hell, this is the site of the most exciting moment in recent F1 history, the end of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, when Lewis Hamilton won his driver's championship... and Felipe Massa had it taken away.
But I don't care. I dislike Interlagos intensely. Always have, always well. The hell of it is that I'm basically alone in my dislike... it's a popular track for drivers and fans alike. Oh well.
Here's the broadcast schedule for this weekend, with the Legendary Announce Team!
FRIDAY
Practice 2: 10a - 1130a live
SATURDAY
Quals: 10a - 1130a live (on CNBC)
SUNDAY
2013 Grand Prix of Brazil: 2p - 430p
...and then this season will be over.
There's no reason for my hate. This isn't a bad circuit, actually. Oh, I could do without the technical section in the middle, sure, but other than that it's pretty good. Lots of elevation change... it's downhill from Turn 1 to the end of Turn 3, and then it's back uphill from Juncao to Turn 15. Hell, this is the site of the most exciting moment in recent F1 history, the end of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, when Lewis Hamilton won his driver's championship... and Felipe Massa had it taken away.
But I don't care. I dislike Interlagos intensely. Always have, always well. The hell of it is that I'm basically alone in my dislike... it's a popular track for drivers and fans alike. Oh well.
Here's the broadcast schedule for this weekend, with the Legendary Announce Team!
FRIDAY
Practice 2: 10a - 1130a live
SATURDAY
Quals: 10a - 1130a live (on CNBC)
SUNDAY
2013 Grand Prix of Brazil: 2p - 430p
...and then this season will be over.
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November 17, 2013
F1 Austin: I'm Out Of A Job
Looks like I finally managed to get Steven to watch a F1 race. He blogged about it.
I may as well hang up the F1U!s right now.
I may as well hang up the F1U!s right now.
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About That US Grand Prix Thing...
I may have a problem watching it. There's wave after wave of thunderstorms and squall lines coming through the area. High wind warnings are posted until 4pm, pretty much all of Illinois is under a tornado watch, except for some parts that have tornado warnings.
It goes without saying that this sort of thing plays hob with satellite reception... and that storm marked "G4" is aimed right at Pond Central. There's a Bears game at Soldier Field at noon, and they're preparing for the worst. 61000 people in an outdoor stadium when a bad storm rolls through? Not pleasant.
So we'll see what I get to see... stay tuned, I guess, though if my satellite goes out, there's every chance in the world my internet'll go out, too.
UPDATE: Eep.
Squall line going over pretty much as we speak. Zero satellite feed.
UPDATE: Satellite feed is back a half-hour from the race start. Too damn bad the station is breaking in every five minutes with weather updates. To be fair, things are nasty just south of Pond Central... there's been a tornado on the ground about 50 or so miles south of here, for example. We seem to be clear up here, though. I mean, it's going to rain, yeah, and thunderstorms, but the weather nabobs are saying that Duckford should be safe from the severe weather.
UPDATE @ 1236pm: They just temporarily suspended the Bears game, and the fans are being evacuated into the recesses of Soldier Field. I heard Gene Steratore, the head ref for the game, say "tornado warning" and "heavy lightning". Great googly moogly.
It goes without saying that this sort of thing plays hob with satellite reception... and that storm marked "G4" is aimed right at Pond Central. There's a Bears game at Soldier Field at noon, and they're preparing for the worst. 61000 people in an outdoor stadium when a bad storm rolls through? Not pleasant.
So we'll see what I get to see... stay tuned, I guess, though if my satellite goes out, there's every chance in the world my internet'll go out, too.
UPDATE: Eep.
Squall line going over pretty much as we speak. Zero satellite feed.
UPDATE: Satellite feed is back a half-hour from the race start. Too damn bad the station is breaking in every five minutes with weather updates. To be fair, things are nasty just south of Pond Central... there's been a tornado on the ground about 50 or so miles south of here, for example. We seem to be clear up here, though. I mean, it's going to rain, yeah, and thunderstorms, but the weather nabobs are saying that Duckford should be safe from the severe weather.
UPDATE @ 1236pm: They just temporarily suspended the Bears game, and the fans are being evacuated into the recesses of Soldier Field. I heard Gene Steratore, the head ref for the game, say "tornado warning" and "heavy lightning". Great googly moogly.
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November 16, 2013
F1 Quals: United States!
It was a much nicer day than we had on Friday for practice. Then, first practice was delayed, then shortened by a half-hour, because of fog. It was thick enough to prevent the medical helicopter from flying. Eventually the fog lifted, P1 started, then after about 15 minutes it was red flagged... because people noticed that the medical helicopter wasn't actually there yet. Oops.
But that was yesterday. Today, there were some clouds overhead, but the big thing was the wind. The Legendary Announce Team said it was gusting up to 30mph, and it was playing hob with the cars all session. It was bad enough that when the cars were going one direction, aero grip was boosted, but the other? Shiv Hamilton was complaining that the front end of his Mercedes felt light and twitchy. To be sure, the cloudy sky also meant that it was cool-ish and the track surface never warmed up... meaning the tires didn't have as much mechanical grip as they should, either. So what does all this mean for the race tomorrow? Well, here's the provisional grid for the 2013 United States Grand Prix:
Yeah, yeah, Vettel still gets the pole. But Nico Hulkenberg ahead of Hamilton? Valtteri Bottas as high on the grid as 3rd in Q3 until slipping down to 9th? BOTH Saubers in Q3? Massa 15th? Rosberg in 14th? Really? Heikki Kovalainninninnie in 8th, despite not having driven the Lotus until yesterday? What sort of weirdness IS this, anyway? It's Austin Weird, of course, though I suspect the proprietor of that website frowns upon F1.
So we've got a... let's call it a "blended" grid, which should make for an exciting first couple of laps while the faster cars make their way up towards the front... or leave little pointy pieces of carbon fiber scattered all over the track, one of the two.
As far as penalties go, Button got a three grid-spot penalty for passing under the red flag on Friday, while ToothPic gets a five spot for a gearbox change, and thus will be starting from somewhere near the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.
So the race is on NBC at 1pm Pond Central time, but there'll be an one-hour pre-race thingy at noon, also on The Big Network. You have no excuse to miss this one, and it should be worth watching... except for the whole "Vettel streaking off to another victory" thing.
See ya after!
But that was yesterday. Today, there were some clouds overhead, but the big thing was the wind. The Legendary Announce Team said it was gusting up to 30mph, and it was playing hob with the cars all session. It was bad enough that when the cars were going one direction, aero grip was boosted, but the other? Shiv Hamilton was complaining that the front end of his Mercedes felt light and twitchy. To be sure, the cloudy sky also meant that it was cool-ish and the track surface never warmed up... meaning the tires didn't have as much mechanical grip as they should, either. So what does all this mean for the race tomorrow? Well, here's the provisional grid for the 2013 United States Grand Prix:
Yeah, yeah, Vettel still gets the pole. But Nico Hulkenberg ahead of Hamilton? Valtteri Bottas as high on the grid as 3rd in Q3 until slipping down to 9th? BOTH Saubers in Q3? Massa 15th? Rosberg in 14th? Really? Heikki Kovalainninninnie in 8th, despite not having driven the Lotus until yesterday? What sort of weirdness IS this, anyway? It's Austin Weird, of course, though I suspect the proprietor of that website frowns upon F1.
So we've got a... let's call it a "blended" grid, which should make for an exciting first couple of laps while the faster cars make their way up towards the front... or leave little pointy pieces of carbon fiber scattered all over the track, one of the two.
As far as penalties go, Button got a three grid-spot penalty for passing under the red flag on Friday, while ToothPic gets a five spot for a gearbox change, and thus will be starting from somewhere near the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.
So the race is on NBC at 1pm Pond Central time, but there'll be an one-hour pre-race thingy at noon, also on The Big Network. You have no excuse to miss this one, and it should be worth watching... except for the whole "Vettel streaking off to another victory" thing.
See ya after!
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November 11, 2013
F1 on TV: 2013 United States Grand Prix
They say "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." Well, home it may be, but "humble" isn't a word that applies to the Circuit of the Americas, home of the 2013 United States Grand Prix! Let's take a look at the track map:
Ah yes... who can forget this beauty? The run up Phil Hill to Turn 1, followed by a junior-sized version of Suzuka's "S-Curves", then a whole buncha fund stuff leading to a slightly smaller version of Turkey's Quad-8 (here, 16-17-and-18, aka "Faux-8"). Easily the best Tilke track ever, perhaps because he didn't actually design it. Instead, TilkeCorp simply built the place... and we are all better for it.
Last year's first race was won by Shiv Hamilton, who tracked down and passed 4Time Vettel for the lead late in the race. At the time, it added extra suspense to the final race of the year, as there was still a fight for the championship. Not so much this year, and who knows how this year's race'll work out? I certainly don't, but I wouldn't bet against Vettel.
One driver I won't bet on is Kimi Raikkonen. He's going to miss the last two races as he recovers from back surgery. Convenient, that. I'm also not going to bet on Felipe Massa, just because. However, good news for all of us, as Massa will be on the grid next year! It was announced on Monday that he's signed with Williams for 2014, taking the seat of NoJokeHere Maldonado and his Venezuelan Government backing.
But that's all next year. We still have this season to finish up... and I'm actually going to complain about NBCSN. This is arguably the channel's biggest event, and what's happening? Quals are being tape-delayed so English Premiere League soccer can be broadcast. The hell? Here's the broadcast schedule as I know it:
FRIDAY
12noon - 230pm: Practice 2
SATURDAY
530p - 7p: Quals
SUNDAY
12noon - 330pm: 2013 United States Grand Prix live (one hour pre-race) on NBC.
F1U! will be annoyed by this all weekend, but we'll be here! See ya then.
Ah yes... who can forget this beauty? The run up Phil Hill to Turn 1, followed by a junior-sized version of Suzuka's "S-Curves", then a whole buncha fund stuff leading to a slightly smaller version of Turkey's Quad-8 (here, 16-17-and-18, aka "Faux-8"). Easily the best Tilke track ever, perhaps because he didn't actually design it. Instead, TilkeCorp simply built the place... and we are all better for it.
Last year's first race was won by Shiv Hamilton, who tracked down and passed 4Time Vettel for the lead late in the race. At the time, it added extra suspense to the final race of the year, as there was still a fight for the championship. Not so much this year, and who knows how this year's race'll work out? I certainly don't, but I wouldn't bet against Vettel.
One driver I won't bet on is Kimi Raikkonen. He's going to miss the last two races as he recovers from back surgery. Convenient, that. I'm also not going to bet on Felipe Massa, just because. However, good news for all of us, as Massa will be on the grid next year! It was announced on Monday that he's signed with Williams for 2014, taking the seat of NoJokeHere Maldonado and his Venezuelan Government backing.
But that's all next year. We still have this season to finish up... and I'm actually going to complain about NBCSN. This is arguably the channel's biggest event, and what's happening? Quals are being tape-delayed so English Premiere League soccer can be broadcast. The hell? Here's the broadcast schedule as I know it:
FRIDAY
12noon - 230pm: Practice 2
SATURDAY
530p - 7p: Quals
SUNDAY
12noon - 330pm: 2013 United States Grand Prix live (one hour pre-race) on NBC.
F1U! will be annoyed by this all weekend, but we'll be here! See ya then.
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November 02, 2013
F1 Quals: Abu Dhabi 2013
Well, it's nearly 830pm, I've only just gotten home from work, and I'm not going to get to watch Quals... which is a shame, because it appears to have been interesting! Here's the grid:
The big news is, obviously, Jules Bianchi being hit with a five-grid-spot penalty for an unfortunate gearbox change.and will thus be starting from somewhere near Umm al-Quwain. No, okay, I'm joking of course. The sharper-eyed amongst you will have seen the dreaded "DSQ" next to Kimi Raikkonen's name. He qualified in fifth place, his best performance since the summer break... and then his car failed scrutineering afterwards. The FIA says that the floor of his car deflected too much in the usual tests, while Lotus said that was because the piece they were testing was broken on a curb during the session. This explanation was not accepted, which means that Kimi Raikkonen was duly excluded from Quals altogether and will be starting from the back of the grid.
Considering the news that came out yesterday that he has not been paid by Lotus at any time this season, one has to think that Kimi is more than a little peeved.
Me, I'm more than a little tired. Race in the morning, though considering the whole time change thing, I have no idea when. See you sometime tomorrow with a F1U!
The big news is, obviously, Jules Bianchi being hit with a five-grid-spot penalty for an unfortunate gearbox change.and will thus be starting from somewhere near Umm al-Quwain. No, okay, I'm joking of course. The sharper-eyed amongst you will have seen the dreaded "DSQ" next to Kimi Raikkonen's name. He qualified in fifth place, his best performance since the summer break... and then his car failed scrutineering afterwards. The FIA says that the floor of his car deflected too much in the usual tests, while Lotus said that was because the piece they were testing was broken on a curb during the session. This explanation was not accepted, which means that Kimi Raikkonen was duly excluded from Quals altogether and will be starting from the back of the grid.
Considering the news that came out yesterday that he has not been paid by Lotus at any time this season, one has to think that Kimi is more than a little peeved.
Me, I'm more than a little tired. Race in the morning, though considering the whole time change thing, I have no idea when. See you sometime tomorrow with a F1U!
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October 28, 2013
F1 on NBCSN: Abu Dhabi 2013
Keenly observant readers of The Pond may have noticed that there's been something of a F1 interest decline of late... and by "of late," I mean "most of the season." I surely can't slip anything past these clever readers, you brilliant people you. The never-ending domination of Red Bull and Vettel has sapped much of the joy out of the sport for me. Which brings us to Abu Dhabi, the next race on the F1 calendar. Let's take a look at the track map, shall we?
It shouldn't come as any surprise to hear that there's probably not been a race this year that I've been less interested in than this week's. Both the Driver's and the Constructor's championships have been won. Abu Dhabi may as well have been designed for Red Bull cars. The race after this one is the US Grand Prix, which has the cachet of being... well, HERE. The race after that is Brazil, the last one of the season. But Abu Dhabi? What does it have going for it?
Right, exactly. Sure, there's plenty of drama left: will Mercedes or Ferrari end up as the second-best constructor? Will Force India, with a 23 point lead over Sauber, end up choking away sixth place? Will Raikkonen catch HWMNBN for 2nd place in the driver's championship, which would make for really interesting news going into next year, when they'll be teammates. Drama indeed... but the Wonderduck that would have written thousands of words for the fight for 10th place in the driver's championship between Paul di Resta (40 points) and Nico Hulkenberg (39 points) isn't the Wonderduck sitting in front of the keyboard these days.
I miss that Wonderduck.
Here's the coverage on NBCSN:
FRIDAY
8a - 930a: Practice 2 live
SATURDAY
1230p - 2p: Quals definitively not live
SUNDAY
630a - 9a: 2013 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
I'll be here... will you? I wouldn't blame you if you weren't, given what I've just talked about, but I hope you show up.
It shouldn't come as any surprise to hear that there's probably not been a race this year that I've been less interested in than this week's. Both the Driver's and the Constructor's championships have been won. Abu Dhabi may as well have been designed for Red Bull cars. The race after this one is the US Grand Prix, which has the cachet of being... well, HERE. The race after that is Brazil, the last one of the season. But Abu Dhabi? What does it have going for it?
Right, exactly. Sure, there's plenty of drama left: will Mercedes or Ferrari end up as the second-best constructor? Will Force India, with a 23 point lead over Sauber, end up choking away sixth place? Will Raikkonen catch HWMNBN for 2nd place in the driver's championship, which would make for really interesting news going into next year, when they'll be teammates. Drama indeed... but the Wonderduck that would have written thousands of words for the fight for 10th place in the driver's championship between Paul di Resta (40 points) and Nico Hulkenberg (39 points) isn't the Wonderduck sitting in front of the keyboard these days.
I miss that Wonderduck.
Here's the coverage on NBCSN:
FRIDAY
8a - 930a: Practice 2 live
SATURDAY
1230p - 2p: Quals definitively not live
SUNDAY
630a - 9a: 2013 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
I'll be here... will you? I wouldn't blame you if you weren't, given what I've just talked about, but I hope you show up.
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October 26, 2013
F1 Quals: India 2013
This is ridiculous. It's like the other drivers aren't even trying any more. Here's the provisional grid for the 2013 Grand Prix of India:
.752 of a second per lap. Really? Why even bother? Here's the F1U! for Sunday's race: "Vettel wins by 20 seconds. What a shock." The only hope we have is that HWMNBN is on the medium tire and Vettel on the soft. The mediums are wearing well, the softs are going about six laps before they die... maybe HWMNBN will be able to parlay this into something other than a 7th place finish. I'm not hopeful, but maybe.
I'm rooting for HWMNBN. Shoot me now.
Race in the morning. See you afterwards!
.752 of a second per lap. Really? Why even bother? Here's the F1U! for Sunday's race: "Vettel wins by 20 seconds. What a shock." The only hope we have is that HWMNBN is on the medium tire and Vettel on the soft. The mediums are wearing well, the softs are going about six laps before they die... maybe HWMNBN will be able to parlay this into something other than a 7th place finish. I'm not hopeful, but maybe.
I'm rooting for HWMNBN. Shoot me now.
Race in the morning. See you afterwards!
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October 25, 2013
F1 Practice: India 2013
If this was in Los Angeles, we'd say the inversion layer had moved in. If it was in China, one would have to assume the factories were going full speed.
But this is in India, I suppose we'll have to say that the vindaloo is particularly spicy today. The F1 homepage is claiming that it was foggy during practice, but fog doesn't change the sky color. Fog doesn't give everything a dirty-orange hue. Nope, we had smog out the ying-yang there in Upper Noida, which makes me wonder how that affects the engines. I assume there's air filters, but I guess I don't really know!
One thing we do know is that the Indian cuisine claimed one driver this morning. Paul di Resta apparently spent most of Thursday in his hotel room with a case of Delhi Belly. Too much naan and gulab jamun, that'll do it every time.
In other news that'll send us scurrying to the loo, Hannibal Vettel was fastest in the second session... by nearly a half-second... over his teammate. The next closest was Lettuce Grosjean, another third of a second adrift. Did I mention that Vettel has been on the pole and led every lap of both races at India? I think that bodes not well for HWMNBN's chances to win the Championship, particularly after he wound up with a gearbox full of neutrals in Practice 1.
Maybe after he wins the championship, Vettel will move down to Marussia or something for a bit of fun. Hey, we can dream, right?
Quals at 330am... see you sometime after that.
But this is in India, I suppose we'll have to say that the vindaloo is particularly spicy today. The F1 homepage is claiming that it was foggy during practice, but fog doesn't change the sky color. Fog doesn't give everything a dirty-orange hue. Nope, we had smog out the ying-yang there in Upper Noida, which makes me wonder how that affects the engines. I assume there's air filters, but I guess I don't really know!
One thing we do know is that the Indian cuisine claimed one driver this morning. Paul di Resta apparently spent most of Thursday in his hotel room with a case of Delhi Belly. Too much naan and gulab jamun, that'll do it every time.
In other news that'll send us scurrying to the loo, Hannibal Vettel was fastest in the second session... by nearly a half-second... over his teammate. The next closest was Lettuce Grosjean, another third of a second adrift. Did I mention that Vettel has been on the pole and led every lap of both races at India? I think that bodes not well for HWMNBN's chances to win the Championship, particularly after he wound up with a gearbox full of neutrals in Practice 1.
Maybe after he wins the championship, Vettel will move down to Marussia or something for a bit of fun. Hey, we can dream, right?
Quals at 330am... see you sometime after that.
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October 21, 2013
F1 on NBCSN: India 2013
Namaste! The next stop for the F1 Circus is the Buddh International Circuit in Upper Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It's the third time Formula 1 has made the journey to the subcontinent, and it might just be the last. With that in mind, let's take a look at the track map, shall we?
Sadly, India is off the calendar for 2014 due to political and scheduling issues. It's supposed to come back in 2015, but nobody knows that for sure quite yet. So if this is the last time we experience this course, it may be a memorable one: this could be a championship clinching race for Hannibal Vettel. Should I mention that Vettel is also the only driver to have won in India? I think I'll just quietly draw a veil over that sad fact and move on.
It's a fast circuit without much of the mickey-mousing that Hermann Tilke is justifiably reviled for. Having said that, it's also not a technically difficult track to drive. For example, Singapore is a technical challenge for a driver... there's no room for mistakes and a ton of places to make them. India? Not so much. The layout is wide with plenty of runoff area, so if you do make a mistake, you wind up being able to just keep on driving, no huhu. One thing that's quite pleasant about Buddh is that there's a decent amount of altitude change: almost 45 feet in the first three turns alone. The track's big party piece is The Carousel, Turns 10-11-12. Over 180° of awesome banked multi-line turn... yep, in theory two cars could run through it side-by-side at speed and neither would have to yield to avoid an accident. In practice, not so much, but it COULD happen.
Well, the Legendary Announce Team will be bringing us their usual coverage this weekend... let's see what the schedule looks like!
FRIDAY
330a - 5a: Practice 2 live
SATURDAY
330a - 5a: Quals live
SUNDAY
4a - 630a: 2013 Grand Prix of India live
You'll note the half-hour starts up there... that's the fault of India's oddball timezones. Just tell your DVR to look around, it'll find 'em on NBCSN.
Bring your Kingfishers, we could see a Champion crowned again...
Sadly, India is off the calendar for 2014 due to political and scheduling issues. It's supposed to come back in 2015, but nobody knows that for sure quite yet. So if this is the last time we experience this course, it may be a memorable one: this could be a championship clinching race for Hannibal Vettel. Should I mention that Vettel is also the only driver to have won in India? I think I'll just quietly draw a veil over that sad fact and move on.
It's a fast circuit without much of the mickey-mousing that Hermann Tilke is justifiably reviled for. Having said that, it's also not a technically difficult track to drive. For example, Singapore is a technical challenge for a driver... there's no room for mistakes and a ton of places to make them. India? Not so much. The layout is wide with plenty of runoff area, so if you do make a mistake, you wind up being able to just keep on driving, no huhu. One thing that's quite pleasant about Buddh is that there's a decent amount of altitude change: almost 45 feet in the first three turns alone. The track's big party piece is The Carousel, Turns 10-11-12. Over 180° of awesome banked multi-line turn... yep, in theory two cars could run through it side-by-side at speed and neither would have to yield to avoid an accident. In practice, not so much, but it COULD happen.
Well, the Legendary Announce Team will be bringing us their usual coverage this weekend... let's see what the schedule looks like!
FRIDAY
330a - 5a: Practice 2 live
SATURDAY
330a - 5a: Quals live
SUNDAY
4a - 630a: 2013 Grand Prix of India live
You'll note the half-hour starts up there... that's the fault of India's oddball timezones. Just tell your DVR to look around, it'll find 'em on NBCSN.
Bring your Kingfishers, we could see a Champion crowned again...
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October 12, 2013
F1 Quals: Japan 2013
It's just after 9pm Pond Central, and I've only just now made it home from a busy day at work. Yes, on a Saturday. This is Homecoming Weekend, y'see, and more importantly, it's the first Homecoming after Duck U's name change which I don't think I've mentioned on here before. Anyway, originally Duck U wasn't a U at all, but a "C", as in "College." However, this past July 1st, we officially became Duck U, to massive acclaim from everybody but the alumni, who resoundingly said "meh" to the change... but they still showed up in droves today. Throw in dinner with Ph.Duck, and voila, 9pm-ish.
All of which is my long-winded way of saying that I haven't watched Quals, and probably won't, not with the race only three hours away. But here's the grid anyway:
My heavens, it's someone OTHER than Vettel, Rosberg or Hamilton on pole... stop the presses! Of course, the soon-to-be-four-time-world-champion, or STBFTWC, which I suspect means something really rude in Klingon, had a KERS failure in Q3, so there is that. On the other hand, you know that Mark Webber isn't going to be particularly helpful to his so-called "teammate". If he can avoid a Mark Webber Lousy Start® , we should be in for an interesting race indeed.
As an aside... if the STBFTWC wins and HWMNBN finishes eighth or lower, the STBFTWC will actually be the FTWC. Go Webber!
Right, I'm going to go rest my weary bones. F1U! tomorrow... see ya then.
All of which is my long-winded way of saying that I haven't watched Quals, and probably won't, not with the race only three hours away. But here's the grid anyway:
My heavens, it's someone OTHER than Vettel, Rosberg or Hamilton on pole... stop the presses! Of course, the soon-to-be-four-time-world-champion, or STBFTWC, which I suspect means something really rude in Klingon, had a KERS failure in Q3, so there is that. On the other hand, you know that Mark Webber isn't going to be particularly helpful to his so-called "teammate". If he can avoid a Mark Webber Lousy Start® , we should be in for an interesting race indeed.
As an aside... if the STBFTWC wins and HWMNBN finishes eighth or lower, the STBFTWC will actually be the FTWC. Go Webber!
Right, I'm going to go rest my weary bones. F1U! tomorrow... see ya then.
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October 11, 2013
Merely Terrible Upgrades To Tragedy
Perhaps you remember the story of Maria De Villota, the Marussia test driver who last year was in a hideous accident? The team was doing straight-line testing, going up and down a runway, with her behind the wheel. When she brought the car in for servicing, it jerked forward and ran into the back of the team's transporter... which had its liftgate lowered. The results were sub-optimal.
De Villota's skull wasn't so much broken as it was shattered like an egg dropped from the top of a tall building. Thanks to the amazing skill of her surgeons, she not only survived the experience, but came off pretty well, all things considered. To be sure, she was not unscathed: she lost her right eye, her sense of taste and smell, and suffered from severe headaches. That's pretty good, if you ask me, when the alternative is... well, just look at that picture. Over the past year, De Villota had more or less completely recovered from the accident. She was married this past July, had been involved with the FIA in both auto safety and a women in motorsports council, and was even thinking about racing again.
Maria De Villota was found dead in her hotel room in Seville, Spain, this morning. Authorities are saying that foul play was not expected, and her death was from "natural causes." Or, at least, natural for someone who had undergone the sort of accident she'd been in. Her death came one year to the day that she held her first press conference after the accident.
She was in Seville to speak about her new book, Life Is A Gift, on Monday.
The thoughts and prayers of the entire F1Update! crew go out to her family and friends. She was 33 years old.
De Villota's skull wasn't so much broken as it was shattered like an egg dropped from the top of a tall building. Thanks to the amazing skill of her surgeons, she not only survived the experience, but came off pretty well, all things considered. To be sure, she was not unscathed: she lost her right eye, her sense of taste and smell, and suffered from severe headaches. That's pretty good, if you ask me, when the alternative is... well, just look at that picture. Over the past year, De Villota had more or less completely recovered from the accident. She was married this past July, had been involved with the FIA in both auto safety and a women in motorsports council, and was even thinking about racing again.
Maria De Villota was found dead in her hotel room in Seville, Spain, this morning. Authorities are saying that foul play was not expected, and her death was from "natural causes." Or, at least, natural for someone who had undergone the sort of accident she'd been in. Her death came one year to the day that she held her first press conference after the accident.
She was in Seville to speak about her new book, Life Is A Gift, on Monday.
The thoughts and prayers of the entire F1Update! crew go out to her family and friends. She was 33 years old.
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October 09, 2013
F1 on NBCSN: Japan 2013
We're running late this week, and my apologies for that. It's at least theoretically possible that one or two of you rely upon this feature to set your DVR, and you're not getting your info on time. I'd like to send you all a balloon animal to make it up to you, but FedEx just raised their fuel surcharge and I don't have an account with UPS anymore, so you'll just have to settle for something spiffy at the end of this post. Until then, however, it's early-mid October (or late-early October, whichever) which means it must be time for one of the truly classic tracks on the F1 calendar. Libbets and bunnymen, allow me to introduce to you the trackmap for the 2013 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka.
Really, I'm not entirely sure why this isn't my favorite F1 track. Maybe because they turned 130R into a mere ghost of itself when they slowed it down a touch? Could be, I suppose. I've never really seen 130R the way it used to be, so I can't say. Really, Suzuka has everything you could possibly want from a racetrack. It's fast, it's slow, but each section flows into each other like it was meant to... unlike some circuits I could name, and I'm looking at you here Korea. Plus, you've got the clever 'S'-Curves that are a true rhythm section like Buddy Rich could only dream about. Then, of course, you've got the crossover that makes this a figure-8 layout, just like our Tyco slotcar track when we were kids. There's elevation change galore, the Japanese are probably more passionate about F1 than even the Italians, so what's not to love?
Well, and I don't believe I'm going to say this, but "rain." When it rains in Japan, it doesn't just drizzle, but it bloody well typhoons, and that's just too much. The Great Suzuka Boat Races are a real thing, when the teams float homemade boats down the pitlane whilst watching track time go away under the deluge of dampness. At least at Spa, usually you still manage to get out on track.
Still, if that's the only quibble I have with Suzuka (and it is), then I guess I'll manage to get over it. It's a helluva circuit, and I'm still not sure why it isn't any higher than #3 on my favorites list. Oh well, maybe the Legendary Announce Team will be able to help us, for they'll be doing their thing as always this week. Here's the broadcast schedule:
FRIDAY
12mid - 130a: Practice 2 live
SATURDAY
12mid - 130a: Quals live
SUNDAY
1230a - 3a: 2013 Grand Prix of Japan live
So we've not a lot of time before P2 starts already! Go set your DVR now. What are you waiting for, a balloon animal?
Will that do? See you sooner or later.
Really, I'm not entirely sure why this isn't my favorite F1 track. Maybe because they turned 130R into a mere ghost of itself when they slowed it down a touch? Could be, I suppose. I've never really seen 130R the way it used to be, so I can't say. Really, Suzuka has everything you could possibly want from a racetrack. It's fast, it's slow, but each section flows into each other like it was meant to... unlike some circuits I could name, and I'm looking at you here Korea. Plus, you've got the clever 'S'-Curves that are a true rhythm section like Buddy Rich could only dream about. Then, of course, you've got the crossover that makes this a figure-8 layout, just like our Tyco slotcar track when we were kids. There's elevation change galore, the Japanese are probably more passionate about F1 than even the Italians, so what's not to love?
Well, and I don't believe I'm going to say this, but "rain." When it rains in Japan, it doesn't just drizzle, but it bloody well typhoons, and that's just too much. The Great Suzuka Boat Races are a real thing, when the teams float homemade boats down the pitlane whilst watching track time go away under the deluge of dampness. At least at Spa, usually you still manage to get out on track.
Still, if that's the only quibble I have with Suzuka (and it is), then I guess I'll manage to get over it. It's a helluva circuit, and I'm still not sure why it isn't any higher than #3 on my favorites list. Oh well, maybe the Legendary Announce Team will be able to help us, for they'll be doing their thing as always this week. Here's the broadcast schedule:
FRIDAY
12mid - 130a: Practice 2 live
SATURDAY
12mid - 130a: Quals live
SUNDAY
1230a - 3a: 2013 Grand Prix of Japan live
So we've not a lot of time before P2 starts already! Go set your DVR now. What are you waiting for, a balloon animal?
Will that do? See you sooner or later.
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October 05, 2013
F1 Quals: Korea 2013
If you have any doubt about the results of today's Qualifying session for the 2013 Grand Prix of Korea, you've clearly not been following Formula 1 lately. Here's the provisional grid:
Oh look, Hannibal Vettel is on pole. I never saw that coming. Not only was the Red Bull the fastest through the twistybits, but it was also fastest through the speed trap, too. Just what we need, huh? Don't look for rain to save us, either. Now the forecasters are saying that the rain, at best, will soak the track in the morning, then stop well before the race begins. Yeesh.
We'll see you Sunday for the F1U!... hopefully it'll be worth writing about!
Oh look, Hannibal Vettel is on pole. I never saw that coming. Not only was the Red Bull the fastest through the twistybits, but it was also fastest through the speed trap, too. Just what we need, huh? Don't look for rain to save us, either. Now the forecasters are saying that the rain, at best, will soak the track in the morning, then stop well before the race begins. Yeesh.
We'll see you Sunday for the F1U!... hopefully it'll be worth writing about!
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September 30, 2013
F1 on NBCSN: Korea 2013
It's hard to believe that this will be the fourth race at Korea. It feels like just... um... four years ago... since that first deluge-filled race. Arguably, that first race, which ended with Hannibal Vettel blowing his engine as night fell around the circuit, was the only one worth watching. Now they're talking about ending the Korean experiment. Let's take a look at the track map for this maybe soon-to-be-gone racetrack:
The sad thing is that there's no reason for this track to be a lousy runner. The designer just got a little carried away with all the fiddlybits on the back half. Instead, what we've got is half a circuit where you can't pass because you're too busy making turns, and another half where you can't pass because you're all right around the same speed anyway. This is not conductive to good racing.
Unless it rains, of course, in which case everybody is open to anything that happens. Oh by the way, there are storms predicted for race day... just sayin'. Oh, and that yellow dot up there? That's not only the location of the speedtrap, but it's also the approximate location of The Elephant.
NBCSN will be providing coverage, as usual... and it's all over the darn map as to when things are being shown. Here's the schedule as I know it:
FRIDAY:
12mid - 130a: P2 live?
6p - 730p: Quals, surely not live
SUNDAY:
1230a - 3a: 2013 Grand Prix of Korea, live.
Doesn't look like I'll be liveblogging P1, like I've done before... I can't get NBCSN's streaming thingy to work. Oh well, ces't la vie. I'll be around for the rest of it... if it rains, I might write more than 400 words for the F1U!, even. We'll see!
The sad thing is that there's no reason for this track to be a lousy runner. The designer just got a little carried away with all the fiddlybits on the back half. Instead, what we've got is half a circuit where you can't pass because you're too busy making turns, and another half where you can't pass because you're all right around the same speed anyway. This is not conductive to good racing.
Unless it rains, of course, in which case everybody is open to anything that happens. Oh by the way, there are storms predicted for race day... just sayin'. Oh, and that yellow dot up there? That's not only the location of the speedtrap, but it's also the approximate location of The Elephant.
NBCSN will be providing coverage, as usual... and it's all over the darn map as to when things are being shown. Here's the schedule as I know it:
FRIDAY:
12mid - 130a: P2 live?
6p - 730p: Quals, surely not live
SUNDAY:
1230a - 3a: 2013 Grand Prix of Korea, live.
Doesn't look like I'll be liveblogging P1, like I've done before... I can't get NBCSN's streaming thingy to work. Oh well, ces't la vie. I'll be around for the rest of it... if it rains, I might write more than 400 words for the F1U!, even. We'll see!
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September 26, 2013
The OTHER Six-Wheeled F1 Cars
Mauser mentioned that Instypundito was linkin' to a six-wheeled F1 car, and asks what the deal was. Well, I'm not gonna go look to see which one he's talking about because what's the fun in that? Instead, I'm going to talk about the THREE different six-wheelers that were built for F1 purposes that aren't the famous Tyrrell P34 (aka "Wonderduck's favorite F1 car").
THREE??? Yuppers, three. Teams saw the possibilities of the P34 and, as is normal in Formula 1, decided to steal the idea and... "improve"... it. Needless to say, none of the teams in question ever actually raced their cars, just tested them. Probably the best of them was the March 2-4-0.
The idea behind the 2-4-0 is the exact opposite of the P34. The P34 had two small tires on either side up front to improve aerodynamics by lessening drag, which the March designer thought was kinda dumb, because the normal-sized rear tires were still huge sources of drag. Instead, March went with normal tires (which, it might be pointed out, weren't going to cause Goodyear headaches in developing...), but had four driven wheels in the back. The drag would be counteracted by the immense improvement in grip. It worked like a charm, except for two problems. First, it chewed up gearboxes like nobody's business. Second, the car was horribly overweight. If the team could have gotten the gearbox problem solved and put the chassis on a diet, both of which could have been accomplished eventually, there's nothing inherently wrong with the idea and no reason that it wouldn't have been successful. It was a good enough idea that Williams copied the concept a few years later for their FW08B.
Like the 2-4-0, the FW08B never actually raced, and will go down in history as the car that drove the FIA to define a F1 car as having four wheels, with only the two rear ones being powered. Williams' designer Patrick Head said that the main reason that the FW08B was never raced was that it would have caused nightmares during pitstops. I suppose that's true, but it's more likely that the FIA just hated the idea.
Finally, we come to the really weird chassis, the Ferrari 312T6.
Yup, four rear wheels on one axle. I'm not sure what Ferrari thought they'd get out of this layout, particularly since it was too wide to fit the Technical Regulations. In testing, it was found to be something of a pig, handling-wise, and had a tendency to have rear-end problems. In other words, it broke easily and caught fire once. Considering that they had a double-championship season in 1977 with the normal 312T, Ferrari didn't really need to be playing around, and it was condemned to the ash pit.
And that's the story of the other Six-Wheelers.
THREE??? Yuppers, three. Teams saw the possibilities of the P34 and, as is normal in Formula 1, decided to steal the idea and... "improve"... it. Needless to say, none of the teams in question ever actually raced their cars, just tested them. Probably the best of them was the March 2-4-0.
The idea behind the 2-4-0 is the exact opposite of the P34. The P34 had two small tires on either side up front to improve aerodynamics by lessening drag, which the March designer thought was kinda dumb, because the normal-sized rear tires were still huge sources of drag. Instead, March went with normal tires (which, it might be pointed out, weren't going to cause Goodyear headaches in developing...), but had four driven wheels in the back. The drag would be counteracted by the immense improvement in grip. It worked like a charm, except for two problems. First, it chewed up gearboxes like nobody's business. Second, the car was horribly overweight. If the team could have gotten the gearbox problem solved and put the chassis on a diet, both of which could have been accomplished eventually, there's nothing inherently wrong with the idea and no reason that it wouldn't have been successful. It was a good enough idea that Williams copied the concept a few years later for their FW08B.
Like the 2-4-0, the FW08B never actually raced, and will go down in history as the car that drove the FIA to define a F1 car as having four wheels, with only the two rear ones being powered. Williams' designer Patrick Head said that the main reason that the FW08B was never raced was that it would have caused nightmares during pitstops. I suppose that's true, but it's more likely that the FIA just hated the idea.
Finally, we come to the really weird chassis, the Ferrari 312T6.
Yup, four rear wheels on one axle. I'm not sure what Ferrari thought they'd get out of this layout, particularly since it was too wide to fit the Technical Regulations. In testing, it was found to be something of a pig, handling-wise, and had a tendency to have rear-end problems. In other words, it broke easily and caught fire once. Considering that they had a double-championship season in 1977 with the normal 312T, Ferrari didn't really need to be playing around, and it was condemned to the ash pit.
And that's the story of the other Six-Wheelers.
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