November 14, 2012
Trying Not To Pee Myself With Excitement
Just look at that. I'm giggling just thinking about what's going to happen when the lights go out on Sunday.
If I'm not wrong, this shot seems to be from the inside of Turn 14 looking across at Turn 1. My word, this is gonna be fun!
Just look at that. I'm giggling just thinking about what's going to happen when the lights go out on Sunday.
If I'm not wrong, this shot seems to be from the inside of Turn 14 looking across at Turn 1. My word, this is gonna be fun!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:01 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 54 words, total size 1 kb.
November 12, 2012
F1 on SPEED!: UNITED STATES! WOO! FINALLY!
The debut of a new track is always the highlight of a Formula 1 season. But when it's a new track located in the United States after five years away? Oh yes, very yes, much yes, yes please! Let's take a look at the track map for the 2012 United States Grand Prix:
First off, you know what this isn't? It isn't a usual design of the evil Hermann Tilke. This is from the good side of Tilke... the Dr Tilke to the designer of Abu Dhabi's Mr Hermann. It also isn't flat, which may have had something to do with the success of the track design. With a maximum elevation change of 133 feet, pretty much second only to Spa-Francopants, the layout is proving to be awfully darn dynamic. Here's a video of a lap of the layout:
We already know about Turn 1, the blind apex of which is the highest point on the track. It then immediately drops back down somewhat on the approach to Turn 2 and stays flat through to about Turn 7. You then go up and down a smidge until you reach the hairpin at the far end of the circuit. There's a small amount of down and up on the long straight, but it stays billiard-table-smooth from there until Turn 18. From 18 to the final turn is a gentle downslope taking us down to the lowest point, the start/finish line. Me likey. Me likey lots.
I probably like it because of the way that Tilke blatantly stole the best parts of other circuits to make this one. The two obvious examples are the Turn 3-4-5 complex, which is lifted from Silverstone's Maggots-Becketts-Chapel, and the rebirth of Turkey's Quad-8 at 16-17-18 here. I'm willing to bet that every F1 fan has put together a "dream circuit" using their favorite turns from various tracks (mine has a nasty, nasty sequence of Spa's Eau Rouge leading to Laguna Seca's Corkscrew... I call it the "Screw Eau")... Hermann Tilke just got to build his.
The hard part is trying to figure out just how the circuit will race, and it's a problem that every team is going to have to figure out, and fast. My guess, and it's only a guess based on nothing more than a visual similarity, is that it'll be like India; really fast, but without as much dust. It's clear that nobody has the faintest idea; Pirelli probably has the most experience here, and they're bringing the Hard and Medium compounds. That's the most conservative choice they can make, and it's simply because nobody knows what'll happen once you get 24 cars pounding around leaving rubber behind. In fact, Pirelli has given the teams an extra set of tires for Friday, to encourage them to go out and pound around the circuit even more than they normally would. Pirelli also believes that the asphalt is abrasive enough to call for the two hardest compounds... my guess is that next year, we'll see the Hard and Soft tires here.
Unless it rains. If it rains, of course, all bets are off and all we'll be able to do is buckle up and hold on. NOAA is saying that there's a 20% chance of rain Saturday and Sunday. For once, I don't want it to rain on raceday: I wanna see this track the way it's meant to be raced.
And who will be bringing us all of the action but the Legendary Announce Team! Let's give them their due, since this is pretty much the last time we'll see them all together, not counting Brazil, which I avoid doing at all times...
To me, these three are the voices of Formula 1. They were the men that taught me the basics of the sport, then taught me more than that... they taught me how to be a fan. While that fandom waxes and wanes during the year, it never falters. It's pretty much a perfect lineup: Steve Matchett, the Constructor's Championship-winning pitlane mechanic; David Hobbs, named by the FIA as one of the 27 best drivers in the world in 1969, with seven career F1 starts, 20 LeMans green flags, Can-Am, Indy 500, even a couple of NASCAR starts (and a Honda car dealership in Milwaukee); and Bob Varsha, a professional broadcaster who has been covering Formula 1 on television since 1986. We're unlikely to ever see and hear this trio together after this season ends, so let me say it now:
Thank you, Legendary Announce Team. Thank you very much.
Here's SPEED's broadcast schedule for Austin, all live on TV:
FRIDAY
P1: 9a - 1030a
P2: 1p - 230p
SATURDAY
P3: 9a - 10a
Quals: 12n - 130p
SUNDAY
2012 United States Grand Prix: 1230p - 3p
They'll also be streaming live in-car cameras on the website, so watch with your laptop open and running... I will be! I've taken Friday off from the Duck U Bookstore, and will be positioned on the couch watching it all as it happens (and I'm considering buying a new TV for it, too)... see you then!
First off, you know what this isn't? It isn't a usual design of the evil Hermann Tilke. This is from the good side of Tilke... the Dr Tilke to the designer of Abu Dhabi's Mr Hermann. It also isn't flat, which may have had something to do with the success of the track design. With a maximum elevation change of 133 feet, pretty much second only to Spa-Francopants, the layout is proving to be awfully darn dynamic. Here's a video of a lap of the layout:
I probably like it because of the way that Tilke blatantly stole the best parts of other circuits to make this one. The two obvious examples are the Turn 3-4-5 complex, which is lifted from Silverstone's Maggots-Becketts-Chapel, and the rebirth of Turkey's Quad-8 at 16-17-18 here. I'm willing to bet that every F1 fan has put together a "dream circuit" using their favorite turns from various tracks (mine has a nasty, nasty sequence of Spa's Eau Rouge leading to Laguna Seca's Corkscrew... I call it the "Screw Eau")... Hermann Tilke just got to build his.
The hard part is trying to figure out just how the circuit will race, and it's a problem that every team is going to have to figure out, and fast. My guess, and it's only a guess based on nothing more than a visual similarity, is that it'll be like India; really fast, but without as much dust. It's clear that nobody has the faintest idea; Pirelli probably has the most experience here, and they're bringing the Hard and Medium compounds. That's the most conservative choice they can make, and it's simply because nobody knows what'll happen once you get 24 cars pounding around leaving rubber behind. In fact, Pirelli has given the teams an extra set of tires for Friday, to encourage them to go out and pound around the circuit even more than they normally would. Pirelli also believes that the asphalt is abrasive enough to call for the two hardest compounds... my guess is that next year, we'll see the Hard and Soft tires here.
Unless it rains. If it rains, of course, all bets are off and all we'll be able to do is buckle up and hold on. NOAA is saying that there's a 20% chance of rain Saturday and Sunday. For once, I don't want it to rain on raceday: I wanna see this track the way it's meant to be raced.
And who will be bringing us all of the action but the Legendary Announce Team! Let's give them their due, since this is pretty much the last time we'll see them all together, not counting Brazil, which I avoid doing at all times...
To me, these three are the voices of Formula 1. They were the men that taught me the basics of the sport, then taught me more than that... they taught me how to be a fan. While that fandom waxes and wanes during the year, it never falters. It's pretty much a perfect lineup: Steve Matchett, the Constructor's Championship-winning pitlane mechanic; David Hobbs, named by the FIA as one of the 27 best drivers in the world in 1969, with seven career F1 starts, 20 LeMans green flags, Can-Am, Indy 500, even a couple of NASCAR starts (and a Honda car dealership in Milwaukee); and Bob Varsha, a professional broadcaster who has been covering Formula 1 on television since 1986. We're unlikely to ever see and hear this trio together after this season ends, so let me say it now:
Thank you, Legendary Announce Team. Thank you very much.
Here's SPEED's broadcast schedule for Austin, all live on TV:
FRIDAY
P1: 9a - 1030a
P2: 1p - 230p
SATURDAY
P3: 9a - 10a
Quals: 12n - 130p
SUNDAY
2012 United States Grand Prix: 1230p - 3p
They'll also be streaming live in-car cameras on the website, so watch with your laptop open and running... I will be! I've taken Friday off from the Duck U Bookstore, and will be positioned on the couch watching it all as it happens (and I'm considering buying a new TV for it, too)... see you then!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:11 PM
| Comments (8)
| Add Comment
Post contains 859 words, total size 6 kb.
November 04, 2012
Abu Dhabi 2012: How F1 SHOULD Be.
What an extraordinary race that was! It's going to take me some time to adequately write this one up... it had everything a race fan could ask for, up to but fortunately NOT including fisticuffs. That was about the only thing lacking, however.
As a reminder, no discussion of the race until the F1U! is posted. I'm pretty laid back about stuff in my comment section, but not about F1 results, and definitely not about this race. I will break out the banhammer and I will use it. Please don't make me. Don't even hint about the results.
While you're waiting, here's the new McLaren Tooned! for your enjoyment.
It'll be worth it.
As a reminder, no discussion of the race until the F1U! is posted. I'm pretty laid back about stuff in my comment section, but not about F1 results, and definitely not about this race. I will break out the banhammer and I will use it. Please don't make me. Don't even hint about the results.
While you're waiting, here's the new McLaren Tooned! for your enjoyment.
It'll be worth it.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
12:19 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 120 words, total size 1 kb.
November 03, 2012
F1 Quals: Abu Dhabi 2012 (UPDATED)
In the previous three races at Abu Dhabi, there have only been two men on the front row: Shiv Hamilton and Seb Vettel. Considering the way the end of this season has been going , it's practically a guarantee that Vettel'd be there, but would Hamilton hold up his end of the bargain? Here's the highly provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi:
Sebby Vettel has had a fraught day. First he missed almost all of P3 with a brake problem on his RB8, then in Quals his car seemed to be suffering from a balance problem. Despite all this, he still ended up third on the grid... for the time being. Y'see, after the session ended this happened:
So a lot of things happened at once here, so let's run them down. First, the pit wall called Vettel and told him (with some energy, I might add) to "park the car, park the car." Quickly thereafter, the indicator on his steering wheel showed a shift from Third gear directly to Neutral. Then in an interview afterwards, Christian Horner, team honcho for Red Bull, told SKY that "the engine provider told us to stop." So many possible penalties to look for... gearbox change (for the jump from 3 to N), engine change (the cars are in parc ferme condition), unable to get back to the pit lane after Quals (Hamilton lost pole position in Barcalounger for that one), and too many engines used (this was Vettel's eight and final allotted engine on the season).
HWCBN(UCC) has got to be awfully happy at this possibility. I know I am. More to the point, the Ferrari driver may have an opening to cut the lead back down to single-digits or even take a lead again. We won't know for a while what, if anything, will happen to Vettel; I'll keep an eye out and update as information warrants.
UPDATE: Vettel has been sent to the back of the grid for violating Article 6.6.2 of the Technical Regulations, which states that any car at the end of Q3 must have a liter of fuel available for testing. Not making it back to the pits under its own power is also a violation, but if the team can explain why it needed to be stopped, it is often allowed, and that's what occurred here. However, once Scrutineering got a hold of it, there wasn't enough fuel... depending on whose explanation you read, there was either 850ml or 150ml left in the tank. As a result, Vettel is sent to the back of the grid. However, the team immediately broke parc ferme to attempt to repair whatever required him to stop on track, and he'll be starting from the pit lane instead. If HWCBN(UCC) is going to have a chance at the Championship, he has got to make this opportunity count.
Sebby Vettel has had a fraught day. First he missed almost all of P3 with a brake problem on his RB8, then in Quals his car seemed to be suffering from a balance problem. Despite all this, he still ended up third on the grid... for the time being. Y'see, after the session ended this happened:
So a lot of things happened at once here, so let's run them down. First, the pit wall called Vettel and told him (with some energy, I might add) to "park the car, park the car." Quickly thereafter, the indicator on his steering wheel showed a shift from Third gear directly to Neutral. Then in an interview afterwards, Christian Horner, team honcho for Red Bull, told SKY that "the engine provider told us to stop." So many possible penalties to look for... gearbox change (for the jump from 3 to N), engine change (the cars are in parc ferme condition), unable to get back to the pit lane after Quals (Hamilton lost pole position in Barcalounger for that one), and too many engines used (this was Vettel's eight and final allotted engine on the season).
HWCBN(UCC) has got to be awfully happy at this possibility. I know I am. More to the point, the Ferrari driver may have an opening to cut the lead back down to single-digits or even take a lead again. We won't know for a while what, if anything, will happen to Vettel; I'll keep an eye out and update as information warrants.
UPDATE: Vettel has been sent to the back of the grid for violating Article 6.6.2 of the Technical Regulations, which states that any car at the end of Q3 must have a liter of fuel available for testing. Not making it back to the pits under its own power is also a violation, but if the team can explain why it needed to be stopped, it is often allowed, and that's what occurred here. However, once Scrutineering got a hold of it, there wasn't enough fuel... depending on whose explanation you read, there was either 850ml or 150ml left in the tank. As a result, Vettel is sent to the back of the grid. However, the team immediately broke parc ferme to attempt to repair whatever required him to stop on track, and he'll be starting from the pit lane instead. If HWCBN(UCC) is going to have a chance at the Championship, he has got to make this opportunity count.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:15 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 649 words, total size 19 kb.
November 02, 2012
F1 Practice: Abu Dhabi 2012
I've come to the conclusion that I don't really care about this practice session. It's been a long, crappy day at the end of a long, crappy week leading into next week when I have inventory. I only just got home from a day that started when I accidentally gave myself half a Hitler mustache, and to be honest, I don't want to watch the remaining 45 minutes of a practice session that I watched half of live. Ready for the news about the session? Vettel was fastest ahead of the two McLarens. Tah-dah!
Yes, I know what I sound like. I sound like someone tired and cranky and grumpy and tired of wondering by how much Seb Vettel is going to win by. We started the season off with seven different winners in the first seven races. We might end the season with ONE winner for the last seven races. Darn it.
Quals in the morning, and I'll be better for that. I promise, my fellow F1 fans.
Yes, I know what I sound like. I sound like someone tired and cranky and grumpy and tired of wondering by how much Seb Vettel is going to win by. We started the season off with seven different winners in the first seven races. We might end the season with ONE winner for the last seven races. Darn it.
Quals in the morning, and I'll be better for that. I promise, my fellow F1 fans.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:02 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 174 words, total size 1 kb.
October 29, 2012
F1 on SPEED!: Abu Dhabi 2012
Would anybody be surprised if I said that the only attraction remaining in this season for me was the US Grand Prix? No? Good, now that we've gotten that clear, we've got one race standing between us and Austin, and that's the 2012 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi. Here's the track map:
It's undoubtedly a fine place to take a fast car out for a drive. It's even a good track for series like the Australian V8Supercars. But for F1? Over the years, its proven to be too flat, too smooth, too friggin' wide, and as a result, too dull. Oh look! Hermann Tilke does it again! Like many of his circuits, there's absolutely no flow to it. You're just going from point A to point B, here's a hairpin, go to point C, hairpin, then here's the twiddlybits at the end that prevent anybody from doing anything other than keep the car on track. But the hotel lights up nice and purty.
It doesn't have to be this way... even a track built on a pool table can be good: look at Silverstone, with its five feet (maybe) of elevation change. Or Australia, with its half-foot of height difference between the highest point and lowest. I don't know why I do this to myself... it's so frustrating.
The circuit itself runs towards the low end of mid-level downforce. That final sector... the twiddlybits... needs a lot of grip to get a good time, but the rest of the circuit is all high speed and testosterone. The place is easy on tires, not hard on brakes, and I don't think we've ever seen an engine go kablammo here. It comes down to who can get in front, because once there, it's difficult to pass. I see a Vettel victory again, and maybe another pole-to-flag to boot. God help us.
I can pretty much confirm that SPEED.com has killed off their F1 forums, meaning I no longer have access to the official times of when the streaming occurs... so here's what I've got:
FRIDAY
P2: 8am - 930a Live
SATURDAY
Quals: 8am - 930a vaguely live
SUNDAY
2012 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi: 630a - 9a live!
If we're lucky, it'll even be right. F1Update!'ll be here, right along with SPEED's Legendary Announce Team, bringing you all the action(?) as it happens, give or take a few hours. We'll see ya then!
It's undoubtedly a fine place to take a fast car out for a drive. It's even a good track for series like the Australian V8Supercars. But for F1? Over the years, its proven to be too flat, too smooth, too friggin' wide, and as a result, too dull. Oh look! Hermann Tilke does it again! Like many of his circuits, there's absolutely no flow to it. You're just going from point A to point B, here's a hairpin, go to point C, hairpin, then here's the twiddlybits at the end that prevent anybody from doing anything other than keep the car on track. But the hotel lights up nice and purty.
It doesn't have to be this way... even a track built on a pool table can be good: look at Silverstone, with its five feet (maybe) of elevation change. Or Australia, with its half-foot of height difference between the highest point and lowest. I don't know why I do this to myself... it's so frustrating.
The circuit itself runs towards the low end of mid-level downforce. That final sector... the twiddlybits... needs a lot of grip to get a good time, but the rest of the circuit is all high speed and testosterone. The place is easy on tires, not hard on brakes, and I don't think we've ever seen an engine go kablammo here. It comes down to who can get in front, because once there, it's difficult to pass. I see a Vettel victory again, and maybe another pole-to-flag to boot. God help us.
I can pretty much confirm that SPEED.com has killed off their F1 forums, meaning I no longer have access to the official times of when the streaming occurs... so here's what I've got:
FRIDAY
P2: 8am - 930a Live
SATURDAY
Quals: 8am - 930a vaguely live
SUNDAY
2012 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi: 630a - 9a live!
If we're lucky, it'll even be right. F1Update!'ll be here, right along with SPEED's Legendary Announce Team, bringing you all the action(?) as it happens, give or take a few hours. We'll see ya then!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
06:50 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 407 words, total size 3 kb.
October 27, 2012
F1 Quals: India 2012
For a brief instant in Q3, there was a window of opportunity for somebody... anybody... to derail the Seb Vettel Express, as he had a moment of excitement that required him to come into the pits and stake the whole session on one hot lap. Did any of the other members of the Circus step in and bring his reign of terror to an end? Here's the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of India:
Nope. It's Red Bull's third front-row lockout in a row, and things look good for the young German's fourth race win in a row on Sunday. Make no mistake, the RB8 is kicking the field's collective diffusers now, and if something doesn't happen quickly, the Driver's Championship is going to be Vettel's again. There's something eerily telling about the way the first three rows wound up, with the Number One driver from Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari leading their respective Number Twos. I don't know why I think that's important, I just do.
As far as Qualifying sessions go, this one was. Not particularly exciting nor dull, it was just there... particularly since the pole-winner was practically preordained, what with the way Sebby's been dominating here all weekend: he was the fastest in P1, P2, P3, second-best in Q1, and fastest in Q2 and Q3. In point of fact, he's never been below 2nd in any session EVER here at Buddh International Circuit. Yes, it's a small sample size, but still.
Weather looks hot and clear tomorrow, so it may be all we'll have to deal with is dust. We'll find out in the morning, see you then for F1Update!
Nope. It's Red Bull's third front-row lockout in a row, and things look good for the young German's fourth race win in a row on Sunday. Make no mistake, the RB8 is kicking the field's collective diffusers now, and if something doesn't happen quickly, the Driver's Championship is going to be Vettel's again. There's something eerily telling about the way the first three rows wound up, with the Number One driver from Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari leading their respective Number Twos. I don't know why I think that's important, I just do.
As far as Qualifying sessions go, this one was. Not particularly exciting nor dull, it was just there... particularly since the pole-winner was practically preordained, what with the way Sebby's been dominating here all weekend: he was the fastest in P1, P2, P3, second-best in Q1, and fastest in Q2 and Q3. In point of fact, he's never been below 2nd in any session EVER here at Buddh International Circuit. Yes, it's a small sample size, but still.
Weather looks hot and clear tomorrow, so it may be all we'll have to deal with is dust. We'll find out in the morning, see you then for F1Update!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
03:27 PM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 445 words, total size 17 kb.
October 26, 2012
F1 Practice: India 2012
All right, I'm going to be honest with you all: I'm tired, grumpy, annoyed and really don't feel like writing much about the Seb Vettel Show that took place at the Buddh International Circuit today. So instead, I'm just going to touch on a few little data points and go take a nap.
First, it appears that the Grand Prix of Weehawken is on hold until 2014. I gather there was some really hopeful thinking amongst the organizers, particularly on the financial aspects. So back it goes another year, undoubtedly much to the pleasure of the Grand Troll himself, Bernie Ecclestone, who despises the concept of the United States as a race destination. Hell, for all I know he hates the concept of the United States, period, except for our dollars... those, he loves.
Second, I struck gold today. While I might not be going to the United States Grand Prix in the middle of November, I know someone who is. Indeed, not only is he going, he's getting paid to go! See, the Circuit of the Americas chose a company called Sodexo to do the food and beverage stuff for all the races, particularly the F1 race. Well, Sodexo also does the food service at Duck U. Anyway, they're bringing something like 80 of the company's most experienced college/university foodservice managers in for the race, including Duck U's. Our man Dan is going to be running the Turn 15 shebang, but he's going to have some time to experience the race... and I've already handed him all my credit cards and said "I need souvenirs."
Finally, on today's 2nd Practice broadcast, Will Buxton, the Legendary Announce Team's on-site reporter, dropped a Zsolt Baumgartner reference... and he might have gotten the joke from me! See, he said that Seb Vettel had planned to have his helmet be a duplicate of Felix Baumgartner's (the Red Bull-sponsored superskydiver) helmet, "but the painters got it wrong and did a duplicate of Zsolt Baumgartner's." Cue lots of hilarity amongst the L.A.T., and lots of HEY!ing from me. See, we know that Buxton reads Reddit... he did a "Ask Me Anything" there a couple of weeks ago... and when Felix did his jump from the edge of space, I submitted a thread to the F1-subreddit entitled "Even with the Red Bull skydive, there's still only one Baumgartner that matters." Sure, it's not a direct rip-off, but that's still the only time I've seen a Felix/Zsolt juxtaposition anywhere... until Buxton made the connection today.
Quals in the morning. See ya there.
First, it appears that the Grand Prix of Weehawken is on hold until 2014. I gather there was some really hopeful thinking amongst the organizers, particularly on the financial aspects. So back it goes another year, undoubtedly much to the pleasure of the Grand Troll himself, Bernie Ecclestone, who despises the concept of the United States as a race destination. Hell, for all I know he hates the concept of the United States, period, except for our dollars... those, he loves.
Second, I struck gold today. While I might not be going to the United States Grand Prix in the middle of November, I know someone who is. Indeed, not only is he going, he's getting paid to go! See, the Circuit of the Americas chose a company called Sodexo to do the food and beverage stuff for all the races, particularly the F1 race. Well, Sodexo also does the food service at Duck U. Anyway, they're bringing something like 80 of the company's most experienced college/university foodservice managers in for the race, including Duck U's. Our man Dan is going to be running the Turn 15 shebang, but he's going to have some time to experience the race... and I've already handed him all my credit cards and said "I need souvenirs."
Finally, on today's 2nd Practice broadcast, Will Buxton, the Legendary Announce Team's on-site reporter, dropped a Zsolt Baumgartner reference... and he might have gotten the joke from me! See, he said that Seb Vettel had planned to have his helmet be a duplicate of Felix Baumgartner's (the Red Bull-sponsored superskydiver) helmet, "but the painters got it wrong and did a duplicate of Zsolt Baumgartner's." Cue lots of hilarity amongst the L.A.T., and lots of HEY!ing from me. See, we know that Buxton reads Reddit... he did a "Ask Me Anything" there a couple of weeks ago... and when Felix did his jump from the edge of space, I submitted a thread to the F1-subreddit entitled "Even with the Red Bull skydive, there's still only one Baumgartner that matters." Sure, it's not a direct rip-off, but that's still the only time I've seen a Felix/Zsolt juxtaposition anywhere... until Buxton made the connection today.
Quals in the morning. See ya there.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:59 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 429 words, total size 3 kb.
October 22, 2012
F1 on SPEED!: India 2012
SPEED's death march trudges on. Reports are coming out now that the Legendary Announce Team may not even finish out this season, and that SPEED isn't going to make a big deal out of the GP of Austin. While I understand their logic ("Hey, we're outta here in a few months, what does it matter?"), it's a slap in the face of all of their fans. Potentially. But hey, enough of that... let's talk about the second ever Grand Prix of India! Let's take a look at the track map:
Proof that Hermann Tilke can design an interesting race track when given some terrain to work with, the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India is... well, actually, it's a lot like Korea and Abu Dhabi, but with one major difference. Altitude change. There's about 45 feet in height difference from the start/finish line to Turn 3 alone. Sure, it's no Spa-Francopants, but very little is. Last year, the circuit was very dusty, meaning that one got off the racing line at serious risk of flaming death. With luck, that will have been dealt with this time around.
Turns 3 and 15 are blind, with 15 having a drop-off at the end of it. The long run from Turn 3 to 4 goes downhill to around the halfway point, where it then begins to climb up again. The track's big party piece, though, is the Turn 10-11-12 complex. If you remember Turkey's Quad-8, it's kinda like that, except this one is banked, uphill, and faster. It also has two distinct lines through it, or at least it would have if it hadn't've been so dusty last year.
It's a low-end of medium downforce circuit that isn't particularly hard on tires. Some of the curbs ARE hard on suspensions, however, as Felipe Massa learned last year. In fact, the rumblers of Turn 8 have officially been named "Massa's Curbs". We've not gotten a reaction from the Brazilian yet, though one probably can imagine that it's not going to be particularly positive. Brakes aren't abused much here, but the engine does get a lot of full-power running.
At least for this race the Legendary Announce Team will get to do their stuff in the professional manner we've become accustomed to. Unlike SPEED's website, which has apparently decided to make finding out any information about the program times as difficult as possible; take everything below with a grain of salt.
THURSDAY
P1: 1130p - 1am streaming
FRIDAY
P2: 330a - 500a live
SATURDAY
P3: 1230a - 130a streaming
Quals: 330a - 500a not quite live
SUNDAY
2012 Grand Prix of India: 400a - 630a live
Consult your local guide. I don't think I'll be liveblogging P1. See you here on Friday!
Proof that Hermann Tilke can design an interesting race track when given some terrain to work with, the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India is... well, actually, it's a lot like Korea and Abu Dhabi, but with one major difference. Altitude change. There's about 45 feet in height difference from the start/finish line to Turn 3 alone. Sure, it's no Spa-Francopants, but very little is. Last year, the circuit was very dusty, meaning that one got off the racing line at serious risk of flaming death. With luck, that will have been dealt with this time around.
Turns 3 and 15 are blind, with 15 having a drop-off at the end of it. The long run from Turn 3 to 4 goes downhill to around the halfway point, where it then begins to climb up again. The track's big party piece, though, is the Turn 10-11-12 complex. If you remember Turkey's Quad-8, it's kinda like that, except this one is banked, uphill, and faster. It also has two distinct lines through it, or at least it would have if it hadn't've been so dusty last year.
It's a low-end of medium downforce circuit that isn't particularly hard on tires. Some of the curbs ARE hard on suspensions, however, as Felipe Massa learned last year. In fact, the rumblers of Turn 8 have officially been named "Massa's Curbs". We've not gotten a reaction from the Brazilian yet, though one probably can imagine that it's not going to be particularly positive. Brakes aren't abused much here, but the engine does get a lot of full-power running.
At least for this race the Legendary Announce Team will get to do their stuff in the professional manner we've become accustomed to. Unlike SPEED's website, which has apparently decided to make finding out any information about the program times as difficult as possible; take everything below with a grain of salt.
THURSDAY
P1: 1130p - 1am streaming
FRIDAY
P2: 330a - 500a live
SATURDAY
P3: 1230a - 130a streaming
Quals: 330a - 500a not quite live
SUNDAY
2012 Grand Prix of India: 400a - 630a live
Consult your local guide. I don't think I'll be liveblogging P1. See you here on Friday!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
06:12 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 465 words, total size 3 kb.
October 13, 2012
F1 Quals: Korea 2012
It wasn't raining at Yeongam, but it sure looked like it was going to as the clock started on Q1. Wonder of wonders, it stayed dry the entire session, making it two days in a row... something of a record for this track! So how did the weather (or lack thereof) affect the grid order? Let's take a look at the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Korea:
A Red Bull front row lockout of the only circuit they didn't have pole position on last year has got to be pleasing to the team. Sebby Vettel, on the other hand, looked distinctly morose at the fact that he wasn't the one leading the pack. That honor went to Australian Mark Webber, whose RB8 threw a scare into the team when it seemingly developed some engine unhappiness just before Quals began. Obviously it couldn't have been all that serious, but it might be something to look for come race day.
Behind those two teammates come a pair of ex-teammates, Shiv Hamilton and HWMNBN. Of course, the Ferrari driver is leading the championship, and will be desperate to get beyond Vettel, who sits second in the fight. Shiv stands fourth in the race for the driver's championship, just behind Kimi Raikkonen, who's fifth on the grid.
So what this all means is that the top five drivers in the points race are in the top five positions for the race. That seems fitting, doesn't it? What seems horribly wrong is that the sixth place driver, Jenson Button, was eliminated in Q2 by a poorly timed yellow flag. Yes, it happens, and realistically he didn't have much of a shot at the championship, but it's a shame nevertheless.
In other doings on the grid, Charles ToothPic will be starting from somewhere near Seoul's Gangnam district after using his ninth engine of the season. Since there's a limit of eight engines per car per year, he'll suffer a 10-spot grid demotion. Narain Kittylitter had a rather dramatic loss of brakes in Q1 and was unable to set a time; he'll race at the Steward's discretion. Seems like it'll be approved as he set acceptable times in practice, but one never knows. Slappy Schumacher earned a reprimand for impeding another driver during P2. He cut across the nose of Pete Rose's HRT, then brake-checked him for some supposed slight. The reprimand is his second of the year for the same offense... one more, and he earns an instant 10-spot penalty. That'd be quite the way for his his career to end, no?
Finally, terrible news for F1 fans here in the US. After this season is over, SPEED will no longer be carrying the broadcasts for the racing we love so much. The broadcast rights were won by NBC, which doesn't mean that the races will be on the network... more likely, they'll be on NBCSports... which Pond Central does not get. Worse still, it seems likely that the Legendary Announce Team will be no more... dammit. SPEED itself will become FOX's 24-hour sports channel, designed to compete with ESPN. No more twenty hours of coverage for LeMans. No more V8 Supercars. No more motorcycle GP. No more F1.
What will we here at F1U! do? Right now, we're not worrying about it; there's five more races to go in this season. The GP of Korea is Sunday morning; we'll see you there!
A Red Bull front row lockout of the only circuit they didn't have pole position on last year has got to be pleasing to the team. Sebby Vettel, on the other hand, looked distinctly morose at the fact that he wasn't the one leading the pack. That honor went to Australian Mark Webber, whose RB8 threw a scare into the team when it seemingly developed some engine unhappiness just before Quals began. Obviously it couldn't have been all that serious, but it might be something to look for come race day.
Behind those two teammates come a pair of ex-teammates, Shiv Hamilton and HWMNBN. Of course, the Ferrari driver is leading the championship, and will be desperate to get beyond Vettel, who sits second in the fight. Shiv stands fourth in the race for the driver's championship, just behind Kimi Raikkonen, who's fifth on the grid.
So what this all means is that the top five drivers in the points race are in the top five positions for the race. That seems fitting, doesn't it? What seems horribly wrong is that the sixth place driver, Jenson Button, was eliminated in Q2 by a poorly timed yellow flag. Yes, it happens, and realistically he didn't have much of a shot at the championship, but it's a shame nevertheless.
In other doings on the grid, Charles ToothPic will be starting from somewhere near Seoul's Gangnam district after using his ninth engine of the season. Since there's a limit of eight engines per car per year, he'll suffer a 10-spot grid demotion. Narain Kittylitter had a rather dramatic loss of brakes in Q1 and was unable to set a time; he'll race at the Steward's discretion. Seems like it'll be approved as he set acceptable times in practice, but one never knows. Slappy Schumacher earned a reprimand for impeding another driver during P2. He cut across the nose of Pete Rose's HRT, then brake-checked him for some supposed slight. The reprimand is his second of the year for the same offense... one more, and he earns an instant 10-spot penalty. That'd be quite the way for his his career to end, no?
Finally, terrible news for F1 fans here in the US. After this season is over, SPEED will no longer be carrying the broadcasts for the racing we love so much. The broadcast rights were won by NBC, which doesn't mean that the races will be on the network... more likely, they'll be on NBCSports... which Pond Central does not get. Worse still, it seems likely that the Legendary Announce Team will be no more... dammit. SPEED itself will become FOX's 24-hour sports channel, designed to compete with ESPN. No more twenty hours of coverage for LeMans. No more V8 Supercars. No more motorcycle GP. No more F1.
What will we here at F1U! do? Right now, we're not worrying about it; there's five more races to go in this season. The GP of Korea is Sunday morning; we'll see you there!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
01:27 AM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 739 words, total size 18 kb.
October 11, 2012
F1 Korea 2012 Practice 1: Liveblogging!
About a minute late to the party, but I'm here! If you'd like to follow along with me, direct your browser to SPEED Streaming and refresh The Pond from time to time! As in the past liveblogging sessions, the session is 90 minutes in
length. I'll be using the time remaining as the time notation: if you
see (1:02:30), that means 27.5 minutes have gone by in the session.
Read from (1:30:00). Your mileage may vary. Ask your doctor if Wonderduck's Pond is right for you. Burma Shave.
(SESSION START) Problem with having no commentary: you don't know why exactly a Williams was sitting in the pit lane, half-in and half-out of its garage. Weirdness abounds here at Korea... it's not even raining!
(1:26:44) Man, I've got a lousy feed tonight... everythings blocky and ick... and freezing. If things don't clear up soon, I'm going to have eye cancer.
(1:25:20) Lettuce Grosjean is about to get on track... everybody, hide the women and children!
(1:23:11) Well, that's a little better... I shut down the stream window and now it's much prettier.
(1:21:02) Radio call to Seb Vettel: "Check if your steering is symmetrical left-to-right." Wow, now that would be a sucky problem to have at 180mph... unsurprisingly, Seb immediately comes into the pits.
(1:17:45) Silly HWMNBN, that's not how you sit in a chair!
Still probably more comfortable than anything you or I could afford...
(1:14:23) Well, that's something you don't see at every racetrack in the world:
Pity, that.
(1:10:37) Most cars are in the garage right now. We're getting a lot of "B-Roll" footage. What's that, you ask? Why, this:
Smell the excitement! Or is that kimchee?
(1:08:17) As reader "metalshields" points out, it IS like a ghost town as compared to Japan. What I didn't tell you is that picture at (1:10:37) is the entire crowd.
(1:05:21) Jenson Button goes to the top of the timesheets. Don't get excited, he's only the second driver to post a time.
I'm gonna hide the rest of this in the "more" section!
more...
(SESSION START) Problem with having no commentary: you don't know why exactly a Williams was sitting in the pit lane, half-in and half-out of its garage. Weirdness abounds here at Korea... it's not even raining!
(1:26:44) Man, I've got a lousy feed tonight... everythings blocky and ick... and freezing. If things don't clear up soon, I'm going to have eye cancer.
(1:25:20) Lettuce Grosjean is about to get on track... everybody, hide the women and children!
(1:23:11) Well, that's a little better... I shut down the stream window and now it's much prettier.
(1:21:02) Radio call to Seb Vettel: "Check if your steering is symmetrical left-to-right." Wow, now that would be a sucky problem to have at 180mph... unsurprisingly, Seb immediately comes into the pits.
(1:17:45) Silly HWMNBN, that's not how you sit in a chair!
Still probably more comfortable than anything you or I could afford...
(1:14:23) Well, that's something you don't see at every racetrack in the world:
Pity, that.
(1:10:37) Most cars are in the garage right now. We're getting a lot of "B-Roll" footage. What's that, you ask? Why, this:
Smell the excitement! Or is that kimchee?
(1:08:17) As reader "metalshields" points out, it IS like a ghost town as compared to Japan. What I didn't tell you is that picture at (1:10:37) is the entire crowd.
(1:05:21) Jenson Button goes to the top of the timesheets. Don't get excited, he's only the second driver to post a time.
I'm gonna hide the rest of this in the "more" section!
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:03 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1083 words, total size 8 kb.
October 08, 2012
F1 on SPEED!: Korea 2012
Another week, another race! This time, the trade winds blow the Ship of F1 to Korea, land of kimchee, bulgogi, M*A*S*H*, taekwondo, and the Korea International Circuit, home to the 2012 Grand Prix of Korea! Let us take a look at the track map:
So, yeah, there it is. Pretend I have something favorable to say about it, okay? It's a challenge for the teams to get right, how about that? Sound good? The track goes through three long straights before switching to a spilled-spaghetti-style circuit with nary a straight line in sight. There's only two real overtaking locations out there, at Turns 1/2 and Turn 3. After that, you're on your own on any attempt and don't come crying to us when you find yourself sitting on a pile of carbon fiber instead of a car.
There was a lot of screaming about the pit-lane being unsafe at the first race, and they did a little bit of cosmetic work for 2011. However, it still requires a car entering the pits to slow down... on the racing line... in a 150mph corner. But wait, the pit lane gets even better! The exit spits cars out on the outside of Turn 1, right where a skidding car coming down the front straight could run right into it. Of course, it would never happen, right? Oh wait...
The fact is, we don't really know how this track runs yet. In 2010, we had the deluge. In 2011, it was mostly dry, and apparently the weather in Korea this time of year can cough up anything at any time. We shall see... for it's a track built about two inches above the water table, on reclaimed swampland. The moisture from a drizzle will never go away, let alone anything heavier.
Fortunately, the Legendary Announce Team will do their usual sterling job helping us to understand what's going on! Let's take a look at SPEED's schedule for race weekend, shall we?
THURSDAY
P1: 8p - 930p streaming
FRIDAY
P2: 12mid - 140a live
P3: 9p - 10p streaming
SATURDAY
Quals: 12mid - 130a plausibly live.
SUNDAY
2012 Grand Prix of Korea: 1230a - 3a live
F1U! will liveblog P1 for sure, maybe P3, perhaps Quals. The miserable day I had Sunday after staying up late to watch the Japanese GP basically tells me that I'm too old for that sh*t anymore. But be right here! You know you want to!
UPDATE: This just in... playing at the F1 Rocks! festival in Korea will be PSY. Yep, F1 goes Gangnam Style. You know what that means...
...what it means is that Formula One Management has put in a copyright claim and had it taken down. Feh.
So, yeah, there it is. Pretend I have something favorable to say about it, okay? It's a challenge for the teams to get right, how about that? Sound good? The track goes through three long straights before switching to a spilled-spaghetti-style circuit with nary a straight line in sight. There's only two real overtaking locations out there, at Turns 1/2 and Turn 3. After that, you're on your own on any attempt and don't come crying to us when you find yourself sitting on a pile of carbon fiber instead of a car.
There was a lot of screaming about the pit-lane being unsafe at the first race, and they did a little bit of cosmetic work for 2011. However, it still requires a car entering the pits to slow down... on the racing line... in a 150mph corner. But wait, the pit lane gets even better! The exit spits cars out on the outside of Turn 1, right where a skidding car coming down the front straight could run right into it. Of course, it would never happen, right? Oh wait...
The fact is, we don't really know how this track runs yet. In 2010, we had the deluge. In 2011, it was mostly dry, and apparently the weather in Korea this time of year can cough up anything at any time. We shall see... for it's a track built about two inches above the water table, on reclaimed swampland. The moisture from a drizzle will never go away, let alone anything heavier.
Fortunately, the Legendary Announce Team will do their usual sterling job helping us to understand what's going on! Let's take a look at SPEED's schedule for race weekend, shall we?
THURSDAY
P1: 8p - 930p streaming
FRIDAY
P2: 12mid - 140a live
P3: 9p - 10p streaming
SATURDAY
Quals: 12mid - 130a plausibly live.
SUNDAY
2012 Grand Prix of Korea: 1230a - 3a live
F1U! will liveblog P1 for sure, maybe P3, perhaps Quals. The miserable day I had Sunday after staying up late to watch the Japanese GP basically tells me that I'm too old for that sh*t anymore. But be right here! You know you want to!
UPDATE: This just in... playing at the F1 Rocks! festival in Korea will be PSY. Yep, F1 goes Gangnam Style. You know what that means...
...what it means is that Formula One Management has put in a copyright claim and had it taken down. Feh.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
06:09 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 457 words, total size 3 kb.
October 06, 2012
F1 Quals: Japan 2012
An overcast sky hung low over the Suzuka International Racing Circuit as Quals got under way, a shocking contrast to the beautiful sunny day we had for both Friday practice sessions. The good news is that there wasn't even a hint of rain in the sky, so we had an unimpeded run for pole today. Let's take a look at the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Japan:
Oh look, Seb Vettel is on pole in Japan, what a shock. This is the fourth season in a row he's been the top qualifier at Suzuka. Right next to him, we find his teammate Mark Webber, making this the first Red Bull front row lockout of the season. What a difference a year makes; last year at this time there had been seven such performances by Red Bull. Roughly a half-second behind the leader, we find Jenson Button, de facto lead driver for McLaren... except he's got a five-spot grid penalty. As you may remember, Shiv Hamilton wound up out of the race at Singapore with a failed gearbox. It turns out that Button's gearbox had the same problem, it just hadn't yet reared its ugly head. McLaren made the decision to change his gearbox, resulting in the grid penalty. This promotes Gandalf Kobayashi into third place on the grid, the best starting position ever for a Japanese driver in his home race.
Nico Hulkenberg gets the same penalty as Button; Slappy Schumacher has been slapped with a 10-spot penalty for his overrun attack on Jules Vergne at Singapore. For quite some time in Q1, it was looking like Slappy would be starting from somewhere in the vicinity of Hokkaido. It wasn't until he completed his final flying lap in that session a full minute after the session ended that he wasn't 24th.
A late spin in Q3 by Kimi Raikkonen killed off a bunch of drivers' final runs for pole; HWMNBN in particular has stated that he was probably going to get 3rd on the grid before the yellow flags forced him to back off. Speaking of Kimi, after the session he was asked what happened. His response: "I spun." When asked about the impact his spin had on the other drivers, he said "I don't care about the others." Thanks for that, Kimi.
So that's the grid for Japan! The race is at 1230a Sunday, so while I may stay up for it, I don't think I'll be able to do the F1U! until Sunday morning... still and all, we'll see you right here then!
Oh look, Seb Vettel is on pole in Japan, what a shock. This is the fourth season in a row he's been the top qualifier at Suzuka. Right next to him, we find his teammate Mark Webber, making this the first Red Bull front row lockout of the season. What a difference a year makes; last year at this time there had been seven such performances by Red Bull. Roughly a half-second behind the leader, we find Jenson Button, de facto lead driver for McLaren... except he's got a five-spot grid penalty. As you may remember, Shiv Hamilton wound up out of the race at Singapore with a failed gearbox. It turns out that Button's gearbox had the same problem, it just hadn't yet reared its ugly head. McLaren made the decision to change his gearbox, resulting in the grid penalty. This promotes Gandalf Kobayashi into third place on the grid, the best starting position ever for a Japanese driver in his home race.
Nico Hulkenberg gets the same penalty as Button; Slappy Schumacher has been slapped with a 10-spot penalty for his overrun attack on Jules Vergne at Singapore. For quite some time in Q1, it was looking like Slappy would be starting from somewhere in the vicinity of Hokkaido. It wasn't until he completed his final flying lap in that session a full minute after the session ended that he wasn't 24th.
A late spin in Q3 by Kimi Raikkonen killed off a bunch of drivers' final runs for pole; HWMNBN in particular has stated that he was probably going to get 3rd on the grid before the yellow flags forced him to back off. Speaking of Kimi, after the session he was asked what happened. His response: "I spun." When asked about the impact his spin had on the other drivers, he said "I don't care about the others." Thanks for that, Kimi.
So that's the grid for Japan! The race is at 1230a Sunday, so while I may stay up for it, I don't think I'll be able to do the F1U! until Sunday morning... still and all, we'll see you right here then!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
01:28 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 597 words, total size 17 kb.
October 04, 2012
F1 Japan 2012 Practice 1: Liveblogging!
(Pre-Session) And it's another attempt at liveblogging! This time we find ourselves at Suzuka International Circuit for the first free practice session for the 2012 Grand Prix of Japan. It all gets under way at 8pm Central Pond Time, and if you'd like to follow along with me, direct your browser to SPEED Streaming and refresh The Pond from time to time! As in the past liveblogging sessions, the session is 90 minutes in
length. I'll be using the time remaining as the time notation: if you
see (1:02:30), that means 27.5 minutes have gone by in the session.
Read from (1:30:00). Your mileage may vary. Ask your doctor if Wonderduck's Pond is right for you. Burma Shave. And now we wait...
While HWMNBN terrorizes a Japanese family on a train, I suppose I should say something about the announcement that Slappy Schumacher has decided to retire (again) at the end of the season. It's no great surprise, to be honest. His comeback was singularly unsuccessful, to be honest. One podium, no poles, no victories in three years... and his teammate consistently outperformed him. That's not a good thing at all. He's surely helped Mercedes get their team off the ground, but... *shrug* He's still one of the best ever, and he should be remembered that way, but he probably shouldn't have come back. Any bets on him winding up in DTM or LeMans?
(1:30:00) And we're green! First on the circuit is... exactly who you'd think it'd be in Japan, Gandalf Kobayashi! Good news, FujiTV is not providing the world feed this year! This means we won't be watching Gandalf the entire time, even if he's in 18th.
Further updates will be below the More...
more...
While HWMNBN terrorizes a Japanese family on a train, I suppose I should say something about the announcement that Slappy Schumacher has decided to retire (again) at the end of the season. It's no great surprise, to be honest. His comeback was singularly unsuccessful, to be honest. One podium, no poles, no victories in three years... and his teammate consistently outperformed him. That's not a good thing at all. He's surely helped Mercedes get their team off the ground, but... *shrug* He's still one of the best ever, and he should be remembered that way, but he probably shouldn't have come back. Any bets on him winding up in DTM or LeMans?
(1:30:00) And we're green! First on the circuit is... exactly who you'd think it'd be in Japan, Gandalf Kobayashi! Good news, FujiTV is not providing the world feed this year! This means we won't be watching Gandalf the entire time, even if he's in 18th.
Further updates will be below the More...
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
06:12 PM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1396 words, total size 10 kb.
October 02, 2012
Jenson Button: Just Geeky Enough To Like
I stopped rooting for a specific driver when Zsolt Baumgartner's career came to a halt. There was a short resurgence when I realized that Takuma "Suicide" Sato was insane, but it ended when he left Formula 1. Similarly, the part of me that cheered for one team only died when Minardi took its final bow. It twitched a bit when SuperAguri took its place on the grid, then stopped moving for good the day that team shut down (and had pieces of their cars sold to the highest bidders).
I say all of this so you, my readers, do not take this as my designating someone as my favorite driver, but Jenson Button has cemented himself as a-okay in my book. Why, you ask? Well, here's his new twitter profile picture:
For some reason, I just can't see Seb Vettel or HWMNBN doing something like this, can you?
I say all of this so you, my readers, do not take this as my designating someone as my favorite driver, but Jenson Button has cemented himself as a-okay in my book. Why, you ask? Well, here's his new twitter profile picture:
Posted by: Wonderduck at
06:06 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 155 words, total size 1 kb.
September 30, 2012
F1 on SPEED!: Japan 2012
When the F1 Circus rolled into Suzuka International Race Circuit last year, Seb Vettel clinched his second driver's championship. What a difference a year makes, eh? This year, he's 29 points behind HWMNBN and 16 points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen... ain't gonna be no coronation here! While the fanatical Japanese fans miss out, it's great for all of us. I suspect that only Italians at Monza are more crazy about F1 than the Japanese at Suzuka. And why not? It's a fantastic circuit! Let's take a look at the track map:
F1's only figure-eight circuit; fortunately, there's a bridge involved. Really, if I didn't have such love for Silverstone and Spa, Suzuka would probably be my favorite circuit. It's untouched by Tilke's talons, staying more-or-less the same since it opened in 1962. The only changes made were the addition of the Casio Triangle, 130R being modified, and Degner being turned into two separate and distinct turns. Other than that? May as well be Showa 37 all over again!
Really, there's little to dislike about Suzuka. There's no "mickey-mouse" turns here, they all exist for reasons other than to slow the track down. And what turns! The S-Curves are a rhythm section that if you get even the slightest bit wrong, will wreck your lap, yet are relatively quick. The original Degner must have been a monster at speed; instead, 8 and 9 are still crazy tough. Turn 12 is taken at nearly 180mph, leading into the unending, off-camber, narrowing-radius Spoon. 130R is even faster than 12, taken right around 190mph and might be more of a test of a driver's courage than Eau Rouge these days... and only the bravest or most foolhardy attempt to pass here. The Casio Triangle chicane is the most likely passing place, and often enough ends up with carbon fiber shards flying. It's a truly great track. There's even some altitude change with a gentle increase from the S-Curves until 130R, when it drops back down to the Triangle.
One thing we learned last year is that the new surface is tough on tires. The option tires lasted only 8-10 of the 53 lap race. As we're aware, though, Pirelli has toughened the tires up this season, but it's not going to make that much of a difference. I'd expect two or three stops during the race... unless it rains. That's the big elephant in the pit lane, of course... we've had heavy rains here before, sometimes heavy enough to postpone entire sessions. 2010 was the last time we saw the Great Suzuka Boat Races down the pitlane, but it's always possible. Obviously it's still early, but there's a chance of rain on race day.
Fortunately, the good ronin of SPEED's Legendary Announce Team will be bringing us all the coverage. As I'm posting this early, I haven't found the streaming schedule for P1 and P3, but here's what I DO have:
Thursday/Friday
P2: 12midnight - 145a live
Friday/Saturday
Quals: 12midnight - 130a plausibly live
Sunday
1230a - 3a Grand Prix of Japan live
Of course, F1U! will be all over the coverage as well; once we find out when streaming takes place, we'll probably try and liveblog. See ya here!
F1's only figure-eight circuit; fortunately, there's a bridge involved. Really, if I didn't have such love for Silverstone and Spa, Suzuka would probably be my favorite circuit. It's untouched by Tilke's talons, staying more-or-less the same since it opened in 1962. The only changes made were the addition of the Casio Triangle, 130R being modified, and Degner being turned into two separate and distinct turns. Other than that? May as well be Showa 37 all over again!Really, there's little to dislike about Suzuka. There's no "mickey-mouse" turns here, they all exist for reasons other than to slow the track down. And what turns! The S-Curves are a rhythm section that if you get even the slightest bit wrong, will wreck your lap, yet are relatively quick. The original Degner must have been a monster at speed; instead, 8 and 9 are still crazy tough. Turn 12 is taken at nearly 180mph, leading into the unending, off-camber, narrowing-radius Spoon. 130R is even faster than 12, taken right around 190mph and might be more of a test of a driver's courage than Eau Rouge these days... and only the bravest or most foolhardy attempt to pass here. The Casio Triangle chicane is the most likely passing place, and often enough ends up with carbon fiber shards flying. It's a truly great track. There's even some altitude change with a gentle increase from the S-Curves until 130R, when it drops back down to the Triangle.
One thing we learned last year is that the new surface is tough on tires. The option tires lasted only 8-10 of the 53 lap race. As we're aware, though, Pirelli has toughened the tires up this season, but it's not going to make that much of a difference. I'd expect two or three stops during the race... unless it rains. That's the big elephant in the pit lane, of course... we've had heavy rains here before, sometimes heavy enough to postpone entire sessions. 2010 was the last time we saw the Great Suzuka Boat Races down the pitlane, but it's always possible. Obviously it's still early, but there's a chance of rain on race day.
Fortunately, the good ronin of SPEED's Legendary Announce Team will be bringing us all the coverage. As I'm posting this early, I haven't found the streaming schedule for P1 and P3, but here's what I DO have:
Thursday/Friday
P2: 12midnight - 145a live
Friday/Saturday
Quals: 12midnight - 130a plausibly live
Sunday
1230a - 3a Grand Prix of Japan live
Of course, F1U! will be all over the coverage as well; once we find out when streaming takes place, we'll probably try and liveblog. See ya here!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:39 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 541 words, total size 4 kb.
September 28, 2012
Silly Season Starts Slammingly (...and other news)
Even before the F1 summer break had begun, rumors began to percolate that Lewis Hamilton, 2008 world champion, was beginning to "consider his options," as his contract with McLaren expires at the end of the 2012 season. To be honest, I gave them no credit... why would he even consider leaving the team that almost literally raised him? Everybody knows the true story of how a 10-year old Hamilton walked up to McLaren team principal Ron Dennis and declared "I want to race for you one day...". Three years later, The Team From Woking signed him to their Young Drivers program. He's been with McLaren ever since, has won 20 Grands Prix, finished one point behind in the championship in his rookie year of 2007, and as previously mentioned won the 2008 championship.
But the rumors persisted. He was tabbed to be driving for Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Lotus, even Force India's name popped up once or twice in the grapevine. The only major team he was never attached to was Red Bull; their lineup was set for 2013 a while ago. Those of us noticing these things realized that HWMNBN was being nice about having Hamilton as a teammate, and taking digs at McLaren in the process: "I improved when I left McLaren, no reason he wouldn't if he drove for Ferrari." Nobody believed Force India would legitimately be in play, and Lotus seemed disinterested, probably for financial reasons. Those of us who remember 2007 saw no way that Hamilton would seriously consider having HWMNBN as a teammate again, no matter how much the Spaniard tried to sweet-talk him... one must remember that Satan is a great deceiver. Which left McLaren and Mercedes as the only real contenders.
And that's where the real problems began to arise, because Mercedes had a tie to the Brit as well; McLaren has had Mercedes engines his entire career, and his Young Driver's program contract was not with McLaren, but with both McLaren AND Mercedes. Furthermore, with Slappy Schumacher's unretirement looking more and more like a mistake, the German team has been looking for someone to perhaps replace the 7-time world champ, and were willing to throw a LOT of money at the right person... and there was only one driver of such high cachet available. Even with that, nobody really believed that Hamilton would leave McLaren. In the past, he's proven himself to be much more interested in winning than in money. To be sure, he's certainly not allergic to earning a dollar, but one got the distinct feeling that he'd drive for free if it got him into a car that'd give him a serious chance to win.
Nobody seriously thinks that Mercedes is at the same level as McLaren... but in recent times, The Team From Woking has shot itself in the foot during races, hurting his chances to win... bad pit stops, reliability problems, terrible strategy decisions, all of these have cropped up of late. At the most recent race in Singapore, another technical fault cost Hamilton an almost-guaranteed win. However, it hasn't been all one-way; Hamilton had had fairly public temper tantrums, culminating with him tweeting out telemetry data showing the performance difference between his car and Jenson Button's at Spa. Which brought us to this week, when things really began to heat up. Last night, reports began to come in that he'd be announcing a move to Mercedes today. I chose not to post about it until it became official, because it's F1... stuff like that can change on whim. Well, today it occurred: Lewis Hamilton has signed a three-year contract said to be worth up to $100million with Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.
To say this has shaken loose the 2013 driver seat scramble would be something of an understatement. Slappy Schumacher is now without a drive, and his F1 career may very well be over. McLaren on Monday said that they "had no Plan B" if Hamilton left because they couldn't believe he'd leave. Well, it appears they developed a Plan B awfully fast, because today the team announced that current Sauber driver Sergio Perez will replace Hamilton in 2013. To say that choice is a surprise is something of an understatement. Not that he's a bad driver, far from it.
But "Checo" is a Mexican driver, sponsored by Telmex and had a contract with the Ferrari Driver Academy, their "young driver program." Of course, Ferrari and McLaren have an institutional hatred of each other, and Vodafone, McLaren's primary sponsor, competes directly with Telmex. It was definitely unlikely that he'd contract to McLaren, but there you are. With three podium finishes for midpacker Sauber this season in only his second year of F1, he's probably the best available option out there. The Swiss-based team has yet to announce his replacement for the 2013 year. The next name to pay attention to is Felipe Massa... the odds of him being let go from Ferrari might be 50-50 and pick 'em, but for one thing. Seb Vettel is rumored to have an out-clause in his contract with Red Bull that would allow him to leave in 2014... for Ferrari. HWMNBN is going nowhere, so it seems unlikely that the team from Maranello would sign anybody for only one season; look for Massa to be back in 2013, then out in 2014. Which is a shame; he'd be a nice fit back with Sauber where he started his career. Romantically, there's also a thought that Slappy Schumacher would sign a one-year deal with Ferrari, then retire again. While an intriguing idea, I don't think it's going to happen... putting that much evil all in one place seems impossible.
In other news, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas announced on September 21st that they had completed laying the asphalt for the circuit, and for all intents and purposes were ready for November's race. It took just over four months to pave the 3.4 mile circuit to FIA standards, with three layers having been put down. More importantly, a couple of days ago FIA Technical Supremo Charlie Whiting inspected the track and approved it for Grade 1 racing, the highest level possible. Certainly there's still stuff to do; landscaping, race curbing, striping and the like, but there won't be any last minute panic the way there was at Korea or India.
Finally, good news from the 2013 tech regulations. The frighteningly ugly stepped noses of this year's cars (which, I'll admit, have kinda grown on me) will be going away next year. Or, more correctly, they'll no longer be visible, which isn't quite the same thing. See, the stepped nose is still required to be present... it's a safety device, after all... but it'll be allowed to be masked by an aero-neutral cover. I guess Luca di Montezemelo's whining at the start of the season over how ugly the cars were actually accomplished something for once.
But the rumors persisted. He was tabbed to be driving for Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Lotus, even Force India's name popped up once or twice in the grapevine. The only major team he was never attached to was Red Bull; their lineup was set for 2013 a while ago. Those of us noticing these things realized that HWMNBN was being nice about having Hamilton as a teammate, and taking digs at McLaren in the process: "I improved when I left McLaren, no reason he wouldn't if he drove for Ferrari." Nobody believed Force India would legitimately be in play, and Lotus seemed disinterested, probably for financial reasons. Those of us who remember 2007 saw no way that Hamilton would seriously consider having HWMNBN as a teammate again, no matter how much the Spaniard tried to sweet-talk him... one must remember that Satan is a great deceiver. Which left McLaren and Mercedes as the only real contenders.
And that's where the real problems began to arise, because Mercedes had a tie to the Brit as well; McLaren has had Mercedes engines his entire career, and his Young Driver's program contract was not with McLaren, but with both McLaren AND Mercedes. Furthermore, with Slappy Schumacher's unretirement looking more and more like a mistake, the German team has been looking for someone to perhaps replace the 7-time world champ, and were willing to throw a LOT of money at the right person... and there was only one driver of such high cachet available. Even with that, nobody really believed that Hamilton would leave McLaren. In the past, he's proven himself to be much more interested in winning than in money. To be sure, he's certainly not allergic to earning a dollar, but one got the distinct feeling that he'd drive for free if it got him into a car that'd give him a serious chance to win.
Nobody seriously thinks that Mercedes is at the same level as McLaren... but in recent times, The Team From Woking has shot itself in the foot during races, hurting his chances to win... bad pit stops, reliability problems, terrible strategy decisions, all of these have cropped up of late. At the most recent race in Singapore, another technical fault cost Hamilton an almost-guaranteed win. However, it hasn't been all one-way; Hamilton had had fairly public temper tantrums, culminating with him tweeting out telemetry data showing the performance difference between his car and Jenson Button's at Spa. Which brought us to this week, when things really began to heat up. Last night, reports began to come in that he'd be announcing a move to Mercedes today. I chose not to post about it until it became official, because it's F1... stuff like that can change on whim. Well, today it occurred: Lewis Hamilton has signed a three-year contract said to be worth up to $100million with Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.
To say this has shaken loose the 2013 driver seat scramble would be something of an understatement. Slappy Schumacher is now without a drive, and his F1 career may very well be over. McLaren on Monday said that they "had no Plan B" if Hamilton left because they couldn't believe he'd leave. Well, it appears they developed a Plan B awfully fast, because today the team announced that current Sauber driver Sergio Perez will replace Hamilton in 2013. To say that choice is a surprise is something of an understatement. Not that he's a bad driver, far from it.
But "Checo" is a Mexican driver, sponsored by Telmex and had a contract with the Ferrari Driver Academy, their "young driver program." Of course, Ferrari and McLaren have an institutional hatred of each other, and Vodafone, McLaren's primary sponsor, competes directly with Telmex. It was definitely unlikely that he'd contract to McLaren, but there you are. With three podium finishes for midpacker Sauber this season in only his second year of F1, he's probably the best available option out there. The Swiss-based team has yet to announce his replacement for the 2013 year. The next name to pay attention to is Felipe Massa... the odds of him being let go from Ferrari might be 50-50 and pick 'em, but for one thing. Seb Vettel is rumored to have an out-clause in his contract with Red Bull that would allow him to leave in 2014... for Ferrari. HWMNBN is going nowhere, so it seems unlikely that the team from Maranello would sign anybody for only one season; look for Massa to be back in 2013, then out in 2014. Which is a shame; he'd be a nice fit back with Sauber where he started his career. Romantically, there's also a thought that Slappy Schumacher would sign a one-year deal with Ferrari, then retire again. While an intriguing idea, I don't think it's going to happen... putting that much evil all in one place seems impossible.
In other news, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas announced on September 21st that they had completed laying the asphalt for the circuit, and for all intents and purposes were ready for November's race. It took just over four months to pave the 3.4 mile circuit to FIA standards, with three layers having been put down. More importantly, a couple of days ago FIA Technical Supremo Charlie Whiting inspected the track and approved it for Grade 1 racing, the highest level possible. Certainly there's still stuff to do; landscaping, race curbing, striping and the like, but there won't be any last minute panic the way there was at Korea or India.
Finally, good news from the 2013 tech regulations. The frighteningly ugly stepped noses of this year's cars (which, I'll admit, have kinda grown on me) will be going away next year. Or, more correctly, they'll no longer be visible, which isn't quite the same thing. See, the stepped nose is still required to be present... it's a safety device, after all... but it'll be allowed to be masked by an aero-neutral cover. I guess Luca di Montezemelo's whining at the start of the season over how ugly the cars were actually accomplished something for once.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:37 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1164 words, total size 8 kb.
September 22, 2012
F1 Quals: Singapore 2012
Seb Vettel and Red Bull made it three-for-three in the Practice sessions; nobody could even touch the world champ. So Quals are a foregone conclusion, right? Let's take a look at the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Singapore:
Okay, if you didn't see that one coming, you either haven't been reading this blog for long, or you know me too well. It's McLaren's fourth pole in a row, with Hamilton earning three of them. After P2, he said he felt he had another half-second to pull out of the car, and it seems that he managed that. I'm trying to figure out if it's a surprise that Maldonado took second place; he's very quick, but he's also very uncontrolled. I'm stunned that Paul di Resta managed to do so well on this track... where Singapore seems to cater to the Red Bull strengths, it also seems to hit all the Force India weaknesses. Or so I would have thought. Everybody has an eye cocked on 8th on the grid, though... Lettuce Grosjean is back from his one-race ban. He's saying that getting Monza off has taught him a lesson, and he'll be a better driver for it, but oy. Could he have been dropped in a more dangerous spot? And by dangerous, I mean "for everybody around him."
Everybody else is basically where we've come to expect them, though Kimi in 12th is a little low. For the most part, it's shaping up to be a normal lineup. With the narrow track bordered by concrete walls and essentially zero runoff area, there's been at least one safety car every year here in Singapore, so it might come down to the driver that benefits the most from this year's... and who brings it out. We shall see tomorrow, and F1Update! will be all over it! See ya then.
Okay, if you didn't see that one coming, you either haven't been reading this blog for long, or you know me too well. It's McLaren's fourth pole in a row, with Hamilton earning three of them. After P2, he said he felt he had another half-second to pull out of the car, and it seems that he managed that. I'm trying to figure out if it's a surprise that Maldonado took second place; he's very quick, but he's also very uncontrolled. I'm stunned that Paul di Resta managed to do so well on this track... where Singapore seems to cater to the Red Bull strengths, it also seems to hit all the Force India weaknesses. Or so I would have thought. Everybody has an eye cocked on 8th on the grid, though... Lettuce Grosjean is back from his one-race ban. He's saying that getting Monza off has taught him a lesson, and he'll be a better driver for it, but oy. Could he have been dropped in a more dangerous spot? And by dangerous, I mean "for everybody around him."
Everybody else is basically where we've come to expect them, though Kimi in 12th is a little low. For the most part, it's shaping up to be a normal lineup. With the narrow track bordered by concrete walls and essentially zero runoff area, there's been at least one safety car every year here in Singapore, so it might come down to the driver that benefits the most from this year's... and who brings it out. We shall see tomorrow, and F1Update! will be all over it! See ya then.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:02 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 481 words, total size 17 kb.
September 21, 2012
F1 Practice: Singapore 2012
Y'know, I watched the live coverage of P2 around 10a, then went out to run errands, get some groceries, have lunch, then came home... and kinda forgot to do the writeup, took a nap, and here I am at 8pm. Oh yeah, writeup! Well here it is! Better late than never, amirite? To be honest, there's not a whole heckuvalot to write about, but let's get right to it!
Red Bull's Sebby Vettel led both P1 and P2, which A) shouldn't be a surprise because this is pretty much the perfect sort of track for the RB8; and 2) probably doesn't matter a whit. It wasn't like the performance gap was huge; though it was .311 in P2 over Jenson Button, that was on one "qualifying style" lap. When you look at the full-fuel-load laps, there's nothing between the Red Bulls, McLarens and Ferraris. However, Vettel does have one advantage for this race that nobody else has:
A LIGHT-UP HELMET!
...
That's right. Sebby has a blinky-LED helmet. I so badly want it to be hooked up to the KERS system, so that it only lights up when he presses the go-fast button. Actually, it seems like they've kinda gone insane over at Red Bull. After all, there's also this:
It goes without saying that Red Bull's pit stop times have gone up.
Really, the biggest news today is that 2013's provisional calendar has been released... and at least for 2013, Valencia is gone. It's apparently going to be alternating with Barcalounger as the location of the GP of Spain, so we'll see it in two years... and with its disappearance, the "Grand Prix of Europe" designation goes away as well.
In its place? TWO Grands Prix here in the USA. The Grand Prix of America, aka Grand Prix of Weehawken and I don't care what it's officially called, will be June 16th... the weekend after Canada. Meanwhile, the second running of the United States Grand Prix will be November 17th, the penultimate race of the year. Expect ridiculously heavy coverage of both here at The Pond.
Right, Quals in the morning and we'll see you then!
Red Bull's Sebby Vettel led both P1 and P2, which A) shouldn't be a surprise because this is pretty much the perfect sort of track for the RB8; and 2) probably doesn't matter a whit. It wasn't like the performance gap was huge; though it was .311 in P2 over Jenson Button, that was on one "qualifying style" lap. When you look at the full-fuel-load laps, there's nothing between the Red Bulls, McLarens and Ferraris. However, Vettel does have one advantage for this race that nobody else has:
...
That's right. Sebby has a blinky-LED helmet. I so badly want it to be hooked up to the KERS system, so that it only lights up when he presses the go-fast button. Actually, it seems like they've kinda gone insane over at Red Bull. After all, there's also this:
It goes without saying that Red Bull's pit stop times have gone up.
Really, the biggest news today is that 2013's provisional calendar has been released... and at least for 2013, Valencia is gone. It's apparently going to be alternating with Barcalounger as the location of the GP of Spain, so we'll see it in two years... and with its disappearance, the "Grand Prix of Europe" designation goes away as well.
In its place? TWO Grands Prix here in the USA. The Grand Prix of America, aka Grand Prix of Weehawken and I don't care what it's officially called, will be June 16th... the weekend after Canada. Meanwhile, the second running of the United States Grand Prix will be November 17th, the penultimate race of the year. Expect ridiculously heavy coverage of both here at The Pond.
Right, Quals in the morning and we'll see you then!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:37 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 361 words, total size 2 kb.
September 17, 2012
F1 on SPEED!: Singapore 2012
There are other street circuits on the F1 calendar, but there is only one night race. This week, the F1 Circus makes its way to the island city-state of Singapore!
There is no other race where the cars look as good as Singapore, glittering like jewels under the 1600 lighting units. There's also no circuit that's as flat-out physical as this one, what with the incessant heat and humidity that comes from being located 85 miles north of the equator. Let's take a look at the track map:
The biggest complaint the drivers have with the Marina Bay Circuit is that it's very bumpy, and no less a name than Lewis Hamilton has said that Turn 10 ("The Singapore Sling") is the worst turn in F1. The curbs there are quite high and can get you airborne and into the barriers in a flash, and the entry to the turn has been narrowed as well, making it even more difficult to get through.
As a whole, this is the second-slowest track on the calendar, just behind Monaco. Coming after two very fast, very low-downforce races, the teams now have to change to a high-downforce setup. Because of the necessity of riding the curbs (except for Turn 10!), the car suspension is usually set softer than average, to keep the car on the ground as much as possible. The brakes get a heavy workout here, not so much because there's a heavy braking zone (there isn't) as because of the constant stop-and-go nature of the layout. The brakes never get much of a chance to cool off as a result, requiring heavier use of the brakes, meaning they get hotter still... and so on. Finally, in the past tire wear has been rather elevated around here. With Pirelli reformulating their rubber to last longer, we really don't know what's going to happen, but it's a fair guess that it'll still be rough on the tires.
One thing to keep in mind is that, since the race is being run under the lights, it's a whole different look through the helmet for the drivers. There is no single light source (i.e. The Sun), and the lights themselves are a different color temperature as well. As a result, you need different shading through the visor. Ferrari's HWMNBN has a new helmet for the race, as found via his twitter feed:
He really needs to stop being such a goofball, otherwise he's in danger of losing his nickname.
Fortunately for all of us, the Legendary Announce Team is 100% professional 100% of the time, and they'll be providing their special brand of coverage on SPEED! this weekend. Here's the schedule:
Friday
P1: 430a - 6a streaming
P2: 830a - 1010a live
Saturday
P3: 5a - 6a streaming
Quals: 8a - 930a live-ish
Sunday
630a - 9a: 2012 Grand Prix of Singapore, live.
There's rain scheduled all weekend, which shouldn't be a surprise, because it's always scheduled to rain in Singapore. The question is "will it rain during the race?" My memory may fail me, but I can't remember a wet race the previous four seasons (searching, searching, searching... nope, never!), despite forecasted rain all four years. We'll see, but I'd love to see a wet night race.
See you Friday!
There is no other race where the cars look as good as Singapore, glittering like jewels under the 1600 lighting units. There's also no circuit that's as flat-out physical as this one, what with the incessant heat and humidity that comes from being located 85 miles north of the equator. Let's take a look at the track map:
The biggest complaint the drivers have with the Marina Bay Circuit is that it's very bumpy, and no less a name than Lewis Hamilton has said that Turn 10 ("The Singapore Sling") is the worst turn in F1. The curbs there are quite high and can get you airborne and into the barriers in a flash, and the entry to the turn has been narrowed as well, making it even more difficult to get through.
As a whole, this is the second-slowest track on the calendar, just behind Monaco. Coming after two very fast, very low-downforce races, the teams now have to change to a high-downforce setup. Because of the necessity of riding the curbs (except for Turn 10!), the car suspension is usually set softer than average, to keep the car on the ground as much as possible. The brakes get a heavy workout here, not so much because there's a heavy braking zone (there isn't) as because of the constant stop-and-go nature of the layout. The brakes never get much of a chance to cool off as a result, requiring heavier use of the brakes, meaning they get hotter still... and so on. Finally, in the past tire wear has been rather elevated around here. With Pirelli reformulating their rubber to last longer, we really don't know what's going to happen, but it's a fair guess that it'll still be rough on the tires.
One thing to keep in mind is that, since the race is being run under the lights, it's a whole different look through the helmet for the drivers. There is no single light source (i.e. The Sun), and the lights themselves are a different color temperature as well. As a result, you need different shading through the visor. Ferrari's HWMNBN has a new helmet for the race, as found via his twitter feed:
He really needs to stop being such a goofball, otherwise he's in danger of losing his nickname.
Fortunately for all of us, the Legendary Announce Team is 100% professional 100% of the time, and they'll be providing their special brand of coverage on SPEED! this weekend. Here's the schedule:
Friday
P1: 430a - 6a streaming
P2: 830a - 1010a live
Saturday
P3: 5a - 6a streaming
Quals: 8a - 930a live-ish
Sunday
630a - 9a: 2012 Grand Prix of Singapore, live.
There's rain scheduled all weekend, which shouldn't be a surprise, because it's always scheduled to rain in Singapore. The question is "will it rain during the race?" My memory may fail me, but I can't remember a wet race the previous four seasons (searching, searching, searching... nope, never!), despite forecasted rain all four years. We'll see, but I'd love to see a wet night race.
See you Friday!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
06:21 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 551 words, total size 4 kb.
197kb generated in CPU 0.0398, elapsed 0.3339 seconds.
62 queries taking 0.308 seconds, 322 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
62 queries taking 0.308 seconds, 322 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
