F1 2019 (Not the game) Spoiler-All

Since I am the dictator of this thread. AHEM!

Look man, you picked the most correct header image, you get the credit.
What did everyone think of China? I admit to dozing a lot, but the beginning sure was exciting.

I was hoping this was going to be a race that reels in Nico. My wish was almost fulfilled until Ricciardo blew a tire. Dumb carbon fiber scrap. He was really fortunate that happened so close to pit lane.

drdoak wrote:

Look man, you picked the most correct header image, you get the credit.
What did everyone think of China? I admit to dozing a lot, but the beginning sure was exciting.

It ain't easy being a Raikkonen fan—well that's what I thought at first, but fifth was a relief. Yeah I nodded off a couple times in the second half as it was past midnight by then, but having three different teams on the podium, and all of them in the top 7 with a Williams, is a proper end result. Incredible to think that this was only the sixth grand prix in F1 history to have no retirements. That's one race every decade!

Vettel's non-stop whining was delicious. Good on Kvyat, that was proper racing.

Yeah the race started at 2 for us. I really should just watch it the next day when that happens.

Gravey wrote:

Vettel's non-stop whining was delicious. Good on Kvyat, that was proper racing.

When I first saw it I thought Kvyat was crazy. After reviewing it, both had plenty of room and I think he did well.

I made a gif.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/h5Vmthq.gif)

(Watch World Rallycross! Season just started!)

Gravey wrote:

I made a gif.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/h5Vmthq.gif)

(Watch World Rallycross! Season just started!)

Never. Not. Yoker.(Joker)

drdoak wrote:

Yeah the race started at 2 for us. I really should just watch it the next day when that happens.

Gravey wrote:

Vettel's non-stop whining was delicious. Good on Kvyat, that was proper racing.

When I first saw it I thought Kvyat was crazy. After reviewing it, both had plenty of room and I think he did well.

PS Vue made it really was to watch. Started watching it at 8am EST.

I think the reason Vettel was mad is because he was kind of forced to take out his teammate to avoid being taken out himself. I dunno.

The way Wehrlein spun was insane. The thing was just suddenly sideways. I don't think there was anything he could have done.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

I think the reason Vettel was mad is because he was kind of forced to take out his teammate to avoid being taken out himself. I dunno.

It's probably because the president of Ferrari was attending that race, and Vettel messed up right in front of him. Vettel was getting wedged but he could have backed out. Hence getting on the radio immediately to blame Kvyat, and harping on it all the way to the podium. I feel like this headline sums it up best: 'I'm shouting at you to deflect attention from me! OK?!'

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was quickly on the team radio, blaming Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat for coming up the inside like a "madman" and, allegedly, forcing him into Kimi Raikkonen. After the race he was back on the wireless, describing the Russian's move as "suicidal".

Was he overcompensating because he felt a bit embarrassed?

You see, crashing into your team-mate is the biggest no-no in Formula 1 and whenever it happens, repercussions and recriminations inevitably follow.

For the whole rest of the race, Mrs. Gravey and I were calling every driver "madman!" in our best Vettel accents.

Vettel has a long history of having an intriguing view of who is right and wrong, his run-ins with Webber, his previous team mate (now retired), were always guaranteed to be .... umm .... entertaining for the press.

Vettel is one of my favorite drivers but he definitely has some odd moments with the way he thinks. I like him considerably less than I did a few years ago but he's still one of my favorite drivers. To Vettel's credit he did concede that Kvyat made a good move. It was definitely a move that any driver would have taken given the same opportunity. I think Vettel is one of the more upstanding drivers when it comes to admitting fault in racing incidents even though with Webber he did some pretty messed up stuff.

I can't think of any instances where a driver has not immediately jumped on the radio to yell, "He hit me!"

I don't want to see Rosberg dominate the season the same way Hamilton has the last few years, but I am rooting for Rosberg over Hamilton for the championship. Even though I doubt any team will be able to take many victories away from Mercedes it would be great to see podiums with three different teams for most of the season.

Who thinks Kyvat did that on purpose?

I do.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

Who thinks Kyvat did that on purpose?

I do.

MADMAN.

If he did, taking out Ricciardo was a pretty big backfire. Over/under on Verstappen driving for Red Bull next season?

Fantastic result for McLaren, especially Alonso. Points, actual points! Now I'd just like to see both Ferraris take the fight to Mercedes again (in the same race).

Gravey wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

Who thinks Kyvat did that on purpose?

I do.

MADMAN.

If he did, taking out Ricciardo was a pretty big backfire. Over/under on Verstappen driving for Red Bull next season?

Fantastic result for McLaren, especially Alonso. Points, actual points! Now I'd just like to see both Ferraris take the fight to Mercedes again (in the same race).

It is getting really annoying to not see any battle for first. I started getting excited when Hamilton cut down Nico's lead to around 7 seconds. Too bad he began to have engine trouble. I can see how the F1 vets are happy to see anyone but Hamilton win, but I want to see anyone but Nico win. What I really want as a battle for first. Nico has led like 190 laps of 220? That's just not fun to watch.

I liked seeing Haas get into the points again after a disappointing China. The race between Grosjean and Perez at the end had me on the edge of my seat. I was glad to see Grosjean hold onto 8th.

Also, shout out to Kevin Magnussen. 7th! Really good race for him. Loved seeing the 8th-11th fight.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

It is getting really annoying to not see any battle for first. I started getting excited when Hamilton cut down Nico's lead to around 7 seconds. Too bad he began to have engine trouble. I can see how the F1 vets are happy to see anyone but Hamilton win, but I want to see anyone but Nico win. What I really want as a battle for first. Nico has led like 190 laps of 220? That's just not fun to watch.

I liked seeing Haas get into the points again after a disappointing China. The race between Grosjean and Perez at the end had me on the edge of my seat. I was glad to see Grosjean hold onto 8th.

Formula 1 unfortunately hasn't had a close championship in 5 years I think. Before Mercedes and Hamilton became unbeatable it was Red Bull and Vettel. The last driver to be so dominant before that was Michael Shumacher. This season I assume Mercedes will win all but a few races and be just as dominant as they've been since they started winning. The teams that takes 2nd place through 4th place is probably what will interest me most.

I also look forward to what Haas is doing not really because they are an United States based team but because they could change how the lower level teams build their cars.

The dominance of Rosberg so far has surprised me greatly. Rosberg may have gotten into a groove that actually makes him a true threat to Hamilton this season. Last year it seemed that any issue Mercedes had always affected Rosberg. Currently I think that most of the reason Hamilton is so far down is due to poor starts and mistakes made specifically by Hamilton.

Gimpy_Butzke wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

It is getting really annoying to not see any battle for first. I started getting excited when Hamilton cut down Nico's lead to around 7 seconds. Too bad he began to have engine trouble. I can see how the F1 vets are happy to see anyone but Hamilton win, but I want to see anyone but Nico win. What I really want as a battle for first. Nico has led like 190 laps of 220? That's just not fun to watch.

I liked seeing Haas get into the points again after a disappointing China. The race between Grosjean and Perez at the end had me on the edge of my seat. I was glad to see Grosjean hold onto 8th.

Formula 1 unfortunately hasn't had a close championship in 5 years I think. Before Mercedes and Hamilton became unbeatable it was Red Bull and Vettel. The last driver to be so dominant before that was Michael Shumacher. This season I assume Mercedes will win all but a few races and be just as dominant as they've been since they started winning. The teams that takes 2nd place through 4th place is probably what will interest me most.

If Hamilton and Nico were fighting for first I would be happier. Not ever watching the front of the pack is no fun.

It does suck that only one driver is winning right now and I can't see Rosberg's winning streak going on for much longer. The car is capable of winning every race but I don't think Rosberg is a better driver than Hamilton. History has shown Hamilton to be more capable when passing and forcing his way through opponents. I do hope that Rosberg's win streak is a new standard of performance for him because it will mean that Hamilton is not the clear #1 for Mercedes anymore.

Even without the mechanical issues Hamilton has had the fact remains he has also had some mistakes in qualifying, poor starts, and lap one collisions. Last year Hamilton's car had only a few minor issues that hindered him while Rosberg suffered the majority of the mechanical issues Mercedes encountered. This year has not started well for Hamilton but I doubt that he will continue to have poor starts and components break on his car. Also, despite such a large lead in the championship we are only 4 races in and a lot can happen with the remaining 17 races.

With that said I don't think there's going to be really good fights for first even if both of the Mercedes are in top shape. There have been some very famous incidents where teammates fight for every bit of track but normally when one driver is dominant in a team they tend to win by pretty large margins on track. Whether it's Rosberg or Hamilton in the lead I think it will be rare for them to pass each other on track.

So Kvyat has been torpedoed and Verstappen is in. What a weird season we're having.

drdoak wrote:

So Kvyat has been torpedoed and Verstappen is in. What a weird season we're having.

I think Vettel would like your choice of words. I was wondering why there are 4 Red Bull cars but they are not the same team.

And I know it's a bummer, but if you can watch the mid-pack races, they really have been super exciting in the last few years as Mercedes have dominated. Seeing big stars fall or hugely impressive performances from who you thought were middling drivers is really what drives F1 for me.
Sorry if this is your first season.
My advice? Always watch Button.
IMAGE(http://media.tumblr.com/6b54cb0d597327feee2832154f3c4fd0/tumblr_inline_mr4broiSsS1qz4rgp.gif)

drdoak wrote:

Seeing big stars fall or hugely impressive performances from who you thought were middling drivers is really what drives F1 for me.

As this is my first F1 season, this falls perfectly into how I've been watching these races. I've always kind of known that F1 pretty much gets dominated by one or two drivers every year, so I already approached the season thinking that there won't be much going on in the front of the pack--it'll basically be Nico or Lewis. What has been interesting for me is watching the other stories (Verstappen trying to pass Sainz, Grosjean getting points, etc) happening during a race.

I know it's probably weird to watch a race and not care about who actually wins, but I've been enjoying this so far.

It isn't weird to me CptDomano. I root for drivers regardless of what team they race for. I do root for Nico because I've liked him since he entered F1 but he is nowhere near my favorite driver. Most of the drivers I like finish between 3rd-6th in most races. I'm also really hopeful that Alonso and Button get better throughout the season.

I also really want McLaren as a team to continue to progress. They are big part of the history of Formula 1 and it sucks that they aren't competing for wins.

I know it may read that I am down on watching F1 because of Mercedes domination, but I am really enjoying them. I look forward to every race weekend and it's the first thing I do is wake up and put on quali on Saturday and the race on Sunday. It's one of the highlights of my week. Getting into Formula E a bit has helped tide me over on the off weeks.

Everyone is down on F1 all the time, and yet everyone keeps watching it and probably enjoying it.

Where are you watching Formula E? My illegitimate YouTube sources dried up over the off-season, and there's no English-language TV broadcast in Canada.

Gravey wrote:

Everyone is down on F1 all the time, and yet everyone keeps watching it and probably enjoying it.

Where are you watching Formula E? My illegitimate YouTube sources dried up over the off-season, and there's no English-language TV broadcast in Canada.

They put up a 50 min highlight show a few days after the race on their official YT channel. Then a week or two later they put up 9 hours of practice, quali, and race.

It is also aired on Fox Sports 1. I use PS Vue to watch it there.

EverythingsTentative wrote:
Gravey wrote:

Everyone is down on F1 all the time, and yet everyone keeps watching it and probably enjoying it.

Where are you watching Formula E? My illegitimate YouTube sources dried up over the off-season, and there's no English-language TV broadcast in Canada.

They put up a 50 min highlight show a few days after the race on their official YT channel. Then a week or two later they put up 9 hours of practice, quali, and race.

How the heck did I not notice that? Okay, I've got some catching up to do, thank you!

Out of curiosity, what other motorsports do the rest of you watch? My first love is rally, so I watch WRC on WRC+ (paid sub) and (everything else is YouTube links) CRC on TV. I also watch the World Rallycross Championship and World Endurance Championship (just the 1-hour highlights), and this year I started watching the Blancpain GT Series (endurance races on NISMO.TV), and got back into the Pirelli World Challenge after a couple seasons away (touring cars, go Honda Fit!).

All praise to YouTube. Also a handy coincidence that the Canucks started tanking after their 2011 playoffs loss, just as some of these series started up (FE, WEC, WRX), freeing up my time to watch less hockey and more racing.

BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) is something else I follow; for those of you who watched Top Gear, it's the niche they'd borrow drivers from for some of their insane taxi/bus/airport transport races. Also drift in and out off rally events when they're on, but don't actively follow it.

So how about that race.

I came here earlier to post about it but didn't know where to start. I saw history get made.