Formula One 2010

[krunchie]

LOL nascar is the most boring of ALL motorsport!

I was speaking to a canadian mate today who made an interesting point after spending the weekend at clipsal

he said that he rathers nascar, not that there was anything wrong with clipsal or the like racing wise but that as a spectator at the event you can see the whole race from any seat in the house, meaning you get to see all the crashes the finish/start etc, instead of just one small section of track

I just thought it was an interesting point.

[AJG]

@Robstar: they can still come in for new tires (although with a time penalty), its seems the rules regarding engine usage had more of an impact that you are referring to? Most of the pit to driver communications I heard near the end, while yes mentioning tyres, was mostly about 'Stay out of that 1 second turbulent zone' to stop the cars getting too hot and wearing the engine (and yes, tyres)... I get they are trying to keep down the cost of running a F1 team, but when they pay the drivers so much, does a few extra engines per season really make THAT much of a difference?

@Krunchie: That is an intersting point, but being able to see ALL of a boring race doesnt make it any less boring imho, as (I think benny the cunt) said: Round and Round and Round and Round... ad nauseum! Think the main appeal in NASCAR is the crashes... I mean, I am not exactly unintelligent, and have tried to understand it, and figure what kind of tactics might be employed in those races, but i just cant seem to come up with any... 'Just drive the 500 laps as fast as you can son!" seems to sum it up for me... F1 entirely diff story altogether...

[JMACK007]

Ummm...I don't think you realise they are limited to 8 engines for the entire season??.....!

[AJG]

Yes, I do, thats my point, its about saving the engines not the tires so much...
And I thought it was 9??
Sorry, how was that not clear from my post?

@Robstar: they can still come in for new tires (although with a time penalty), its seems the rules regarding engine usage had more of an impact that you are referring to? Most of the pit to driver communications I heard near the end, while yes mentioning tyres, was mostly about 'Stay out of that 1 second turbulent zone' to stop the cars getting too hot and wearing the engine (and yes, tyres)... I

[gundog]

I can see your point but to the un-informed it may appear that way, however NASCAR is more than put you peddle to metal and go round and round, because not all races are on oval tracks some are on road racing tracks and even the ovals vary so much from tri-ovals to short ovals, then they have restrictor plate races.

Then add the pitstops, no airjacks or fancy refuelling facilities or single knock off wheel nuts, cars are refuelled by churns, wheels have 5 wheel nuts and the jackman uses am mechanical jack. On the track that another game again the art of draughting, is where a lot of races are won or lost.

Then ask yourself this question why would Marcus Ambrose leave the top tier of motor racing in Oz move his family to the US for a life on the road racing all over the US to start at the bottom end of NASCAR ,in the Craftsman Truck series, he has progressed to pinnacle of NASCAR. He’s the most successful aussie to race in Nascar.

I think Krunchie's mate has hit the nail on the head in most events you can see it all, dont get me wrong I used to love going to Bathurst but now I would rather sit at home and watch it.

[bennymacca]

I can see your point but to the un-informed it may appear that way, however NASCAR is more than put you peddle to metal and go round and round, because not all races are on oval tracks some are on road racing tracks and even the ovals vary so much from tri-ovals to short ovals, then they have restrictor plate races.

yes, but most of the teams employ specialist road racers, like ambrose - as far as i am aware, he doesn't race the oval tracks

[Caleb]

- Mercedes buys out championship team Brawn GP, first Mercedes team in F1 since 1955, and brings out of retirement [b]maybe the greatest driver ever, MICHAEL F***ING SCHUMACHER, on a 3 year deal.[/b]
.

I think not todays drivers/steerers, cannot be compared to the greats of yesterday, how quick would the likes of Fangio, Brabham, Stewart, Moss etc etc be with the aid of Power Steering, Disc Brakes, Seqenstial shift gearbox, and all the other gizmo's and gadgets that go with todays F1 car.

Schu is/was good in his time but I doubt he would of held a candle to driving with arm strong steering in the old narowed tyred missiles of their era.

Todays F1 lacks something I would rather watch NASCAR.

Up until 1985, F1 racing was such a dangerous sport that most drivers who chose it as career did not expect to live to see their retirement. As such, they were never really pushing beyond their own limit or that of the car. Hell, seatbelts didn't come in until 1960s.

So comparing drivers, even from only a decade apart, is not practical at all.

Brabham to Piquet?
Lauda to Schumacher?
Fangio to Senna?

All driving completely different cars, with different engines, aero packages, suspensions, level of tech, tracks and opponents. Comparison is futile.

Exactly why I said MAYBE the greatest. We will never know. And I like it that way.

I could've been boring and said the most successful, but where's the fun in that?

I like NASCAR too. I just fast-forward to the wrecks.

For my money, best racing is open wheel. Best 2 categories are GP2 and Formula 3, followed by IRL.

IRL has the open competition I'm hoping for from F1 this year.

Then ask yourself this question why would Marcus Ambrose leave the top tier of motor racing in Oz move his family to the US for a life on the road racing all over the US to start at the bottom end of NASCAR ,in the Craftsman Truck series, he has progressed to pinnacle of NASCAR. He’s the most successful aussie to race in Nascar.

The challenge. And the money. Make no mistake, he prefers driving V8s. They are more fun. But NASCAR is a bigger challenge for him personnally overall.

[JMACK007]

@Robstar: they can still come in for new tires (although with a time penalty), its seems the rules regarding engine usage had more of an impact that you are referring to? Most of the pit to driver communications I heard near the end, while yes mentioning tyres, was mostly about 'Stay out of that 1 second turbulent zone' to stop the cars getting too hot and wearing the engine (and yes, tyres)... I get they are trying to keep down the cost of running a F1 team, but when they pay the drivers so much, does a few extra engines per season really make THAT much of a difference?

Ha ha, it was the part you left out of your quote that made it not clear....

It's not about the expense of the engines, it is the fact that they are restricted in the number of engines they can use over the season that makes them need to look after them. If there were no restrictions, you can be sure most of the top teams would be using 2 engines each car each round!! It used to be 9, but is now 8 for this season....

[Caleb]

Ambrose does all races.

He justs wipes the floor with the rest of them on the road courses.

Out of 36 races, only 2 are non oval.

My main gripe with NASCAR is they think they are the centre of the universe at all times. I remember a quote from one driver, Carl Edwards i think, refering to Ambrose and his abilities on a road course.

"I think he is best road course racer in the world racing in any series at this time"

When asked if he meant any NASCAR series, he said no, ANY series.

Douche.

[bennymacca]

@Robstar: they can still come in for new tires (although with a time penalty), its seems the rules regarding engine usage had more of an impact that you are referring to? Most of the pit to driver communications I heard near the end, while yes mentioning tyres, was mostly about 'Stay out of that 1 second turbulent zone' to stop the cars getting too hot and wearing the engine (and yes, tyres)... I get they are trying to keep down the cost of running a F1 team, but when they pay the drivers so much, does a few extra engines per season really make THAT much of a difference?

Ha ha, it was the part you left out of your quote that made it not clear....

It's not about the expense of the engines, it is the fact that they are restricted in the number of engines they can use over the season that makes them need to look after them. If there were no restrictions, you can be sure most of the top teams would be using 2 engines each car each round!! It used to be 9, but is now 8 for this season....

further to this, the cost of an engine would be a pretty significant proportion of a driver's salary.

this is stretching my memory a bit, but i remember seeing a top earners list for australia, and webber was around the 5-10 million mark (can remember exactly)

i would say that an engine would be at least in the 7 figures per engine, hence the restrictions to try and keep costs down for the smaller teams.