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NFT: Formula 1 fans...Just getting into it

Bold Ruler : Mod : 6/8/2021 8:14 am
I watched the Netflix series a few weeks back and I'm now hooked. Watched Monaco and Azerbaijan. There seems to be a lot to understand to fully appreciate this sport not the least of which is tire management. I'd love to have a continuing discussion for newbies on F1 from long time fans.

And go!
F1 the pinnacle of motor sports  
Spyder : 6/8/2021 8:25 am : link
glad you discovered it. I discovered it eons ago with Wide World of Sports in the Jackie Stewart days, and back then they did not even broadcast the entire Monaco race, which was pretty much the only F1 race they showed.

Got rid of Netflix so I have never seen their series. As you say, there are so many factors in F1. I hope and pray that the time of Mercedes dominance is coming to an end, we need some more races like that last one.

I would recommend you learn some of the great history of F1 starting with the awesome documentary SENNA and also the movies Rush and Grand Prix (with James Garner who actually drove F1 cars.)

There are also tons of YT videos from the old golden days of the glorious sound of the V12's and V10 days...
Been watching foe a couple of years  
BillT : 6/8/2021 8:35 am : link
And you’re right there is a lot to know. The TV production is great and the races are great to watch. The Netflix series was good to get to know the drivers and teams backstories. The personalities are part of the sport. The technical aspects are really complex and there are big changes coming next year. There is plenty on YouTube and there are blogs on F1 so you can keep informed. Probably good to find one. I’ve really enjoyed getting back into some motor sports which used to be a big deal here but isn’t anymore.
I feel like I need to start pulling for a team to at least have some  
Bold Ruler : Mod : 6/8/2021 8:43 am : link
skin in the game. So I'm starting with McLaren. I like that they are an old, established team and have done really well a while ago but are now midfield and hopefully on upswing. And I really like Daniel Ricciardo from the Netflix series. I also really like Carlos Sainz as a driver, but I'm just not a Ferrari kind of guy.
Or  
sometimeswrite : 6/8/2021 9:17 am : link
if you've lived in the US long enough to have witnessed racing at the glen, not on the hill where the new track now resides but on the streets of Watkins Glen hay bales and all. The birth of F1. I was fortunate enough to have been witness to a few of those and can attest to the thrill of it all from a fans perspective.

The SCCA is alive and doing well today and you can join, participate by actually driving your daily driver to volunteering at events. That folks is grass roots stuff up close and personal.
Eh  
Bernie : 6/8/2021 9:21 am : link
I think its more about the drama than the actual racing. I watched the Netflix series and then tried to watch some races. Candidly, its like watching a high speed parade. No doubt the cars are technical marvels and there is a ton of money behind the sport. But with only 10 teams and 20 drivers, it's basically a two team event with Mercedes and Red Bull dominating. Ferrari has fallen off and everyone else is competing for mid pack. Boring. While its definitely fallen way off in the publics eye and corporate dollars, I find Indycar more interesting with the level of side by side racing that goes on. But even that gets boring when the technical aspects make doing so nearly impossible. I thought this years Indy 500 showed what is possible in that series.
I started watching in  
Scooter185 : 6/8/2021 9:26 am : link
2009, and while I haven't kept up with every season between then and now, i have only missed a couple races since the pandemic started.

I'm a fellow McLaren fan. Mainly become of the McLaren F1 roadcar being my favorite of all time. They also were a top team when I started, it helped having Hamilton in a seat.
Mercedes has the best car and usually wins  
giantBCP : 6/8/2021 9:33 am : link
and when Hamilton isn’t winning, he’s usually crying like a bitch on the radio regardless of whether his actions were dirty or not.

Formula 1 in a nutshell.
The tracks are  
Spyder : 6/8/2021 9:52 am : link
what puts F1 over the top in motorsports. The difference between Monaco and the awesome Spa for example.

Next year, the Formula changes again, and the cars look awesome.
2022 F1 cars - ( New Window )
Just started watching  
Everyone Relax : 6/8/2021 10:06 am : link
the Netflix show as well and I'm hooked. I'm still trying to figure out how much is the car and how much is the driver. There are some teams like Mclaren which seem to blame everything on the car, and others like Haas which seem to blame it on the driver.
RE: Just started watching  
Bold Ruler : Mod : 6/8/2021 10:10 am : link
In comment 15282299 Everyone Relax said:
Quote:
the Netflix show as well and I'm hooked. I'm still trying to figure out how much is the car and how much is the driver. There are some teams like Mclaren which seem to blame everything on the car, and others like Haas which seem to blame it on the driver.


Its my newbie take that F1 is primarily an engineering competition. After that, you need a driver who is aggressive but not overly so who crashes. Lastly, strategy involving tires and pit stops.
I stopped watching a bit after Schumacher retired  
Jim in Forest Hills : 6/8/2021 10:18 am : link
and the cars changed quite a bit too, I think they had to make the cars slower? In any case the great part about F1 is the unlimited budget in R&D. I also stopped wanting to wake up at 3am to watch it, lol.

I was also a big fan of CART which is now gone but was really fun racing and you got to see drivers get "promoted" into F1.

The tire strategy, the 2 sec pits, all great.

Some races though there was no passing which got a bit laborious to watch. I think Hamilton is the new Schumacher now so maybe the storylines are good. Always loved SPA and Silverstone, Monaco is famous but passing is so hard there.


F1 vs GT - ( New Window )
RE: Just started watching  
Vinny from Danbury : 6/8/2021 10:18 am : link
In comment 15282299 Everyone Relax said:
Quote:
the Netflix show as well and I'm hooked. I'm still trying to figure out how much is the car and how much is the driver. There are some teams like Mclaren which seem to blame everything on the car, and others like Haas which seem to blame it on the driver.


I've been a fan of all forms of motorsports since the 70's. When it comes to how a team will do over the course of the season in F1, it's all about the car. Single team dominance throughout it's history clearly shows that. It's one reason I prefer Indycar racing. The cars are essentially equal, and he drivers have much more of an effect on a race and season than they do in F1. But I still watch every F1 race, just to hope for a race like Monaco, or Baku, where the top cars have problems, and others can enter the fray. Watching Mercedes dominate the last several years has bored me. Hehe...
If you like F1  
Nick in LA : 6/8/2021 10:42 am : link
Do yourself a favor and watch MotoGP racing. Any racing fan that does not watch MotoGP is depriving themselves of some of the most exciting racing on earth. The speed of an F1 car on 2 wheels. Lots of action, lots of passing.

That being said I love F1. The technical aspects of the sport are unbelievable. Drive too slow? Not enough heat in the tires and brakes, you crash. Drive too fast? Youre over the line and you crash. They have to be perfect and I love that.
I like the wives and GF's  
gtt350 : 6/8/2021 11:03 am : link
.
I always chose a driver to follow  
Scott in Montreal : 6/8/2021 11:03 am : link
Did not matter what team they were with.

I was a huge fan of Alain Prost during his career. Those were the good old days of F1. Here in Montreal it was a three day event with the first two days being free to everyone. The island was packed those days. Race day was crazy. What a party.

Once Prost retired. I started to follow Damon Hill. Then after Hill I moved to Jenson Button. After Button left (2016-17?), with other things going on I kind of started following it less.

I do catch a race now and then. It is still an amazing show. Hamilton is just fantastic, and I am curious to see how Mick Schumacher is going to do. Will he live up to his name.
The Netflix show is incredible.  
bhill410 : 6/8/2021 11:13 am : link
I have been meaning to try and catch a race since then but keep failing. Not a motor sports fan whatsoever so not sure if it will be lost on me. I found it fascinating how upperclass the sport is in Europe verse the very blue collar rep that exists around nascar and Indy car in the US.
Ted's Notebook on Youtube  
skifaster : 6/8/2021 11:25 am : link
These segments are a great behind the scenes look at the F1 paddock
Notebook - ( New Window )
Really good Netflix series  
NYdeuce : 6/8/2021 11:34 am : link
…interesting to see how much politics play a part. Teams trying to find loopholes to rules and others protesting innovations like the Mercedes DAS system. I’m not very in the know but I believe that next year the teams will be on a more level field spending wise.
Netflix show, just like the idiot in the TV truck...  
Racer : 6/8/2021 11:38 am : link
..that decided to only show Eli's most meme-worthy moments, is dialed up to '11' in terms of manufactured drama. However, to stay on the football theme, I feel personally like I learn a lot about the personalities of the individual players, coaches and front office people on certain seasons of "Hard Knocks", and you get the same insight from DTS.

Have followed the sport my whole life, as in I had a Niki Lauda poster on my wall as a kid next to Reggie and Simms.

The field is as tight as it has been in this era of V6 hybrids. It may have been tight in the mid-field the last few seasons but the freezing of certain regulations in anticipation of brand new cars/a new formula next season has prevented huge leaps by the technical folks. The fight between Red Bull and Merc, Max vs. Lewis will no doubt go down in history as one of the better title fights ever. Not so bold prediction; the cars are just too close at this point and those two are simply elite.

Biggest problem with the sport right now is that the cars are 1,900lbs, up from 1,400+ in 2014. The peak horsepower of the combined gasoline and hybrid motors is in the neighborhood of 1,000hp, and the aerodynamics are so sophisticated that while it pushes the car down by thousands of pounds, if you disrupt the airflow with a tail-out slide where the driver has to correct, the cars become evil monsters to get back under control. Plus this level of performance absolutely EATS tires...braking and cornering forces can easily push tires beyond their limit in just a few laps given the right circumstances. Also, the cars' sensitivity to airflow is such that it is difficult to follow another car closely due to the turbulent wake, and the reduced level of cooling (mechanical and the tires) is also a deterrent to nose-to-tail combat.

So, what we have is a bit of a tire management game, which is not all that impressive in terms of the show as drivers on race day will often dial things back to save the tires. In contrast, Pirelli has had to make certain trade-offs in the interests of tire life, and race tires generally do not start producing any kind of grip until they exceed pretty high temps. 140* when I was racing on street-derived compounds but F1 tires require about 170*(!) surface temperature in order to 'work'. When they qualify, and this has happened to Mercedes quite a few times, the tire doesn't reach optimal temperature on their warm up lap and Hamilton has twice now not been able to lay one down in qualifying because the tires were not in the 'window'.

My favorite website/youtube channel/podcast is linked below. Mark Hughes is the best analyst out there in my opinion.


Link - ( New Window )
RE: RE: Just started watching  
FatMan in Charlotte : 6/8/2021 11:47 am : link
In comment 15282318 Vinny from Danbury said:
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In comment 15282299 Everyone Relax said:


Quote:


the Netflix show as well and I'm hooked. I'm still trying to figure out how much is the car and how much is the driver. There are some teams like Mclaren which seem to blame everything on the car, and others like Haas which seem to blame it on the driver.



I've been a fan of all forms of motorsports since the 70's. When it comes to how a team will do over the course of the season in F1, it's all about the car. Single team dominance throughout it's history clearly shows that. It's one reason I prefer Indycar racing. The cars are essentially equal, and he drivers have much more of an effect on a race and season than they do in F1. But I still watch every F1 race, just to hope for a race like Monaco, or Baku, where the top cars have problems, and others can enter the fray. Watching Mercedes dominate the last several years has bored me. Hehe...


Very true. The development is all around the performance of the car and the balance between aerodynamics and handling. We work with the major F1 teams on windtunnel testing and being able to iterate part design quickly to optimize the time constraints they have put in place, and 3D printing lends itself to that. Really fascinating to see the engineering work behind the scenes. I didn't realize how much went into a car until I saw the steering wheel functions and the control room at Renault (now Alpine), where they can control certain functions remotely during a race.

There are certainly drivers with more skill than others, but taking the best driver and putting him in an Alpha Tauri car isn't going to lead to a win.
RE: RE: RE: Just started watching  
Racer : 6/8/2021 11:59 am : link
In comment 15282389 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
In comment 15282318 Vinny from Danbury said:


Quote:


In comment 15282299 Everyone Relax said:


Quote:


the Netflix show as well and I'm hooked. I'm still trying to figure out how much is the car and how much is the driver. There are some teams like Mclaren which seem to blame everything on the car, and others like Haas which seem to blame it on the driver.



I've been a fan of all forms of motorsports since the 70's. When it comes to how a team will do over the course of the season in F1, it's all about the car. Single team dominance throughout it's history clearly shows that. It's one reason I prefer Indycar racing. The cars are essentially equal, and he drivers have much more of an effect on a race and season than they do in F1. But I still watch every F1 race, just to hope for a race like Monaco, or Baku, where the top cars have problems, and others can enter the fray. Watching Mercedes dominate the last several years has bored me. Hehe...



Very true. The development is all around the performance of the car and the balance between aerodynamics and handling. We work with the major F1 teams on windtunnel testing and being able to iterate part design quickly to optimize the time constraints they have put in place, and 3D printing lends itself to that. Really fascinating to see the engineering work behind the scenes. I didn't realize how much went into a car until I saw the steering wheel functions and the control room at Renault (now Alpine), where they can control certain functions remotely during a race.

There are certainly drivers with more skill than others, but taking the best driver and putting him in an Alpha Tauri car isn't going to lead to a win.


Any feedback from your contacts on how the new budget constraints are affecting their decision making in terms of what and how far to pursue innovation/improvements?
One thing  
Everyone Relax : 6/8/2021 12:03 pm : link
I don't know, are all cars required to be exactly the same aesthetically and then everything else (engine, breaks, tires, suspension) is custom to the individual teams?
RE: RE: RE: RE: Just started watching  
FatMan in Charlotte : 6/8/2021 12:22 pm : link
In comment 15282409 Racer said:
Quote:
In comment 15282389 FatMan in Charlotte said:


Quote:


In comment 15282318 Vinny from Danbury said:


Quote:


In comment 15282299 Everyone Relax said:


Quote:


the Netflix show as well and I'm hooked. I'm still trying to figure out how much is the car and how much is the driver. There are some teams like Mclaren which seem to blame everything on the car, and others like Haas which seem to blame it on the driver.



I've been a fan of all forms of motorsports since the 70's. When it comes to how a team will do over the course of the season in F1, it's all about the car. Single team dominance throughout it's history clearly shows that. It's one reason I prefer Indycar racing. The cars are essentially equal, and he drivers have much more of an effect on a race and season than they do in F1. But I still watch every F1 race, just to hope for a race like Monaco, or Baku, where the top cars have problems, and others can enter the fray. Watching Mercedes dominate the last several years has bored me. Hehe...



Very true. The development is all around the performance of the car and the balance between aerodynamics and handling. We work with the major F1 teams on windtunnel testing and being able to iterate part design quickly to optimize the time constraints they have put in place, and 3D printing lends itself to that. Really fascinating to see the engineering work behind the scenes. I didn't realize how much went into a car until I saw the steering wheel functions and the control room at Renault (now Alpine), where they can control certain functions remotely during a race.

There are certainly drivers with more skill than others, but taking the best driver and putting him in an Alpha Tauri car isn't going to lead to a win.



Any feedback from your contacts on how the new budget constraints are affecting their decision making in terms of what and how far to pursue innovation/improvements?


It's causing a shitload of issues. I've been fortunate to meet Frank Williams, as he used to come to work everytime I visited (pre=2020) and he'd be out in his wheelchair talking cars to anyone he could. He forsaw this happening and once Williams was acquired by a Capital venture firm, a lot of the longtime employees bailed on the F1 team and moved over to the Advanced Engineering side that deals mostly in consumer applications.

For the business we do, Mercedes reduced their budget this year by 15%, and they are a premier team. They are likely taking a similar move next year and will have personnel cuts. Alpine is struggling with how to make it work and teams like alpha Tauri and Ferrari who are behind the other teams in terms of the way they utilize windtunnel testing are trying to figure things out. Most of their budget decisions for 2022 are being made in the next 60-90 days and we'll meet with them during shutdown.

Because resources are really constrained, I think you'll see the majority of time focused on the windtunnel and how to rapidly implement design changes. Luckily, with technology today, they can crank out design ideas in hours and the print sample parts quickly to test. Realistically, the spending only is going down a few million each year and the teams who are at the top already have the best practices in place for testing and iteration, so I'm not sure how much the field will be leveled by offering more testing time to the lower teams. They aren't necessarily bad because of testing - they are bad because their engineering lags.

Just my take
To give an idea of..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 6/8/2021 12:29 pm : link
what Mercedes was spending a couple years ago - it was around $375M. They'll have a cap of about a third of that next season, so only having a slight reduction in what we do for them shows that they'll still focus on windtunnel for investment.
Been watching auto racing for a good while  
SCGiantsFan : 6/8/2021 12:32 pm : link
What surprised me about the Netflix show, which I enjoy, is the candor. The interviews are going on through out the season and from race to race, but nothing is released till after the season is over. Some of the drivers and team principals do share items that should be kept under wraps. Still good to hear these behind the scenes type of stuff and it being unfiltered.

I really like the engineering aspect of the cars. F1 Tech is fun to watch if you like that type of thing. F1 is also a test bed for future technology that works its way down to street cars.

The battle in the mid field has gotten intense the past 2 to 3 years. It will only get better next year. Next years new rules is going to be interesting and will try to help level the playing field.

At the very lest you can watch the race highlites on Youtube.Not the same as watching the race play out in real time, but better then nothing. Glad you liking what oyu are watching
F1 Tech flexible wings - ( New Window )
I Started Watch F1 Regularly Around 2011  
Trainmaster : 6/8/2021 2:38 pm : link
in the middle of the V8 Red Bull Sebastian Vettel era. While he and Red Bull won 4 drivers and constructors championships, it didn't seem as dominant / boring as the Mercedes Hamilton era.

I think F1 is like British Soccer: There are top teams that usually win the majority or entirely of the races, middle teams that occasionally might get a 2nd or 3rd place podium and "bottom dwellers / back markers that have no real chance.

The opposite of the salary cap, schedule and draft position "parity" that the NFL tries to impose, which gives fans of almost all teams hope that their team can will it all every year.

Right now, I root for Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari and Haas (American team).

I root against Hamilton as he has been very, very fortunate to be in a dominant car for 7 years, fortunate that his competition on his Mercedes team retired (Niko Rosberg) and extremely whiny when the rare case when something doesn't go his way.

I’m a motorsports fan of all types. From motorcross to INDYCAR to  
RDJR : 6/8/2021 5:48 pm : link
NASCAR to IMSA to F1. They all offer something different. I’m a Mercedes fan and a Hamilton fan, but I’ve watched and rooted for Haas closely since the beginning too. I wish the American presence in F1 would increase with the Haas team improving or a successful American driver. The follow the leader aspect of the racing is difficult for American fans to stomach, much like a 1-0 soccer/futbol game. However, to be a true F1 fan you have to get into the sport more than on just race day. It requires dedication as a fan to truly learn the sport. Enjoy. They are all great sports.
RE: One thing  
jamison884 : 6/9/2021 3:09 pm : link
In comment 15282410 Everyone Relax said:
Quote:
I don't know, are all cars required to be exactly the same aesthetically and then everything else (engine, breaks, tires, suspension) is custom to the individual teams?


No sir. Virtually every single component (approximately 5,000+) are built by each of the ten teams independently. There are very specific and strict exceptions, such as teams being able to purchase the power unit, gearbox, suspension design, and brake rotors (I believe each rotor costs around $50k to $75k with over 1,000 small diameter lengthy drill holes for cooling purposes), which may be shared via contractractual agreements.

The cars look very similar at face value due to brilliant minds on each team in engineering and aerodynamics coming largely to the same overall general conclusions given the fact the sport provides a precise set of rules and 3-Dimensional areas where design and placement of components is permitted. When looking at each car and their smallest aerodynamic elements, no two cars are the exact same, and the trick really comes down to using computers (computational fluid dynamics - simulations of air as a liquid) and scale model windtunnels to ensure the airflow from the tip of the front wing all the wing to the very most rearward components and the backwing provide the proper airflow and balance to the car. A perfectly balances car going around a corner at up to ~200 mph can literally receive a small gust of unexpected wind or a small theoretical push with one hand from someone standing next to the car and completely spin it out. They are always driving on the finest of lines to remain pointing the right way.

All aerodynamic parts and all of the wire routing, hydraulics, chassis, which is basically a carbon fiber survival cell which everything else is bolted to, like the power unit itself, then the transmission behind that, then the differential, then drive shafts and axles to the wheels in the rear, and finally the suspension attached externally to the gearbox, the rear wing mounted above the gearbox, and at the very end above the rear diffuser and floor, is the squared off rear crash structure.

All of that stuff has to be built by each team (called a constructor). In the case of HAAS, they were the first team where they design their own aero parts, have Dallara manufacture their chassis and aero components (Dallara is an Italian company and makes the identical cars for Indycar, Formula 2, and Formula 3 among others - Indycar only has one main difference, a Chevy or Honda drivetrain). Then HAAS buys as much technical components as possible, such as the suspension, power units, transmission, and differential from Ferrari.

This allowed HAAS to enter the sport at the lowest investment needed within the ruleset, but now they're the worst team on the grid after, I believe, five years in F1. This is despite just having Ferrari develop all of that tech for them and Ferrari capable of getting podiums this year, so it just shows you need both the tech and aero/chassis synergized to be successful.

Teams like Mercedes, Red Bull, Renault, and Ferrari in particular, manufacture everything on their cars including the entire powertrain (except during this year and prior years, where Red Bull had partnered with Renault for their powertrain and then for the past couple of years they partnered with Honda), but beginning with the new regulations next year, Red Bull has made a huge investment and is taking over the power unit project and intellectual property from Honda and will become an engine manufacturer for the first time.

The other six teams purchase engines/powertrains/hybrid power and battery systems from the four powertrain manufacturers.

2022 will be exciting, as the powertrain development is largely stalled, but the aerodynamic regulations were redone from the ground up to create more downforce from the floor (which effectively sucks the car to the ground), and less downforce from the front and rear wings. This allows cars immediately behind other cars to experience less turbulent "dirty air" and slowing them down, because the floor downforce doesn't rely on clean air to create effective downforce as much as the front and rear wings do. They also modernized the design to make it look more futuristic.

Teams have been working on designs for these new regulations for many years now, even before they were finalized (so, with the pandemic delaying implementation, I'd say the very first design is probably four to five years old right now). This could shake up the entire rankings of the teams and allow for some real innovative features. But, the richest teams, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull for example, will have also had the most time and resources to work on the new regulations, so they're more likely to remain at the sharp end of the rankings when compared to the other seven teams. But, who knows, as teams will show up to winter testing with these brand new highly secretive designs and legitimately be seeing what the other teams did at the very same time as the general public.

Pick a driver and/or team, and enjoy the drama. It's a large part of the sport. Have fun. :)
Jamison884  
Bold Ruler : Mod : 6/9/2021 3:50 pm : link
Holy shit what an incredible write up! Thank you!
Great write-up Jamison!  
AnnapolisMike : 6/9/2021 4:28 pm : link
In order to really appreciate F1 you need to follow it. You need to watch qualifications and learn to appreciate it when a driver like Gasly gets on the Podium. I am a Mercedes fan but can appreciate Leclerc and Perez and like seeing them do well. People complain that Hamilton is just driving the best car...and he has been. But Bottas is driving the same car and Hamilton is far superior.
Thank you! And just to add, these are historic times.  
jamison884 : 6/10/2021 10:55 pm : link
I started watching every race for the 2012 season, but then went back and watched back to the 2007 season, Hamilton's rookie year. I instantly liked Hamilton for unknown reasons. Perhaps knowing how hard it was to get into F1 as the first and only black driver. He only had the one championship at that time, and now he's tied at 7 with Michael Schumacher. He's the all-time leader in both wins and pole positions; an 8th championship will give him all three major records, and he lost the 2016 season to his teammate Nico Rosberg, where Hamilton had two more engine failures during the season than Rosberg, one being particularly devastating as it was near the end of the race while he was in first place. But, Hamilton will be the first to say, that's just racing.

In 2018 and 2019 Ferrari were as fast or faster than Mercedes using an illegal engine, and with Max Verstappen and Red Bull, they have had at certain short-periods of time the faster car, but this year their car seems to be on par with Mercedes. Max is essentially guaranteed to be the next "Hamilton-level" talent of his generation and has dominated all of his teammates.

I think since the beginning of 2018, he has driven nearly flawlessly, making mistakes where he's the sole person on the team to blame which led to a ruined race, counted on less than one hand. If Hamilton can add one to three more championships over what is likely his final five seasons in F1, he will be considered the greatest of all time in my opinion.

Yes, other champions were amazingly talented, including Aryton Senna's life tragically cut-short, and Michael Schumacher with his 7 titles, but Schumacher did the same thing Hamilton has been able to do. 1. Find early success (Hamilton was instantly battling his two-time world champion teammate in his rookie season - Fernando Alonso, and won his first championship in 2008). 2. Find success in more than just one team, moving to a team at the right moment where everything is in place or being developed to be be the best all-around team, which is did by moving from McLaren to Mercedes in 2013, a year before the hybrid engine era began in 2014, where Mercedes has won every championship since then. The legendary Niki Lauda personally convinced Hamilton to leave the better (at the time) McLaren team for the mid-field Mercedes time during the 2012 season.

Anyway, Hamilton's deal is pretty simple. He most likely makes the fewest mistakes on the grid, by both percentage and in a cumulative total over the past five years at least. He is in contention to be the fastest over one lap in qualifying in about 95% or more of the races. He has no track where you can legitimately call him "weak." He recently had a ridiculous scoring streak over the course of three years ended (I believe it was 56 races straight within the top 10?) In head-to-head racing, he is known to be highly talented and takes less risk, while never giving up throughout the race, which has led to wins in both cases (such as Max being too aggressive and crashing out, or 4-time world champion Vettel spinning out or making an error as Hamilton drives by), he is as fit as any driver on the grid at the age of 37 I believe? Finally, he is masterful in the rain, a quality shared among the best drivers, such as Verstappen. All of this without any major controversy on-track, such as cheating, intentionally crashing into another car and getting away with it to win a championship (it's been done a few famous times by others), faking a crash or brake lock-up, putting out caution flags and intentionally ruining the qualifying lap of all competitors behind you, and so on.

He has plenty of haters, but I think he will go down as the greatest. He's also an amazing person by all accounts. Leading efforts for diversity in sports and racial equality within F1, the most vocal on taking care of the planet, and has enough side-interests to have about four or five other careers which he pursues when he's not at a race weekend, and then when he lands for the race weekend, he switches every other passion off and performs as well as every other weekend. Dude is just an animal of a human and should be studied hah.
I had..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 6/11/2021 7:36 am : link
to laugh yesterday. We had a conference call with the Alpine team and they mentioned how F1 loves the impact of the Netflix series in the US because they've seen a huge jump in interest from the States. So I guess there really are a lot of newer fans coming board. I had to refrain from mentioning this discussion!

They also have a driver in the FIA Formula 2 from China that they really want to see excel so they can start to expand the fanbase in China.
RE: I had..  
Scooter185 : 6/11/2021 11:48 am : link
In comment 15284401 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
to laugh yesterday. We had a conference call with the Alpine team and they mentioned how F1 loves the impact of the Netflix series in the US because they've seen a huge jump in interest from the States. So I guess there really are a lot of newer fans coming board. I had to refrain from mentioning this discussion!

They also have a driver in the FIA Formula 2 from China that they really want to see excel so they can start to expand the fanbase in China.


Hopefully they'll be able to race there again next season. Fun track
There is no doubt that Hamilton is an all time great.  
Racer : 6/11/2021 11:54 am : link
He gets a little carried away on the radio, but I don't look at that any differently than the times a mic'd up Tom Brady has been caught losing his mind when teammates aren't doing their job. Hamilton also very clearly plays mind games with regard to complaints about how worn his tires are being clearly communicated for all teams to hear. If you're only going to get a warning on track limits, grab the extra 2-3/10ths on a lap when you really need it and just smile when the warning comes in. Very Belechikian.

This year he's already proven that he's maybe the best in the field at chasing, staying close enough to Max when the turbulence and temperature issues say he shouldn't be able to, then lays down a series of head scratching lap times at the end of a tire stint. I am lucky enough to have seen Senna, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher and Hakkinen live in their prime. Maybe they would have all done what LH has done with the edge he's been given in his Mercedes tenure, but maybe not when you consider the complexity of driving these later-day F1 cars.

Fatman, got any good Cyril gossip for us? Always seemed like a bit of a phony though I acknowledge that his racing resume is incredibly solid. Never seemed like a leader.
Unfortunately..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 6/11/2021 12:06 pm : link
I don't:

Quote:
Fatman, got any good Cyril gossip for us? Always seemed like a bit of a phony though I acknowledge that his racing resume is incredibly solid. Never seemed like a leader.


I deal with the Additive Manufacturing departments and work closely with them on engineering and optimizing testing. Don't really hear too much about the teams themselves. I've worked with Renault for years and now Alpine, and never knew who their lower division drivers and youth drivers were until recently. Alonso likely won't be there next year, so they are betting on Ocon making a huge leap. And they think they will next year. You never know.

I mentioned above about getting to talk to Frank Williams quite a bit. One time we pulled up in a Tesla and he says to our sales rep, "That's a damn nice car, but way too quiet. No heart". We laughed. Then we get inside and the engineer from the US that was with us said "Why do they let a guy in the wheelchair hang out front?" Luckily or contact played it off by saying "If you want to ask him to leave, be our guest", but I really thought we were getting kicked out. Our sales rep said "This is why we don't like having engineer talk". Facepalm!

RE: Unfortunately..  
jamison884 : 6/11/2021 1:32 pm : link
In comment 15284599 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
I don't:



Quote:


Fatman, got any good Cyril gossip for us? Always seemed like a bit of a phony though I acknowledge that his racing resume is incredibly solid. Never seemed like a leader.



I deal with the Additive Manufacturing departments and work closely with them on engineering and optimizing testing. Don't really hear too much about the teams themselves. I've worked with Renault for years and now Alpine, and never knew who their lower division drivers and youth drivers were until recently. Alonso likely won't be there next year, so they are betting on Ocon making a huge leap. And they think they will next year. You never know.

I mentioned above about getting to talk to Frank Williams quite a bit. One time we pulled up in a Tesla and he says to our sales rep, "That's a damn nice car, but way too quiet. No heart". We laughed. Then we get inside and the engineer from the US that was with us said "Why do they let a guy in the wheelchair hang out front?" Luckily or contact played it off by saying "If you want to ask him to leave, be our guest", but I really thought we were getting kicked out. Our sales rep said "This is why we don't like having engineer talk". Facepalm!


I'm a business person. I know this is one in a million.

But, I will do untold things to/for/with you for any hint at some special access to a grand prix weekend. It is surpassing the NY Football Giants as my most followed and passionate sport.

If I didn't hit the lottery with a stranger on the internet, then do it for the children. No, but for real, if you do have any kind of connections in the industry that you're "sort of" friendly with, a short intro and LinkedIn connection would go a long way, as I try to slow-play a long-term relationship with the the utmost respect to not make you look bad or weird post-introduction.

When I was 27 I was diagnosed with one-year left to live. My mind went to trying to do anything possible "Make-a-Wish" style, but with my own money. That's when I was just starting in the sport, so imagine now. Thankfully, even Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the best of the best, sometimes provide the wrong prognosis. Thank to Dr. Jonathan Coleman for not giving up and saving my life.

Also, please don't blame me for trying. :)
Use..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 6/11/2021 2:43 pm : link
the email in my profile.

With COVID, the access for this year isn't likely because our travel hasn't resumed yet, but we'll have some in the future.

Sometimes we'll have offers for a race and passes to the setup/motorhome they have in the paddock, depending on which team, but more likely it will be a site visit to the HQ where you can see the cars in the lobby and get a tour. Because I'm in the US, we usually let the UK office or the Italian office use the tickets for taking customers out. I've only gone to two actual races, but do site visits, when I'm traveling, 10-12 times a year.
And..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 6/11/2021 2:44 pm : link
very glad to hear your prognosis was wrong!!
RE: Unfortunately..  
Racer : 6/14/2021 9:40 am : link
In comment 15284599 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
I don't:



Quote:


Fatman, got any good Cyril gossip for us? Always seemed like a bit of a phony though I acknowledge that his racing resume is incredibly solid. Never seemed like a leader.



I deal with the Additive Manufacturing departments and work closely with them on engineering and optimizing testing. Don't really hear too much about the teams themselves. I've worked with Renault for years and now Alpine, and never knew who their lower division drivers and youth drivers were until recently. Alonso likely won't be there next year, so they are betting on Ocon making a huge leap. And they think they will next year. You never know.

I mentioned above about getting to talk to Frank Williams quite a bit. One time we pulled up in a Tesla and he says to our sales rep, "That's a damn nice car, but way too quiet. No heart". We laughed. Then we get inside and the engineer from the US that was with us said "Why do they let a guy in the wheelchair hang out front?" Luckily or contact played it off by saying "If you want to ask him to leave, be our guest", but I really thought we were getting kicked out. Our sales rep said "This is why we don't like having engineer talk". Facepalm!


I agree with you that Zhou is destined for a seat in '22. I was surprised given the low likelihood that the car would be competitive in this last year of the old regs that they didn't give him a year to settle in.

Never one to hold back, that Sir Frank.

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