F1Brits_90
World Champion
forgot about this yesterday. is mansell responsible for popularity in F1. as im assuming without any competive british driver for decade between hunt & mansell 1st attempt. the popularity dipped
On this day/old race discussions
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F1Brits_90
World Champion
still dont think ive been as stressed watching F1 as i was watching this it was an absolute rollercoaster, i remember his dad left as he couldnt take & paced about in the back of the garage in blissful ignorance for the final 5 laps. when vettel overtook for 5th i was certain it was all over so down & then when i realised glock wasnt being lapped & it was for position. it was immense joy & F1 at its best
although i still cant watch that final lap without being stressed
although i still cant watch that final lap without being stressed
F1Brits_90
World Champion
One of the hardest chargers and most entertaining drivers ever, passed away today in 1982. Salut Gillies.
Il_leone
World Champion
Would love this guy racing Verstappen and show him what a real racer is
F1Brits_90
World Champion
16 yrs ago today
I was so glad when the U.S. GP moved to COTA and found a permanent home there. U.S. F1 fans finally had a proper, world class circuit that was genuinely worthy of hosting a F1 race where the cars were unbridled and could display the full range of their awesome capabilities. Prior to this during the more modern era of F1 (basically, from the 1980’s) the U.S. GP was continually moving from one venue to another. All of these, including the sites of other U.S. F1 races, were held on restrictive street circuits, with two exceptions: the absurd car park circuit at Caesar’s Palace and the Mickey Mouse circuit that was shoe-horned into the inside section of the large oval track at Indianapolis. I attended races at all of those venues: Long Beach, Caesar’s Palace, Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix and Indianapolis. While it was great to see the cars and drivers, I was always left longing to see what the cars were truly fully capable of. All of those circuits constrained the cars from fully unleashing themselves. When I attended the 2014 GP at COTA I was so thrilled with finally getting to see F1 cars completely unbridled and able to show their full capabilities. The circuit has it all: a good range of fast, slow and combination corners, a long straight, notable elevation changes, and a fast series of esses where the cars can really show off their nimbleness. It’s a circuit that challenges the drivers and produces good racing because overtaking is readily possible. I think the other two current U.S. venues are better than the ones noted above but neither comes anywhere close to COTA.
The only thing that I didn’t like about my experience at COTA had nothing to do with the racing. At all of the other venues noted above where I attended F1 races (and including Montreal) the race fans were allowed to bring their own food and drinks (in Montreal in particular, fans would enter the circuit with large coolers so they could picnic with their family during the long day at the circuit). COTA didn’t allow this and I had to empty my water bottle and dump my food before I was allowed to enter the circuit. I found this to be a BS policy, especially given how much fans pay in order to attend the race weekend. This was an obvious attempt to force fans to buy from their circuit concessions, at which they charged obscene prices. When spending a long day at a race circuit I prefer to have the food and beverages that I like and not have to settle for whatever happens to be available at the circuit. Nor do I like having to make my way to a concession stand whenever I'm thirsty or want a snack (and especially not during the race or a practice or qualifying session), particularly if doing so means having to abandon a good viewing spot. I haven’t attended a race there since 2014 so I don’t know if that policy is still in effect. I’m curious, for those of you who attend races outside of the U.S., do any of those circuits restrict the fans from bringing in their own food and drinks? And for those who have attended recent races in Montreal, do they still allow this?
The only thing that I didn’t like about my experience at COTA had nothing to do with the racing. At all of the other venues noted above where I attended F1 races (and including Montreal) the race fans were allowed to bring their own food and drinks (in Montreal in particular, fans would enter the circuit with large coolers so they could picnic with their family during the long day at the circuit). COTA didn’t allow this and I had to empty my water bottle and dump my food before I was allowed to enter the circuit. I found this to be a BS policy, especially given how much fans pay in order to attend the race weekend. This was an obvious attempt to force fans to buy from their circuit concessions, at which they charged obscene prices. When spending a long day at a race circuit I prefer to have the food and beverages that I like and not have to settle for whatever happens to be available at the circuit. Nor do I like having to make my way to a concession stand whenever I'm thirsty or want a snack (and especially not during the race or a practice or qualifying session), particularly if doing so means having to abandon a good viewing spot. I haven’t attended a race there since 2014 so I don’t know if that policy is still in effect. I’m curious, for those of you who attend races outside of the U.S., do any of those circuits restrict the fans from bringing in their own food and drinks? And for those who have attended recent races in Montreal, do they still allow this?
Unfortunately I think this now common at nearly all circuits. In the last few years I've been to Germany, Italy and Le Mans, and at each of these you cannot bring in your own food and drink. Italy went one stage further and wouldn't allow you to bring in your own power bank to make sure your phone had charge as they had a concession who would rent you them for the day.
The problem for most of the F1 circuits is the amount of money they have to pay Liberty Media. Because of this they have to squeeze every penny from every other revenue source to try and just break even, unless their government is throwing vast sums at the race, such as in Singapore and the Arab races.
The problem for most of the F1 circuits is the amount of money they have to pay Liberty Media. Because of this they have to squeeze every penny from every other revenue source to try and just break even, unless their government is throwing vast sums at the race, such as in Singapore and the Arab races.
FB—Thanks for the info. regarding those other race venues. It sucks that because of greed they’ve taken away yet another thing from the fans that allowed them to more fully enjoy the race weekend.
This bring up the subject of fan experience in general. As someone who has attended over a dozen races in the U.S. and Montreal, when watching the races on TV I always wonder what the experience would be like actually attending the races at those other venues around the world. For example, what’s it like to actually see a F1 car rocketing through the Eau Rouge—Raidillon complex in person at Spa (TV just doesn’t do this spectacle proper justice)? And I love the many imaginative, creative hats and costumes that fans at Suzuka create (of which we only get a sampling on the race telecast). Viewing all of these while walking about at the circuit must add an extra element of fun to the weekend’s experience. I’d enjoy reading about interesting and special experiences that patrons of this web site have had while attending races at the various venues so please share. I’ll start by relating one here.
I was living in the Phoenix-metro area during the three years that the F1 races were held there (1989-91). I was so excited when the announcement was made! This was the first time that F1 would be coming to me instead of me having to go to F1. I took extra advantage of this by going out to the circuit on the days when the teams arrived and watching them unload and set up their pit areas. It was while doing so prior to the 1990 race that something pretty cool and memorable took place. At the time, I was standing in front of the Brabham garage watching the crew preparing their cars for the race weekend (surprisingly, there were no security people around to chase out the few fans who were in the pit area watching the proceedings, not in any of those three years). Stefano Modena was standing near me at the front of the garage, also watching the crew work on his car. While I was standing there I heard someone pull up and stop right behind me on a small bicycle and begin chatting with Modena. Before I even turned around to see who it was I had recognized the voice…it was Senna! I would love to have talked to him but I have always viewed F1 drivers and any other celebrity as just being human and deserving of normal courtesies. So, as a normal courtesy I didn’t interrupt their conversation and rudely bother them. I just stood there and listened. It was just typical, friendly banter between two people, little of it having to do with racing; just “shooting the breeze” as the old saying goes. After a while they finished their conversation and Senna moved on down the pit lane, stopping to visit other garages and pleasantly chatting with other people. What particularly struck me about this is that it was such a normal, simple “human” episode, a reminder that these drivers are merely regular humans who just happen to have an uncanny ability to handle a fire breathing monster of a race car. With no need to be wearing their driving suits (there was no on track activity) they were very casually dressed and just engaged in the same kind of idle, pleasant talk that any of us engage in. It was the kind of episode that I wish every F1 fan could experience, especially those who engage in an irrational level of hero worship and hold unfair, unrealistic expectations of the drivers. This incident has always stuck with me and it was the memory of this simple human encounter that kept popping into my mind on that horrible, tragic day when Senna lost his life.
This bring up the subject of fan experience in general. As someone who has attended over a dozen races in the U.S. and Montreal, when watching the races on TV I always wonder what the experience would be like actually attending the races at those other venues around the world. For example, what’s it like to actually see a F1 car rocketing through the Eau Rouge—Raidillon complex in person at Spa (TV just doesn’t do this spectacle proper justice)? And I love the many imaginative, creative hats and costumes that fans at Suzuka create (of which we only get a sampling on the race telecast). Viewing all of these while walking about at the circuit must add an extra element of fun to the weekend’s experience. I’d enjoy reading about interesting and special experiences that patrons of this web site have had while attending races at the various venues so please share. I’ll start by relating one here.
I was living in the Phoenix-metro area during the three years that the F1 races were held there (1989-91). I was so excited when the announcement was made! This was the first time that F1 would be coming to me instead of me having to go to F1. I took extra advantage of this by going out to the circuit on the days when the teams arrived and watching them unload and set up their pit areas. It was while doing so prior to the 1990 race that something pretty cool and memorable took place. At the time, I was standing in front of the Brabham garage watching the crew preparing their cars for the race weekend (surprisingly, there were no security people around to chase out the few fans who were in the pit area watching the proceedings, not in any of those three years). Stefano Modena was standing near me at the front of the garage, also watching the crew work on his car. While I was standing there I heard someone pull up and stop right behind me on a small bicycle and begin chatting with Modena. Before I even turned around to see who it was I had recognized the voice…it was Senna! I would love to have talked to him but I have always viewed F1 drivers and any other celebrity as just being human and deserving of normal courtesies. So, as a normal courtesy I didn’t interrupt their conversation and rudely bother them. I just stood there and listened. It was just typical, friendly banter between two people, little of it having to do with racing; just “shooting the breeze” as the old saying goes. After a while they finished their conversation and Senna moved on down the pit lane, stopping to visit other garages and pleasantly chatting with other people. What particularly struck me about this is that it was such a normal, simple “human” episode, a reminder that these drivers are merely regular humans who just happen to have an uncanny ability to handle a fire breathing monster of a race car. With no need to be wearing their driving suits (there was no on track activity) they were very casually dressed and just engaged in the same kind of idle, pleasant talk that any of us engage in. It was the kind of episode that I wish every F1 fan could experience, especially those who engage in an irrational level of hero worship and hold unfair, unrealistic expectations of the drivers. This incident has always stuck with me and it was the memory of this simple human encounter that kept popping into my mind on that horrible, tragic day when Senna lost his life.
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