alexb76

Why not? It's not mine either!

Funny enough, it's much easier/cheaper for me to get to a CA track than Montreal!

So, when I was working in Germany, if I posted location DE, you'd think I'm German?

alexb76

Don't get me started on Korea. It was a total SHAM and it only happened for financial reasons, they should have cancelled it 3 months ago and hold this race elsewhere. Track HAD TO be ready 3 months ago according to FIA rules, they just approved it last week, which is a joke!

I hope at least the new track surface doesn't cause major issues for contenders to ruin someone's season pre-maturely!

ADias

That it is, a total disaster.

Minok

Well, the track bit the (at that point) points leader, as his wheels went slightly off the track and on a properly mature track would have hit grass, but instead hit mud (painted dirt + rain ) which caused the car to spin. Looking at the amount of mud on some of the car bodies you would think they were running some off-road event or a dirt-track race. Nothing like watching the race run around under the safety car for lap after lap either. I mean, an F1 track 300 yards from the East China Sea at a few feet above sea level.. ya think there could be issues if it rains? I loved how the commentary was that the photographers out around the track were worried about the snakes that were coming out in the rain, since the place is built on farm land effectively.

brt3

It's absolutely incredible to me that F1 is abandoning "classic" venues, like Indy, Spa, Silverstone and the like (Bernie has consistently threatened the latter two) in favor of venues like Abu Dhabi, Russia, China, and Korea. What a complete ***** the little troll has become!


And pardon my French, but Korea was a complete and total cluster-f&*K, pure and simple. FOM ignored every inspection date. Pavement completed two weeks before the race, which necessitated a special blend that was extremely dense and non-porous -- which meant it didn't drain well in the rain. Hell, why did they sign off on a site that is straight out of the Monty Python "Swamp Castle" routine? Did no one think that building a track in the middle of a swamp was a bad idea? Never mind, I guess that was signed off on by the same folks who brought you "track in the middle of the desert".



I nearly died laughing when I heard Will Buxton announce, from the starting grid, that the mosquitoes had come out with a vengeance. Then, later in the broadcast, they announced that the rains had flushed out the snakes, which were giving the track photographers the *******. All they needed were locusts to complete the picture of a plague of Biblical proportions.

I was hopeful when I heard the drivers praise the track; however, after watching practice, qualifying, and the race, it's quite apparent that Bernie put everyone on a muzzle to avoid hurting the organizers feelings. What the hell was Tilke thinking; I can't believe the sections with walls on either side and no safe runoff, and the pit entrance is something out of the sixties, when you stood a very good chance of getting killed by competing in F1.

Also, I am completely confused by the necessity to install night vision goggles in future iterations of F1 chassis. Steve Matchett made if very clear that they have actual light meters that measure ambient lighting conditions, and that the race must be called when the light falls below a certain level. If you look at photographs from the end of the event, it's obvious how extremely dangerous it was. The video cameras make it look much lighter than it actually is due to the auto-iris on the camera.

I pray to God there are enough true enthusiasts on staff at Full Throttle Productions to shoot down Tilke's bad ideas and keep him in check. If Tavo Hellmund is to be believed, they are really trying hard to make the Austin track a classic. All my fingers and toes are crossed...

Kuhan

The main reason why these great tracks are getting the axe is money. They are not profitable circuits. F1 is supposed to be a pinnacle of motorport and it stands to reason that it's the most expensive. If there isn't enough demand from sponsors in Belgium and the local viewing public then it would be silly to have a race there, irrespective of how great the circuit is. We can all blame Bernie for taking too much money but if F1 didn't have Bernie, it would be a small bunch of fanatics racing cars on no budget and you probably wouldn't be able to see it on TV unless you lived in the UK or Brasil.

I think a lot of what makes a track great are the elevation changes. Spa is a great example -if you put Spa on the flat, it would be just as boring as other Tilke designs. Something I hope they look at when they build Austin. And something they should have looked at when building all these new circuits.

alexb76

+1000! I was gonna add a lot more but I think you covered it all!

If Mark Weber or Vettel don't win the championship it's almost PURELY due to Korea, and putting finances ahead of safety! In a sport where a GRAM below minimum weight carries penalties, I HAVE NO IDEA how they could justify hosing this race with SO MANY SHORTCOMINGS! IT WAS A JOKE!

The actual race AFTER the delay was quite exciting though, AS YOU HAD NO IDEA, who's next to go off! They also had to freaking shorten the race not do it in total darkness. That was blatantly to ensure Korea does a full distance for better news out of the race.

Hamilton was TOTALLY LUCKY that Rosberg passed him, otherwise he'd be out with Mark Webber instead of Nico. Alonso proved that he's the fastest mature driver around.

Mike in CA

Well, Vettel's exploding Renault engine might have something to do with it too, and I don't think you can blame that on the track. Also, there was that little incident in Turkey where the two Red Bull guys crashed into one another while leading the race that may turn out to be a big factor too.

As for Weber's crash this time, when you get off the track in the wet you're likely to have a problem whether it's onto wet grass, painted curbing, or dirt as was the case in Korea. Not trying to defend the Korea track or organizers, but everyone had to deal with the same conditions. Weber blew it, got off the paved surface, and that was that.

brt3

I agree with much of what you have to say. However, the question -- for me -- comes down to the following. Are the great tracks being replaced because they're losing money, or simply because they make less in comparison to the outrageous sums governments will pay to buy a Formula One event? I believe we're trending towards the latter, which is why I used the "ho" word in reference to Mr. Ecclestone...

In regards to how elevation changes can make good tracks great, I couldn't agree more. The two tracks I spend time at are Sears Point and Laguna Seca; the latter is just an absolute blast to drive. I believe that Austin will have enough changes in elevation to guarantee an interesting track. Tavo Hellmund quoted the elevation change in Austin's preliminary track design at 133 feet, which bodes well for the circuit: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlin...0/9/11198.html

alexb76

Absolutely it's the latter! When they tried to cancel Montreal race, it was all due to the fact that Bernie wanted $150 Million dollars to bring the race over there, and government couldn't really fund that, as race proceeds including sponsorships were not enough to cover that... and Bernie was saying, "that's the price" as Dubai, China, Bahrain, etc... are WILLING to pay that much or more... a lot of negotiations and the fact that it was the ONLY race in North America made them to drop the price and government covered the gap to put it back on the calendar.

As much as I like to grow F1 races globally, most of these new tracks have absolutely no soul, heritage, or fans! There's a totally different feeling when a race is held in Spa vs. Bahrain! I miss Portugal, France, Austria, Hungary races. Hungary track is a PURE DRIVERS track, I remember Damon Hill almost won in Arrows until last lap engine failure, and it was always a track that made better drivers shine regardless of their car's HP.

It just takes a visit to Nurburgring to understand the passion for motorsport around "great tracks"!

Kuhan

When we're talking governments, the sums of money involved here are peanuts. If Hungary wants to bankroll a race and Canada doesn't then that's what the government decides. Yes, Bernie is trying to get as much cash as possible, but he's running a business not a charity.

At the end day, a global motorsport like F1 needs to have races globally. I don't think you can have all the races in Europe and call it a World Championship. Also, there are plenty of F1 fans outside of Europe so it's only fair that they get a chance to see a race. This means that some of the European races that I grew up watching have to go... It's sad but it's what's necessary to keep the sport at the top.

The loss of Indi, however, was a farce and more the teams fault than Bernie. However, it's probably not the best location for an F1 race in the USA anyway. We'll see if Austin has a big pull... I'm happy since it's only a few hours drive away!

ADias

Using your language - that is false. Vettel lost Korea because his engine gave up.

alexb76

Correct. But how do we know it wasn't caused because of all the mud that went into his engine? Did u see the cars after the race? It looked like they ran a ralley course not an F1.

gravedgr

Not to mention trolling around behind the safety car for so long is detrimental to the engine, brakes, and tire temps. The cars are designed to be run full out, and only at lower speeds for short periods of time.

ADias

F1 cars do not run in the rain amy more, like some P-cars... It used to be that F1 was a race, now it is a charade.