Henry Rifle Forums

Move over NASCAR, F1 is here and we can turn both left AND right!

Ok, seriously now, does anyone else here follow Formula 1? I’ve watched it for decades, along with WRC (World Rally Championship). There are 3 races in the USA and one in Canada this year (Miami, Texas, Las Vegas and Montreal) so plenty of places to see a race. Also the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive is great TV. Gene Haas (Newman Haas Racing) has an F1 team now, so there is an Indy Car tie in too.

Curious if anyone else is a fan?

I'd rather watch F1 racing than NASCAR's going around in a circle but I'm not really a big racing fan.

Watched an episode of Top Gear and one of the guys (who seem to be pretty good drivers) had a very difficult time getting to the point where he could drive just 2 laps in a F1, he had to keep the speed up high enough for good traction and braking and also your going so fast it's difficult to react fast enough. I don't know if it's the same with NASCAR cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUZJVY-sHo

Good video on the question of if a F1 car could actually drive upside down in a tunnel. It is theoretically possible but would cost a fortune. Would require a highly modified F1 and also there is no tunnel in the world long enough for it to stay upside down for even 5 seconds.
I was amazed when he said a F1 engine costs $1.5 million and I found that its only a 1.6 liter V6 turbocharged engine and it produces over 800 horsepower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJgckG-vCXI

I have followed F1 since I was a young adult, through Car & Driver magazine. I watch it now when available on free TV. I also check the F1 site on a daily basis.

I don't get to see it much, however, I DO prefer it over NASCAR anymore. I like that the cars turning capabilities are utilized completely.

Watched it for over 40 years, as a kid of 10yo I used to get my parents to wake me at 10/11pm to watch races live here in Aus in the early 1980's.
Were still a few Aussies racing at the time, Alan Jones won the 81 world tittle. Then had a near 20 year drought with no Aussie drivers from mid 80's to early 2000's but have had at least one driver on the grid since then.

Virtually no cross over from other series to F1 but lots from F1 to nearly every other series. Even here in Aus a lot of drivers in our V8 series that were test drivers for F1 teams or contracted/sponsored through junior feeder series. Most spend a decade in Europe from their mid teens trying to make it to F1 before returning home.

Last weekends Australian GP was Piasti's first car race in Aus. When he left Aus as a teenager he had never raced anything but go carts.

I am bias but think Jack Brabham is the most under rated F1 champion. Won 3 world championships , including one in a car he designed and built carrying his own name. Didnt race F1 until he was nearly 30 but won races in the 1950's 60's and 70's.

I really hope Andretti get a car on the grid but it appears nearly all the current F1 teams are trying to prevent it at every turn. First they wanted 200mil entry fee, when he came up with that they still said no. Said they needed to bring more to the table like manufacturer backing, when he came back with the backing of cadillac they want a bigger entry fee among other things.
About the only support he seems to have is from Zac Brown, McLaren CEO, no doubt due to them owning and running a V8 supercar team here in Aus in partnership.

The Aussi GP was a heck of a “race”. No shortage of excitement, but definitely some explanations owed by the stewards after that one!

Watch when on. Follow Indy cars more.

Danny Ric back on the grid for the next GP and the remainder of the season.
Very happy to see it but in what has proven to be the slowest car this year it is going to be a big ask to get any sort of result.
Fairly sure by the end of the season we will have either seen the resurrection of him as one of the best F1 drivers on the grid or the end of his carer as a driver in F1.