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- Thread starter W2S
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I worked in F1 from 1975 to 2009, it is only available live here on a Sky deal which includes loads of other sport I have no interest in and, anyway, watching practice is boring and pointless - even when I was there running a car we didn't know what other people's run plans and fuel loads were so having their lap times was meaningless.
I follow the races on the timing screen of the F1 app, which are very similar to what I had on the pit wall and I can read the race just like always. A subscription to that app is worth it for me but the video side is blocked for UK users because of the Sky contract.
The commentators usually miss key clues one can see from the timing.
Also using mainly ex-drivers as the commentators is bonkers, IME they know the least of anybody in the team about the car and strategy having spent their career in the cockpit or Monaco.
So I only watch any video if it looks like the highlights video might be interesting.
I agree, I used to travel to races in Europe, LatAm and then USA. As a race car driver, I found it fun, exciting, ultimate tech, etc. My non racing friends loved it also. We would get up at the craziest hours to watch races live. Now, I dont even go to our local GP which is held 25 minutes from my music room. Boring spectacle for the masses.
MatrixS2000
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I have 3 screens going, one on the driver's feed (so I can follow my team and not what the production decides to show) with the audio turned up, one on the timing data and the 3rd on the live feed with the audio barely audible because of this.
Frank, pleasure to e-meet you! I know you said the Data feed is similar to what you had on the pit wall, I recall using the first public offering which was limited to track status, intermediate and sector timings. I think someone told me it was written in Java, although will caveat I’ve yet to have this detail officially clarified.
Mind if I ask how much the service has moved on, can you see elements like tyre stint/strategy now? May get back into running this alongside the world feed TV coverage.
You excitement would probably been different if Leclerc won the last 4 world titels as Verstappen did. Here in Holland people are also following/watching F1 less as Verstappen is no contender anymore for the world title. Im curious if English fans during Hamilton 7 world titles where over time less interested.
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It may vary from country to country.
The UK version always used to show how many laps the tyres had done, so you could see how "used" a set fitted during the race was, now every tyre starts at zero whether it is used or new, but you do see how many laps and which compound for each car during the race.
The pages I look at started off being almost identical to what I was getting on the pit wall in 2009, there is a bit more "screen candy" now but not much more data, if any.
I use a different page in qualifying for fastest sector than I do in the race and I very occasionally look at the driver tracker to check for traffic once lapped cars come into play.
I have never had the faintest interest in the nationality of drivers, just their talent, but I am far from a typical fan.
Lewis' always had virulent non-fans but there are a lot of racist ars*holes around...
Even for someone who may have never gotten on a capable 2-wheeler and has never felt the rush of adrenaline without the protective safety of a cage surrounding them; MotoGP is about the most exhilarating (cringe-worthy?) sport to watch, even if it is from the comfort of an armchair!
MotoGP even beats a bloody UFC BMF fight!
Ken1951
Major Contributor
I was a Lewis fan for a fair while but got tired of both his and Toto's whinging - not that everyone wasn't whinging to a major extent - just that I think theirs got more screen/air time. Now it seems that whinging is seriously rampant across the board and everyone now gets equal time - much to my dismay. But I guess I'm just an old guy standing on his porch yelling at clouds!
Some of us went as far as referring to him as "screwie-Lewie" because he was almost the most perfect repeat F1 champion.
He had the charm, the charisma, he was always prim-n-proper, and he checked all the proper boxes to become an enduring #1.
But personally speaking, he should have never been allowed to step a foot inside of a red racing suite.
...For some devoted sports fans and for a variety of reasons, an under-dog is their choice: You don't have to be a racist b*st*rd to dislike Mr. GQ!
During the 2025 Miami GrandPrix, while in a tense series of radio exchanges about tactics, screwie-Lewie used the words "...You guys, you guys..." directed at the Scuderia/Ferrari brain-trust!
That is justified enough grounds for a (team+driver) marriage annulment, hoping this -"driver change"- to occur during the August break.
Sadly, racism is something athletes in many sports are facing. It's always unacceptable. Like to see The 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers line up Hamilton Verstappen Alonso Vettel. Any other line up ?
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Yesterday Hot Rod pioneer Gene Winfield got his wish to have his ashes scattered over the Bonneville Salt Flats where he broke a speed record in his highly modified Model T Ford in1951. He passed in early March
I had an opportunity to go to Bonneville quite some years ago, to work as an intern for a contender - in exchange for the trip. Didn't do it, family, travel and so on - will always get emotional about not getting to go. Back then, don't know how it is today - many contenders were middle class sort of folk, who put what money they could into going to the flats and try their best. Sort of the fastest Indian... wonderful movie, with a great story.
Edit: Two pictures from the book El Mirage - Impressions, by M. de Lesseps Iconografix ISBN 1-58388-059-3
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napfkuchen
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Already with Mercedes his "whining-attitude" on the team radio was disgusting (it you get the RPM referenceView attachment 467874...ugggh
For some devoted sports fans and for a variety of reasons, an under-dog is their choice: You don't have to be a racist b*st*rd to dislike Mr. GQ!
During the 2025 Miami GrandPrix, while in a tense series of radio exchanges about tactics, screwie-Lewie used the words "...You guys, you guys..." directed at the Scuderia/Ferrari brain-trust!
That is justified enough grounds for a (team+driver) marriage annulment, hoping this -"driver change"- to occur during the August break.
). My personal favorite driver is Max Verstappen. He's sometimes a hothead and leaves his opponents little room to "survive", but his talent and commitment are unique to me. Motorsport is his thing (100% dedication!), and outside of Formula 1 he enjoys driving other cars or using his simulator. Even with an inferior racecar he's always to be reckoned with, and his opponents respect him for that:
Meanwhile, Hamilton is out at fashion shows and posing on Instagram. I haven't yet understood why he was chosen to represent Mercedes and now Ferrari.
I don't know the current crop of drivers so can't make comment but I knew all of the ones who were competing from 1976 to 2009, some of them well.
They are all different, the best drivers IME are introvert and intelligent and none like being in the spotlight but have had to come up with some sort of personal way of dealing with journalists and fans.
It was not unusual for drivers to end up with a public image totally at variance with their character as a result.
One thing changed a lot when Ron Dennis started controlling what his drivers could say to the press in their contract, which largely stopped adrenalin and ignorance fuelled rants immediately after a race - we get them on the radio now
. They all do it now.
My good friend Keke Rosberg was totally different at McLaren than Williams because of his contract.
Nowadays every driver has a marketing junior with them recording everything they say to the press just in case some sort of defence is going to have to be concocted.
Most of the real driver character is now suppressed, which is often good for team and sponsors, less interesting though.
It is very big business now and in many ways the car side is less interesting and rewarding than it was.
If you like close racing Moto GP is probably best, or a car series where being good is penalised by extra ballast - which is absolutely the worst thing there is for engineers or drivers but better for fans - I will have nothing to do with it and refused to go to meetings about series that allow it when I was a FIA technical adviser.
There are a lot of facts about motor sport which never come out...
They are all different, the best drivers IME are introvert and intelligent and none like being in the spotlight but have had to come up with some sort of personal way of dealing with journalists and fans.
It was not unusual for drivers to end up with a public image totally at variance with their character as a result.
One thing changed a lot when Ron Dennis started controlling what his drivers could say to the press in their contract, which largely stopped adrenalin and ignorance fuelled rants immediately after a race - we get them on the radio now
. They all do it now.My good friend Keke Rosberg was totally different at McLaren than Williams because of his contract.
Nowadays every driver has a marketing junior with them recording everything they say to the press just in case some sort of defence is going to have to be concocted.
Most of the real driver character is now suppressed, which is often good for team and sponsors, less interesting though.
It is very big business now and in many ways the car side is less interesting and rewarding than it was.
If you like close racing Moto GP is probably best, or a car series where being good is penalised by extra ballast - which is absolutely the worst thing there is for engineers or drivers but better for fans - I will have nothing to do with it and refused to go to meetings about series that allow it when I was a FIA technical adviser.
There are a lot of facts about motor sport which never come out...
He is brilliant but not even close to being as hot headed as his father!
napfkuchen
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Yep, you are right. I also just meant that in a 50/50 situation, Max doesn't back down but, when in doubt, goes for full confrontation. Of course, that doesn't always work, and at first I thought, "What an idiot." But ultimately, I think it's just part of his mentality that made him a winner. Nice guys like Lando Norris aren't cut from that cloth, they lack the uncompromising spirit needed for sustained success.
Even when I was seriously involved in triathlon, school/education were always my priority. I once came third in a youth championship in my state, and I was very happy. Still remember the winning coach's saying: "He (the winner) behaves like an animal sometimes." That was true. But for the top one-thousandth of a percent, it still was not enough. As a normal person it is difficult to understand this uncompromising attitude.
...like the yearly "Race of Champions" (ROC) that is always fun to watch:
*S.Loeb Wins 5th ROC Champion Of Champions Title (<5min)
*ROCSydney - 2025 ROC Nations Cup Highlights (<5min.)
...like the yearly "Pike's Peak Hill Climb" is still going strong and always worth watching.
*Pikes Peak 2025 (<40min)
...Like the yearly "Dakar Rally"... that started taking place In So.Americas... until going 'dark' behind some paywall.
ADD: Above 3 links are @youtube
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The styling of the $400K Cadillac CELESTIQ reminds me of a Jensen Interceptor - only much larger.
