F1 - GP (General Purpose)

Chode ^ | 8/5/2009 | Chode

[Chode]

This will be a general purpose thread for F1 news and pings that really don't require a thread of their own.

[mabarker1]

The F1-iski upper crust will be happy to not have the Andretti (Michael) behind the steering wheel.

Cuz We All know how uppity snooted they are...🤪

[Chode]

*

[mabarker1]

Guttegvagugh Merna May (Good Morning in słutteringyl .”)

Must be nappy time.

[Chode]

g’nite...

[mabarker1]

Kyalami

I vaguely remember that Track name.

[God luvs America]

site of one of the most horrific accidents in the history of F1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWz6Zpx7_Lc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSor8-Dho2w

[Paal Gulli]

"When you post to this thread, please feel free to go to Chode's home page, copy the F1 ping list, and put the entire ping list in the TO box of the post."

Hokay, I kin do dat.

Didn't know that's how "ping lists" worked.

But only for the meaty stuff. I'll spare you from my Hambonaphobia. ;-)

[Paal Gulli]

Daniel Ricciardo declares end of Formula One career: ‘I’m done!’

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/319148/ricciardo-announces-end-of-f1-career-and-not-at-cadillac.html

When a fan wanted to take a photo with Daniel Ricciardo, he asked the former Red Bull Racing driver whether he would return to compete for the 11th team that will join in the 2026 season, Cadillac. “No, I’m done,” Ricciardo underlined, before also gesturing it’s over.

---

A bit anticlimactic, sort of like OBiden saying he won’t run for Prez again.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

At least Ricardo didn’t have poop in his pants when he said it.

[Paal Gulli]

"At least Ricardo didn’t have poop in his pants when he said it."

Touché. You got me there.

[Paal Gulli]

Remember when the Red Bull F1 pit crew ran a 4-tire pit stop ... in Total Darkness in 2.8 seconds?

If you thought that was the most extreme condition anyone could ever successfully perform a pit stop under, I hate to burst your bubble but ...

... Now they've done one in under 20 seconds ... in Zero Gravity.

Yes, they gave the boys -- and one of their cars -- a ride in the Vomit Comet.

But this isn't just about PR, this is also about building camaraderie, unit cohesion, what in the military they like to call esprit de corps.

Brotherhood.

And this is how this "bonding experience" pays off:

Over the 2024 season, proportionally, Red Bull had twice as many sub-2.27-second stops as the crew with the second-most stops in that time window.

In the average race, the Red Bull pit crew gives the team a at least a 0.11-second advantage over the team with the second-quickest pit stops. And at 120 mph, 0.11 seconds works out to a 1.1 car lengths advantage.

From this second chart it's clear that it's not just Red Bull's quickness, it's their consistency. But you shouldn't overlook the fact that Red Bull is "just a fizzy drink company."

Interesting to note that Haas is the second-most consistent team but, unfortunately for their drivers, they're also consistently slow.

Except for a handful of abnormally quick fliers, Ferrari would be slower than Red Bull's sister team, RB F1 (the apple doth not fall far from the tree).

But all of Red Bull proper's "fliers" are on the other end of the scale, which shows how uncommon for them to have anything go pear-shaped in the pit box.

There's a history in the NFL of quarterbacks giving expensive wristwatches to their offensive linemen in return for them keeping his uniform clean. I wonder if any F1 driver has ever showed their appreciation in such a fashion to their pit crew?

What comes next for the Red Bull pit team? I can neither confirm nor deny but there's a very quiet rumor that Helmut Marko is beating the bushes trying to find a worm hole for hire so they can try the world's first inter-dimensional pit stop.

Which might sound absurd but so would a zero gravity pit-stop ... two days ago.

[Paal Gulli]

The season's over so what else is there to talk about?

[larrytown]

[ Must not....bring...up.....Perez.....replacement......rumors.... no one... wants... that... the dannyrics will show up if you do... ]

[Big Red Badger]

‘It Gives You Wings!’
.
A Watch ⌚️!?!
.
Teams gave Crews Rings At INDY !

[Big Red Badger]

Post a Vid of a 2 second Pit Stop?

[Paal Gulli]

"[ Must not....bring...up.....Perez.....replacement......rumors.... no one... wants... that... the dannyrics will show up if you do... ]"

Roger wilco. Over and out.

[Lockbox]

I was reading this and blinked! It was gone… 😱

[Big Red Badger]

‘You Meet Another
and ‘spit’ you was Gone!’

[Paal Gulli]

Rwanda makes Formula 1 bid: Has Africa ever hosted F1 race? Can Kigali win the bid?

[soap box]

This will fail, if it goes forward, same as the Buddh circuit failed, and for the exact same reasons.

#1, There is NO GRASS ROOTS INTEREST in motor racing in Rwanda. As proof of that I offer that there are NO MOTOR RACING CIRCUITS there.

India at least had three or four, all of which were abandoned WWII RAF aerodromes repurposed for motor racing. There's nothing wrong with that, witness the fact that the sport of drag racing was born on the droves of WWII airfields abandoned throughout the American Midwest. But India never managed to expand beyond old runways with decrepit tarmac. Until Buddh. It was the first (and remains the only) purpose-built racing circuit on the Indian subcontinent.

And you know as well as I do, if the boys WANT to race, they WILL find a way. The fact there are NO motor racing circuits in Rwanda tells you it's just not their thing. You're wasting your time. And money.

#2, The average per capita annual income in Rwanda is ~$980 USD equivalent. Average per capita in the State of Delhi (where Buddh is) is ~$5500 USD equivalent.

The GP of Hungary has the least outrageously priced tickets of any race on the calendar. In 2024, their cheapest (adult) seats were 365€. That's 1/3rd of the average Rwandan's salary.

Being multiple times poorer than India definitely would disincentivize the average Joe from taking up motor racing. Or dreaming of spectating at an F1 race.

#3, One of the key selling points of F1 is its glamor. Glamorous people and glamorous locations. And that's not coincidental because people with money tend to gravitate to glamorous locations. If there's not a luxury hotel and a luxury track-side booth waiting on them, ... fuggedaboudit.

I have not been to Rwanda but I have been to India, so I can state from experience that the only "glamor" in India is behind high fences patrolled by 24-hour security guards. The cities are for the better part sh1tholes and the countryside is paleolithic (spectacularly beautiful but primitive like Pueblo Indians primitive). Jet-setters would be hard-pressed to justify a 7-hour flight (from Rome) only to land in a city with streets filled with aggressive beggars and some of the most polluted air on the planet.

I would speculate Rwanda is much the same (and wouldn't expect the surrounding countries to by substantially wealthier), except for the air pollution since the Delhi territory alone has half again more residents than all of Rwanda. But Kigali is eight hours from London by commercial jet .

But I know Hambone is all-in on F1 in Africa, conveniently forgetting that their already have been F1 races in both South Africa and Morocco, preferring instead to focus on places better suited to be the setting for some bleak Joseph Conrad novelette than a Grand Prix. But consider the source.

To cut to the chase, I doubt you can count on the high-rollers to support a race in Rwanda. In fact I'd bet my favorite body parts against it (if I could get favorable odds). And without them or strong grass-roots support, the circuit cannot succeed.

And I'm not picking on Rwanda. I said (almost) the exact same things to the last detail about Buddh before they turned the first spade-full of dirt. But Bernie found rubes with deep pockets in the form of the Jaypee Group (who collectively are only slightly less 'shady' than Vijay Mallya). As expected, the Chrome Gnome made a mint on the deal and the Jaypee Group took a bath.

And history does have the darnedest way of repeating itself.

But knowing the FIA's present WOKE mindset, they'll do it, just for the Virtue Signalling.

[Paal Gulli]

"Post a Vid of a 2 second Pit Stop?"

I'm not sure what you're asking but videos of both the fastest pit stop of the 2024 season (2.08 secs) and the fastest ever in the history of the sport (1.80 secs) are here.

Both involve Lando Norris at the wheel.

Good thing they banned helium in the wheel nut guns. Tire changes are SO MUCH SLOWER now.