Formula 1-2022 Season

Man, F1 and SEMA would be a hilarious overlap. It's possible, I suppose. 

Hmmmmmmmmm.   F1 and the SHOT show on sequential weekends...  

Hmm... Don't like street circuits, don't like Las Vegas... 

Not enthused.

Now, If somebody could come up with enough dough to update Laguna Seca, I'd pay money to see an F1 car in the corkscrew.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I know that safety wise it would never happen but back at the Glen would be pretty historic.

Did I just read in the article below that Nico Rosberg is coming back? Or am I nuts?

True or bs?

In reply to Slippery :

Please no.  I feel bad enough for Williams, but surely Nico Hulkenberg would be a much better choice than Nico Rosberg.  

I am going to call that an April fools joke for now. I did predict this is the last season for Latifi a few pages ago. I do think he will make it through the season though. 

In reply to NY Nick :

Good call, forgot the date 

NY Nick said:

I am going to call that an April fools joke for now. I did predict this is the last season for Latifi a few pages ago. I do think he will make it through the season though. 

Damnit, forgot the date. 

In reply to Slippery :

That was a good April fools joke.

I am wondering if the FIA ever spent a late November night in Las Vegas. Getting heat into tires at 45 degrees ambient should be interesting. I know I'm going to say hard pass on this one. 

NY Nick said:

I think that Vegas is a better choice for the  spectacle than Miami but I don't know if the US "deserves" three races. No one else has 3 and I suspect the European fan base dwarfs ours. It also has to be a huge burden in the teams to come here 3x. Also if the races are afternoon races the timing stinks like starting at midnight not something like that. 

Bringing this back up after watching "The Race" 's vlog of what tracks will get lost- as Vegas isn't the only new race, and there's a limit to the races.

Their thinking is that the two most likely lost will be Paul Ricard and Spa.  The French GP is reasonably new, and there have been issues with the race when it was brought back (both the actual race as well as the fans).  So I can see that.

But Spa??  This race has been around forever.  The race is good- even has passing, it has iconic corners (which are being saftey improved as we speak), and the venue is spectacular.  

And Monaco is even on that list, as F1 is asking for more money.  I know many hate the race, which I understand.  

And they also speculated that most likely, other European races will be dropped for two races in China and a new race in Africa.  Basically, they have 30 tracks for 23 races.

I do hope that F1 does not become the temporary track system of the racing world.  Most of those tracks suck other than the destination.  I *hope* the Miami race is good, but I don't have much in terms of expectations.  And as much passing as we saw in Saudi- the track is pretty lifeless to watch.  At least in Vegas, there's the potential of the Strip making it look nice....  (But the Strip is just one straight, and the pits)

Basically, I'm not so sure of the direction of F1.  We will see (but I also have no plans on staying up to 2am watching the Vegas race).

In reply to alfadriver :

Oof.

I was listening to The Race's summary podcast and thinking about how much I want them to not go back, and to have it sound at all like they're just going to start taking it to any location that writes a bigger check regardless of any other consideration...

I'm getting way ahead of myself, but I only just got my enthusiasm for the series rekindled. I know Monaco sucks for passing, but it's one spot I can watch a parade. Spa is such an icon and appropriate setting...

I'm going to try not to borrow trouble and just enjoy it while I can. Part of me is kicking myself for giving the Saudi race highlights my eyeballs.

alfadriver said:

Their thinking is that the two most likely lost will be Paul Ricard and Spa.  The French GP is reasonably new, and there have been issues with the race when it was brought back (both the actual race as well as the fans).  So I can see that.

But Spa??  This race has been around forever.  The race is good- even has passing, it has iconic corners (which are being saftey improved as we speak), and the venue is spectacular.  

F1 has been threatening to drop Spa for 20+ years now.  I don't know why, but the most likely reason is probably money.  Perhaps it's like the British GP where the government refuses to subsidize it with taxes, so the promoter has to make a business case for it and they just can't pay the normal F1 sanctioning fee?  That's speculation.

They left it out in 2003 due to cigarette advertising restrictions, IIRC.

I would not miss Monaco (a snooze of a race), but I'd be surprised if they drop it.  That's a race that exists more for the sponsors and other business dealings that happen in the evenings than for the race itself.

I think they should go to a model where some races are only held every other year.  If it's 23 slots with 30 tracks, do 8 tracks every year and cycle the other 15 slots around.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Unless I'm missing something- Spa, Monza, Silverstone, and Monaco are the only really historical tracks left.  One could very much consider Zandvoort on that list- but it has a 35 year gap in being used as an F1 track.  Some have dates that go back to the 60's (Austria, Japan, - but most are very new.  (and, yes, Spa had a gap from 70-83, but it dates back to 1925 at least)

IMHO, it sucks that F1 turns its back on history like that, especially when the tracks bend over backwards to stay relevant.  

We hope to go to Monaco someday, and maybe even Silverstone.  But other than going to Montreal, none of the destinations are all that appealing.  May add Spain if we go to Monaco, since they are so close to each other.

In reply to alfadriver :

I can recommend Barcelona on its own merits. If I could have racing on top of the food, architecture, and Gintonics I'd be doing well indeed. MotoGP in Spain is on our to do list.

In reply to Jesse Ransom :

One of our ideas was to take a trans-atlantic cruise to arrive in Barcelona just before the race, and train over to Monaco, see it, and then come home.  That would be fun.  

bmw88rider said:

I am wondering if the FIA ever spent a late November night in Las Vegas. Getting heat into tires at 45 degrees ambient should be interesting. I know I'm going to say hard pass on this one. 

Back in 2019 we had a track day Thanksgiving weekend and the high was 45 degrees. 

When they announce night race my first thought was do I want to sit in the stands when it's 45-55 degrees and there's a 25mph wind (common for that time of year). 

alfadriver said:

Unless I'm missing something- Spa, Monza, Silverstone, and Monaco are the only really historical tracks left.  One could very much consider Zandvoort on that list- but it has a 35 year gap in being used as an F1 track.  Some have dates that go back to the 60's (Austria, Japan, - but most are very new.  (and, yes, Spa had a gap from 70-83, but it dates back to 1925 at least)

IMHO, it sucks that F1 turns its back on history like that, especially when the tracks bend over backwards to stay relevant.  

We hope to go to Monaco someday, and maybe even Silverstone.  But other than going to Montreal, none of the destinations are all that appealing.  May add Spain if we go to Monaco, since they are so close to each other.

The Red Bull Ring in Austria was used previously as the A1-ring and the Osterreichring going back to the 60s as well, albeit with a couple of gaps.  Hockenheim has also hosted a lot of grands prix, first used in 1970.  Yes, both of those have had the configuration revised a bunch, but then so have Silverstone and Spa!

alfadriver said:

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Unless I'm missing something- Spa, Monza, Silverstone, and Monaco are the only really historical tracks left.  One could very much consider Zandvoort on that list- but it has a 35 year gap in being used as an F1 track.  Some have dates that go back to the 60's (Austria, Japan, - but most are very new.  (and, yes, Spa had a gap from 70-83, but it dates back to 1925 at least)

IMHO, it sucks that F1 turns its back on history like that, especially when the tracks bend over backwards to stay relevant.  

We hope to go to Monaco someday, and maybe even Silverstone.  But other than going to Montreal, none of the destinations are all that appealing.  May add Spain if we go to Monaco, since they are so close to each other.

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has been an F1 track for 43 years. Interlagos is 50 this year. Sure, they don't predate "Formula One" but I think they've earned to be considered historic by this point.

I think the separation is Tilke vs not Tilke.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

 ^This, didn't he design most of the newer tracks in use by F1?

Pretty much. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Historic is relative.  I would put those with Austria and Japan.  Roughly the same time area.  

Monza, Spa, and Monaco pre-date WWII, at least.

"At least 80 years old" is a high bar for motorsport  :)

While F1 didn't go there til 1972, Interlagos was built in 1940 so it's pre-WW2 by American standards, if not by British. :)

Imola was built in 1953, but similarly they didn't host F1 until 1980.

So is it the track that has to be historic, or the usage of it by F1?