2022 Formula 1 Season thread

[Apple fanboy]

Great result for LeClerc. Did everything right despite the issues. Should have been a Ferrari 1-2. Feel for Sainz.
Good to see Lewis on the podium. Still able to race with those youngsters!
Nice to see Schumacher in the points again to.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Bernie's idea of making money in F1 was to make it exclusive and expensive. As such, he favored a small pool of corporate sponsors with deep pockets over increasing the fan base. I don't think Bernie believed F1 needed a large fanbase as long as it had sponsors willing to use F1 as an advertising platform. He saw what fans remained for the sport as a revenue source and that is why he killed all the free-to-air races in favor of expensive pay-TV deals that required fans to subscribe and pay to watch. It is also why F1 eschewed any kind of social media under his watch.

Liberty's idea of making money in F1 is to increase the fanbase to then draw in a wider array of sponsors - the "rising tide lifts all boats" philosophy. Yes, F1 is still on pay-TV here in the US (and elsewhere), but ESPN is orders of magnitude more accessible to the general public than MSNBC was, to say nothing of SPEED/FOX Sports were. And if people subscribe to at least one streaming service, chances are it is Netflix. And Liberty leverages social media to increase F1's reach.

Yeah I’m well aware of Bernie’s motives from the books I’ve read and the many years following the sport but it occurred to me today when seeing yet another statement. I don’t think we are in a very good era for fans and part of me hopes F1 becomes a niche sport again and these idiots all over the world fighting at races and talking rubbish about drivers can go off and fall on a spike somewhere. Maybe we need a few dull years again to filter them out?

F1 is pay per view in the UK and has been for 11 years now and the legacy of that is the fan base dropped before the Drive to Survive era created more ‘people’ to watch it. I can’t see it ever coming back to FTA sadly though as I do t believe Liberty are much different to Bernie in this regard.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yeah I’m well aware of Bernie’s motives from the books I’ve read and the many years following the sport but it occurred to me today when seeing yet another statement. I don’t think we are in a very good era for fans and part of me hopes F1 becomes a niche sport again and these idiots all over the world fighting at races and talking rubbish about drivers can go off and fall on a spike somewhere. Maybe we need a few dull years again to filter them out?

F1 is pay per view in the UK and has been for 11 years now and the legacy of that is the fan base dropped before the Drive to Survive era created more ‘people’ to watch it. I can’t see it ever coming back to FTA sadly though as I do t believe Liberty are much different to Bernie in this regard.

I could see it going to free to air. Or a hybrid model. I’d be happy to watch the European races live and highlights from the anti social slot races.
But generally the extended highlights suit me. Better time of day and less time consuming.
Todays race show was still 2 and a half hours. That’s enough time away from my beloved.

 

[Pezimak]

I think they need to retrain those marshals at the Red Bull Ring, and how about telling some of them to lose some weight! That incredibly slow reaction to Carlos could have ended in disaster! And why did that marshal going to the car first stop and start 'walking' back? Get there and put the fire out!
Crazy. I hope they review their processes at least.

Overall a good race, lots of battles. Max may have won that with a few more laps left as you guys say. LeClerc did brilliantly well to nurse that broken car home. Not a safe issue to have that, he deserved that win.

 

[Pezimak]

I could see it going to free to air. Or a hybrid model. I’d be happy to watch the European races live and highlights from the anti social slot races.
But generally the extended highlights suit me. Better time of day and less time consuming.
Todays race show was still 2 and a half hours. That’s enough time away from my beloved.

I agree it'll return to some kind of hybrid FTA, the team have repeatedly said they want the sport on FTA and not behind Sky's paywall. Although if it wasn't for Sky it may have disappeared off British TV considering the state the BBC were in at the time Sky took it over.

 

[CWallace]

I'll be honest: between the two I prefer Liberty's approach.

The manufacturers seem to see long-term value in the sport so their interest no longer ebbs and flows based on the latest advertising budget cycle. And here in the US, a sport that once drew less spectators than ostrich racing (Phoenix 1991) now supports three Grands Prix. And with more teams, the sport has been able to add these new races without either cutting "the old guard" (Silverstone, Monza, Spa, etc.) or pitting them against each other every contract renewal to see who cries "uncle" and walks away so their slot could be sold to an autocratic oil state for eight figures a year.

 

[CWallace]

In other news, the FIA handed down suspended fines of Euro 10,000 each to LEC, VER and HAM for their physiotherapists entering Parc Ferme and interacting with the drivers prior to the post-race weigh-in, which is a breach of the regulations. Evidently this has happened a number of times during the season and the FIA is not amused.

Will Buxton has also confirmed that Colton Herta will drive McLaren’s 2021 car at Portimao tomorrow and Tuesday as part of his testing program with the team.

 

[pachyderm]

Great result for LeClerc. Did everything right despite the issues. Should have been a Ferrari 1-2. Feel for Sainz.
Good to see Lewis on the podium. Still able to race with those youngsters!
Nice to see Schumacher in the points again to.

I didn't think he had it in him.

He showed a little chutzpah.

 

[pachyderm]

Yeah I’m well aware of Bernie’s motives from the books I’ve read and the many years following the sport but it occurred to me today when seeing yet another statement. I don’t think we are in a very good era for fans and part of me hopes F1 becomes a niche sport again and these idiots all over the world fighting at races and talking rubbish about drivers can go off and fall on a spike somewhere. Maybe we need a few dull years again to filter them out?

F1 is pay per view in the UK and has been for 11 years now and the legacy of that is the fan base dropped before the Drive to Survive era created more ‘people’ to watch it. I can’t see it ever coming back to FTA sadly though as I do t believe Liberty are much different to Bernie in this regard.

Did this happen this weekend too?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I agree it'll return to some kind of hybrid FTA, the team have repeatedly said they want the sport on FTA and not behind Sky's paywall. Although if it wasn't for Sky it may have disappeared off British TV considering the state the BBC were in at the time Sky took it over.

Channel 4 bid for it and Bernie turned them down if I remember at the time. He gave some rubbish excuse that Sky would appeal to a wider audience which of course is nonsensical considering far fewer people have access to it.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Did this happen this weekend too?

Not sure of the details but the scenes in Austria must have been bad because drivers like Vettel are getting involved and calling for lifetime bans. I’m guessing there was abuse aimed at a certain driver that was heard by drivers and officials within the sport. There’s been mentions of racism in some of the stories but I’m not sure what went on. Very sad all round and I agree they should ban abusive people from circuits just like they do when these same people are banned from football stadiums.

I'll be honest: between the two I prefer Liberty's approach.

The manufacturers seem to see long-term value in the sport so their interest no longer ebbs and flows based on the latest advertising budget cycle. And here in the US, a sport that once drew less spectators than ostrich racing (Phoenix 1991) now supports three Grands Prix. And with more teams, the sport has been able to add these new races without either cutting "the old guard" (Silverstone, Monza, Spa, etc.) or pitting them against each other every contract renewal to see who cries "uncle" and walks away so their slot could be sold to an autocratic oil state for eight figures a year.

I don’t agree with having three races in the US at all. It seems to be rewarding a country that have never embraced sports that were not homegrown and one race is enough IMO.

Silverstone reminded us why we need proper circuits on the calendar and not temporary car park set ups like Miami. I’d rather see historic tracks returning that have proper investment to make them F1 viable than creating new soulless venues that don’t produce decent racing. Another example of this is Abu Dhabi. How that’s still on the calendar for more than a decade is beyond me.

 

[NotTooLate]

Man , the scenes if Carlos engine does not explode and he runs Charles down with his pedal issue , I bet Mattia would've asked him to hold its place and Carlos would've just ignored him and get by Charles (or the very least have a crazy battle for the win).

 

[pachyderm]

Not sure of the details but the scenes in Austria must have been bad because drivers like Vettel are getting involved and calling for lifetime bans. I’m guessing there was abuse aimed at a certain driver that was heard by drivers and officials within the sport. There’s been mentions of racism in some of the stories but I’m not sure what went on. Very sad all round and I agree they should ban abusive people from circuits just like they do when these same people are banned from football stadiums.


I don’t agree with having three races in the US at all. It seems to be rewarding a country that have never embraced sports that were not homegrown and one race is enough IMO.

Silverstone reminded us why we need proper circuits on the calendar and not temporary car park set ups like Miami. I’d rather see historic tracks returning that have proper investment to make them F1 viable than creating new soulless venues that don’t produce decent racing. Another example of this is Abu Dhabi. How that’s still on the calendar for more than a decade is beyond me.

Agreed. And when we do get those aforementioned sports we have to shape them after the NFL.
It's maddening.

 

[NotTooLate]

Feels like we are in the twilight zone with the track choices , why cant a sport stay true to its roots , why does everything needs to be maximized NOW , I understand the sport Is popular now more then ever in the US , and they have money to spend , but it doesn't mean we need to jump all over it , the cars seems amazing to race when they are given the room and have suitable tracks , so much action yesterday , had a blast watching the race.

Miami looked soulless to me , but that might be just bias coming through as I didnt enjoy it one bit , seems forced.
Giving up SPA or Silverstone for another Miami clone seems crazy , Vegas will be fun for sure , but it wont be a good race track , maybe rotating the extra race on top of Austin is the best way to go , as other have mentioned , ****** tracks are bad for the sport in the long run as they turn away viewers , hoping Liberty can look long term and not just easy money NOW.

 

[pachyderm]

Feels like we are in the twilight zone with the track choices , why cant a sport stay true to its roots , why does everything needs to be maximized NOW , I understand the sport Is popular now more then ever in the US , and they have money to spend , but it doesn't mean we need to jump all over it , the cars seems amazing to race when they are given the room and have suitable tracks , so much action yesterday , had a blast watching the race.

Miami looked soulless to me , but that might be just bias coming through as I didnt enjoy it one bit , seems forced.
Giving up SPA or Silverstone for another Miami clone seems crazy , Vegas will be fun for sure , but it wont be a good race track , maybe rotating the extra race on top of Austin is the best way to go , as other have mentioned , ****** tracks are bad for the sport in the long run as they turn away viewers , hoping Liberty can look long term and not just easy money NOW.

It was forced and soulless.

 

[CWallace]

I don’t agree with having three races in the US at all. It seems to be rewarding a country that have never embraced sports that were not homegrown and one race is enough IMO.

I don't think the US necessarily needs three races, but let's not forget we're similar in land mass to the EU and the EU has 9 races (plus one more when you add in the UK) and many countries used to have multiple races in the past (and Italy has two this year). At least with Miami, Austin and Vegas we are breaking up the country roughly into thirds (West Coast, Middle, East Coast) which is better than if we had two races in the same general geographic area.

Silverstone reminded us why we need proper circuits on the calendar and not temporary car park set ups like Miami. I’d rather see historic tracks returning that have proper investment to make them F1 viable than creating new soulless venues that don’t produce decent racing. Another example of this is Abu Dhabi. How that’s still on the calendar for more than a decade is beyond me.

It's almost surely because they are paying the largest sanctioning fee to be both on the calendar and the final race of the season.

And I agree that we need "the Classics" like Silverstone, Spa and Monza. I noted that I am glad Liberty has chosen to expand the calendar rather than following Bernie's tactic of extorting existing tracks with significantly higher fees with the threat of dropping them from the calendar for races like Abu Dhabi who were willing to pay scores of millions per year to secure a race - often just for a single contract run before seeing it was not worth the money (Turkey, India, Korea, Malaysia).

 

[Pezimak]

Channel 4 bid for it and Bernie turned them down if I remember at the time. He gave some rubbish excuse that Sky would appeal to a wider audience which of course is nonsensical considering far fewer people have access to it.

I don't remember that. But I'm not surprised, what he really meant was Sky gave him a bigger back hander then Channel 4, or he was mates with Murdoch, probably both knowing Bernie's ethics, or lack there off.

 

[Pezimak]

Did this happen this weekend too?

Seb was given a suspended 25,000 euro fine for swearing at the FIA and storming out of a drivers meeting.
I think it's about time these drivers stopped being a little entitled, and remembered the new FIA stated they will be enforcing ALL rules now. Not turning blind eyes any more.
And the drivers have been complaining about the two race director approach and went to go back to one, and also want the same stewards at every race too, they don't like them being rotated.

 

[CWallace]

Speaking of ol' Bernie: https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/62119689

 

[NotTooLate]

Speaking of ol' Bernie: https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/62119689

He lived his life to the fullest being a criminal (or so it seems) , he was involved in so much shady stuff , amazing nothing stuck , he probably doesn't regret any of it even if he gets caught now at 91 years of age , he was the worst F1 boss ever , and I was happy to see him replaced.

 

[Pilot Jones]

I'll be honest: between the two I prefer Liberty's approach.

The manufacturers seem to see long-term value in the sport so their interest no longer ebbs and flows based on the latest advertising budget cycle. And here in the US, a sport that once drew less spectators than ostrich racing (Phoenix 1991) now supports three Grands Prix. And with more teams, the sport has been able to add these new races without either cutting "the old guard" (Silverstone, Monza, Spa, etc.) or pitting them against each other every contract renewal to see who cries "uncle" and walks away so their slot could be sold to an autocratic oil state for eight figures a year.

Also, Bernie is just an absolute doorknob. That man is so ugly on the inside it is a sight to behold. He just effortlessly spews the worst possible things that can possibly be said by a person in his position.

That man is truly a fossil from a bygone, horribly dated generation. Couldn't be happier to see him finally go. Should've happened much sooner.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Credit to Bernie for what he did for F1 in the 70’s and 80’s where he took the sport from a privateer league and promoted it to the pinnacle of motorsport. The FIA (FISA) tried to lay claim to the commercial rights and wanted race tracks to own shares in the sport which would have been disastrous. The problem is, Bernie got very greedy both financially and authoritatively and the teams got a fraction of the huge profit. Eventually it got out of hand and he went from being on the teams side to working against them with his dislike for the likes of Enzo Ferrari and Ron Dennis. He was a weird one because he didn’t like the FIA or have respect for the teams most of the time, it became all about making money.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

So It’s been announced Michael Masi has left the FIA to return back to Australia to be with his family. Sadly his career within the governing body was heavily tainted after 2021 and I always felt his new position this year was the FIA’s way of temporarily repositioning him rather than sacking him. I hope he gives his side of the story one day but he did make a dreadful mistake. Hopefully he finds a career he’s better at

 

[pachyderm]

So It’s been announced Michael Masi has left the FIA to return back to Australia to be with his family. Sadly his career within the governing body was heavily tainted after 2021 and I always felt his new position this year was the FIA’s way of temporarily repositioning him rather than sacking him. I hope he gives his side of the story one day but he did make a decision that they usually always make and I didn't like the outcome. Hopefully he finds a career he’s better at

Fixed it for ya...

 

[Apple fanboy]

Fixed it for ya...

So wrong. Glad he’s gone.