All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL) racing thread

I’m a soccer fan, so I have no moral high ground about people not getting my sport. But basically, that race was one car which was faster than everyone else who took the lead early and never gave it up. And the car in second was by far the second fastest. Great pageantry, but a total snooze fest.

 

Yeah, it was pretty dull. A lot of the cars followed each other closely, but very few seemed to be able overtake the cars in front.

 

The more I watch F1, the more I realize that the race is completely determined by what happens in qualifying. Very little chance for anyone from say P3 down to actually chase down a leader. And yeah, if Max actually finishes a race, he’s probably going to win it.

 

On certain tracks, that can be true, but it really has more to do with the car (and the driver). Look at Hamilton in Brazil last year, when he started 10th and wound up winning. Hell, look at Checo at Sakhir in 2020 when he started fifth, ended up in last after getting spun, and came all the way back to win.

Qualifying is obviously extremely important, but it’s not necessarily determinative.

 

Yeah, it’s not that qualifying determines the winner. It’s that qualifying shows you who is fastest that weekend. Slow cars don’t win races.

(The exception is Monaco. Qualifying is huge in Monaco.)

 

All good points, thanks.

 

Yeah, I don't think anyone would portray the Miami Grand Prix as a classic (except perhaps for Martin Brundle's grid walk), but this isn't NASCAR, either. Partially because the cars are so different in terms of capability, they get strung out quickly unless you get a real leveler like a red flag, a safety car or perhaps grandest of all, rain.

But there was a pass for the lead on the track, and there was a point inside the last 10 laps in which the second-place car was within striking distance of the leader. That alone probably means it has more to offer than a third of the races in a given F1 season, and I'd lay $10 down that the race turns out to be more interesting than the other two this month: Spain, which always tends to be a snoozefest, and Monaco, which though an exciting concept is basically a parade now because the cars are too damned big for more than one of them to fit in any given location on the track.

WTF1, an outlet whose content I enjoy, asked everyone to rate the race out of 10. I'd say a 4 was appropriate. Maybe a 3 had there not been a safety car. It was a good event and meh race. On to the next.

 

I enjoyed the race a helluva lot until Bottas went wide with about 5 laps left or whatever and let both Mercs pass him. F'ing hell.

 

F1 Miami Grand Prix scores more U.S. viewers 18-49 than NASCAR race at Darlington

 

I saw a race like that once, at Road Atlanta. Peter Gregg and Danny Ongais had the hot Porsches and were widely predicted to finish 1-2. Ongais spun out on lap 1 and Gregg took the lead, then simply turned laps until the race was over. Zero drama whatsoever. 1-2.

 

Didn't realize how large F1 cars have grown to. (Not counting the Tyrrell P34 of course...)