Toyota & Williams also iirc?
Yup
I used to live in Brackley, and can remember locally the impact that Honda withdrawing had. The overhead shots of the factory, made to look dramatic made me giggle a bit if I'm honest, and I can't imagine that Mr Reeves was massively impressed with ending up at a small unremarkable south Midlands town to do a bit of filming opposite the Tesco...
But still, quite funny watching the other team managers going from "Awww, lets help the under-dog" to "Shit, quick, how do we stop them?"
I've got a little bit of respect for Verstappen here – he's clearly not happy about the razzmatazz surrounding the Vegas GP and isn't playing along with the media circus.
Verstappen is Dutch, do not ask a Dutch person any question to which you're not prepared to hear a honest answer
Bit of a farce so far
Seems that it's the concrete around the drain cover that gave way - that's a bit more of a challenge to fix (and certify) than just re-welding the covers shut. Also no confirmed start time for FP2 yet - could we be in line for another Indianapolis?
It certainly is now they’ve had to stop practice because of loose manhole covers 😹🤷🏻♂️
could we be in line for another Indianapolis?
$500m, plus all those massively expensive tickets, for 8 mins running. Ouch
Popcorn at the ready, not sure how they can fix this in time if like said it's the concrete around the manhole covers and to be fair I've not much sympathy for Liberty Media getting themselves in this situation.
not sure how they can fix this in time
Especially as the roads are meant to re-open to traffic between sessions.
Indianapolis - The Sequel!... 😬
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/67447322
And...
https://twitter.com/SpannersReady/status/1725400700710953307
Hmm - weird - when I clicked on this thread there had been no posts about this! It appears there have been though! 🤣
Would love to read the risk assessment for this. Can’t see it going ahead. How do you test all the drain surrounds at appropriate speed and force?
and to be fair I’ve not much sympathy for Liberty Media getting themselves in this situation.
Me either - road furniture coming lose has been an issue for decades now. This should not have happened.
Can’t see it going ahead
It's not the first time drain covers have caused issues at a circuit, they'll sort it.
FP2 delayed by two hours - this seems optimistic. If those covers failed after hardly any running, there's not much chance of them lasting the weekend.
Wow!
Well they wanted a great show!
Can’t see it going ahead.
ah, but have you considered $$$$$$$$?
It’s not the first time drain covers have caused issues at a circuit, they’ll sort it.
Can’t remember one involving an issue with the surrounding concrete
how long does it take to fill every manhole with concrete and let it set? That video is amazing. which cover is next?
I know Vegas is like a 24hr place but having F1 cars running until 3:30am local time!
This whole weekend feels like the tail wagging the dog with the amount of focus on the "show" rather than what's going off on track.
Bit unfortunate for Sainz/Ferrari, wrecked PU, battery and chassis by the sound of it.
edit...
https://twitter.com/ChrisMedlandF1/status/1725411883208073284
Looks like max’s percentages (1% race, 99% show) were a bit optimistic on the side of the race…
mashr
Full Member
I would like to think there is something in the cost cap rules to cover this sort of thing. Doesn’t feel right that Ferrari are having to swap out 2/3s of a car for something entirely not their doing
This won't affect the cost cap for Ferrari at all. All of the parts for the rest of the season are already long produced.
This won’t affect the cost cap for Ferrari at all. All of the parts for the rest of the season are already long produced.
That’s the point. They’ve factored in what they need for a season only to have a rogue manhole cover ruin those calculations.
Lead times on F1 parts aren’t like the normal world, they can get upgrades/replacements in incredible timescales. They don’t stock up early season as they all know they’ll be revising the car throughout the year (with the exception of the tub as that needs to get through all the crash test stuff)
They've closed all the fan areas at 1:30am so if you've spent $900ish for a Thursday ticket you've had 8 minutes of track action.
Lead times on F1 parts aren’t like the normal world, they can get upgrades/replacements in incredible timescales. They don’t stock up early season as they all know they’ll be revising the car throughout the year (with the exception of the tub as that needs to get through all the crash test stuff)
The final race of the season is next week. They won't be building a new chassis / engine etc by then.
They’ve closed all the fan areas at 1:30am so if you’ve spent $900ish for a Thursday ticket you’ve had 8 minutes of track action.
They've kicked the rich people out of the Paddock Club too - Liberty Media's lawyers are going to be very busy next week! 🙂
They’ve closed all the fan areas at 1:30am so if you’ve spent $900ish for a Thursday ticket you’ve had 8 minutes of track action.
The grandstands are still open
LOL - BBC reporting that Sainz is going to get a grid penalty for changing his engine! 😬
Sky coverage has started and the grandstands have been emptied, also start pushed back until 2:30am
Yeah, just seen that they're clearing them now.
haha amazing, what a shitshow
F1 really can’t handle its own rule book - utterly bonkers
Almost as much as a shitshow as Spa in the rain a couple of years back? Or when 6 cars lined up on the grid because some tyres were unsafe?
This sort of farce has long been a feature of F1, this isn't unique by any measure.
They were still fixing covers down at 2:15
nickc
Full MemberAlmost as much as a shitshow as Spa in the rain a couple of years back? Or when 6 cars lined up on the grid because some tyres were unsafe?
This sort of farce has long been a feature of F1, this isn’t unique by any measure.
No, I didn't mean that - drains etc are often a problem at street circuits. Especially a new one.
I meant the fact that Sainz has ended up with a grid drop for his troubles because there is no measure available for the stewards to bypass the rule
Per the BBC:
This is the reason given by the stewards as to why Carlos Sainz has been handed that grid drop: "The stewards note that if they had the authority to grant a derogation in what they consider in this case to be to be mitigating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances, they would have done so, however the regulations do not allow such action."
According to Sky Sports, the stewards spent three hours trying to find a way around the rules so Sainz and Ferrari could avoid a penalty.
because there is no measure available for the stewards to bypass the rule
Why is there not someone ultimately in charge that can overrule in the interest of “don’t be stupid”? This isn’t exactly an instance where the other teams would be up in arms about it
