wood

Fuck you, Blue. You're set up there ffs. I hate the logic of calling a strike just because that was where the catcher set up. You see guys in college ball getting strikes that way when the catcher and the ball are 6-10" off the plate. It's fucking bullshit.

100%, I agree. IMHO it didn't hit anything else outside the field and should have been a GR 2B. Now they just clarified that the ruling merely stands and is not confirmed. Which is still incorrect, but I can at least live with the logic.

I could understand if they couldn't tell if it hit anything else and wouldn't reverse the call, but 'confirming it' is bullshit. OK that was a crazy ricochet off Acuna on Pena's popup..

Wut? That's not a HR.

Great, great race, but unfortunately not many people there to see it. Maybe 20,000 or so today. Saturday was smaller, and Friday was deserted. Sad, for such a great world championship racing series. Crowds seem to be getting worse and worse here year after year. Anyone know what they've been like at the other stops this season? And fuck 'Human Bowling Ball' Marquez. He's like a NASCAR driver, but on two wheels.

LOL. Fuck Marquez. Dangerous AF.

x, x, x, x, 3, 4, 6, 5, 2, 1, x, x, x, x

Nah, man. I love it. You should see it irl. Lots of other amazing liveries in Moto GP, 2, & 3, too.

Not F1, but ... that livery! Why can't F1 have nice things like this?

Yeah my kid and I were just saying the same thing. Lewis, Alonso, and Max did it very young, but not many others. A whole lot more have come up too soon and flamed out spectacularly.

There's some logic to that. To me though, the risk would be in potentially crushing the confidence of a guy who could be great some day if handled correctly but hasn't even found his way in F2 yet after skipping F3. Putting him in a Merc seat next year seems too fast imho, but who knows. ETA: For some time, people have thought that Sainz is headed to Audi in 2026. If so, he needs a ride for 2025. 1 year at Merc would be perfect for him and would allow Merc to let Ant cook a little more.

Just started watching FP1. Looks like none of us are out there, wow. I've never seen Friday this bad for MotoGP. Two minutes into practice and the main topic is already the racing surface. At least 5 different surfaces, multiple grip levels. the usual ripples and bumps, and according to NASCAR drivers it'll need resurfacing again before F1, etc. Don't hold your breath for that one.

Prepare thy anus ...

La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting Sainz to Mercedes on a 1+1 deal. https://www.gazzetta.it/Formula-1/12-04-2024/carlos-sainz-va-alla-mercedes-f1.shtml

Nice. Not surprised. Wrapped up at least through 2026 and has committed to a role with the team after he stops racing. This is where I've been thinking he'd end up. There's not much allure for him at Merc at the moment, and I don't think a RBR seat will open up. Add in the team culture and the way the team and Alonso get along, all the infrastructure and engineering talent investment Stroll's been making, plus Honda coming onboard (even though a lot of people said Honda would force Alonso out) and there's a lot of potential there. 'He'll never drive for Renault again after 2006! ---> drives for Renault again. 'He'll never drive for Ferrari!' after his comments during 2006 ---> drives for Ferrari 'He'll never drive for Ron Dennis or McLaren again!' ---> drives for Ron Dennis and McLaren again. 'He'll never drive for Renault again!' after 2009 ---> drives for Renault again in an Alpine. 'There's no way he can stay quick at his age!' ---> stays very quick as he gets older. 'He'll never drive a Mercedes-powered car again!' ---> drives a Mercedes-powered car again. 'He'll never drive a Honda-powered car again!' ---> extends to drive a Honda-powered car again.

No. So they'd have more teams actually trying to compete. I mean, a 20 team relegation format sounds great, but it's never gonna happen when Andretti fucking Cadillac can't even gain acceptance as an 11th team. And what NoName said better than I was gonna be able to say it.

I'd be happy if they'd just increase the field to 11-13 teams.

In related news, this just in: Potential Andretti F1 opening emerges after shock Helmut Marko reveal Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has said many potential buyers are swirling around their second team RB with a sale possible, which re-ignites hope of Andretti joining the Formula 1 grid. https://www.planetf1.com/news/potential-andretti-f1-opening-helmut-marko-rb-sale

Yep. I've been thinking since they were rejected that they're gonna show up and force Liberty to negotiate a deal. I really think they're going to continue operating in good faith and force FOM's hand. Meanwhile, rumors that Alpine is for sale. Surprised it took this long. I've thought for a long time that Renault/Alpine have seemed like they were looking for an exit.

Yep. Skip compounds, mix it up from year to year at each circuit so they have no data, etc, etc. There's so much they could do but won't. It's ... frustrating.

At least partly because the US race promoters don't want the US races to be back to back. Some folks better start building better cars then.

Holy schnikes.

Hmm ...

dp