Formula 1 2021

[wood 11225]

JFC. That car. What a fucking embarrassment.

[RPM 26318]

1 minute ago, wood said:

Meh. It's not as great as it might seem.

Well, if you're banging Yeasty Spice...

[RamjetFDO 10575]

Lol... Lewis on the platform and still shorter than Shaq.

[Buzzrock 14903]

JFC. That car. What a fucking embarrassment.

But it’s so quintessentially Texas! It’s big and has horns!

[wood 11225]

Jesus, Shaq is almost as tall as Max, who's standing on the podium and is not short. Dude is just huge.

[Buzzrock 14903]

I bet Ginger is sweaty under that sweater

[Huckleberry 32849]

Nice to see a great race with minimal bullshit. Fortunately Bottas's grid penalty kept him from being able to take out the Red Bull cars in turn 1.

Verstappen got screwed a bit by the backmarkers but the racing gods paid that back by giving him DRS off of Schumacher at the end of Lap 55 while Hamilton just missed getting it off of him. 

As close as the mid pack racing was my biggest worry was a safety car screwing up the first place battle. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Huckleberry

[Buzzrock 14903]

And now all those poor people have to try and get out of there.

[RPM 26318]

As mentioned before, COTA got one thing right, they did an excellent job painting the track. The combination of stars and stripes along with burnt orange was really well done.

[XYZ 2154]

Fun race. DRS is stupid.

[RPM 26318]

1 minute ago, Buzzrock said:

And now all those poor people have to try and get out of there.

Pro Tip: Tailgate after the race and enjoy the show.

[pops 6980]

19 minutes ago, wood said:

Jesus, Shaq is almost as tall as Max, who's standing on the podium and is not short. Dude is just huge.

Danica could polish off shaq standing flat footed. 

[Amos Moses 795]

Very entertaining race. I think Merc waited too long to pit Lewis. A couple of laps earlier may have allowed him to put more pressure on Max late. Great driving by Max to be so precise on the last few laps and to extend the performance on his tyres. Who knew the Alfa-Alpine dust ups would be so riveting?!?

[elfenix 34225]

Bunch of wrecks so leaving is a clusterfuck. Been here an hour and only half out of my space.

[Atxracer 797]

Just now watching the race after getting back. My initial thought, Danica needs to use her mouth for something besides talking about racing. 

[wood 11225]

2 hours ago, beer said:

I once finger banged turmeric spice

Is she related to Mary Jane Rottencrotch?

[PittsburghTiger 6175]

Just watched.  Terrific race for Red Bull. And for Danny Ric and Ferrari 

Overall pretty fun

[Goofyboy 3269]

Holy shit that was a fun race. The turn one hill was insane looking. Did MazaSPIN spin? Why was he so far behind by lap 2? Also, HAAS seems to like to pit a lot.

Did Hamilton ever have a shot? Seemed like Max just kept him far enough back. Max looked FAST out there. Also, Bottas couldn’t pass Sainz??

We sprinted out of there right after the race and made it home to Houston by 6:30. Fuck I10 though Sealy.

[mackavelli 183]

Pro Tip: Tailgate after the race and enjoy the show.

This! Was 3 hours to get out. I spent an hour milling around fanzone. The. Hung out at car with a full cooler of drinks and snacks. Stress free when you prep

[PittsburghTiger 6175]

6 minutes ago, mackavelli said:

5 hours ago, RPM said:

Pro Tip: Tailgate after the race and enjoy the show.

This! Was 3 hours to get out. I spent an hour milling around fanzone. The. Hung out at car with a full cooler of drinks and snacks. Stress free when you prep

Did that yesterday at the Pitt game. We park in the lot closest to the stadium. Sat around, rehashed the game, had a sandwich & Bier and let the traffic go. It’s so easy to do

[wood 11225]

37 minutes ago, Goofyboy said:

Holy shit that was a fun race. The turn one hill was insane looking. Did MazaSPIN spin? Why was he so far behind by lap 2? Also, HAAS seems to like to pit a lot.

Did Hamilton ever have a shot? Seemed like Max just kept him far enough back. Max looked FAST out there. Also, Bottas couldn’t pass Sainz??

We sprinted out of there right after the race and made it home to Houston by 6:30. Fuck I10 though Sealy.

Fuck I-10, period. Really not looking forward to another trip to Red Stick for volleyball this winter. I-10 is a fucking beating.

[wood 11225]

24 minutes ago, mackavelli said:

5 hours ago, RPM said:

Pro Tip: Tailgate after the race and enjoy the show.

This! Was 3 hours to get out. I spent an hour milling around fanzone. The. Hung out at car with a full cooler of drinks and snacks. Stress free when you prep

So from what I'm hearing & reading, there are still loads of people stuck out at/around COTA. Apparently most shuttle buses have stopped running, fans are having to direct traffic in places, people are having to walk from the track to Lot Q, 3 miles past Lot T, out 812, etc. Thousands of tweets about it, tweeting @COTA, & they just don't say shit. It's nuts. COTA is such a fucking joke.

Edited October 25, 2021 by wood

[wood 11225]

4 hours ago, elfenix said:

Bunch of wrecks so leaving is a clusterfuck. Been here an hour and only half out of my space.

You outta there yet?

[elfenix 34225]

You outta there yet?

Took just over an hour to get out of lot L. Should have taken the first right off of Elroy rd but went down to the wolf/71 clusterfuck and got to the kellam light around 7:15. 3 hours to go 4 and a half miles net.

Would have parked at a privateer but the wrist bands came with a pass. Still probably should have parked at a privateer, plenty of space available at 8 am.

[wood 11225]

9 minutes ago, elfenix said:

Took just over an hour to get out of lot L. Should have taken the first right off of Elroy rd but went down to the wolf/71 clusterfuck and got to the kellam light around 7:15. 3 hours to go 4 and a half miles net.

Would have parked at a privateer but the wrist bands came with a pass. Still probably should have parked at a privateer, plenty of space available at 8 am.

Wow. 

[Goofyboy 3269]

Lot Q is 1.3 miles from Lot T. I measured roughly with my odometer coming in on Saturday morning. It’s not a safe walk though.

[Chewbacca 7767]

9 pm?

Yeah, but it wasn't over until 10:30!

[Chewbacca 7767]

9 pm?

Yeah, but it wasn't over until 10:30!

[Chewbacca 7767]

Surprised there's no McConaughey sighting.

Don't know if he was there yesterday, but during FP3, heard an 'alright, alright, alright' over the PA system.

[Chewbacca 7767]

Looked like Saint hit Ric, not the other way around 

Looked to me like Danny got on the gas a bit hard and got the rear end loose.

[Chewbacca 7767]

So merc lost out on strategy…again?
they used to be the best at it. 

Send like RBR owns them on strategy lately.

[Chewbacca 7767]

Verstappen got screwed a bit by the backmarkers but the racing gods paid that back by giving him DRS off of Schumacher at the end of Lap 55 while Hamilton just missed getting it off of him. 

That was the difference in the race, for sure.

[wood 11225]

32 minutes ago, Goofyboy said:

Lot Q is 1.3 miles from Lot T. I measured roughly with my odometer coming in on Saturday morning. It’s not a safe walk though.

Got that from people on twitter, but I just measured it on google maps & it's 2.05 miles entrance to entrance & 2.5 miles from the T1 exit. That's fucked up, esp when they advertised Lot Q as the best way to "beat the traffic". 
 

& Yeah I've walked along 812 before, & I won't ever do it again. It is not safe.

Edited October 25, 2021 by wood

[Longhorn Fever 267]

Local ABC station here in Raleigh interrupted the race about halfway with breaking news of a shooting at a mall in Durham. They followed that up by breaking in again about halfway through the final lap with a reporter on scene to tell us he couldn’t confirm anything. Turned out later in the evening that there were no gunshots and that people likely heard a broomstick hit the top of a table during a fight.

[wood 11225]

 

[Fastbreak 3984]

If only there was a way to move lots of people from one place to another. Almost like a public transportation method. Maybe it is something we can look at next century.

[52-80 19147]

42 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

If only there was a way to move lots of people from one place to another. Almost like a public transportation method. Maybe it is something we can look at next century.

 

[The Tres Leches 58]

Sat in the Turn 18 stands, left as soon as Max won.  Was at home in South Austin by 4:30.  Watched the post-race festivities on DVR.  You either leave immediately or prepare to spend the night.

[Burt Macklin 19020]

16 hours ago, 52-80 said:

So merc lost out on strategy…again?

they used to be the best at it. 

I don’t think they were ever that great. They just had the fastest cars by a mile so every decision seemed correct. 

1 hour ago, The Tres Leches said:

Sat in the Turn 18 stands, left as soon as Max won.  Was at home in South Austin by 4:30.  Watched the post-race festivities on DVR.  You either leave immediately or prepare to spend the night.

We parked about a mile and a half from the track. It was a 40 minute walk to the car and then almost no traffic the rest of the way home. 

[Guest]

Good morning to all y'all that had to camp out overnight at COTA. Should be able to get home later in the afternoon.

[Guest]

So celebs showing up to F1 without any clue as to what is going on... pretty cringe right? The Megan the Stallion thing was just awful all around. Serena seemingly having no idea who Martin Brundle is. Half dozen check-ins with Ben Stiller during the race. Shaq sharing a podium behind the drivers was just weird. 

At least we didn't have MM doing his thing. 

I think having the celebs being shown occasionally in a "look who is here" way adds to some of the spectacle of F1. But trying to interview them or make them a part of the programming is just yuck.

[utee94 15808]

That was by far the most crowded USGP at COTA, ever.  2012/2013 aren't really even close.  There were more concessions/restrooms/merch shops than ever before, and the lines for everything were still far far longer than ever before.

But I knew what to expect, so didn't have any real problem with it.  I do feel sorry for some of the brand newbies that were struggling with managing the event.  I talked to a lot of folks and gave them tips and tricks.

Great race, tons of fun all weekend.  Tonight I'll start watching all of the TV coverage, obviously you catch stuff you missed when you were live.

[Hozz 1017]

I thought Shaq on the podium was fucking hilarious.  

[NoName 16351]

2 minutes ago, Hozz said:

I thought Shaq on the podium was fucking hilarious.  

Shaq was a really interesting person to pick for the trophy ceremony. I get that he is "from" Texas (for HS at least) but I would way rather have someone fun from the actual state, ya know?

Honestly, it seems like the most McConaughey thing ever for him to be the one to give the trophy away.

[utee94 15808]

On 10/22/2021 at 11:37 AM, Hozz said:

On the ESPN FP1 coverage they just said 125K fans there today.  That seems like a lot.

 

On 10/22/2021 at 11:46 AM, Burt Macklin said:

I was here on race day in 2016. That pales in comparison to how many people are here on a Friday. This place is packed. 

 

On 10/22/2021 at 6:30 PM, wood said:

Yep.. Very good crowd for a Friday. 125K? Lol. Nope. Not even close to that. Mayyyybe half that many, which really is great for a Friday. But they're gonna stick to that claim for sure, because why tell the truth? It'll be a good weekend, crowd-wise, though. Glad I only went today.

Yeah the esses are brutal, and 9-10. Didn't go anywhere else, really.

I don't know, @wood, it was crazy.  The people weren't sitting in their seats in the grandstands at more traditional spots in T1,T12,T15, but the new T19 grandstands were pretty full on Friday, and people were out and about all over the track.  I have PSL seats in T15 and I never use them until the race itself, and there are thousands more like me.  Folks were all over the park.  Every GA  section was way more crowded than ever before on a Friday.  There's no doubt in my mind that Friday was busier and more crowded than the past several Sundays.

 

On 10/22/2021 at 8:05 PM, Duval Street said:

I was also disappointed with the merchandise, what happened to race posters and patches?  I found this online but nowhere on site, not much USGP stuff at all.

Supply chain issues, for sure.  I never buy merch at the race because it's just so expensive,  but i always like to look.  Most vendor booths were out of shirts and had nothing but hats by the end of Friday.  Never seen that before.

23 hours ago, McCroskey said:

Someone said, “at least the lines are moving.”

You can see my RV in this picture.   We waited until this line went away, and literally walked straight in.  Probably about 15 minutes after this picture. 

20 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

Fine with me.  The less, the merrier.
 

There’s definitely some logistical issues, but it hasn’t been too bad for me this weekend. 

Yeah it was crowded and crazy but we didn't have any major logistical issues.  We stayed for Kool and the Gang on Sunday and it took about 45 minutes to get out of our Lot N and onto uncongested roadway, but we knew we'd experience that. Friday morning traffic issues were actually much worse but we know ways to get around the worst bottlenecks.

 

[utee94 15808]

19 hours ago, wood said:

So this happened yesterday at T15. 

There's no kerb or anything on the outside that would have caused that - except bumps. She ended up with a T4 fracture from it...

That was Abbie Eaton, she was the "tamed racecar driver" for a couple seasons of the Grand Tour (when the Top Gear guys moved their show to Amazon).

She actually DID hit a sausage kerb, they were huge and unnecessary and obviously dangerous.  Same thing happened to an F4 driver the next day.  They should have removed them immediately after Abbie Eaton's problem, I don't know who makes that call, but I'm shocked they were allowed to remain and I'm glad nobody died.  After the second incident, they pulled them before the F1 race, thank goodness.

 

 

[BonzoMontreaux 1038]

Came down 130\45 south last night around 7:45.  What a mess for north-bounders.   Watched the race - ESPN on Demand (like we do every other race).  Had the usual broadcast crew that calls all the other races.  Hoping to see a duel at the end with Hamilton and Verstappen but it didn't quite turn out that way.  Agree on Red Bull out maneuvering Merc on race strategy.  

 

[wood 11225]

3 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

I don’t think they were ever that great. They just had the fastest cars by a mile so every decision seemed correct. 

We parked about a mile and a half from the track. It was a 40 minute walk to the car and then almost no traffic the rest of the way home. 

That's what I do for Texas Football, but walking anywhere out in Elroy just sucks.

[wood 11225]

3 hours ago, utee94 said:

I don't know, @wood, it was crazy.  The people weren't sitting in their seats in the grandstands at more traditional spots in T1,T12,T15, but the new T19 grandstands were pretty full on Friday, and people were out and about all over the track.  I have PSL seats in T15 and I never use them until the race itself, and there are thousands more like me.  Folks were all over the park.  Every GA  section was way more crowded than ever before on a Friday.  There's no doubt in my mind that Friday was busier and more crowded than the past several Sundays

I have no doubt that it was their biggest crowd ever. To me, that's not in question. The problem isn't a small crowd. It's that COTA takes a great crowd and tells everyone it's 50% bigger than it really was. But you have to know what you're looking at out there. There were far fewer reserved seats this year than in 2012. And you have to know how much they have exaggerated their crowds in the past, which I do. In 2016 they claimed a weekend total of 269K people. There were actually over 100K people less than that for the weekend, including concerts. This is just what they do and have always done. The least exaggerated crowd total COTA has ever claimed was in 2012, before they realized how much fuzziness they could actually get away with. So, they've doubled and tripled down because nobody is watching them, and then based on past exaggerations of decent and good crowds, an actual great crowd has people believing them when they say there were 400K people out there over 3 days.

There were only about 56K reserved seats this year, and those looked about 99% full to me, which is awesome, and is a lot better than most years. And the usual GA areas were packed as well, however, the popular T18 GA area was mostly replaced by stands, so that forced some GA folks elsewhere, and there were still the same typical large areas with nobody in them. Same with T2.

Edited October 25, 2021 by wood

[wood 11225]

2 hours ago, utee94 said:

That was Abbie Eaton, she was the "tamed racecar driver" for a couple seasons of the Grand Tour (when the Top Gear guys moved their show to Amazon).

She actually DID hit a sausage kerb, they were huge and unnecessary and obviously dangerous.  Same thing happened to an F4 driver the next day.  They should have removed them immediately after Abbie Eaton's problem, I don't know who makes that call, but I'm shocked they were allowed to remain and I'm glad nobody died.  After the second incident, they pulled them before the F1 race, thank goodness.

Yeah I saw a picture later that showed them. All the pics I could find before that didn't show anything on the outside there.