Looking at their site, F1 is not mentioned. I think ESPN+ doesn’t include the normal channels, like ESPN2 where qualifying and the race are, otherwise it would be a bargain. Oh for the days of a la carte channels on the big dish.
ESPN+ just gives you access. From the Main Website (espn.com), you click on WATCH, Select BROWSE, then scroll down to AUTO RACING and it’s pretty well filled with F1 listings. From there is should display Live and Upcoming and a little further down ON DEMAND.
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Exciting race.
It was fun to watch the strategy swing, as Mercedes went for the undercut, and Red Bull was totally unfazed, allowing Max to go longer for the charge at the end. I can’t help but think they could’ve covered Mercedes immediately, given up 3 seconds on the undercut rather than 8, and wouldn’t have had Max have to charge as hard. They noted they were fully committed to their strategy, but I think being more flexible would’ve been safer. The issue is they again had to fight both Mercedes cars with just Max, which made their options a little more limited. That being said, a great recovery from Perez, who just straight up used the old tech support strategy of turning it off and turning it back on again to fix his car. Had he started further up he would’ve been a threat to Mercedes and could’ve helped maximize Max’s strategy.
I think on the ill-fated overtake, Max could’ve sacrificed a couple mph of apex speed to keep the thing on the road. Hamilton didn’t need to be cleared, he just needed to claim position on him at the apex, and he could’ve finished the overtake off in the next corners easily. He instead went full-send to try and clear Hamilton, and ended up off the road risking the 5 second penalty. That being said, the inconsistency policing that particular corner was annoying. Lewis drove off in that corner for literally 15 consecutive laps before Red Bull told Max to start pushing wide there too to maximize his speed. Of course then the race director starts clamping down immediately on that and gives everyone a warning, even though Merc got away with it for a quarter of the race. Of course, you can’t overtake off the track, so that’s slightly a separate issue but, that part of the track was legal for part of the race and then became an off-track halfway through which is just dumb. Put sausage curbs there or gravel or grass if you don’t want drivers going over that curb. I agree with Horner that there should not be a grey area with regards to that particular issue.
Other notes: Shame to see Alonso fight up to 7th and then be denied a finish after his brake duct ate a sandwich wrapper. Yuki was impressive both in pace and racecraft. McLaren look very legit again this year with Lando putting in a textbook drive and Danny getting to grips with the car. The Haas boys showed why having two rookies is a tough move. MazeSpin barely made it two corners before firing himself into the wall all alone, and even Mick had a rookie error lighting up the rears and spinning himself.
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Great race last Sunday.
Max pushed very hard, but ultimately strategy and Hamilton showed why he is the champ. He was able to block Max pretty good the last couple of laps.
This seems to be a great season of Formula 1.
I’m excited to see what Leclerc and Yuki will do this season.
Very. I dunno if the commentary you had made this point, but ours gave out the information from the drivers briefing that track limits at that corner would be applied during practice and quali but during the race there would be no track limit penalty at that corner. That’s why Lewis was voiciferous when he was told to stay on track there
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Masi’s explanation actually confuses me even more. So you could go wide in turn 4 during the race only, but you couldn’t gain advantage from it or they would warn you. But then Hamilton runs that wide line for most of the race and no one bats an eye, until Red Bull decide that they will now run that line. Then for some reason, race control decides going wide there is a “lasting advantage” in accordance to the rules, and gives everyone warnings for doing so. So was it not a “lasting advantage” in the beginning of the race? Very silly application of some very unclear rules. A shame that it takes some of the luster off an otherwise great race.
Fortunately there isn’t much opportunity for the same at Imola, or you end up in the barrier.
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Apparently only if you also have a “TV Provider”. Oh well, it was an idea.
The Rapid Report, Sir Hammy showed why he’s a multi time champ, great race craft. Verschmucken has matured but I still question him being forced to give the lead back to Sir Hammy.
Freddie Alonso looked pretty good for 2 years out of F1 and limited testing. Sainz is a good fit at Maranello and looks capable of pushing Leclerc. The McLaren squad continues to show promise, Gasly continues to impress. Yucky Tsonada seems to have real chops. Has Vettel truly lost his mojo? Checo had he not started from pit lane would have been in the mix up front.
Mazespin!!! Money talks.
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The 30s recap. Thanks!
Really. I thought the whole point of ESPN PLUS was to be able to stream live events or content that were already being broadcast on their group of channels? Did you subscribe or just trying going straight to the main espn dot com website?
I subscribed for one month. After that I clicked on what you said and it wanted to know who my provider was. Apparently if you don’t have one, you get nothing but their extra plus only programs. Oh well. I used to watch it on YouTube TV until they first went from $45 a month to $65 or so, and then added yet more channels I don’t care about and wanted to go up to about $80 or so. Enough is enough. This is what happens when you let media companies merge into huge conglomerates that control everything.
Lesson learned, at least I’ll have more time for projects and other meaningful work.
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I think I pay 3.99 a month to access the liberty media f1 app which is also how I access it through tv. It seems way better to me since liberty took over. It’s not free but I like the freedom to watch whenever I want to. Also, I like all the other coverage they include like f2.
Sorry, wasn’t aware they exclude content. Personally I access through my cable subscription, but “+” was advertised as all encompassing of what ESPN broadcast. I will be sure to warn about this to others.
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Unfortunately Hamilton is well known for his tendancy to push wide anyone passing him on the outside (Obviously last year with Albon, but it goes back to Valencia with Maldonado too).
Either you clear him or you put yourself at risk.
Alpine need a bit of time to really understand their car. Once they do, the pairing Alonso/Ocon is going to be scary.
Aston Martin is lost, and Vettel is clearly washed up. Stroll was pretty good though.
Perez made a stunning recovery and I hope he finds pace in quali.
McLaren is strong and their work is paying. Ferrari made a lot of progress and Leclerc is all fired up. Sainz also is going to be very strong again. The duel McLaren/Ferrari is going to be a classic, with Alpha Tauri being the dark horse.
Haas is a joke, and Mazepin is the clown.
In the end, RB and Mercedes are finally at the same level, and I think it is going to be an exciting season !
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Somewhat on topic, it came up on Google news feed that Albon’s 2019 RB Torro Rosso was sold to a private Dutch collector.
In your area, where is F1 typically televised? ESPN?
Well I watched Bahrain a bit last night. I think Lance must be very happy that he’s no longer got eyes on him now that Mazepin is in the mix.
I don’t know how to put this politely but his performance in t1-3 was surprisingly n00b. Does he have any prior experience? He fell back immediately and then oversteered violently into the wall on a non-difficult turn. I’m not sure that’s even fair to oversteer. It’s more like he gunned it and just spun for no particularly good reason.
I am guessing he hasn’t had much seat time if his throttle control is so off. Or, maybe he was nervous as heck and super intimidated.
I saw the same thing from Mazespin’s on board. He seemed to get startled by cars around him then lost concentration and around he went.
Aston martin also seems to have lost lots of pace. I think the low rake cars took a hit with the new regs. Im excited for the lando-danny battle, I think itll be a close one. Who do you think is first driver on that team? I honestly think theres a chance for a title battle this year, but Im scared to jinx it as mercedes are the development kings. Alonso showed that he has lost no pace with age, and yuki is proving to be a threat.
It’s his first F1 race, on cold tires, a dusty track, and in a not-so-great car. I know I would be nervous. I’ve made silly opening lap errors in iRacing, where there’s nothing at stake and no one watching. He has plenty of F2 experience, but this is another level. Not excusing him, but I believe this is where the term “rookie mistake” comes from.
Neither, I think McLaren know what position they’re in, and to fight for the top of the midfield, they can’t really pick a favorite at this point. I think both drivers will end up being fairly equal. Danny needs time to adapt to the car, but he’s proven once he gets his footing he’s top-tier. Lando continues to mature and dial up the aggression on-track so he will get better as the year goes on too. I think they will be one of the most closely matched pairings.
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