They are trialing a new qualifying rule where everyone must use hards for Q1, mediums for Q2, and softs for Q3.
Holy Cow, .003 between pole and P2. This should be a great race!
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F1 is in the era of new ideas for new ideas sake. I think the base of this idea is about sustainability wiht tyres so this way they can limit the number of tyres at each meeting by two sets or something (wow, make such a difference).
I am still expecting reverse grids at some point.
That just leaves the door open for some of the mid pack teams to sandbag Qualifying.
Great race from second place back. Feel sorry that Danny got cought out at the start. He showed good race pace, but was too far back to do much with it. I expect his true colors will shine as the season rolls on. McLaren did a good job proving their update package works in the fast flowing stuff as well as the twisty turny stuff. I look forward to seeing how they manage the rest of the season!
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How the fck did Max have a free pit stop by lap 20. Thatâs just ridiculous.
Maybe I missed sme shenanigans during the first stint? Was busy with a kitten emergency 
Definitely a good recovery by Ric after the turn 1 incident. Bummer for Alfa which showed good pace, but got poor starts and couldnât make the points. Pace of each car was interesting as it ebbed and flowed as the fuel burned and on the different tires. Wasnât sure Rics mediums were gonna last half the race, but it worked out.
Not really. Max just took off. Even Louis was asking his engineer how Max got so far ahead so quickly. Apparently Louisâ engineer said they were battling an issue with overheating so they had his engine turned down. The straight line speed of that RB is just bonkers compared to everyone else. Even Checo was able to make it up to P3 after starting at what, like 9th or 11th and with only one real passing zone at T1/T2.
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Thatâs the kind of race thatâll make Liberty nervous.
Liberty Media is apparently acting out their inner âSenator Gearyâ on some of the local Vegas establishments:
On top of this, and the exorbitant ticket prices, the Vegas populace is already peeved by the traffic mayhem caused by road construction crews closing off and rebuilding roads to make them suitable for the F1 race in November.
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Is this a meme or a factual statement?
Not sure where the 600,000 comes from and itâs from FormulaDank, but yes there has been a decline in viewership YoY in the USA. I think Miami lost 500,000 viewers YoY. Hungary is around -200,000 YoY. Similar % drop. Some have suggest this is an uptake in F1TV product, but I am skeptical on that. I canât see subs making big impact.
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One driver winning nearly every race tends to do that.
The best drivers will always tend to be on the sharp end, but you can only do so much with inferior equipment. The unknown of who will win because the equipment is nearly the same is what most people want. Thereâs only so many technical geeks that care about the design aspect.
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I disagree. You need a balance. There has to be some predictability. The only reason 2021 was such a legendary battle was because of Hamiltonâs dominance prior. It creates a narrative and dynamic. Right now Max is building his legacy, and if someone starts challenging him then it becomes interesting. F1âs popularity will decline if they go down the route where every weekend is a mystery. Drivers start to lose value because it becomes throw of the dice stuff, as it feels so often with something like IndyCar.
F1 is the most dominant form of motorsport by quite some margin, and it has had the most extended periods of domination of any sport. people say what they âwantâ but itâs not reflected in their behaviour.
If KZ had a driver who was 5x time world champion I am 100% sure most of us would be watching the championship this year. As it is, most of us wonât.
The problem nowadays is we have too many races. I think that intensifies dominance a bit too much however. it makes any dominance feel somewhat more intense, especially int he era of high-reliability.
Almost 50% of media coverage is on the tech side. Itâs a HUGE aspect of the sportâs success. I follow most major motorsport media outlets and bar straight after a race IndyCar getâs almost zero follow up coverage between weekends. The tech aspect is WAY more important than people realise. It generates HUGE numbers, and creates narrative.
Autosport right now - 4 tech articles
Racefans. top 3 stories tech based.
etcâŚ
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Alan, Iâm giving you the US perspective. NASCAR didnât dominate for so many years because of technology (until the organizers screwed with what worked). I was a big fan in the 80s and 90s. Dale Earnhardt vs Mark Martin, etc.
Americans have their favorite drivers, but we like to see an underdog win now and then as well. Baring a wet race or large pileup, thatâs rare in F1. I think after seeing so many races with one winner, be it Vettel, Lewis, or Max, we tend to lose interest.
I watch it for the technology, but I doubt most Americans do. I wish there was more direct competition, as I also get bored when thereâs only one leader for the entire race 10+ seconds in the lead. It should be a fight to the end.
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Most people donât watch F1 for the âtechnologyâ either but their interest is predicated on said technology, and the competition that is there. You donât need to know about flow structures to marvel and be excited by McLarenâs return to the front. The competition between the teams creates fans of said teams because you have verifiable performance differences, distinct cultural differences. These differences create narratives that people can follow. You donât get giant killings if everyone is the same height. I actually think the direction F1 is going in is dangerous in terms of popularity. âCloserâ will not yield increases in spectator numbers or profitability, I suspect the opposite will be true.
I canât speak about Nascar, I donât know enough about it.
F1âs problem in America is as a market is complex, and I think itâs the last few years are a bit of a false dawn potentially.
My super-casual enjoyment of F1 does wane somewhat when itâs dominated by a single driver/team. For what itâs worth, I kinda agree with Bryan. But Iâd also agree that F1 really isnât meant to be that.
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The number of posts on F1 2023 Vs IndyCar 2023 on this forum kinda proves my point though. Even in a boring season F1 smashes everything else to pieces
Americans have their favorite drivers, but we like to see an underdog win now and then as well. Baring a wet race or large pileup, thatâs rare in F1. I think after seeing so many races with one winner, be it Vettel, Lewis, or Max, we tend to lose interest.
Iâm a Brit (living in Cali though) and have some favorites that I like to follow and one of those is Gasly. I was shouting at the tv for him to win that one race a couple of years ago. That was exciting!
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