Open Wheel Racing 2021, anyone there to watch?

[solovsfett]

Money.

Are they fearful of INDYCAR returning to it’s early 90’s glory? It seems odd. I know they want to be the premier racing league (which they generally are) but it’s really off putting to read and hear their sniping at Indy.

[MichVandal]

Just when F1 is getting exciting again (imo) Toto Wolff, Liberty Media and others have to ruin it.

why are they ****ing on the Indy 500 tv coverage and Andretti’s attempt to start an F1 team? Are they really that insecure?

in 3 weeks INDY will have a crowd that absolutely dwarfs the biggest crowds that either F1 or nascar can get at ANY race. Is that still bothersome to these guys?

serious question. This weekend they’re going out of their way to publicly dismiss INDYCAR.

WRT money, don’t forget that f1 and indycar are on different channels. It’s good business for liberty to crap on the Indy 500, even though the racing on that track is normally better than f1 races.

indy lost out big with nbcsn going away.

[solovsfett]

a

WRT money, don’t forget that f1 and indycar are on different channels. It’s good business for liberty to crap on the Indy 500, even though the racing on that track is normally better than f1 races.

indy lost out big with nbcsn going away.

it certainly will be interesting to track the tv numbers and attendance at races this year and next for F1 and INDYCAR. I think “Drive To Survive” has rekindled American interest in open wheel racing in general.

re: Miami, solid race. Verstappen really is amazing. He outguts everyone in the field.

last week INDYCAR in Alabama qualifying and the race were both sold out. The shocking thing is 60% of the crowd was from out of state and from Europe etc. it’s like we used to see in Milwaukee in the 90’s. Union jacks and Brazilian flags in the crowd and license plates from like 15-20 different states and 1/2 the provinces in Canada.

[Jimjamesak]

Are they fearful of INDYCAR returning to it’s early 90’s glory? It seems odd. I know they want to be the premier racing league (which they generally are) but it’s really off putting to read and hear their sniping at Indy.

Indy will always be a threat to F1 as far as F1 is concerned, especially as F1 tries to gain a better foothold in the American market, because they're too similar in F1's mind.

Also a really good comment I saw re: Andretti trying to enter F1:

F1: We want a bigger share in the American market
Andretti: Hi
F1: No

[aparch]

it’s like we used to see in Milwaukee in the 90’s. Union jacks and Brazilian flags in the crowd and license plates from like 15-20 different states and 1/2 the provinces in Canada.

I miss watching races at the Milwaukee Mile. I actually started watching occasional Indy races thanks to going to NASCAR races at the Mile, and learning of its ties to Indy car.

[solovsfett]

Indy will always be a threat to F1 as far as F1 is concerned, especially as F1 tries to gain a better foothold in the American market, because they're too similar in F1's mind.

Also a really good comment I saw re: Andretti trying to enter F1:

F1: We want a bigger share in the American market
Andretti: Hi
F1: No

Good point.

that coin et is both funny and sad. Andretti would really rev things up for American fans I think. He’d get Mario involved as a spokesman I would think. Win win. Or at least to be in commercials.

[solovsfett]

I miss watching races at the Milwaukee Mile. I actually started watching occasional Indy races thanks to going to NASCAR races at the Mile, and learning of its ties to Indy car.

The Mile is a great track. My dad started taking me to INDYCAR (champ car back then) races and ASA stock car races there in 1979 when I was 7.

saw some great drivers in both series: Mears, Foyt, Mario, JR, Johncock, Bobby and Al Unser then little Al and Michael on their way up, Greg Moore, etc
Joe Ruttman, Dick Trickle, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip in ASA races. Fun times!

EDIT: damn I forgot I watched Alan Kulwicki race the mile as well in ASA before he jumped to nascar.

[Kepler]

Dr. Mrs. & I started watching F1: Drive to Survive from the beginning (2018 season) and we love it. We even got up early to watch the Austrian GP Sunday.

[Russell Jaslow]

Dr. Mrs. & I started watching F1: Drive to Survive from the beginning (2018 season) and we love it. We even got up early to watch the Austrian GP Sunday.

There are many, many, many people in America like you. Which is why the U.S. ratings continuously set new records.

The rest of us say, "What took you so long?" :-)

[Kepler]

There are many, many, many people in America like you. Which is why the U.S. ratings continuously set new records.

The rest of us say, "What took you so long?" :-)

The racing is fun. But man the intrigue and politics and flat out junior high school b1tchiness rivals The Bachelorette. That's just as much fun.

Dr. Mrs., myself, and my sister-in-law are making a date to go see the Vegas GP next November. I would greatly appreciate all advice on where to get seats and how to get the most out of the experience.

[MichVandal]

The racing is fun. But man the intrigue and politics and flat out junior high school b1tchiness rivals The Bachelorette. That's just as much fun.

Dr. Mrs., myself, and my sister-in-law are making a date to go see the Vegas GP next November. I would greatly appreciate all advice on where to get seats and how to get the most out of the experience.

I'm skipping the previous season because of the horrible officiating of the season- all season penalties were very random, and the championship was decided by a sudden rule change on the last lap of the last race of the season. Had they followed the procedure, Hamilton would be champion, and I really am not interested in re-watching that debacle.

[Spartanforlife4]

I got into F1 during the pandemic when it was one of the few sports that restarted early. Got hooked after that. The analytics are great. I don’t know if it’s just Sky’s presentation but it really makes for an informative viewing experience. Plus being stateside all but four or five races are in the morning and only a couple hours so you can go about your day.

Vandal, I feel the same way about DTS 2021. The final race was way too close to manufactured content for my liking. Plus I paid attention to that full season so I’m not sure if I want a full recap. Part of the fun It was a little different watching the 2020 DTS because I jumped into the season midway through and. I’d say for any beginner watching one season is good for getting background on teams, but I’m not sure how enticing it is for fanatics already familiar. For one, since they only follow one team each week some interesting story lines get lost. I think it was Silverstone 2020 where both Mercedes got flat tires late in the race and Hamilton won with only three tires, only escaping because he had a 30 second lead. That DTS episode doesn’t even mention the drama, instead they were following one of the teams in the back of the pack and I think that highlighted one of them finished 9th.

[Kepler]

That DTS episode doesn’t even mention the drama, instead they were following one of the teams in the back of the pack and I think that highlighted one of them finished 9th.

I like the format following a few team arcs through the seasons while ignoring the points leaders (same 3 every year; boring). The fight for the mid table is interesting to me. I assume they send crews to follow all teams, then they take all that footage at the end of the season and construct the narratives backwards. It *is* manufactured content in that regard, but there are dozens (hundreds?) of outlets following the horserace; DTS is aiming for something more human and I appreciate the quality storytelling.

It helps that having no connection with the sport we have zero interest in editorial integrity. :-) We may start feeling differently once we have a full season of watching live races under our belts. I am already obsessively researching the technical details as they get mentioned. Not having any interest in cars IRL, I still appreciate the incredible physics and engineering. I would much rather the Krauts breaking their heads on racecars than weapons. Never really gonna trust them again... (cf. the US).

[Spartanforlife4]

I like the format following a few team arcs through the seasons while ignoring the points leaders (same 3 every year; boring). The fight for the mid table is interesting to me. I assume they send crews to follow all teams, then they take all that footage at the end of the season and construct the narratives backwards. It *is* manufactured content in that regard, but there are dozens (hundreds?) of outlets following the horserace; DTS is aiming for something more human and I appreciate the quality storytelling.

It helps that having no connection with the sport we have zero interest in editorial integrity. :-) We may start feeling differently once we have a full season of watching live races under our belts. I am already obsessively researching the technical details as they get mentioned. Not having any interest in cars IRL, I still appreciate the incredible physics and engineering. I would much rather the Krauts breaking their heads on racecars than weapons. Never really gonna trust them again... (cf. the US).

From what I understand, DTS will pick a team to follow each weekend, which is why you end up following the middle of the pack team because that’s whose week it was. Plus at least Verstappen refuses to be on it because he doesn’t like how it’s edited.

The show itself is definitely manufactured content. Some of the criticism I’ve seen from other fans who follow the sport more intently is that the selective editing tells more of a story than there actually is, but that’s to be expected with a reality show. I’m sure Last Chance U used their film room selectively as well.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but my manufactured content comment was about the actual race itself, not the show. I don’t know how to expound further without giving it away, but it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a fixed sporting event live.

[Jimjamesak]

F1 has a pretty bad history of fixing and “manufactured results” (the FIA isn’t nicknamed Ferrari International Assistance for nothing) going back decades. Like many things at that level, it’s entertainment first and a sport second. Though, like the other major European based sport soccer, everyone involved still tries to pretend it’s a sport first.