F1 2011/ Motor Racing Thread

[Monkee]

Stowe is a great place to sit - I was there this year. If Virgin Racing do the camping thing again next year then I might go again depending on pricing. I'm sorting out my ticket for Turkey this week hopefully so we'll see how much is left over after sorting that out. As for going on your own, don't worry about it as you'll probably end up talking to people anyway. Also, take advantage of the roaming seats on Friday & Saturday as you can see the cars on the track from different places other than Stowe.

 

I got some great Virgin-related stuff for Christmas too so I'm counting down the days to the start of the season!

[LariatTom]

That was why I went for Stowe. It was that or the National Pit Straight for the Silver tickets and I recall you saying some good stuff about Stowe, plus with the moveable rear wing thing probably being deployed on Hangar Straight, we should *theoretically* see some overtaking going into that corner! I was pretty much relying on talking to people and making some new friends. That's my plan anyway, with a load of F1 fans on a camp site, it should be pretty easy to get talking with people.

 

Aye, I saw that roaming seat business for the first two days. Does that open up other a couple of other grandstands for people to go and sit in?

[ajmcstyles]

I have no idea if this thread will be going into the new year and suspect someone'll make a new thread once the 2011 car launches begin and we get the beginnings of testing and whatnot. After forgetting/putting it off for weeks and weeks, I've finally got round to buying my Silverstone ticket for next year after realising the money would soon be gone otherwise! I'll be sat at Stowe for the race and I'm looking forward to wandering around the track on Friday and Saturday to check the circuit out.

 

My one problem is that as it stands, I'll be going on my own. My brother's showed a remote interest in coming, but I highly doubt he will. Bizarre that I've been a fan for about 15 years, but this'll be my first race

 

Oh, if you haven't already...check out Autosport's quiz of the year. A bit lengthy but completely worth it and quite difficult in places too!!

How much was the ticket for silverstone?

[LariatTom]

My three day ticket for the Stowe C grandstand was

[Monkee]

Silverstone's quite a good circuit for General Admission as there are a few really good viewing points if you get there early enough. I did GA at Spa last year and I don't think I'll bother doing it again. There aren't many good viewing points there and as it always rains then it gets muddy quickly. I think I'd rather pay the extra and be in a grandstand.

 

As for pricing - the Virgin Racing camping for 2010 was

[patiirc]

Updated thread title

 

Hows that

[Loki]

The new rules about the movable rear wing for the 2011 season are ridiculously complicated:

 

The driver will be able to move the wing at any time throughout practice and qualifying. This way engineers can select appropriate gear ratios after measuring the car's maximum speed with the wing open. There is no point having a sudden straight line speed boost only to then hit the rev limiter.

But there are very different rules governing use of the moveable rear wing in the race.

Firstly, drivers will only be able to move the wing on one, designated straight. So at Silverstone, for example, it will be the Hangar straight and Barcelona will be the pit straight, but it might not be such a clear choice at other circuits. Charlie Whiting, race director of governing body the FIA, will choose.

 

Secondly, drivers will only be allowed to use it in a specific zone on the straight. This zone is expected to start a few hundred metres down the straight and end at the braking point for the next corner. This is to allow the cars to be securely established at high speed before taking away downforce. The sudden removal of rear downforce has to be done with great care.

As soon as the driver touches the brake pedal for the corner, the flap snaps shut and the rear wing provides downforce again.

Thirdly, drivers will not be allowed to move their wings in the first two laps of the race, nor during the two laps following a safety car period. This is understandable as everyone will be tightly bunched together.

The fourth and arguably most intriguing rule about moving the wing in the race is that the car behind must be within one second of the car ahead in order to be allowed to activate the wing. The car's electronic control unit (ECU) will be sent timing information to govern when the driver is allowed to move his wing.

Crucially, the driver ahead is not allowed to move his rear wing to defend the overtaking move, unless he too is within one second of another car in front.

 

How the hell is the driver supposed to remember all that whilst driving an F1 car round the track?

[ajmcstyles]

Why cant they just have a simple fucking rule, the FIA are awkward

[Sergio Bellend]

I don't tend to post in this thread, but I've got a question or two for anyone who's ever been to an F1 race.

 

Basically, for my 21st, my parents have said I can go and watch a Grand Prix or motor race somewhere. Unfortunately, my plans for either the Indy 500 or canadian GP were knocked on the head, so I'm looking at somewhere in Europe . I've narrowed it down (I think) to the belgian GP at Spa, MotoGP at Mugello (Rossi's first Italian race on a Ducati), or the F1 or world Superbikes at Monza. Now I'm more of a bike fan, but the prospect of the F1 at Spa is really, really tempting. Is that a good place to watch from a spectators point of view, or are there any other tracks (F1, MotoGP or SBK) that people who have been would recommend?

 

Thanks a lot for any help.

[ajmcstyles]

Spa I feel it has some magic about it

[Monkee]

Well hello there and welcome to the thread. Right, I can't really comment on bikes but I can with F1. I've done a few European races so here goes.

 

Spa is a classic circuit and all the drivers love it because it's legendary. It is an amazing circuit to go and see and you never really get how steep some of the track is from watching it on TV. I went there in August and I'm really glad I did but there were two drawbacks. Firstly, it always rains. Now this makes for a brilliant race to watch but to actually be there it wasn't so comfortable. Although everything's paved there are some dirt tracks you have to walk down because it's a forest environment. Most things get covered in mud and if you're not wearing waterproofs then you'll get soaked. I don't think I've ever seen a fully dry Belgian GP. Secondly, I will never do General Admission again. If you go, then for the love of God, get a grandstand seat. There aren't many really good viewing areas for GA and so they fill up pretty quick. I watched quali trying not to slide down a hill (it was ok when it was dry but when it started to rain you had no chance) and I watched the race standing the whole time and not really being able to see much apart from the screens. I never really intended on going to Spa but I had paddock passes so I couldn't really turn it down. I'm glad I went but it wouldn't be another I'd go to. Also, there's not really much to see/do in the area. I actually stayed in Dutch town which was nice but it took about 90 minutes to get to the track each day.

 

Monza is another classic circuit and holds so much history and passion. I went there in 2008 and saw Vettel's first win. Milan is a stunning city so there are tourist attractions when you're not at the circuit as well as Maranello (Ferrari factory, museum, private race track, etc.) being about 90 minutes away if you're driving. Monza itself is in the middle of a huge park so you have to walk a fair way to the circuit and then walk around the outside to get to the grandstand. I don't recall there being any GA areas but that doesn't mean there weren't any. Unfortunately for me this was the first race since the 1970s where it rained. The surroundings to the track were like Glastonbury - a foot of mud everywhere - but it wasn't particularly cold so most people were wearing shorts with plastic bags tied around their shoes. I really liked Monza because not only was it a great race but you can just feel the passion. I was jumped by about 12 Finnish Ferrari fans because I was wearing my Raikknonen T-shirt and made to dance about with them. I couldn't get away! It all just sucks you in. You can get on the track after the race as well and run down to watch the podium celebrations on the pit straight if you can get there in time.

 

Other circuits I've been to are Silverstone, Barcelona and Turkey. All have their pros and cons but this year will be my 4th visit to Turkey.

 

Just booked my ticket today!!

 

Istanbul is another city with lots of tourist attractions for when you're not at the circuit. The circuit itself is about an hour from Istanbul but the facilities there are just getting better each year. I first went in 2006 and there wasn't much there at all and it took over 90 minutes to get there. Now they've built a brand new motorway just to accommodate it, the facilities inside the circuit are better and they lay on more entertainment there as well. Last year when I went they had a stage with live bands after qualifying as well as a driver signing tent where ALL of the drivers came out to meet the fans. I'd definitely recommend Turkey as you have the good weather, it's a great circuit for the racing and facilities and it's cheap. A 3-day ticket for Silver 8 (the last corner looking down the pit straight where Vettel and Webber collided last year) has just cost

[Sergio Bellend]

Thanks a lot, fantastic post Monkee. I have to admit I had thought about Monaco, but I was a bit put off by a) how much more it is there than the other european rounds, and b) You could get a really, really dull race there. But then it's Monaco, so I don't suppose it really matters if the race is crap. My parents have already been, but bizarrely went the weekend before the GP because it was loads cheaper. I never understood why as F1 fans going to Monaco for the first time, they wouldn't pay that extra and watch the race. As ajmc says, there is something a bit magic about Spa which is very tempting. I do reckon I'd get a grandstand seat though, the prospect of being stood outside for hours in the rain isn't exactly my bag.

 

And as you say about Monza, the atmosphere must be great with all the ferrari nutters. I prefer World Superbikes, but if I went to watch that at Monza I can imagine I'd feel "I'd much rather have watched the F1 here"

 

I'm gonna have to make my mind up soon though, I've been put off by all the modern tracks on the basis that if I'm going to my first F1 race, I want it to be somewhere with real history, y'know?

 

Another quick question-do grandstand tickets tend to be reserved seating or not? I'd probably make the most of it and watch the GP3, GP2 and Porsches etc. but if it isn't reserved seating, is there much clamour for seats early in the morning? My mum and dad used to go to Silverstone in the 90's, and said they used to get there at 5 in the morning or something!

[Monkee]

Be careful when you say "I'd get a grandstand seat though, the prospect of being stood outside for hours in the rain isn't exactly my bag" because most grandstands are uncovered. The only circuit where all the grandstands are covered is Abu Dhabi because of the sun. Most of the time the only covered grandstand is the one along the pit straight. If you're going to Spa for the first time then I'd recommend sitting at the top of Eau Rouge. I sneaked under the fence to watch practice there and it's amazing watching the cars sweeping up that hill at that speed.

 

Monaco, apparently, can be done on the cheap. I think Alex said he stayed in Nice and travelled into Monaco. Practice is on Thursday because Friday is a bank holiday but you can walk around the whole circuit on the Friday and there are things going on all the time there. He said it was his favourite one. My mum wants to go on race weekend but not go to the actual race. She wants to be there just for the atomsphere.

 

And finally, some circuits do roaming tickets for Friday and Saturday where you can sit wherever you like but you have to sit in your assigned seat for the race on Sunday. Not all circuits do this though so you might need to check before you buy - it's a good way of seeing different parts of the track. As for clamouring for seats - depends where you go. Not many people show up on Friday for practice so you won't have a problem but then they fill up for qualifying and, obviously, the race but you have assigned seats for the race. It depends on the circuit as well for seating because sometimes people tend to stand around the grandstand rather than sit in their seats to watch the race. For example, in Turkey the grandstand is in a fenced off area so you can watch the race from anywhere in this area. The first year I went there was a heatwave so lots of people were underneath the grandstand watching out of the sun. But others tend to stand right near the fences for full immersion which means their seats in the grandstand are empty. I've never got to a circuit as soon as it's opened and I've not stayed until closing time and I've never had problems with seats at the circuit. Seats on buses to take you back to the city are a different story!

 

The thing about your mum and dad queuing might be for General Admission tickets which means first come first served. People do queue like that to bagsy the best spaces to watch the race.

[LariatTom]

The new rules about the movable rear wing for the 2011 season are ridiculously complicated:

 

The driver will be able to move the wing at any time throughout practice and qualifying. This way engineers can select appropriate gear ratios after measuring the car's maximum speed with the wing open. There is no point having a sudden straight line speed boost only to then hit the rev limiter.

But there are very different rules governing use of the moveable rear wing in the race.

Firstly, drivers will only be able to move the wing on one, designated straight. So at Silverstone, for example, it will be the Hangar straight and Barcelona will be the pit straight, but it might not be such a clear choice at other circuits. Charlie Whiting, race director of governing body the FIA, will choose.

 

Secondly, drivers will only be allowed to use it in a specific zone on the straight. This zone is expected to start a few hundred metres down the straight and end at the braking point for the next corner. This is to allow the cars to be securely established at high speed before taking away downforce. The sudden removal of rear downforce has to be done with great care.

As soon as the driver touches the brake pedal for the corner, the flap snaps shut and the rear wing provides downforce again.

Thirdly, drivers will not be allowed to move their wings in the first two laps of the race, nor during the two laps following a safety car period. This is understandable as everyone will be tightly bunched together.

The fourth and arguably most intriguing rule about moving the wing in the race is that the car behind must be within one second of the car ahead in order to be allowed to activate the wing. The car's electronic control unit (ECU) will be sent timing information to govern when the driver is allowed to move his wing.

Crucially, the driver ahead is not allowed to move his rear wing to defend the overtaking move, unless he too is within one second of another car in front.

 

How the hell is the driver supposed to remember all that whilst driving an F1 car round the track?

 

I imagine they'll remember it the same way they remember what every button does their steering wheel, by going through it over and over again in their heads, in the simulator and during testing when that kicks off next month.

 

Use being unrestricted during practice makes sense because otherwise they'd risk hitting the rev limiter as it states and then it'd be completely useless. It isn't that difficult to remember really. If they tried to use it at another point on the track, or when they weren't close enough, I assume it just won't work so they'd notice pretty quickly. I wouldn't worry, they're paid as some of the top drivers in the world, I expect another rule with a set of instructions won't be too hard for them to get their heads round.

[Loki]

You need to take into account that there'll also be a KERS button as well. A lot of former drivers and commentators have suggested that the steering wheel controls are becoming too complex now, with potential safety issues associated.

 

Even leaving the drivers aside, it's just another complex rule for fans to learn. F1 is a hard sport to entice new fans into anyway, and the more complex the rules the more people will be put off. It just seems that the FIA have this schizophrenic attitude towards the sport, both simplifying (no refuel, no tire change) and complicating at the same time.