Formula 1

[Southron]

I didn't see an F1 racing thread here, so this is for the Urban Planet F1 fans. Who will win the driver's championship this year?

[dxartist]

I didn't see an F1 racing thread here, so this is for the Urban Planet F1 fans. Who will win the driver's championship this year?

[dgreco]

i dont ever see press for F1, aleast indy series you have the overrrated danica to keep it alive.

[Southron]

i dont ever see press for F1, aleast indy series you have the overrrated danica to keep it alive.

[dxartist]

F1 is a big deal in Europe and Asia, but doesn't get much press here in the US. Unfortunately, the one US race in Indianapolis was cancelled for next year, partly due to lack of a major sponsor and TV contract. I'm still a fan, though. F1 has a lot of tradition and what are probably the world's most sophisticated race cars.

[Mith242]

I don't follow it too much but what bothers me is that it seems like what F1 that's here in the US it's raced on oval tracks like NASCAR. If I'm going to watch racing I want to see more than just seeing someone making a left hand turn. Something like some of the Grand Prix or maybe even Rally racing.

[dxartist]

I don't follow it too much but what bothers me is that it seems like what F1 that's here in the US it's raced on oval tracks like NASCAR. If I'm going to watch racing I want to see more than just seeing someone making a left hand turn. Something like some of the Grand Prix or maybe even Rally racing.

[TONYCLT]

Who will win the driver's championship this year?

[WOT]

Indianapolis has already announced that MOTOGP, the motorcycle series equivelant to F1 has committed to a US stop at I.M.S.

F1's boss, Bernie has been a real tool to deal with. I appaud Tony George for not ponying up $30mm just to stroke F1's ego. On the other hand, you can't blame him/them (F1) for taking a COUNTRY up on a seed money to the tune of $30mm dollars. That is one big government subsidy!

It is too bad though, some of the manufacturers largest sales revenue come from the US market.

[TONYCLT]

The problem with F1 in America is that most Americans just don't see the difference between the ChampCar Series, IRL, and F1 to most it's just drivers from other countries driving open wheel cars. Most Americans prefer stock car racing over open wheel.

[TONYCLT]

2007 F1 Driver and Constructor standings

Points--Driver Standings

70---Lewis Hamilton

58---Fernando Alonso

52---Kimi Raikkonen

51---Felipe Massa

33---Nick Heidfeld

22---Robert Kubica

17---Giancarlo Fisichella

14---Heikki Kovalainen

8----Alexander Wurz

7----Jarno Trulli

5----Nico Rosberg

4----David Coulthard

4----Takuma Sato

2----Mark Webber

2----Ralf Schumacher

1----Sebastian Vettel

1----Jenson Button

0----Vitantonio Liuzzi

0----Scott Speed

0----Christijan Albers

0----Anthony Davidson

0----Adrian Sutil

0----Rubens Barrichello

Points--Constructor Standings

128---Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

103---Scuderia Ferrari

56----BMW Sauber F1

24----ING Renault F1

13----AT & T Williams F1 Toyota

9-----Panasonic Toyota Racing

6-----Red Bull Racing Renault

4-----Super Aguri Honda

1-----Honda Racing F1 Team

0-----Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari

[WOT]

^ Yea, only 1 Yankee Chap in the mix for F1. Agreed on not appreciating the difference. The technology gap doesn't quite grab our attention like Stewart climbing the fence in his now XXL suit! I grew up in Indy and must confess I never attended any of the USGP events. Old school I guess - just not the same since Foyt, Unser(s), Andretti and Rutherford were racing each other.

I will be interested to see what Red Bull does with their ongoing F1 American driver search series each year now that we won't have a stop over here "across the pond". I know alot of the indoor karting centeres sponsor these Red Bull events.

[TONYCLT]

What a great race yesterday Fernando Alonso showed he is still in the championship form after the pass on Felipe Massa in the closing laps in what was already an exciting race. Fernando closed to within 2 points of Lewis Hamilton for the championship after a terrible weekend for Hamilton. On a side note the FIA is holding a hearing on Thursday to see whether or not to find Mclearan guilty of obtaining information illegally from the Ferrari teams, the Mclearen teams could be disqualified from the championship if found guilty.

[Southron]

^ Looks like you're going to be right about Alonso repeating as champ.

[TONYCLT]

Looks like the championship will come down to Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

[TONYCLT]

This news is about two weeks old but I thought I would share it, McLaren has been fined 100 million dollars for spying on rival team Ferrari on top of the fine McLaren will also give up their constructor points so they can't competed for the constructors championship in which they were first and second, the only good news is Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton get to keep their driver points so they can compete for the championship.

[Southron]

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen narrowly won his first F1 drivers' championship with a win in the Brazilian Grand Prix, where Alonso finished third and Hamilton seventh. Raikkonen won the drivers' championship with 110 points, followed by Alonso and Hamilton at 109. I thought sure that either Alonso or Hamilton would win the championship, but they couldn't get it done in Brazil.

[UFL Live]

I'm very sad that there will be no US Grand Prix this year. But I'm hopeful that the competition among the teams will be tighter this year. Last year was a joke with clear favorites at every track and no hope of advancing unless there was system failure. (Indy Cars too have become a bit of a joke with their heavy portion of clear back markers, but that's another topic.)

So if Tony George won't pony up the $$$ for a US race (and I'm not saying he should), are there any cities that are ready to handle a street race on the caliber of F1? It doesn't look like any of the Champ Car courses quite measure up to the spectacle and seating requirements that F1 requires.

[kontractor]

this ones too scarry for me though... F1s are too fast for me... i rather see them rip off the tracks and hear the roaring sound from the bleechers...

[mod134]

I believe the Homestad roval is up to F1 standards. Rumors persist of a USA race returning ... possibly at Indy. Others have Bernie going to Las Vegas w/ F1. Even Bruton Smith offered Sears Point near San Francisco (a permanent road course).

If they return, I don't know where they will race. You are right that there are not many race tracks around that could satisfy F1's criteria. The shame of it is places like Laguna Seca or Road America would have to be butchered in terms of layout in order to meet F1 specs.