2021 COTA F1 Austin race (1 Viewer)

[mick]

140,000 fans.....week long party complete with billy joel concert.......dallas cowboy cheerleader on starting grid.......shaq delivers winner's trophy to max.
i sure hope negotiations go well to continue this annual stop on the F1 calendar. i believe this was the last race of their current contract. it sure seemed to me like the event/race
was a complete success, even with stifling heat.......both the new miami race and returning austin races are on '22 calendar, but both races as of now do not have signed contracts.

yestday martin brundle was doing pre-race grid walk, interviewing drivers, team members, and celebrities as he could find them. some stupid 'stallion' rapper gal totally snubbed martin's attempt for an interview, as did serena williams......IMO both of these gals came off looking very stupid and arrogant......martin successfully interviewed ben stiller and his son, as well as rory mcllroy.......and tell me WHY did sky news end up danica patrick on the 3rd mic. she is disgraceful and asked incredibly stupid questions pre and post race.

 

[TSK]

I muted the TV when I saw Danica Patrick. Talk about "space, the final frontier."
The racing was pretty good. But, the announcers repeatedly pointed out how bumpy that track is. The last eight to 10 laps were fun to watch. Lewis Hamilton tried, but could not run down Max Verstappen.
I hope to catch a race there if the series comes back to Austin.

 

[mick]

i guess the underlayment at COTA was done incorrectly and now is not only bumpy, but quite abrasive on tires. pretty sure any new contract signed to continue this
annual race will require a complete redo of track underlayment and pavement. for a closed circuit racetrack (not public roads), it's in pretty bad shape, considering it's age.
other than that, the place seems to get rave reviews from racers and team officials for it's layout/sections, and elevation changes.
what boggles my mind are the middle east course. bahrain and abu dabi will now be joined by qatar and saudi arabia. qatar using an existing circuit in '22, then building complete new
circuit for '23 and beyond. saudi debuting their new circuit in jeddah in about a month

 

[T.Smith]

140,000 fans.....week long party complete with billy joel concert.......dallas cowboy cheerleader on starting grid.......shaq delivers winner's trophy to max.
i sure hope negotiations go well to continue this annual stop on the F1 calendar. i believe this was the last race of their current contract. it sure seemed to me like the event/race
was a complete success, even with stifling heat.......both the new miami race and returning austin races are on '22 calendar, but both races as of now do not have signed contracts.

yestday martin brundle was doing pre-race grid walk, interviewing drivers, team members, and celebrities as he could find them. some stupid 'stallion' rapper gal totally snubbed martin's attempt for an interview, as did serena williams......IMO both of these gals came off looking very stupid and arrogant......martin successfully interviewed ben stiller and his son, as well as rory mcllroy.......and tell me WHY did sky news end up danica patrick on the 3rd mic. she is disgraceful and asked incredibly stupid questions pre and post race.

I went back and looked at that. Megan Thee Stallion's handlers were the problem. Seemed like there was somewhere they needed to be. I think she was there representing Red Bull, so maybe they were trying to get to the front of the grid. I'd like to know why her handlers were so agitated. If you watch again, when Martin starts to talk to her. The handler tries to push him away. Megan slaps the handler on the shoulder to tell him to leave him alone. I think if Martin doesn't ask the freestyle rap question, she stops and talks to him.

I don't know if Serena is typically reclusive when it comes to events outside of tennis.

Stupid and arrogant is pretty strong. I'd just say they need to lighten up a bit. People are happy to see you at such an event.

I'm sure Danica got a fat check to be there and somehow the network thinks she helps drive ratings. She absolutely in my opinion doesn't give two shits about racing.

 

[mick]

........ I'd just say they need to lighten up a bit. People are happy to see you at such an event.........

with a little due diligence into the major, int'l. sporting event you are attending, both of these gals (megan and serena) could have made a positive splash for their images,
but it didn't work out that way. they both took a lot of heat on social media, especially from the non-usa fans. oh well, to each their own.........the 'do you have a rap for us today'
comment from brundle was pretty stoopid for sure..........what a major deal it would be for the usa if the new miami race and the austin race are both successful and remain on F1 calendar.
5 of 23 races contested in western continents. pretty cool.

 

[Notch1320]

I'm a big F1 fan and was looking forward to attending the Miami race next year which is just about an hour and a half from me...Until I saw the ticket prices, you think NHRA charges a lot for their tickets? Check this out: https://jalopnik.com/the-miami-grand-prixs-ticket-prices-soar-to-the-thousan-1847946662

 

[mikebcurve]

Yikes! That’s a bit steep.

 

[mick]

the city officials in miami IMO really screwed up by fighting against and winning the battle of having a street circuit seaside.
the offshore powerboats could have scheduled the week before, or even have moved the whole deal to the ft. lauderdale marina area, rite next to ft. lauderdale int'l. airport.
could have had an iron maiden concert scheduled during raceweek and have bruce dickinson fly in the 'eddie' 747 to park next to all the DHL cargo planes hauling all the F1 stuff.
actually bob, your backyard of jupiter would be ideal for a closed street circuit with 2 or 3 water crossings and a hairpin turn in front of the shipwreck bar and grille, plus a high speed
straightaway across the indiantown bridge, which has car history already with burt reynolds

 

[Notch1320]

The Shipwreck is closed as some developer bought the property. The whole area is undergoing a huge transformation with the Brightline high-speed rail coming through Jupiter on it's way to Orlando. Traffic up there is crazy and with the snow birds coming down it's going to get worse.

 

[mick]

i didn't even think of the brightline. you're rite, the tracks are right there. you should see the rail from MCO over to cocoa (and points south, but i've only seen from airport across
beeline to cocoa) it's getting real close. the new station at the new terminal C @ MCO is finished and just waiting for the train to start running. definitley going to ride it once it's open for a year or so.

 

[Notch1320]

I took Brightline from Palm Beach to Lauderdale and back when they first started pre-Covid in 2019 and it was a great train experience. They're talking three hours from Miami to Orlando/Disney. I can see foreign tourists getting off the cruise ships and shooting up there for an overnight visit,

 

[TSK]

140,000 fans.....week long party complete with billy joel concert.......dallas cowboy cheerleader on starting grid.......shaq delivers winner's trophy to max.
i sure hope negotiations go well to continue this annual stop on the F1 calendar. i believe this was the last race of their current contract. it sure seemed to me like the event/race
was a complete success, even with stifling heat.......both the new miami race and returning austin races are on '22 calendar, but both races as of now do not have signed contracts.

yestday martin brundle was doing pre-race grid walk, interviewing drivers, team members, and celebrities as he could find them. some stupid 'stallion' rapper gal totally snubbed martin's attempt for an interview, as did serena williams......IMO both of these gals came off looking very stupid and arrogant......martin successfully interviewed ben stiller and his son, as well as rory mcllroy.......and tell me WHY did sky news end up danica patrick on the 3rd mic. she is disgraceful and asked incredibly stupid questions pre and post race.

The issues with the bodyguards was addressed before the race yesterday.
F1 powers-that-be said the celebrities are welcome in the paddock area “but their big bouncers are not.”

 

[mick]

The issues with the bodyguards was addressed before the race yesterday.
F1 powers-that-be said the celebrities are welcome in the paddock area “but their big bouncers are not.”

no kidding, i didn't read that yet. thanks ted. i like the ruling.