formula 1 Formula 1 World Championship 2016 Season Discussion

[+John. Subscriber¹]

12 minutes ago, MightyJordan said:

 

I just thought of another flaw. Say Pastor Maldonado tries it, I bet 4chan users would fund him just to troll the other drivers.

I have to admit, I'd pay to see that again!

[Skiver Veteran]

I know it's far too early to really be thinking about next year but with the quiet of the Summer break, why not!

 

Who do you guys think is going to make the best of next years regulation shakeup?

 

For me, as the regulations seem to be pretty Aero focused I think a Red Bull resurgence to the top is probably the most likely thing we'll see. I think we might see Mclaren catch up a little as they seem to have a pretty good car under them as it is and I think focus on faster engined cars will be less of an advantage. I expect Mercedes to be still at the top end but I think they'll be challenged by RBR a lot more. 

 

I think unfortunately Ferrari will drop back a bit down the field as they never seem to get new changes right at least within the first half of the season if not taking an entire season or two to start getting back near the top.

[MightyJordan]

 

[+John. Subscriber¹]

43 minutes ago, MightyJordan said:

 

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[MightyJordan]

 

[MightyJordan]

 

 

[MightyJordan]

 

[Sparky Marky]

Quote

Williams driver Felipe Massa has announced he will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the season.

 

The 35-year-old Brazilian, who has won 11 grands prix, said it was the "right time" to finish his 15-year career.

Massa said: "I'm relieved and happy. You need to be strong enough to make decisions that are quite difficult."

 

The last race in Abu Dhabi will be the 250th of Massa's career, in which he has driven for Sauber, Ferrari and Williams.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/37245221

[Skiver Veteran]

I have to admit, this doesn't come as a massive surprise, unfortunately since his accident he's either never had the car or the pace to truly content with the big boys.

 

I see Button replacing him, I know it's still early days but Force India seem to have the pace over Force India right now so IMO Perez would be crazy to make that switch.

[MightyJordan]

 

[MightyJordan]

 

[MightyJordan]

 

[MightyJordan]

 

[MightyJordan]

Huge crash from the GP2 race today (that wasn't Canamasas' fault, for once), hopefully not foreshadowing for tomorrow...

 

[philcruicks]

Interesting McLaren news @MightyJordan, hopefully we'll see him back in 2018.

Bit more detailed info:

Quote

 

Jenson Button will not race in Formula 1 in 2017 but will remain with McLaren as an ambassador.

The 2009 world champion will work with the team and could race again in 2018, having signed a two-year contract.

Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne will be promoted from reserve driver to partner double world champion Fernando Alonso.

Button said that after racing in F1 since 2000 he had come to the conclusion over the summer break in August that he wanted to take a break.

He and McLaren chairman Ron Dennis devised what the 69-year-old described as an "innovative" solution to the problem to keep all their options open for the future.

 

And that crash actually was no where near as bad as it could have been or as bad as I thought on 1st watch.

[MightyJordan]

 

[onewarmslime]

Horrible start by Lewis... what a shame.

[Skiver Veteran]

Found a pic comparing this years with next years tyres 

 

[MightyJordan]

Before anyone celebrates, Bernie's staying on as CEO, the new chairman - Chase Carey - is Executive Vice-Chairman of 21st Century Fox and "a key lieutenant of Rupert Murdoch at News Corporation". And Liberty Media's owner, John Malone, "has been dubbed ‘Darth Vader’ for deal-making style". So, we've got Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and the billionaire Yoda working together. No wonder Sky's gonna have all the coverage here from 2019.

[Skiver Veteran]

10 hours ago, MightyJordan said:

Before anyone celebrates, Bernie's staying on as CEO, the new chairman - Chase Carey - is Executive Vice-Chairman of 21st Century Fox and "a key lieutenant of Rupert Murdoch at News Corporation". And Liberty Media's owner, John Malone, "has been dubbed ‘Darth Vader’ for deal-making style". So, we've got Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and the billionaire Yoda working together. No wonder Sky's gonna have all the coverage here from 2019.

 

What makes you think Sky will get all of the coverage?

The people behind Liberty media own massive stakes in Eurosport, ITV and Virgin Media - I'm pretty sure they are going to try and push it those ways over what appears to be their competition?

 

In other news, there are some rumours flying around about a buyout of Force India from Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim. It seems this may not be the case but there was a lot of stuff over the last 24 hours about this but with no official announcement its still just a rumour atm.

 

Reddit discussion

[MightyJordan]

1 hour ago, Skiver said:

What makes you think Sky will get all of the coverage?

Because they secured the exclusive rights earlier this year? It's gonna be exclusive to Sky Sports F1 from 2019 to 2024, with the exception of the British Grand Prix being shown on free-to-air channels (and at least two other races on Sky Sports Mix, which you need to be a Sky or Virgin Media customer to access).

[Skiver Veteran]

2 minutes ago, MightyJordan said:

Because they secured the exclusive rights earlier this year? It's gonna be exclusive to Sky Sports F1 from 2019 to 2024, with the exception of the British Grand Prix being shown on free-to-air channels (and at least two other races on Sky Sports Mix, which you need to be a Sky or Virgin Media customer to access).

 

May have forgotten all about that... Clutching at straws but I wonder if new owners have the ability to get out of a contract like that.

[what]

1 hour ago, Skiver said:

May have forgotten all about that... Clutching at straws but I wonder if new owners have the ability to get out of a contract like that.

Well Murdoch owns Sky, so I doubt he'd be interested in that...

[Skiver Veteran]

So take from this what you will....

 

Quote

"But there are huge audiences there. If we reach those fans using digital platforms and some of the tools that haven't been exploited aggressively, we can build a whole new generation of fans in places that, historically, have been as significant a part of the Formula One fanbase."

1

Source and a few more tidbits on their "vision"

 

Again, call me optimistic but reading between the lines I'd say they are potentially looking to incorporate F1 "content" into their Eurosport TV Streaming service, that maybe a way around the Sky Exclusivity contract OR that could be a long-term plan for after that contract or I could be really really hoping for something cheaper than Sky!

[what]

You're being optimistic. They will do whatever brings the money in, building Tilkedromes in every oil rich country on the planet and then pulling out when the crowds don't materialise as tickets are equivalent to a month's wages or whatever.

 

Bernie is still the man. Using digital platforms just means voting for driver of the day and irrelevant crap like that. If they wanted to have a streaming service they would have provided it a long time ago.

 

Legally, Sky has F1 by the balls, because of its own greed.