Formula 1?

[ettsn]

Nurburgring is an amazing atmosphere. While there I even clandestinely drove a chunk of the Nordschleife, which they use as a huge parking lot for the F1 race. Absolutely an awesome experience.

I'm going to try to go to Hungary next year, as I'd like to see Budapest anyway, and that is by far the least expensive European round to try to go see.

[ericm]

Absolutely an F1 fan. I'm kind of drifting about without a team/driver at the moment. As such, I haven't watched that many races this year, but I think I'll have to check out the whole Lewis Hamilton phenomenon.

I've been to one GP, 1997 France. It was awesome, Schumacher won and Jos Verstappen made it like 20 whole laps before he went flying off, it may have been the race of his career!

[Heat]

I've been to the Montreal Grand Prix before..now thats a world-class sporting event.

[loki]

I wouldn't say it's the best motorsport ever, but the people driving are dang good. I sat in one at a museum and couldn't see how someone could drive one of those, especially being so cramped and it's still manual, and to top that my dad told me that this one guy drove in cowboy boots all the time.

[ettsn]

Cowboy boots? Not anytime recently (like the last 30 years or so). And what exactly would you say is the best motorsport ever?

[loki]

Well i prefer circuit racing to that, mainly because it's harder to drive a car with a higher center of gravity. Now then the motorsport i consider to be the best is either downhill or hill climb street races (either legit or not) because those guys have to be extremely skilled to do that, and right behind that is rally probably.

[ettsn]

Incorrect. An F1 is by far the most physically demanding racecar to pilot, no contest. More than 4G laterally, close to that under braking and doing all of this while confined to a narrow bathtub of a cockpit? Very difficult. And they are raced on circuits, so I'm not sure I follow what you're trying to say. WRC rally is also extremely difficult and dangerous, and hillclimb is basically just a tarmac rally stage.

[ericm]

Well i prefer circuit racing to that, mainly because it's harder to drive a car with a higher center of gravity. Now then the motorsport i consider to be the best is either downhill or hill climb street races (either legit or not) because those guys have to be extremely skilled to do that, and right behind that is rally probably.

Aside from ettsn's comments, which I agree with completely, I'm not sure you're even right about the higher center of gravity thing. In NASCAR, the COT has a higher center of gravity than the old car. In COT races, yellow flags are WAY down, like 70%+ down. Certainly there is a point at which a center of gravity is too high, but I'm not sure there is a race car out there that would meet that standard. Of course, you have to exempt semi truck drifting.

[loki]

What i meant by it being more difficult is that it is harder to drift with a car with a higher center of gravity (and i don't mean cars built specifically for racing, i mean commercial cars that are altered, but you can't change their center of gravity too much) and it's harder to make one go fast because they're harder to control. F1 cars are made specifically for racing, so it is easier to make a fast turn in them, however it is more physically demanding because of that fact, but i didn't saw that it was more physically demanding, i said it was more difficult to drive a car with a higher center of gravity. I happen to like road races more because you have to be prepared for so much more on the fly. I read a book by Paul Frere, an old professional racer, and he says in his book, "The question who is greater, a great circuit driver and a great road driver, could be debated for hours. Their specialties are so different that no fair comparison can be can be drawn between them. However, if i had to answer it, I would probably say that the great road driver is the greater of the two, because his ability is exerted in a less artificial sphere than circuit or track racing. His ability calls for constantly taking new decisions which must of necessity be right, otherwise he will lose time or go off the road whereas pre-race practice enables the circuit or track driver to try for the limit progressively, as often as he likes, without taking great risks." (29-30). He explains precisely why i favor road racing, because if you want to drive at the limit it takes more attention and also greater skill on a road than a circuit. I'm not saying that other forms of racing are bad, i'm just saying why i favor this type of racing. Also, a little fun fact, Paul was strictly a circuit driver, yet that was still his opinion. I will admit that F1 racing is extremely difficult because of the physical demands, however there is a trade off and that is that it's easier to turn at higher speeds because of the extremely low center of gravity that they have which makes the car handle much better. I personally don't know if i could handle those speeds practically sitting a few inches or whatever from the ground, and maybe i like road racing because it's more feasible for me to get into that rather than F1, or maybe it's because i love to see a car go sideways and pushed to the limit, i really can't explain my preference. Really i just don't seem to prefer racing where the vehicles they drive are specifically made for that purpose.

[loki]

Incorrect. An F1 is by far the most physically demanding racecar to pilot, no contest. More than 4G laterally, close to that under braking and doing all of this while confined to a narrow bathtub of a cockpit? Very difficult. And they are raced on circuits, so I'm not sure I follow what you're trying to say. WRC rally is also extremely difficult and dangerous, and hillclimb is basically just a tarmac rally stage.

What i mean is when they close public highways, like mountain passes, and have races on those. Rally is basically the same thing, only it's dirt and road, and can switch between them, or be one or the other. What i'm talking about though is taking commercial cars like i said and racing those. Both forms of racing are difficult in their own respect, but making a slow car go fast is much more difficult in my book.

and eric, as for the center of gravity thing, it does make a huge difference in racing that has more than 2 high speed turns that can hardly qualify as turns. In my book, oval racing is the worst form of racing because it takes less skill and more balls. If you have a car with a higher center of gravity it is harder to go fast around a corner in that car, and that's just a fact, however the turns i'm referring to are much sharper than the ones in nascar, in nascar the turn isn't sharp enough to make much of a difference. In al truth, you want a car with a lower center of gravity because then when you drift your back goes out less and you lose less speed, and the lower it is the less you need to swing your tail out. Basically the higher your center of gravity the harder it is to control the car, the lower your center of gravity the better the handling. Oh, and sorry for the double post, but i forgot to address these two things and i wanted to address this directly.

[cbe_golfer]

What i mean is when they close public highways, like mountain passes, and have races on those. Rally is basically the same thing, only it's dirt and road, and can switch between them, or be one or the other. What i'm talking about though is taking commercial cars like i said and racing those. Both forms of racing are difficult in their own respect, but making a slow car go fast is much more difficult in my book.

I guess you prefer racing camels to horses then.

[loki]

I guess you prefer racing camels to horses then.

A better analogy is i prefer racing horses through the wild to racing horses on a track.

[Ben]

'08 season starts in just 41 days!!! Hooray.

I was reading on the site today that the new Singapore race (street course) along with qualifying will be held at night! http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/1/7310.html

I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!

[cbe_golfer]

I used to live in Singapore. With the sounds bouncing off all those buildings, it is sure to be the loudest race of the year. Earmuffs should be a hotselling item in Singapore this year.

[boothyuk123]

Looking forward to the new season, hopefully Lewis Hamilton can take the title this time after a little collapse at the end of last. However, take nothing away from Kimi Raikonnen who kept going until the end, proving that it is never over until the very final lap of the final race!

All the best Lewis!! Oh and I am a big Jenson Button fan as well, I think he has been a little unlucky with his car and the reliability of it in recent seasons but he is an excellent driver who could well win the F1 title in coming years dependent on if he gets the right offer from one of the major constructors.

[Danapu2000]

i can only support FERRARI in F1
and in motogp DUCATI

2007 was a grate year for Italian Motor Sport

[Ben]

Anyone catch Monaco? What an exciting race! The last few years I've found qualifying to be the most exciting to watch of this weekend, but with the rain playing havoc on the course during race day, good stuff!

My boy Kubica is getting closer and closer! Go Kubica! Go BMW Sauber!

[DavidFehertysBike]

I watched it..and thought i was the only person in the united states doing so. It was a weird race, the weather was a factor while at the same time being a non issue. Im a hamilton supporter, so i was very happy with the result if you can guess. 8-)

BWM is getting closer, but I still think they are a long ways off in contending with Ferrari and Mclaren. I still think they are a season away from even being able to win races. One top two will have to fall off. If you know F1 history, you know there has rarley been more than two teams capable than winning a champioship.