I'm absolutely stoked by the arrival of the F1 season in Melbourne this weekend.
The first qualifying session of the season naturally draws a great deal of curiosity. This has never been more true than now. Winter testing has fallen under such strict regulation that even the teams are left unclear as to how they will measure up against each other.
Therefore, it was with ever heightened anticipation that I sat down to watch qualifying for Australia.
I spent the next hour or so border lining fits of excitement, disappointment, surprise, and skepticism. In the end, all proved well as the session ended suggesting that we have a much closer battle ahead than witnessed in 2011.
For anyone who noted Q1's five fastest, the result was probably surprising. Granted Q1 rarely proves to be the real measure but given the mix of new faces in that lineup, the season looks bright.
I'm crushed that Ferrari truly appear to be in trouble. I was hoping all of that preseason banter was just a bluff . . . but that beast looks scary. Scary in the sense that it appears to have absolutely no grip nor readily identifiable personality. It appears way too twitchy . . . and without warning prone to flip at once from understeer to snap oversteer.
It boggles my mind how Ferrari can produce an aerodynamic marvel of a road car in the F12, yet year after year struggle to produce a single seater of equivalent impact. Of course, I can only hope I'm being a bit dramatic, but despite his immeasurable skill, Fernando has appeared to be at a loss so far this weekend.
McLaren look very strong. I don't want to contradict my opinion that this will be a close year, but if I had to guess where the 2012 driver's title will land, it will be at the feet of one of the McLaren drivers.
I'd made an off the cuff prediction following practice that Schumacher would make it onto the front two rows of the grid and I was thrilled to see that happen. I can only hope that Mercedes have found true form that is free from the scrutineering clouds that are gathering around their rear wing. It would be fantastic to see Rosberg and Schumacher fighting at the front . . . and for certain to see both of them on the podium throughout 2012.
Romain Grosjean delivered beyond my expectations and has looked very quick all weekend, whereas teammate Raikkonen has been off the pace. I was gutted by his premature exit in Q1. In fairness, Kimi has apparently suffered from issues with his power steering this weekend. I've no idea whether Lotus resolved the issue prior quali . . . but this was not how I hoped he start his first race back in F1.
I'm thrilled to see Hulkenberg back on the grid and expect quite a bit from both he and Paul di Resta in the Mercedes powered Force India this season.
One of the surprises today was Williams. Both Maldonado and Senna ran higher up the order than I expected and this makes me incredibly curious as to how that chassis will perform in the coming year.
Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo were both very impressive . . .
To wrap-up this entry: Red Bull. Poor Seb wound up one spot behind Webber on the 3rd row!
Red Bull hopefully have a fight on their hands this season. Obviously, it is way too early to count anyone out, but it would be nice to see Vettel have to fight his way through the field for a change. It will be interesting to see if Webber can earn a podium in his home race.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Show us your PSL's
My sales consultant from the Circuit of The Americas certainly made it seem like people were snatching up the "Personal Seat Licenses" like hotcakes. For some reason, I don't quite know . . . I'm a touch skeptical.
If you've purchased your PSL for the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, I'd love to hear from you. Please tell us about your experience, whether you opted for the main straight, Turn 1, or the Grand Plaza multi apex complex. If you don't mind, it might be nice to get an idea of your total cash investment, for those so willing to discuss.
Looking forward to your comments . . .
If you've purchased your PSL for the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, I'd love to hear from you. Please tell us about your experience, whether you opted for the main straight, Turn 1, or the Grand Plaza multi apex complex. If you don't mind, it might be nice to get an idea of your total cash investment, for those so willing to discuss.
Looking forward to your comments . . .
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Breaking point?
A few weeks back I was contacted by a couple of enthusiastic supporters of Tavo Hellmund's Austin F1 endeavor.
Once I recovered from the shock that someone, somewhere was actually reading my blog . . . I realized that the topic of their outreach (my November comments regarding first news that not all was well with the event) suggested that they might know something the rest of us did not.
I had in fact only recently spent a few hours in Austin to put eyes on the proximity of our reserved accommodations to the circuit. I wanted to get an idea of the logistics and what sort of traffic challenges might lie in wait. Construction was certainly buzzing at the circuit that day and I found that encouraging.
There was, however, no sign of infrastructure or road improvement underway and I wondered if access to the circuit would be limited to the single two lane blacktop I'd parked alongside. A nagging question, but I left Austin headed home with some confidence that all was indeed well with the return of F1 to US soil.
Flash forward a couple of weeks from that visit and news comes that Tavo Hellmund was suing his former partners in the Circuit of The Americas venture he created.
I'd wondered whether my November observations were premature. I am after all but an outsider, with no real connection to what had and was transpiring in Texas.
Unfortunately, as I read the court filing it was instead looking like my post was spot on accurate.
It simply made no sense that the one guy within the organization who understood the business of international motor sport had been relieved of his duties. As if the details of the lawsuit were not troubling enough, other questions arose.
I'd also read that CoTA had started contacting those who had placed deposits to be on their select seating wait list. I must have been among the very first to place such a deposit, but two weeks had passed since the process commenced and I'd heard nothing.
There was other news . . . unresolved questions surrounding CoTA's alleged contract with Moto GP, and renewed questions as to whether the race qualified for the major events trust fund among the more troubling.
Since then, it has started to feel like every day brings another report which only makes one wonder what the hell is going on with CoTA's management?
I have also finally heard from CoTA regarding my wait list reservation and tickets for the USGP. As they they might say in Texas . . . the news ain't purty.
I had a nice chat with the ticket agent, but the details of his proposal were laughable. He explained that for the main straightaway grandstand, Turn 1, and the "Grand Plaza" multi apex Turn 15 through 19 complex, one must purchase a "Personal Seat License." The astronomical cost of this seat license did not include ticket costs and also held the purchaser to a 15 year minimum "season ticket" purchase.
To make matters worse, they are requiring this commitment from the purchaser when CoTA . . . even at this late juncture . . . still can not say what plans for seating at Turns 1, 15 through 19 will look like. Really, they want a fifteen year commitment to a seat that right now only exists in theory?! Nonsense.
Much like consumer product marketing people making movies instead of filmmakers, CoTA believes, quite foolishly IMHO, that they can and should reinvent the wheel.
CoTA has apparently decided to fashion their ticket sales after the model set attracting season ticket holders to new football stadiums and hockey arenas. This thinking is riddled with so many false assumptions about the race-going public that it makes my head spin. Worse, it demonstrates complete, total ignorance on their behalf.
CoTA's approach confirms that the current climate of sports marketing in this country looks to marry apples to oranges and boil us all down into one, neat, tidy package. CoTA must somehow believe that motor sport fans are as generic as a guy watching four different sports at once on his quad partitioned TV screen. Such a broad generalization across the whole of motor sport enthusiasts only reeks of arrogance.
Race promoters have been selling tickets to F1 Grands Prix for decades. It's not rocket science.
It is mind boggling that this venture, which I believed to be a slam dunk, now appears teetering on the edge of becoming only the latest in a series of disappointing chapters in the history of F1 Grand Prix in the United States.
The ticket agent also explained that they had taken this ticketing route because F1 is not popular in the US.
Make no mistake, I have long believed to the contrary that F1 should flourish in the United States. There is no shortage of passionate, enthusiastic fans. The fans are not the issue. (there's so much mythology surrounding this topic, but that's another discussion)
It is instead more probable that CoTA, sans Tavo Hellmund, may be the latest corporate entity to not understand the sport and its (their) customer base.
I can only hope for those who recognized the potential in Hellmund's vision that this year's US Grand Prix will still prove a great success. Perhaps I'm being a bit reactionary.
It did not help matters that the attached, rather vague seating map noted "breaking" as opposed to "braking" points:
Once I recovered from the shock that someone, somewhere was actually reading my blog . . . I realized that the topic of their outreach (my November comments regarding first news that not all was well with the event) suggested that they might know something the rest of us did not.
I had in fact only recently spent a few hours in Austin to put eyes on the proximity of our reserved accommodations to the circuit. I wanted to get an idea of the logistics and what sort of traffic challenges might lie in wait. Construction was certainly buzzing at the circuit that day and I found that encouraging.
There was, however, no sign of infrastructure or road improvement underway and I wondered if access to the circuit would be limited to the single two lane blacktop I'd parked alongside. A nagging question, but I left Austin headed home with some confidence that all was indeed well with the return of F1 to US soil.
Flash forward a couple of weeks from that visit and news comes that Tavo Hellmund was suing his former partners in the Circuit of The Americas venture he created.
I'd wondered whether my November observations were premature. I am after all but an outsider, with no real connection to what had and was transpiring in Texas.
Unfortunately, as I read the court filing it was instead looking like my post was spot on accurate.
It simply made no sense that the one guy within the organization who understood the business of international motor sport had been relieved of his duties. As if the details of the lawsuit were not troubling enough, other questions arose.
I'd also read that CoTA had started contacting those who had placed deposits to be on their select seating wait list. I must have been among the very first to place such a deposit, but two weeks had passed since the process commenced and I'd heard nothing.
There was other news . . . unresolved questions surrounding CoTA's alleged contract with Moto GP, and renewed questions as to whether the race qualified for the major events trust fund among the more troubling.
Since then, it has started to feel like every day brings another report which only makes one wonder what the hell is going on with CoTA's management?
I have also finally heard from CoTA regarding my wait list reservation and tickets for the USGP. As they they might say in Texas . . . the news ain't purty.
I had a nice chat with the ticket agent, but the details of his proposal were laughable. He explained that for the main straightaway grandstand, Turn 1, and the "Grand Plaza" multi apex Turn 15 through 19 complex, one must purchase a "Personal Seat License." The astronomical cost of this seat license did not include ticket costs and also held the purchaser to a 15 year minimum "season ticket" purchase.
To make matters worse, they are requiring this commitment from the purchaser when CoTA . . . even at this late juncture . . . still can not say what plans for seating at Turns 1, 15 through 19 will look like. Really, they want a fifteen year commitment to a seat that right now only exists in theory?! Nonsense.
Much like consumer product marketing people making movies instead of filmmakers, CoTA believes, quite foolishly IMHO, that they can and should reinvent the wheel.
CoTA has apparently decided to fashion their ticket sales after the model set attracting season ticket holders to new football stadiums and hockey arenas. This thinking is riddled with so many false assumptions about the race-going public that it makes my head spin. Worse, it demonstrates complete, total ignorance on their behalf.
CoTA's approach confirms that the current climate of sports marketing in this country looks to marry apples to oranges and boil us all down into one, neat, tidy package. CoTA must somehow believe that motor sport fans are as generic as a guy watching four different sports at once on his quad partitioned TV screen. Such a broad generalization across the whole of motor sport enthusiasts only reeks of arrogance.
Race promoters have been selling tickets to F1 Grands Prix for decades. It's not rocket science.
It is mind boggling that this venture, which I believed to be a slam dunk, now appears teetering on the edge of becoming only the latest in a series of disappointing chapters in the history of F1 Grand Prix in the United States.
The ticket agent also explained that they had taken this ticketing route because F1 is not popular in the US.
It is instead more probable that CoTA, sans Tavo Hellmund, may be the latest corporate entity to not understand the sport and its (their) customer base.
I can only hope for those who recognized the potential in Hellmund's vision that this year's US Grand Prix will still prove a great success. Perhaps I'm being a bit reactionary.
It did not help matters that the attached, rather vague seating map noted "breaking" as opposed to "braking" points:
You get my drift.
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