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So far it appears as though Liberty One's most major off-season controversy has been ... (wait for it) .... getting rid of grid girls and replacing them with "grid kids" (presumably kart and other series racers). My, my how the various F1 internet sites are raving about something so incredibly minor.
The preseason testing will be in Barcelona, starting Feb 26 and then again March 6. First race, Melbourne on March 25th.
On the plus side, Amazon has a 4-episode series called "Grand Prix Driver" which looks at McLaren's 2017 pre-season, focusing on Stoffel Vandoorne and work that goes into a brand new car. Unfortunately we already know how this season goes. I've only seen the first 2 episodes, but apparently things get very pear-shaped in the last two.
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Looking forward to the season but think they totally blew it making the 'halo' mandatory, I think the cars had already been proven to have a high level of safety. There will always be some level of risk involved in racing, all the dreamed up devices aren't going to change that. And if they felt compelled to do something, I think IndyCar found a far better solution with the windshield they're testing..
And I'd rather see them spending time on changing aero rules to allow easier over-taking than worrying about the 'correctness ' of things like grid girls.
And I really hope Renault gives Alonso the power to be competitive, I think he had some epic drives last year considering what he had to work with.
The grid girls seem minor but what is their purpose? Get man-handled by drunken celebs/billionaires/etc? F1 should be get women involved in the racing, at all levels and interests, rather than trotting them out like cattle to be picked over. Good riddance to the idea of grid girls.
Thanks for the heads up on the show. Look forward to watching that.
- ESPN will use Sky UK's coverage for the US. Martin Brundle + Crofty. I've been watching the races on Sky for a while now using a UK VPN and a subscription to Sky Go and it is fantastic. Unfortunately, ESPN will only start 10 minutes before the race and end right after the podium, so no pre or post shows. Additionally, my guess is that they will show a million ads just like SPEED and NBCSN used to.
- Haas F1 has presented its 2018 challenger. Extreme Ferrari-like sidepods, and a return to the light gray livery, that was a million times better than last season's: https://www.haasf1team.com/VF18
Interesting, I though Liberty Media was going to do their own in-house version.
Does that mean no qualifying? That is often my favorite part of the race weekend.
The ad thing - that is one of the reasons I always record the race and watch it later. That and most of the races happen in the wee hours of the morning by west coast US time.
Last edited by PNW-type-gal; 02-14-2018 at 02:16 PM..
The commercial side of F1 is now controlled and managed by a division of a large corporation, Liberty Media. Corporations are known to be very politically correct. It's not surprising that they eliminated the politically incorrect grid girls: “While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 Grands Prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values …...”
And, of course, Liberty Media is also trying to increase the fan base by attracting young WOKE people. I wonder how many young fans they gained by having the “lets get ready to rumble guy” and the extremely costly Tayor Swift and Justin Timberlake concerts at Austin?
Many are saying that the honeymoon for Liberty Media is over and it is time for them to get something substantial done. One example of many:
“Toto Wolff says he misses F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's ability to get things done.”.............“'Bernie invented this sport so to speak, and he had strong qualities to increase sales,' he told DPA news agency.'”....."'In the good old days there was unity between Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, so it was hard for the teams to have an influence.'” F1 at risk of political turmoil > F1 News > Grandprix.com
Speaking of groveling before political correctness, you probably heard about Lewis Hamilton criticizing his young nephew for wearing a princess dress: “Lewis Hamilton offers ‘deepest apologies’ after sparking outrage for mocking nephew in princess dress” Lewis Hamilton apologises for mocking nephew in dress | Metro News
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I've been an F1 fan since as a young boy I started hunting through the local paper's sports section searching for a column inch or two's coverage of Phil Hill's quest for the title in 1961. Now it seems Liberty Media would rather i not be, between the IMO uncalled for PC changes, reduced TV coverage, and changes to the cars, I'm hoping the racing itself will be interesting enough to make me want to watch this season.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Collective
T
- Haas F1 has presented its 2018 challenger. Extreme Ferrari-like sidepods, and a return to the light gray livery, that was a million times better than last season's: https://www.haasf1team.com/VF18
I remember during the planning stages for their first season HAAS had announced their livery would be mainly yellow, I kinda wish they'd stayed with that idea, very easy to pick out on track.
On the plus side, Amazon has a 4-episode series called "Grand Prix Driver" which looks at McLaren's 2017 pre-season, focusing on Stoffel Vandoorne and work that goes into a brand new car. Unfortunately we already know how this season goes. I've only seen the first 2 episodes, but apparently things get very pear-shaped in the last two.
Watched this last night. Really interesting series especially knowing how it turned out. Hard to believe Honda could get it so wrong. They have a rich history of great engines and that thing was horrible. Alonzo sure doesn't hold back! lol Good for him. Thanks for the heads up!
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' of things like grid girls.
