At the last F1 race practice one the announcers said if the Japan F1 is canceled there might be a double header at COTA. Like other tacks this year, just do a back to back race one week apart.

It would be perfect if they ran the track backwards the second week. That would make it even more interesting.

I think it would be too tough to run COTA backwards with how the run off areas and gravel traps are set up.

Yeah, it wouldn’t be safe at all.

There is usually more than one course. T1 would be a primary concern.

T1 was the first thing that popped into my mind when I first started thinking about it, but there are a half a dozen other spots that are far worse. The other end of the main straight has no protection whatsoever and most of the short chutes point directly at grandstands, with no runoff at all.

There’s no way to run it backwards without a significant redesign and significant track changes.

I was considering parking in Lockhart at Kruez Market for some outstanding BBQ. But I don't think I can get an Uber from there

There are shuttle buses but we took one the first year and vowed never to do that again. I would have to believe they've improved the system since then.

They have helicopter uber too :)

I wonder if farmer Jones opens up fields for parking nearby? I would love to go but I've heard horror stories about shuttles and am not keen on just driving around until I find a place.

The old lady offered to drop me and she would spend the day with cousins in Austin. Possible winner...

Really makes me miss Germany. I've been to F1 events at Hockenheim and the 'Ring. Both just have fields for FREE parking and marked walkways. And they are extremely close.

Then after the event at the 'Ring, the Polizei just make every road a one way going away from the track. Genius! Next thing I knew I was on the Autobahn and heading home.

Hockenheim was slightly different since it literally sits next to the Autobahn. I only lived about 1 1/2 hours away but it took about 3 to 4 hours due to traffic.

COTA is sort of back in the sticks and I can envision it getting pretty backed up post race on Sunday.

Used the shuttle buses a couple of years ago. They were great.

The biggest issue getting out of cota now is that they schedule a concert after the race. The acts are usually not someone an F1 fan would want to see so you end up with lots of traffic heading both ways. Really stupid.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1629501711.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1629501711.jpg

It's being reported that Andretti Motorsports is looking to buy an F1 team . Will be interesting to see if this plays out .

https://racer.com/2021/08/20/andretti-pursuing-formula-1-team-takeover/

Sammy's pic is the 2022 car. Given typical evolution from year to year, I don't actually SEE all the big changes. AFA I can tell, F1 racing will still be F1 racing. We'll see.

I’m surprised no mention of Spa track ceo murder/suicide. Sad story about arguably the best track of the season.

It’s the one race of the year besides Austin that I get together with friends to watch.

Yes, yes they do. Some locals will even shuttle you on a golf cart from their lot/yard. I'll be in the area next week and will scout some places. Burklund Farms Rd. comes to mind, and I think that an entry/exit, to/from the N/S would be ideal.

We've parked at the salvage yard just off the 812 close to the main entrance and a local farmers yard off the same hwy then walked, We bought official COTA parking once....never again.

Yeah that was weird/sad story . Not the first husband that caught wife cheating . Cheating with another woman apparently was enough to make the husband snap . Nobody won in that scenario .

I ran across this today, this guy is in pretty good shape for his age. Rode a little over 100 miles at an average speed of about 17.5 mph, and it wasn’t on flat ground, either.

https://www.essentiallysports.com/f1-news-my-12km-feels-like-a-baby-twitter-reacts-to-fernando-alonsos-absurd-cycling-run/?fbclid=IwAR2wtA51hDnzhKgAnKyYdk53mCgMMuJcjIVxKMVg G5U6apZkH4wf_8OdEY4

Please no double COTA... I can't quite explain why but that track layout bores me to death, both to watch on TV or drive (on sims). With all due respect to lovely Austin... I just hate it after turn 1, feels unnatural, doesn't flow right... How about double SPA ? Can anyone argue against double SPA ? ;-)

Edit: even double turkey, it made for fun races and that cool long turn...multi 21 etc... Italy is fun too but too short...

No argument here. Spa is awesome.

It would seem to me that the tracks would be lining up to host a second race this year and make up for last year's losses. But I guess it would take some serious planning in a compressed timeline.

I'll say it again, Hockenheim and the 'Ring are still options. Assuming they kept their certifications current.

The esses after turn one aren’t supposed to feel right, that’s what makes them challenging. That was done on purpose…

I don’t think I would book tickets to any event this year, until the last minute. There’s too much weirdness going on with Covid, no telling what may still get canceled.

Alonso helmet cam from Spa practise today, really gives a great perspective of the elevation changes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBJWLDEexDo

It’s unbelievable how complex their job is. All of the adjustments they do during a lap…

I really like Alonso, I think he’s probably my favorite driver out there.

That's a great cam angle - Indycar's done it forever but the view of Eau rouge was like "wow"..
My first w/e with F1TV, and I've enjoyed listening to *all* the pre race shows, press conferences (drivers and team managers), their F1 content, and peeking at the camera views... Great when doing background computer work on a friday, probably overkill but fun

Mine too, not been involved in many driver orientated projects as I've tried to keep away from that type of work as F1 drivers can be incredibly picky to the point of nothing being right, especially when they're not winning, which for most of them is most of the time :rolleyes:

Designing Alonso's steering wheel was one of my more enjoyable work experiences, he was super focused, polite, knew what he wanted but was prepared to compromise if what he was after created more work than it was worth

Alpine have made a great decision on retaining him for next year, he'll really fast track their development through then new 2022 rules

Which car was that steering wheel made for, and in what year?

Had to 'Google' the answers as it was many cars ago :D it was 2011 and the car was Ferrari 150th Italia

Ferrari don't follow a naming convention for their cars and they're all red so look the same so I can never remember which one was was which :confused:

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Often think about getting a signed poster sized print as a bit of wall art for my man cave

His win at Silverstone when the photo was taken was quite a special win for the team as it was on the 60th anniversary of Ferrari's 1st ever win in F1 which was also at Silverstone :cool:

Ferrari has always had a very inconsistent numbering scheme, or should I say schemes, for their cars. But lately, they’ve gone off the deep end. Sometimes I think they must solicit opinions from the great unwashed on the Internet for next year‘s name.

The least they could’ve done was give you a damn steering wheel. I’m sure they had several spares.

I wish, from memory each wheel cost +$40K, even a full size replica costs $3k

My project remit for the redesign was make it future proof (it lasted for 2 seasons, maybe 3, can't remember), cheaper (was +$50k) and save weight (saved 300g or 10.5oz which was good chunk of weight)

As car steering wheels go it's an extremely complicated piece of equipment

I had to package 2x CPU's along with the numerous buttons and rotary switches. All required for the 330 different functions the driver could set :eek: When I started on it I was very keen to know all the different settings but quickly gave up on that idea ;)

I made up for the cost savings the following year by designing a $1500 wheel nut and the team chewed through a lot of them, just proving out the design was enough to fill up my bottom desk drawer :D

I remmember when Ferrari used to sell used F1 parts as souvenirs. Back in the day I bought a few, a piston from around 2000 and some other bits that I can’t remember now. Kept them for 10 or 15 years, decided I didn’t need stuff like that anymore.

Only have a few F1 souvenirs, nothing special just a few bits and bobs

Planned to do a picture wall but haven't got enough wall space so instead I've collected 1/43rd car models

My collection has grown into an expensive monster as I made the mistake of collecting both drivers, in too deep now so can't really back out and stop

Well at the Practice 2 we see why Hamilton is ahead on points. Hamilton does make a few mistakes, but he almost never pulls a Crashtappen and hit the wall in practice. Max brought out the red flag and ended the session by bouncing off the wall. He is a great driver, and pushes hard all the time, but too overt just a little too hard.

Botas does it on occasion in the Merc, but Hamilton just drives fast and avoids the barriers somehow.

Alonso put on a master class of driving classy

Very interesting Q1 and Q2 . Looking forward to Q3 .

Well that was an ugly shunt !! Glad he's ok .

That Russell kid has some skills 🙂

He proved he deserves Bottas's car.

Amazing Q3. Should be an interesting race.