Agreat race and finally an interviewer with real chops. Those hats were great too.
Andretti was gracious in praising these three world champions and NOT including himself among them when he mentioned the podium celebrations held three world champs, him being the fourth. For sure this track is a keeper unless Eccelstone vetos it somehow, in favour of more money somewhere else, he's done it before.

Like he did to Montreal in 2009 :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

had a blast !
Lady and I logged 50K steps according to her clicker :eek:
she // we had a wonderful time...

& she applauds Lowriders courage to wear those shorts..:D
we also met his longtime friend Jeff...
simply a great wkend...


Rika

Funny thing about the race that no one has mentioned is in all the video did anyone see ANY klag on the track? Not one bit and you usually see loads of it after the race ends.

Sure wish that they had some soft tires instead of the hard versions that they were given.

Anybody have a youtube account and want to upload a video for me?

Yes, and top secret F1 documents will show that the whole field save HRT should have been disqualified for being underweight by 3lbs.

Went to the race. First day we sat in the grandstands off turn 15. Great seats. Then for Sat and Sun, we were upgraded to a suite off of Turn 1. It' was high up so you had an amazing view of Start/Finish, turn 1 complex, Turns 18, 19 and 20.

I was surprised by the passing opportunities on the track. I think I will try to make in an annual event.

COTA did a hell of job with the track. They may have to review the concessions though. The lines were insane during Friday's practice. I can't imagine how bad they were on Saturday and Sunday.

One thing I noticed in practice and quali (thanks to speed for giving us all 4 sessions for once) is how Will kept talking about how new the tires looked after a few laps.

I honestly expected someone who is notoriously easy on tires like Button or Perez to do almost the whole race distance on one set, then duck in on the 52nd or 53rd lap to satisfy the regulations. I was kinda surprised when the top runners started coming in on lap 18.

Either way, it was a great race. As much as I dislike hambone, he really did run Vettel down in fine fashion. Fun to watch, and my hat is off to him for a bit of terrific racecraft.

(Did any of you fellers who went to the race go up in that tower? Man, that is a lot of stairs going up and down!)

Looks like the Texas tax payers are at risk of getting taken by close to 1/4 billion dollars...

From the comments section on the article:

Richard Viktorin 2 weeks ago

Thank you Christopher Helman and Forbes editors for this story.

In late December 2010, Audits in the Public Interest opened a case file on Formula One and the incentives it was seeking from the State of Texas. In the ensuing months, our investigation disclosed that Texas Comptroller Susan Combs had padded the economic impact study prepared by her agency for Formula One.

The cumulative errors and exaggerations and flawed application of state tax law – by the Texas’s chief revenue and tax compliance officer no less – were put in full public view during presentations before the Austin City Council in June 2011. Consequently, Austin declined to fund its $40,000,000 share of the incentive (essentially a smaller match of the state’s quarter billion dollar deal with Hellmund and Ecclestone).

Our investigation also uncovered a certification letter in which Comptroller Combs promised to pay Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One $25 million a year for ten for a tidy total sum of one quarter of a billion dollars. The ten year certification was contrary to law.

As a plaintiff in the lawsuit to stop Comptroller Combs from making illegal payment, we were pleased she chose not to make the first advance payment thereby tapping the brakes on the incentive until the race was over and attendance and economic benefit were more certain.

We persist in our belief that Comptroller Combs was breaking the law and betraying her office and the taxpayers of Texas to which she swore an oath. The law is clear that the incentive is based on the increase in economic activity from the race. Austin’s Leisure and Hospitality sector, in the fall, was already 90% utilized before Formula One. None-the-less, the Comptroller’s calculation and payment to F1 assume zero utilization in Austin’s lodging industry before F1. This effects a direct diversion, without benefit to the Texas economy, of over $200 million in state general revenue into the coffers of Formula One . Formula One does not deserve an incentive which is based on economic activity which existed before its entry into the local market.

Looking at the deal more broadly, and though buried in finance layers and complex corporate structure, we strongly believe Comptroller Combs has chosen to deliver a quarter of a billion dollars to build Epstein McCombs Investors a special purpose sports and entertainment facility. Moreover, the combination of facts and cumulative circumstances leads us to believe the subject payments are crony pork dressed up as economic incentives.

Richard Viktorin
Audits in the Public Interest
Austin, Texas


T9

I had a blast! The city gave it just the right amount of attention, fan fest was great, all the locals were very helpful and polite. over all it was the best grand prix weekend I have been to (others being Indy and Canada), yet quite a bit more expensive then the others, but I still feel I got my moneys worth.

Turn9,

I really don't feel like talking about this but it needs to be said.

There are some HUGE treehuggers in Austin. They don't think like me, they don't think like a hardcore F1 fan, and they certainly don't think like a 'Formula 1 percenter.' These people do not understand the elitist F1 mentality, and they don't want to.

They don't want to come to terms with what this race means for Austin on an international stage. They want to keep Austin, pristine, uncrowded, and small time. Normal people recognize what this means for Austin and are absolutely excited about it.

I sat in the grandstands and watch literally helicopter after helicopter shuttle the wealthy back and forth. I drove past the airport and saw more private jets then I have ever seen. I saw wealth in excess that is tough to even comprehend.

I also saw excitement. Lot's of it. I saw smiles everywhere I went. Not just from race fans, or employees of COTA, but I saw smiles on workers downtown that realized this is HUGE. Yes, I saw grumpy old people at restaurants that don't want change. That just don't understand and don't want to give it a chance.

Well ya know what? F1 is here. And it's here to stay. The economic impact from this event will be on the high side of the estimate and I am sick and tired of reading comments on editorials from grumpy treehuggers that just don't understand.

/rant.:mad:

I think Austin will get their money back or close to it. With regular hotel rooms getting 3X if not more of their typical asking price, I can see the tax revenue going up quite a bit.

My 2 friends from out of state were really impressed with how Austin has grown and think it will help drive more people to Austin now that they know how cool of a city it is.

That was a flippin blast! Took my brother who'd never seen F-1 and our racing teammate as well as my hs friend. Had GREAT seats RIGHT above the flag station in 12. Was able to flip off my friend who was in the support paddock across the track ;)
ALOT of guys brought their girls and those that did (Rikao4) you've got something special. Mrs. Rikoa was a nut! Mine is just not into it. Got to meet everyone except Jason...dunno why just didn't seem like there was enough time. The downtown was awesome and had some chick grinding her chichi's into my arm when I was showing her my youtube race videos (surreal). Got to hang w/ Legion (Chris) and his bud. That was cool and alll the pelicans are EXZACTLY as appear w/their keystrokes.
I'll post some pix later that my friend got...he had the whammy setup and got a bunch of the Prelli cup since we race w/ a few of those guys.
PCA is supposed to have a club race there. If they do, i'm going!!!

I thought it was incredible!!!!

After seeing the debacle that was F1 in Dallas in 1984 as a 16yo teen who loved F1, I thought it was pure fantasy when I heard a few years ago they were going to give it another try. Well sometimes fantasy does turn into reality. I expected the worst and was more than pleasantly surprised.

Well done Austin, well done!

Too bad we didn't hang out more David...my partner Jeff was there in Dallas too...you 2 could have chewed the fat awhile.

I never thought the race would happen, given the early pitfalls they went through. That said, I thought it was a great race, the best this year for passing and for the track itself. But I agree with some who said Austin and the taxpayers are on the hook for $250 million. I saw the excitement and the crowds for this race, just the same way I saw the excitement and crowds for the F1 race in Indianapolis. I went to all those races and the crowds went down each year, until Bernie said enough, we'll take our show somewhere else. He can do this. He's the same as all the NFL owners when it comes to control over their cities, either pay up of I'll leave town. The difference with this race and the Indy race was it was not the taxpayers out of any money, but Tony George and family. Their pockets are deep and endless. I hope this race continues and makes money. But as the broadcasters said, they need to keep the cost of tickets down to draw a fan base. Consider this: the Red Bull team won the constructers chanpionship, which is worth upwards of $100 million dollars at the awards banquet. 100 big ones. This is big business, really big. Plus the course needs a few more trees.

h
Hey BRP,


Thanks for posting, it offers an angle that may not be known to people outside Austin.

I'm a longtime F1 fan, the kind that has been getting up at O'darksomething for30+ years to see the races live, and continue to do so. In fact, I had tickets and lodging all set up for this race, but I had to cancel at the last minute.

I'm happy F1 is back in the USA, and hope to be there for the next race, but what I find galling is that Joe Taxpayer may end up subsidizing Bernie and cronies.

As Strupgolf wrote, this is similar to what NFL owners do to get cities to fund their stadiums and take hundreds of millions in profit out of city coffers. Al Davis, anyone?.

BTW, the same Susan Combs, Comptroller of the State of Texas, was the one on the stage giving Vettel his trophy.....


T9

F1 economic tally could take months to add up | www.statesman.com

"By the numbers
$483 million - pre-race projected economic impact
117, 429 — people who attended the race"

So, did each person attending the race put $4,113 into the Austin economy via lodging, food, drink, services, etc?

a small water 7 bucks..
liter was 12...
bad burger 12...
parking pass close to the track..3 days 300 bucks..all were full..
Tshirts started at 30..lines were silly (got mine on-line)
Fan-vision sold out......9000 units (previous record was 4000)..
Fan-fest down-town was packed all 3 days..
local kid with his dad's golf cart was charging 10 bucks a head..
for a 5 minute ride to the lots..he had folks waiting..
lots of $$$ changed hands..

Rika

Viva Capitalista :):D:)

Yes, we did out part of the Austin F1 economic stimulus. Easily exceeding the $4,500 mark for 2 attendees. Rika broke it down pretty well.

Would do it again, slightly differently, but will go back to see F1 in Austin.

for the over all impact you have to factor in advertising, commercial expenses, that do not directly factor in. I probably spent about $2500, but we rented a house in north austin, and it could have been done cheaper, but I like to splurge.
things I would do different next year; 1st. I would stay down town, all the good restaurants, bars, and clubs were right there, as well as the Fanfest. 2nd. I would not plan on eating at the track at all, the lines were just to long, and you could always catch a guy with a beer tub walking around if you had to get something to drink.

Got this pic from my buddy...I HATE HIM!!! :mad::mad:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353457764.jpg

Having been to many different race tracks and forms of racing...

COTA is by far the easiest track to get in/out of. At least from Lot L. When I left the track after the race, I was back at my hotel in Round Rock 40 minutes later. It usually takes me 4 hours to get out of the track at a NASCAR race. Though the toll roads were expensive (around $6 one way from my hotel to the track), they had an 80 mph speed limit and were virtually empty, even on race day.

I sat in Turn 11 General Admission for most of the weekend. I had a great view of much of the track. During the race, I found the BBC audio feed on my radio and listened to that.

My only complaint about COTA was the vending. The people running the booths (be they food or merchandise) were universally disorganized and slow. I waited 1.5 hours on Friday to get a COTA t-shirt, and it took 10 minutes for the people in the booth to find the right size and get me change. About 2 hours before the race, I got in line for food, and it took a little over an hour to get it (I had to wait in one line to pay and another to get the food). Jim took off while I was in line, which is unfortunate because he's a cool dude and I would have enjoyed chatting with him more.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5jrrNK3HFI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

We did it a bit different. Missus is not a car/race fan. We stayed at a nice historic Bed and Breakfast in Bastrop. I only dragged her along on Sun. Next year, I'll drag her along on Sat and let her avoid the crowds on Sun. The room was $350/night. I paid $60 for parking for the whole 3 days. My lot was maybe 2-3 miles from the track and the bus ride to/from the track was maybe 10 mins. (the parking at the track was $200 when I got the email, not $300). I didn't eat any of the days that I was there, but then, I also didn't get there at 7 or 8 am. I only went on Sat and Sun, I wish I had gone on Fri too. I stayed out of Austin, so I missed Fan Fest which probably would have been cool, but I didn't want to fight the crowds. We ate very well each night. Our tickets were $350 each for all 3 days. I got the FanVision thing online a couple of months out for $69. I was very happy to have it.
If you wanted any "gear" it was pretty expensive. You can divide the gear into 2 categories, COTA gear and F1 Team gear. The COTA gear started at $35 for a T-shirt or hat and went up from there. The F1 team gear (RedBull, Ferrari, Mclaren/Mercedes, etc...) started at $50 for a T-shirt and went up from there.

It certainly wasn't a cheap weekend, but it wasn't that bad. I could have done it cheaper and it probably will be cheaper next year, but it was expensive because I rode 6 laps in an F1 car driven by Didier Theys and it was AMAZING! I'm also really looking forward to seeing the American Le Mans series next Sept (it's going to be hot).

That's me with the 2 thumbs up on the left.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353470938.jpg

The car running
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/doLKoRQcZWk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The beginning of my laps
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bTAxuuINy-s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And a few shots from the race.

Hamilton
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353476947.jpg
Vettel
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353477087.jpg
Schumacher
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353477126.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353476874.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353476908.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1353477232.jpg

Yikes! As much as I'm a racing fanatic, based upon cost it was an easy decision for me not to attend. This time or in the future.

But I'm glad all who attended had a blast.

I wanted to take a ride in the sidecar F1 car but didn't figure I'd be able to fit it into the schedule. I never saw them on the track, when were they running?

They didn't run an COTA. They ran at another track a few miles north called the "Driveway".

Driveway Austin Motorsports Academy and Retreat

The course was this minus the cone chicane between 3 and 4.
http://www.laneholloway.com/wp-conte...rix-course.jpg

Rumor is that next year it'll run at COTA.

you could probably do it for under a grand... just go with the cheapest race tickets, and book a cheap hotel in advance, eat cheap and dont drink any alcohol.

Yep, it is absolutely possible to go for under a grand. Shoot, you could probably almost get out for two at that price unless you have to factor in lots of gas or plane tickets to Austin.

I just got back from Austin. Spent the race weekend at the track and then two days camping and exploring the state.

I was actually dreading going as I've been really busy recently but it was a great vacation and the track and racing was wonderful. I've never been to a track with so many great spectator locations that they allow you to get to for general admission. I had grandstand seats in the esses and didn't use them. Watched qualifying and practices from all around, turn 1 and turn 11 are great, turn 8-9-10 too- and watched the race from the braking zone into turn 1 right in front of a big monitor.

The walking to and from the track to the shuttles was a pain. But the shuttle service itself was great, I only paid for parking downtown $20 a day.

Definitely going again next year. Without a doubt.

Let me quantify that $$: we booked hotel within 3 days of race, stayed in Austin 4 days and hit a ton of downtown restaurants, live music venues, ate and drank like kings and took home some goodies from the race...

Next year I probably won't bring the wife all 3 days to the track (just Sunday for race), pay less for tickets, cut the entertainment & hotel expense in half etc.

Agree that $1k could get it done and still not miss out on the important bits.

Still, this was a birthday gift, so.... When in Rome :p