codrus (Forum Supporter) said:
alfadriver said:
Sorry to disagree, LOL, but I do disagree. These are among the highest paid athletes on the planet. They certainly can deal with doing some PR at the race to deserve that. It's not as if they are being forced to meet their fans. That would be horrible.
PR and meeting the fans is great, but do it in the morning or after the race, not 30 minutes before. Is there any other pro sport where the athletes are doing this? Usually they're spending that time going over strategy/etc in the locker room, no?
Yes, in pretty much every sport the opening line up is introduced. Has happened at every college hockey game I've been to for the last 30 years- when I first started watching live. They do it every single Super Bowl (which takes forever before the anthem), they do it for other championships. They don't do player intros during the pre-game warm ups.
Again, it's a few min addition to their current "burden" - they are already there at the head of the grid for the country's national anthem, and it pretty much replaces the inclusion celebration from the last few seasons. It adds maybe 5 min to their time.
And I'm not sure why 30 min before the race is good- less people are there at the track, and the number of eyes on TV are also reduced- let alone the morning before, when nobody is even paying attention. For some of the highest paid athletes, I'm trying to see why they can't deal with it.
BTW, this happened less than 15 min before the grid rolled off, just prior to the mandatory attendance of the national anthem.
In reply to alfadriver :
The drivers are all paraded around the track an hour or so before the race so the people there get to see them. In the TV broadcast the drivers are all introduced again when they go through the starting order right before they head out on their formation lap. The extra introduction didn't add anything to the race or the broadcast and kind of felt like it broke up the normal run into the start of the race. Maybe if they tightened it up a bit, even just introducing pairs of drivers from each team would make it roll a little quicker.
Now if there were a camera listening in on the drivers as they stand around together waiting for it like we get before the podium that could change my mind.
alfadriver said:
Tom1200 said:
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
I have to say I found this reeeeeeally douchey and lame........but as you said we are not the target audience.
I thought it was pretty cool- just like how they hype up the players at big events- like the SB or playoffs. Other than the music being unique, the word hype wasn't much different than what BB does when they do opening line ups. Maybe I'm also used to watching hockey games where both starting lines are introduced.
I see it as lame that the entertainment does not want to be introduced to their fans.
Do note because "I find it lame" doesn't mean it is lame. It just seems a bit WWE to me.
I'm also the guy who plays punk rock in my office at work because I found it soothing.......so again I'm not really in tune with mainstream things.
Interesting that they are being called "the highest paid athletes in the world".There are a couple of them that may get into that category but most of them make fairly low dollar compared to other pro athletes. They also mostly paid to get there (if not be there in some cases). That doesn't mean they shouldn't participate in the show but facts...
I thought the introductions were silly, this isn't the super bowl, it isn't the grandest race for F1. This is just like any other race on the grid and the pomp was just to appeal to a broader audience. This worked great for NASCAR over the past 20 years. (insert sarcasm emoji). The crowd they are trying to appeal to with that type of broadcast will be gone as fast as they came and will be watching professional slap boxing or some other fad in in 2 years.
In reply to adam525i :
Having been to more than one race, we only saw the parade once- as the rest of the time, we didn't want to sit around for an hour seeing nothing. So I know that happens, but it's also not really seen by that many.
And I'm not really sure that it broke up that much, in spite of the complaints. The only change in timing is that the drivers had to be at the front of the grid 5-6 min earlier than they already have to be for the national anthem. I will agree that it could have been done more elegantly. But I will call out the ones who think this is some kind of massive burden when it's just a few min of more of what they are already required to do. If you and your team *need* that extra few min for a brief, seems that someone is doing something wrong that late.
F1 fans just can't deal with new things, apparently.
NY Nick said:
This is just like any other race on the grid and the pomp was just to appeal to a broader audience.
Of course it was. F1 wants more fans. Especially in the US- so having a US style player introduction just makes sense.
In reply to alfadriver :
I see what you are saying. I just thought it was tacky and if the focus is on shenanigans around the race instead of the race product I believe you are selling the product wrong. I understand that I am not the target of that pre race show but I maintain that the people that is targeted to are not going to stick around and the show didn't seem to excite their regular fans that are going to be the last ones to turn away from the sport when it isn't in fashion.
It's ok, people will watch it is not a big deal. I also don't like sprint races, NASCAR playoffs, segment points, etc. I think it is contrived. I liken sprint races and silly pre-race shows to banana ball to MLB. Is it exciting? yes, will people come to see it for the novelty? yes. Is it going to hold up? Not too sure on that one.
In reply to alfadriver :
My TV automatically records all the practices, Sprints and Quallies, as well as the actual races, and the recording usually starts with the intro music (which I really like), followed by Crofty explaining what track we're at, what the weather's like, what tires are on offer, and the grid - followed by the formation lap and off we go. I don't see an hour of grid walk and celebrity interviews.
In reply to MiniDave :
Well, then ask for an apology from ABC that they included the normal preshow that's always has been there.
alfadriver said:
In reply to MiniDave :
Well, then ask for an apology from ABC that they included the normal preshow that's always has been there.
I'm sure the reason for that was that it was a US-based race. Same reason it was on ABC and not ESPN like it would usually be. Also, the time slot was a lot more friendly to American viewers than most of the races. I actually watched a lot of the pre-race, which I haven't done for years and years. But in my defense, I just had knee surgery, so I was kind of stuck in a chair anyhow. 
I'm not saying it's not there - I'm saying it's not recorded and I don't see it - and I also don't miss it.
If it was recorded like this time I would simply fast forward thru it - like I did this time too.
I think it's the way ABC packaged the brodcast. When ESPN does it, they put in a break between the pre-race show and the race, so if you set your DVR to record the race, that's all you get, it skips the pre-race show. ABC didn't do that on their broadcast, it listed the entire thing as the Miami GP even though the first 90 minutes of the broadcast was the pre-show. So, MiniDave is owed an apology from ABC, because they packaged the broadcast in a way that gave him 90 minutes of pre-race coverage he didn't want.
If you want to know when the race actually starts, F1.com will tell you in your own time zone :)
So TheRace is reporting that Honda will supply engines to Aston Martin starting in 2026. Which is really interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVhyKrnIuyI&ab_channel=THERACE
It's one thing that Honda found a team to sell powertrains to for F1, but AML uses Mercedes to build their road car engines right now.
So if our GRM reporters want to really separate from their grassroots, can you use your contacts to see if Aston Martin will have Honda to build their road car engines, or will they stick with Mercedes?
Wow, looks like Mr. Stroll is serious about bringing a World Championship to AMR.. Think Alonso will still be suiting up in 2026?
In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :
Not if honda has anything to say about it ;)
In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :
He's got two driver problems to do that with Honda.
In reply to alfadriver :
Alpha Tauri has a Honda as well and it's terrible, I get they are trying to find success but copying Adrian Newey is not like having Newey, same with the engineers that are at RB and making Honda engines look like rockstars.
In reply to trigun7469 :
AT seems to be a real problem for Red Bull Racing. From how poor of a job they understand what they are doing from the seemingly lacking talent pool of drivers. Once Checo moves on, who becomes Max's teammate? And with all of the wild rumors, will Max even stay?
We know that RBR has comitted for a long time, with that investment into Red Bull Powertrains.
In reply to alfadriver :
On paper AT should be much better then they are, Nick impressed last year, but looks lost. I am not fan of Yuki, rather see Daniel or Herta however he has atleast scored points.
Good point on Checo, but RB signed Daniel Ric and I bet he rather drive a RB and be second fiddle then drive a HAAS. Honestly where would Checo go? The only thing that might change this if Hamilton retires.
As long as the car is competitive Max will not leave unless there is a Hamilton Mclaren to Mercedes move. Let's not forget the Max entourage is part of the package deal which might not be appealing to some teams.
In retrospect, Danny Ric would have done well to take the deal offered to him by Haas last year given the performance of the cars this year. But there is no way he could have predicted that. Would have been a great way to show his value (if he could score points) and stay relevant to the big dogs rather than being a test mule. But it was a great strategy for RBR to sign him in case Checo chose not to play the team game with their [petulant] golden boy.
All in all, I think that the cost cap has really started to do what it was supposed to... Except for RBR. Who I think is enjoying the benefits of overspending. That is a lasting advantage that I do not think F1 did enough to fix as the reduction of wind-tunnel testing and monetary fine will only come into play this season or early next season.
I too am curious as to where Checo would go after this year if he doesnt stay... but RBR would be stupid not to keep him if he is still performing the way he is early this season. If he left RBR, the best mfg he could potentially see a spot at is in the latter half of the field. And 2026 is too far out to stay relevant without a ride to be considered as anything but an "experienced (old) racer" come 2026 for the new manufacturers. So he might take a step down to Alfa Romeo, Alpha Tauri or Williams if put in that position.
The one position that I truly think is gonna change... I would be astonished if Zak Brown is still principal @ McLaren after this season. They've changed things up year after year of not performing up to snuff. We all know who the common factor is now...
In reply to vozproto :
Zak Brown has gotten Millions in Sponsorship and there indycar team is becoming a top team with championship aspiration. They will probably just fire another tech director.
In reply to trigun7469 :
To me, Danny and Checo have the same problem- age. Red Bull doesn't seem to have anyone in their pipeline like they used to.
In reply to alfadriver :
So they really need anyone in their pipeline? Max has 10-15 years left if they keep him happy and keep putting a good car under him. Probably 16 drivers on the grid would do anything to get in that car. They don't need or want a superstar in the second car anyway. That could upset the golden goose.
They have like half the f2 field in their driver academy.
