FORMULA ONE - 2019

Advan046 said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Yes Angela Cullen I read a short article about her last year. No need to feel sorry for her. Lewis shows her mad respect that she deserves. She probably gets paid well  and definitely has helped Hamilton have a consistent support to get him ready for the race. He commented once that he rides a razor to get past autograph seekers but also to tune up his balancing abilities.

He can justify it how he wants, but it still made me laugh watching her trying to keep up with the scooter while holding all of his gear.

If he REALLY wanted to work on his balance, he'd use two scooters like Gary Sheehan did when he was driving for us in 2003. Pro tip: it works well until suddenly it doesn't work well at all.

I'm not a big Lewis fan, even if he is the best driver at this time, but Angela Cullen has what seems to be a really cool job. I wouldn't mind chasing after Lewis whilst carrying his stuff while he rides a scooter on the way to the grid.

In reply to triumph7 :

Thanks for the tip.

Big thing we are worried about now is parking. I'm staying near the airport, is there pay parking on the grounds if I just drive over the morning of?

Every farm near COTA offers parking. Not a problem if you have legs.

Last time I went I found parking less than a quarter mile from the track, 60 bucks for 3 days.  It's first come first served but there's so much farmland out there you won't have a problem finding parking. 

new rules show is streaming now.

-Cost cap

-mostly the same powertrain rules, but with some cost savings.  Static trans rules.

-banning hydraulic suspension (again?)

-very simplified aero, and ground effects based instead of wings.  vortex generators eliminated.

-suspension allowance simplified.

-tire blankets until at least '22

-bigger tires and brakes- objective to be standard brakes by '23

-some chassis allowance for driver sizes.

-spec floor bottom where T tray is.

-better CF layup to reduce parts just being littered all over the place, and some more tethering of stuff.

- clarification of what's standard across all cars down to what is required to be made by each team- including parts that will be forced to share the design with all teams.

In reply to alfadriver :

As much as I dislike prescribed designs, for the good of the sport and helping the smaller teams, I like these changes. 

In reply to TXratti :

I really wonder how prescriptive they will be- given they showed 3 or 4 cars that all looked different but all met the rules.

Right now, if all of the cars were carbon fiber black, I bet the only one people could quickly pick out was the Mercedes, since they are the only flat car.

BrewCity20 said:

In reply to triumph7 :

Thanks for the tip.

Big thing we are worried about now is parking. I'm staying near the airport, is there pay parking on the grounds if I just drive over the morning of?

Look up Chris Taylor Race Services or Taylor Rotorsports on Google Maps. He's just south of T1 and easy walk. $50 for the weekend if you prepay him through links on the FB page or $20 a day walk up price. 

That's where we've parked in the past. I couldn't remember the name. It's right across the street from one of the pay lots.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Last year I stayed at an airBnB in town, and there are bus location which will take you in if you have a ticket to the race, no additional cost.

In reply to BrewCity20 :

There's a farm right across from the entrance to the track that offered parking, I think they were also selling water too.  When I was there I took the shuttle bus from downtown, a bit of a mistake as I had to drive another 25 minutes past the track to pay to park downtown and ride the shuttle bus back to the track, would have rather spent the extra 90 minutes at the track.

As an Austinite, Daniel just became my favorite driver. His helmet for this weekend. 
 

Feels weird not to be at the track already. First time since 2012, I'm not a marshal at the race due to work commitments. With the race moving back to this weekend, I don't think I'll make it again since I'll always have a commitment this weekend. I'm bummed.

In reply to rob_lewis :

So much for having fans in Oklahoma....

In reply to alfadriver :

I mean, it's a Renault so the OU fans might be happy!

alfadriver said:

In reply to rob_lewis :

So much for having fans in Oklahoma....

Not all of us in OK route for OU. 

With the number of NCAA teams, there's not one he could have picked without upsetting someone.  Makes sense, though, that he picked UT since COTA is in Austin.  Also I heard he went to the UT vs. Baylor game last year, so I would guess he's a fan?  Yeah, I'm happy as a UT fan, but I think I would have liked it with any team.  Besides, with Renault's current running position in the championship it fits just right.  If it was an OU (or 'Bama or LSU or....) helmet, they'd have to figure out how to run up front.

Watching practice 1 right now and they drivers are really complaining about the bumps.  Lewis said it's close to being dangerous.  Apparently the MotoGP guys noticed it earlier in the year and commented it's dangerous.  COTA always seems to be on the verge of financial failure so I'm hoping they can address it by next year.

-Rob

Last time I drove the track, the bumps at 4-5 and 9-10 we really bad. The one at 4-5 really would get you as you are at a pretty good suspension load already and then hit the bump. They ground down some of the edges but it wasn't enough. 

Danny is a huge Austin fan. I could see him moving to Austin when he is done racing F1. Its a vibe that fits his personality well. 

Fun video with Ric Formula 1 Driver Daniel Ricciardo Breaks Down Racing Movies

rob_lewis said:

With the number of NCAA teams, there's not one he could have picked without upsetting someone.  Makes sense, though, that he picked UT since COTA is in Austin.  Also I heard he went to the UT vs. Baylor game last year, so I would guess he's a fan?  Yeah, I'm happy as a UT fan, but I think I would have liked it with any team.  Besides, with Renault's current running position in the championship it fits just right.  If it was an OU (or 'Bama or LSU or....) helmet, they'd have to figure out how to run up front.

Watching practice 1 right now and they drivers are really complaining about the bumps.  Lewis said it's close to being dangerous.  Apparently the MotoGP guys noticed it earlier in the year and commented it's dangerous.  COTA always seems to be on the verge of financial failure so I'm hoping they can address it by next year.

-Rob

The MotoGP was scary.... But those guys have serious cojones. F1, they are whinging but they'll be fine. It's not Sebring!

I think the bumps are fine for this year but I heard the commentators state several times that the track is still sinking. So it is likely to be just too far gone for F1 and Moto GP to accept.

Unfortunately they would have to try and resurface or redo the track as a whole soon. It is unfortunate that the construction didn't provide a multi decade stability to the track.

Should be an interesting race with the bumps and temps. 

bmw88rider said:

Last time I drove the track, the bumps at 4-5 and 9-10 we really bad. The one at 4-5 really would get you as you are at a pretty good suspension load already and then hit the bump. They ground down some of the edges but it wasn't enough. 

 

Danny is a huge Austin fan. I could see him moving to Austin when he is done racing F1. Its a vibe that fits his personality well. 

Me, my daughter, and friend with Danny in 14...  Super nice guy

It seems like that undeniable bitch, Gravity, is trying to suck turn one back down where it belongs.  That's an ugly bump coming out of the pit lane.