The Official 2013 F1 Thread. Spoilers possible!

the countdown has begun!

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COUNTDOWN CLOCK WIDGETS​

and from the kick-off last season:

Will Bernie be a spoiler?
didn't seem to

Will the Texan's beat him at his game?
Texas GP was a big success!

Will the IceMan returneth?
he did 3rd in the WDC.. and a win. not too shabby!

Will Hamilton rock or roll?
who saw the switch to Mercedes coming???

Will Vettel win every pole and every race?
happily no.. but still WDC

Will the Pole have feeling and drive?
doing really well at rally!

Will Michael stay or should he go?
gone.. finally

If he goes, can we have our favorite Canadian back?
hahaha.. no chance

Will we get a political education with our racing?
been quiet on that front

Will we care?
never did before....

Will Ferrari be back in the hunt?
with a vengeance!

Now that India has a race, will Jaguar return to the grid?


Can Sir Frank have just one more stellar season?
maybe 2013....

Should we be making plans for an Austin pilgrimage?
we should have.. .maybe this season?

Is the economy really having an impact on F1?
didn't seem to

Will there be more overtaking, by gimmick or talent?
bit of both & loads of good racing

These and many more issues will be discussed, debated and rehashed.


and now..

will the changes to DRS in quali change the way the race unfolds?

will Ferrari build on the success of this year?

will Lotus continue to be nipping at the heels of the big three?

will Hamilton win a race in the Merc?

what about Hardly Racing Team..... will they be back?

did Hulkenberg make the right move?

will McLaren regret Perez?

Can't wait!!

interesting enough that sentiment is more common than it was last year at this time I think....
it's gonna be a long winter

It's Viva Mexico! Around here with two of them on the grid.

Personally, if HRT stayed away, I'd be quite fine with it.

The were a non-factor in 2012, other than occasionally getting in the way of a race leader.

No points.

Q'd last on the grid in many of the races.

Were in risk of the 107% rule in multiple instances.

some interesting stats compiled by F1 fan Jordan Irvine on McLaren:

another from Jordan Irvine:

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were also teammates for the last 3 years at Mercedes AMG F1- how did they match up?

I know many criticize the Speed ch commentators but after so many yrs of listening to their coverage I'm gonna miss them. I'm a bit worried too about the quality of NBCs broadcast. Speed finally arrived to a descent level.
Anyone out there has an alternative way of watching that can be recommended?
Is Sky a good option via web?

well right now the only one you'll miss is Bob Varsha...
Hobbs, Matchett and Will Buxton are all going to NBC to cover the races.

I wonder if Peter Windsor will be back in the announcing game some how next year. I asked him about it on Twitter, and his reply was "stay tuned".

I thought I read that Will wasn't going.

On the last F1 broadcast they said he was.

I'll go:

will the changes to DRS in quali change the way the race unfolds?
Nope. Mercedes was fastest early last year, and still didn't do much on race day. It might even favor Redbull, if they continue to have such good race pace.

will Ferrari build on the success of this year?
Yep, I expect to see Massa on the podium more, too. I think to the detriment of McLaren and continued struggles of Mercedes and Lotus

will Lotus continue to be nipping at the heels of the big three?
Like a spoiled puppy ...

will Hamilton win a race in the Merc?
Yes, weather will be a factor. It'll happen early on and everyone will get wood over the prospect of Hamilton being a challenger for the WDC, only to be disappointed.

what about Hardly Racing Team..... will they be back?
Probably not, but if they get bought, I hope its by a really committed and deep pocketed party

did Hulkenberg make the right move?
Sauber did better than Force India in the constructors championship, while suffering alot more DNFs. I think they're the better team.

will McLaren regret Perez?
Hulk would have been a better choice, IMHO, but Perez will continue to learn. Permission to Revise and Extend after 2013.

They did? I missed that. The only info I can find online is that the pit reporter job has yet to be decided. It was sweet the way Buxton choked-up when thanking Speed for his big break. He's a wee bit too Pollyannaish for my taste but he's miles more palatable than the hyper-political Peter Windsor, who by the end was putting his own interests ahead of his audience's.

One more bullet point for next season:

When will Bernie die? This much-reviled 82 year-old man will be badly missed once he's gone. For all his faults, he's been excellent for Formula 1.

That is good to hear, I'll catch Varsha on Barett Jackson, but I would rather have them all back. They have good chemistry, maybe bring back Peter Winsor too.

This should probably be in the old thread, but what the hell.

Ferrari looked at the yellow light video from Brazil and are apparently contemplating a challenge. The Guardian says a successful challenge would cost Vettel 20 seconds and also the drivers title.

I'm a Ferrari supporter and I dislike both Vettel and Red Bull. But I must say, I wouldn't like to see the title change hands in this manner. The stewards had their say at the track, and that's that. I could make a snide remark about a cheating team with a cheating car cheating its way to the title, but I promised markjenn I wouldn't.

I have to say that as much as I wanted Alonso to win, I don't want it to be this way...
a bit like the NFL. if the officials blew the call, then as shitty as it iis, that's the way it goes. Make changes so it never happens again I guess and move on.
I hate seeing these things dragged out.

That is total crap.

(That Ferrari would benefit from such action.)

Alonso is a driver's driver. There's no way he wants a championship that came from a rules challenge after-the-fact. It would not taste at all sweet.

I think the challenge rumors are just that.. rumors..

however...



Ferrari to challenge Christmas

Posted in Motorsport, News by Sniff on Thursday, November 29th, 2012
The Ferrari F1 team has announced that it is ‘evaluating’ whether to launch an official protest against Christmas.
‘Last December we became aware that a man travelled the world giving gifts to children whilst wearing a suit that made unauthorised use of the signature red and white Ferrari colours,’ said Maranello spokesman Paul Oozer. ‘Since then we have been carefully examining footage of this ‘Christmas’ event and, although we did not mention it at the time, we now believe we have a case against the gentleman who infringed our copyright, Mr Claus, which we can string out in an over-dramatic and pathetically childish way.’
If the Italian team decides to go ahead with its action against Father Christmas, it could have dire consequences for the jocular Laplander’s usual present distribution routine and indeed for Christmas itself. However, Ferrari believe they have a solution to this potential seasonal crisis; ‘As the rightful users of the red and white colour scheme, we would take over the whole Christmas event,’ said a spokesman. ‘Fernando Alonso has the pace to deliver presents all over the world in just one night and Felipe Massa looks like an elf. Plus, the 2012 car was basically a bit of a turkey.’
As for the actual presents to be delivered to youngsters across the globe, Ferrari claim they would have a solution to that too. ‘What child would not want to receive a Ferrari-branded golfing glove or Ferrari-branded ice scraper?’ their spokesman asked. ‘Although of course in return the child would owe us 390 and 735 Euros respectively.’
Whilst Ferrari continue to deliberate on their next move, others are less than impressed with their potential plan to ruin Christmas. ‘For fuck’s sake, can’t they just drop it and move on,’ said the rest of the world, yesterday.

Not unless Carlos Slim goes broke.