# Formula 1 2014 season discussion.



## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I'm actually looking forward to this year more so than last. Hopefully with all the rule changes Red Bull won't run away with the championships again this year. The front noses look absolutely hideous IMHO. At least they all don't look the same though.


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## brian26339 (Dec 13, 2008)

Well, I'm with you. The end of the year last year when Seb went on that run, Red Bull was unbeatable. They may be paying the price now though. Red Bull have had an absolute disaster on their hands in preseason testing so far. Merc, on the other hand look to have everyone covered early, so we might just as easily have a different team on a streak to start the season. I guess we will see!

I know they changed the noses in the interest of safety by lowering them to keep them from getting airborne when the hit the back of another car. To me though, it looks like now if they hit another car directly in the rear they will just submarine under and the diffuser of the other car will be in the drivers face. I think I'd rather be airborne. Yep and not pretty either.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

brian26339 said:


> Well, I'm with you. The end of the year last year when Seb went on that run, Red Bull was unbeatable. They may be paying the price now though. Red Bull have had an absolute disaster on their hands in preseason testing so far. Merc, on the other hand look to have everyone covered early, so we might just as easily have a different team on a streak to start the season. I guess we will see!
> 
> I know they changed the noses in the interest of safety by lowering them to keep them from getting airborne when the hit the back of another car. To me though, it looks like now if they hit another car directly in the rear they will just submarine under and the diffuser of the other car will be in the drivers face. I think I'd rather be airborne. Yep and not pretty either.


Part of me thinks Red Bull is just screwing with the other teams by having "issues" but I'm also glad at the same time that they are. It was a complete bore watching races last year. Before the first lap was over Seb was ahead by at least a second negating the DRS and resulted in me deleting the recording and sighing. Apparently I wasn't the only one as viewrship suffered across the pond as well. I thought the same about the noses. Guess we'll find out.


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

FYI...1st Practice coverage...3/13 7:30pm(MDT)...NBCSN 220..... :joy: :joy:


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> I'm actually looking forward to this year more so than last. Hopefully with all the rule changes Red Bull won't run away with the championships again this year. *The front noses look absolutely hideous IMHO. *At least they all don't look the same though.


Have you seen the new Caterham....? !!


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

bnwrx said:


> Have you seen the new Caterham....? !!


Yikes. Idk how they think that straight edge behind the extension is aerodynamic. At least they let the teams design their own so there is some difference. The Lotus nose is doing well so far and it's 2 pieces.

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

FYI....: http://racer.com/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=item&cid=345:latest-stories&id=101773:nbc-reveals-its-2014-f1-coverage-plans&Itemid=581


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

bnwrx said:


> FYI....: http://racer.com/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=item&cid=345:latest-stories&id=101773:nbc-reveals-its-2014-f1-coverage-plans&Itemid=581


I like Leigh but I wouldn't mind hearing Bob Varsha again. Either way. Thanks for the info. Almost race time!

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> I like Leigh but I wouldn't mind hearing Bob Varsha again. Either way. Thanks for the info. Almost race time!
> 
> Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


I love Hobbs and Matchett, but I would like an "American" voice on there as well.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Practice on Friday should be pretty telling for the weekend I think. At least for this weekend. I'm hoping Red Bull are still having problems. Last year was a yawn IMHO. Looks like everyone has a fair shot so far except for the usual back markers but even they are making some strides towards to the middle. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I worked all weekend and just now go a chance to watch qualifying and the race. I'll start by saying I hate the way the engine sounds this year. It sounds like an IRL engine. The turbo sounds awesome though. I love the blow off valve and spooling sounds. I have to admit I was also cheering like the fans were when Vettel didn't make Q3 and when he retired. I hope to see that a lot this year. I do hope that Rosberg keeps up the good form but man, the other teams need to do something fast or Rosberg will quickly replace Vettel as an always winner. That would suck just like it has the past 4 years.

I was expecting more retirements too. Glad I was proven wrong about that. Magnusson had a great start as well. Always love to see a rookie on the podium. Should be an exciting season.


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

The 2 main retirements,IE:Hamilton,Vettel, won't happen everytime. Their teammates were very strong. You have to believe both those guys will improve by Malaysia. It was exciting for 4-9th though. Will Williams have enough budget to keep improving? Massa did well in Qually, but was taken out by Kobayashi(penalty earned with that Banzai move!). He would hopefully be in the mix also. Agreed, their sound leaves a lot to be desired. Did you hear Force India owner Vijay Mallya's comment in FP#1? Bet Bernie wished he could have edited that! Did you see the good tech peice by Matchett in the prerace show?. Those power units are SO COMPLEX!!! Great ideas in their early stages of development. I also concluded or rather reaffirmed the announce team for F1 is simply the best(still)! They offer terrific insight and make it exciting to watch the whole event. Looking forward to Race #2!!!!


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

New rules explained video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hFHmYFlbFn8


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

Also this sound comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS4Dh_EAfJI&feature=player_embedded


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

bnwrx said:


> The 2 main retirements,IE:Hamilton,Vettel, won't happen everytime. Their teammates were very strong. You have to believe both those guys will improve by Malaysia. It was exciting for 4-9th though. Will Williams have enough budget to keep improving? Massa did well in Qually, but was taken out by Kobayashi(penalty earned with that Banzai move!). He would hopefully be in the mix also. Agreed, their sound leaves a lot to be desired. Did you hear Force India owner Vijay Mallya's comment in FP#1? Bet Bernie wished he could have edited that! Did you see the good tech peice by Matchett in the prerace show?. Those power units are SO COMPLEX!!! Great ideas in their early stages of development. I also concluded or rather reaffirmed the announce team for F1 is simply the best(still)! They offer terrific insight and make it exciting to watch the whole event. Looking forward to Race #2!!!!


I agree they won't happen every time or very often I would imagine. I would honestly say at this point everyone with the exception of Marussia and Caterham looked good. I know it's early but for this race they looked pretty competitive. It was very refreshing seeing a shuffled up top 10 of sorts. I didn't hear Vijays comment. I couldn't find it on you tube unless my you tube-fu is lacking this morning. lol

I love the pre-race show. NBC has blown Fox completely away with how much they've dedicated to the sport in comparison. It isn't even close and I love them for that.

I see the drama has begun. Ricciardo lost his podium due to a fuel regulating issue? And hours after the race was over. Wow.

Nice videos btw. I'm gonna miss the angry bees.


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

I can't remember exactly, but Vijay said something like..."Formula 1 needs to sound like Formula 1, not this...". Summed it up well for me!

I don't understand why the "PreRace" show can't be setup as a "Season Record"?? Last year it was was the same and I inadvertently missed a couple. The Practice,Qually, Race and Extra are all on season record, why not the PreRace?


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I'd like it if they just included it in the race block itself instead of listing it separate. Speed used to do that and I never missed one. I saw somewhere that someone is trying to say F1 is in breach of contract because of the new sound. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## dish556 (Feb 18, 2014)

mrro82 said:


> I'm actually looking forward to this year more so than last. Hopefully with all the rule changes Red Bull won't run away with the championships again this year. The front noses look absolutely hideous IMHO. At least they all don't look the same though.


Damn ferrari better get their head out their azz and get the team up to speed it's a shame when the merc out pace the Ferrari with a damn rookie in the car! even redbull rookie did better then the Vet's of F1 take off the turbo's and give us back the V-8's with Ker's and let go racing again! I really want the V-16 back


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I was out of town the past 2 weeks. I've only watched the Malaysian GP so far. Thoughts: You gotta feel a bit for Riccardio. Bad pit stop screwed him bad. Kimi had a terrible day again. Alonso not so much. Looks pretty exciting at Williams. Massa isn't going for team orders. On the one hand I understand but on the other, it's a team. The team needs the points. Not letting Bottas by might have cost them points. Then again maybe not. Could go either way. Mercedes is looking spectacular so far. Good for them. I hope they keep up the pace.


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

When you get a chance to watch Bahrain, get 3 bags of popcorn, do not answer the doorbell, and turn your phone off. It a great race start to finish! But thats just my opinion......


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

bnwrx said:


> When you get a chance to watch Bahrain, get 3 bags of popcorn, do not answer the doorbell, and turn your phone off. It a great race start to finish! But thats just my opinion......


Thanks for the tip. I'm gonna try to get to them before the weekend.

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Watched the Bahrain GP. Mercedes was dominant yet again. The good thing is that both were dominant so they could battle each other as no one else was even close. If that doesn't change it could be a pretty year as you wouldn't even need to watch as in years past. I thought they were gonna take each other out on more than one occasion.

Ferrari is in rough shape. Luca left early and when I heard his comments to Will Buxton he didn't sound happy at all. Rightly so IMHO. Ferrari have been fading for a few years. 

I wouldn't be a darn bit surprised if Maldonado sits China out. He torpedoed Gutierrez pretty good but then again one could also argue that Gutierrez wasn't paying attention and cut him off. Yet again though Maldonado was flying coming into the turn. We'll see I guess. Speaking of this wreck, how about those front noses keeping cars on the ground? HA! If that happened from the side imagine the height Gutierrez would have achieved had it been from the rear of the car.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

5 grid spot penalty for Maldonado. 

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## kikkenit2 (Oct 26, 2006)

I am a Lewis Hamilton fan so last week was fine with me. His old team is not so fast now. And his new team is dominating. Good move. Amazing how every team was at a different pace. Teammates fighting it out all over the track. Lewis and Nico don't give an inch to each other. Good for us. No team orders to let them by.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

kikkenit2 said:


> I am a Lewis Hamilton fan so last week was fine with me. His old team is not so fast now. And his new team is dominating. Good move. Amazing how every team was at a different pace. Teammates fighting it out all over the track. Lewis and Nico don't give an inch to each other. Good for us. No team orders to let them by.


No orders this time but they were both told to bring the cars home so that might have made them behave which is good. I can only imagine how chippy it will get later in the season of these 2 go back and forth on wins.

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## kikkenit2 (Oct 26, 2006)

Rosberg should have settled for second. First in points already. But no, he tried to pass Hamilton. Fun watching them dual, but too dangerous for team. I was stoked when Lewis held him off. Hopefully some other teams find some speed and compete for the lead of the race. That front wing catapulted that car and didn't even come loose! Better than nascar.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

kikkenit2 said:


> Rosberg should have settled for second. First in points already. But no, he tried to pass Hamilton. Fun watching them dual, but too dangerous for team. I was stoked when Lewis held him off. Hopefully some other teams find some speed and compete for the lead of the race. That front wing catapulted that car and didn't even come loose! Better than nascar.


They made the role change to prevent just that and it still happened. Should have left them alone. They look hideous.

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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Ferrari news: Domenicali resigns as Ferrari team principal
http://www.f1reader.com/news/domenicali-resigns-as-ferrari-team-principal-95909

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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

A couple of stories this am...

Haas Formula: http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-04-14/gene-haas-formula-one-american-team-f1-2015-tony-stewart-danica-patrick-mercedes-ferrari
http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/haas-automation-formula-one-press-conference/

Ferrari announce: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/27023145

Haas Formula needs some "employees" for the new team......

Gunther Steiner was a technical director at Red Bull Racing for a while and Domenicali knows the "fundamentals" of running a team...

Good luck to Haas, hopefully a better chance than Windsor's outfit...


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I miss Peter in the pits sometimes. Will gets on my nerves every now and again. 

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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

I kinda agree, Peter was very good, but had more years under his belt than Will has had. One thing I notice this year, the pre-race "chatting" is almost non-existent. Very few on the grid driver interviews. I wish Bernie would allow camera use in the pits for Will, when he has something to say. Sorta weird that you never see him! That is true for everybody though because of this "host broadcaster" deal.....


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## kikkenit2 (Oct 26, 2006)

An American team. Cool. Forget about Danica Patrick.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I really miss the on grid interviews. Those were awesome. I wonder if that was a FIA change or NBC change. After that camera man got smoked by that tire, those days are gone unfortunately. 

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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I really hope for the sake of the rest of the season that someone else starts winning. Watching Lewis run away form everyone is disturbingly reminiscent of Vettel the past couple of years and I think that at this point in the sport that it isn't necessarily a good thing. People are still upset about the engine sounds and I can't imagine them not tuning out when Lewis runs away. I know from personal experience that it happens. I did it last year on more than one occasion.

Ferrari are making strides it seems. Alonso had a great race and I think once Kimi gets his ride right to his liking that he will move closer to the podium. I would say for Kimi it's about 3 races off. They make such small changes per race that it will take that long IMHO. After that I would expect him and Alonso to start duking it out for podium spots.

I'm looking forward to 2015 or 2016 when Haas gets his team on the grid. Well hopefully. We all remember the USF1 team. I'd love to see his racing history propel his cars into the middle of the pack. Another back marker team doesn't do anybody any good. Then again F1 is a very tough sport to hop into.

I think Massa would have either been on the podium or damn close before his pit stop screwed him.


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

Wow 2 really good races in a row....The venue for the Austrian race looks great and the atmosphere seemed like it was back at the Glen when I used to attend many,many years ago!!. Side note....My recording of the race this past weekend included the pre-race show as part of the regular recording. I usually had to look for the pre-race show in the Guide and add it to the recorder and you could not set up a series link for it. Hopefully NBCSN will continue this practice...
Looking forward to Silverstone.....


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I've been hoping for NBC to do that since last year. I hope it continues as well. Nice to see someone else on pole. Too bad it didn't translate to a win but nice regardless. Nothing is going to stop Mercedes. If I had to choose of pick Nico for the championship. Seeing F1 in Austria again is awesome. They need more old school venues instead of these crappy new courses. 

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

mrro82 said:


> ..... Seeing F1 in Austria again is awesome. They need more old school venues instead of these crappy new courses.
> 
> Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


Agreed!!....Too sterile and "Pretty".....Williams might show well in England,fast circuit like Austria...Force India too might show well...


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

At this point I'm hoping for anyone but Mercedes to win. It's getting boring again. It's damn near wrapped up at the point and it isn't half way through yet. 

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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

As a heads-up....Coverage of the British GP is split between NBCSN and CNBC....Friday practice is NBCSN...Sat qually and the race is CNBC.As of this posting the DTV Guide does not reflect this. As I recall this happened last year and the Guide was late to update so keep checking it....I believe all races in July are this way because of NBCSN coverage of the Tour de' France.....


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I thought so.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Yawn. I'm done with this season and maybe F1 for good. Predictable all the way around and the rule changes are for the worse. Congrats to Nico. See you guys next season maybe. 

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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I tried to watch Saturday's Toronto race ... it just happened to be on while I was flipping channels. I've been to Toronto. Hit record and watch later ...

Ok, so it is going to be a "wet" race - that is interesting. The pace car spun out on wet pavement. I have not seen that before. The race started without the pace car ... strange. But one of the top cars spun out and now it is declared that the race didn't start. Huh? And while the cars go back to parade laps the wrecked driver gets to fix his car penalty free (OK, he starts at the back ... but doesn't red flag mean STOP once they stopped the field?)

An 85 lap race becomes a timed race (whatever we can do in two hours if we ever get it started) becomes a 65 lap race later, maybe. My recording ran out before the race began (other than the false start).

Hopefully the other races are better ... but that shows how one race can influence a casual viewer's opinion of the sport.


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## Blueflash (Jan 16, 2009)

James, the Toronto races weren't F1  
That was Indycar a USA based open wheel race. However it also has upper management issues. The rules seem to change week-in and week-out so it is unclear what is allowed so the consistency is horrible.


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

James, to the casual viewer,yes, Toronto race 1 was confusing. Technically speaking, by the rules, when Will Power spun, the Green flag had not been displayed. Had he not spun where he did, it would have been displayed, but...it wasn't. Therefore no Green flag, means no race start. It was then decided to delay the race to see if the rain would let up. Most of the drivers complained that on the back straight, they could not even see the side barriers because of the rain spray, and they were only going 60mph!!. That area of the track had been resurfaced because of the many bumps on it and thusly with the new pavement, the"fresh tar" if you will, allowed the rain to "pool" on its surface much like wax on a cars surface, which in turn created a lot of water spots. So they waited and waited and......finally decided to postpone the race till Sunday AM.

So Sunday saw 2 races on the same day, with a few hours in between, not an overnite for the crews to work on the cars, but mere hours(Monyoya's crew actually did an engine swap in that time). I watched both races in there entirety on Sunday(what a treat for the people in Toronto!) and both were compelling in different ways. Good battles from 3rd thru 8-9 and close racing in my opinion. I am not trying to wave Indycar's flag here( but I am an open wheel fanatic--real racecars don't have fenders!), but they had to deal with rain and get 2 races in on the same weekend and they did!! (Try that NASCAR....?!)Consider watching the last 4 events this year, hopefully they will be good(many have been this year) and maybe Indycar can win you over.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Blueflash said:


> James, the Toronto races weren't F1


Wow ... I suppose that is just how confusing it was! I guess I should be less casual.



bnwrx said:


> I am not trying to wave Indycar's flag here( but I am an open wheel fanatic--real racecars don't have fenders!), but they had to deal with rain and get 2 races in on the same weekend and they did!! (Try that NASCAR....?!)


NASCAR has managed to do two on the same day in different series ... and the other divisions run have run on the same day as the top three series. Fortunately they don't try to run two points races on the same course on the same weekend in the same series. It seems like the open wheelers have trouble adjusting to having fenders.

I thought the green made it out before the spin ... perhaps the timing was just that close. Anyways, sorry for getting the wrong series.


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

Hungary GP....Quite the race!! Good efforts from Red Bull,Ferrari and Williams. The 2nd half of the season might be really interesting.

And next is.....SPA!


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

Figures. I say I'm done for the season and Ferrari have a pretty decent weekend. Looks like I'm back in! On to Spa! 

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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

Welcome back!!

Alonso, on raceday is absolutely amazing......

Ahhhhhh......Spaaaaaaa!!!!


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

Just released from NBC viewers of F1: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2014/10/16/nbc-sports-groups-formula-one-coverage-sets-numerous-viewership-milestones-this-season/

Nice to see the "bump-up" this year, hopefully it means it stays for another year.
Coverage for the US GP at COTA will include everything including P1 & P3 with the "gang" all commentating on site!


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

I stopped watching. It's a fore gone conclusion and not fun anymore. Hopefully next season is better 

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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

Sorry to see you go..(we may be the only 2 on this forum!!! :hurah: )....

I still enjoy the shows...once I got the bug(for me it was 1965).....Its the same for me with Hockey, enjoy watching.


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## mrro82 (Sep 12, 2012)

bnwrx said:


> Sorry to see you go..(we may be the only 2 on this forum!!! :hurah: )....
> 
> I still enjoy the shows...once I got the bug(for me it was 1965).....Its the same for me with Hockey, enjoy watching.


I think we are lol. I still like the sport but the changes in recent years have really hurt it IMHO. Add to that the race winner baring an engine failure has been decided before the lights go out. It just isn't fun this year. Hasn't really been since 07.08 started these horrible changes to the cars and rules and downhill it went.

Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!


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## bnwrx (Dec 29, 2007)

For the 1,000's interested.....Here is NBC's schedule for the US Grand Prix this week: http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/27/nbc-nbcsn-set-for-mega-u-s-grand-prix-weekend-of-coverage-from-austin/?utm_network=twitter&utm_post=3110382&utm_source=TW%20%40NASCARonNBC&utm_tags=


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