I'm with you. What has changed with Liberty vs. Ecclestone is that they are now actively in partnership with promoters... that is what is different and apparently the bet is paying off.. I think there are more Miami's coming ... IF its successful. That now explains why it was so hard to get a Paddock club pass early on... they were driving people to the other "clubs".... interesting take. Netflix and FOM are tied at the hip working on the cash printing press.
Formula One has been popular in the USA since the very beginning. F-1 was getting crowds of 60 K people in the mid 60's at Watkins Glen - that is more than at Silverstone or Brands Hatch during the same time. What has changed is the perception of what popular is - its not like NFL, NBA, MLB... and its coverage on TV... but that is now changing as well. What I'm not sure about is the "exclusive" nature of F-1 - the more its being popularized - the less exclusive it becomes. Its like Gucci, Rolex etc... they are expensive brands but not all that exclusive .... that is what making F-1 show biz has done.
Tom, I heard the Netflix series combined with the recent races in the US have injected a huge amount of interest in formula 1 in the US. A fan I know locally told another recent F1 fan ‘ I liked F1 before it was popular to like F1 here’. They do a good job injecting the glamour component to the show. There’s real traction now IMO, more than I’ve ever seen. Now what would really seal the deal is if GM or Ford fronted a proper US F1 effort. Haas has done an outstanding job given their shoestring resources, but we all knew it wasn’t going to be a championship effort. GM or Ford? Bean counters and unions make it doubtful but I can hope.
All I know is if the sprinter van they are booking for me better come with a boat, marina and tiki drink, or I will be pissed. I need entertainment for the 2 hour drive from South Beach to the stadium.
I'm an F1TV subscriber, and it gets tiring watching Hamilton drive around in 13th or 14th place for over half the race. Are there any other feeds of the races that aren't so Hamilton-centric? If so, it would be worth the trouble to find these and dump F1TV. That is simply an embarrassment. Silly me for thinking the reason they've shown Hamilton so much the last few years is that he was in the front. Now if Leclerc is in the front, I'm lucky to see him for 1-2 laps. Kevin
I would agree with the person that liked it before it became popular. In europe F - 1 was a bit like NASCAR when i lived there in the late 80's early 90's - Rally was the real enthusiasts automobile sport or Le Mans.... in any event it is great that there is so much enthusiasm for F-1 I just wish it could have the teams and cars from 1990... but with todays access and TV. those were the cars - looked great, huge variety and sounded amazing.
It doesn't matter which television channel you're watching the race from, they're all running off the same race feed. Each channel is simply narrated by different commentators. There is also different commentators for the race even within the F1TV app if you toggle to eg the pits if you're looking for a change. Personally, I prefer the Sky gang (Brundle, Crofty, Herbert, Ted) over the Buxton jokers the stupid app defaults to in America...
Thank you. I was afraid of that. I go back and forth between the 2 commentary teams. I actually quite enjoy the technical guy from the F1 commentary team. The Sky team is so much more over the top pro-Hamilton that it is difficult to tolerate. Kevin
Correct me if I'm wrong but it's my understanding that there is one feed with one director, and everybody sees the same feed. It's the commentary that differs.
I think Jolyon Palmer really is an excellent announcer, very good at translating what is happening in the car. I think with their technical guy you mean Sam Collins? He's also good, explains it so that it's easy enough to understand for the broad audience, not quite sure what the word is I'm looking for but he's just easy to listen to. Their biggest flaw is Will Buxton (netflix guy). I do like the Sky commentary, to a certain point. Brundle remains just fantastic to me. Crofty is ****ing awful. Herbert/Hill/Davidson/crofty collectively live inside Lewis' ass. But when they have Rosberg or Button in it's so damn good to listen to. Chandhok is always on point as well, fantastic insight. If F1 broadcast could put Buxton and Crofty on their own channel so they'll be hidden away from the rest that'll be quite fantastic. Chandhok can then join Palmer.
Given that Sky has some good commentators, I wonder if it would give equal opportunity to them as well. I mean, for a change, why not team up Brundle and Chandok for once!! Keep shuffling amongst themselves. Get Nico on Sky's payroll if he wants. Having that same person as the lead commentator, year after year, gets mundane after a point.
Wow! Amex said no sprinter vans available. I even inquired about air taxi to the closest airway. Nope! I was down there for the Miami Open and it took us 20/25 minutes with no traffic. A friend said it took him 2 hours during the SEC championship game. Anybody have room in their party bus for me and 2 girls? I will bring the bottles of bubbly. And I have a handicap plackard
It is hard to find the right commentators, isn't it? Sometimes they are a little too punchy, aren't they? They seem to be desperate to tick all the boxes, don't they? They are on the back foot a lot of the time, aren't they? They are always trying to punch above their weight, aren't they? He's made a mess of that, hasn't he? That was a beautiful pass, wasn't it? Is it possible to get this job without a mouth that runs all the time? Sometimes silence is a better choice.
Yes! Sam Collins. I couldn't recall his name. I think he is excellent! And Palmer is excellent as well. I find myself switching more often to the Sky feed, not wanting to miss Nico!! He needs a more permanent, high profile position. (If he'd even want it) Kevin
I've gone with the F1 TV the last couple of races, and do NOT miss Crofty's LOUD VOLUME at all. Just imagine announcers treating like a golf match on TV, where they barely whisper if they talk at all. Oh, I forgot, I can always turn the sound off anyway! Mostly I watch for the racing, so it's a good battle with Ferrari and Red Bull this year, plenty of racing where Sainz and Perez need to step up and support LeClerc and Verstappen. I'm not holding my breath waiting for Mercedes to improve the car.
Buxton crew sound clueless imo...cue-card gas lighters for the most part lol, but ya other than the tech guy w the big phro, I find the rest of them intolerable. The Indian guy w god awful fashion sense and silly hairdo takes the cake...I can't even listen to him lol. And besides, if you're curious to hear their commentary, they always have replays on YouTube. You won't get replays of the Sky folks, though from time to time I do catch a "bootleg" of Ted's Notebook on there, which I enjoy a lot.
Iguanas, snakes, ducks or gators are real hazards on a circuit in South Florida. I once saw a medium sized gator cross the track 200 meters in front of us as we approached at 140mph at Moroso many years ago. The person giving me a ride was from up north he was NOT expecting that Anyway contingency plans are in place as well as draining for locally typical flash floods; it seems they are well prepared: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-the-miami-gp-has-prepared-for-floridas-natural-hazards/10280845/
I genuinely get an instant headache at the start of the race when Crofty shouts at the top of his voice. God knows how Brundle hasn't thrown him out of the commentary box window yet. Presumably because he can't lift him...
