F1 2020 Delayed: News/updates / is there hope :)

They should just put all of us here on Fchat on some kind of Zoom deal ..then broadcast our reactions during the race...complete with beep beeps.

 

Has Mr Pringle gone slightly insane staring at 4 walls inside his home?

 

Sprinkle a few dozen bikini babes in the stands ..that should do it.

 

Can’t say I am surprised. Pretty amazing they have been able to get as many organized as the have.

Hopefully, none of the arranged GP’s get re-cancelled due to second wave as countries reopen. It is a concern.

 

I just wandered over to the official F1 site, just to see what the actual race schedule is...and I saw the future.

Julian Tan, F1's Head of Digital Business Initiatives and Esports said: “The Virtual Grand Prix series has been a resounding success. We are so glad to have been able to provide our fans with racing action as well as engagement with our stars during a time when most live sports had gone dark.

"Whilst the Virtual Grand Prix series may be coming to an end, this is just the start of our plans for this season, as we turn our attention to the F1 Esports Series later in the year.

No virus, no travel expense, watch whenever you want, team budgets drastically reduced, etc. Who knew that Williams had the car to beat and that George Russel was the man. If you can work from home why not drive/race from home?

"The Virtual Grands Prix have given us a chance to reach a whole new audience and we’d love to see anyone who has enjoyed watching the series continue their journey with us when the action returns.”

No mention of sticking around and watching real F1.

 

Baku, Japanese, and Singapore GP's are cancelled.

However,

Imola, former home of the San Marino Grand Prix, announces that it has had its FIA grade-one status renewed - which means it could host F1 again. It says this is a "dream". It's a possibility - but no more than that - for a race in the Euro-centric 2020 F1 season.

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9 Billion well spend, I say.

 

I absolutely love the Imola track. LOVE IT. Especially with the deleted final chicane (I did like it myself in sims during qualifying, but would be useless especially today for overtaking), the straight becomes very long, and exciting 2 slow speed corners.

 

I was at the Imola GP many years ago, just after the mother of the Schumacher brothers died and they wore black armbands. But I digress: Back then the track was a go kart track on steroids. Cute and pretty but not even close to today's F1 standards. Especially not the pit area. Did Imola get a makeover? At least the pits must have changed as I couldn't imagine how they would hold up to today's posh standards.

Just asking.

 

Yep, it got a make over. It's F1 certified now.

 

Imola, Mugello, Portimao?

This season could be become a racing fans all time jewel. Think about all the places that would have never gotten a chance to be raced at. Hey, maybe the US should offer the Glen or Road America.

Seriously, I can't wait to get the Playstation version of this season: There will be F1 tracks on there, which we otherwise would have never been able to play.

 

Imola would be hot! Would've even been enough to coax me onto an int'l flight and brave the rona had they allowed spectators.

 

Mugello would have done that for me. That's a fascinating race track with its elevation changes. A bit too short for F1 but what the heck, for once I'm with it. I "drove" it virtually with a F355 Challenge.

 

With a shortness of races, could we see the cars TURNED UP(rpms) because of the component allocation allotment???

A slightly "higher level" of racing possibly??

 

Lemme rephrase that for you my friend: "With cars all turned up, Mercedes won't be sandbagging and will just be a few more football fields ahead."

 

It would expose who is fit more than who is fast, 300kms around there in those cars...wow, that would drain them.
I saw an Italian GT race there in 2006 with MC12's etc and they went very quickly round there so the current F1... I would love to see that.

 

My favourite form of racing is European hill climbs, man alone against a mountain road, usually after practice days two timed runs, Google hill climb F3000 onboard and have your mind blown. As I wrote twenty years ago in a Cavallino magazine article on the 1969 212E Montagna, it is as if the F1 World championship was decided by pole position and qualifying results only. No race. Faaar more intense, makes F1 look like an endurance race.

 

Hillclimb is very popular in the South of Europe. There are many events that attracts huge crowds.
The European Hillclimb Championship used to be a very important competition in the 60s and 70s.
Porsche, Abarth and Ferrari participated by sending factory cars, later Osella.
It lost its prestige when factory entries dried up, now you hardly ever hear about it.