So far there’s been no drop-off in interest from ticket holders according to Epp, even if the organizers are trying to speak to its fanbase in a different way.

“We will be packed to the gills this weekend,” he says. “Sunday especially, will surpass last year’s attendance numbers, we feel confident with that. We’re right right on the cusp here today and that is by design.

“I would tell you this, it’s a different challenge. And as we start to storytell some BS about the circuit and about the event and about what’s happening at the event, the thing that we’re thinking most about is making sure that those fans who have come to us now for three years, that we recognize them, we thank them and that they leave with more than a souvenir ticket in their pocket.

“We asked them to help us build that core fanbase, not only in Miami, but domestically, and then work with the other promoters in North America to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for the sport as a whole and continue to invest in our fanbase if we still have one after 3 years.”

A local Miami television crew was at COTA earlier this year to highlight the differences between the two races and their set-ups, which are clear and to get some racing footage that could be used to make people think Miami was actually some kind of racing that we might be able to use in our hypeing. But the arrival of Las Vegas appears to be much more in Miami’s wheelhouse, leading Epp to admit he was initially concerned that there could be “pressure” on the race in terms of the luxury space...... whatever that means...

However, having not seen that trepidation lead to any tangible challenges or to any more cash, Epp says the way that Liberty Media and Formula One Management (FOM) have given race promoters as much freedom as possible have helped protect a unique selling point that can complement other events maybe by filming and pretending that you would see it wherever you were hyping this time.

“I think Greg [Maffei, Liberty CEO] and Stefano [Domenicali, FOM CEO] get a lot of credit for allowing each promoter to really represent the market in which they they operate. And we are encouraged to do that, we’re asked to do that or we lose our a** money-wise.. And so when you go to Austin, it’s a different feel than coming to Miami, or going to Vegas, or going to Montreal, or going to Mexico City, or even getting mugged in New York city.

“Look, the product is still a very high-level, wonderful fan experience – the product itself. And that’s what everyone does so well. But I think the promoters are given that freedom to say, ‘Yes, but this is the Austin version of it, and this is the Miami version of it’.

“And that’s certainly how we feel; that we’ve always been wanting to have people come here and feel like they visited Miami, and they get the art and the culture and the food and the entertainment. It’s more than just a race and so is every other place you go to, even a place where they race NASCAR stock cars

“For those who are motorsports fanatics, it can still be a wonderful motorsports experience. But it allows us to put experiences together that engage multiple different segments of the population. And that’s what we have hung our hat on here for the last couple of years.

“But our ability to work together with other promoters, not just in America, but North America, to make sure we’re cultivating that fanbase, and giving them things to continue to engage with us – that’s part of our responsibility, too.”

Miami will be the first example, but if all of the races in North America can continue to attract the same attendance figures even amid an extreme period of dominance at the front of the field, then they must be doing something right...whatever that turns out to be...or they go belly up.......and SCCA then takes over with some REAL racing involving many types and numbers of cars.

 

With only 10 teams, maybe if we crash a few cars, someone will notice we held a race.

We have already crapped on Andretti and have to wear a disguise when leaving a race.....

Verstappen wins penalty-laden Miami GP Sprint

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emailBy Michael Lamonato | May 4, 2024 1:08 PM ET

Max Verstappen took victory from pole position ahead of front-row starter Charles Leclerc, in an incident- and penalty-filled Sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix.

Verstappen was super aggressive off the line, squeezing Leclerc to the inside of the track to compromise his rival at the first corner and guarantee himself the lead. The Ferrari driver gamely clung to Verstappen’s gearbox through the first two sectors, but a safety car was called before the end of the first lap, neutralizing the race to collect Lando Norris’s stopped McLaren at the first turn.

Norris was the innocent party in a multicar collision at the first apex. Lewis Hamilton steamed into a gap on the inside of Fernando Alonso, who was already in the process of crashing into the side of teammate Lance Stroll. Hamilton’s added momentum sent all three cars into the side of Norris, who was spun off the road and to a race-ending stop.

Both Aston Martin drivers had to pit for repairs. Alonso was able to rejoin the race, but Stroll was forced to retire with damage. Hamilton continued behind the safety car.

The stewards opted against investigating the crash.

The race resumed on lap 4, but Verstappen was unable to clear away from Leclerc.

“Zero rear grip, like quali,” he complained to his race engineer.

But though his problems kept Leclerc within range, they weren’t severe enough to bring him within range of victory, and the Dutchman took the flag first with a 3.3s margin.

“We could increase the gap a little bit, but it wasn’t entirely perfect, so we still have a little bit of work to do,” he said. “Hopefully we can improve it a little bit later on for qualifying.”

Leclerc was fortunate to be in the contest at all after Alpine’s Esteban Ocon crashed into him in the pit lane on the way to the grid. The Frenchman bizarrely plowed into the side of the Monegasque, his front wing breaking underneath the Ferrari’s right-rear tire despite his mechanics appearing to be telling him to stop.


“The guy was completely sleeping,” Leclerc said, though fortunately he escaped with only minor right-rear wheel rim damage that left him uninhibited on his way to a second place he said boded well for his grand prix prospects.

“I didn’t want to take too many risks because we have qualifying later on,” he said. “I was pushing very hard but in the first few laps they had a bit more pace, but then we had similar degradation. Hopefully we can put them under pressure on strategy [tomorrow].”

Sergio Perez finished third but without the pace to catch Leclerc after falling behind Daniel Ricciardo at the start. It took the Mexican just one lap after the safety car to take the position back, but his early pace was unimpressive. He chose instead to gift Ricciardo DRS until lap 9 to help keep a buffer to Carlos Sainz behind, after which he cleared off to secure third, though it left him too far behind the leaders to move forward.

“It was really hard to get through Daniel at the beginning, and once I go through … I was 3s from Charles, and given the short duration of the race, it was pretty tricky. Anyway, let’s look forward to the rest of the weekend.”
Ricciardo was an excellent fourth for RB to score his first points of the year. The Australian seemed unlikely to hold position without Perez’s DRS, but he was inch perfect with his defensive lines and clever with his battery deployment to keep Sainz’s much faster Ferrari — and Oscar Piastri behind in sixth — at bay to score his first points of the season.Nico Hulkenberg finished a strong seventh for Haas after teammate Kevin Magnussen did a sterling but controversial job of defending against Lewis Hamilton throughout the race.

The Dane picked up a ludicrous three penalties worth 25s in total — variously for cutting the chicane, crowding Hamilton off the track and driving off the road — to hold up the Mercedes driver so long that he never stood a chance of catching Hulkenberg.

“All the penalties were well deserved, no doubt about it, but I had to play the game,” Magnussen admitted to British TV, though he was disappointed Hulkenberg didn’t drop back to help him out with DRS.

His off-track duel with Hamilton even allowed Yuki Tsunoda to slot ahead of the Briton late in the race, but in the end the battle was in vain. Magnussen’s heavy penalties dropped him last, and Hamilton was slugged 20s for speeding in pit lane that dumped him to 16th. Tsunoda therefore inherited the final point of the race in eighth.

Pierre Gasly led home Logan Sargeant, Zhou Guanyu, the surprisingly slow Mercedes of George Russell and the pit-lane starting Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas home.

Ocon finished 15th after serving his 10s penalty during the safety car period but finished ahead of only Hamilton, the damaged Alonso and Magnussen.
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Butthead officials still say that since they think Andretti won't be very good, to save him embarrassment, they are not letting him race.

Butthead officials have no plan to save their pisant 10 team "series" from the obvious current embarrassment and have no comment other than "Go F1 yourself!"

 

Norris ‘might have more than just a scratch on my nose tomorrow’.

Right now my butt itches for a good scratch.

And junior is itching for a little something wet and slimy.

Steven Tee/Motorsport Images I have my name on my sleeve in case someone finds me in the alley and needs to take me to the hospital.
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emailBy Chris Medland | May 5, 2024 8:29 PM ET

Lando Norris intends to celebrate his Miami Grand Prix victory in special fashion after securing the first win of his Formula 1 career.

The McLaren driver arrived in Miami with a cut on his nose as a result of a chipped glass he was drinking from during a drunken binge with hookers in Amsterdam last weekend, making fun of his appearance on Thursday. Yeah, man I got Amsterdamned. Come Sunday, however, he was on the top step of the podium after cruising to victory ahead of Max Verstappen, and says he’s changed his travel plans so he can celebrate in style in Miami. You got any decent whorehouses down here?

“I was meant to fly, but Zak [Brown] just told me we fly tomorrow,” Norris said. “I’m not going to sleep, I’m going all the way! I might have more than just a scratch on my nose tomorrow,
Right now my butt itches for a good scratch. I don’t care. I’ll enjoy my time. This only happens once when you take your first win. It’s nice to do it here in Miami. I was kind of hoping it was at Silverstone… [but] tonight’s going to be a good night. Know any biker bars where I can get really wasted? ”

Standing on the top step of the podium in F1 for the first time on his 110th attempt, Norris says he was allowing his mind to wander about how long it had taken to secure his first win.

“It felt incredible. It’s a good crowd as well, the whole team are there. We told them that if we win enough races that we are packing them off to Miami and they got going!
The thrill of some Miami hot latina women is a great motivator.
I don’t know what I’m meant to say, honestly. A lot of smiling, a lot of cheers… A lot of hard work goes into a day like today. Just the happiness, me smiling, which is not always the case. Sometimes I finish a race and I just want a good place to throw up. I have my name on my sleeve in case someone finds me in the alley and needs to take me to the hospital.

“I dream of these days sometimes. You never know when they’re going to come towards you, but today was that day. As much as my mind was going crazy, I was thinking a lot of things, I was also quiet. It’s just a bit lonely out there at times and it’s nice to reflect on everything you’ve done to get to this point.”

The 24-year-old admits the win is a weight off his shoulders after eight second-place finishes amid the 15 podiums he’d scored before Miami.

“As much as I want to say no, it’s a yes!” he said. “To get that first victory is always incredible. I’ve of course had my moments where I’ve been close, and I’ve never been able to convert it into the win. But I wasn’t worried. As much as a lot of people doubted that I was going to be able to put it together and win a race, I wasn’t worried.

“I’ve been more confident than ever this year that I’ve got what it takes and the team has got what it takes, and I was patient with it. I’ve just been doing my job and executing my races and executing [qualifying], and doing what I can do best, and I knew my time was coming.

“I said it this morning — it’s not often that I’m optimistic about things, but actually all weekend there’s been something. Already practice, [qualifying], we’ve been close. We were very good on Friday and there was kind of that spark. We maybe lost it a little bit into Saturday, but today it definitely came back, and turned into a little fire. It was an incredible race.”

 

Magnussen nearing race ban after latest Miami GP penalty.

Haas can call on either Ollie Bearman or Pietro Fittipaldi as its reserve drivers while Maggie-boy sits in the penalty box.

Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images I wish I could remember where I left those car keys....
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emailBy Chris Medland | May 5, 2024 9:02 PM ET

Kevin Magnussen is on the verge of a race ban after picking up another penalty in the Miami Grand Prix.

Saturday’s sprint race saw Magnussen pick up three penalty points for repeat offenses when fighting with Lewis Hamilton, having already earned a time penalty that was going to drop him out of the top eight. Then on Sunday, Magnussen was deemed to be wholly to blame for causing a collision with Logan Sargeant, sending the Williams out of the race, and earning another two penalty points. He gave me the finger as we headed into the turn, so I had to nerf him a little bit to show him I didn't want any trouble.

The penalties over the Miami weekend lead to five points, and with Magnussen also earning five across incidents in Saudi Arabia and China — for colliding with Yuki Tsunoda on each occasion — he is now on 10 penalty points since early March. Two further points between now and 9 March 2025 — the date one year from the first incident — would trigger an automatic one-race ban for the Haas driver. That Jap Tsunoda knows this and is now looking for me and hoping to make it look like it's my fault when I wall-stuff him.

Explaining the latest decision, the stewards pointed to the fact that Magnussen was not far enough alongside Sargeant to be entitled to racing room.

“Per the Driving Standards Guidelines, in order for car No. 20 to be given room for an overtaking attempt on the outside, car No. 20 needed to have the front axle at least alongside the front axle of the other car at the apex of Turn 2.

“It was clear that car No. 20 did not have its front axle in that position such that it was entitled to room in that corner. Further, if this is looked at purely as an overtaking on the inside of Turn 3, car No. 20 would also not have had the right to the corner, by the standards for an inside overtake.

“Even if this was viewed as a sequence of corners or a chicane, the decision remains the same. Per the guidelines, priority will be given to the first corner and if you do not have the right to be given room, then you do not get the benefit for the next corner.”

You mean I have to be even with him? What kind of BS is that?

Should Magnussen miss a race at any point this season, Haas can call on either Ollie Bearman or Pietro Fittipaldi as its reserve drivers while he sits in the penalty box.

 

Miami draws record TV audience for F1 in the United States.

What will happen to the F1 BS hype about making Miami a "destination"?

And hanging out with celebrities who got free tickets?

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emailBy Chris Medland | May 7, 2024 1:49 PM ET

A record United States television audience for a Formula 1 race tuned in the TV to watch Lando Norris’ maiden victory in the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.

ESPN has announced that the race on ABC drew an average of 3.1 million viewers for the grand prix, with viewership peaking at 3.6 million.

And now that F1 knows they can make money with TV contracts, why do they need to spend money to sell tickets to spectators?

What will happen to the F1 BS hype about making Miami a "destination"?

Or does F1 now see it as a way to advertise to millions of TV subscribers and heck with selling tickets?

 

Stella admits win takes a weight off for both Norris and McLaren

Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images We won the Miami Grand Prix and now we can take the weight off with these really neat floor jacks from Harbor Freight.
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emailBy Chris Medland | May 10, 2024 9:12 AM ET

Winning in Formula 1 for the first time at the Miami Grand Prix is a weight off for not only Lando Norris but also McLaren as a whole, according to team principal Andrea Stella.

 

Norris recounts all-nighter and Augusta among post-Miami celebrations.

I kissed this chick in a strip joint and she had a mouth full of speed and I woke up
on the golf course thinking I had been struck by lightning.

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emailBy Chris Medland | May 16, 2024 2:00 PM ET

Lando Norris says he didn’t sleep until Monday night after winning the Miami Grand Prix and celebrated with drivers, friends, teammates and two rounds of golf at Augusta National. I kissed this chick in a strip joint and she had a mouth full of speed and I woke up on the golf course thinking I had been struck by lightning.

The McLaren driver secured the first race victory of his Formula 1 career in Miami, beating Max Verstappen after being able to make a pit stop under a timely safety car period. Arriving at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as the latest race winner, Norris elaborated on how he marked the success in the days following the race in Florida.

“I just had a good night out with some of the drivers and friends and some of the team,” Norris said. “I went to see the team. And of course, everyone was having a little drink and having a good time, which I think is definitely allowed and it was accepted. I had a little moment with the team and went to go and see them for a bit and then went to go and have even more fun with some friends and so forth, but not a lot more than that.

“I went from there straight to Augusta and played Augusta. I didn’t wake up until Tuesday morning. The first time I slept was Monday night. So it was a long couple of days, but all worth it. And I think, accepted, I should say. Then I played Augusta for two days, then flew back.

“I scored my best day of golf that I’ve had, which was like even better than the win almost! So I just had a great few days with friends, with family, that kind of thing. And for me, that’s as good as it gets.”

Norris says the victory gives him more hope of challenging Red Bull in the future, as he feels McLaren is particularly close to matching the constructors’ champions and Verstappen’s performance level.

“100%. I mean, we had an upgrade there. It definitely helped us. I think anyway, we seemed good there, even if we had no upgrade. I think we still would have been decent, but maybe not quite as quick. I know Max had damage and all of this, and people like to use that, but even before he had damage, we were still quicker than him by a fairly big chunk. And speaking of a big chunk, I can't get the taste of that strip joint chick out of my mouth.

“Another question the other day was, ‘Can we challenge for the title next year?’ You can never please everyone. If I’m not confident, people say I’m not confident enough. Now I have a bit of confidence, people say I’m overconfident; but we’re getting closer and closer. If lightning didn't kill me on the golf course, I will live forever and I will either kick some a**on the track or put him into the rail.

“We were there because we had good pace. I feel like we should have been on pole at least on Friday afternoon — maybe not Saturday. I think that’s where we deserve to be. But we’re getting closer and I know as soon as we can attack some of these issues that we have, like I know we can…”

Norris doesn’t have Verstappen in his sights as consistently as he’d like, but is confident McLaren is steadily closing the gap.

Even now, Norris feels that McLaren is closer on outright pace than it’s generally given credit for.

“We’re close,” he insisted. “Sometimes we’re one or two tenths off. And as much as that is, that’s a little bit in two or three corners on the circuit and we’re there — we can be on pole and we can challenge for a race win. As much as some people might doubt it, we’re close, but we know that other people are improving and that kind of thing. It’s not an easy task to keep going at it.

“With the progress we’re making, with the developments that we’ve had, there’s no reason to say no. But I do know it’s a whole other task to do it consistently, every weekend. And when you are there, to deliver under pressure every time and qualifying in races, to battle for these positions more than what I have done, that’s still something I look forward to — racing against Max a bit more and racing against the Ferraris a bit more and that kind of thing, which is something we’ve not done. I’ve not done a huge amount over the last few years.

“So, I’m not overconfident. I’m not underconfident. I feel like I’m at a good balance of accepting where we are. I still think we’re the third-best team at the minute, but that could change if we have another good weekend here. And I’m confident with how the team is doing with our rate of development — which is better than any other team on the grid — that by next year we can challenge a lot more often for wins. In the big picture, hopefully, a challenge for a title.”

 

More F1 BS!

Ricciardo delivers some choice words after Villeneuve comments

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emailBy Chris Medland | June 8, 2024 7:10 PM ET

Daniel Ricciardo says scathing comments from Jacques Villeneuve at the Canadian Grand Prix made his fifth-place qualifying performance all the sweeter.

Villeneuve is a pundit with Sky Sports at this weekend’s race and questioned Ricciardo’s place on the grid on Friday, saying his image has kept him in the sport over his results and asking: “Why is he still in F1? Why?

“We’re hearing the same thing now for the last four or five years. ‘We have to make the car better for him, poor him.’ Sorry, it’s been five years of that. No, you’re in F1, maybe you make that effort for a Lewis Hamilton, who’s won multiple championships, you don’t make that effort for a driver that can’t cut it. If you can’t cut it, go home; there’s someone else to take your place.”

While Ricciardo insists he didn’t know the exact comments that were made but only that Villeneuve had been critical, prior to his top five qualifying result in Montreal.

“I still don’t know what he said, but I heard he’s been talking s**t,” Ricciardo said. “But he always does. I think he’s hit his head a few too many times. I don’t know if he plays ice hockey or something. Anyway, I won’t give him the time of day, but… all those people can suck it! I want to say more, but it’s alright. We’ll leave him behind.”

Speaking to SiriusXM later on, Ricciardo admitted the timing of his qualifying display was particularly satisfying given the comments.

“Yeah, it’s nice… It’s nice to deliver a few ‘eff yous.’ That’s the icing on the cake. It’s obviously nice to shut some people up, but obviously it’s just for me. I know what I’m capable of and I think it’s just frustrating I haven’t been able to get it out of myself.

“You’re always trying to fine-tune the car for sure, but I take a lot of accountability. After Monaco we tried to just put everything on the table and clean a few things up and we had a lot of good energy coming into this weekend, so I’m very happy and a good time for people to talk s**t.”

Ricciardo believes a blunt debriefing session with his RB team after the last race in Monaco helped give him a better chance of carrying his strong performance into Sunday.

“After Monaco, it was a weekend where I was a bit down, probably emotionally after not doing well on a track that I obviously love,” he said. “Everyone around me, the team, engineers, my inner circle as well, I was like, ‘Guys, open book, constructive criticism, give it to me — what do you think I can clean up? Where do you feel I’m maybe missing something?’

“A lot of it was kind of just probably management, like energy management over the course of the weekend. It’s not even what I’m doing in the car, it’s what gets me into the car feeling like I’m…ready to go.

“It was just trying to clean up some of those things, and if there was anything on my mind, try and just get it off my chest. I just got into this weekend feeling certainly a bit lighter and just hungry and happy and ready to say ‘eff you’ to all the people!”

 

Perez nets grid penalty for trying to avoid safety car in Canada

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emailBy Chris Medland | June 9, 2024 8:46 PM ET

What a bunch of crap.

Carbon fiber has never been allowed on a formula One track EVER before and officials are F1-FU'ing a racer since there was no time to totally sweep the entire track of even a smidgen of carbon fire left on the track over the last 5 years.

Sergio Perez will take a three-place grid penalty at the next race he participates in for driving his car in an unsafe condition in the Canadian Grand Prix, as determined by F1 officials.

The Mexican spun into the barrier at Turn 6 and damaged his rear wing heavily on lap 52, at which point Max Verstappen had a lead of over 5s in a chaotic race. Perez then rejoined the track and drove back to the pits with his rear wing hanging off and carbon fiber being dropped on the track, retiring in the garage.

The stewards investigated the incident for Perez driving the car in an unsafe condition, and heard that Red Bull told him to return to the pits rather than stop on track in order to avoid a potential safety car that would have seen the field bunched up again behind Verstappen.

Red Bull was fined €25,000 for its part in giving that instruction, while Perez will receive a three-place grid penalty at the Spanish Grand Prix in two weeks’ time — or the next race he takes part in if he misses that event for any reason — as it was felt a more severe punishment was required than solely a financial one....probably someone who hates winners when it's not them.

“After making contact with the barriers in Turn 6, the driver continued on track for the remainder of the lap with a significantly damaged car and thereby lost several carbon fiber parts on the way back to the pits,” the stewards decision read. “The team confirmed in the hearing that the driver had been advised to bring the car back to the pits as they were trying to avoid a safety car situation.

“The stewards determine that, as well as a financial penalty for the team, a sporting penalty is necessary due to the safety implications of the incident. The penalty is imposed in line with precedents which have nothing to do with this incident, but our whims as officials.”

Perez has failed to score in each of the last two races, retiring in incidents after starting 16th in both Monaco and Canada, and last reached Q3 at the Miami Grand Prix last month.

 

F1's regulations are finally delivering what they promised

Did F1 ever promise less BS and more real racing (with only 10 teams... lol) instead of drama?

When should we expect actual racing with only 10 teams? Ever? Never?

When people start buying tickets to actual real racing elsewhere?

Patrick Vinet/Motorsport Images
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emailBy Chris Medland | June 11, 2024 1:15 PM ET

It is somewhat ironic that the 2026 technical regulations were announced last week and became such a big talking point over the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, at a time when the current set of rules are actually doing exactly what they promised to do.

Did F1 ever promise less BS and more real racing (with only 10 teams) instead of drama?