Formula 1

[Downriviera]

Congrats to Sebastien Vettel and the Red Bull team for taking the World Drivers Championship. Vettel, at 23, is the youngest champ ever. I sure wish the USA Grand Prix could come back to Detroit, but it looks like Austin, Texas is going to get it.

[kenp]

He is an amazing driver.
Detroit wont host the Grand Prix any time soon. The only hope would be if the Texas track turns into a fiasco which already seems to be happening. And there is also a great facility in Indy that would like it back if the oppurtunity came up.

[Downriviera]

Detroit can't even afford a Indy car race, so for sure F1 is out of the question. I went to a couple of the F1 races in Indianapolis and wasn't that impressed with the layout of the track. I hope the Austin race happens because I have friends there and a free place to stay. They will need to have the race in early spring or late fall though, unlike the one off Dallas GP in 1984 which was run in July. I worked at that race and temperatures were over 100 every day. I took track surface readings and they were around 125 degrees. Cockpit temps were 160! The tires were melting, the track was breaking up and equipment was breaking down constantly. We were cutting holes in the cars to get more airflow for the drivers. It was insane.

[Micheal Johnson]

cant wait the season to start , gonna catch them in amsterdam tracks .

[MoparDan]

He is an amazing driver.
Detroit wont host the Grand Prix any time soon. The only hope would be if the Texas track turns into a fiasco which already seems to be happening. And there is also a great facility in Indy that would like it back if the oppurtunity came up.

There's a lot of us down here who don't want it. The PR blasts that "hundreds of thousands" out-of-towners & foreigners will flock here to watch it. The infrastructure can barely keep up with the regular traffic as it is; I couldn't imagine the disaster of a huge horde of yokels suddenly dropping in. I know of no locals who support having the track let alone the desire to attend a Formula 1 event, no offense. This includes the NASCAR crowd which I'm a part of. And yes, I DO have all my teeth & actually graduated high school.

[GOAT]

Yokels don't watch F1. They watch Nascar to which you must be a yokel too.

[kenp]

He is a local but not a yokel, if he was a yokel then he would be a local yokel.

[Downriviera]

There's a lot of us down here who don't want it. The PR blasts that "hundreds of thousands" out-of-towners & foreigners will flock here to watch it. The infrastructure can barely keep up with the regular traffic as it is; I couldn't imagine the disaster of a huge horde of yokels suddenly dropping in. I know of no locals who support having the track let alone the desire to attend a Formula 1 event, no offense. This includes the NASCAR crowd which I'm a part of. And yes, I DO have all my teeth & actually graduated high school.

A lot of the locals here never liked it either, but they liked the millions it brought in. I think its worth putting up with a week of traffic and other inconveniences. I like NASCAR on the road courses but the go fast turn left stuff bores me.

[MoparDan]

A lot of the locals here never liked it either, but they liked the millions it brought in. I think its worth putting up with a week of traffic and other inconveniences. I like NASCAR on the road courses but the go fast turn left stuff bores me.

I like the road courses as well & don't care for the short tracks. Remove the restrictor plates on the super speedways then let’s see what happens. I'm waiting for the day they'll actually decide to race "stock" cars again instead of the COT; when Hell freezes over I guess. As the saying goes, "they're driving cars that never were."
Austin & Travis County already bring in tons of money with SXSW & ACL Fest. That doesn't include things such as the ROT Motorcycle Rally & other weekend events. But even those come at a price; people show up & use the city as their personal toilet. Others hang around & never leave.
A co-worker lives in that area of the county & his sentiment is “How come these people aren’t clamoring for it in their backyard?” He moved out there to get away from the crowd & noise of the city. Obviously he doesn’t want the track to go forward.
In the end, it'll be built. What happens afterward, who knows? If it does work out, I fully expect some of those revenues to fix potholes & put more cops on patrol. For $250mil, we better get something back on our investment.
Mettez en marche vos moteurs!

[douglasm]

I've often wondered what's wrong with the idea of taking the F1 circus back to Watkins Glen where it ran back in the 70's. It's a dedicated road circuit, and with NASCAR running there logistics and space shouldn't be a problem. That infield track at Indy was a joke, sorta like the banking at Monza, only dumber.

[Downriviera]

Watkins Glen has been mentioned in the past but the FIA said it was not up to current F1 standards for safety. I think thats bs, like Monaco is up to any current standards. Watkins Glen would be perfect.

[kenp]

Anywhere but the airport in Cleveland

[kenp]

I think today is the Austin City Council meeting that approves/rejects some issues that have to do with building the new track. The people out their are not into the track idea.

[Downriviera]

I hope they approve it. I will go there and spend money. Was thinking about the old Detroit GP days recently. I had a chance to work with the late Aryton Senna back in 84. He was a great guy and a blast to hang out with. A 3 time World Champion and the only 3 time winner of the Detroit Grand Prix who died tragically at the San Marino GP in 94, he is still one of the most known sports figures world wide. We should have a plaque honoring him at Cobo or maybe a street segment of the old circuit named after him. When I get some spare time I'm going to try and make this happen.