Formula 1 2019 - General Discussion Thread

flazio

Let me throw out an idea. Ferrari cheifs start talking to Fred Vassuer about a promotion to Ferrari? I know you might think Gunther Steiner would be more obvious candidate but in my opinion Haas have been too hit and miss while Sauber have been more consistent in their position.
Fred might have it in him to be the next Jean Todt in my opinion.

AMKC

Peyton Lively Tiller wrote: »

Spain 1994 for Schumacher's achievements being stuck in fifth gear.

Spain 1995 Herbert drove off down the pit lane with the jack still attached

Spain 1996 by far the greatest victory of Schumacher's career.

Spain 1997 Panis nearly won it only for Irvine to block him, something even Alesi took issue with.

Spain 1999 Villeneuve rising to third on the first lap in a dog of a B.A.R

Spain 2001 Schumacher winning when Hakkinen's clutch blew up on the last lap.

Spain 2012 as you already mentioned.

Spain 2016 the 2 Mercedes take each other out, Verstappen wins on his Red Bull debut as a result.

Most of them are before my time. Only really from the late 90's , 00's on did I get into F1.

chicorytip

If you were to assess his suitability for promotion solely based on Alfa's performance last weekend you would probably end up having to look for alternative candidates. Ferrari needs to break the tradition of appointing a team principal from within "house" and go for a complete outsider. Horner from Red Bull, for example.

El_Duderino 09

Peyton Lively Tiller wrote: »

Spain 1994 for Schumacher's achievements being stuck in fifth gear.

Spain 1995 Herbert drove off down the pit lane with the jack still attached

Spain 1996 by far the greatest victory of Schumacher's career.

Spain 1997 Panis nearly won it only for Irvine to block him, something even Alesi took issue with.

Spain 1999 Villeneuve rising to third on the first lap in a dog of a B.A.R

Spain 2001 Schumacher winning when Hakkinen's clutch blew up on the last lap.

Spain 2012 as you already mentioned.

Spain 2016 the 2 Mercedes take each other out, Verstappen wins on his Red Bull debut as a result.

While that's great knowledge, most of those incidents tend to be one off and not to do with the track. The track itself doesn't promote good racing. The long fast turn before the main straight is hard to follow because of the turbulent air and the straight itself is too short to allow cars to battle into turn 1.

Tends to be a procession. I'd have no problem with it being dropped from the calendar.

Adamocovic

skipper_G wrote: »

How about some nice speculation, I think the Spanish GP is struggling to find the money to pay the race fees given the political and economic situation in the region, and as such I reckon there won't be a Spanish GP in 2020 and instead we'll have a Dutch GP at Zandvoort.

At least the dutch will more than likely serve pints at their track :P

Anyone know exactly why the Spanish GP doesn't serve alcohol? I know the hospital suites have it (not that I've been in them!) but why is the reason on track it isn't sold? Surely would bring in a lot more money if it was.

El_Duderino 09

Adamocovic wrote: »

At least the dutch will more than likely serve pints at their track :P

Anyone know exactly why the Spanish GP doesn't serve alcohol? I know the hospital suites have it (not that I've been in them!) but why is the reason on track it isn't sold? Surely would bring in a lot more money if it was.

Is that true? That's outrageous. With Heineken sponsorship, they don't even sell Heineken? They don't sell booze cheap at races. There must be a law preventing them from selling because i'd say it makes a pretty penny for vendors but more importantly and it's great advertising. All the lads, sitting around together, having a great time and drinking Heineken.

skipper_G

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Is that true? That's outrageous. With Heineken sponsorship, they don't even sell Heineken? They don't sell booze cheap at races. There must be a law preventing them from selling because i'd say it makes a pretty penny for vendors but more importantly and it's great advertising. All the lads, sitting around together, having a great time and drinking Heineken.

In fairness they're doing everyone a favour, there is no fouler taste in the world than a flat pint of warm Heineken served in a plastic cup

El_Duderino 09

skipper_G wrote: »

In fairness they're doing everyone a favour, there is no fouler taste in the world than a flat pint of warm Heineken served in a plastic cup

I'd agree under normal circumstances but I was at the Budapest GP last year with the lads. It was scorching hot weather and the Heineken was ice cold. I would still never buy Heineken if I had a choice, but have to say I have a much more positive opinion of Heineken because it's associated with such a great few days with the lads. The branding works.

skipper_G

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

I'd agree under normal circumstances but I was at the Budapest GP last year with the lads. It was scorching hot weather and the Heineken was ice cold. I would still never buy Heineken if I had a choice, but have to say I have a much more positive opinion of Heineken because it's associated with such a great few days with the lads. The branding works.

Don't get me wrong, my fridge is always stocked with ice cold bottles of the stuff! :pac: But I had a bad experience with it in pint form which left me permanently scarred

Adamocovic

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Is that true? That's outrageous. With Heineken sponsorship, they don't even sell Heineken? They don't sell booze cheap at races. There must be a law preventing them from selling because i'd say it makes a pretty penny for vendors but more importantly and it's great advertising. All the lads, sitting around together, having a great time and drinking Heineken.

Wasn't sure if it was still the case but quick search shows it seems to be according to ticketing sites:

IMPORTANT NOTE: Alcohol is only available at the circuit if you have booked a hospitality ticket for Silver or Gold Member products. None of the onsite bars offer alcoholic drinks!

Also adds:

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

We recently secured our suite again opposite the pits in the Main Grandstand. The Gold Suite F1 package comes with all day open bar and catering – a must if you wish to drink alcohol as the general public and grandstand ticket holders will not be able to purchase alcohol due to Catalonian laws for sporting events with a zero alcohol policy.

So some Catalan laws stopping them.

No doubt they sell the alcohol free stuff but it's a bit odd. I know in Italy last year the Fins had cleaned out most of the bars by the end. Was around one left on track near us that still had some sort of beer. I imagine it's a big income generator.

flazio

I imagine it makes the event more family friendly and easier to police.

Killinator

Adamocovic wrote: »

So some Catalan laws stopping them.

Funny how same laws don't effect people who can afford to fork out for premium packages, hmmm

Cool_CM

Adamocovic wrote: »

Wasn't sure if it was still the case but quick search shows it seems to be according to ticketing sites:



Also adds:



So some Catalan laws stopping them.

No doubt they sell the alcohol free stuff but it's a bit odd. I know in Italy last year the Fins had cleaned out most of the bars by the end. Was around one left on track near us that still had some sort of beer. I imagine it's a big income generator.

Yeah, they do well non alcoholic beer with alcoholic prices.

On a side note, interesting write up on Imola and F1 safety here
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.imola-94-and-the-legacy-of-improved-safety.5P8zqEzNjKzYw8qdckoYFF.html

Adamocovic

flazio wrote: »

I imagine it makes the event more family friendly and easier to police.

Just because they aren't selling drink there doesn't mean there aren't any drunks.

Plenty of bars just outside the entrances for people to binge in. Would result in more thorough security checks being needed to make sure no one is sneaking in any booze. Think they charge over €10 for an alcohol free beer too so no doubt a few chancers!

They've never made it quite clear the intentions behind it, so hard to say if it was intended to make it family friendly. There was speculation when it first banned alcohol back in 2015-2016 that they had just failed to get a permit to sell it and has been that way since, but hard to know.

From my experience even with alcohol on track it's normally a great family atmosphere and not many problems. It is nice to have a drink sitting out in the sun chatting with other fans during the weekend.

If it's actually a case of them struggling to get a track wide permit for consumption then it's mad.

Can't buy alcohol in the Camp Nou either.

El_Duderino 09

Adamocovic wrote: »

Just because they aren't selling drink there doesn't mean there aren't any drunks.

Plenty of bars just outside the entrances for people to binge in. Would result in more thorough security checks being needed to make sure no one is sneaking in any booze. Think they charge over €10 for an alcohol free beer too so no doubt a few chancers!

They've never made it quite clear the intentions behind it, so hard to say if it was intended to make it family friendly. There was speculation when it first banned alcohol back in 2015-2016 that they had just failed to get a permit to sell it and has been that way since, but hard to know.

From my experience even with alcohol on track it's normally a great family atmosphere and not many problems. It is nice to have a drink sitting out in the sun chatting with other fans during the weekend.

If it's actually a case of them struggling to get a track wide permit for consumption then it's mad.

I was thinking the same re family atmosphere. I've been to a couple of GP. Once with the Mrs where we had a couple of drinks but very civilised and once with the lads which was a bit more "lads lads lads". In both cases I though it was always very safe and friendly. The atmosphere was very polite and even when tipsy I was conscious not to go OTT because it was a really lovely atmosphere. Maybe without booze is more family friendly.

Cookie_Monster

Killinator wrote: »

Funny how same laws don't effect people who can afford to fork out for premium packages, hmmm

cos the beer is 'free' in that case, law says you can't sell it...

Killinator

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

cos the beer is 'free' in that case, law says you can't sell it...

Nice loophole

H3llR4iser

Adamocovic wrote: »

when it first banned alcohol back in 2015-2016 that they had just failed to get a permit to sell it and has been that way since, but hard to know.

Ah, that's it - I was about to say "there was plenty of beer and an overabundance of silly drunken Brits at 12am on the grandstands when I was there in 2014"


Frankly...I don't dislike the idea, as I said when I went to the Spanish GP a few years ago, a good chunk of the audience were drunk before the GP2 race was over, I really don't know how much of the race they actually followed


Also, I always thought Heineken sponsoring F1 to be a massive own-goal and a giant eff-off to all of the FIA road safety campaigns. Alcohol really shouldn't be advertised anywhere near things with wheels or wings.

mickdw

I think the 'I'm still driving' ads work in associating the brand but also drumming home the drink drive thing.
I think the Jackie Stewart ad which was first I believe was really good as the 'still driving' made an element of sense given his age and him long retired etc.
The Rosberg version slightly silly.

H3llR4iser

mickdw wrote: »

I think the 'I'm still driving' ads work in associating the brand but also drumming home the drink drive thing.
I think the Jackie Stewart ad which was first I believe was really good as the 'still driving' made an element of sense given his age and him long retired etc.
The Rosberg version slightly silly.

I honestly think it makes no sense whatsoever - in the end it's still advertisement but with a disclaimer attached ("hey folks, we told you not to drink and drive, don't blame us!"). The "don't drink & drive" message doesn't need a beer logo attached to it...

mickdw

Ya but if you are going to have a drinks company as a major sponsor anyway, I think it was a neat enough bit of advertising and as I said, Stewart driving off in a sports car, declaring he was still driving was pretty good.

Charlie-Bravo

Heineken are now promoting the 0.0% beer moreso when it's tied with a Motorsports event.

And now lots of brewers are pouring money into developing non alcoholic beers

Cookie_Monster

astrofluff wrote: »

Heineken are now promoting the 0.0% beer moreso when it's tied with a Motorsports event.

There is one of those ads where a driver is pulled over by a cop for drinking and he gets all smug about it being a 0% bottle. Very mixed message IMO...

Charlie-Bravo

Yes, there's gotta be a better way to advertise the product. The latest ad on the radio says you can drink it at your desk!!? WTF. So we're passing it off as a soft drink? Oh wait, it is a soft drink. Maybe that's what they're trying to do, show it's a soft drink that's acceptable to get parking tickets while drinking it. :rolleyes:

antodeco

Adamocovic wrote: »

At least the dutch will more than likely serve pints at their track :P

Anyone know exactly why the Spanish GP doesn't serve alcohol? I know the hospital suites have it (not that I've been in them!) but why is the reason on track it isn't sold? Surely would bring in a lot more money if it was.

Ive had alcohol on the Spanish GP on multiple times! Saying that, I have been in about 3 years, so it may have changed!

EDIT: Nevermind, I read the rest of the post!

Anyway, in relation to the 0.0% alcohol piece, I actually think its a way for these companies to get kids hooked onto their products at an early stage.

Just imagine if Marlboro brought out a "tar and nicotine free version" of a cigarette (and it looked the exact same), there would be uproar, as it would be perceived to being "targeted advertising to get 'non-smokers' to smoke". Sure, didnt they ban chocolate cigarettes for that EXACT reason?

antodeco

Erdinger is my choice of drink! That'd be my regular "tipple"

pjohnson

Pray for Toto

ayux4rj6zql2ph

pjohnson wrote: »

Pray for Toto

Right so, another 1-2 then

El_Duderino 09

antodeco wrote: »

Anyway, in relation to the 0.0% alcohol piece, I actually think its a way for these companies to get kids hooked onto their products at an early stage.

Just imagine if Marlboro brought out a "tar and nicotine free version" of a cigarette (and it looked the exact same), there would be uproar, as it would be perceived to being "targeted advertising to get 'non-smokers' to smoke". Sure, didnt they ban chocolate cigarettes for that EXACT reason?

Exactly that. I’d be surprised if booze companies expect to make money from alcohol free beers. I’d say it’s simply a way to advertise the brand without advertising alcohol.

The Guinness clear ads aren’t technically advertising a product because it’s suggesting people drink water instead. But it’s an ad for Guinness at the same time.

Heineken is actually selling an alcohol free beer but I doubt they expect it to be a big seller. Just a handy vehicle to advertise the brand while getting around alcohol advertising rules