The Official Formula One Thread!

[sillo]

Word now is no spectators or no race

And now this

[shaunylw]

Originally Posted by Zakalwe

Looks like it’s off.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/51849163

Makes zero sense. They already took the majority of the risk in getting all of the teams there. Why not just run it without fans and postpone future races.


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[77T]

Originally Posted by shaunylw

Makes zero sense. They already took the majority of the risk in getting all of the teams there. Why not just run it without fans and postpone future races.


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When you say “They already took the majority of the risk” - did you mean the organizer, the teams or the FIA?


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[77T]

Originally Posted by sillo

Word now is no spectators or no race

And now this

The statement about 12 cars has to do with a race being scored for Championship points. More than 50% of cars registered for an event must take the green flag for it to be “FIA legal”.

But FIA, as the sanctioning body, can only cancel if the course is considered unraceable or otherwise unsafe for drivers.


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[sillo]

Finally, several hours too late and after spectators already started to show up at the gates.

[77T]

The government officials waited until 9-ish local time to announce “no fans”.

Then an hour later (or less) F1 chiefs officially declared Australian Grand Prix is cancelled.

The story linked below is about as close to true as I can find. I’m advised to say nothing as it could only isolate a source.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/motors...0664315398b70f

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[sillo]

Helmet Marko has now said the plans are season will be postponed until Baku.

[77T]

Originally Posted by sillo

Helmet Marko has now said the plans are season will be postponed until Baku.

Helmut is not my idea of a good source.

Here’s what he said upon landing in Melbourne...

“I think the whole discussion has been blown up, It is like a flu. For the most part, people are dying of old age with pre-existing diseases. Look up how many people get the flu each year. The problem is the quarantine. The danger of the disease is no worse than the flu.

We need to counter the scaremongering of the politicians and not support them. We need to think positively and assume that the Grands Prix will go ahead fairly normally.”

Ummm yeah Helmut...so how did that work out?

Now he is making another different set of statements. But that’s what he does.


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[Lol-x]

Helmut is a nut.
Its unfortunate no decision to cancel was made earlier, but sometimes difficult decisions are hard to make.
Just 12 hours ago I bid on ebay to buy a ticket, glad I didn't buy it.

[walds11]

Dang, I was looking forward to watching FP1 in a few minutes.

[77T]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Helmut is a nut.
Its unfortunate no decision to cancel was made earlier, but sometimes difficult decisions are hard to make.
Just 12 hours ago I bid on ebay to buy a ticket, glad I didn't buy it.

That was fortunate you lost the eBay auction.

This decision was gut wrenching for officials. The organizer will take a bath methinks.

I could


I only half-kiddingly suggestes he open the circuit for angry fans to do 2 hot laps for $100 a pop. Work off some steam and recoup a bit of the losses.


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[Jster]

Damn, I was looking forward to the race and the start of the new season. I’m relatively new to F1 and I’ve really fallen for it.

[shaunylw]

Originally Posted by 77T

When you say “They already took the majority of the risk” - did you mean the organizer, the teams or the FIA?


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My thought was the teams took the risk of getting there. Without fans, the risk feel relatively minimal at this point. The teams are not huge, if they limited press interaction it wouldn’t have been that many people.

It’s like the PGA tour shutting down the players championship, there are only 75 guys playing the weekend. With no fans, what’s the issue? I totally understand shutting everything down for the future but if you made the decision to run it without fans, why not finish it?


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[sillo]

McLaren just released an update on their situation. From the actions they plan to take it essentially rules them out from Bahrain if that race somehow goes ahead as scheduled.

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/team/...alian-gp-2020/

[Rock]

Somebody pointed out to me today that there are around 200,000 fans that have arrived in Melbourne for the GP and the fact that it won't happen doesn't mean that they will all isolate themselves in their hotel rooms for the next fortnight and then fly back to where they came from. It should have been cancelled as a spectator event, but maybe a month ago. It was obvious a month ago that we were headed for a pandemic.
I kind of wonder if they could not have run all of the GPs without spectators. Tight quarantine on the teams with hospital-quality precautions. A big proportion of fans only ever watch the GPs on TV anyhow.

[sillo]

Bahrain and Vietnam have officially been postponed.

[walds11]

I know we have more important things to worry about, but here is more F1 news:

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a..._OptIn_Engaged

[jatco]

Originally Posted by walds11

I know we have more important things to worry about, but here is more F1 news:

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a..._OptIn_Engaged

True..yet, Inevitable...but a must. Sad it has had to come this.

[77T]

Yes, this season will incur other cancellations methinks. I can’t see promoters and local authorities encouraging fans to attend unless Summer has reduced the infections to a trickle.

Promoters can’t get biz continuity insurance to cover losses, and local authorities can shut down a site with the stroke of an official’s pen.

This is revolutionary upheaval across many series beyond F1, and could be an existential threat for some.


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[Dr.Brian]

The big 2021 changes have also been bumped back to 2022 to allow the teams to save development money this year. May be the end of Haas and Williams?

[sillo]

Originally Posted by Dr.Brian

The big 2021 changes have also been bumped back to 2022 to allow the teams to save development money this year.

I'm super bummed about that. I completely get it and once I heard the rumor I came to terms with it, but I'm still bummed.

[77T]

Originally Posted by Dr.Brian

The big 2021 changes have also been bumped back to 2022 to allow the teams to save development money this year. May be the end of Haas and Williams?

That makes sense to me. Funding for Haas is definitely at risk. They don’t really have a revenue stream. Haas uses Ferrari engine/gearbox and a Dallara chassis. So lower cost of Ops, but no mfr. revenue like Williams.

Claire Williams was publicly wringing her hands on her team’s finances in an interview posted today, so that worried some. I think Williams Tech had fairly good financial growth from sales - but the F1 team has lost all the profit that Tech made selling to other constructors.

It’s anyone’s guess how much the prize fund will be reduced from returned promoters fees (Australian GP is the trendsetter since no F1 car turned a wheel on track). So 100% refunds from F1 going to promoters will reduce prize fund for the whole 2020 season.

[texasmade]

If F1 does manage to race I imagine that they’ll squeeze in whoever can pay the biggest fees in the traditional vacation shutdown window in August. With Monaco cancelled and them not paying a race fee, there’s no way F1 will go there this year if Covid does subside.

[enjoythemusic]

Are they refunding ticket pricing back to purchasers?

[77T]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Are they refunding ticket pricing back to purchasers?

A lot depends on who “they” are...

The full answer is multi-tiered. But the generalized one is “yes”. The devil is in the details.

If, for example, you mean the Australian GP, then tickets purchased directly from the Official F1 partner Ticketmaster using a credit card, then a fairly swift refund will come your way.

If you used some other form of payment (like cash at the track) then it’ll be more difficult as the process is manual and may not be settled for quite a while.

If you purchased a package from a travel reseller, then F1 won’t be providing a refund to you. The reseller’s T&C in the package will govern. Most of those outfits take no responsibility for the “supplier”.

Now for each of the other cancelled races , the promoter’s policy varies but should be similar to Australia.

For the races still slated to run, the organizers are promising refunds if there’s a cancellation. Using an official ticketing partner and credit card would make a refund swifter and more certain.




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[77T]

On a different note, and just a sidebar to F1, IMSA has concocted an online Sebring race today using iRacing and YouTube live, or Twitch.

I thought some here might like to know.
It is this afternoon at 2:30, EDT (US TZ).

The race will be streamed live on iRacing’s Twitch channel and the iRacing eSports Network on YouTube. The commentary team will include the voice of IMSA Radio’s John Hindhaugh.


https://www.imsa.com/news/2020/03/18...persaturday/#/


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[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by 77T

On a different note, and just a sidebar to F1, IMSA has concocted an online Sebring race today using iRacing and YouTube live, or Twitch.

I thought some here might like to know.
It is this afternoon at 2:30, EDT (US TZ).

Thanks, sounds awesome!

[77T]

If you can’t wait til 2:30 - the 12 hour race from iRacing just started.

Not my thing ordinarily but interesting.


https://youtu.be/8d9M_UCjmBA


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[1st amg]

Looks like Ferrari and Vettel are done. This will change the F1 landscape with lots of moving drivers this year. Going to be interesting

[Speedbird-1]

Has Lewis signed with Mercedes for 2021?