Have any of you watch this show on Netflix? I've never really been into watching these types of races, but this show is very well done and I've really enjoyed this series. They do a good behind the scenes view of what goes on in Formula 1. I wanted to get other's thoughts if anyone has seen this show.

JetAg said:

---

Have any of you watch this show on Netflix? I've never really been into watching these types of races, but this show is very well done and I've really enjoyed this series. They do a good behind the scenes view of what goes on in Formula 1. I wanted to get other's thoughts if anyone has seen this show.

---

It's fantastic. I've enjoyed both seasons.

I've never been a Motorsport fan in my life. This got me into F1.

Great show. Curious to see how they handle the delay of the 2020 season.

Just finished season 1. So intense.
Can't wait to binge season 2.

JetAg said:

---

Just finished season 1. So intense.
Can't wait to binge season 2.

---

Do you think you will watch F1 after you catch up? One of the things I missed last year was the preseason where they talk about new stuff in the cars. It's even better the second year.

Azariah said:

---

JetAg said:

---

Just finished season 1. So intense.
Can't wait to binge season 2.

---

Do you think you will watch F1 after you catch up? One of the things I missed last year was the preseason where they talk about new stuff in the cars. It's even better the second year.

---

Yeah, I really do. I've already added it to record on YouTube TV. I also live in Austin and plan on checking it out when they finally come back. Before I never had a care in the world about F1.

ja86 said:

---

Great show. Curious to see how they handle the delay of the 2020 season.

---

Yeah, just means no Season 3 until probably 2022.

Azariah said:

---

I've never been a Motorsport fan in my life. This got me into F1.

---

I've had an interest in varieties of Motorsports but didn't really care too much about F1.

Through sheer happenstance with my work, I wound up attending the Singapore F1 Race in 2018 and 2019.

2018 was interesting but I didn't really know what I was looking at. After watching Season 1, when I went to the 2019 race, I enjoyed it 2x versus 2018 because now I had some idea what I was looking at.

Also, Fatboy Slim was awesome and sadly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers sucked (except for the drummer, he was good).

Great series, though the fake race analyst/announcer voice who helps keep the themes/rivalry narratives movinvg forward in each episode can get a bit annoying.

Also slightly humorous that Mercedes & Ferrari were not part of the show in S1 but after the success of the show they immediately allowed the cameras to film their teams in s2.

For those who don't watch the sport they do film things out of order from time to time for dramatic effect. On many episodes they'll make it look like 2 drivers going at each other or trying to pass on the final lap but it was at a different time in the race.

It doesn't bother me, but just want to provide a heads up in case you start watching races.

Heard great things about this. Might give it a go.

JetAg said:

---

Azariah said:

---

JetAg said:

---

Just finished season 1. So intense.
Can't wait to binge season 2.

---

Do you think you will watch F1 after you catch up? One of the things I missed last year was the preseason where they talk about new stuff in the cars. It's even better the second year.

---

Yeah, I really do. I've already added it to record on YouTube TV. I also live in Austin and plan on checking it out when they finally come back. Before I never had a care in the world about F1.

---

I was all set to make the trip from Houston last year for the GP in Austin. Then, I found out the price of tickets, yikes.

My favorite show on Netflix, insanely good. Was great to see Mercedes and Ferrari this season.

Anyone else discover via this show that the head of Team Red Bull is married to Ginger Spice?

I had to look up her real name.

Christian Horner's got nothing on Flavio Briatore who used to manage the Benetton team. He had Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, and Elisabetta Gregoraci

Damn - I just looked up the pricing. That does get expensive. Would still be a cool experience that I want to take advantage of soon.

I'm not a racing fan, but I've always wondered why Nascar is so big here compared to F-1. The cars are faster, they turn in both directions, etc. Is it because it's so expensive? Seems to me most fans watch on TV anyway.

American drivers
Massive marketing and branding
Cars that somewhat resemble what you see driving around town.

There is very little passing in f1 also. In general Americans find f1 even more boring than nascar.

If you go to a Nascar race, can you see the whole track at once? Is that why they always do simple ovals? Clearly from TV, spectators can only see a small part of the track in F-1.

In relative terms F1 used to be pretty popular in the States when we had Watkins Glen in the 60's & 70's and Long Beach in the 70's and early 80's. After that F1 didn't really have a home Stateside - races moved around between temporary street circuits which were all pretty awful (Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix). After '91 F1 didn't have a presence in the US until 2000 when it came back to Indy. It raced there for a few years and then moved to Austin. FYI, there's been talk of adding a 2nd US race - the latest proposal was Miami.

The other contributor is the lack of successful American drivers in F1. The only US born World Champion is Phil Hill (1961). Mario Andretti won the championship in '78 w/ the dominating Lotus 78 car (1st car to use ground effect). Ohter than those 2, American success has been lacking. IMO it's because most successful drivers (Hamilton, Senna, Schumacher, etc) start their karting careers when they are 4-5 years old and that's their life focus. The European and South American infrastructure for building racing careers is so much stronger than what we have here. Also, having a lot of money or access to money via sponsorship is a must.

Additionally, the US has its own homegrown open wheel series, Indy Car (previously CART). It operates with a much lower budget which keeps the barrier of entry down. Currently it's a spec series (all cars are the same), but it used to not be that way. Since the budgets are lower and it doesn't have the prestige of F1 it tends to have lower talent level which allows for a larger pool of American drivers (less competition for seats). Indycar/CART used to be much more popular, but politics drove a split for several years which resulted in a serious decline, and that's when NASCAR popularity really took off.

Are NASCAR cars spec? They sure look similar. If so, maybe that another reason.. that no particular team can have a huge advantage and blow everybody else away. I can see how it would be boring in F1 if you know who's going to win everything after the first race of the year.

I don't follow NASCAR, but my understanding that it isn't a spec series in the sense that there is one chassis manufacturer. I think the teams build their own chassis, but the rules are very restrictive so that cars end up being very similar, and of course there is spec bodywork that varies by brand (Ford, Chevy, Toyota).

Indycar has a single chassis manufacturer, Dallara, who supplies all teams. They do use 2 different engine manufactuers (Chevy and Honda).

In F1 the rules require teams to design and build their own chassis, but there has been a ruckus in recent years due to teams sharing info and allowing their subordinate/Jr. teams to basically clone their previous year designs (HAAS copying Ferrari and Racing Point copying Mercedes). F1 rules are more relaxed in terms on innovations, and teams continuously develop their cars and look for loopholes to extract an advantage. Here's a few examples: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.5-f1-innovations-that-caught-rival-teams-napping.2xbXomVUAOVTpEyYpW9ata.html

I think it would be sorta cool to have a no-holds barred regulation free race where you are all given X amount of gas and that's about it. I realize that a lot of the regulations have to do with safety so to avoid that, make all races driven remotely, but the car must be drivable by your driver (to avoid everybody making some sort of 1 foot tall missile on wheels or something). So now that you don't have to worry about driver safety, you can allow ramming and crap like that. It would be like max-max. If no cars cross the finish line, then the one who got furthest wins.

Yes the more expensive seats at most NASCAR events are about 2/3 up the grandstands because that often gives you a view of the entire oval. This is not the case at road courses obviously.

JetAg said:

---

Damn - I just looked up the pricing. That does get expensive. Would still be a cool experience that I want to take advantage of soon.

---

In 2018, I spent about $250 USD for a one-day access all areas walkaround pass on the Saturday.
In 2019, I spent about $200 USD for a one-day access one area pass on the Sunday.

The cool thing about F1 is that every course is significantly different.

In 2018, I really enjoyed the access all areas walkaround. I spent all day there seeing the early races and then the F1 qualifying at night. I'll tell you what though, I walked my ass off that day. I logged at least 10km just walking around the different areas of the track.

In 2019, I was able to use my lessons learned from the 2018 walkaround and just focus on a couple of areas.

One thing that is mind boggling is how short the cars are. So, you want to position yourself in a position where the cars aren't pressed up against the wall when they come by. Long story short, the reason the grandstand seats cost so much more than the general admission walkaround seats is because it's worth it.

Glad I didn't jump on the post-race savings and buy a deeply discounted 2020 ticket already.

Quote:

---

I was all set to make the trip from Houston last year for the GP in Austin. Then, I found out the price of tickets, yikes.

---

One thing majorly different about the F1 than your standard sporting event is the heavily international crowd and the multi-day nature of the event.

Imagine if Game Day in College Station lasted 3 days?

You'll see all the followers of various teams and drivers throughout the bars in the city for several days. A lot of them follow a racer who is their countryman - i.e. Dutch following Max Verstappen, Germans following Sebastian Vettel, Australians following Daniel Ricciardo, etc.

And there's all the fanfare - concerts, merchandise, hype, etc.

It's really a whole experience. Now, I don't know how that goes in Austin for COTA but this is what it's like for Singapore and Melbourne (I haven't been but a good German friend described it to me) and Monaco (different German friend goes there).

All in all, it's a neat experience, at least worth doing once.

I've got a former Brit colleague who works in the USA who flew from New Jersey to Singapore nonstop in Business Class for his 50th birthday, to see the F1 in Singapore.

Thank you for the insight, Hollywood! That was very helpful.

I'd love to do a one-day all access just to get a feel of the atmosphere - $250 isn't too bad. I guess the pricing I was looking at was for the grandstand seating.

I Did the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in 86. Four day weekend. Had a blast!! That was absolutely an International feel. Would like to go to Austin but typically I'm at an Aggie game. We are on the road this year. Will try and get down to Austin.

pdaddy said:

---

I Did the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in 86. Four day weekend. Had a blast!! That was absolutely an International feel. Would like to go to Austin but typically I'm at an Aggie game. We are on the road this year. Will try and get down to Austin.

---

I did Montreal in '99. It was a blast indeed.

I echo Hollywood. Going to an F1 race is amazing. Tickets can be pricy but they're usually for the entire weekend and you'll see various support races, air shows, and concerts. I've been to the Singapore GP, Australian GP, and the race is Austin. I think next year we'll hopefully go to Belgium or Monza. If you have the opportunity take it.

I had stopped a few times on this docuseries, but never started it - this thread pushed me over the line and I glad for it!

I finished S1 yesterday and really enjoyed it - I really enjoyed the focus on the mid tier teams (but suspected - as another poster alluded to - that was because Ferrari & Mercedes didn't give the show access).

With the league being so small - 10 teams & 20 drivers - I could see really being able to get into this if you could just keep up with the people and politics a bit.

I also think it's really cool that it's not just about being the best driver, but also having a great team and to give that driver a better car.

Glad you enjoyed it. I was definitely sucked into it.

S2 goes more in depth with Mercedes and Ferrari.

Quote:

---

I also think it's really cool that it's not just about being the best driver, but also having a great team and to give that driver a better car.

---

Definitely. All modern racing is about the entire team around them, the financial backing they have, research & development, etc. That said, all that does allow the best teams to hire the best drivers so while Mercedes is without a doubt the top team right now in F1, Lewis is also the best driver.

Yesterday COTA here in Austin had a food drive and opened up their track so people who donated food and/or money could take a lap around the 3.4 mile track. It was an awesome experience even though I didn't get to open it up out there. Here are a few photos from my experience.








My wife put up with it, but my dog threw up. Oh well, still fun!