Zoxxo

I agree. The announcers shouldn't be that level of cheerleader. If the racing itself hasn't got me excited, no amount of exhortation by the guy on the TV is going to make up for it.

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VetteDrmr

own?

Zoxxo

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Falcon

I love how the race ended.

BrianCunningham

Watched it on Univision for FREE this morning

Milton Fox

That is interesting! Varsha has been doing the Continental and Grand AM broadcasts - which are the ones Diffey always did. Contract requirement for Varsha?

Zoxxo

Yes. Varsha had another year on his Speed contract when the other guys jumped to NBC. The more I think about it the harder it is to imagine a scenario OTHER than what appears to be happening - that Diffey is "holding place" for Varsha until Varsha's contract either expires or Speed turns him loose. (Clearly they are turning him loose to some degree for him to be subbing for Diffey in the first place.) It's hard to imagine Diffey NOT telling the NBC folks "this job should be Varsha's." To NBC's credit they have bent over backwards to not tick off the existing F1 fan base. Aside from the new set and Varsha missing, you'd hardly know that anything had changed (especially since 98% of the video comes from Bernie.)

So I've got $20 that says Varsha "replaces" Diffey next year (if not sooner since Speed is now supposed to be ending in August.) The fact that Varsha is substituting for Diffey on the F1 broadcast and not on the IndyCar broadcast is telling since clearly F1 prioritizes over IndyCar.

I wonder if Speed is going to do their round-the-clock Le Mans coverage one last time in June. I'll be sorry to see that go away.

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Milton Fox

F1 in Malaysia this weekend.

Varsha is back.

Kimi is looking good.

Zoxxo

Well, Varsha is there but not back, unfortunately. It is really nice to have the whole gang together. It just feels right again. Heck, except for the studio and the "NBC" logos, you'd never know it wasn't Speed's coverage (that's a GOOD thing, NBC ) And having Posey do "F1 FAQ" videos is a great idea.

Not quite so good after the three spot grid penalty.

I'd love to see Massa take this one ("Massa is faster than you." )

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DVNTST8

Getting broadcast times from NBCs site is dang near impossible.

Good to hear Varsha's voice. Not that Diffie's bad, he isn't.

Nice 'pit stop' by LH in the McLaren pit

Zoxxo

It sure is. I now just use the TIVO's schedule to figure it all out.

Diffey is fine as a race announcer -except- that his voice+accent are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. [Funny how that same accent is so endearing when it comes out of Miranda Kerr.] And Diffey lacks Varsha's understated, but so obvious, love of F1.



The front jack man realized what was happening and was out of the way while LH was still slowing down. Pretty funny.

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1991Z07

like Lewis said post-race...Button did the same thing as well when he came to McLaren.

It's pretty easy to go back on autopilot when you are under stress, and when you are familiar with a certain pit team...you can make a mistake like that.

More telling was Hamilton came in 3rd...and could have placed higher if the team had not told him to cruise home to save fuel. Mercedes is on the rise...and those who questioned Hamilton's decision to leave McLaren are left with egg on their faces.

The 2014 engine rules I'm sure had a lot to do with Lewis jumping to Mercedes, as McLaren is no longer a works team for Mercedes. They (McLaren) don't get the first line engines anymore...and are not privy to development and engineering data from Mercedes anymore, something you really need when developing a new car for a completely new engine spec.

Some interesting inter team rivalries going on this weekend...wonder how that's going to play out over the season?

93Polo

I found it more amusing than anything, just like someone walking into their old cube 1st thing in the morning If one of my favorite drivers did the same, I'd still find it amusing. Yes, he was likely focused on many things and the crew uniforms was jsut autopilot.

Nobody can deny Lewis is quick, and Mercedes has improved However, Mercedes was looking good this time last year. We'll see where they are later in the season. It is just a little soon to say anyone will have egg on their face.

Works teams tend to do better after an engine rules change. Rumors are swirling McLaren may become Honda's defaco works team, a combination that has worked great in the past.

It was very interesting to see inter team rivalries. I have been somewhat surprised to see Red Bull keep Webber. I am most interested to see what happens with Vettel, how the team chemistry evolves and if he starts looking for another ride. Wouldn't surprised me to see him jump to McLaren or Ferrari.

1991Z07

IF they (Honda) are (in fact) coming back then I'd say Lewis MAY have made a mistake...but with the data he had (at the time) a move to the Mercedes works team was a better "sure thing" than a (maybe) Honda engine coming in the McLaren.

If Vettel jumps from Red Bull and Adrian Newey he is clearly, certifiably, crazy...he'll not find a better position than where he currently is. I would say that Webber is the one more likely to go elsewhere...team owner Dietrich Mateschitz practically worships Sebastian and gives him nearly anything he wants. Why would you go anywhere else when you have an owner who thinks you're an F1 god and have the best aero man in the business designing your cars?

Zoxxo

This depends upon what things he values - both now and in the future. If all he values is winning races then you are correct. But then Vettel is a real F1 history buff and he knows that in the modern era (and in some cases earlier) the truly great drivers have won chamiponships with more than one manufacturer. Doing so greatly raises a driver's reputation in a sport where the car and the technology is such a large percentage of the equation. If Vettel wins championships ONLY in Newey cars then what percentage of the success was Vettel and what percentage the car?

Btw, Nigel Mansell won his only championship (1992) with a car that could almost literally kick the *** of the competition without a driver in it at all - the Williams FW14 - another Adrian Newey car, btw.

Hamilton finally grew into an adult and realized that he had to leave the nest and do one on his own. That will happen with Vettel, too. He has too much brain to just stay in one place forever. He'd go batty.

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