Zoxxo

Formula One - MEXICAN GRAND PRIX - NBC & NBCSN
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THINGS TO KNOW

COVERAGE WILL BE ON NBC AND NBC SPORTS NET

EVERYTHING WILL BE ON NBCSN EXCEPT THE LIVE RACE AND THE PRE-RACE SHOW

THE PRE-RACE SHOW IS SCHEDULED SEPARATELY FROM THE RACE

THE PRE-RACE SHOW WILL BE ON NBC (See the schedule.)

*LIVE* COVERAGE OF THE RACE WILL BE ON NBC

THE TIMES AND PROGRAM LENGTHS FOR THIS WEEKEND ARE DIFFERENT, SO PAY ATTENTION!

There will be ONE showing of PRACTICE #2.

There will be TWO showings of QUALIFYING.

There will be TWO showings of the race.

AGAIN - THE PRE-RACE SHOW FOR THE LIVE SHOWING OF THE RACE IS ON NBC!!!

The post-race show "F1 Extra" is shown immediately after the race
show whatever time that may be. the simplest way to make sure you
record it is to simply add enough extra time to the race broadcast recording to
get (a) any extra time that was needed to record the entire race
including any delays, and (b) "F1 Extra". My standard is to
add at least three hours (!) just to make sure I cover most eventualities.

I pull this info from from my Tivo's schedule. I have no guarantee that
it is correct but it usually is.


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ALL TIMES PACIFIC TIME !!!!! (Eastern times in parens)
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Friday October 28, 2016
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Saturday October 29, 2016
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Sunday October 30, 2016
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Enjoy!

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sunsalem

Thanx...as always I'll be tuned in.

raff

Thanks for the info -- always appreciated.

spearfish25

I'm always amazed how convoluted these schedules are

sunsalem

The reason is F1 stupidly negotiated contracts with American networks that allow them to shove the broadcasts wherever and whenever they choose.
I expect this will change with F1's change of ownership to the American-based Liberty Media Corp.

Zoxxo

Given the ratings for F1 in the U.S. Bernie would seem to be in no position to make many demands. We F1 fans should be thankful for all the competition for sports to fill all the sports cable channels that is by far the main driver for *anyone* to grab F1 and show it. All you have to do is to watch which commercials are being shown on the F1 broadcasts to grok this issue. The fact that British soccer and European bicycle racing take precedence over F1 on NBC should also tells you something.

Take away the ads from the companies involved in F1 anyway (Pirelli, Mercedes, etc) and pretty much all that's left is PI (see Wikipedia) and local merchant cable advertising. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that NBCSN loses money on F1. Ditto the old days on Speed Channel.

As for Liberty, here's a more sober look at the real picture as it relates to them (hint: there is no "change of ownership"):

http://www.pitpass.com/57346/Taking-a-Liberty

Z//

sunsalem

Thanx for the great article, although I don't necessarily agree with some of conclusions.

For example, Bernie being able to hold the reins indefinitely.
I doubt Liberty bought in if they would be powerless in shaping F1.
My guess is they will make a move to send him on a gardening vacation sooner rather than later.
The guy has already said he intends to leave F1 "feet first."
At his age, that isn't reassuring for the future of the sport.

Zoxxo

They can "make a move" all they want. The number one skill that Bernie has demonstrated throughout his reign is the abilty to play off one side against another and to form alliances as needed to get his way. Those alliances can change almost literally from day to day.

The various investors will vote with him rather than against him simply because he has made them all a s**tload of money over the years and continues to do so. CVC and now Liberty are there primarily to make money and who has shown the ability to do that better than anyone else? Why that would be Bernie.

Is Bernie going to just drop dead one day which will precipitate a major change (crisis?) in how things are done? Obviously. But until that happens it's pretty hard to imagine anyone at Liberty being able to out-maneuver Bernie on his home turf. Liberty would actually have to convince the other investors, as well as the teams, that they could make them even more money (and it would have to be a LOT more money) than Bernie can. On top of that there is that pesky Concorde Agreement that still has some time on the clock.

Bernie has made excellent use of the old "divide and conquer" methodology. Only the legal system coming after him has ever really made a dent in his act and even then he manages to skate pretty well at the end of the day. In theory, the EU is coming after F1 again on both the competition end and on the (FIA's) conflict of interest issue re: Liberty. That won't help things if it actually happens.

Then there are the teams who, while not being actual investors (as in stock shares.) have a huge say in how things work or won't. Once the Concorde Agreement times out they are all free to do whatever they want and, to put it simply, there's no viable Mickey Mouse Club without the Mouseketeers )

Bernie can't be long for the game at this point but, as I said, until then I think Liberty will have to bide their time and be content to just rake in the cash. If they can manage to *really* get controlling interest in the thing then a whole different picture appears. But remember that Liberty isn't "buying F1" regardless. They are buying *into* the commercial rights end of the thing. But they don't get to design the rules, the cars, etc. They have serious sway in these issues by virtue of the rules affecting "the show" but it's still not "theirs".

Z//

VetteDrmr

You mean like paying a $100M "fine" to the German gov't. to avoid being prosecuted on bribery charges?

BTW, what happened to Grosjean in P2 today? He didn't have a time posted for over an hour.

Have a good one,
Mike

Zoxxo

For that $100m I would gladly spend the 8 years that the other guy is spending (given that white-collar folks rarely end up in "prison" instead of in "country clubs".) That works out to a tad better than one million dollars PER MONTH. Even if taxed at 50%...

All I know is what Townsend Bell and Matchett said which was that they had the floor off of the car and were pulling out sensors and wires. I can't find anything on the net at the moment. RG did NOT seem amused.

Then there is this:

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/br...in-fp2-844227/

Z//

VetteDrmr

Why do I get the feeling that $100M to Bernie is only slightly above pocket change?

Ah, the ever-present and lasting compromise between reliability of systems that have given you grief previously in the season and the performance you need to compete for points. Good article, thanks for sharing.

Have a good one,
Mike

Zoxxo

For Bernie, it is a relatively (key word there) small amount but it's not *really* a small amount.The thing to keep in mind regarding this issue is that while we Americans are really into the "revenge" and "hang the bastard" justice routine, the Europeans tend to be much more pragmatic about the way life works. Because Bernie has so much money at his disposal, he was in a position to drag out the legal proceedings for years, costing the government a *ton* of money and resources dedicated to the effort for a lot of time. And even after all that they could/might still lose. Or Bernie could croak mid-stream. So pragmatism says "$100 million is a *lot* of money that can educate children, feed the hungry, fix roads, etc." So, the pragmatic folks running things decided to make the deal. Remember that even the judge had to sign off on the deal. So Bernie "gets off" (I think one could argue that a $100 million dollar fine is not "getting off" no matter who you are) and our sense of justice is affronted, but a lot of positives could come of it that otherwise wouldn't have.



I think Haas has done a great job this season when you consider that they have ZERO experience at the game. EVERY bit of the thing, starting with the basics of "how should we even *think* about problem a? b? j? q? ..." is new. So much of this comes only from experience. They don't write books about this stuff until loooong after it's relevant.

Gene Haas said it himself this week:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns35150.html

There's a reason that the big teams like Merc and Ferrari spend hundreds of millions every year. No, Gene, you're not in Alabama any more

Z//

VetteDrmr

Oh, I just found it humorous that the German gov't. brought BE to court on charges of bribery, and found it acceptable to accept a $100M "bribe" to drop the charges.

Oh, absolutely! And I'm sure he did his best before deciding to get into F1. But as you point out, it's all about experience and "street cred" (as far as being able to get better staff on your team). I have NO idea on this aspect, but do you think Haas has plans to upgrade their staff, or just ride the train wherever it goes with their existing staff? I guess it'd probably be some of both.

Have a good one,
Mike

Zoxxo

Well, it's hard to say as there are always plenty of negatives in F1 for the "self-financed". It is a grotesquely expensive game - way beyond what NASCAR costs (which is certainly crazy itself.) And as has always been the case in racing, "there's no substitute for cubic money." So, if he's not just totally shocked by how much it's *already* costing him, much less how much more it will cost to rise through the ranks, AND if what Matchett was relating to us re: conversations with Gene Haas at the Haas factory and how "[F1] really pulls you in!" are an indication, the I would bet that he'll want to climb the ladder.

That said, they joined the game just as everything they learned about their car would go out the window the next year. So they will be back to square one (mostly) come next year. So they might want to hang tough for a year and get their footing (again) before buying new talent. Right off the bat I'd want to get someone who knows how to design and build F1 braking systems.

It will be interesting to see what they do with Gutierrez (who reminds me of someone who moves into a neighborhood next to an airport and the commences to complain about the noise. It's a brand new team, Esteban, what the hell did you expect ya big crybaby?)

Z//

sunsalem

EG is only a mediocre Driver.
His whining will (hopefully) get him out of Haas and off the grid.


There looks like there will be some decent drivers available soon.
Haas would be wise to keep their eyes open and see what turns up.

Nowanker

It is a little ironic that the government would accept a 'fine' as punishment against a bribery charge. Pot-Kettle!
But on to a fresh topic... a lot is being made of Rosberg having virtually locked up the championship. Am I missing something here? 25 points for a win, zero for a DNF. Rosberg has just a tiny spot of bad luck, and Hamilton is within 1.
Z, as always, thank you for hosting! Sad to see another season winding down.

sunsalem

It is a dangerous game Rosberg is playing because it is based on Faith.
Faith the car won't breakdown, faith he won't be punted off-track, faith his teammate is too focused on winning races rather than trying to keep him from the Championship.
I wouldn't be surprised if this strategy ultimately fails him.

Zoxxo

Not within his control. What would his option be here?

Only partly within his control. All he can do is be very cautious when passing back-markers.

At this point winning is mandatory for Hamilton. It's the most he can do (in fact it's the only thing he can do unless something changes) and HE has to operate on faith that something will catch up to Rosberg and open the door.

I'm not sure that this is a strategy as "having a strategy" implies that there is more than one plan of action from which to choose. "Finish the race scoring as many points as possible" would seem to be the "strategy" to use with the only difference now being "be ultra safe and *really* work on that "finish the race" bit.

If Rosberg is being truthful when he says that he intends to focus on winning the next three races *rather* than focus on doing what it takes to be world champion then he's either a liar or a fool (could be both, of course ). To be champion you simply need to have more points after the last race than anyone else. Period. How you managed to accomplish that over the 21 races is irrelevant. He currently has an advantage over Hamilton and failing to press that advantage wuld be foolish.

Also (topic change), listening to Hamilton mutter to the press that if it wasn't for his bad luck with power units and starts this season he'd be leading championship just makes me want to throw a brick at the spoiled little jackass. Just the very idea that his cars are supposed to be bullet-proof and that he's been dealt a bad hand is a joke and poor sportsmanship of a high order. That's why they run the races, Lewis. He should have been driving back in the days of Clark or Stewart or Lauda when engines blew up *regularly* and 20%-35% of the field in *every* race DNF'd due to engine failures. Every failed engine on Lewis's car this year could just as easily have been pulled from inventory and stuffed into Nico's car instead. That's the breaks. Be a man, already. (You don't hear a peep from Rosberg along such lines.)

Z//

Zoxxo

They had to take him as part of the price of getting Ferrari's parts. And Ferrari has him on board (I suspect) because he's one of Carlos Slim's boys and even Ferrari will go all nicey-nice for the second richest man on the planet.

Two things here:

1. Haas and Steiner have made it clear that they want an experienced driver.

2. http://autoweek.com/article/formula-...ave-f1-drivers



Z//

VetteDrmr

I don't think I agree with that assessment. Rosberg's performance this year (especially after the summer break), has been, IMO, about as good as it can get. Is there "faith" in anticipating how the future races are goign to go? Well, sure, but that's the case for every car out there. Otherwise we wouldn't have to race.

What would you have him do differently?

Have a good one,
Mike