Formula One 2011 Discussion Thread

[RetiredTom]

Morning All,

I don't know about any of you, but I'm starting to get really excited for the new F1 season which is just around the corner!

Forums I've used in the past have always had an F1 thread the members can use to talk about any news, upcoming races and so on, so now we have this off topic section, I thought I'd create one here too!

So, who do you follow and what are your hopes for the coming season?

I'm a die-hard McLaren fan, so am eagerly awaiting the new car launch on 4th February. From what the team were saying when I visited the MTC back in November, this should be a competitive year, so I'm hoping for Lewis to win his second championship.

[RetiredTom]

Can't believe nobody's posted after Sunday's race!

So good to see Hamilton at his best, nobody else stood a chance did they?! Hungary this weekend, one of my favourite tracks...

[Nabs]

Didn't get chance to see it all on sunday, just caught the end. I hear the pitstops pretty much made the race though?

This weekend should be good, all three top teams look evenly matched on performance so we might get to see some racing!

[RetiredTom]

Yeah fingers crossed! It can be a bit of a dull race at the Hungaroring sometimes though, so I'm hoping Lewis is on the pace but starts about sixth, meaning someone will actually overtake

[Nabs]

Looks like F1 can now kiss goodbye to several thousand fans in the uk, giving the broadcast right to sky!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9550930.stm

Opinions?

I think it's completely ridiculous and will ruin the sport! what on earth were they thinking?

[RetiredTom]

UNHAPPY FACE!

That said, I'm a very happy customer of Sky, and so I'll be able to watch it, it's just that BBC's coverage at the moment is absolutely perfect- I wouldn't change a thing about it.

If James Allen gets a job commentating, I might start watching bike racing instead!

[thesoupdragon]

Adverts in the middle of the action again! 

So pundits sat in a studio talking nonsense for an hour before, during and after the Race. Classic Sky Sports. 

Does this mean all the cars will come out one by one to their own theme song... 

[Nabs]

I stopped watching when ITV had the rights because i thought their coverage was rubbish + the adverts every 15mins get really annoying!

I'm not a sky customer and would no way dream of paying £50 a month for the privillege of Sky's frankly terrible sports coverage.

TSD you got the nail on the head with this one

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@thesoupdragon wrote:

So pundits sat in a studio talking nonsense for an hour before, during and after the Race. Classic Sky Sports. 

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[RetiredTom]

Exceptional use of tags there Nabs

[anobeithiol]

Just heard that F1 have signed a broadcast deal with SKY from next season. Good or Bad??

[dnairb001]

From what I've seen on a number of websites and forums the general consensus is that pretty much 99%, give or take a % are against this and a great many fans are threatening to turn their backs on the sport rather than watch half a season or pay extortionate amounts to watch it. I'm undecided at the moment as I already pay for Sky, though I will be reducing my subscription package as soon as the special offer I'm on ends. 

Knowing that viewing figures will undoubtedly fall (I really can't see how moving it to a pay channel can increase viewing figures when it was already showing on the same equipment for free), I would like to know what the major sponsors, such as Vodafone, think about the thought of their viewing audience shrinking.

I just hope this doesn't become another sport that gets relegated to Sky sports 3 or 4 in the hope that people sign up to that to watch. If that happens it's doomed :smileysad: