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So the question would be whether those seats would have gone unsold were it not for the foreign tourist market. Only so many seats to be sold, so in the end, for me, it isn't a matter of who is buying them, but whether they all got bought.

Again, I think this is a benefit to the city, not to F1, unless the demand for tickets would fall short otherwise. I'd argue that the Miami GP would have sold out easily even if no foreigner bought a ticket. But as we discussed when Miami was announced, the key is to sustain this. It's year ten (if it goes that far) and not year one that will tell the tale.

And to take it even farther, one of the goals of Liberty staging these races here is to expand the market in the US, make new fans, and put their butts in the grandstands. From that point of view, foreign tourists, who as you said are already Formula 1 fans, would seem to me to be missing the intended target.

And to come full circle, I think the real issue here is not what we are discussing, but that Miami and Las Vegas had little leverage. After all, many cities around the world want a place in the F1 schedule. That these cities were chosen makes me wonder if it wasn't the fact that the promoters and host cities were willing to cede so much that made it attractive to Formula 1. If, say, Las Vegas was standing firm on the same arrangement Silverstone has, would we even have a Las Vegas race this year? I don't know the details, only what I said a few posts back (no hosting fee, F1 gets the take). But clearly, these races in the US are very profitable for Formula 1, and I wouldn't be surprised to find Las Vegas and Miami are the most lucrative on the schedule for the people running Formula 1.

Two weeks to go until the season kicks off with testing in Catalunya. Can't wait! Who's with me?

I expect a fantastic season and here are a few of the things I am looking forward to

-- McLaren. I rate Lando very highly. I think he's one of the top three or four drivers on the grid, but he's rarely had the machinery to prove it. There was a time last season when I openly wondered if Ricciardo was actually driving a poor car well, but that Norris was on an entirely different level and by comparison made Danny Ric look pedestrian. Thin evidence to prove my case. But with Piastri coming aboard, we may have a more defined understanding of just how good Norris is. Piastri himself has a lot to prove, that he was worth all the fuss and I suspect the pressure he will feel after a few races will be immense. If he rockets out of the gate it would be the best thing for him. If he struggles, it could spiral. I hope the MCL-60 is a much improved machine, and we'll have to wait to see about that.

-- Logan Sargent. I want American involvement in my favorite racing series. With Andretti, Ford and Cadillac making noise it will soon be the case. But we have to have a driver too, and now the nation's hopes fall on the young Williams driver. Is he good enough? Does he have the mental makeup to succeed in F1? Time will tell. His rise was swift, and he passed over a number of deserving drivers. He has it all to prove. And he'll have to do it in what might once again prove to be the slowest car on the grid. Albon is going to be a helpful ally I'm sure, but Sargent will need to match him, and that's going to be a challenge. Albon's pretty good, objectively, although he isn't my cup of tea.

-- The midfield. I'm hoping to see a contraction of the grid. I'm thinking that the field may compress with all teams having a year to refine their designs, and full data from a full season with the new cars. Last season, there was but a single podium scored by a car that wasn't a Merc, Bull or Fez. This absolutely needs to change. I hope (or expect) that Alpine and McLaren at least will close their gaps. Some seem to be convinced that Aston Martin will be right there too, but I'm not sure about that. But generally speaking I hope we see a midfield that can challenge the top three on a regular basis.

-- Race Control. Am I too critical? I get in to debates about how poorly I think race control does their thing, and people defend it. They lack consistency, make bewildering decisions and take too long to do it. This must improve. Last season we had all the hubaloo about how they had made sweeping changes to improve. Two race directors, A new VAR bunker is the Swiss mountains. But I thought it was no better over the course of the year than 2021 was. Consistency is the thing I want to see. Equal penalties for equal infractions, not the arbitrary way it feels now. And make decisions quickly. Too often last year decisions were delayed until after the race, with the teams and drivers given an opportunity to state their case. Just stop that. Either the rule was broken or it wasn't, and why it happened really shouldn't factor in.

Get rid of the possibility of a five-second penalty for causing a collision. If you are deemed to have done so, the penalty has to be stiffer. 10 seconds at least, or a drive-through would be even better. Race control must be better.

-- Red Bull. As champions they get the lowest amount of wind tunnel time due to the regulations. With their penalty for breaching the cost cap, they now have even less. How much of a problem this is will be seen, but it puts them on the back foot heading in to the new season and will make defending their titles that much harder. There's no better run organization on the grid than Red Bull, so I expect they will manage it. In Newey I trust.


I once again plan to set up a Formula 1 Fantasy League here for SImHQ members. I will announce when it is ready and anyone interested can PM me for the access code. It's fun, it's free and it makes the sport more interesting, as you root for and against drivers and teams you would otherwise perhaps not care about. So join us!

No one's with me?

If they were. maybe they would have caught the fact that there is no Spain test this year. Why is that? Straight to Bahrain. So it kicks off with that single test, and then off to the start of the season.

Sorry for the bad information, but Spain is tradition. Old habits die hard.

First race is three weeks from tomorrow.

It’s a bit early for me. KMag and HAAS have been testing the new car at Silverstone today and seem cautiously hopeful. I hope they will close up to the front runners.

McLaren rumoured to maybe getting together with Honda again some time in the not-so-near future, Alonso gone will ease the relationship. Ford looking to get into Red Bull as engine supplier, taking over from Honda, in the team that Ford financed for Stewart then bought off him and later sold to RB. I guess the parties are looking ahead to the next engine regulation shake-up?

My personal opinion is that there are too many races and not enough teams. We need Andretti in Formula 1 badly and I really think the team bosses should push the loud pedal on this.

Not enough teams I agree with, and you're probably objectively correct about the number of races. But since I'm not involved I like it

The Ford thing is a done deal, they'll be teamed up with Red Bull in 2026. The Andretti thing is sad. The resistance they are getting from the existing teams is too much. Yeah I get they look to protect themselves. But this is so short sighted. I believe that any short term financial loss by diluting the grid will be exceeded by long terms gain from having more teams, and especially American, who I think will bring long term benefits to every team. Their slice of the pie may be smaller, but it will be a bigger pie. They screen all of their objections with sustainability and OEM backing and yadda yadda. You see what happened to Manor don't you?! We can't have that!

Phooey.

Andretti has met every objection, but they still resist.

Sorry can't copy/past the link but Autosport has a nice article on F1 car floors if any are interested.

I'll check that out, thanks for the head's up. Yeah, the floor is the real battleground in the current regs isn't it?

I wanted to have the fantasy set up by now, but it still says "Come back in 2023". I'll get it up as soon as it is available, but time is ticking.

The cars are looking great this year, most teams have now revealed. I gotta give Aston Martin the nod once again as the best looking livery on the grid. That color is just so nice.

I'm fully hyped for this season, just don't care too much about bahrein tests. I say until 5th race, we won't know the hierarchy with enough confidence.

Team mates battles this year are very promising, Hulk vs "Suck my b honey" , Ocon vs Ex best mate, Alonso vs Lance's dad, Merc Brit fashion Guys, Angry Mexican vs Mad Max, red shirts best sons in law, new kid vs older kid on the orange block.... can't wait !

Haha!

I agree that the team head to heads are shaping up nicely. I talked above about Norris and Piastri, but it's true up and down the grid. Intriguing story lines throughout.

And some of these guys are clearly driving for their seat.

Zhou, Perez, and Tsunoda I reckon are all on the hot seat in their final contract years. I think everyone else has at least two years left? Not sure. Bottas should be locked up. What about Magnussen?

Anyway, it's shaping up to be a fantastic season. Formula1.com has a poll asking readers which is their favorite livery and it's Merc out in front! I voted for Aston Martin.

KMag is signed through 2024, so maybe just those three drivers needing to secure a new deal.

Contracts have little value nowadays as we've seen, unless there's mutual love between team and drivers.

I don't who who has biggest pressure tbh, long term contract or not. Any pilot has to deliver. I hope that, for once, hierarchy separates team mates during races (and not every time in the same order), so we can have distant team mate battles fighting other cars, instead of too much internal drama. Ofc, occasional drama is needed

Bring on the drama! Haha, yeah, I like it.

I assign a bit more value to the contracts, it's a big deal to buy someone out, and he has to agree anyway, as we all saw with Danny Ric. Those three I mentioned that are in their final years have it all to prove, especially Zhou and Tsunoda. Perez seems more safe, but Red Bull have never been shy about making these decisions. I reckon he needs to be better by some margin than he was a year ago, and he finished third by a point! Tough business, this, but this is the pinnacle of motorsport, yeah? He needs to be better, especially on Saturdays.

Fantasy still not up, checking constantly, and I'll post as soon as possible.

The fantasy league will start on February 27th. Check this link for some of the changes we will be playing with this season. I'll put the league up on that date, and PM me if you want in and I'll send you the code to join. It's free.

F1 Fantasy announcement and changes

In, please

www.autosport.com has more technical articles.

Yes, sir. I'll PM you the code when it's up.

KK, join us in fantasy this year.

Sintax is in too.

Come on folks, step right up. Post in this thread or PM me and you're in. One week left to get in at the start.

Pre-season testing underway and while it's too early to make any assessment, I'll do it anyway

Red Bull looking good. Williams too. Never too early to over-react!

Watching the pre season testing is really getting me hyped up. I know its just testing and I shouldn't read too much into it but its still exciting to speculate. Max looks strong of course. Merc seems to be struggling a bit and their car design reminds me of a F2 car.

My biggest wish this year is for McLaren to take a step up! Also hopefully crush Dbond1 in fantasy

You took it right down to the final race last year and that was fun. I hope for a repeat with me winning on the final day

I registeret on F1.
Never done any Fantacy befordre so I’ll see if I can work it out .

Excellent, glad to have you Wigean! I'll send you the code when the league is up in a few days. If you need any help, have any questions then ask away. We will be happy to help. Some of the rules have changed and we will all need to adjust to that, but it's pretty simple really. Pick a team with a budget of 100m and then hope for the best! It makes race weekends that much more fun and interesting, like I said, as you will now have a vested interest in the performances of drivers and teams you may not have cared much about otherwise. A lot of fun for me, and I hope for everyone.

Anyone following testing? Fernando so far has turned the second-fastest lap. How intriguing!

Oh yeah, I forgo to mention, that your team name has to be some witty play on words sort of thing.

I use Verstompin'

You have a week to think up a good one! (Better than mine anyway)