2007 U.S. Grand Prix

[Blake]

1.) Where do you think Formula One should race in America? What is your short list?

Other than Indy? I guess the obvious choices are Road America, Watkins Glen, and Laguna Seca. None of which are remotely close to the standards required by the FIA as far as I know.

2.) Is Indianapolis the best possible track for F1 to race on for the United States Grand Prix?

Yes. It’s one of the best circuits of the year IMO. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t come back to Indy to be honest…

3.) Do you think there will there be another U.S. Grand Prix? Out of 100%, what are the chances F1 returns to America within the next five years? next ten years?

Yes. Bernie is just playing his typical games to try and get a good price. We’ll be back at Indy.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Could the modern F1 go trough the Corkscrew and the facility aren't really up to date.

I'm sure they can. The Estoril track has a left-right at least as tight as the corkscrew and F1 raced there and they still perform tests in this track (GP players should know it, I think GP2 had it).

For those of you that don't know it, here's a link with the track map.

http://www.silhouet.com/motorsport/tracks/estoril.html

I didn't find a F1 video to show it, but I found this MOTOGP one (2006 last lap), where you can see this corner at 1:17 -- 1:20 (or 0:30 before the end)



(btw, the french commentator is a bit hysterical, to say the least )

 

[GTA_Phreak]

Although probably not up to standards, - I always enjoyed watching champcar races on the very wide airport circuit at Cleveland. Always fun to watch with loads of overtakings.

In fact champcar races there this weekend (unfortunately I can no longer watch it )

Road America is also interesting but horrible in rain.

Imho. the Indy F1 circuit is quite good compared to some other tracks on calendar.

 

[Roo]

I reckon the Indy road circuit would be fine if they twisted the double hairpin at tunrs 9 and 10 through 90 degrees, so the cars are braking into a tight haipin rather than a mid-speed left hander. So rather than the current "90 left, haipin right, haipin left", have either "hairpin left, 90 right" or "hairpin left, hairpin right, 90 left". Should make not to bad an overtaking opportunity. Other than that there's nothing wrong with the track.

 

[Appie]

Originally Posted by Roo
Other than that there's nothing wrong with the track.

What? That track is so boring, same as Catalunya and Magny Cours.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Other than Indy? I guess the obvious choices are Road America, Watkins Glen, and Laguna Seca. None of which are remotely close to the standards required by the FIA as far as I know.

Sears Point may be able to handle the event. I think it could handle the spectator demands more than any of the three circuits you listed. However, the pits would certainly require an ugrade.

Yes. It’s one of the best circuits of the year IMO. I’d be disappointed if we didn’t come back to Indy to be honest…

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there. The back section through turns 12 and 13 might be good, but "bland" doesn't even begin tot describe the infield. If it were redone (a bit difficult, I know), it would have the potential to be a great track.

 

[Blake]

Sears Point may be able to handle the event. I think it could handle the spectator demands more than any of the three circuits you listed. However, the pits would certainly require an ugrade.

Good call, I’d forgotten about Sears Point. That is a very interesting track, and I’d love to see F1 cars on it, however I doubt there’d be much overtaking. I also think the first section is probably pretty dangerous at the moment, right?

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there. The back section through turns 12 and 13 might be good, but "bland" doesn't even begin tot describe the infield. If it were redone (a bit difficult, I know), it would have the potential to be a great track.

But then many F1 circuits could be called bland, and I think Indy is one of the more entertaining circuits in terms of racing. As Roo suggested, it would be better to make a hairpin after the back straight, but overall it’s quite a good circuit.

 

[YSSMAN]

The fate of the United States Grand Prix is up in the air. Here is what I'm offering for discussion:

1.) Where do you think Formula One should race in America? What is your short list?

2.) Is Indianapolis the best possible track for F1 to race on for the United States Grand Prix?

3.) Do you think there will there be another U.S. Grand Prix? Out of 100%, what are the chances F1 returns to America within the next five years? next ten years?

1) If, and indeed IF F1 decides not to return to Indianapolis, there are several tracks worth considering:

- Road America: It would be awesome to see one of the world's greatest racing spectacles showing up in the backwoods of Wisconsin. The history of the track makes in an attractive place to see the cars, but I would question the surface of the track being able to handle the down force (and therefore friction) produced by these cars.

- Sebring: Its pretty much THE track here in the United States beyond the obvious Daytona and Indianapolis standards. Its a former F1 race, with a bit of history, and indeed has a layout that would serve well with the updated F1 cars. That being said, I'm sure the teams would complain quite a bit about the offset nature of the track (given the Air Force roots).

- Return of Road Racing, be it Detroit or Long Beach: They were the former hosts of F1 racing in the 1980s, however both tracks lost out by the 1990s. The Detroit track is reportedly coming back for 2007 to host an IRL and ALMS race, and that would prove to be an interesting venue for the updated cars ran today. Long Beach is still utilized for racing, and has always been said to be the "American Monaco." I'd be more happy to see Detroit come back (especially since I could go see the race quite easily), but Long Beach would still be fun.

2) Currently, I'd say Indy is the best we've got when it comes to F1 racing. Although it certainly is not an overly complicated track, it offers a decent amount of challenge, and more importantly speed, which is stuff that I like when I watch racing. It was purpose-built for F1 racing, which pretty much puts it in a different league compared to other tracks in the US, so... yeah. The only other alternatives, at least in my mind, are those stated above.

3) I'm pretty sure that F1 will come back sooner than later. If the contracts can work out, I wouldn't be surprised to see an 2008 US Grand Prix at Indy, again. But that being said, the whole deal around F1 seems so strange to me. They're awfully picky about everything, so God only knows.

...My guess is that it likely depends on how popular the sport is, and could be in the US. They were saying that the '07 USGP had the largest crowd since the inaugural race, which is promising, and furthermore, I think the TV ratings have been somewhat decent on FOX and SPEED.

Bring the F1 into a city like Detroit, and it will light-up the news, and presumably bring in quite a few viewers. I'd hate to see tracks like Indy's F1 setup go to waste, but that could pave the way for NASCAR adding one more road-course to the circuit list.

 

[Tornado]

There is little to no chance that there won't be a U.S. GP next year, and even less chance that it won't be at Indy when there is one.
That being said, I want Watkins Glen. Especially after watching the IRL race last year.

Road America

Too much elevation changes, I'd imagine. Both on the main straight and on Morraine Sweep.

Return of Road Racing

Will never, ever happen. It is simply too unsafe. Monacco is allowed because it is Monacco, and you simply do not remove Monacco from the F1 schedule. No other road racing track will be allowed, because they aren't Monacco.

 

[Blake]

We have 3 street circuits coming within the next couple of seasons. It’s not “too unsafe” for the FIA.

 

[Tornado]

We have 3 street circuits coming within the next couple of seasons. It’s not “too unsafe” for the FIA.

If I recall correctly, there were many safety concerns over the adding of street circuits as well, particularly Singapore.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Singapore only had more because of the proposed night race element, which they're still sorting out. But neither it nor Valencia would have been granted a race if the FIA was not satisfied they could meet safety requirements. The problem with running a street circuit in America is that most of the cities are built around a gridded pattern. Sure, you do get roads that aren't run north-south or east-west, but look at the back section of New York on GT4: it's mostly 90-degree corners.

 

[Blake]

Singapore only had more because of the proposed night race element, which they're still sorting out. But neither it nor Valencia would have been granted a race if the FIA was not satisfied they could meet safety requirements. The problem with running a street circuit in America is that most of the cities are built around a gridded pattern. Sure, you do get roads that aren't run north-south or east-west, but look at the back section of New York on GT4: it's mostly 90-degree corners.

Here’s another problem, though. F1 circuits have to be inspected and homologated by the FIA well in advance of the race. They have strict regulations concerning the safety of circuits. I’m assuming they’re not going to build the track specifically so it can be homologated, so I wonder how the FIA can inspect these street circuits well in advance of the race?

 

[YSSMAN]

The problem with running a street circuit in America is that most of the cities are built around a gridded pattern. Sure, you do get roads that aren't run north-south or east-west, but look at the back section of New York on GT4: it's mostly 90-degree corners.

Well, it only makes sense to build our cities on a grid pattern...

Either way, I'm sure they could use the existing layouts in Detroit (which is coming back for 2008 if I recall), as well as Long Beach. Both have their fair share of 90 degree turns, but there are a few places where it drags out a bit.

...IMO, it would call for more skill to get the cars around a track like that than something like Indy...