Formula 1 racing back on network TV in the US! San Marino GP on CBS this Sunday!

[786]

so you think F1 drivers win because of the car? ...did you not watch the GP on sunday?...

JPM is successful in F1 because he competed in F3000...oval racing isnt exactly the best training ground for future F1 drivers...and Zanardis career in F1 wasnt exactly illustrious...

F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport for a reason buddy...in every area F1 cars are vastly superior...and F1 drivers are the best in the world...you nascrap champ car lovers need to understand that...

 

[y2kgamer]

so you think F1 drivers win because of the car? ...did you not watch the GP on sunday?...

I did watch the San Marino GP.

I know the car isn't everything, but you can't deny the fact that money and technology play a role (especially with Ferrari's dominance in the past years).

And then there's the other technical differences (such as lack of traction control) in Champ Car that emphasize driver skill.

JPM is successful in F1 because he competed in F3000...oval racing isnt exactly the best training ground for future F1 drivers...and Zanardis career in F1 wasnt exactly illustrious...

CART ran a balanced schedule of oval courses, temporary street courses and permanent road courses. Juan Pablo Montoya became the 1999 CART Champion by winning on temporary street courses and permanent road courses. He even won the Indy 500 in an IndyCar. That says something when you can win in a car you don't even normally race in!

The Champ Car World Series today only runs 2 oval races. The rest are temporary street courses and permanent road courses. So you can see why many Champ Car drivers have to potential to become F1 drivers.

F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport for a reason buddy...in every area F1 cars are vastly superior...and F1 drivers are the best in the world...you nascrap champ car lovers need to understand that...

I respect F1 (and I'm actually interested in watching it this season after seeing some actual competition at San Marino), but I see no reason to look down on Champ Car or NASCAR (which actually delivers exciting competition all season long).

 

[786]

of course money and technology play a role...F1 is more than just a racing series...it is where innovative designers and engineers advance automotive technology through competition...active suspension, sequential transmissions, advanced traction and launch control systems, carbon brakes, use of new materials or old materials in new ways...these and many other innovations have trickled down into the automotive world through F1...also, F1 cars are significantly more powerful than champ cars so taking away traction control would be very dangerous and safety is a big issue in F1 now (wouldnt wanna have a bunch of legless F1 drivers)...now if and when the switch to V8's is made i have heard that the manual gearboxes will return and all driver aids will be eliminated...but at todays power levels i dont think thats possible...

and it seems to me that champ car is where guys who either couldnt cut it in F1 go or guys that had a chance and blew it go...lets see what i mean...on the current roster lets pick out the rejects...

1.Bourdais - seemed talented but after arrows demise no one gave him another shot
2.Da Matta - couldnt impress at Toyota
3.Glock - showed good signs but apparently not good enough
4.Junqueira - ousted from williams by Button in 2000
5.Wilson - that guy just sucked
6.Wirdheim - tested for Jaguar but was mediocre

in any event in my humble opinion i dont think there is a series in the world that can hold a candle to F1 (with the notable exceptions of WRC and MotoGP)...you want to compare champ car with F1?...in my mind there is no comparison...

 

[kensei]

CBS did a good job, better than I expected. I don't like the commentators, especially Derek Daly but it seemed CBS had less commercials and overall it was ok. I missed the speed commentators, especially Hobbs and Matchet and it urks me that I can't watch the race live but all in all it wasn't so bad.

Champ Car (formerly known as CART) is for F1 rejects!?

Before the the CART/IRL split in 1996... CART was also the stage for the world's best open-wheel drivers (such as 1978 Formula 1 CHAMPION Mario Andretti).

And let's not forget that several F1 drivers started their professional open-wheel racing careers driving Champ Cars (like Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya).

Today, Champ Car is still a great test of driving skills for open-wheel drivers. They race on oval courses, street courses, and road courses. Every car is the same. There is no traction control or paddle shifting (you have to use a clutch and sequential stick shifter). You have to depend on your skills to win, not the car.

I do, however, agree that Champ Car and IRL have to get back to together to get back to the top. It's either that, or hope the IRL dies off soon.

Dude, you are talking almost 20 years ago, even a bit more...since Champ Car/CART was a relevant global series. Now-a-days it is just pathetic. It is where drivers who can't hack F1 or get into F1 go. Give any top driver the choice between a competitive Champ Car driver or a back of the grid F1 drive and 9 out of 10 will take the back of the grid F1 drive. No one but a handful of North American journalists and even less fans take Champ Car seriously. it's turned into a joke with boring cars, boring drivers, boring circuits and stupid rules.

Like I said the IRL isn't much better but at least they know how to market themselves. That fact, that the IRL knows how to get sponsors and media coverage will mean that of the two series the IRL will be the one to survive, NOT champ car.

Even if the two series get back together I still don't see any room for improvement, at least not in the short term. If they join together in say 2007 and manage to stay around until 2017 (or so) and produce decent racing with sponsors and media coverage maybe then they will be taken seriously...but that is a huge maybe.

Champ Car has no one to blame for it irrelevance than itself. Frankly if it just went away I doubt many would even know it was gone.

 

[786]

Champ Car has no one to blame for it irelevance than itself. Frankly if it just went away I doubt many would even know it was gone.

agreed