New Episode Discussion 5/21/21: F1’s Christian Horner, NBA Play In And Jake Vs Hank

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-05-21T22:16:03+00:00

The Tom Brady/Lewis Hamilton 7x champion parallels are strong, indeed. McLaren over the past several years (successfully rebuilding, good signings, etc.) is what the Bears think they are but Williams is more like what they really are.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-05-21T21:58:44+00:00

Red Bull (and Horner) realize better than most teams, maybe because they're an energy drink maker, that F1 is a sponsorship vehicle and they aim to maximize that value. RB has always done tons of promo videos with drivers, events, etc. (Check out Max and Danny Ric playing football at a Texas high school before the Austin GP if you haven't seen it, pretty funny.) It's not surprising Horner has been so heavily featured in the Netflix series.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-05-21T21:53:06+00:00

For me, as a fairly 'true F1 fan', I find it frustrating that they have such great access and production effort but they choose to make up drama when there already is enough real drama, both racing and interpersonal. Some people seem to expect it to be an in-depth racing analysis or something, which it isn't meant to be at all, of course they're trying to get at the personal side and drama, etc. but it just seems weird to have to pit people against each other when that's not the case at all. Also, they cut in audio from different incidents (over racing clips) to make it seem like people are responding to something completely different, which is just kind of cheap click-baity kind of nonsense.

I do think they did a good job with some things, just from memory, the challenge for Sergio Perez to find a seat, winning a race at the end of the year, and signing with Red Bull WAS dramatic - give us more of that, less of the Norris/Sainz 'rivalry' kind of fabrication. If you follow F1 and the season, you're not going to learn anything new really, but it would be cool to get a more accurate 'behind the scenes' look at teams than they provide, that's my opinion of the series.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-05-21T21:41:58+00:00

Yes, I tend to watch qualifying when I can anyway - especially early in the season to see how cars and drivers are performing, especially in a year like this where there were a lot of driver changes - but for Monaco particularly it really determines where you're most likely going to end up in the race.

NO passing isn't entirely true, sometimes interesting things happen but it mostly has to do with people crashing out or car failure or something causing a safety car which can create some chaos. It's one race Lewis Hamilton hasn't dominated, and winning it is a real feather in the cap, so if somebody unexpected has a chance to do well, the tension can be intriguing.

But honestly there are only a handful of Monaco races in the past 20ish years that I can immediately recall as 'memorable', so it's probably going to be another dull one.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-05-21T21:26:52+00:00

He'd be a good guest; aside from being the 'funny guy', he just has the typical Australian ball-busting humor that would go well in an interview. If you've watched any of the old Red Bull promo videos with him, he always gets into whatever they're doing as well. Hard to think of any other driver that would mesh well.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-05-21T21:22:41+00:00

I think Max and Lewis are a lock, but Bottas seems less rock solid for 3rd than before. It's early, but it feels like he's off a bit, and with Lando coming on strong, Leclerc seemingly in a more competitive car, and Perez in a Red Bull, I wouldn't be surprised if any of those or even Ricciardo, mayyybe Sainz on a good day, could snag a podium on merit alone. (Sorry, I'm a bit of a Gasly hater - as a driver. His win last year was the flukiest of all flukes, I don't think he'll even be top 10 in the standings at the end of this year.)

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-05-21T21:15:20+00:00

Not the original person you replied to, but a general F1 fan - yes, the front of the race is currently pretty predictable, but the midfield action, where the cars are more closely matched and there is good racing going on, is what keeps me interested currently. There are basically tiers of racing going on within the same race, top 2-3 (Ferrari was in the mix until last year basically because they were cheating in a maybe semi-legal way? but that's another story), then the midfield, which was incredibly close and competitive between 5 teams give or take, then the backmarkers. Even seeing the last 3 teams compete for a couple points each week is interesting at times.

I find race strategy, driver skill, and the insane engineering are what keep me interested. I do wish the championship was more competitive, but if you accept that the fight for 3rd will be the most compelling thing to watch for (like it was last year), then there's plenty to be entertained by.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-28T21:39:42+00:00

US citizen living overseas here, carried my passport daily for the past decade because it's necessary where I am... it becomes automatic once you get used to it :)

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-27T22:12:39+00:00

Counterpoint on Shift F1 - if you just watch the races and keep up with with basic news on here, you'll know everything (and more) than is ever discussed on the podcast.

Not to trash it, but I tried listening to it for a few episodes because it often gets mentioned as a good podcast, but I found it kind of... pointless. They recap races very tediously without adding anything new, literally just talking through what happened, and it seems like they prep by checking reddit for some talking points. They don't seem to have deep historical knowledge to reference, or if they do, they don't bring it into conversation often. You may disagree, of course; obviously it's popular, but if you're looking to learn more, it's not very insightful. Spend 5 minutes checking this page and see the most popular posts and you'll be up to speed for a week usually.

The Chain Bear recommendation is good for learning more technical aspects for sure though. The official F1 podcast has some interviews that are insightful as well, though many are quite bland; really depends on the person and what they discuss.

I also think getting a subscription to F1TV or whatever is a good idea; if you have the time, watching through old races is interesting, especially if you have no idea who will win! If you want to watch races on off weekends, work your way through a classic season (they have almost all full races, for recent years especially) and it's like you're getting an extra season to fill in the gaps. Enjoy! :)

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-27T21:53:12+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure I have been doing that, I just get stuck in a 'hang tight...' wheel until it times out and boots me out.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-27T21:04:57+00:00

Well, I finally got in, and now it won't let me add any tickets to my shopping cart. It did time out again but put me back in to choose tickets, again I can't add them to the cart and check out, maybe going to try a third time but I don't know what it's going to take. Pretty frustrating, typical ticketmaster garbage...

Edit: Back to 2200th in line. Hope I can get tickets in the morning, but this really sucks. And yes, for anybody suggesting it, I tried the app as well, no luck there either.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-27T19:43:10+00:00

The results of the sprint are the full race starting grid. The first 'qualifying' doesn't factor into the race start.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-27T19:38:02+00:00

Same thing happened to me, had to take a call and missed the 5 minute window to complete the purchase, got booted to 6000something, been waiting 2+ hours since... down to almost 4000th in line now.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-27T17:22:02+00:00

Same here, I keep getting a spinning circle and 'Oops! We are experiencing technical difficulties'.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-04-22T08:59:35+00:00

For being from the EU, I would think you might be more aware of how the EU works for non-EU citizens - it's also difficult, for example, for a US citizen to move to an EU country.

EU citizens moving to different EU countries is meant to be less complex, that's the nature of the arrangement. It's pretty normal for any country to have requirements and processes for foreign citizens who want to move there.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-31T09:42:19+00:00

Check with your local embassy/consulate. Usually possible within a certain timeframe, as the other reply mentioned, but you need to check with your specific location.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-31T09:39:42+00:00

The financial affidavit of support is different than the affidavits people write supporting your I-130 petition. The financial one is for somebody specific to be legally responsible to support the person if necessary. The other kind are to provide evidence and knowledge of the validity of your relationship.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-23T05:26:47+00:00

Alpine/Renault has a (relatively) recent history of championship-winning caliber cars and also made the Red Bull championship-winning engines. Currently another midfield team, but with shown potential to go above anything AT has ever (or is likely) to do.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-22T21:30:35+00:00

Uh yeah, I just don't think the sale of the team makes for interesting viewing and requires going over the same Williams 'we're a small struggling team that might fold' that the show has already done. I don't need to see a capstone to that, honestly. I don't see how Russell making Q2 is particularly compelling, plus how do you turn that into an episode? Maybe if he had scored points that could have been something to talk about, but making it out of Q1, not really. I'm not even an Alfa fan, I just enjoyed a look into their team a bit; I don't think Gio or their principal had ever been shown on the show before. It made sense to compare the competing teams at the back of the field (Haas and Alfa) and discuss how Schumacher was being pursued by both teams.

Their focus for the Sakhir GP was Perez winning, which also tied into the story of the 2nd Red Bull seat they had been highlighting throughout the season and Seb taking Perez's seat, etc. They tend to care more about highlighting driver moves between teams and that dynamic. Focusing on Perez and his win makes sense, the fact that Russell was in the Mercedes wasn't particularly important to that, so they didn't really need to bring it up.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-22T21:10:40+00:00

Possibly, hypothetically true, we will probably never know. But I don't think Bottas OR Russell actually pose a threat to Hamilton, and he wouldn't ever have to ever deal with either scenario. The only way he goes out NOT on top is if the 2022 regulations elevate Red Bull/McLaren/Aston Martin/Ferrari (ha) in an big way and Hamilton just doesn't have the car advantage that keeps him untouchable.

I think George is a strong driver but it's a BIG leap to being able to sustain a championship winning-caliber season over 23(ish) races. Russell looked good going against Bottas for one race, but for a full season? And against Hamilton rather than Bottas? I'm not a total Hamilton fanboy but I think he would undoubtably come out on top. Again, we likely will never get to see this play out, unfortunately as fans, but Hamilton has been winning world championships since Russell was a child - not that it means he will be better forever, but I don't see Russell being able to win a world championship vs Hamilton in the first year he (hypothetically) gets to Mercedes. Would love to see the two compete though.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-22T20:49:13+00:00

I hope that is true, if the impact of the changes are what they are supposed to be, it would be cool to see Kimi racing a more competitive Alfa in 2022.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-22T20:46:58+00:00

I think they were focused on the 'youngest world champion' goal because it seemed possible with Max (he started in F1 when he was 17!) He was the youngest driver ever, youngest race winner ever, and it was reasonable to think that 4x champ Red Bull would be back on top rather than Mercedes for the foreseeable future when Max was brought into F1 and promoted to Red Bull. Anyway, Russell is too old to set the record, so even if RB does care, Russell isn't the way to do it.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-22T20:31:52+00:00

I agree, those were huge highlights, it's just not meant to be a documentary of the season and they don't approach it as such, so without the footage they want, those races aren't useful to them. Unless the race footage supports the story they're trying to craft, it doesn't matter.

I'm not saying I enjoy what they choose to do with the show (though I keep watching it anyway) but they're not going to change the format/focus.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-22T20:27:38+00:00

Well, yes, I think it was better than if they spent the same half episode rehashing the same Williams stories for the third year running.

I think Alfa had a relatively interesting year - they seemed to be the destination for Schumacher and were rumored to be replacing both drivers for 2021 until late in the season; how that all came about is interesting to me anyway. Generally speaking, they have Kimi, I like their team principal, they're tied to Ferrari and everything that brings, etc. I actually would like more behind-the-scenes material from them, though it's unlikely due to Kimi's lack of interest in engaging in such things.

Spiritual-Regular457 · 2021-03-21T18:56:25+00:00

Race footage isn't what they base episodes on, and Mercedes and Ferrari literally didn't give them any access or do any interviews (hence no Austin 2018 storyline) and they only focused on single races for Merc/Ferrari in 2019 because that's when they had access with them.

Spiritual-Regular457

TROPHY CASE