It also made Fernando flirt with IndyCar a little. A fan of emojis, the Spaniard tweeted out a simple emoji with a GIF. To break it down for the Robin Miller old guys of the world, he essentially said “that’s cool”, then “maybe I’ll do that. ” What Alonso didn’t say was “NO.” Instead he fueled the speculation that he might come to America to run the domestic series in this country.

IndyCar doesn’t need anyone to provide validity to it being a proper championship. It’s a hard series to win in and we’ve seen some really talented drivers get in cars and struggle. Rubens Barrichello joined the series in 2012 and it took him all season to finally earn a Top 5 finish at Sonoma in the third to final race of the season. IndyCar gets a bad rep outside of the states but it’s a super challenging series.

Alonso is naturally a more talented driver than than Rubens but the struggles are real. Without a doubt Alonso would find the top step of the podium in his rookie season. Hell he could be such a great driver that he just dominates the season. There’s no doubt about his talent, it comes down to where does he actually want to race.

Formula One

Fernando has said this season that Formula One is his main focus. However, without a proper winning seat available could he consider leaving the highest echelon of open wheel racing for IndyCar? Possibly.

McLaren is the best place for Alonso. After giving up last weekend at Spa when the car was just so slow down the straights it’s hard imagine he will want to keep racing there. Unless there is a massive engine upgrade for next year it’s going to much of the same. So McLaren could farm him out to IndyCar for a season to keep him happy until the car is ready to compete in 2019.

Fernando Alonso IndyCar diecast

Bring Alonso to us for a season, we’ll take care of him. If the Spanish want to stage a new Spanish inquisition to promote the good word of Fernando Alonso in the states bring it on. Not like we have much to look up to in this country. Just don’t build any statues, we’re very triggered by statues at the moment.

IndyCar could use a huge international name joining the series. No offense to Max Chilton and Esteban Gutierrez but they aren’t getting anyone outside of their families excited. Get Alonso, dominate the world. Simple game plan for Indycar.

The post How Hard Can Fernando Alonso And IndyCar Flirt? appeared first on Apex Off.

Power played the strategy game and while others like Rossi were stretching their fuel mileage the Indy 500 winner pitted for fuel with 18 laps to go. With enough fuel on board Power literally put the power down and caught Rossi immediately. Rossi pulled over to let Power through thinking of the championship.

With Rossi out of the way, Power cruised to the victory. For a guy that was once terrible on ovals, the Aussie is now an oval savant, winning at another oval. Certainly a complete 180 from how he used to feel/perform on ovals.

What About The Championship Battle?

The battle between points leader Scott Dixon and pursuer Alexander Rossi is down to just 26 points.

Dixon led 145 laps Saturday night and still salvaged third behind some poor strategy calls. That wasn’t good enough though with Rossi finishing second.

Rossi won the two races prior to Saturday Night’s race at Gateway. The third-year driver has found his stride in the second half of the season and has asserted himself as a clear and present threat to Dixon. With Sonoma being a double points race in the finale Rossi could swipe this championship away like Dixon did to Montoya in 2015.

There was one moment Saturday night where the championship battle nearly came to an end. Rossi drove out of some massive oversteer thanks to a nice oppo-lock and phenomenal throttle management.

Portland will be an interesting race next weekend as the circuit should fit both Rossi and Dixon. A fast road course that requires precision, a Mid-Ohio at one end with a simple section at the other.

How Was The Gateway Race?

Once again a super solid race that was intriguing from multiple angles. From the strategy to the championship, to the mid-pack battles Gateway provided again. IndyCar on flat tracks is something we need more of, looking at you people in Milwaukee.

Zach Veach continues to impress as the season winds down. The rookie recorded a 5th place finish on the heels of a 6th place finish last week at Pocono. Veach now has four Top-10 finishes in a row. Spencer Pigot also impressed on the short oval again, after a second at Iowa he came home 6th tonight.

A definitive second lane never fully developed but passing was certainly possible. Gateway should be a mainstay on the IndyCar calendar, the crowd was little lighter than 2017 but still stronger than every oval not named Indianapolis.

IndyCar is back in action in Portland.

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Per Adam Stern, because why wouldn’t he have the news, Mothers car products will return to present all 21 rounds commercial free.

ESPN’s F1 coverage debuted in 2018 with a disastrous Australian Grand Prix. No sound, no picture, commercial breaks randomly thrown in at the most awkard times. ESPN said they’d make it right, and they did.

The rest of the 2018 season was presented commercial free. At first ESPN didn’t announce the change and fans took to social media asking others if they had a seen a commercial yet. It was like we all saw Birdbox and were looking for answers just we could see and Sandy Bullock wasn’t screaming at a child.

ESPN sticking with this commercial free concept is fantastic. They pay nothing for the rights to broadcast Sky Sports telecast of the race. Meaning any money from advertisers is straight profit. Why not make a little cash from Mothers while also using the race to lead into other shows on the network? It’s fantastic.

FOX and NBC

Now if we could just get FOX and NBC to revolutionize the way they present races we might actually get to see some action. Obviously they’re locked into contracts but you don’t miss a minute of a soccer game. Why is it ok to miss 30% of a race?

In the meantime go out and buy some Mothers car products and watch commercial free F1!

The post REJOICE! F1 Broadcasts On ESPN To Remain Commercial Free appeared first on Apex Off.

For Williams:

It would allow the struggling outfit to farm out their “#1 driver ” to a more competitive car in relative terms. It will also allow them to put Robert Kubica in the car for the remainder of the season. Kubica has been quicker than both Williams race drivers in nearly every test/practice session this season. Not only can he get more out of the car but he can give the team a benchmark to work off of. Not to mention he has helped develop cars in the past and his input would likely be better than the current two drivers. That’s not a knock on them, Kubica just has vastly more experience.

Also, Williams already has the budget from Stroll’s family for the season. While Lawrence Stroll would continue to pay Williams the agreed upon amount Lance would bring to the team. Williams in return would allow Lance to race in a more competitive car while still under contract with the team. Like when a baseball team kicks someone to the curb, say, Brandon Phillips, the Reds continue to pay him not to play in Cincinnati and play in Atlanta. Of course, he was so bad there they didn’t want him either but you get the point.

For Toro Rosso:

Toro Rosso is obviously not thrilled with the performance of Brendon Hartley so far this season. Like anyone that gets back with their ex you have that moment of clarity a couple months into the second round where you’re like “ohh that’s why we stopped doing this.” And Helmut Marko is having that revelation in real time.

So why not drop Harley for Stroll? Stroll would come to the team for free on loan from Williams. No salary to be paid would give the Toro Rosso team a small bump, not that Hartley is getting paid handsomely but it’s better than what a BK Racing driver gets paid. It also allows Toro Rosso to measure their car a little more. Is Stroll a better driver than Hartley? It’s a toss up but why not see what someone else can do in the car?

For Lance Stroll:

Lance would have the opportunity to get into a more competitive car than what he is currently in. Toro Rosso finished 4th in Bahrain this year. The Honda powerplant has proven to be more reliable than previous iterations of itself. Instead of fighting Sergey Sirotkin for 19th, why not fight in the midpack? It also gives Stroll a chance to show what talent he has in a more competitive car. It may also be the only way for him to prove to other teams he has what it takes to be in F1.

This is a wild rumor that likely won’t happen. In theory, though it makes complete and perfect sense. It’s a peak F1 rumor as well, a lot of moving parts, money, and hurt feelings. Most of the time the off-track drama is better than the on-track drama in F1.

The post Could Williams Be Shopping Lance Stroll? appeared first on Apex Off.

What The Deal Means For F1

Aston Martin is currently a sponsor for Red Bull F1 as well as a technical partner on the development of the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar. The sponsorship deal will end following the 2020 season and will mercifully spare us from having to explain why both Aston Martin and Honda branding were on the car. The two sides will continue their relationship on the road car side until the completion of the Valkyrie.

For Racing Point they will be become the works Aston Martin team for 10-years according to the deal. A 5-year sponsorship deal is also included in that deal. Meaning Aston Martin is here for at least 10 years with Aston Martin sponsored cars for at least 5 years. Not a bad deal for a team that went into administration just 18 months ago as former team owner Vijay Mallya attempted to avoid prison.

For Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez, it means they will soon drive for a works team. Will their competitiveness increase? That depends on how much money Aston Martin and Stroll are willing to throw at chasing the Constructors Title. For now, it’s a step up certainly.

More Details From The Deal

• Lawrence Stroll leads investment consortium, becomes Aston Martin chairman – Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Aston Martin. Lance Stroll’s hands have been on a number of brands.
• CEO Andy Palmer stays on – He doesn’t always say the best things.
• Job and cost cutbacks to follow – that’s unfortunate in all honesty.
• Aston business plan revised- translation: they’ll be making a business plan instead of throwing darts at the wall.
• Valkyrie will be launched this year- will it? We only saw it in March of 2017. Three years later it’s still being designed.
• Mid-engined Valhalla will follow- if they don’t get the guys from Mad Max for the launch of this we riot.
• Mid-engined strategy to continue, launching 2022- thank god Corvette mainstreamed this
• Lagonda launched delayed until at least 2025- question, if Aston Martin is a luxury brand why do they need to launch a luxury brand?
• Electric RapidE project suspended- so no Formula E?
• Stroll’s Racing Point F1 team to be rebranded Aston Martin from 2021- actually good.

Just wait until Lawrence Stoll buys Mercedes-Benz AMG F1.

The post Lance Stroll’s Dad Is Bringing Aston Martin To F1 In 2021 appeared first on Apex Off.

F1 Back At The Speedway

F1 appears to be at the top of Roger Penske’s wishlist for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He mentioned the series in his press conference after it was announced he had bought the speedway. Now he’s mentioning it a few months later, it’s obvious F1 is on his mind.

IMS previously hosted the United States Grand Prix from 2000-2007 however the Michelin tire debacle of 2005 ultimately doomed the series at Indianapolis. Teams running Michelin tires felt the banked corner of oval turn 1 was unsafe for their tires which had experienced failures during the weekend. Michelin teams went to the grid and pulled into the pitlane following the warm-up lap. That left 6 cars to contest the race much to the dismay of fans. The same fans who in 2006 and 2007 decided F1 wasn’t worth their time thus ending the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Since that time IMS has added an infield section in oval turn 1 to avoid using the banked corner.

F1 success in the US

With F1’s growing popularity in the US along with the series success at the Circuit of the America’s in Austin it only makes sense for Penske to want F1 back. The series wants a second and third race in the states, Indianapolis could be the answer. F1 wanted Long Beach, they rebuked. F1 wants Miami, they’re dragging their feet. F1 wanted New Jersey, they built apartments. Indianapolis is a purpose-built facility waiting to be used.

Endurance Race At The Speedway w/Lights

Jenna asked about endurance racing at the speedway and it’s top of the priority list for Penske as well. IMSA hosted a race at the speedway from 2012-2014.

More racing at the speedway is never a bad thing. Penske is even open to the idea of putting lights up at the track. Here’s the thing, you don’t have to light the entire track. Obviously it’s a pretty compact layout so it would make sense to but auxiliary lighting in places would be sufficient. Either way, it’s a safe bet that IMSA will be at the speedway if not next year then definitely by 2022.

Moving NASCAR To The Month of May

One of the most interesting bits of information Penske mentioned is the possibility of moving the NASCAR race to May. Everyone knows the Month of May at Indianapolis belongs to IndyCar and the Indy 500. Penske wants to move the NASCAR date on the oval to a doubleheader weekend with the Indy GP.

Would NASCAR want to play second fiddle to IndyCar during the series’ biggest month? Tough to say but if NASCAR is hell-bent on staying at Indianapolis it’s likely their best move to put butts in seats. You know, since they won’t move seven miles away to IRP.

Bye Bye Bathroom Troughs

The disgusting troughs in the men’s bathroom will be a thing of the past. FINALLY.

Give me a urinal with a divider every day of the week. Penske said you’ll see those changes when we get to the track in May.

Paving Parking Lots

One other thing Penske mentioned is his desire to pave the parking lots surrounding IMS. He’s not a fan of the muddy mess they become behind the grandstand. That’s a great idea under one condition.

Coke Lot stays a grassy muddy mess.

The future is bright for the speedway.

The post Roger Penske Wants F1 At The Indianapolis Motor Speedway appeared first on Apex Off.

A proposed Miami Grand Prix first planned for downtown/cruise ship port was moved out to Hard Rock Stadium after concerns from downtown residents. Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross proposed the idea of hosting the race around Hard Rock Stadium in the parking lots surrounding the stadium. F1 has hosted parking lot races before to less than mediocre results. Ross’s plan was different as it would incorporate a purpose-built track as well as existing roadways.

Miami Grand Prix

The plan was met with pushback from the local community due to its inclusion of 199th street which would disrupt traffic. F1’s on-track schedule was also a point of contention presumably because the fine people of Miami Gardens don’t begin their day until the sun has been up for 9 hours.

How about the track?

Part of the concessions made by the Miami GP will be the removal of 199th Street from the track layout. It now appears a purpose-built section of the track will take its place. This was done to avoid traffic disruption on 199th Street. The people of Baku are looking at this like “what the hell, man.”

Another concession made was to tweak the Friday schedule to avoid possible disruptions to the surrounding schools. Apparently the state 27th is trying to climb up the rankings. Because of that, there would be no on-track activity until 3 PM. In fairness, there is a school a half-mile from the Hard Rock Stadium property.

Award for the Most persistent promoter wanting an F1 race

If there was an award for “Most persistent promoter wanting an F1 race” Ross and his team would certainly win. When the F1 race in New Jersey was hit with some pushback they folded and turned the pit building into apartments. This race still isn’t a sure thing, in fact there’s still a better shot of it not happening than happening but they’re giving it their best and if this was the NHRA they’d be in the playoffs for the effort.

The post Potential Miami F1 Parking Lot Race Got A New Track Layout appeared first on Apex Off.

From his famous “I know what I’m doing” quote as he led the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Renault pit wall kept panicking because they hadn’t been in that position in years. To the “steering wheel” quote last year. You can even go back in the day to his “fishing and screwing” quote when talking about life in Finland during the winter. Raikkonen is inadvertently hilarious.

Now longtime sponsor Phillip Morris (Marlboro) who still pay millions a year to subliminally advertise with Ferrari is pushing a new initiative called Mission Winnow. What is this initiative? According to the company, it is ” a new global initiative to create engagement around the role of science, technology, and innovation as a powerful force for good in any industry.” So that tells us nothing.

Regardless the company put out a haiku poem book where they took Raikkonen’s quotes and put them into haikus. Who knew Raikkonen was such a poet because these haikus are gold.

Hopefully, someone publishes this book so fans can snag a copy. Make it a double feature and sell it with Raikkonen’s autobiography which is arguably incomplete considering he has two more F1 seasons contractually. Maybe since he had kids he knows his partying days are over and it’s time to tell the stories now. Either way, you’ll definitely want to get a copy when it’s available in English.

The post This Kimi Raikkonen Haiku Book Is Gold appeared first on Apex Off.

While the rest of the sporting world suspended activities for the next 3-6 weeks, Formula 1 steamrolled along. The Australian Grand Prix was set to happen. After all the organizers paid Liberty Media $55M to host the opening round. Canceling the Grand Prix would result in them having to repay every spectator who bought a ticket.

F1 v. AGCP

The standoff started there. The organizers at the AGCP refused to make the call, they stated it was up to F1 to decide the fate of the race. Meanwhile, F1 said it was up to the AGCP to make the call. While those two looked at one another the FIA said don’t look at us, it’s up to them.

So that’s where everyone stood. As Thursday turned into Friday rumors started swirling that the race would be called off. Then as dawn approached there was word that nothing official had been decided yet and wouldn’t be decided until Chase Carey landed in Australia following his trip to Thailand.

While F1 and the AGCP continued to look at one another as if they were on the DMZ the teams had a meeting.

Standoff Between The Teams

Following McLaren’s withdraw after a crew member tested positive for Covid-19 a sense of uneasiness spread throughout the paddock. A number of questions were asked, “would there be a race without McLaren?”

For most of Thursday, it appeared there would be.

Teams voted whether to continue. Williams and Haas abstained leaving the vote at 4-4. Ferrari, Alfa-Romeo, Renault, and McLaren voted not to run. Meanwhile Mercedes AMG, Racing Point, Red Bull, and AlphaTauri voted to continue the weekend.

According to reports Toto Wolff took a call during that meeting from Mercedes headquarters in Stuttgart who put the decision in his hands. Ultimately Wolff came back to the meeting and switched his vote to show solidarity with McLaren.

While all of this is happening Ross Brawn wanted to continue with Friday activities as if everything was normal and then reassess.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel took things into his own hands.

I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane

Sebastian Vettel said on Thursday that drivers would pull the emergency brake if they felt things were unsafe. So he did.

While teams argued over whether to run or not Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen got on a plane and headed back to Europe. No official decision had been made, there was still strong possibility cars would be on-track Friday.

Vettel made the right call. Covid-19 is spread easiest through large gatherings of people. For his own health leaving was the right call. On the other hand, while F1 dragged their feet he helped force their decision. Vettel catches a lot of heat from fans, in this situation though he made the right call.

And Kimi always wants to leave so it took no convincing for him.

F1 Turned This Into A Fiasco

Ultimately F1 ruined their image among racegoers who were queued up outside the Albert Park circuit Friday morning. Fans lined up at the gates, in large crowds, only to be met by a guy with a bull horn telling them the schedule had been pushed back.

Combine that with Chase Carey coming to the track and telling the media that all the right decisions had been made and you have the key ingredients for a fiasco.

Lewis Hamilton said “cash is king” on Thursday and he wasn’t wrong. F1’s biggest fiascos have come over money. The 2005 USGP and the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix come to mind.

Like much of the sporting world F1 will be off for a while and this story will only continue to simmer.

The post F1 Teams Engaged In A Standoff Over The Australian Grand Prix appeared first on Apex Off.

The protestors who to bring attention to what issues an F1 race could cause to the thousands of Super Bowl attendees who will undoubtebly be sitting gridlocked with their cars idling gazing at the protestors.

Among the concerns residents have are “air pollution, noise pollution, and road closures.” Valid concerns if this was a facility that wasn’t hosting world-class events like say, the SUPER BOWL.

Air Pollution

Formula 1 is an easy target for the air pollution criticism considering they’re an auto racing series. However, the pollution F1 cars create is rather minimal when you consider the hundreds of semi’s that descended upon Miami this week for the Super Bowl. Or the hundred-plus private jets that are in town for the Super Bowl. Or the thousands of cars that are in Miami for the Super Bowl. The fireworks, parties, plastic bottles, surge in electric consumption and everything else being consumed this week.

F1 cars do create exhaust pollution. Twenty F1 cars running for 6.5 hours max over a three day period won’t even come close to the same environmental damage hosting the Super Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium will do. Your average golf course does more damage to the environment each year than F1. Attack Tiger!

To their credit F1 has become more environmentally conscious. Teams jointly fly to races with one another, cargo planes are used to minimize the travel of equipment. There is no refueling done during races which is more for safety but does also help the environment. Some drivers have requested electric vehicles. Not to mention the cars are turbo-hybrids as well.

Six hours of on-track action over a 72 hour period will have no effect on anyone’s health unless they have their mouth wrapped around the exhaust pipe of McLaren. So toss out the air pollution argument, it’s dead.

Noise Pollution

“It threatens the severe disruption to normal life,” he said, “and the noise inflicted on the people is undoubtedly at a level that threatens hearing loss.“

Studies have shown links between noise pollution and health problems. Formula One cars generate more than 130 decibels of sound at close range, according to a September report by the auditor for the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners — more than a rock concert, and nearly as much as a jet engine. Health professionals peg the top of the safe noise range at about 70-75 decibels.

At no point is the noise level loud enough to inflict hearing loss to those outside the circuit in their home. The 130-decibels cited above had to be for V8-era cars. Are F1 cars as loud as jet engines? “Not even close.”

Like anything with noise the further away you are the quieter the sound is. The nearest homes are a quarter-mile away behind a tree-line. The next closest is over a canal. Noise pollution isn’t a legit concern.

Road Closures

Roads get closed all the time for nonsense. The circuit is all contained inside the property at Hard Rock Stadium there should be no road closures.

0-3 on complaints so these people are spending their Sunday protesting nothing.

Listen we all can get behind a cause if we don’t like something and these are people that feel like the Dolphins have taken advantage of the neighborhood for years. Being oppressed by a billionaire has to get annoying so you can understand their frustration. However, don’t makeup lies when the Super Bowl is being held there with just as much pollution if not more happening.

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