Indian GP Thread

Well, never thought I'd be making this thread. Still 10 days to go, but I guess the thread had to be started some time. What better time than now, what better place than here.

The track seems to have been completed in time. Still a last few touches remaining. Still I'm happy it was completed, I thought we'd never see it done judging by pictures from a month ago! Neel Jani did a few laps in a Red Bull show car, so at least it's ready to race, I would assume. Let's see. These are the latest pictures from the media unveiling.

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...31326354_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...79592689_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...01699322_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...72882874_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...00561277_n.jpg

More pictures here: http://www.planet-f1.com/photo-galle...-Track#photo=1

I just hope they did a good job on the tarmac, and not like the usual douchebaggery they do with construction of usual Indian roads. We don't want the Korean GP track coming off scenario again, do we?

Mark Webber narrates the presentation of the new Indian circuit, and also says "Namasteyy". :laugh:

[youtube]K7h5xH1lDLY[/youtube]

Early impression seems to be encouraging.

And an onboard lap on F1 2011:

[youtube]nkpp_r7GQRM[/youtube]

I can smell the spices in the air..........

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Originally Posted by SGWilko

I can smell the spices in the air..........

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I was wondering how long it will take until somebody mentions curry or spices. Apparently not too long. :p :laugh:

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Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden

I was wondering how long it will take until somebody mentions curry or spices. Apparently not too long. :p :laugh:

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Whats your take on the farmers trying to sue for more money? Are they going to cause trouble? There was quite a balanced article on it in the Guardian the other day talking about how the farmers probably had been underpaid but they were all wasting the money on drinking and big cars anyway.

Also, whats the local promotion like, are Indians getting whipped up into a frenzy for the race?

Out of all the Tilkedromes on F12011 I think this is my favourite. Sector 2 is a lot of fun. Although I'm not sure if this will produce great racing.

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Originally Posted by Malbec

Whats your take on the farmers trying to sue for more money? Are they going to cause trouble? There was quite a balanced article on it in the Guardian the other day talking about how the farmers probably had been underpaid but they were all wasting the money on drinking and big cars anyway.

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I haven't really read too much about that whole fiasco, but I assume there won't be much problem. Also, I'm pretty sure the farmers were aware of what they were building on that land in the first place, but they wanted to create some trouble, as Indians like to create a big fuss over small things usually. What they don't understand is that if the sports city thing picks up, it will still create a lot of job opportunities for the locals there, but probably not as much as some huge industries though.

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Originally Posted by Malbec

Also, whats the local promotion like, are Indians getting whipped up into a frenzy for the race?

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I'm not in the country right now, so can't say, although from what my friends told me, it is gathering momentum. A few stupid and annoying things have come out of this as well. People who have no idea about Formula 1 in India, now claim to be "die hard fans" as the GP comes closer and so discussions can get quite irritating, as what one of my friends told me, who's been following F1 since 1994.

Secondly, the circuit organizers slashed the prices by more than half since like maybe 3 months ago, to attempt to get a bigger crowd on raceday. In fact, Sunday prices are now a third of what they were 3 months ago. This is unfair to people who bought their tickets early, because if they waited, now they could have bought three tickets for the price of one. I assume ticket prices will go even further down as we get nearer to the GP as they have a lot of seats and not many people to fill. This would have been a very cheap way to watch an F1 race, but too bad I'm not in India right now, and can't go until next year either. :mad:

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Originally Posted by Brown, Jon Brow

Out of all the Tilkedromes on F12011 I think this is my favourite. Sector 2 is a lot of fun. Although I'm not sure if this will produce great racing.

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Same here. Sector 2 is really challenging to get right, and once you do it's very satisfactory. I've got to play a lot more on this track.

Also, hopefully Codies fix the 11/11 setup bug, because the time trial leaderboard is a joke. I'm hoping it'd probably make the career mode more difficult as well.

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Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden

I'm not in the country right now, so can't say, although from what my friends told me, it is gathering momentum. A few stupid and annoying things have come out of this as well. People who have no idea about Formula 1 in India, now claim to be "die hard fans" as the GP comes closer and so discussions can get quite irritating, as what one of my friends told me, who's been following F1 since 1994.

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I heard this too, that well heeled Indians now pretend to be longstanding F1 fans to distinguish themselves from the cricket loving masses but look blankly when asked about drivers like Senna. Hopefully enough of them will stay on to be longstanding fans.

IMO cricket and F1 have similarities, they're both pretty dull from an outsiders perspective but greater knowledge of the sport is strongly rewarded with greater appreciation of the subtleties involved.

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Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden

Same here. Sector 2 is really challenging to get right, and once you do it's very satisfactory. I've got to play a lot more on this track.

Also, hopefully Codies hopefully fix the 11/11 setup bug, because the time trial leaderboard is a joke. I'm hoping it'd probably make the career mode more difficult as well.

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Well the easiest way to make the career mode more difficult is not to use 11/11! :p

I'm in my first year at Lotus on 'Expert' (legend A.i no assists) and I'm not using suspension over 8/8. I managed to outqualify Maldonado at India, which felt great. 1.5 seconds quicker than Trulli!

I'm doing an online league where we all agree to use maximum suspension settings of 7/8 and the competition at the front is quite intense. We are usually within 0.8 tenths of each other.

I really hope that the Force India team get a good result here. Go di Resta!!

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Originally Posted by Malbec

I heard this too, that well heeled Indians now pretend to be longstanding F1 fans to distinguish themselves from the cricket loving masses but look blankly when asked about drivers like Senna. Hopefully enough of them will stay on to be longstanding fans.

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This has long been the case. I've bumped into many idiots in sports bars. For many of these newbies, Schumacher is God, but they don't know how many championships he's won, and are completely clueless about Adelaide 1994 or Jerez 1997, also clueless about F1 rules and regs, how aerodynamics works etc. You don't even have to go as far as mentioning Senna or Prost. It's simply inviting huge headaches trying to discuss anything with these morons, and I make sure not to indulge them any further. Although Michael's recent stint at Mercedes against Rosberg has helped a lot in shattering his "best ever" image to a lot of "fans".

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Originally Posted by Malbec

IMO cricket and F1 have similarities, they're both pretty dull from an outsiders perspective but greater knowledge of the sport is strongly rewarded with greater appreciation of the subtleties involved.

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:up: Agreed. Both are acquired tastes, and this is what I tell people who ask me what I find entertaining whenever they catch me watching either. You've got to understand a lot of things if you want to really enjoy either sport. It's not as easy to follow as watching 22 people kicking a ball around for an hour and a half, i.e. football. :D

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Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden

This has long been the case. I've bumped into many idiots in sports bars. For many of these newbies, Schumacher is God, but they don't know how many championships he's won, and are completely clueless about Adelaide 1994 or Jerez 1997, also clueless about F1 rules and regs, how aerodynamics works etc. You don't even have to go as far as mentioning Senna or Prost. It's simply inviting huge headaches trying to discuss anything with these morons, and I make sure not to indulge them any further. Although Michael's recent stint at Mercedes against Rosberg has helped a lot in shattering his "best ever" image to a lot of "fans".



:up: Agreed. Both are acquired tastes, and this is what I tell people who ask me what I find entertaining whenever they catch me watching either. You've got to understand a lot of things if you want to really enjoy either sport. It's not as easy to follow as watching 22 people kicking a ball around for an hour and a half, i.e. football. :D

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For a non die-hard fan, the best driver in F1 surely has to be the guy who has won the most championships? I doubt they care a baboons sac worth of sweat how he won them, just that he did....... :)

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Originally Posted by SGWilko

For a non die-hard fan, the best driver in F1 surely has to be the guy who has won the most championships? I doubt they care a baboons sac worth of sweat how he won them, just that he did....... :)

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My sister-in-law's husband is Italian, and I had the misfortune of discussing F1 with him last week. He argued that Schumacher is the best ever because he has won 11 championships. :crazy:

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Originally Posted by SGWilko

For a non die-hard fan, the best driver in F1 surely has to be the guy who has won the most championships? I doubt they care a baboons sac worth of sweat how he won them, just that he did....... :)

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Like Muttiah Muralitharan being the best bowler of all time because he has taken the most wickets, when we all know that Warne was better.

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Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden

My sister-in-law's husband is Italian, and I had the misfortune of discussing F1 with him last week. He argued that Schumacher is the best ever because he has won 11 championships. :crazy:

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Too much Grappa......... :p

Liuzzi makes way for Karthikeyan

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95612

No news on whether or not Chandhok will get a drive in the Lotus for the weekend.

Its not like Lotus are going to lose points with Chandhok in the car so the pro's must outway the con's and the attention he'll get must be worth it.

I'm really liking the course layout!

The approach to turn three is tough!

Let's see, what the attendance is going to be. Although it is questioned whether F1 should move to developing countries with no traditions, the interest in India by F1 circles can be reasoned. Even though in terms of percentage among people there are less motorsport entusiasts than in Europe, then the population is so huge that in absolute amounts it could probably be bigger than in traditional motorsport countries. And that draws the appeal of marketing. Unlike China there has already been something established in F1 too - like their own team, Force India.

A lap now in the Mclaren simulator. That 1.2 km straight is long enough to negate any advantage faster traction cars may enjoy, should be interesting:

[youtube]wOPLv9dS7sI[/youtube]

looks nice. I also note that its Jensons car in the sim, so clearly McLaren are favouring him over Lewsi. Daft racists ;)

also that the track advertsiing seems to be McLaren sponsors, I imagine thats only for the sim, not the real stuff, but nice touches by teh sim boys to bother with Boss and Vodafone ads all over their own track sim

Two DRS zones confirmed: almost the entire length of the pit straight and about half of the long back straight. There's a map here (PDF):
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre...nd-circuit.pdf

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Originally Posted by Robinho

looks nice. I also note that its Jensons car in the sim, so clearly McLaren are favouring him over Lewsi.

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First thing i noticed as well, helmet color. Hmmm...

LOL, Button in a three-wheeler rickshaw.

http://photos.gpupdate.net/large/188170.jpg

Would make for a great caption. :p

I'm really getting excited for this new track
lets hope the weather is bright and sunny

8 more hours to FP1

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Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden

LOL, Button in a three-wheeler rickshaw.

http://photos.gpupdate.net/large/188170.jpg

Would make for a great caption. :p

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this picture just reminds me that the BBC coverage of f1 next year will be drastically different with draconian reductions in emphasis
All so that bernie can make a few more bucks, the conservative neocons running the BBC can save a few more bucks (although the money is coming from a public fund)
and probably the most popular product they put out will be gutted
Instead of coverage and access getting better with time it will be getting worse

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Originally Posted by truefan72

All so that bernie can make a few more bucks, the conservative neocons running the BBC can save a few more bucks (although the money is coming from a public fund)

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The BBC is not run by conservative neocons. However, the current British government could be described as a watered-down version of same, and it's largely their fault that the BBC is being decimated. Make no mistake, it's ideologically driven.

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Originally Posted by henners88

I think Robinho was taking the Michael. ;)

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...and i think i'm scratching my head (baffled by your post)!

ok, so I love this track
it flows very well and the undulations are just right
looks and feels like a proper F1 track
its probably the best tilke track

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

The BBC is not run by conservative neocons. However, the current British government could be described as a watered-down version of same, and it's largely their fault that the BBC is being decimated. Make no mistake, it's ideologically driven.

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you are absolutely correct

these marshall are taking way too long to clear a car off the track

BBC Commentators: "The producers want to ban the word 'dust'." :confused:

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Originally Posted by truefan72

ok, so I love this track
it flows very well and the undulations are just right
looks and feels like a proper F1 track
its probably the best tilke track

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I agree, and I also like the fact that the long straights coupled with some of the high speed corners and elevation changes forces a setup compromise that will end up interesting in the race.

Looks better in reality than simulations portray.

The Carousel in reality is less of a CAD gimmick but it's no Turkey/turn 8 (yet?).

Can't help but think that turn 1 should be a high speed corner.

Dust and fog a big problem, as it has always been in New Delhi. I was there a few years ago during winter, and it can get so foggy in the morning that you don't see a person maybe 10 or 20 feet away, and no, I'm not exaggerating. The track is built bang in the middle of a big farmland, and the nature of the soil make the whole track really dusty. Also, washing the track yesterday didn't help much it seems, as once the dirt dries up, it turns into plumes of dust again as soon as the cars hit it.

I saw quite a bit of dusk being kicked up. I suppose if they can race in a desert then this shouldn't pose too much of a problem though.

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Originally Posted by Knock-on

I saw quite a bit of dusk being kicked up. I suppose if they can race in a desert then this shouldn't pose too much of a problem though.

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Apparently sand or sandy soil is not as dusty as black soil. A lot of strong winds this week has meant it brought all the dried up black soil from the nearby farms to the circuit, and it seems the circuit organizers also didn't do much planning about the dust from around the circuit.

^ you are right about the dust factor .. even after the rains, the harsh sun bakes it and then it gets even more dusty. Add to that the fact that the monsoons just got over a fortnight or so ago. Fog is a big issue in the north, especially around Delhi cancelling/delaying flights, trains and road transport every winter. Being in an open farmland type area, both are bound to be issues and the obviously the organisers came up short.
Atleast they got the track and facilities up and running inside a year...rather than the err Commonwealth shambles last year.

I am yet to see the track on tv (I had planned to go to the actual race but that did not work out) but I will watch quallies live (after ages actually) and on HD too!

Great idea awaring a race to a country with no racing tradition where very few people care about racing. Not to mention dogs running on track, sewage problems for teams and so on. Great event.

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Originally Posted by BDunnell

The BBC is not run by conservative neocons. However, the current British government could be described as a watered-down version of same, and it's largely their fault that the BBC is being decimated. Make no mistake, it's ideologically driven.

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The BBC is run by extreme lefties and it is the best and most just thing in the world if this perverted and sick organization gets destroyed and decimated. Yep, BBC is ideologically driven.