Mexico City could host IndyCar and F1 races in same month

42 comments on “Mexico City could host IndyCar and F1 races in same month”

1. 

   Victor (@mrmuffins)
   5th August 2017, 0:34

   I just got the crazy idea of F1 and Indycar not only sharing the weekend in Mexico but Alonso racing both.
   1. 

      Canderous (@yoshif8tures)
      5th August 2017, 0:45

      +100
      1. 

         Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
         5th August 2017, 21:18

         @mrmuffins @yoshif8tures I suspect there isn’t but I wonder if there’s any possibility of IndyCar to bypass the stadium and use the full Peraltada. These are, after all, cars which are designed to withstand crashes on ovals at cornering speeds way beyond what’s typical for F1.

         As I say I doubt it, not least because Champ Car used the stadium or a chicane on their most recent previous visits. But there’s a couple of incentives for IndyCar to consider it if it’s remotely possible, The first is it would look spectacular and give them bragging rights over F1 for using a more dramatic track layout. The second is it would remove a direct like-for-like basis for comparison in terms of lap times with F1, against which IndyCar would obviously be substantially slower.

         Whichever track configuration they use I hope they do get a race together there. And what a coup for the track to host F1, WEC, Formula E and IndyCar races.
         1. 

            Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
            5th August 2017, 23:03

            I’d be impressed if they could, since I think there’s a grandstand on part of the full Peraltada…
   2. 

      Scottie (@scottie)
      5th August 2017, 1:07

      Wow, I’m not sure you’d need support races with such a billing!

      So many logistical considerations though… two pit lanes? or one massive one?
      Perhaps a solution like the Supercars have at Albert park, a little separate pit lane for their races.
      Not sure Indycar would want a smaller physical presence though!

      still… Fantastic idea!
      1. 

         Damon (@damon)
         5th August 2017, 1:19

         @scottie, and what about F1 and Indy competing in one race together as two seperate categories, just like LMP1, LMP2, GT etc. at LeMans24??

         Huh!!
         1. 

            socksolid (@socksolid)
            5th August 2017, 1:44

            The racing rules (safety cars, vsc, starts, yellow flags, blue flags…) are too different for them to run at the same time. I mean they are not even under the same organization (fia and indycar). So they’d have choose which rules to use. Tech rules are easy for the most part because it is two separate classes. But from f1 perspective it makes no sense to use the indycar rules because f1 is so much above indy in terms of viewer numbers and money involved.

            Similarly for f1 it makes no sense to share their huge audience with indycar. F1 has nothing to gain from it. For indycar it makes not much sense either. What would they gain from running a secondary class and being lapped multiple times in a race. Majority of the spotlight would be on f1 cars just like in lemans it is the handful of p1 cars getting the most camera action whereas p2 and below are mostly just shown when they are getting in or out of the way.
            1. 

               Damon (@damon)
               5th August 2017, 8:11

               Oh come on, mate, don’t be so serious about it! :-) It’s just a fantasy.
2. 

   Damon (@damon)
   5th August 2017, 0:36

   “Mexico City could host IndyCar and F1 races in same month”
   Seems like a terrible idea commerce wise. You generally avoid organizing similar events, that are expensive to attend, close to each other.
   A large number of fans who are interested in both series might only be able to attend one of the races. Both races would be hit by lower attendance numbers, which would harm them in the financial and the marketing aspect.

   ————
   Seeing pictures of Kubica’s deformed arm being published makes me uncomfortable. As if part of me wanted to respect what was – and still is – Robert’s personal tragedy and leave it just to him.
   1. 

      Forrest (@forrest)
      5th August 2017, 0:46

      I imagine the Indycar race tickets wouldn’t cost nearly as much as the F1 tickets. They don’t here in the US. My USGP tickets in 2016 cost four times as much as attending the Indycar race in Alabama this year did.
      1. 

         Damon (@damon)
         5th August 2017, 1:30

         Are IndyCar tickets uniform across the US and different (kind of) venues though?
         1. 

            Steve K
            5th August 2017, 14:39

            Every track has its own prices in IndyCar, but it is very affordable. I just went to Mid-Ohio for $50.

            Would have been less but I decided to go at the last minute. IndyCar will have a huge crowd in Mexico City. It will be a great event. We can also gage how much faster F1 is than IndyCar and then put a $ amount on it to see what a bargain IndyCar is in relation.
         2. 

            Victor (@mrmuffins)
            5th August 2017, 17:39

            @damon Ticket prices I believe are at the discretion of each venue.
         3. 

            Kurt (@dangerpaws)
            5th August 2017, 22:34

            My IndyCar Road America ticket this year was $55 usd. I got a discounted rate at a local business who is a race sponsor. A great deal, which included the paddock entry as well!
            1. 

               skydiverian (@skydiverian)
               6th August 2017, 2:07

               … and for context, $55 is around the starting price for tickets for the Indy 500. Price varies with location – I paid $75 each for tickets at grandstand G in turn 2, more than worth the money. For further context, I couldn’t find a race day only ticket to the F1 race in Austin for less than $300.
   2. 

      faulty (@faulty)
      5th August 2017, 20:36

      1. The Mexico City metro area now holds about 25 million people.
      2. The top quintile can afford to go to either event, that’s a potential audience of 5M.
      3. Both events together accommodate about a tenth of of that potential, so in essence Indycar becomes the me-too choice and benefits from the F1 hype and prestige.
      4. We’re a racist/discriminatory society, so that whole inclusion thing plays in the promoter’s favor, people want to be seen ‘in’.
      5. Workers in formal sectors (bureaucrats, professionals) receive part of their year-end bonus in the last week of October, there’s some liquidity in the economy.
      1. 

         coppilcus
         15th August 2017, 18:30

         Indycar, F1 and Sir Paul McCartney in the same month?!

         Could be done, but it’s asking too much from many sectors.

         Even for the top, who would choose a vacation instead of spending the entire month in the city… There are many factors, not just income alone.
   3. 

      Kurt (@dangerpaws)
      5th August 2017, 22:31

      I agree 100% Damon. Scheduling both races in the same month is a bad idea.
3. 

   Forrest (@forrest)
   5th August 2017, 0:47

   I’m going to laugh when Wehrlein is driving one of the Merc Formula E cars in two years.
   1. 

      Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
      5th August 2017, 8:29

      Exactly. “I cannot even imagine racing in Formula E… until I don’t have an F1 seat any more.”
4. 

   Joao (@johnmilk)
   5th August 2017, 1:04

   I absolutely love that Kubica photo. It says everything. It shows the struggles that he had to endure, but at the same time his passion and willingness to be back at the wheel of a F1 car. That’s not even a car that he should be focused on, yet he is there analysing every inch of it.

   Yes he has scars, if it doesn’t bother him, it certainly won’t bother me either. Now he just needs a seat, and let us be testemony of this epic history.

   If not, well, at least we dreamed of it.
   1. 

      RP (@slotopen)
      5th August 2017, 2:55

      I’m glad that photo is published here. I had read about his limitations with his right hand, but that picture makes it clear – he has very limited abilities with that arm.

      Most of use would struggle to be fit enough to race with both arms. Even with power steering. It wil be remarkable if he succeeds.
5. 

   Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
   5th August 2017, 1:07

   *If Vettel had let Raikkonen finish ahead of him in Monaco and Hungary…
   Witch hunters think it’s Ferrari fault. Anyway, I’d rather have that points table, and get both Max and particularly Bottas not to ruin Raikkonen’s races.
6. 

   Miane
   5th August 2017, 5:21

   I like the idea of more than 1 type of tyre compounds, the only issue for me is the rule to enforce to use 2 in the race.
7. 

   mfreire
   5th August 2017, 5:32

   Quite honestly, you can have the Mexico IndyCar race at any time in the year but why October? They should end the IndyCar season on an oval (i.e. Fontana); a Mexican IndyCar race should be in February…
   1. 

      Damon (@damon)
      5th August 2017, 8:14

      I’m not sure, but Mexico seems like one of those places that wouldn’t be favourable to race at in the middle of summer due to high temperatures, no?
      1. 

         jaime
         5th August 2017, 8:27

         Actually, the summer months are not that bad as far as temperature goes. For one, Mexico City is 2,250 meters (7,380 feet) above sea level, for another, the rainy season is in the summer, so that really helps to moderate the temperatures.
      2. 

         Jere (@jerejj)
         5th August 2017, 11:01

         @damon Mexico City doesn’t get that hot even in the middle of the summer, so temperature-wise a race there could take place basically at any time of year.
      3. 

         mfreire
         5th August 2017, 20:07

         The weather in MXC is pretty consistent all year- the warmest it gets there is 80F (26C) in late April and early May- and the coldest it gets there is 70F (21C), which lasts pretty much from July to March. So it is possible to have a race in MXC at any time of the year; the only time that really isn’t a good time is summer because that is the late afternoonrainy season.
         1. 

            mfreire
            5th August 2017, 20:09

            *the coldest it gets there is consistently from July to March
8. 

   Fikri Harish (@)
   5th August 2017, 7:26

   I swear to God, if Kubica does make his way back into a race seat once again, I’m going to cry like I’ve never cried before
   1. 

      Nigel
      5th August 2017, 12:27

      It will be nothing short of a miracle.
      1. 

         Zimbio
         5th August 2017, 16:34

         Miracles do not exist. But great people are capable of great things.
   2. 

      Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
      5th August 2017, 14:11

      Yes, I agree, it will mean a lot to a lot of people. If a race seat does eventuate then I think a lot of disabled people will take hope it.
9. 

   Robbie (@robbie)
   5th August 2017, 13:44

   I think Horner is somewhat stating the obvious. He is right. And I think Merc have already shown that they are backing LH, and that only makes sense. Ok the deal was for LH to hand back VB’s position if he couldn’t do anything about KR, but the whole intention was that it was looking like he was going to do something about KR. It is almost neither here nor there that LH squandered the chance…it is the fact the chance was given to begin with.

   I do like VB and admire his conviction. Makes me wish KR was closer in points to SV so that Mercedes’ hand wouldn’t be forced. But I think it already has. But hey…if VB can get some poles and lead some races start to finish very soon who knows…but that is what it will take. As soon as they are back VB will have to dominate or else a few races of LH outpointing him and it becomes a no-brainer for Mercedes as to what to do.

   In terms of the concept of this being a good pairing because they get along (vs how some would like us to think it would be with FA there) we see by VB’s comment they are one ‘clash’ away from the honeymoon being over. No guarantees with any pairing.
   1. 

      Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
      5th August 2017, 15:30

      The original deal was Hamilton had 5 laps to try and overtake Raikkonen or he give the place back. He was also given permission to use “Strat mode 3”, which presumably is a more powerful (but more taxing) engine mode. After 5 laps he had been no more successful than Bottas had. I think Hamilton should have been given a few more laps to attempt to overtake Raikkonen, maybe 7, but even after that there still wasn’t any evidence Hamilton was going to actually succeed. It was well past his 7th lap ahead of Bottas when Hamilton did relinquish third place.
      Mercedes do have a bit of a dilemma: Bottas was given a one year contract presumably so Mercedes could replace him with either Vettel or Alonso at the end of this season. However, since the start of the season Bottas has visited the podium more times than Hamilton. Mercedes would be incredibly embarrassed if they signed someone else to run alongside Hamilton and Bottas won the WDC.
   2. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      5th August 2017, 21:05

      @robbie I don’t agree: if Mercedes were “backing” Hamilton over Bottas they wouldn’t have swapped them on the last lap.
      1. 

         Robbie (@robbie)
         5th August 2017, 21:32

         @keithcollantine Yeah it’s hard to argue that. It just feels to me like a foreshadowing of the inevitable, even though it is theoretically premature to say that, given VB’s mathematical stance. They just weren’t quite ready to make VB an official number two, which would have been his claim to fame had LH not given back VB’s points. LH passing KR would have had the same effect, and that was the whole idea of letting LH by to begin with. They were one pass by LH, or one mistake by KR away from setting the tone on the team.
10. 

    Robbie (@robbie)
    5th August 2017, 16:46

    Well past seven laps, LH had over 20 laps to do something about KR and leave VB behind. The fact they did the order to begin with doesn’t bode well for VB’s chances. That said, the ball is in VB’s court. He has to start dominating immediately after the break. As to Mercedes being embarrassed if VB wins the WDC and they’ve moved on to someone else for 2018? Nah I don’t think they’d be embarrassed. I don’t think VB will win it, and either way I do think they’ll want someone even stronger next year to really suppress the resurgent Ferraris. They’re too close for comfort.
    1. 

       Robbie (@robbie)
       5th August 2017, 16:47

       Meant as a response to @drycrust
    2. 

       socksolid (@socksolid)
       5th August 2017, 17:26

       Bottas’ spin behind the safety car in malaysia and the engine failure in spain have hurt him a lot.
       1. 

          Jere (@jerejj)
          5th August 2017, 19:09

          @socksolid China.

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