Hamilton says it’s sad F1 is losing its “toughest race”

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says the Malaysian Grand Prix is the toughest race on the calendar.

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Pierre Gasly’s promotion is more good news for the French Grand Prix promoters:

With three Frenchmen (probably four with Leclerc – I know, he’s from Monaco) on the grid next year, and a French Grand Prix return, it’s a whole lot of news for us in France.

And to top it off, Liberty Media has specifically demanded that the French race will be free to air on TF1 and current right holders Canal + (pay TV) will have to show three grands prix free to air next year, and more 2019. Maybe the sport will end up becoming something again here.
@Tango

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  • Today in 1997 Mika Hakkinen took pole for the first ever Luxembourg Grand Prix (held in Germany)

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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47 comments on “Hamilton says it’s sad F1 is losing its “toughest race””

  1. Sepang is by far and away the best thing Tilke has ever created. Even it’s unnecessarily wide width works well with the layout. I think part of what makes it so good is partly due to the era in which it was made. It is perhaps the only proper ‘modern’ track which features predominantly grass and gravel, so if it were made now it would be a different story. The architecture and landscaping is also excellent, you can tell there was some proper effort made with this (without being over the top).

    It’s such a shame that we are losing this, however I often think nothing is forever, so I’m optimistic that maybe in a decade it will return

    1. What’s the weather supposed to be looking like for the weekend?

      1. I’m from Malaysia, The weather for the last couple of weeks is unpredictable. This week, the weather is abit calm with a slight rain at night. It is very hot and humid during the day. Because of that, there is busy fire happening at the peat. There is a possibility of rain during the weekend since it hasn’t been reading properly for the last 3 days.

        1. * it hasn’t been raining properly for the last 3 days

      2. Looks like it will be wet on Saterday and raceday but light rain only. Note i saw that yesterday and you know weather change able so far ahead.

    2. I love Sepang, its a great track with some really great corners and sections. Plus, the heat and weather makes it really challenging.

      I’d be really interested to see how much speed they can take through Turn 7 and Turn 8 this year with the high downforce, back in 04, the top guys were almost flat through there.

      Will always remember my first F1 race there. The sound of a BMW V10 screaming down the straight doing 20K RPM..still gives me goose bumps!

    3. Agree. It’s definitely my favourite circuit in the Asian Continent. Some of the best races since 2010 have been in Sepang, so I’m definitely going to miss it.

      1. I think Japan should bring back Fuji circuit and field two races. I like that circuit and its weather makes it even more interesting.

    4. @strontium Same here. Sepang is one of the best modern-ish circuits in F1, so losing it will be a bit sad.

    5. I like the races, but I hate driving it in games… It just feels a bit off to me, especially the bit at the end of sector 2. So I won’t miss it in that regard, but it will be sad to see it go, as with the threat of a sudden downpour etc, it does often give very good races.

  2. @tango

    Regarding Caption of the day

    Liberty media didn’t force anyone to show the French grand Prix, French law dictated that it must be shown free to air.

    1. @yoshif8tures You’re right for the french go ! http://ecosport.blog.lemonde.fr/2017/09/26/la-formule-1-de-retour-en-clair/

      However canal + had no obligation to show Monaco free to air (though they have, on their sister channel, c8) this year. The 3 other GPs seem to be part of new, more expensive, 2018 and 2019 contract and this is not required by law. Actually canal plus is probably going to make the best of it, as they aim to bait customers). Whatever the reasons, the end result is more free to air so I’m ok with it nonetheless

      1. Sorry for my mistake in wording which has made it to CoTD. (Thanks again @keithcollantine). For my defense, had it not been required by law, I’m sure it would have joined the three others as must be free to air.

  3. I’m also sad Sepang is going. But to be honest, on a personal note, it’s being replaced by the French GP, and that fits my schedule better. Waking up at 4 am is tough, and they often partnered the race with China or Japan, other races which I suffered to watch in full in the middle of the night.

    As for Di Resta, I hope Williams don’t pick him up. He wasn’t that special, in my view.

    1. “As for Di Resta, I hope Williams don’t pick him up. He wasn’t that special, in my view”

      Yeap, totally agree. With Stroll in the other car, they need a really strong driver to lead the team. Both Di Resta and even Kubica will be a big risk, one that Williams aren’t really able to take.

      The problem is, they arent exactly spoilt for choice. There aren’t many 25 plus top tier F1 drivers hanging about…would be funny if Nico Rosberg went back to Williams after a year off!

      1. On the same hand, for the strolls, Kubica is the right choice: if he struggles, he’ll perform below Lance. If he’s replaced midseason by DiResta, Lance will have half a season more experience with the car than him. So in any case he’ll look like he’s fast, (after all, he beated Kubica and DiResta) so no one would say he’s a paydriver, and it maybe will help him to gain confidence, and mature as a driver, and maybe in 2019 he becomes a good one!

      2. Aha, Rosberg isn’t a bad outside bet! I would love to see Kubica back, but failing that I would go for DiResta I’d say he has a point to prove.

        1. Maybe he does have something to prove. Martin Brundle said on live tv, with Di Resta nearby and watching, ‘Di Resta alongside Stroll would not be an exciting driver line up’. Personally I want to see the best driver that is able and available, which is clearly Wehrlein. Would be a shame if an age restriction prevents that.

    2. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
      27th September 2017, 8:02

      Waking up at 4 am is tough

      @fer-no65 I love the early races: I record them and watch them as soon as I get up, then the rest of the day is free.

      1. I record the whole weekend action but it is almost impossible for me not to watch the race live even if this race is at 3 a.m. for me

    3. @fer-no65 For me the Malaysian GP starts at 10 am, the Japanese GP at 8 am (same as the Australian GP this and next season), and the Chinese GP at 9 am.

    4. Yep, Di Resta was not that good.

      1. Did PdR ever have a good car? Drivers are coloured by their car. Williams knows that which is probably why he is their reserve driver. I hope he gets the seat.

        1. He never had a good car. But in his 3 years he only finished ahead of his team-mate in his last. Ahead of Sutil, who two years earlier was the team-mate who beat him.

          He never had an impressive car, bit he also doesn’t have an impressive record

    5. I agree with you. China and Malaysia are the hardest for me. 3 am is an hour you can’t decide if stay up on saturday or wake up to watch the race.

  4. Maybe they can have a race in Thailand or something. A race like Sepang in tropical conditions is what F1 needs but quite honestly Sepang and Singapore are too close to each other- it’s one or the other, IMO. The market needs to be spread out in southeast Asia.

    1. @mfreire ”Sepang and Singapore are too close to each other” – Wrong, nothing is too close in F1, LOL. It doesn’t need to be spread out.

      1. @mfreire Such thing as being too close doesn’t exist.

        1. Europe is an exception to that because it’s the home of F1.

      2. If Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are too close @mfreire, …
        …I wonder what your views are on Monaco and Monza, or Monaco and Paul Ricard, or Spa and Nürnburgring (2019?).

        1. Everything in Europe is too close. Even races in Texas and City of Mexico are farther apart than most circuits in Western Europe.

          1. That set me thinking; what would the shortest distance be between grand prix races?
            Monaco to Monza is 327 km.
            Paul Ricard to Monaco is just 186 km
            But Spa to Nurburgring is a mere 96 km – and that must be the shortest distance ever. I’ve tried going back into history and looking at Zandvoort/Spa, or Nivelles/Hockenheim, but I can’t find anything closer than 96 km – unless someone knows better . . .
            All distances are by road, not as the crow flies.

        2. I think he means, calendar wise. Two weeks between races that essentially serve the same part of the globe can negatively affect both races from an attendance standpoint. This is where I have an issue with Mexico City and Austin. It’s great from a team logistics standpoint but, from a fan perspective its, its one or the other. Most Formula fans won’t be able to see one race and then travel to see the other in back to back weekends. I want to say that the attendance from Austin dropped after Mexico City was put back on the schedule

          1. Doubt he means calendar wise, he said monaco to monza: those are close, but not really close calendar wise!

        3. Why Me?, you could have also pointed out other situations, such as Imola and Monza, Silverstone and Brands Hatch or Hockenheim and the Nurburgring being on the calendar at the same time, where not only are the venues considerably closer to each other than Sepang and Singapore are, by holding them in the same nation both circuits were effectively competing for the same crowd.

          Equally, in the past you also had times when the Dutch GP and Belgian GP’s were back to back two weeks apart, and also located closer to each other than Sepang is to Singapore.

        4. Can’t you people read what I am saying? That logic applies to the Asian races only because (with the exception of Japan) it is a relatively new market for F1 to cover. That logic definitely does not apply to the Europe because it is the birthplace and home of Grand Prix and it has a number of venues that are too important to be off the calendar no matter how close they are to each other- like Monaco and Monza or Spa and the Nurburgring. And also- at the rate it is going the Nurburgring sadly will not be hosting an F1 race in 2019 or any other F1 race for the forseeable future.

          1. *to the European races

  5. Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
    27th September 2017, 9:12

    I think (assuming he gets one more shot next year) this is good management of Kyvat. He’s just been going through the motions every race weekend, almost resigned to failure ever since his Red Bull demotion. A far cry from the driver who really impressed on his debut in 2014 and performed respectably for his age and experience in 2015. He needs to go away, clear his head, appreciate he’s still in F1 and has one last opportunity next year to rebuild his career. Whether he can do it or not is debatable but Red Bull must see something still in him from his early days, tinged with a little guilt possibly, combined with a lack of upcoming RB junior drivers he may just have the second chance very few receive.

    1. Red Bull is seriuslly divesting their young driver programe.

      If they had two genuinly good young drivers in GP2, 3 or WSR, they would bring them in.

      1. Yep absolutely

    2. Red Bull, guilt?

      1. Yeah probably not

  6. Surprised that RedBull or someone else has not taken the chance to “refuel” the
    hydration bottles at pitstops.

    Magic marketing opportunity to demonstrate the giving of wings.

    There really is no need for the drivers to have a particularly constrained fluid intake during the race as
    a top up bottle could easily be inserted and relatively low tech

  7. A left field prion for Williams could be JEV. I always thought he was close to Ricciardo in terms of pace and deserved another team to give him a crack when he left F1. He’s been out of F1 for a while but not as long as PDR.

    Also I’d love HAAS to give a test to Newgarden. He has been impressive against the Penske old boys in 2017 and is worth a look at.

  8. Should have been option, not prion. How the hell did autocorrect pick that? Edit button Keith!!!

  9. I’m sad this is the last Sepang, great track.

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