Formula 1 2011 Thread.....

[necronom]

It was great that Lewis won, but I was really annoyed about Button having to stop. Seeing him move up the points was one of the best parts of the race for me. Two DNFs in a row that weren't his fault

[Joey]

Great result that Hamilton really needed.

The negativity he has shown recently will hopefully subside, knowing his car can be competitive and win races.

[markopoloman]

What a great race! Hamilton drove the nuts off that car and deserved that win - driver of the race by a country mile.
Alonso is doing a fantastic job for the red team - fingers crossed he keeps off the top spot this year!!!

Webber - Pole to 3rd. He is a good racer - but not a great racer. Shame really, as I really like him.

Vettel - Said it all along, Pole to finish = win. Non-pole/front row to finish = never in a month of Sundays is he going to win. The guy is just a glorified test driver with no real race craft. That race tarnished his world champion status.

Massa - Let down by his team at the end. Should have had 4th.

Great race.

Fingers crossed Hungary can produce a race with DRS & Kers!

[DreamcastRIP]

Another great result by Kamui Kobayashi - started 17th, finished 9th to pick up 2 points.

Good effort from Adrian Sutil to finish 6th in his Force-India.

[freemonk]

Well the audience for Formula 2012 will dwindle now that Sky have the rights to show all the F1 2012 races, where the BBC will only show selected races. WTF?

It mean most of us will have to shell out another £10 a month of Sky Sports to watch the F1 races, which I think is a bit of a joke.

[ipmarks]

Formula One can stick their new deal where the sun don't shine.

I've watched F1 religiously every year since James Hunt won the championship, and if they think they are blackmailing me into subscribing for a sports service I don't need or want then they've got another think coming. Not going to watch their charity scraps half the races on the BBC - it's like a return to the bad old days when the BBC in the 80's/90's would show some of the races live, but not all... at least then you could watch Eurosport coverage of the races live and free... there must be better things to do with my life and cash I think... it's not as if Formula One is overly exciting at the moment anyway.

[necronom]

What!!!!

We are losing the Grand Prix!? I can't believe it

I've watched every race since the early to mid '80s, and now Sky are stealing it from me (like they did with Sky 1 for about a year - I have Virgin). I didn't think that was ever a possibility, as the viewers will drop like a stone. I'm really annoyed now. I'll have to go and check the news sites...

[Scapegoat]

We are losing the Grand Prix!? I can't believe it

Not quite, BBC are getting 1/2 the races and highlights for the other 1/2, but Sky get them all (so all the BBC races will also be shown on Sky, looking forward to seeing the viewing figures on that). Also 5live keeps them all, radio is a different contract.
here for datails

[ipmarks]

I refuse to just watch half the races... the whole thing stinks. I also can't see how it can work. Nobody in their right mind will subscribe to Sky specifically to watch just 9 races a year. Why would you? Additionally pubs won't show any races that clash with football, so you won't be able to go there. It certainly won't get them any new fans. Also it will alienate people like me who are not going to beg for scraps from Sky's table, so they've lost at least one person there. It's a bad deal all round. I honestly don't think I'll bother watching F1 again, although to be fair I was falling out of love with it anyway. Personally I wish they'd taken the whole damn thing to Sky, see who cares.. I'll repeat myself, why would I want to watch 1/2 the races???

I'm not naive, I know the F1 is all about money... it has to be, but this is a stupid deal. Many sponsors won't be happy either, as you get far more viewers of free to air TV than on pay TV.

[Scapegoat]

So because the BBC got the best deal it could considering its limited budget, you now refuse to watch any F1? Really?

[Liamh1982]

Can only watch half the races live without paying for fucking Sky? Where's that radio?

David Croft FTW!

[ipmarks]

So because the BBC got the best deal it could considering its limited budget, you now refuse to watch any F1? Really?

Yes really... I think I did explain myself.

I'm already slightly jaded with F1 for various reasons, this is just the final nail in the coffin. As I said, really the whole thing should have gone to Sky, if the BBC can't do it justice, then let it go. Let F1 make people pay to watch... I won't be joining them, and I'll be interested to see who will. There's no point in watching part of the season, it's not like football, I don't want to watch the odd race, part of the fun was watching the whole season pan out. That joy is gone now.

Please don't assume I'm not a real fan either, I think I've missed about 5 races in thirty odd years, but I will not be partaking in next season. If that means I'm not a proper F1 supporter anymore, then I can live with that.

[necronom]

<still fuming>

Are Sky deliberately trying to annoy is with what has to be the most trolling, annoying, lying, moronic quote I've ever read in my life:

"This is fantastic news for F1 fans and Sky Sports will be the only place to follow every race live and in HD."

HA! and indeed HA!

Yeah, it's great news that only a very small number of people will be able to watch it and they have to pay extra for it!! Are they taking the pi$$?

The total ba$tards!

I already hated Sky (after the pathetic Sky 1 incident, and years of stopping people watching other sports), and now they are probably in the top 10 on "my list".

So I'll have to spend loads of Sundays avoiding the radio/news on TV so I can watch the highlights

[ipmarks]

We've let nearly every free to air sport disappear in this country....
Football has gone, Cricket., Rugby.. now F1, and we just sit back and let this happen.

Yes football coverage is quite good on Sky, but who can honestly say that Sky has been good for football... all the greedy grasping money grabbing that goes on, all the ridiculous salaries, all the clubs going bankrupt... Sky is slowly killing football.

If more people took a stand, and didn't give Mr. Murdoch their £40 a month, then we might stand a chance of getting some back. There should be a point where people just decide it isn't worth it in the long run.

F1 was always going to go the pay channel route, I just won't be joining it... may get back into Touring Car racing again.

[necronom]

If the BBC couldn't keep paying for it, it should have gone back to ITV.

I thought Bernie Ecclestone liked F1 (I'm assuming this is his doing). Why would he want to kill it?