Thursday, August 1, 2019

What to watch this Weekend (Aug 2nd - Aug 7th)

  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN2(HD)) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPNU(HD)) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Practice 3. Friday @ 5:55am - 7am (ESPN2(HD)) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2(HD)) live
  • Formula 1 - Grand Prix of Hungary; from the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary. Race. Sunday @ 9:05am - 11am (ESPN2(HD)) live
  • IMSA Weathertech Sports Car Championship - From Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Sunday @ 6pm - 9pm (NBCSN(HD)) same-day delay, live @ 2:25pm on imsa.tv & nbcsportsgold
  • Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrend) 
  • Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrend)
  • Bitchin Rides. Tuesday @ 8pm - 9pm (MotorTrend) replay
Just when I said Silverstone was the best race of the 2019 season so far, the German Grand Prix has a swan song of epic proportions. It's a short week so I won't run too long here, but it was nothing short of a victory for those looking for a different podium, action on the race track and hell, even for those looking for a different top ten. Hockenheim delivered everywhere. Hams took pole Saturday, but finished 9th -- with the help of technical regulation compliance fault on both Alfa Romeos (vid below). Kubica scored the final point, in 10th, with this same help! Sainz finished 5th with another strong weekend after nearly collecting himself into the barrier early (drag strip victim #245); his teammate Norris wasn't so lucky and ended with a DNF. Kvyat finished on the podium in 3rd! Lance Stroll took 4th! Bottas, Hulkenburg and Leclerc all crashed out in different ways on the skating rink/drag strip area, late in the race. Vettel had car troubles in Qualy that made him start from 20th and he took 2nd! Max Vertstappen stopped 6 times in this race, spun 360* in the wet and not only took the checkered flag, but the fastest lap. What a magical, rainy, safety-car laden race this was. There were more victims of the DNF bug too, Gasly (a bit too eager to pass Albon and broke the front of the car), Perez (lost the car in the rain off the racing line on lap 2, hitting a barrier) and Ricciardo (engine #1 of the season went up in smoke) couldn't make it out unscathed. The result? Everyone on the podium was elated to be there, the small teams off the podium celebrated like they were on it; quite the scene. I was on vacation watching this race off DVR on my phone and I can't count how many times I put my hand of my head, saying 'holy crap' as unpredictable things happened time and time again. Amazing. Anyways, with the smoke cleared, Merc had one of their worst weekends ever, Ferrari split the difference with one car getting 18pts vs Mercs 2pt haul for Hams. Meanwhile Red Bull chipped even deeper into Ferrari's lead in the Constructors Championship. With the Hungarian Grand Prix around the corner, the drivers standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-41), Vertstappen (-63), Vettel (-84), Leclerc (-105), Gasly (-170). Hungary will be the last race before the summer break. There's a ton of talk about multiple drivers that may be losing their seats this year, but time will tell how this will shake out. The Hungaroring will be the next battle ground for who stays and goes; most of those team decisions will likely be determined afterwards.
Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Current Events: Lotus Evija: 2,000hp, £1.7M Electric Hypercar, EVERYTHING You Need To Know (Carfection)

Henry looks at the new Lotus hypercar for 2020, with lead designer Russell Carr, the all-electric 2000hp Evija. Well alright then, Lotus.


Video courtesy of Carfection.