Alonso fans have been praying for times like this. (only @bj27 will probably understand the reference).

He is 42 years old and still one of the best drivers on the grid. Aston Martin have a lot more development time since they finished so low down last season which makes things even more interesting.

I didn’t follow the race but podium 99 is an amazing feeling for Alonso fans. It seems like Aston Martin are faster than Ferrari in terms of race pace. I did say Williams look decent and they look quicker than Mclaren.

Imagine if Alonso’s 100th podium is his 33rd race victory. It is so great to see him in a podium-achieving car after 10 years of misery! The battles fans will see this season between Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton, Sainz and Russell will be great to watch. Imagine if there is wheel-to-wheel contact between Alonso and Verstappen…

Obviously people will complain because both Red Bull cars were so far ahead but it looks like the rest of the grid is really competitive so it’s not that bad.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KrW3_ykBozY

Reply 995

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

21

Andrew97 has done a good commentary on the Indycar race so here are a couple of thoughts about the opening Indycar NXT race from the same venue, St. Petersburg, Florida.

NXT, (which the announcers pronounced as 'Next', confusing for anyone familiar with WWE's own NXT!), is the feeder series formerly known as Indy Lights. I don't normally watch it, but was curious as I'd accidentally series linked it and this was the debut of Jamie Chadwick after dominating the W Series. I was mainly watching to see how she fared, so that is where my focus was.

This was definitely a scrappy race. A street circuit with lots of marbles and junior drivers is a recipe for an eventful race and this was no exception. Think F2 levels of wheel banging.

Chadwick qualified 18th out of 19 runners, but with it being a spec series only 8 tenths covered the entire field. She was definitely not miles off the pace.

The start was relatively clean and Chadwick made good progress and gained 2-3 places before disaster on lap 5. A crash ahead of her left her nowhere to go and her car tucked its nose under one already stuck in the tyre barrier. It took a while to recover her car whilst the safety car was out but she made it back to the pits for a nose change and to retighten her seatbelts, (she may have loosened them assuming she was not going to get going again).

She re-joined last and then circulated pretty much on the pace but between 21-24 seconds adrift hoping for another safety car. One did come which was terrific news but then she went wide and onto the marbles which were catching a lot of drivers out. She went into tyres and this called for a second nose swap.

The race itself was one of attrition, and it seemed that every time someone moved off the racing line they were at risk of losing all grip. Lots of cars ended up in the barriers, which was either fun or a bit silly depending on your POV. 14 cars came home, with Chadwick finishing 13th and one lap down. I honestly don't think she did too bad considering the two nose swaps.

Overall I enjoyed the race and it provided a lot of action in less than half the distance of the full Indycar race, (40 laps vs 100). I can recommend it if you enjoy F2.

Reply 996

Andrew97

OP

Entertainment Forum Helper, Debate & Current Affairs Helper

20

Original post by Admit-One

Andrew97 has done a good commentary on the Indycar race so here are a couple of thoughts about the opening Indycar NXT race from the same venue, St. Petersburg, Florida.

NXT, (which the announcers pronounced as 'Next', confusing for anyone familiar with WWE's own NXT!), is the feeder series formerly known as Indy Lights. I don't normally watch it, but was curious as I'd accidentally series linked it and this was the debut of Jamie Chadwick after dominating the W Series. I was mainly watching to see how she fared, so that is where my focus was.

This was definitely a scrappy race. A street circuit with lots of marbles and junior drivers is a recipe for an eventful race and this was no exception. Think F2 levels of wheel banging.

Chadwick qualified 18th out of 19 runners, but with it being a spec series only 8 tenths covered the entire field. She was definitely not miles off the pace.

The start was relatively clean and Chadwick made good progress and gained 2-3 places before disaster on lap 5. A crash ahead of her left her nowhere to go and her car tucked its nose under one already stuck in the tyre barrier. It took a while to recover her car whilst the safety car was out but she made it back to the pits for a nose change and to retighten her seatbelts, (she may have loosened them assuming she was not going to get going again).

She re-joined last and then circulated pretty much on the pace but between 21-24 seconds adrift hoping for another safety car. One did come which was terrific news but then she went wide and onto the marbles which were catching a lot of drivers out. She went into tyres and this called for a second nose swap.

The race itself was one of attrition, and it seemed that every time someone moved off the racing line they were at risk of losing all grip. Lots of cars ended up in the barriers, which was either fun or a bit silly depending on your POV. 14 cars came home, with Chadwick finishing 13th and one lap down. I honestly don't think she did too bad considering the two nose swaps.

Overall I enjoyed the race and it provided a lot of action in less than half the distance of the full Indycar race, (40 laps vs 100). I can recommend it if you enjoy F2.