F1 @ Laguna Seca..

[Asterix]

So why not?

If they got the pits up to scratch?

What else?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_bWOdY6mbU&fea...

[anonymous-user]

everything, lets hope they don't even try at that fantastic venue.

[dougc]

johnfelstead said:

everything, lets hope they don't even try at that fantastic venue.

Agreed. Its one of those circuits (like Brands) that I hope never gets the sterile F1 makeover.

[smiller]

Great clip.

But - for me - it's not exactly a track that would afford overtaking for F1 cars; very much one racing line.

[stifler]

Personally, out of any tracks in America Laguna Seca would be one of the last that I would choose. Watkins Glen will always be the spiritual home of F1 in the US IMHO. There have been some fantastic tracks though. Long Beach would be a better bet to host F1 again. It produced brilliant racing (and still does for National race series), as did Detroit and Dallas.
But for me personally, I would like to see Sears Point used for F1. It is a fantastic circuit and pretty much always produces some good racing.

[-Z-]

Interesting video, one of the few oppurtunities to compare champ to F1 cars. Wiki says a Champ car re-took the record in 07 (this video is from 06).

I thought the F1 car would be much faster given that on a circuit a champ car is a little bit 'fish out of water'?

[GBRM]

Would be great to see the current F1 cars through the Corkscrew now.

[Airbag]

GBRM said:

Would be great to see the current F1 cars through the Corkscrew now.

+1
But for me, Watkins Glen or better yet, Mosport!

[R6dug]

GBRM said:

Would be great to see the current F1 cars through the Corkscrew now.

Would they get through it without ripping the front end of the car off??

[MartG]

R6dug said:

GBRM said:

Would be great to see the current F1 cars through the Corkscrew now.

Would they get through it without ripping the front end of the car off??

Given how Hamilton's McLaren was lifting the front inner wheel off the ground in a flat corner today, I reckon they'd only have two wheels actually touching the tarmac through the corkscrew, unless they set the car up very soft to suit the circuit

[RJB_666]

The car looks fantastic round there. But racing would be tough, i can't see that it would be easy to overtake. And you just know that the safety rules would ruin the circuit. There would be a huge run off at the corkscrew and they would probably try and attach a long straight somewhere.

[Allyc85]

It would be great to see an F1 at full chat around Laguna but the race would be like the Hungarian GP with little chance of passing.

[stifler]

Airbag said:

GBRM said:

Would be great to see the current F1 cars through the Corkscrew now.

+1
But for me, Watkins Glen or better yet, Mosport!

Mosport is in Canada. But if a race were to go back to Canada then Trois-Rivieres would be the place.

[jellison]

dougc said:

johnfelstead said:

everything, lets hope they don't even try at that fantastic venue.

Agreed. Its one of those circuits (like Brands) that I hope never gets the sterile F1 makeover.

God Missed this one.

3rd'd Jesus F1 at Laguna would be Awful. Would never happen the drop just over the barriers at the corkscrew could never be sorted for the F1 nancies. Can remeber the name of the Champ car guy that died there in the early 2000's (Greg Moore - or was that somewhere else).

Awesome place - roll on MotoGP and the Awesome Umbrella Girls that they have there

[BoRED S2upid]

R6dug said:

GBRM said:

Would be great to see the current F1 cars through the Corkscrew now.

Would they get through it without ripping the front end of the car off??

Probably not. Would be great!. Modern F1 cars just aren't built to cope with corners like that.

[Teppic]

jellison said:

Can remeber the name of the Champ car guy that died there in the early 2000's (Greg Moore - or was that somewhere else).

It was Gonzalo Rodriguez who died during one of the practice sessions at Laguna Seca in 1999. Greg Moore died at the California Speedway in the same year

[NewMetalSystem]

Long Beach, although well before my time, is still one of my favourite circuits of all time. The tight hairpins, the sweeping corners, not to mention the wondrous Shoreline Drive. I saw the Indycar race there a couple of weeks ago on Sky, and it truly sent shivers down my spine. I just don't feel that Laguna Seca would do the race justice. I'm still a big fan of Indianapolis, and with the exception of Michelen-gate in '05, always seemed to produce close, exciting races. They just screwed up big time in 2004 - having the Grand Prix 5 weeks or whatever after the Indy 500 was never going to win over the Americans. If there is going to be a US Grand Prix, it has to be nearer the end of the season than the start. September/ October time, perhaps.

[TheStig44]

Driving through the corkscrew in the F1 car must feel pretty brutal for the driver, G-forces pulling you all over the place.

[woof]

Teppic said:

jellison said:

Can remeber the name of the Champ car guy that died there in the early 2000's (Greg Moore - or was that somewhere else).

It was Gonzalo Rodriguez who died during one of the practice sessions at Laguna Seca in 1999. Greg Moore died at the California Speedway in the same year

Poor Gonzo - he had the same coach as i did. Saw him in Monaco F3000 think he was 2nd - then he got the champ car drive - Saturday practice, going up the hill before the corkscrew, went straight on into the tyre wall and flipped the car over it nose first. it flipped the car upwards and over it with such force that his neck was broken instantly. The car was hardly damaged and if Hans was in use then he would of survived.

RIP

[stifler]

TheStig44 said:

Driving through the corkscrew in the F1 car must feel pretty brutal for the driver, G-forces pulling you all over the place.

Am I the only one that doesn't understand the attraction of the corkscrew corner? It is a slow corner that drops away from you. Great on TV and for spectating, but I can think of so many better corners I would rather see cars being raced through.