Car Racing?

[Tojo72]

I noted today that Max Verstappen won his 19 out of 22 races this year.I know almost nothing about F1 or NASCAR but what makes this guy so dominant above others,his skill,his car,mediocre competition? Why is he the Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods of racing.

Guys like Gordon,Earnhardt,and Petty for NASCAR too,but I not sure they were that dominant.
What are the factors that account for their domination of the sport?

[keavdog]

The Redbull Hondas certainly have found something to make them run better. Max and his teammate Sergio Perez are 1 & 2 in the standings piloting the Hondas to win 21 of the 22 races. And they certainly are talented drivers.

[armornutii]

   I think it is a matter of how well the team sets uo the car for the race, NASCAR, F1, MOTO GT... stars align, gravity settles humidity is perfect and poof ya got a dominate driver. To hit that mark 19 out of 22 times ?
    I have an opinion, as a rabid NASCAR  Blue Oval FORD guy, I sometimes think that somewhere behind the scenes there is ALOT of money trading hands. It is tough to explain how one driver can blast out to metoric hieghts, to suddenly be taken out of competion next season by a seemingky benine crash. Chase Elliot is an example, 2 yrs ago he was the buzz word all season...now while Hendrick is winning Chase is mired back in the pack. Is he realky a good driver? Has he been paid to " take one for the team?" Or did his mid season ski accident taje the wind out of his sails??? IDK Tojo...but I like watching anyway.

[mach7]

FWIW,

I used to follow F1, but haven't for years since Bernie Ecclestone ruined it. There is no racing. It's all about the car, the aerodynamics, and money. The car on pole usually wins. It's boring.
I liked NASCAR, F1, And CART (Indycar) for years. But I only follow Indy car now, The reasons could fill a whole thread.
The bottom line (My opinion) is there is no competition in F1, the driver plays only a small role with the car being
the biggest factor. Since each team builds a purpose built, built to F1 specs but not identical car, the rich teams tend to dominate. Smaller teams can't compete. Add to that the fact that F1 cars use so much aerodynamic downforce that passing and actual racing is difficult. The following car can't get clean air for the downforce to pass.

A few years ago Indycar took out a good amount of the downforce. This allows close in racing and actual passing.
Add to that that Indycar teams all use the same tub, electronics, aero, and one of 2 engines. This allows the drivers
to actually display talent and race.

[kyledehart5]

The answer in this case is quite simply Adrian Newey. Legendary car designer. As others have said, money and the car outweigh any driver talent in F1. Which is why it isn’t my favorite form of racing, even if I do still watch. But what this means is that When the regulations change all of the top teams get the chance to really nail the design and sort of get a permanent head start on the people who were wrong. Mercedes dominated the first portion of the turbo hybrid era. But when the regs changed to the current ground effect cars Mercedes got it badly wrong while Red Bull and Ferrari did a much better job. Poor reliability has plagued the Ferraris while the Red Bulls have been both reliable and fast. The other key is continuing development in the right direction, which Adrian and Red Bull are doing better than ever. Finally you have the cohesiveness between car, driver and team. Which is perfection in Verstappen and Red Bull’s case. Undoubtedly there are other great drivers on the grid but no one has a car more tuned to their style than Verstappen. It’s why he’s also light years faster than even Perez in the same car. Max wants his car to be very “pointy” with the front end stuck and the rear end light. This leaves you vulnerable to oversteer but if you can master it is also a way to be very fast. Perez likes a more balanced car but the car is designed around Verstappen therefore Checo gets his socks knocked off by his teammate. The car is perfect for Max. Regs will change again in a few years time. This will be the opportunity for some of the other teams to get another shot at the top. These are all just my ver long winded opinions though, as a life long racing and Formula 1 fan.

[Medicman71]

Nov 26, 2023 13:37:55 GMT -5 armornutii said:

   I think it is a matter of how well the team sets uo the car for the race, NASCAR, F1, MOTO GT... stars align, gravity settles humidity is perfect and poof ya got a dominate driver. To hit that mark 19 out of 22 times ?
    I have an opinion, as a rabid NASCAR  Blue Oval FORD guy, I sometimes think that somewhere behind the scenes there is ALOT of money trading hands. It is tough to explain how one driver can blast out to metoric hieghts, to suddenly be taken out of competion next season by a seemingky benine crash. Chase Elliot is an example, 2 yrs ago he was the buzz word all season...now while Hendrick is winning Chase is mired back in the pack. Is he realky a good driver? Has he been paid to " take one for the team?" Or did his mid season ski accident taje the wind out of his sails??? IDK Tojo...but I like watching anyway.

Chase hasn't been good since the new car came out. Just like Joey Lagano, they haven't gotten the hang of the new car. At least that's the way it looks to me.

[armornutii]

  You have a great point there Med, seems they have popped a varient of the car every season the last few. Some people no matter how talented have a curve, if they keep moving the goal posts one really can't show their full potential. GO RFK, GO PENSKE  go STEWART/HAAS, unless they went Toyota or Chevy .

[Medicman71]

Don't hold your breath for Stewart/Haas. Tony has too many irons in the fire and they're WAY behind the curve with the new car. I wonder how bad they'll be now that Ford as a new body.

[armornutii]

 IDK, have to wait and see. S/H is into a bunvh of racing venues and his veteran drivers Harvick and Amirola are leaving. Custer hasn't found it yet, and for the life of me his other driver slips my mind.

[Medicman71]

Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe. Add Josh Berry next year. No word on who's driving the 10 car yet although Noah Gragson has been the rumor.