Yahoo Autos Revved Up! Readers React to Week's Biggest Racing News, March 22 Edition
The racing season is only just past the mid-point of March, and while we’re so early on, it almost seems like we’re halfway through the racing calendar, there has been so much action to date already.
In this week’s edition of REVVED UP!!, we cover fan thoughts about Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR and more. We’re also adding more reader comments this week than we usually do because there were so many good ones!
So without further adieu, as Steppenwolf would sing, “Get Your Motor Runnin’!”
Lewis Hamilton Issues Ominous Warning to Those Expecting F1 to Be Competitive This Year
Readers Say:
• apexnut: Historic depending on how long it stays the dominant car. The Verstappen factor makes that notion likely...Other dominant cars that come to mind 2014-2020 MB, early 90's Williams, early 2000s Ferrari.
• kit8637: We'll never know exactly how good Verstappen is, unless we see Leclerc, Russell, or maybe one of the "old guys" in the same car. That's not likely to happen. RB wants Verstappen to be the clear #1 on the team, and Checo makes a great teammate for that. He's good, doesn't crash often, but clearly doesn't have the pace of Verstappen.
• ktu2498: Lewis never thought that way when he had a dominant car for years.
• hawk54: Now that’s the pot calling the kettle black! Hamilton enjoyed unprecedented dominance in his championship years at Mercedes. And now that he doesn’t have the top car, what does he do……whine & complain about the whole sport…….GIVE ME A BREAK 🤮 Just one more reason why it’s time to move on from the Hamilton years.
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB Says: Lewis Hamilton is a great driver, but sometimes he just doesn’t know when to catch his tongue. Sure, of course, Red Bull is the dominant team right now, and what Lewis says kind of comes off as sour grapes. There’s only ONE way to change all that: Lewis and Mercedes have to work harder and smarter to get back to victory lane on a consistent basis, as well as become a serious contender for the championship. I’ve been saying for the last two years—ironically both won by Mad Max—that Lewis still has at least one more championship in him, maybe two. And if he can somehow break Verstappen’s stranglehold on winning and success this year, he very well could pull off the upset for the F1 title. As much as many fans love to hate Lewis, don’t undersell him – because that’s when he’ll make you eat your words.
F1 Wins King Lewis Hamilton Is Definitely Down, but Not Out: 'I Will Win Again'
Readers Say:
• Joe3: I admire his positive attitude. As long as I've watched there has been one dominant team. Can he win again - sure why not? BUT can Mercedes dominate like they did ..................... time will tell and I'd bet against that happening.
• Lxsusrcks: I just want to see Hamilton and Russell battling head to head in championship-caliber cars.
• FranklinCain: Of course he will. Nobody can compete with Mercedes overall-they have infinite amounts of money, engineering, R&D, production capabilities, infrastructure, best pit crews, 1,500 member "Team", PR and influence with FIA. They will get their act together - "they are too big to fail" as they say on Wall Street..
• tucker442: I think Mercedes is the one who is dropping the ball here. His car is just not fast enough. I’m not a Mercedes fan and I’m not a Hamilton fan but this poor guy really needs to win a few more before he ends his career. It’s always better to go out on top, not falling to the bottom and then retire.
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB Says: Like I said in the previous answer, Lewis Hamilton will indeed win again. I’ve been saying for two years now that he’s a win and championship waiting to happen again. He just needs to get on a roll. In the last couple of decades, there’ve only been a few drivers who were able to put together consistency and wins and championships into one nice, little, neat package. Of course, there’s Michael Schumacher, as well as Sebastian Vettel. Lewis is far from done, even if he is closing in on 40 years old. He’s ready to show the old guys still rule, and if Max somehow forgets that, Lewis will make him pay, trust me.
IndyCar Needs to Evolve in Face of F1's Exploding Popularity in the US
Readers Say:
• ard2298: Definitely there are two entirely different fan bases. When F1 was running at Indianapolis from 2000-2007 I really saw it. Some fans would be IndyCar fans and they came to check it out. They hated everything about it and complained to me the whole time about how things were done. Speaking of two fan bases, the author mentions IndyCar not wanting to compete with the NFL. Really? Is there that much crossover? Does NASCAR feel the same? I think there would be more crossover between NASCAR and NFL fans than IndyCar and NFL. Not to mention the odd times IndyCar runs, I don't think it would be a conflict. That brings up another point. The times of IndyCar races. Summertime races at dinner hour. Who is inside watching racing when you can be outside grilling and enjoying the weather? That has to be fixed.
• sta2253: Sadly the oval races that made IndyCar unique are now almost gone.
• PSU1BOB: Bring IndyCar back to Pocono. I went to every Pocono IndyCar race in the 2010s . . . and its attendance has grown every year. Pennsylvania and the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic needs more races.
• Lxsusrcks: I don’t think that significantly increasing the number of IndyCar races should be the main focus. Adding a race in the Northeast seems to be more logical to me. Why is IndyCar totally disregarding a huge portion of the US population?
• gvp3308: More road and street courses, standing starts on same, rolling starts only on ovals. More chassis and engine choices and allow teams to make some engine and chassis modifications in season. Keep it interesting, today it's too static and predictable. I believe this can be done and still cost a fraction of what F1 cost.
• big1874: The first root cause of this issue is that IndyCar is controlled by the owners and not a Liberty Media-style investment group. That has been IndyCar's legacy of failures through the generations. Penske is a racer, but not a marketer and promoter. Until this is fixed I am not sure how they ever grow and advance. "IndyCar has to start marketing and promoting itself like there's no tomorrow." That is the actual second root cause of IndyCar's problems. Where does IndyCar even take feedback from its fans? Does IndyCar even pay attention to comments sections like this. I enjoy IndyCar's racing 100% more than F1, but the "image" and presentation of F1 is a 1000% better than IndyCar. NBC does a fair job on races, but they follow the legacy sports broadcasting model and it's just not appealing or engrossing. Between F1 and IndyCar, I still prefer GT racing over open wheel; it relates to what I drive as a road car.
