76 replies to this topic

[Henri Greuter]

It's late april and by now we are close to what are arguebly the two biggest singel race events in the year: Indianapolis and Le Mans.

 

Personally, I can envision a few results within these events that, if either of them would take place, would probably create the largest headlines in racing stories and the highlight of the season.

 

I have narrowed the options of what I think to be the biggest possible moments in racing down to a mere 4.

 

Now one of these options appears no longer possible anymore but I included it because  I genuinely see it as what could be THE racing result of the year if it had taken place this year.

 

I wonder, what do others over here at the forum think? And how many possible Big Moments that could take place this year have I overlooked?

 

Let's see

 

 

[LolaB0860]

Verstappen not winning the WDC and/or Red Bull not winning the WCC would be the biggest general headline

 

For myself... I don't know, non-RBR/Ferrari/Mercedes/Alonso winning a Grand Prix somewhere + driver and team I actually care about winning the Indy 500 would be the biggest

[aportinga]

I don't think has a shot in hell at winning the WDC but of your options it would make the most headlines.

 

I'd like too see HCN win the 500 - always a fan of his.

[Marklar]

there is no way in hell that for the first poll anything would top any result F1 delivers. For that it's just having so much more attention than the others.

[ARTGP]

I think a first time winner of a major race or championship is always the "biggest" moment.

 

The biggest moment this year would be if Perez were to win the championship, however unlikely, but that option isn't listed. 

 

Of the options listed, the biggest moment for me would be Ferrari winning the Le Mans 24 hours at their comeback. It's been decades so it's basically a clean slate for them. 

Edited by ARTGP, 27 April 2023 - 13:47.

[JHSingo]

Why on earth would Marco Andretti winning the Indianapolis 500 be a big story, never mind bigger than anything else? 

 

Dude couldn't drive a nail into a plank of wood.

[Henri Greuter]

Why on earth would Marco Andretti winning the Indianapolis 500 be a big story, never mind bigger than anything else? 

 

Dude couldn't drive a nail into a plank of wood.

But he would have beaten the Andretti Curse, something his dad never achieved and grandfather only once

[Risil]

there is no way in hell that for the first poll anything would top any result F1 delivers. For that it's just having so much more attention than the others.

Depends where I think. An Andretti winning Indy will probably make more waves in the US than a third F1 title for Verstappen.

In Europe, only Ferrari winning Le Mans would come close.

[Dolph]

Alonso winning the F1 title 17 years after 2006.

[Dan333SP]

It wouldn't be "big" in the broader media attention sense, but I'd be most excited about a Tony Kanaan 500 victory in his final race. Ferrari winning Le Mans is the most likely of the things you listed, I think. Lewis with title #8 would get the most attention but is not at all likely this year. 

[garoidb]

Alonso winning the F1 title 17 years after 2006.

 

An Alonso GP win would be big news, I think

 

... and quickly followed by pleas from a certain quarter to end the boring Alonso dominance for the good of the sport. 

[KWSN - DSM]

1) Ferrari winning Le Mans

2) Kevin Magnussen winning a Grand Prix

[sheSgoTthElooK]

#8 out of question

[Risil]

Dude couldn't drive a nail into a plank of wood.

Came very close a couple of times, although the most recent near-miss was 10 years ago I think

[JHSingo]

Came very close a couple of times, although the most recent near-miss was 10 years ago I think

 

There's only so long you can exist off the back of past (near) glories and a famous name. 

 

I think Marco winning Indy would be a distinctly "meh" result. It wouldn't really do anything to silence the critics who think that there's more luck than skill involved in winning the 500. 

[scheivlak]

Alonso winning WDC #3 (or maybe even Russell, Perez, Leclerc, Sainz or anybody else winning WDC #1) would quite probably create bigger headlines than Lewis winning #8.

[EightGear]

Peugeot finishing Le Mans.

[Ruusperi]

Hülkenberg scoring a podium.

[ARTGP]

I think it's worth only considering moments which are semi-realistic...otherwise we open a can of worms and someone says something like Villenueve coming out of retirement to win a WDC for Sauber   .  

 

Fwiw, this is not a response to the post above mine about Peugeot finishing Le Mans or Hulk getting a podium  

 

 

So I would think the poll should have options like:

 

a) Perez winning WDC  (he's in a RB and while it would take a bit of luck, he has a much more realistic chance than Hamilton).

b) Ferrari wins Le Mans (this is feasible)

c) Grosjean wins Indy 500 (also feasible)

d) Hyundai driver or Mitch Evans WRC championship (feasible)

e) Somebody new winning the MotoGP championship on a Honda....(may seem farfetched but Ducati and Yamaha riders have a habit of dropping it soo....) 

Edited by ARTGP, 27 April 2023 - 18:35.

[jonpollak]

Porsche and Ferrari go neck and neck down to the last lap after 24 hours and crash into each other coming out of the last chicane.

 

Go ahead, call me a drama queen..

Jp

[JHSingo]

d) Hyundai driver or Mitch Evans WRC championship (feasible)

 

 

Unless the Jaguar Formula E driver has suddenly made a sudden and dramatic change in motorsport disciplines (which would definitely be big news!), I assume you're meaning Elfyn Evans? 

Edited by JHSingo, 27 April 2023 - 18:58.

[Dan333SP]

Porsche and Ferrari go neck and neck down to the last lap after 24 hours and crash into each other coming out of the last chicane.

 

Go ahead, call me a drama queen..

Jp

 

At least we know who'd end up in 2nd

 

[ARTGP]

Unless the Jaguar Formula E driver has suddenly made a sudden and dramatic change in motorsport disciplines (which would definitely be big news!), I assume you're meaning Elfyn Evans? 

 

  Guilty

[H0R]

[Collombin]

Alonso winning the F1 title 17 years after 2006.

How about Massa winning the 2008 title 15 years after 2008?

[Beri]

Why on earth would Marco Andretti winning the Indianapolis 500 be a big story, never mind bigger than anything else? 
 
Dude couldn't drive a nail into a plank of wood.

The Andretti curse being lifted after 53 years is quite the story.

[Dara]

Peugeot or Ferrari winning Le Mans.

[Henri Greuter]

I think it's worth only considering moments which are semi-realistic...otherwise we open a can of worms and someone says something like Villenueve coming out of retirement to win a WDC for Sauber   .  

 

Fwiw, this is not a response to the post above mine about Peugeot finishing Le Mans or Hulk getting a podium  

 

 

So I would think the poll should have options like:

 

a) Perez winning WDC  (he's in a RB and while it would take a bit of luck, he has a much more realistic chance than Hamilton).

b) Ferrari wins Le Mans (this is feasible)

c) Grosjean wins Indy 500 (also feasible)

d) Hyundai driver or Mitch Evans WRC championship (feasible)

e) Somebody new winning the MotoGP championship on a Honda....(may seem farfetched but Ducati and Yamaha riders have a habit of dropping it soo....) 

 

 

I agree at large with you.

This is actually the kind of poll I should have created before the start of the F1 season.

But at that time I had last about all motivation to be very active over here anny longer, apart from sharing some pics in the countdown thread with the help of Beri.

But that would have been the time for a poll like this, maybe with a few more options.

Though I would have left out the bike options,

[Beri]

Two more season results that would make headlines:

 

- Ericsson being the first Swede to win a premier racing series

- Perez doing the same for Mexico

[Lennat]

Two more season results that would make headlines:

 

- Ericsson being the first Swede to win a premier racing series

- Perez doing the same for Mexico

 

Kenny Bräck won the IRL in 1998, if one wants to define that as "premier".

[Nemo1965]

Two more season results that would make headlines:

 

- Ericsson being the first Swede to win a premier racing series

- Perez doing the same for Mexico

 

About that:

 

Sweden. 10,4 million people, 11 F1-drivers, 12 wins, no titles. 

Finland: 5,5 million people, 9 F1-drivers, 57 wins, 3 World-Titles (and a half, thinking of Nico Rosberg).

 

Perhaps there is a clue in the number of cars: 5,5 million in Sweden (so half a car per capita), 7 million in Finland (1,5 per capita) of which 5,218,677 were in traffic use... so there are lot of youngsters driving half-wrecks quickly around forests, I guess...Sisu!

[Roughy]

I have a feeling Stroll could win one, he has a habit of pulling off great results even though he's the lesser driver in the team.

[Beri]

Kenny Bräck won the IRL in 1998, if one wants to define that as "premier".

 

With all due respect to the drivers who participated that season and the Indy 500 as the biggest race of them all, I am of the opinion that the IRL was inferior to CART in that era. So I didnt count Brack.

[LittleChris]

McPint winning the Senior TT

[KWSN - DSM]

 

 

 

With all due respect to the drivers who participated that season and the Indy 500 as the biggest race of them all, I am of the opinion that the IRL was inferior to CART in that era. So I didnt count Brack.

 

 

How cnvenient.

[milestone 11]

McPint winning the Senior TT

Nice idea but it's just not gonna happen. Mind you, he has more chance than Glenn Irwin.

Edited by milestone 11, 28 April 2023 - 09:29.

[Sterzo]

I'm too old to have heroes, but if I did they'd include Josef Newgarden and his former team boss Nick Tandy. I'd like to see them swap drives for a bet, with Newgarden winning his class at Le Mans and Tandy winning the Indy 500.

[Beri]

How cnvenient.

Convenience has nothing to do with this. Ask any non American to name some races or race winners from that era with the little disclaimer being that it had to be in American open wheel racing, and 90% will ramble on about CART races, drivers or championships. About everyone will know about "the Pass", Zanardi being double champion, Montoya making his first marks, Greg Moore being killed together with Rodriguez and so forth and so on.
Convenience is left out of this, in my book.

[Risil]

The Indy 500 was in decline after 1996 but still a very big deal. Much more name recognition and news value than CART, however beloved it was within racing circles at the time. That's why so many teams and sponsors from CART wanted to be there.

 

Brack's Indy 500 win was a much bigger deal than his IRL championship the year before though, I'll give you that.

[Collombin]

Brack's Indy 500 win was a much bigger deal than his IRL championship the year before though, I'll give you that.

Easily, but then I would say an Indy 500 win was always considered a bigger deal than the championship, whether IRL, CART, USAC, AAA etc.

[Risil]

Easily, but then I would say an Indy 500 win was always considered a bigger deal than the championship, whether IRL, CART, USAC, AAA etc.

 

I think I agree -- but who was the real news-getter of 1993: Mansell or Fittipaldi? Or did they have such stratospheric media profiles going into the season that what they actually achieved that year was secondary to the fact it was them who were achieving them.

[Collombin]

I think I agree -- but who was the real news-getter of 1993: Mansell or Fittipaldi?

Mansell, easily, but Emmo was an established Indycar driver by then of course. I would venture that if Mansell had won Indy but lost the title it would have been an even bigger story. I think 1993 is the only year I ever cheered for Mansell!

[B Squared]

But he would have beaten the Andretti Curse, something his dad never achieved and grandfather only once

Watch the IMAX movie Superspeedway from 1997 (I think), Mario refutes any curse and calls himself one of the luckiest men alive. 

[messy]

Alonso winning another Grand Prix, his first for a decade after all the McLaren struggles, would be huge in my book. Drivers come back and do okay, but to win another race after so long, twenty years after his first, to finally get another taste of victory, it's a story I'm almost willing to see happen every race. Didn't happen this time? Okay, another 19 chances. Come on. Just one Red Bull mechanical DNF, just one badly timed safety car or something to put those Newey rockets out of the picture, and the way F1 is balanced at the moment, he has his chance. Michael Schumacher never managed it in his Merc comeback, let's see Fernando do it please, just once will do.

I'd love to see Elfyn Evans become Britain's third World Champion too in the WRC. He came so close in 2020 and somehow let it slip through his fingers despite having one hand on the trophy. Having seen the McRae/Burns golden era and then so much straight out tragedy since with the loss of Richard, Colin, Michael Park and obviously now Breen too, it's time for something to smile about in rallying.

I'd like to see Ferrari win Le Mans but I don't think that would be earth shattering really. I'd also like to see someone rise up and punish Bagnaia's constant errors in MotoGP to carry a title run, someone like Marco Bezzecchi on the VR46 to somehow sustain the position he's currently in and put an end to the 'satellite riders can't win championships" argument while also preventing Bagnaia from blundering his way to the title while nobody puts up a fight.

Bruce Anstey coming back to compete on another TT would be incredible too. I don't know where that stands - I know he was looking at returning to racing for 2021 but obviously the TT didn't end up happening.

Edited by messy, 28 April 2023 - 11:43.

[Risil]

Watch the IMAX movie Superspeedway from 1997 (I think), Mario refutes any curse and calls himself one of the luckiest men alive.

Maybe we got it wrong and the Andretti Curse was what came over the radio when one of the family inevitably broke down from the lead

[highdownforce]

[pUs]

1) Verstappen not winning the WDC

2) Alonso winning a couple of races on merit

[LolaB0860]

Peugeot or Ferrari winning Le Mans.

 

Peugeot winning Le Mans in 2009 didn't get that much noise

 

Same with Ferrari here, it will get attention in France, UK, Italy, and of course general motorsport press, but General Audiences ain't gonna notice or care (in comparison to say Leclerc winning Qatar Grand Prix...)

Edited by LolaB0860, 28 April 2023 - 12:53.

[ARTGP]

Peugeot winning Le Mans in 2009 didn't get that much noise

 

Same with Ferrari here, it will get attention in France, UK, Italy, and of course general motorsport press, but General Audiences ain't gonna notice or care

 

General audiences don't notice or care about motorsport in general so we're already starting with the short straw.

Edited by ARTGP, 28 April 2023 - 12:55.

[LolaB0860]

General audiences don't notice or care about motorsport in general so we're already starting with the short straw.

 

Well GA does care of F1

 

And some of MotoGP

 

And in States some (older folks) of NASCAR

 

But that's it