Well, I'm watching my ReplayTV time-shifted coverage of the San Marino GP. My uncle, whom I have visited this last week in SF, turned me on to it again.
Cat in lap, I'm really quite enjoying watching this. For the first time, I think, I realized the true beauty of F1. It is this: no one could do this better. These guys take their cars around a track as fast as is humanly possible. It is a team effort, with a vast amount of money behind it, some of the best automotive engineers alive, and the best drivers available. It just cannot be done better.
This seems like a profound idea and I'm still reflecting on it. It lends a whole new appreciation to the viewing experience (especially the in-car camera).
I'm not sure what NASCAR pit times run but these guys are getting serviced in about 7.5-8.5 seconds. Pretty damn quick. Notable was that Jensen Button (who finished 2nd) lost something like 1-2 seconds per stop to M. Schumacher. He lost the overall race by some 9.7 seconds. Given the roughly 4.5 seconds lost in the pits, this race would have been a lot closer.
Fascinating stuff. I've uploaded the F1 calendar to my iCal (again courtesy of my uncle) and am prepared for the rest of the season. Another 14 races!
Posted by artandscience at April 25, 2004 11:17 PM