Australia: "A special place like a pin in our hearts" | Fantasy GP Takeover

This week, Peter Leung takes control of my Australian Fantasy GP team and offers opinion and insight on the new era of F1, new tracks crowding out old tracks, hopes for Mercedes and when we'll see an F1 car race on the ceiling.
00:00 - Introductions
07:26 - Q1) Why is AUS GP Special?
10:47 - Q2) F1 Cars upside down
18:20 - Q3) Can Mercedes and McLaren come back?
20:04 - Q4) Do new tracks risk losing F1's historic base?
24:45 - FGP: Deanna's results
27:46 - FGP: Peter's Picks
32:41 - FGP: Peter's AUS Predictions
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Peter Leung on Twitter: / baronvonclutch
Patreon: / chainbearf1
Twitter: / chainbear

[@Mexiturtle345]

Just wanted to say that I love the vibe of this series. The idea of the fantasy take over is fun, but I love the mini podcast that you have with your guests beforehand. Love tuning in to each episode

[@SShadyJess]

If Red Bull ever did the upside down F1 car thing, they would definitely design an upside down livery just for that trick

[@Kanig94]

Well, they have to design an upside down car, because the GP is in Australia so

[@orio_3]

Peter is a very good story teller, easy to listen to. If that makes sense 😂

[@DarkmystSoulreaver]

RE: F1 Expansion dropping legacy races: Ask NASCAR how well abandoning their roots has worked out for them.

[@jacobgivens7906]

That last question makes me think about NASCAR and it’s rise and fall in late 90’s and early 2000’s. NASCAR moved from a good mix of tracks to suddenly adding an influx of 1.5 mile ovals that were very similar or replicas to existing tracks and it took away from fan favorite short tracks and then they started chasing format changes to make up for the racing and fan engagement not being good on track and at track

[@LeXyS30]

Feels like roster changes aren't coming any time soon. Either it will stay like this untill major price changes, or someone bold enough comes in to pick other drivers/teams

[@ejasmith]

I suppose I hadn't thought it's only going to take one person to make the change and everyone else afterwards is a little screwed (unless teams start to perform differently which is probably unlikely)

[@Thermalions]

There's definitely a conflict at play. The guests are motivated to optimise the return for the week they are picking, whereas the best outcome across the whole season might be to change up the team by picking a current under performer who is cheap but who you think has the greatest potential to improve and increase in value.

[@slaterstimson]

I love these! Really like the podcasty/fireside chats style of these videos. One thing I did want to say though was I’m not sure if this is a rule you’ve imposed on your guests about having to stay under the original $80 million dollar budget, but the game does not impose that rule. The value of your team changes throughout the season and if you sell a driver or team at market value then you get all of that money to spend as well. So you wouldn’t have to be locked into this particular team if you thought there was another combination that was worth the $85 million that would get you more points. Also I believe you have an additional $5 million in the bank that you didn’t use last week so you could actually construct a team worth $90 million dollars if you thought that was a benefit. Anyways if it’s a rule you’re imposing then I totally get it, but if you think you have to do it this way then you actually are not bound by the rules of the game :)

[@craigsmallegan5993]

Not sure if you are looking for more people for this series, but.... There is a new show/podcast this year by RelayFM founder Myke Hurley called "The Backmarkers". He and co-host Austin Evans are new-er (DTS) Formula1 fans, so it could be fun to get someone on with a new platform and new opinion on the sport.

[@ergonutt-ns5fw]

checo on pole but not on the podium? my heart cant stomach that happening again

[@SerjBassist]

19:36 I was listening without looking at the screen until I rewinded. Good to know I wasn't the only one who thought about it

[@Deltarious]

With regards to driving upside down, the only thing that's needed is to just have them drive a loop instead, like a hot-wheels track, and have the loop diameter and speed set to maintain 1G of force, ideally a very large loop (needing faster speed granted) for more flashy effect, and then it become both impressive and very easy. It wouldn't be *as* impressive as driving purely upside down, granted, but it also wouldn't require any special modifications. I also note that though it would require engineering changes negative G fuel pumps do exist so it is possible, the brake fluid would require special attention though perhaps. ....Yes I really want to see this done.

[@Shadowmakka]

That F1Word Mod Jack sounds like a really handsome fella!

[@JoelRipke]

Oh, hey! First question! Thanks for answering! I'm excited to watch the Australian GP for the first time!

[@MarcelEnglmaier_1]

You forgot the donuts on a helipad on a skyscraper

[@a.a677]

much love from Melb guys

[@brpers1l151]

RB also did a pitstop on a 0G plane

[@flphil4537]

Only thing significant about the Australian GP was that it was the first race of the season. Track improvements better be good. Also all you have to do to run the engine upside down is put the fuel pick up in the top of the tank (upside down it would be the bottom of the tank). Orientation of the engine itself doesn’t matter

[@ImReverseGiraffe]

RedBull also did a zero g pitstop and did donut on the Burj Al Arab's helipad.

[@driwen]

they also drove on the beach for the GP of Zandhoven and I've seen them drive on ice as well. Basically Red Bull has done a lot of weird drives with their F1 car. And maybe more important Red Bull sponsors a lot of daring stunts.

[@fallenshallrise]

Such a great question about new tracks. In the past countries just wanted a "real" F1 track with character, something unique. Now countries and cities just want a track that is "the most". The most corners, the longest, the fastest, the narrowest, the darkest, the best scenery, the most fireworks and LED lit Ferris wheels in the background.

[@SushiBomber2]

This race gonna be good

[@jeffbrown3009]

Peter originally said 6 good reasons that Red Bull would be the team to run a car upside down before shortening to 5. The 6th that he didn't remember has got to be the time that they ran COTA on dirt before they laid the asphalt down.

[@Palmboom313]

Doornbos on the Afsluitdijk in the red bull

[@rohanbatra69]

Red bull has also done zero gravity pitstop in an airplane I guess 36,000 ft. high

[@JoelRipke]

Hooray!

[@thermitebanana]

Also Mark Webber drove up and down the Sydney Harbour bridge (in a Williams, before joining redbull)

[@jkliao6486]

Well said about the recent expansion.

[@Nico_M.]

About the human element of driving an F1 car upside down: you could pick an F1 fan and train them for the stunt. I guess a lot of people would be willing to risk their lives and spend years for such a thing.

[@bchamness6]

REALLY creepy that I was like "oh, I wonder if you'll have Elizabeth Blackstock from Jalopnik on here" and then like 3 minutes later that's exactly what's gonna happen

[@shubhampurandare9036]

Why is the pitlane order at the Australian GP in the reverse championship order?

[@Dorachagi1]

Is it more important to have the top two drivers or the top two constructors on your FantasyGP team?

[@Thermalions]

I went constructors, as I couldn't squeeze in the top drivers while still being happy with the constructors I was left being able to afford. I'm currently ahead of ChainBearF1 but so far that choice really hasn't been the deciding factor in the positions as far as I can tell.

[@ejasmith]

I think the rules on budgets mean nobody is going to switch for the rest of the season given the prices looked in

[@frederikbrandt424]

Disagree. The team had an extra 5mil in the bank that hasn’t been used. If I was them I would swap out Haas with a team like Alpha Tauri because if Mag gets a problem with his car then it’s pretty much 2 out of 6 picks that are worthless because Mick Schumacher isn’t going to do anything

[@RoysIdea]

Upside-down would have to wait a couple of years, as current cars are not allowed for these kind of “tests”. Or it must be during a filming day with special cars.

[@JohnSmithShields]

How can we get Tom Scott or Aiden Millward on this?

[@scottrobinson4611]

Regarding the "Driving upside-down" question - I think the assessment that it's MORE possible with the 2022 cars, is totally incorrect. The 2022 cars generate less total downforce than the 2021 cars, and they're also considerably heavier. In a year or two when the regs are much better understood, I'm sure the cars will generate considerably more downforce and make this at least as theoretically possible as it was with the previous era, but for now I don't think these cars are more suited to it.

[@Thermalions]

They would also need to transition from floor to walls to ceiling (i.e. tunnel), yet the ground effect requires a fairly flat surface - something you don't get in a tunnel unless it has an unrealistically huge diameter.

[@jakehyams8659]

Please get Ralf Schumacher for the finale

[@Personal_Chizo]

You guys think Haas wouldn't try to make an upside down run if they had the money?

[@sampathkumar1010]

But. Will they porpoise upside down?

[@pugzilla3597]

You should force the competitors to stay below the budget because the people in the beginning of the season have to take risks on their predictions and the people later in the season can just keep the best mathematical team

[@lukyli]

the Mclaren colour is messed up

[@realistic_delinquent]

“No views”

[@landonwright]

Second

[@Techinica]

First?

[@SilentStrike117]

I’m ok with losing Monaco they pay the lowest cost and it’s not feasible to run there in current cars. Monaco needs to figure out how to run there with passing possible or it will be cut from future seasons

[@frederikbrandt424]

Bet you would also swap out your mom and dad as well if you found a set of parents with more money and fame.

[@SilentStrike117]

@@frederikbrandt424 lol na bro love my fam to death but Monaco is broken it’s more of a fast parade then a race these days. Listen I’m not saying Monaco needs to go but an effort to change the layout or widen certain areas to make it an actual track again

[@Gromran]

Albert Park got totally messed up... why don't they make an oval out of it

[@mikloslipcsey7923]

It’s a public road.

[@Gromran]

@@mikloslipcsey7923 you didn't get it

[@trance9158]

His description of the Mercedes car is ridiculous. It's the sleekest looking of the bunch.

[@orio_3]

It isn't tho really, it's a bit all over the place. Not to mention that this is his opinion, nothing ridiculous if that's how he sees it.

[@trance9158]

@@orio_3 an opinion can be ridiculous.

[@orio_3]

@@trance9158 An opinion can be ridiculous when it's on serious topics such as war etc. Not when it comes to the visuals of a car. That's purely subjective.

[@trance9158]

@@orio_3 since when did there become rules to what can and can't be ridiculous? In regards to the Mercedes design though I do believe once they fine tune their design it will be among the top contenders again. I just think they've really made a design that requires very precise settings to get the car into its optimal performance zone. Never count Mercedes out. I am looking forward to Porsche joining F1 but hate them teaming up with RB. That's going to be another Footworks dusaster.

[@orio_3]

@@trance9158 well I guess it can't be ridiculous because that's just how he sees it, we all have different opinions on the looks of things, so you can disagree but it's not like crazy if someone has a different opinion to you when it comes to subjective looks is what I mean. But that's interesting because I feel the nopods are actually holding back the Mercedes package, there's rumours of tyre wake not attaching to the side of the car which is increasing drag because of turbulent airflow over the sides of the car. Although I do feel they'll find a solution by maybe race 10, I still think Ferrari and Red Bull will make enough gains to still be quite a bit ahead, as they can focus on improving their current package, not fixing major issues as well as improving the package, but I think Mercedes will be in a much better position to grab the odd podium on pure pace by the summer break. It will be an interesting storyline to follow tho.

[@donryanoceroesq]

Peter Leung takes too long to say nothing. I couldn’t watch this.

[@Kobrag90]

*looks for a safehouse for chainbar once his joke comes true.*