Great Race, Great Friends, Great Watch Party

// Downtown Watch Party

Our eleventh watch party in downtown Austin was hosted by Lavaca Street Bar for the Chinese Grand Prix. As with all of our events, there's always a very strong mix of new visitors, averaging around thirty percent over our events this past year. Sunday's event was an exception, with nearly fifty percent of the 75+ attendance visiting the downtown watch party for the first time ever. 

This great balance of old and new fans is making a great conversational environment, allowing those of all knowledge levels to participate and feel welcome. Our more seasoned fans helped to welcome newcomers to the sport by offering advice and sharing their experiences with each other. Most conversations in the room, if not about the exciting race itself, usually focus on individuals sharing their first race experience or excitement for the future GP in Austin.

With a great crowd in attendance, the energy was right for the stunningly entertaining Chinese GP. We all helped congratulate Mercedes GP driver Nico Rosberg on his first win in the sport and Mercedes' first win in 57 years as a factory team. The race had all of the elements to make for great viewing, so good company to watch with on a Sunday afternoon make it all the more enjoyable.  

// Lavaca Street Bar

Our guests raved about the Chinese-themed food provided - fresh egg rolls, savory pots tickers, teriyaki flavored wings, ribs that rival the best local BBQ joints and a fresh noodle & veggie mix. It's no surprise everyone enjoyed the food; Lavaca Street's menu is being redeveloped by Casey Fannin, an amazing chef and close friend of Tyson Cole of Uchi and Uchiko restaurants. If you didn't know before enjoying the fare, it was evident after as the food was delicious!

At the end of the race we raffled off a copy of the SENNA movie DVD and a movie poster to continue to spread the word about this amazing film.  If you haven't seen it, check out the trailer here and rent it on Netflix or buy a copy here. Congratulations to Kärt Klein; enjoy the movie - again! (She has seen it before and is a big fan!)

A very special thanks goes out to DNA Events for their production expertise and support to help make this event possible.  In addition, a special thanks to Premiere Party Central for their donations of the chinese-themed table decor, and thanks to Paul Walhus of Spring.net for stepping up as our photographer at the last minute.

// What's Next?

We're already back in planning mode for our next watch party. We've decided to focus on a hand-picked number of watch parties this season in order to create truly engaging fan experiences. But you won't have to wait long to see your F1 friends and meet new Austinites!

Tomorrow, Thursday, April 19, we're hosting a joint happy hour with EuroCircle - "a free informal community for expats and Europeans or Europhiles." Come celebrate the diversity of Austin at this international networking event and learn about Formula 1™ coming to Austin. Join us back at Icenhauer's tomorrow night from 6:00PM - 10:00PM for networking and mingling over cocktails and light hors d'oeuvres. Icenhauer's is located on the famed Rainey Street and you will feel truly welcome in this renovated 1895 home with an expansive patio and cool drinks!

Icenhauer's - 83 Rainey StreetWhat: Happy Hour with EuroCircle and The Austin Grand Prix

When: Thursday, April 19, 6:00PM - 10:00PM

Where: Icenhauer's, 83 Rainey Street, Austin, TX 78701

Why: Let’s celebrate the diverse crowd that Austin welcomes and embraces as well as the fantastic arrival of F1™ in Austin!

Hosts: Kaisa Kokkonen (EuroCircle), Allison Berguin (France) and Kerri Olsen (The Austin Grand Prix)

Cost: Free

Parking: On surrounding streets and a pay lot where Rainey Street intersects with Driskill Street

Facebook Invite Here

Race Review: Chinese Grand Prix

Perfect Hair from Winner Nico Rosberg - from "The Essence of Racing" on tumblrHoly silver arrows, Batman! The Chinese Grand Prix was A-MAZ-ING! The takeovers, the tyres performance that kept everyone guessing, the pit stops, the takeovers!! And may I also mention, in addition to taking home the top medal, Rosberg wins "Best Post-Grand Prix Champion Hair" in my books.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. The race started out with Mercedes in P1 and P2, no doubt the Mercedes team and Ross Braun were cautiously optimistic. I was also looking forward to see how fast Vettel can climb back from an abysmal  grid position. Usually I root for a driver or two based on qualifying results, but it’s been increasingly difficult to just root for one or two drivers, everyone is getting more competitive and tyres strategy can make the world of difference between qualifying pole position and race day results.

My first big “oooooohhhhhh!!!” moment of the race came in Lap 11. Raikkonen duked it out and lost a spot to Webber and then lost another spot to Hamilton. I imagine Ice Man saying obscene things in Finnish in his car with the coolest of emotions.  Those passes unfortunately would foreshadow the fall  to 14th place in the last ten laps for Kimi. Better luck next time, Kimi! The Lotus-Renault team should really sort out Kimi’s tyres strategy for next race.

The last 10 laps of the race had me glued to the screen! So many takeovers, so many wheel to wheel actions, not to mention almost everyone could take advantage of DRS zone because the drivers were very close to each other.

All in all, a superb race! I can’t wait until Bahrain this weekend!

Race Preview: Chinese Grand Prix

// Introducing Benedict Wong, Guest Contributor

Guest Contributor, Benedict WongThe Chinese GP preview is the first guest post from Benedict Wong, an F1 fan I befriended a couple years back. Benedict got hooked on F1 from 2008's Monaco race and still watches it because "there's no other sport that provides more thrilling entertainment than an F1 race!"

// Ready to Race

Finally, the three-week wait is over. The Chinese Grand Prix is upon us. I’m not sure about you, but weekends without races always feel a little empty to me. That emptiness may or may not have to do with my race weekend habits – gobbling down homemade Nutella pancakes with chocolate croissant while I glue myself to the qualifying and the race. 

Shanghai International Circuit map and Start/Finish Line.The last race in Malaysia was made ever more exciting with rain that I hope for some rain in Shanghai this weekend. I can never quite get over how the drivers can drive so fast with practically zero visibility in rain, except the blurry blinky light from the car in front. My natural instinct would be to pull over … and that’s why I’ll never be an F1 driver. 

The season has been much more entertaining to watch compared to last season - no clear front runner, half the cars are competing on the tiniest margin on lap time, massive egos from six world champions. Personally, I’m hoping to see any or all of these this weekend:

• Maldonado actually finish a race

• Perez to kick some more a$$

• Webber making to the podium

• Crazy track antics from Schumacher

• Rain!

What are you hoping to see in the Chinese Grand Prix? 

// Visual Preview

What does the Chinese GP look like? Check out our Pinterest board.

Indy Car Series to Expand Calendar With Room for Austin

On this week's episode of Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain, Speed correspondent Robin Miller spoke with Despain about the expansion of the IndyCar Series calendar in 2013. In addition to the recently announced race in Houston for 2013, Miller mentioned that circuit representatives from Austin have reached out to Indy to host a race. Miller said the following about the discussions with Austin and Randy Bernard, CEO of the IZOD IndyCar Series:

AUSTIN: Formula One is making its debut on the 3.4-mile road course in November but Bernard says, "They approached us about having a race next year and we’re evaluating it.’’ Is Texas big enough for an oval (Texas Motor Speedway), a street race (Houston) and a road race (Austin)?

Following up on this story, Dave Doolittle at the Austin American-Statesman reached out to Circuit of The Americas for confirmation of the discussions:

A Circuit of the Americas spokeswoman said officials have been talking to several series that have expressed an interest in racing at the track currently under construction in southeastern Travis County.

“We have no formal agreements beyond those already announced to unveil at this time,” Julie Loignon told the American-Statesman this week."

The potential to host the IndyCar Series here at COTA would be a real treat for many American fans of open-wheeled racing. The IndyCar Series is an American sporting icon with a very dedicated following, drawing as many as 350,000 fans to the Indianapolis 500.

Though of a different ethos than the typical Indy track, COTA would operate more like Infineon Raceway in Sonoma Valley, an exciting track with plenty of elevation change, challenging the teams and drivers on a different level than their more traditional oval, street or tri-oval races.

With an existing oval race in Dallas at Texas Motorspeedway, the newly announced street race in Houston, and a race at an FIA spec road course in Austin, fans would be given the trifecta of motorsports experience, the ultimate gift for an IndyCar fan.

One could argue that these events would be too close and would compete against each other, but I would argue the opposite. Each event gains collective exposure and promotion by the success of each other, thereby accelerating the growth of the sport overall.

Similar to arguments about competition between F1 races in Montreal, Austin, and New Jersey, this argument assumes the sport will not expand its fan base and the attendance will be split between venues. On the contrary, I have and will continue to argue the opposite, that they all stand to gain far more by working together to expand their overall exposure to the entire American market.

Finally, COTA has said in the past that they're intending to expand their motorsports offering beyond F1, MotoGP, and V8 Supercars. Given the large existing market of fans and sponsors in American motorsports like Grand-Am, ALMS, NASCAR, and many others, IndyCar would be a valuable asset to their programming list and a gateway into the existing American fan base and sponsorship markets.

Malaysia Review: An Emotional F1 Finish

Is that a "Hook 'Em" sign he's throwing up? Image courtesy of Sauber Motorsport AGSunday's Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepand International Circuit was exciting and filled with endless complications, making it stressful and thrilling at the same time. Rain plagued the event from the beginning to the end, pushing some behind while opening gaps for others. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari took the lead with Mexico's Sergio Perez of Sauber F1 Team racing just seconds behind. A fight to the bitter end, the potential of Perez to take the podium over Alonso seemed inevitable, with Sergio gaining almost half a second a lap on Alonso consistently.

While pushing the limit to fight with Alonso, Perez made a costly error with just 5 laps to go, ending his chances to take the lead. In post-race interviews, Perez asserted he could have taken the win, and with the exception of his error near the end, his argument was well justified.

Ferrari's return to the podium for first position marks the end of a difficult streak lasting since the British GP last summer, their last race win. With a lackluster pre-season testing session and a significant difference so far this year between Alonso and his teammate Felipe Massa, Ferrari is not firing on all cylinders so to speak. Felipe Massa managed a lackluster 15th place, showing a stark contrast between him and Alonso and putting himself in a vulnerable position for future replacement.

Rumors have been developing over the last several months of Ferrari replacing Massa with Perez.  Ferrari are of course keen to retake their dominance, but as the Red Bull/McLaren threat remains very, very real, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Ferrari looking to replace Felipe Massa with another talented young driver.

Sergio's second place finish just seconds behind Alonso was certainly a harsh dose of reality to the Maranello, Italy based team. Massa, like Perez, got his start in F1 with Peter Sauber's team before making his move to Ferrari in 2005 after a three year stint and two 4th place positions under his belt.

Rumors of a Perez move to Ferrari are still just rumors at this point, but while watching Sergio this weekend, it's clear he's auditioning for a better seat in F1, and that may not be that far off.

Not only are the eyes of the F1 club all over Sergio right now, but his home country is beginning to embrace their future star. Following Sergio's second place finish on Sunday, social networks were full of congratulatory messages, including a tweet from Mexican President, Felipe Calderon.  

Loosely translated: Congratulations to Sergio Perez for second place prize at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Extraordinary race!

Sergio's finish is the first time a Mexican driver has stood on the podium since Pedro Rodriguez in 1971. Seeing Perez with a big smile on his face on the podium brought joy and thrill to his loyal fans and fellow countrymen and women. This position was his best in F1 and hopefully the first of many for the young Mexican.

Perez and the Sauber team took a trip to Mexico last year to put on a street demo at an enthusiastic and well attended event. Though his impact on the culture of Central America is largely under-represented by the European dominated sport of F1, this story deserves far more attention, especially considering the construction of Circuit of The Americas, just a few hundred miles away from the US-Mexico border.

Here's Sergio doing the street demo in his home town of Guadalajara:

Intro to an American F1 Photojournalist - Jamey Price

When is a photograph more than a photograph? When it falls in the category of photojournalism.

Photojournalism is different from photography in that it “complies with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work is both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in strictly journalistic terms.” If a single photograph can be equated to a single paint color, then photojournalism is the art of turning singular photographs into a Monet or a Van Gogh. Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media. It is possible then, that the short definition of photojournalism is simple: A picture is worth a thousand words.

On that note, we’ll spare you our words and spend the next few days transporting you to Barcelona, Spain for Formula 1’s second round of testing. The expedition will be lead by one of America’s most promising professional sports photojournalists, Jamey Price.

Jamey Price, PhotojournalistJamey was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina – which is obviously no stranger to auto racing, as it is nestled deep in the heart of NASCAR country. A self taught photographer and experienced athlete, Jamey attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he competed as a varsity swimmer all four years. Upon graduation, he moved to the United Kingdom to broaden his horizons and expand his professional experience on the international scene. Back in Charlotte, Jamey now competes “in the occasional triathlon” (just a walk in the park, eh?) and can frequently be found on the back of a race horse as a steeplechase horse racing jockey.

What about the other type of horsepower, the kind with four wheels? Jamey’s deep passion for covering racing has taken him from photographing lawn mower racing and grass roots dirt tracks all the way up to NASCAR, Indycar, American Le Mans and Formula One. Jamey’s award winning work has been featured around the globe in print and online publications such as Sports Illustrated, F1 Racing Magazine, Southern Living, The Racing Post, Autosport and the Charlotte Observer, to name a few.

With over 40 races and 11 wins to Jamey’s riding career, he adds:

I am no stranger to the highs and lows of life as an athlete and the pressures to produce results.

We hope you enjoy the highs and lows of testing from Jamey as he sends us his stories from Barcelona this week.