Max Verstappen, Ron Capps, Brittany Force, Carrie Underwood, Ed Sheeran make for busy November race week.
- Max Verstappen Shows True Colors by Rejecting Red Bull F1 Team Orders in Brazil
- How Ron Capps Defied the Odds to Win Third NHRA Funny Car Championship
- How Brittany Force Won Her Second NHRA Top Fuel Championship
- Michael Schumacher 2003 Race-Used F1 Ferrari Fetches Record Price at Auction
- Mercedes, George Russell Send a Message with F1 Brazilian Grand Prix Win
- Carrie Underwood, Ed Sheeran to Headline July IndyCar Weekend at Iowa in 2023
It’s that time of the week when we get REVVED UP!!! once again with some of the best reader comments off the most-read Autoweekstories of the previous week!
This week, with NASCAR and IndyCar nestled into long winter hibernations, we still have plenty of things to talk about when it comes to Formula 1 and NHRA. Enjoy!
Max Verstappen Shows True Colors by Rejecting Red Bull F1 Team Orders in Brazil
Two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen alienated teammate Sergio Perez at Interlagos.
Mark ThompsonGetty Images
Readers Say:
• rob8840: The only team orders should be “Don’t crash each other out!” Period.
• roxie44: Think about it. How many times does Perez finish ahead of Verstappen? Max had a damaged car and a 5 second penalty and still caught up to Perez. (Yes I know about virtual safety cars and safety cars). Perez did not give Verstappen any position that Max could not have easily taken. If I was a Verstappen fan, I would want to see him make the best comeback possible. But that’s me. I am a fan of racing.
• tvi3531: With all the emphasis on making racing more “racy” with more passing etc., team orders on race manipulation should be met with a high penalty from the FIA. I would suggest a 10 position penalty, that would take the involved drivers out of any points position and promote two drivers that were actually racing for position.
• eskothomson: If he were on a one-car team, then, yeah, go for the best finishing position possible. But he’s on a two-car team, which adds a layer of complexity not found in single-car teams. There’s more than one end-of-season goal to achieve in F1. They’re all based on finishing races as quickly as possible, but some—like constructor’s championships—go a bit beyond each driver simply finishing as quickly as he possibly can, especially as the season comes to its end.
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB: Too many people criticized Max for going against team orders at Brazil, I feel. They didn’t see the forest for the trees. Max did what was right for his team—not just necessarily for himself. As I went through the 100 or so reader responses to this story, I admit, I had to laugh because many of them were cynical, if not downright snarky, if not complete sarcasm in Max’s favor. Just because you already have the championship locked up, you don’t lay down for anyone else, even if it’s a teammate. You go for a win each and every time you’re out there! Although I have to admit, I did like eskothomson’s point of view, even if it went against my philosophy.
How Ron Capps Defied the Odds to Win Third NHRA Funny Car Championship
Ron Capps became the first back-to-back winner in the NHRA Funny Car category in 20 years.
NHRA/National Dragster
Readers Say:
• roxie44: After Capps bad mouthed Dodge, who supported him for years, I can only hope that this is his last championship.
• tsd7139: Looks like Capps got the last laugh.
• bru3813: Congratulations Ron on championship and to all the other racers who won a championship and Wally’s!
What Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB: Roxie, if memory serves me correctly, Ron did not bad-mouth Dodge. In fact, I’ve known Ron for nearly 30 years and I can’t ever remember him bad-mouthing anyone. And didn’t Dodge drop him rather than him dropping Dodge? I agree with tsd7139’s comment. Dodge’s loss was definitely Toyota’s gain. And I anticipate Ron winning another two to three more championships before he hangs it up.
How Brittany Force Won Her Second NHRA Top Fuel Championship
Brittany Force ended Steve Torrence’s run of four consecutive NHRA Top Fuel championships.
NHRA/National Dragster
Readers Say:
• pro1323: Great to see her win it after the mostly dominating season she had. But not sure how she set the top speed record by one thousandth of a second. I thought speeds were measured in mph, not seconds.
• bda3422: I was confused by that also.
• pro1323: A friend of mine said she also set the e.t. record which obviously is measured in seconds. It may have just been the e.t. record for Pomona as she holds the official record for low e.t. set back in September at Reading, PA at 3.623 seconds. It’s interesting that throughout the season every time she broke a record, it was usually her own record that she broke.
• tsd7139: Congrats to Brittany. All the ladies in the NHRA are awesome!
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB: Brittany set the speed record in mph, not ET. There was a mistake made, obviously, in the reporting on that story. That being said, I am going to go out on a limb and predict not only does she break the speed record again next year, don’t be surprised if she breaks 340 mph! And as for ET, I can see her potentially cracking 3.615 seconds or lower. That’s almost as quick as I drive on the freeway! (haha) But seriously, congratulations to Brittany. Parents John and Laurie should be proud, as well as sisters Audra, Ashley, and Courtney!
Michael Schumacher 2003 Race-Used F1 Ferrari Fetches Record Price at Auction
Readers Say:
• Cutlass84: Does it come with an instruction manual for the driving controls?
• AutoweekMike: For $15 million, I certainly hope so!
• mcg9882: A car is worth whatever someone else is willing to pay for it.
• elk7869: It is a one of a kind. There is no “Blue Book” on something like this. It will undoubtedly be a museum piece eventually.
• NorthernLights: The bill of sale had it for $11 million, but the extra $4 million was for undercoating and floor mats!
• gt46665: So my $50 bid didn’t win??!!
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB: I agree with mcg9882, a car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Likewise, I agree with elk7869, I’d love to see this car in a museum someday. Honestly, for $15 million, I don’t see this being a daily driver. Maybe they can come up with a sequel to Ferris Buehler’s Day Off and run this car through the streets of Chicago! And lastly, gt46665, you beat me to it: I thought my bid of $100 would win, but alas, I came up a day late and a dollar short. Wait, scratch that. Make that several days late and $14,999,900 short!
Mercedes, George Russell Send a Message with F1 Brazilian Grand Prix Win
George Russell scored Mercedes’s first win of the Formula 1 season in Brazil.
Getty Images
Readers Say:
• gt46665: So Russell shows – again, again, again – that he is a superior driver to Hamilton. If only he was on the team with the FAR superior car like Hamilton had virtually his entire career! 8 world championships for Russell!
• roxie44: Congratulations to George, Lewis, and the entire Mercedes team. To Mr. Perez I say, “Suck to up buttercup. Go out and earn your position. You have the car to do it.”
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB: I have been saying all season long that George Russell is going to be the next great F1 driver, and he certainly has not disappointed me with what he’s showed thus far in 2022. I can’t wait to see what he does in 2023. While I love what I’ve seen Max Verstappen accomplish the last two seasons, honestly, I think George Russell could be the biggest thorn in Max’s side for a third straight title next season. And as for George’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, I just hope he gives and pays respect to George for all he will achieve going forward.
Carrie Underwood, Ed Sheeran to Headline July IndyCar Weekend at Iowa in 2023
Ed Sheeran will perform at the IndyCar weekend in Iowa in July, 2023.
Jeff KravitzGetty Images
Readers Say:
• roxie44: I still want to believe that the racing will “Headline the July IndyCar Weekend at Iowa in 2023.” I am an old CGR fan with no interest in the any of the musical performers. Nothing personal, just not my thing. What happens if it rains? Concerts with no racing followed by racing with no concerts? No concerts and postponed racing? The Midwest in July; good luck with that.
• Motionman: It would seem that IndyCar has been paying attention to the new elephant in the room – Formula One. F1 promoters bring more than just racing to their weekends and they attract crowds WAY in excess of IndyCar or NASCAR!! And there will be three US shows in 2023.
Autoweek Contributor Jerry Bonkowski Says:
JB: I disagree with you, Roxie44. It has increasingly been proven that concerts add more value to race weekends and the value of tickets fans buy. Not just at Iowa—we’ve also seen it at Indianapolis. That’s why I totally agree with Motionman’s take. However, I do have one criticism of sorts: Sure, I understand why IndyCar wants to have big names to highlight concerts, and I don’t have a problem with Carrie Underwood. But Ed Sheeran? I just don’t see the demographic similarity between him, his music, and IndyCar and its fans. Maybe Ed could play a concert at an F1 race, but for an IndyCar race? I just don’t see it.
Well, that’ll do it for this week’s edition of REVVED UP!!! And even though next week is Thanksgiving, we’ll have another hot-off-the-presses edition for you next Wednesday, so you have something to munch on and serve as an appetizer to get yourself hungry for the following day!
Keyword: Revved Up! Readers React to Week's Biggest Racing News, Nov. 18 Edition