Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Mostly because the Kings are the only team cheap enough to not be doing this
Car and racing writer with too many hobbies and not nearly enough vintage Mercedes sedans
1,579 followers 415 following 10,817 posts
view profile on Bluesky Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Mostly because the Kings are the only team cheap enough to not be doing this
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I get why people are largely fine with players getting paid more and I don’t doubt that slightly less corrupt (or at least better hidden) variants of this are pretty common. This should still be a huge penalty. It’s still a competition rule.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
It’s too early for this Kawhi thing. That is clearly a mid morning level news story.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Elvis impression Unchained Melody
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I am convinced that both teams are bad at this point. The Brewers might be the only good NL team.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
There were certainly Hellenes, there were certainly Hellenes in Greece. Macedonian conquest made a combined state of Hellenes in Greece, but it wasn’t exactly a Greek state.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
It’s a stretch to connect the idea of a Hellenic identity with modern Greece. Most of those people lived in Anatolia or in far-flung colonies in Sicily, Iberia, North Africa, Cyprus, etc. I’d say it’s in direct opposition to the idea of a nation.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I think about this all the time. European nationalism is generally less old than American nationalism! Even most of the predecessors to those ideas aren’t actually ancient! The idea of, say, the Spanish is only slightly older than their imperial adventures in North America!
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Does Tom Brady know about Eustass Kid? Does he know about One Piece at all? Did a stylist explain to him why he was wearing a graphic tee of the 46th most beloved character from a shonen manga?
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I don’t know when Tom Brady went on a podcast wearing a shirt with Eustass Kid on it but I’ve been seeing clips of this on social media for weeks and it bothers me
Dan Devine (@yourmandevine.bsky.social) reposted
One cool thing about the world is how John Goodman has just been almost exclusively excellent on screen, across all genres and styles, for like 40 years.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I am on some level genuinely shocked to learn that someone can be racist to a white guy from New Zealand
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
The children (mostly men 15 years older than me) have learned too much from Steph Curry and, sadly, not enough from Draymond Green.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Just played my first full court pick up game since immediately before the pandemic. I’m not shocked that I was terribly out of shape but I am disgusted to see that the American pick up basketball player still doesn’t know what to do with a DHO.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I can think of no single funnier sports outcome than Colton Herta winning the 500 in a McLaren while sitting about ninth in F2 points after a few rounds.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Yes but he gets to hang out with a would-be Prince of Austria every race weekend now!!!
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
IndyCar silly season is now moving so fast that we have rumors for both Coyne cars just two days after the finale.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
We have also specifically seen Sergio Perez fired with a contract in the past 10 months.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Given that this is part of the same plan coming together just a week after their signing, I think it’s safe to assume that their contracts were written with this in mind.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I do not think that's the case at all given that I am talking about how good results in a sport are better than worse ones, but sure!
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Sure! Even after crashing that much, he has still won at a much higher rate than every single former F2 driver in IndyCar during the entire DW12 era.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Toto Wolff also still thought he was going to do gangbusters in F1 after that, too. I think we can safely assume that Toto Wolff is just a little too enamored with his (still pretty promising!) youth. Antonelli also still finished sixth...
Bobby Big Wheel (@kleinman.bsky.social) reposted
Oh cool new SNL cast members I'll learn about them in 10 years when they're in a bunch of ads during football
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I would be fairly surprised if both drivers are still at Cadillac in 2027. Either way, you need some sort of narrative momentum to sell sponsors and media on Herta moving up. I imagine both Towriss and Herta think that he will get that in F2.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
This is also why I think every F3 and F2 driver should be a fourth driver in a Rolex GTP or LMP2 every year. Preferably they also do Le Mans, but I recognize that it's harder to make that happen.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
The most important Colton Herta to F2 thing is that TWG buys him some struggling youth's ride in the next month so he can start getting time in the car now. Mostly because I want to get started on discourse early.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
This is my genuine take. I think it will be fun to see.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
The most likely outcome by far is that he finishes third, ahead of a rookie who goes on to win three GPs but behind a third-year driver who goes on to get dropped by Not-a-Peugeot-anymore Hypercar after four rounds of the 2029 WEC season
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I believe the 2026 sponsorship agreement was officially announced over the Nashville weekend.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Really, he only needs to get through the year without a major penalty and win enough feature races that it isn't weird for him to be the FP1 driver in four GPs. He's qualified to run FP1s off the second in 2024 alone.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Right. We have seen guys pretty openly willing to abandon FE just to not miss a WEC round and we have seen guys pretty open about choosing rides in it over IndyCar. Different drivers value different opportunities.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Not that I don't think Miyata is way better than his F2 results, mind you. I think it's the same risk for Herta, it could all simply not gel and go to hell fast. But I do not think that a Super Formula title is worth more than a second in IndyCar.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I do not think he did have a better pre-F2 career, no.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
That's personal preference, the series pretty clearly has very different value to different guys in it. But that opinion does exist out there.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
De Vries, Vandoorne, and Bortoleto are the three others with an argument. De Vries is the only one I would probably give it to. But I have also met Formula E champions who would give up a guaranteed FE title to get a shot in IndyCar.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Of 20 champions across F2 and GP2, how many have had a more successful career than Herta has already had domestically? Hamilton by a lot, obviously. Easy to say Rosberg, Russell, Leclerc, and Piastri. Gasly and Hulk are closer, but I'm fine with giving it to them. Who after that?
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Most Formula 2 champions don't even have great careers outside of F1. Plenty of good drivers go through F2, it teaches a lot of valuable lessons. It's a junior series and the talent pool reflects that.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Oh, definitely. Big potential for series-wide embarrassment here. But he should be the heavy preseason favorite nonetheless. He's already had a better senior-level career than most GP2/F2 champions ever do.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I get that he's been a disappointment compared to who he was when he started, but he's not exactly Graham Rahal. He has won a bunch of races. He finished second in the championship last year. Had the most points on road courses one year, I believe?
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
He has objectively had a very good career.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I think some of you guys might be overestimating the level of talent in Formula 2
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
He finished behind Marcus Armstrong in the standings last year, but mostly because Marcus Armstrong wrecked him from pole at Road America.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
All of the drivers who have come to IndyCar from F2 (or F1 after F2) in the past ten years have combined for 14 wins. Eight for Rossi, four for Ericsson, one for Lundgaard. Herta has nine alone, and he started long after Rossi.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Herta has been much better in IndyCar than every single driver who has come from F2 in the past ten years.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I think Colton Herta will do very well in Formula 2 because he is an adult who has raced cars well against adults for a long time. That being said, I think it would have been even more fun to send Will Power over there and just see what happens.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
My interest in the Audi Concept C can probably be explained by my similar love for the Volkswagen XL1
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
As for Coyne, the next step seems clear to me: Unless one of the five Ganassi/MSR seats is opening up, Linus Lundqvist needs to get back in a car somewhere. This car has sponsorship announced and Cannon locked in. Should be perfect timing for both DCR and Lundqvist.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
And the final Jaguar is also supposed to be a rare, expensive thing, while I think this is supposed to be positioned around the same price as the 718 EV. Really dramatic styling made a lot more sense for Jag.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
This is *such* a get for Foyt. Not quite as big a get as Power would have been, but VeeKay is someone who could be their team leader for a long time in a way that either Power or a prospect could not.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Interesting to me that none of the leaked angles of the Audi were particularly flattering to it. The silhouette was more generic, the head-on of the front only showed its most controversial choice. I like it much more at these quarter angles.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I'm just glad Foyt will continue to have a tenth-place guy to put the other guy in context
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I think he was the first hardcore celebrity F1 fan that I was ever aware of. Fits him perfectly. Even better that he became so much less visible at GPs after they became a cool place to be seen.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Me reclassing every single unit in Fire Emblem: Three Houses into a wyvern knight
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I have seen a lot of comparisons to the Jag, but I think this is much more like any of the failed 90s supercar concepts that never came to fruition (or the Bugatti EB110 that did) Specifically, the Jaguar concept's point is that it has no design elements. This has too many, in a good way.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Audi concept good
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I can't speak for O'Ward but I do think it is extremely safe to say that Alex Palou does not want to race in Formula 2 instead of IndyCar. I don't think Herta does, either.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I am still mad that he never got a ride back in 2020. Should've run St. Pete if not for COVID, never got another chance. One of the best drivers to pursue an IndyCar seat and not get one in 15 years.
Chad Kirchner (@chadkirchner.com) reposted
Tesla introduces more master plans than it does new products.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Also he is ultimately an adult and F2 drivers are ultimately not. There are plenty of ways it can go wrong, but unless he completely fails to gel with the car and tires, he should be winning enough to make all of the random engine failures irrelevant.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I don't really get why he's doing it, but it should probably go well. This is a bad F2 field and next year's won't be strong. Assuming TWG knows that they're supposed to buy him some poor unemployable child's ride mid-season as prep, I think he could have multiple wins by the end of this year.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Will Power really isn’t retiring on his own terms at Team Penske. What a dumb time.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Fantasy football draft grades are a great real-world measure of the limits of AI
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Horrifying: Recognized the Awakening reclass screen immediately from the thumbnail before I realized there was a joke here
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
The last one legitimately looks like a staged photo. That looks like someone drove Charles Leclerc out to a specific dune to do a photo shoot for a magazine.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Happy three fantasy football drafts for some reason day to I assume everyone else too
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I think the IndyCar points system gets the basic idea right: Heavy skew among positions in the top five, little difference beyond 10th, points throughout the order, wins are a nice round number that doesn't look silly written down.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Ty Gibbs has to be so happy that there’s a random pay driver in another major Toyota so his runs to 22nd in the body style/engine combo that finished 1-2-3-4-6 look better
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
The best way to understand this system is that it rewards the 1-5 random career wins from mostly bad drivers
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Basically lost his entire playoff point buffer in one go. Probably needed around a 20th here, really. Now he’ll need to overperform in one of the next two.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Ended up behind the 20 and 48. Car went from low top 20 pace to a solid 25th after he hit a wall early, but that’s still a really, really bad outcome.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Fun race. Darlington good.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
1-5 Toyota 6. AJ Allmendinger 7. Ross Chastain Just like we all expected!
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Man, I did not like that one stop gamble from the 88. I get it, huge upside with a yellow right after the leaders stop again. But he went from beating the guys he needed to beat to behind them.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Why are we in a side by side of the battle for the lead and the battle between bowman and three cars many laps down
hester (@hester.wtf) reposted reply parent
Cartino Ferrocevar
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Carson Hocevar is a human highlight film but all those highlights are passes for 15th on a day where he eventually finishes 32nd
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I’m sure this is true when you lock in on any given guy in 15th after a restart at Darlington but that one lap of coverage featured at least three moments where Hocevar was driving the way one might if they were clear, only to not be clear
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Carson Hocevar’s spotter had to be struggling at his job, right? This lack of spatial awareness also has to be at least in part on the guy employed to give him more spatial awareness
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I see that Austin Dillon is sponsored by the concept of deer season
abby (sports) (@stabbyabby.bsky.social) reposted
I thought the official lottery game of NASCAR was Daytona
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
No need to critique it now. Excellent little run by van Gisbergen to get back to level. Led his lap, passed some cars, and now back on even ground.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I like running the 88 late purely as a confidence builder for SVG, even though it’ll put him against lap down early. He’s getting to feel what it’s like to be faster than the leader on an oval.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I think you nailed it with the video game comparison. Lots of references to real things that seem to instead work like unrelated video game mechanics. The original characters seem to be the only people with agency in the series. And, yet, not a terrible time?
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I’m sorry was that an instrumental cover of the end of Welcome To The Black Parade?
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Chris Myers has done no prep for anything IndyCar related all year.
Mearn (@mearn.me) reposted
Crazy how Palou continued to try to win races even after clinching the title. I am told NASCAR drivers would never do that and have no motivation to win individual races alone
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
I get it, this is the interval that covers 33 cars. It could simply be adjusted for the rest of the season! Rotate from 10 instead of 11!
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
The Fox graphics package has been good ever since they dropped the animated headshots, but it still really bothers me that this 27-car series has a rotating leaderboard with an extra page for just car 27.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Dixon in for tires 👀👀👀
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Great manufacturer teamwork from Siegel. Pretty terrible manufacturer teamwork from Ericsson.
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
After running 4th for the first half of so many oval races before completely disappearing, this was a nice race up to 4th late from Daly
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
A win here today would mean that Alex Palou won most of this year’s races
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Aaaaand Alex Palou got the lead
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Buxton brings up Daly and Ferrucci as a pair so often that it almost feels like there’s a production note in front of the booth that says “mention these guys more”
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social) reply parent
Your race is in big trouble if you get penalized but at least the booth is going to give you credit for padding Marcus Ericcson
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
I’m thinking that this booth might be greatly overestimating how hard it is for a top five car to pass the cars running 25th-15th in an IndyCar race on a short oval
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
Is Graham Rahal’s car broken or is he just not really putting an effort in today
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
So that’s the entire top three knocked out of contention in three separate incidents over one caution
Fred Smith (@fredsmith.bsky.social)
That shot of a driver extremely visible in a helicopter would be in terrible taste after most incidents. Pretty fun after hearing the doctor say it’s fine, though.