This Weekend in Sports: Formula 1's Austrian Grand Prix & Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Breaking news! I’m a Formula One fan now. David St. Martin suggested I give it a try by diving into the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive and I was immediately hooked. I binged both seasons over the weekend and now feel fully equipped to cheer on particular drivers while absolutely despising the others.

I always figured I was a stubborn prick about sports because I’ve been a lifelong fan of all my favorite teams. Turns out, it only takes a weekend for me to dig in on half-formed opinions.

At any rate, I’m fully aboard the F1 train just in time for the start of the season. And if you thought MMA and golf was a strange combination, we’ve got auto racing and hot dog-eating filling up the holiday weekend. Competitions are competitions, I suppose. You won’t catch me complaining.

WHAT TO WATCH

The Austrian Grand Prix – Formula One

The 2020 F1 season is set to begin this weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Due to COVID-19, the current schedule features eight races on six tracks; the minimum amount required for a 2020 champion to be named.

It’s an odd year for Formula One, which has historically operated without a spending cap. This has led to the teams with the most money having the best chances of success, creating a huge gap between the top tier race teams and the rest of the field. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have been dominating the competition for the better part of a decade.

To put that in perspective, the last time a non-top three team won an F1 race was 2013 when Kimi Raikkonen took first place in the season-opener, driving for Lotus Renault. It’s been a three-team race ever since.

But that all changes in 2021, as a new spending cap was unanimously approved by the FIA (International Automobile Federation), limiting teams to $175 Million to spend on car performance. Other expenses, including driver salaries and marketing costs remain unregulated.

So what does that mean for this season? Well, the cars will be faster than ever and it’s the last chance for one of these teams to steal a win from the juggernauts before the FIA levels the playing field.

For those that don’t have time to crush 20 episodes of Drive to Survive, I’ll provide a quick breakdown of what I learned.

Lewis Hamilton is far and away the best driver and he’s driving for Mercedes, the best team in the sport.
The only teams with a prayer of beating Mercedes are Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, who both have excellent cars and talented drivers.
Alexander Albon (Red Bull) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) are super talented young drivers who are lacking experience. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was recently in their shoes but is slowly crawling towards veteran status. Still 32 years old but working on his seventh season with Formula One, Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) is an accomplished veteran who claims the third most victories of all time behind Lewis Hamilton and the legendary Michael Schumacher.
Daniel Ricciardo is very polarizing among fans. Some hate him, some love him. Charismatic Australian.
Lance Stroll is the son of billionaire who essentially had a driver’s seat bought for him by his father. He’s actually had one podium finish in 62 starts, but I get the impression he isn’t particularly respected.
Kimi Raikkonen is absolutely hilarious and must-watch whenever there’s a mic in his face.

And there you have it. You’re ready for the 2020 season. We’ve got practice Friday, Qualifying on Saturday and the big race Sunday at 9:05 am EST. You can watch on ESPN and ESPN 2.

Gentlemen, start your engines! (Or whatever’s the F1 equivalent of that famous Indy 500 command)

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

It’s a tradition like no other. Get a bunch of people together in Coney Island to stuff their faces with piles of hot dogs and soaking wet buns. It’s strange, impressive, disgusting and oh so very American. But this year, due to Covid-19, there won’t be crowds to cheer on the competitors.

Now I know what you’re thinking. What’s the point of downing 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes if there isn’t a live audience in hot dog hats cheering you on? You could argue that it almost defeats the purpose. But don’t tell Joey Chestnut, the greatest hot dog eating champion of all time.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, Chestnut claimed that the conditions could, in fact, be ideal for the eaters, who will be competing in air conditioning rather than the hot summer sun. They’ll also be competing in groups of five rather than fifteen due to Covid restrictions.