What the F is going on with F1 ?
 

It's getting harder and harder to remain a fan...

First they foist those quiet Turbo-ERS-MGK-whatever alphabet soup - F1 cars on us, with "tire management" so we can see the best drivers in the world cruise around in near silence to preserve their rubber and precious engines...
They cut engine and transmissions #s so we can have those silly 75 spot penalties, because that saves so much money vs what they spent on developing that new tech (not)...
They kill testing so it takes 3 years to catch the team that got it right Year 1 (Mercedes)... because it's not like they will spend the same $ on simulators (they will)
They schedule Baku (don't knock it, it looks like an interesting track) the same day as the 24 hours of Le Mans... Really ???
They retain that stupid qualifying format for Bahrein, just to see if it's really that stupid a second time (it is).

And now the white haired Leprechaun wants to replace Monza with Vegas ? Monza ? The race with the sea of Ferrari fans? Is the Leprechaun out of his mind ?

That's where I draw the line. Take out Monza, Spa or Suzuka, and I'm out. Considering F1 is the reason I keep Cable TV, this could save me $. The GPDA is right, F1 Management is bonkers...

yeah i quit watching it.

Really, they want to kill the Monza race and replace it with Vegas?

Wow, that is beyond freaking stupid.

I do hate the economy runs where saving tires and engines is paramount to going flat out racing.

I don't have hard numbers (obviously) but I'm willing to bet we could be running the old V10-V8 whatever in higher numbers (no more penalties) at 18000 RPM with fat tires, full speed all the time, with none of the energy recovery or DRS zones for a lot less $, and in a more fan pleasing fashion. Formula E has the tesla-crowd covered.

Everybody is saying the same thing: reduce the aerodynamics. Yet, year after year they do *everything* but that...

Next year the cars will be faster but it will be the exact same thing as far as passing/following other cars... Then again I may not be watching anymore...

I can't watch it anymore, either.

Here's Zonta and Villeneuve at Eau Rouge; 1999, this is the when drivers were starting to be able to take the corner flat, but not always; I can't imagine how much courage it must've taken to keep the pedal matted ....

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The ironic thing is that every "cost saving measure" ends up making the sport more expensive.

No in-season testing? The top teams build test rigs, simulators, and have wind tunnels.

Engines must last longer? Each engine costs many multiples of what a single-race engine costs.

I say, give the teams a set amount of fuel per face and let the run whatever they want. Don't limit flow rates, displacement, or types of technology. Also, encourage the development of aero devices that create less turbulence. Discourage wings and encourage ground effects and diffusers. This will allow the cars to run closer together.

F1 today: a good nap unspoiled.

Its like Nascar: Watch the first 5 laps and the last 5 laps. Everything in between is just resource management.

I don't understand why they don't just poll the teams, drivers and retired drivers still active in the paddock. Ask them what they want to make the cars go faster, still be safe, and make a good show for the fans. Simple.

herr_oberst, the cars in that era were so beautiful and sounded so great. I miss the old days :(

Deschodt is correct: Leave the power units, KERS, DRS, etc to Formula E.

Fastest F1 lap in history at Monza. Nearly 163 mph average speed is seriously bringing it on a road course. High horsepower shrieking engines and high downforce. Just awe inspiring, probably never to be repeated. I'll never forget the years I went to Indy to see the USGP...boring track when measured against Monza, Spa and Silverstone, but the cornering speeds, sounds of the V10's echoing off the grandstands were unforgettable.

Some people may enjoy the new form the sport has taken but like others I find myself increasingly bored with the strange tire rules, bizarre qualifying format, ban on radio communication and sewing machine engines.

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I still watch every lap of every race, I just don't get as excited about it as much as I used to.

I believe we need to give the new qualifying format a chance, I believe it will be a good thing in the long run. remember it wasn't that long ago that each car got one lap per session. One lap to qualify. that really sucked to watch.


IMHO F1 should be the best of the best.
Build the best car you can with the best driver and duke it out. There are way too many restrictions and stupid rules.

If I were king (and your glad I'm not) there would be 3 liter V12s and 1.5 liter turbos like in the olden days. No anti-lock brakes or traction control, no movable aero, but just about anything else would be OK.
Oh, and the drivers would have to use their hand to shift with a gear shift. No paddle crap.

I think threatening to cancel races like Monza is a standard tactic of Herr Ecclestone to extract more money from everyone.

Yup. It is becoming a global version of NASCAR. I quit watching several years ago.

I have quit watching as well. Sad.

Luckily we have healthy series to fall back on with fantastic racing in the WEC and Weathertech / Conti.

I lost interest MANY yrs ago, back when senna died.
not just because of that, it was just not interesting anymore. I don't want to take anything away from F1 drivers but it has kind of turned into euro-nascar
like nascar today. it was good back when they had to DRIVE the cars, now they just ride around at the super speed ways. I forget who, but one of the drivers said he almost fell asleep.

Nope, not for me this year, I cancelled it on my provider. I didn't like last year and I think this year will be more of the same. I agree with everyone that some big changes need to be made in the future. To loose Monza would break the bank. But it's more money in Bernies pocket, and thats what F1 is today.

I used to read the race reports from Rob Walker and I don't remember who else in R&T in the later 80s and early 90s. I really enjoyed that. Then I lost interest when F1 started turning into high-speed lapping parades. If I could go back to old-school reports like those again, I'd probably enjoy it.

fify

Innes Ireland was another, but RW was the best, especially when Mario was driving F1. There seemed to be a comfortable rapport between the two, (Walker and Andretti) with discussions of qualifying, the size of Ronnie Peterson's gonads vis a vis going flat stick into the Parabolica, backgammon games and brownies that his wife Betty would bring to the races. IIRC, Betty would also sit on the pit wall and fill out lap charts, that would occasionally be used by the stewards to settle discrepancies, but I might be commingling reminisces.

Did you guys actually watch the season opener??? Cars look great, sound MUCH better and the racing was great!!! They need to figure out Quali, but damn, it's better than EVERYTHING else out there (on 4 wheels). Hass scored points, Fernando is lucky to be alive and fun was had by all. Just forget the the politics and enjoy the racing. Would you rather have no F1??? Stop living in the past. It's never going to be like that again.

No, it's a lot more fun to complain about how much better things were back in the goodle days! Besides, I don't have TV.

I get my four-wheeled racing fix from WEC and the WeatherTech/IMSA SportsCar Championship (in particular the GTLM cars). I have always favored sports car racing to the open wheeled stuff, but there was a time when I at least made an effort to watch F1 races. Now, not so much.

Edit: I did catch a few laps of "qualifying" for this last F1 race, and the cars did sound better. And nice to see Haas

Formula 1 has reinvented itself several times since it's founding in 1946. Not all evolutions have been better for the spectator, and most were met with fan resistance, but the cycle is on it's way back up again IMHO (except that stupid and short lived new qualifying WTF??? :confused:).

The first race this year was far more interesting than the races at the end of last season. They sound a little better too. Haas and Grosjean is there for us to root for. Hamilton is there to root against. The restriction of communication from the pits will force driver error and mix up the podium for sure. I've been a fan since the early 70's and I'm still in...and already hold my flights and race vouchers for Spa in August. GO HAAS!

Many of the changes in the last two decades were made to slow the cars and improve the safety of the drivers. Personally, I'll live with laps a few seconds slower if it saves the lives of the one to two drivers who died every year just 20 years ago. Other changes have been made to drive new technologies in the automotive industry...Like better fuel consumption in hi-horsepower applications, electric hybrid power, and application of lighter materials. Over time the speeds will catch up, and they are faster this year then last year and getting faster.

This last few years have been a real bottom turn for sure, even for me, but the sport is not charity. When the fans leave the sponsors leave. When the sponsors leave changes are made to bring the fans back. It think we're there now.

I really believe, once they dump the new qualifying, this year will turn the corner and start getting better.

I guess you guys missed "Yr Fthfl Svnt" reports before rob took over for R&T

one story by rob mentions his whole team in rented fiat
2 wrench's 1 driver 1 wife/timekeeper and 1 owner
today they need several buses to mover the traveling team

Thanks for the reminder! I'm too young to have read them when they were fresh, but I read all of his R&T stuff in old back issues :)

Was that LJK Setright?

The "sounds of today"? Boy, you have no understanding of the sounds they used to have. Today's sounds are like a fart in a can, without the smell.

The cars need to rely more on mechanical grip and be less aero sensitive to allow passing. WEC and MotoGP are more fun to watch, IMO.

I know... let's put The Idiot Grandson in charge of the series. He'll fix things. Couldn't get any worse.

M.C. Hamilton had it right. Too much aero in 2017, not enough mechanical grip.

What is wrong with F1? I dunno, the people in charge?

M.C. Hamilton, hahahaha

I did, and it was a good race. Why? because Ferrari disrupted the Mercedes status quo, an accident bunched up the field, a cinderella Haas did well with essentially a B-spec Ferrari car, and fast guys messed up and had to get through the pack (Max and Lewis). I'm not saying it's horrible but it's headed down the wrong path...

Think how much better it might be if the cars sounded like they used to, if the drivers could push all the time (fuel flow limits, tire limits), if cars could follow each other close and mechanical grip was improved (vettel might have gotten Hamilton). If manufacturers were free to develop as they wish (no tokens). If we raced Imola instead of Sochi. If aero was less disruptive and drivers could pass like big boys, not with DRS gimmicks...

"Power units" get managed to death. Alonso would be already out of the championship this year (assuming his car was any good, which it's not) because he lost an entire power unit in his crash. That's just dumb... An engine is peanuts for MacLaren. They'll spend more in simulation this week end...

All that stuff that was done to reduce costs actually increased costs. I knew a guy at Mecachrome (ex-Renault) and towards the end of the run, that reliable V10 was cheap to make, fully amortized... Wanna save $ ? go back to 16 races on famous tracks. Don't remove the staple tracks or countries that are historically significant to F1. People have said for years kill aero and yet they want more aero for next year... Even HAM said it was stupid, they'd just have the same status quo, 5 secs a lap faster, zero racing improvement.

I'm not stuck in the past, I object to the gimmickification of F1 (DRS is lame, pass like a man, fuel flow is lame, set a tank size and let them decide) and to the fact the world's best drivers (oops, I mean second best after WRC drivers) are "cruising" 80% of the race to manage tires or fuel consumption. The GPDA is right, management of F1 is terrible.

F1 doesn't resemble anything I would call racing.

It sells soap. All that matters. Thanks a lot, Colin Chapman! SmileWavy

And who can deny that this is one damn good looking racecar?


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F1 is not a sport. It is a business and a show.

Its all about:
- the manufacturers and sponsors getting advertising.
- rich people having a party and can then brag about it later.

The powers that control F1 don't give a tinker's damn about average people. The only reason the show is televised is to give the sponsors greater advertising exposure.

Somewhere in all that are some talented drivers and engineers that do it for the love of racing but they are 3rd class citizens compared to the above.

edit: there is one more major factor to F1:
Uncle Bernie and he welcomes you to Tommy's Holiday Camp (The Who fans will understand)

Yes.

Originally Posted by herr_oberst View Post
Was that LJK Setright?

Henry N. Manney III


btw alonzo is OUT for babarain
ribs ? vandome will replace him

back in the 80's and 90's I could see how the cars were handling, you could see a push or one that was loose but now they are so much better they all look like they are not pushing hard until one spins.

Did you guy hear ? Alonso is out of Bahrein and China is a maybe... Pneumothorax (deflated lung) not completely healed and broken or damaged ribs which could make it worse if driving... That shunt was massive !!!

Yeah, that was scary!!!!

Doh!!!

My bad. My brain misfired and Setright was on the screen in front of me but I was thinking Manney so my brain turned it into Manney. Thanks for correcting me.

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