F1 Sucks These Days
Discussion
Derek Smith said:
D'you know what I miss most in modern F1? Overtaking.
What's worse is that I missed it at the time it was all going on. Yet I started watching F1 well over 50 years ago. Maybe I blinked.
We have had more overtaking in the last ten years than ever before. If you have time in you hands, try to watch a few full races from the 70s or 80s... I challenge you to do not fall asleep. What's worse is that I missed it at the time it was all going on. Yet I started watching F1 well over 50 years ago. Maybe I blinked.
Very often we watch the highlights from the past, we don't realise how little was happening during most of the races.
We have been blessed in the last 10years racing wise even if sometimes it feels a bit artificial due to DRS.
Depends on your race - try Italian GP 1971 ...Or British GP 1969 - where Rindt and Stewart were changing places nearly every lap .
But the appeal of F1 is , and always has been , far more nuanced than how many times people overtake each other and that is an aspect which rarely comes over well on TV . I've been enthralled by races I have attended in person but fallen asleep at the TV coverage .
Overtaking should be hard , but it should be possible . Traditionally, it has always been by out-braking or by slipstreaming but insanely effective braking in the modern F1 car makes out-braking very tricky, and it's often served with a side order of wheel to wheel contact , which is all a bit undignified . Aero means slipstreaming is not as effective as it was . but who cares when you can press a button , get an instant 10km/hr over the guy in front and shoot by like he's in a Corsa and you're in a Cayman?
DRS , and paddle shifts ,meaning you can never botch a gearchange have spoiled the lottery of F1. It is still the best show in town but the artifice of DRS alone is symptomatic of failure in the rules.
But the appeal of F1 is , and always has been , far more nuanced than how many times people overtake each other and that is an aspect which rarely comes over well on TV . I've been enthralled by races I have attended in person but fallen asleep at the TV coverage .
Overtaking should be hard , but it should be possible . Traditionally, it has always been by out-braking or by slipstreaming but insanely effective braking in the modern F1 car makes out-braking very tricky, and it's often served with a side order of wheel to wheel contact , which is all a bit undignified . Aero means slipstreaming is not as effective as it was . but who cares when you can press a button , get an instant 10km/hr over the guy in front and shoot by like he's in a Corsa and you're in a Cayman?
DRS , and paddle shifts ,meaning you can never botch a gearchange have spoiled the lottery of F1. It is still the best show in town but the artifice of DRS alone is symptomatic of failure in the rules.
coppice said:
Depends on your race - try Italian GP 1971 ...Or British GP 1969 - where Rindt and Stewart were changing places nearly every lap .
But the appeal of F1 is , and always has been , far more nuanced than how many times people overtake each other and that is an aspect which rarely comes over well on TV . I've been enthralled by races I have attended in person but fallen asleep at the TV coverage .
Overtaking should be hard , but it should be possible . Traditionally, it has always been by out-braking or by slipstreaming but insanely effective braking in the modern F1 car makes out-braking very tricky, and it's often served with a side order of wheel to wheel contact , which is all a bit undignified . Aero means slipstreaming is not as effective as it was . but who cares when you can press a button , get an instant 10km/hr over the guy in front and shoot by like he's in a Corsa and you're in a Cayman?
DRS , and paddle shifts ,meaning you can never botch a gearchange have spoiled the lottery of F1. It is still the best show in town but the artifice of DRS alone is symptomatic of failure in the rules.
DRS is indeed a requirement to make overtakes practical with the cars chewing up the air so much. Modern aero effectively forced the introduction of DRS.But the appeal of F1 is , and always has been , far more nuanced than how many times people overtake each other and that is an aspect which rarely comes over well on TV . I've been enthralled by races I have attended in person but fallen asleep at the TV coverage .
Overtaking should be hard , but it should be possible . Traditionally, it has always been by out-braking or by slipstreaming but insanely effective braking in the modern F1 car makes out-braking very tricky, and it's often served with a side order of wheel to wheel contact , which is all a bit undignified . Aero means slipstreaming is not as effective as it was . but who cares when you can press a button , get an instant 10km/hr over the guy in front and shoot by like he's in a Corsa and you're in a Cayman?
DRS , and paddle shifts ,meaning you can never botch a gearchange have spoiled the lottery of F1. It is still the best show in town but the artifice of DRS alone is symptomatic of failure in the rules.
The problem however is that aero is basically a safety feature, in addition to obviously being a performance feature. The move to less aero downforce and bringing back more GE could help with that and potentially if effective enough could remove the need for DRS. But I wonder if we've had it for so long now that the average fan is used to it and would prefer it to stay?
uptheraidillon said:
Don't know how modern F1 drivers put up with their centre of vision being blocked with the halo.
I imagine you tune out of it in the same way you do if you have dual monitors with the bezel in the middle. Plus there is also that “this might save my life” factor too.TheDeuce said:
...potentially if effective enough could remove the need for DRS. But I wonder if we've had it for so long now that the average fan is used to it and would prefer it to stay?
From some comments I read , especially on the odd times I dip into some F1 websites, the average fan hasa mental age of eleven , the attention span of an ant and a knowledge of any aspect of motor sport (other than the last five years of F1 ) which rivals my expertise in string theory. Some say that F1 should have overtaking like they think NASCAR does , , that IPR in brake ducts is interesting and that anything which happened before they .started watching must have been crap.
So I am not really interested in what dilettante fans think,
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