Ebized Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Interest in F1 has fallen away for all sorts of reasons, but I stick with it although I really hate all the emphasis on aero and tyres that currently dominates a car's success or otherwise and I expect many others struggle to understand that I believe is the reason many fans have fallen away, aside from free TV live coverage being taken away this year (except for the UK event). But the attached digital program for this coming weekend's Spanish F1 that dropped into my inbox, from a cursory glance I found interesting enough to start this thread. https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.spain-free-digital-race-programme-2019.6ygvXE6K76Ky7zZteugK08.html Would be interested to hear others views on the current state of the sport and its future....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 I still follow it, although not watch it live as I don't have Sky. Tbh it's not that interesting to me unless Lewis is winning/doing well, which probably says as much about me as it does the current state of the sport. It's funny watching Ferrari implode though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Love F1 but wish the racing was closer between more of the teams. I do think it would be better if tyres could last and they brought back re-fueling so they could actually push for 2 hours in stead of managing temps and having enough fuel to cross the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 No denying Lewis is a very special talent, but his rise to the top has been helped by being in the right place at the right time to drive for teams at the top of their game. But sadly these days it is all about the performance of the cars and had most of the others on the grid this year, including the rookies, have comparable cars then it would make for far more 'watchable' viewing. Evidence of this is when George Russell (last years F2 winner) had the opportunity to drive the current F1 Mercedes during testing post the Bahrain race and he ended up quickest on the day that included most of the other F1 drivers, whereas he and Robert Kubica have been stuck at the bottom of the finishing order in all the races to date in the totally uncompetitive Williams that also uses the Mercedes engines. https://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/mercedes-amg-f1/amg-f1-news/amg-f1-article/george-russell-concludes-first-in-season-test-of-2019/ All down to money that buys the best of everything - something the Mercedes and Ferrari teams are prepared to do at any cost to win and sod the rest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Id like to have seen him go to a team that struggles to even get a single win during a season, the way Michael did going to Ferrari in 96' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMetal Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 20 minutes ago, davey_83 said: Id like to have seen him go to a team that struggles to even get a single win during a season, the way Michael did going to Ferrari in 96' The McLaren would often not be the best car by quite a margin and he'd do something special. I think his skills extend beyond the car he seems able to build a team around himself and always work towards a goal. Alonso also had plenty of talent but didn't seem to do so well with the team aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 24 minutes ago, davey_83 said: Id like to have seen him go to a team that struggles to even get a single win during a season, the way Michael did going to Ferrari in 96' You mean when he took the gamble in moving to a distinctly average Mercedes team to replace Schumacher, a team that had won just one race all season? Sure it paid off in a big way, but that was not a good team at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 I mean, don't get me wrong I'd like to see some of the younger drivers given a go in the big cars to open up the competition a bit more, but it's not like it doesn't happen with LeClerc and Verstappen recent successes. Kubica and Kimi shouldn't be anywhere near an F1 car right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 They're not the only ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Ekona said: You mean when he took the gamble in moving to a distinctly average Mercedes team to replace Schumacher, a team that had won just one race all season? Sure it paid off in a big way, but that was not a good team at the time. Checking they won 3 races, 9 podiums and came second in the championship..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 1 hour ago, MDMetal said: The McLaren would often not be the best car by quite a margin and he'd do something special. I think his skills extend beyond the car he seems able to build a team around himself and always work towards a goal. Alonso also had plenty of talent but didn't seem to do so well with the team aspect. Sorry I meant since leaving McLaren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 36 minutes ago, davey_83 said: Checking they won 3 races, 9 podiums and came second in the championship..... Nope, in 2012 (the final season before Lewis joined the team) they won 1 race, with 3 podiums and a single pole. That was the team he was moving to, so that's the base level for the judgement call he made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 44 minutes ago, davey_83 said: Checking they won 3 races, 9 podiums and came second in the championship..... Fifth in the championship. Behind McLaren (and Lotus).... Rosberg & Schumacher finished 9th & 13th respectively with Hamilton finishing 4th in his final year in a McLaren. And then finishing 4th in his first year in a Mercedes (who came 2nd that year...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Hold my hands up, my mistake I was looking at 13' not 12'. Colin makes a good point above, about the cars ability over the rest of the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrenny Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Politics and terrible aero regulations aside, I enjoyed watching Hamilton and Vettel battle in the first half of the 2018 season. Hope for another season like that with Bottas and Leclerc getting involved too. It's annoying how Silverstone might not be on the calendar next year but they have already confirmed a Vietnam Grand Prix. I can't imagine a season without a British Grand Prix but there aren't any other tracks to host it in the UK. I just don't want Mercedes to run away with championship, would like it to be close near the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 Martin Brundle has pretty much summed up F1 - that is rapidly becoming a dinosaur in motor sport these days, although God forbid it takes over the 'whiney' full electric alternative. If Liberty Media say they are all about putting on a show then they are failing miserably IMHO. https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24096/11719448/martin-brundle-on-spanish-gp-frustrations-and-f1-future-visions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Part of the problem is that Liberty are still dealing with the fallout of Bernie's legacy deals that had no intention of doing anything for entertainment (or, arguably, the sport). Having said that, I'm not sure what they can do to prevent one team dominating an era simply because they got their understanding of the rules right from the start. I really, really don't want it to become the gimmick-laden s**tshow that is Formula E (or Formula W...) for the sake of "entertainment", I'd rather stick with what we've got than go that route. I'd even rather go back to the days of condoned Ferrari cheating than that! If someone can come up with a way of making the racing actually racing-focused entertainment instead I'm all up for that, but I can't think of anything that actually manages to do that well at the moment. Not on the large scale akin to F1 anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 Touring cars is great entertainment with manufacturer involvement but the privateers are always in with a chance and us armchair enthusiasts (UK) get to see each event free on TV. Even the supporting races with Touring Cars offer more entertainment than F1 these days, I am sad to say, but then those in control are not out to fleece the humble fans - the very people who who make all categories of racing by professionals viable. When this forum started there was a very active following of F1 but over the years the waning initerest is reflected globaly. You only had to see the number of empty seats at the Spanish GP this last weekend - OK, so Alonso was not taking part but the first European race of the season in the past would normally draw a full house of fans from across Europe that are sadly swithching off in droves, as Martin B alludes to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Touring cars is always going to be more entertaining than F1 simply because it’s more of a contact sport than F1 ever can be. But even that aside, there’s little from BTCC than can translate to F1 really to make the latter more interesting without fundamentally changing the entire ethos of F1, IMHO. On a side note; BTCC needs to be picked up by a proper channel. All for it staying on free TV, but ITV really are s**t at all sports! I’d watch it a lot more if it had decent coverage. I know many people don’t like Sky having F1, but I like their coverage. At least they can organise a proper TV schedule... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N1ck Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 F1 still class Monaco as a special event yet there are virtually no opportunities to overtake-other tracks suffer from this also, so why bother to "race" at these tracks? Oh, money....still love F1 and have followed it for years but i find myself waiting for the F2 to come around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Well tonight i've just got home from 6 days in Barcelona with the wife - I dragged her with me to watch her first grand prix. We had an amazing time and she's onboard for some future trips, including possibly Spa later this year. Colin you're right - there were a lot of empty seats in the grand stands at the GP, but the general admission areas were heaving. The price has a lot to do with this - I think £220 was the cheapest grand stand ticket when i bought mine, compared to £99 for the general admission. The atmosphere and arguably the view is better from the grass anyway. I think Max Verstappen is huge for the sport - his fan base is immense. Lewis still got the biggest cheer but it seemed the majority of people there were wearing orange. I think it's fantastic that they've announced a Dutch GP next year - we'll likely be going. The on track action this year has been a let down so far, but it's looking like Bottas is hopefully turning it up a notch and putting some pressure on Lewis, a'la Rosberg in his final year. Neither have got their elbows out yet, but it will come. For what it's worth, i was at the BTCC at Donnington a couple of weeks ago too. I've never followed BTCC religiously but i'm trying to this year. I find it a bit difficult to follow though. Very few of the teams are recognisable to me... too many independents. I miss the 90's when they were all manufacturer teams. I'm sure as i get more into it though it'll become more familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted May 16, 2019 Author Share Posted May 16, 2019 I take your point about pricing and no doubt most Spanish and real hard core fans used the general admission, whereas those who travel from elsewhere in Europe and further no doubt opt for grandstand seats but their cost coupled with travel/hotel costs mean a very pricey weekend for and lets face it, hardly the most exciting racing with leading runners all too predictable. I do agree about Max - he will be off to Merc or Ferrari for 2020 if he gets no wins or few podiums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 I’d love to see Max and Lewis in the same car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilogikal1 Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 4 hours ago, Ekona said: I’d love to see Max and Lewis in the same car. Well, maybe give them each their own car... ...then again, maybe not actually! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 I knew you’d bite on that one mate! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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