Grand Prix 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

we are back to LAAAAAAAAAS VEGAS, NEVADA this week, (its hard to say without pretending to be bruce buffer),reading i was captivated by the history of Las Vegas, which is similar in size to Glasgow & Dublin. Globally, it's relatively new, having been only founded as a city in 1905, just 4 years after Queen Victoria's death. It didn't begin to develop into the city we recognize today until 1931. By that time, the world had already hosted ten Olympic Games. Las Vegas truly began to thrive after World War II.

I believe we all entered last year with a degree of skepticism, suspecting it would be all style & no substance. The cringe inducing opening ceremony, the drain cover issue that forced fans out of FP2 due to time curfews, & the terrible TV camera shots that need improvement this year certainly didn't help matters.

but once we got to qualifying & the race. i thought it was a bright spot in the most depressing season for 20 years, a circuit with a great challenge, love the huge back straight. cold weather making drivers have to work harder as you have to hunt for the grip & just ask Max verstappen on whether drivers enjoyed the race

Of course, we aren't here solely for F1; however, i could argue that for 3/4 of the races we attend, the locations aren't chosen for their love of F1. They are selected to put themselves on the map or because they represent an important business market for the manufacturers. & for Liberty this is an opportunity they couldn't turn down, to get a race the 1 of world's most visited tourist destination. The self billed the Entertainment Capital of the World was no brainer & if we get races like last yr i can see this turning into a success,

you know what with Vegas repuaution & most of it self billed, with music & gambling what goes under the radar. is arguably they are biggest sporting american city Boxing, NHL, NFL, UFC, WNBA + last years NFL superbowl, all situated in Vegas. then add to that list that NBA & Baseball are on there way in the near future. MLS Highly touted . so F1 is a good fit in that respect

& absoultely love this picture taken from a plane, during the weekend last yr

on this week Max could secure his 4th successive F1 world championship title with qatar & abu dhabi to spare. after all but winning it following that masterful drive in Brazil. Max needs to finish the race 60 points or more clear of Norris, which in simple terms. if max finishes ahead of norris or both retire. he wins & in more complicated terms

 

[The Artist.....]

which is a shame because i dont know the problem is. F1 for me has never been healthier. that was a another entertaining race. 5 different constructors on the podium the last 3 races.

whats the biggest gripes of nearly last 25yrs. F1 is boring, it's predictable. 1 man dominates. if it wasnt schumacher its vettel, its mercedes & then verstappen. & we know we are realistic / high expectations. but F1 has never been so competitive in its near 75yrs. we got 3 way constructors title battle for 1st time that i can remember maybe 2010? & today 3 things happened in F1 1st time i its history

• never before have 7 drivers have won multiple races in 1 season
• never before have 4 constructors won at least 4 races each
• never before have 4 different constructors finished 1-2

ingredients for 2025 mean it could be even better & brilliant season

I think that the main problems with F1 are:

1. The calendar has passed saturation point. There are too many races, and...
2. Many of them are either in places that have no F1 tradition, or in sterile Tilke dromes (and held with gimmicks such as night races).
   1. Mistakes are not punished - drivers can just sail off into the run off area without even losing a place, let alone having to retire
   2. Because of the over-saturation of technology, mistakes are far less likely.
3. There's too much about F1 that's artificial.
   1. Compulsory pitstops removes much of the intrigue. It used to be that drivers could make a choice - either make no stops and use harder tyres, or make a stop (or multiple stops) and risk having to overtake. The fact that pitstops now take less than 2 seconds is also a problem.
   2. DRS. I know that DRS was a solution to a problem - that cars could not follow closely and overtake, but is DRS really the answer?
4. The cars just look like trucks. Even in the early 90s, the cars looked nimble, and "alive" during races.
   1. Drivers cannot push, because of the fuel limit, and the fact that the tyres fall to pieces if you push them beyond dawdling pace
   2. The cars are so big and heavy (relatively). Right now, F1 cars look like someone has brought a Harley Davidson to a trials bike competition.
   3. Drivers don't visibly make a difference any more. In the 80s and 90s, you'd have cases where drivers would qualify more than 1 second faster than their team-mate. In those circumstances, it would be a case that one driver had taken the car by the scruff of the neck, and lifted it to a higher plane. Think of Nigel Mansell against Riccardo Patrese in 1992, or Ayrton Senna versus any of his team-mates. People see the grid being close together as being a good thing. I see it as a bad thing, as all of the drivers are able to extract the maximum of their package, and so the driver no longer makes a difference. The only counter of this is Max Verstappen - but this could simply because Sergio Perez just isn't that good.
5. Over-professionalisation.
6. Sky, Sky, and more Sky. To watch F1, you have to commit to paying at least £20 a month. However, you don't get any option but to pay for all of the sports. You don't like Football? Tough. You don't like snooker - well you're getting it anyway.
7. The sport "looks" too easy. The fact that drivers can come in, and almost immediately be competitive is a problem. In the past, drivers had to put in an apprenticeship, but in the current era, if a driver comes in to a good team, the expectation is that they will have the capability to win immediately. It used to be astounding that "a driver in their first full season of F1" (Murray Walker, thank you) had scored points, or managed to get on the podium.
8. Older drivers never need to retire. Lewis Hamilton is 39, Fernando Alonso is 43. In previous eras, they would have been seen as far too old to continue taking the risks in the sport.

Finally, money dominates. Think of the stars of the 1980s. Many of them had made personal sacrifices to get into F1. Nigel Mansell had to put his home at risk to race in F3. Niki Lauda took out a bank-loan to get himself into F2. F1 is now dominated by people from rich families, or people whose parents had made the sacrifices, some to the extent that they buy an F1 team for their child.

 

[Il_leone]

A very subdued Mclaren performance so we still got a constructors fight

For all the criticism this was a great race

Hamilton could have won the race but still was not expecting Mercedes to get fastest after some very poor races

 

[cider_and_toast]

F1 is boring, it's predictable. 1 man dominates

20 out of the last 25 championships have been won by just 4 drivers.

Apart from Fangio in the 1950's when he could change teams in mid season and cars mid race to ensure he remained competitive and could win, the only drivers to win 3 or more championships in a row have all been since 2020.

Having different drivers win in a season is useless if the same driver wins the title year on year until the next major rule change.

F1 is boring, it's predictable and 1 man dominates.