Formula E Beijing ePrix Race Discussion

[Road of Bones]

I really enjoyed it- was cheering Heidefld & Birdy on, appalled by Prost at the final corner. Not surprising how he blamed Nick- I mean, how dare Heidfeld try and overtake him?

Itv4 coverage is rather naff, but I'll definitely keep watching this series.

An entertaining 7 from me.

 

[cider_and_toast]

10 weeks? Blimey. You have to say that's crazy.

 

[RasputinLives]

The idea was to have one race a month but they seemed to have skipped October for some reason!

 

[teabagyokel]

I think Jarno Trulli would want a race tomorrow so as he could get Beijing totally off his mind, and Heidfeld will have time to install his Nico Prost dartboard.

 

[FB]

Quite enjoyed it. It's not F1 but then F1 today is barely F1. It's all a bit surreal when the lights go out and there is just this rather annoying hum as the cars go down to the first corner.

The sooner they get rid of the "E-J" the better. If they want some noise during the race couldn't they clip a playing card to the suspension and let it rattle against the spokes in the wheel like used to on my bike when I was a kid.

 

[teabagyokel]

The sooner they get rid of the "E-J" the better.

Couldn't they get ELO?

 

[FB]

Bev Bevan has retired...

 

[cider_and_toast]

I was about to agree with you when I realised the annoying noise from the E-J wasn't Eddie Jordan.

 

[cider_and_toast]

They were going to get EMF until some one pointed out it would be unbelievable!

 

[Josephiah]

The sooner they get rid of the "E-J" the better. If they want some noise during the race couldn't they clip a playing card to the suspension and let it rattle against the spokes in the wheel like used to on my bike when I was a kid.

Absolutely - the way they faded the music back in with a few laps to go (as if reaching the poignant denouement of an underdog film) was just weird.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I *hated*'the music. Didn't realise there was some sort of 'EJ' providing it, it just sounded like a loop of cheesy library music.

 

[snowy]

I gave it a one, only because they appeared to make an effort. But the fact is that was a shockingly pathetic spectacle and an abomination before God!

There was absolutely no excuse for mixing the sound so atrociously, exactly the same error that F1 made in the first part or this season, for fuck sake!

 

[Fenderman]

The start and the end were exciting but the half hour in the middle? Personally, I was disappointed but maybe I expected too much.

Apologies to the OP but one cannot ignore the TV coverage as it is integral to the spectacle. I had this crazy notion that it was going to be as innovative as the machinery, but no. Same old zooming in just when the camera should be zooming out and that habit of zooming whilst panning with the cars. It's bad enough when speeds are high but when the cars are so slow it made still photography look positively rapid.

As for the sound, that was another missed opportunity. There is no reason why the ambient sound from the track cannot be louder with less volume from the commentary box. The crowd and track-side noises along with the wailing electric motors must have an atmosphere and ambiance but we didn't get it. At least we got an apology from wotsername in the studio for that irritating "music" - crossover from a "world feed" apparently.

The other big mistake in my book is having it start off as a "one make" series. It should be about innovation in every possible area - including aero'. There's potential for exploring different solutions like "in-wheel" motors versus inboard drive trains, KERS, etc. There's a promise that things will be opened up next season but by how much is anybody's guess.

 

[cider_and_toast]

It just goes to show that the powers that be still think that modern racing needs weird gimicks when, and I think we mostly agree, the racing which was the part we all came to watch, wasn't too bad.

I would imagine the strange program which will prevent the series gaining a good deal of press momentum was designed to avoid any conflict with other series but stretch it out over a long period. On the other hand, a compact series from November through to March would have made more sense.

The other thing is that several of the teams have more than one racing series to think of so I guess they were against to compact a series in what is globally seen as the off season. This may have had an impact on their preperation for their other championships.

I've looked around the online world to see if there were any other fan reviews but there hasn't been to much buzz about it. I even considered giving ITV some feedback but couldn't find more constructive feedback than "absolute shite"

 

[Fenderman]

"... but couldn't find more constructive feedback than "absolute shite" ..."

 

[marksawatsky]

Here in Canada, the coverage was provided by TSN and Dario Franchitti was a commentator. He mumbled his way through the broadcast. I agree with everything Josephiah has already said about the actual race. Did anybody actually see the fanboost used? I kept waiting for one of them to use it but never saw sudden acceleration. This series will get a lot better when teams are allowed to innovate with motors and batteries but I hope they keep the lack of aero.

 

[Fenderman]

It seems to me the cars would have been faster - and looked faster to the viewer - if they could carry more speed through the corners. They were positively pedestrian and the grooved tyres don't help. With regard to aero', I'm not necessarily interested in more front and rear wing, rather I would like to see more interesting shapes to the cars. Apart from the funky wheel shrouds the cars are not much different to GP2 or GP3. Gimme more Sci-Fi and individuality. Is that too much to ask?

 

[snowy]

Fanboost! The expletives that might do justice to my thoughts on that subject haven't been invented yet!

 

[F1Yorkshire]

The grooved tyres I can understand at this stage, they are all weather which means its one less variable to consider when we have a wet or partially wet race. I suppose once they have got the battery technology improved and the cars can last a full race distance then I can imagine slicks with the option of wets being the norm. They would have to change the pit system, it all seemed a little bit like a school sports day in there.

I know a few of you are not happy with the 10 week break but I can see a positive with this. This event was a world 1st, everything was new and this extended break gives the organisers and the broadcasters time to analyse all feedback and gives them time to review the event and see what can be improved before we hit Malaysia.

 

[teabagyokel]

Dario Franchitti was a commentator.

We had Franchitti on itv4. The commentary was too apologetic and not enough explaining. There was an assumption that we knew there was a minimum pit-stop rule, for example, on an occasion where everyone was a newbie.

It is a common refrain on one of Martin Brundle's Sky F1 commentaries: "For those of you new to F1...", At times he takes that too far for a specialist channel like Sky F1, but it certainly would have been utilised effectively here.