Has overtaking in Formula One become devalued?

[FB]

This is worth a read:

http://www.f1rejects.com/centrale/f1in2011/index.html

 

[Brogan]

Interesting read (once I'd zoomed the page in so I could actually read the text).

It essentially encompasses what has been posted on several different threads here over the last few weeks.

 

[snowy]

Hi all - long time listener, first time poster. Some of you may know me from over in 606.

I'm not sure whether or not overtaking has been devalued or not but all signs point to a little, however what worries me most is that F1 may have completely lost the art of defending a position which to me is equally exciting.

How many exciting races have we seen in the past where a faster car has been behind and its been the pure skill of the driver in front that has kept them behind? Like most I agree that it had become far too difficult for drivers to past but believe the ability to defend your position needs to be there too. Rememeber Alonso keeping Schumi behind him in 2005? Senna stopping Mansell in 1992? Boutson keeping a whole train of drivers behind him in 1990? It creates just as an exciting race as someone carving their way through the field. We don't seem to have seen anyone showing any sign of defence this year - the only one I can think of is Vettel in China magnificantly putting his car in exactly the right place so that Hamilton couldn't use his extra grip and speed out the first corner in China. Even then Seb still eventually gave up because he didn't see the point.

Schumacher being of the old school attempts it too but it usually ends in a collision which brings the question is there any point defending your position in F1 anymore or are you just going to wreck your race?

All the FIA's energies are being directed toward enabling passing and it is a sad fact of life that humans are myopic, even the far sighted ones. Lewis Hamilton has on a number of occasions demonstrated that there are numerous ways of defending your track position, each time he has done so he has been penalised and the rules have been clarified to preclude any one else displaying such initiative.

It is pretty clear from the way the FIA treats certain drivers that they do not want defending of track position... perversely, nor do they want any overtaking!! So until the FIA are targeted by Al Qaeda and eliminated we are just going to be stuck on this artless, soulless path of mass homologation, sustained globulisation and blinkered sanitisation.

 

[Josephiah]

...mass homologation, sustained globulisation and blinkered sanitisation.

Globulisation - the act of making something into globules?

 

[snowy]

Correctomundo.

 

[downforce]

I am absolutely loving F1's on track performance in 2011. I find talk of too much overtaking in F1 actually quite funny and ironic given how long we (me included) have complained about the opposite.

I know DRS is artificial but I just love the result of it anyway. I look forward to grand prix more than ever know.

That move of Buttons around the outside of Rosberg in Turkey was awesome.