Is Formula One the Pinnacle of Motorsport?

[sportsman]

I would suggests LMS series.Not only are these cars heavier with a diesel minimum weight of 930kg.
They also have to run for 24 hours through temperature changes.The current record mileage for the LeMans 24 hour race stands at 5140 km.That equates to an average speed of 224 kph with pitstops.

 

[Fenderman]

Sorry, but I too voted no. It's the incessent banning of bright ideas and innovations. Maybe one could say that F1 drivers are at the pinnnacle of motorsport driving but then how many times have we heard they themselves comment that MotoGP riders must be nuts (or other similar allusions to madness, lunacy, etc.)?

... and as Sportsman points out LMS sports prototypes are heavyweights built to travel at ludicrous speeds for races up to a day long (not to mention the preceding hours of practice and qualifying). Shave off the weight and they would also be faster.

So, currently, in car racing, F1, from where I sit, is slipping off its pedestal, which is a shame. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy it and it any the less, just that I could enjoy it a whole lot more. Well, as long as the old ticker can take it, anyway.

 

[siffert_fan]

First off, I will say that I don't believe that any one form is the "pinnacle". Any form claiming to be such is engaging in self-serving hyperbole.

Sports cars have tradionally been far more innovative than F1, and I think that that is still true. I also don't buy the idea that F1 drivers are "the best". They are supposedly the best in their chosen form of racing, although the presence of numerous pay drivers certainly brings even that assertion into question. I, for one, think that rally drivers are at the top. Nor would I discount drag racers from the picture. They have to handle 8000 to 10000 hp (nobody really knows the true number because there aren't any dynos that can give accurate readings in the short time frames that the engines are at their best- 5 seconds or less).

The point is, I really don't think any one form can truly claim to be the pinnacle. It is best to just enjoy all forms of motorsport (yes, that includes NASCAR) and appreciate that all of the participants possess skills that we can only DREAM about.

 

[Galahad]

Without wishing to belabour an obvious point, it's horses for courses. In the early 1990s F1 faced a challenge from CART as the premier open-wheel series; few would argue that it has any rivals on that score now. Sportscar racing has undergone numerous factional splits and there remain many championships for those cars around the world, all relatively equally unwatched. The WRC looked under threat from the IRC in recent years, and for me will remain a shadow of its former self until it has the Monte or the Safari (or both) back on the calendar.

I know nothing of motorcycles, but I gather that MotoGP has seen off the World Superbikes challenge, largely?

Essentially my point is: there are categories that may have plausible claims to being the 'pinnacle' of a particular form of motorsport at a specific moment in time, but trying to compare them one with another is, like the apples and bananas, a fruitless exercise.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Sorry, but I too voted no. It's the incessent banning of bright ideas and innovations.

But the act of banning certain innovations can itself be said to encourage (maybe even necessitate) new innovation, so I don't see it as negative at all, but actually rather positive. As an example, in architecture it is often said that the best and most innovative designs come not from the lack of constraints but as a result of those very constraints (whether they be Planning rules, physical site features, neighbouring properties, financial limits etc). In other words, real innovation thrives on constraint).

 

[Speshal]

Essentially my point is: there are categories that may have plausible claims to being the 'pinnacle' of a particular form of motorsport at a specific moment in time, but trying to compare them one with another is, like the apples and bananas, a fruitless exercise.

Although, if the point of motorsport is to get from point A to Point B in the fastest time possible then...................

Basically I'm saying yeas and no.

 

[Fenderman]

Innovation probably thrives on a lot of things, but fat lot of good it does you when your innovation is castrated at birth. Innovate and be damned.

 

[Pyrope]

But the act of banning certain innovations can itself be said to encourage (maybe even necessitate) new innovation, so I don't see it as negative at all, but actually rather positive. As an example, in architecture it is often said that the best and most innovative designs come not from the lack of constraints but as a result of those very constraints (whether they be Planning rules, physical site features, neighbouring properties, financial limits etc). In other words, real innovation thrives on constraint).

An interesting point of view, and topical with the RIBA Stirling Prize nominees announcement earlier! However, I think you are comparing apples and oranges. It is one thing to come up with solutions that stick within the rules but exploit some hitherto unforeseen technology, it is quite another to then have that solution banned straight afterward. It's equivalent to Foster and Partners sticking a new roof on the Great Court of the British Museum, only for RIBA to turn around and say "ah yes, very neat, but triangular glass panels are banned now".

I see the ideal set of F1 rules as being very similar to the shell of a much loved but somewhat impractical ruin. Within these the designers should be free to create what they will to make that ruin as habitable and awe-inspiring as they can. Give me weight limits, maximum and minimum dimensions only, fuel limits, safety crash standards, and so on, but leave the minutiae alone. I don't want a set of regulations that states things like 'no bodywork shall be placed 78.3mm in front or 22.1mm left of reference axis y, which shall be measured by aligning your todger with Mars and chanting the Birdie Song backwards'.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Very interesting responses everybody. Thank You for your thoughtful replies.

Doesn't change the fact that for my money, nothing can possibly get the juices flowing like the opening lap of a Formula One Grand Prix.

 

[Brogan]

Doesn't change the fact that for my money, nothing can possibly get the juices flowing like the opening lap of a Formula One Grand Prix.

Now that I think we can all agree on.

 

[sportsman]

Very interesting responses everybody. Thank You for your thoughtful replies.

Doesn't change the fact that for my money, nothing can possibly get the juices flowing like the opening lap of a Formula One Grand Prix.

Seconded.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Seconded.

I think Brogan already just did that
So I'll 'Fourth' it.

 

[Road of Bones]

It depends on how the observer defines "pinnacle" really - I suppose we all initially got into F1 due to the "shiny cars being noisy and going really fast" effect, and subsequently became intrigued enough to find out more of the background detail.

There are those of us who revel in the technical aspects, others who enjoy the personalities involved, those who attach their flags to a particular team (or driver), the conspiracy-theorist brigade and even the tin-foil-hat nutters.

Mrs Bones refers to F1 as "man-soap" (rather disparagingly, I feel), but in a sense she is right - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the overall story is compelling - which is why I will vote "yes".

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

There are those of us who revel in the technical aspects, others who enjoy the personalities involved, those who attach their flags to a particular team (or driver), the conspriacy-theorist brigade and even the tin-foil-hat nutters.

I normally attach my flags to the railings at the top of the grandstand

 

[Road of Bones]

Very droll Chad...

 

[RasputinLives]

I like the term Man-Soap RoB! I think if I explain it like that to my Mrs then I'll probably get more of a reprieve to watch it.

Have to say this is a great thread and is great to see that people can have different opinions and not resort to name calling. If anyone on here is wearing a tin-foil hat then its obviously a top quality one.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Have to say this is a great thread and is great to see that people can have different opinions and not resort to name calling. If anyone on here is wearing a tin-foil hat then its obviously a top quality one.

I agree, but could you please explain the reference to a tin-foil hat?

 

[Jen]

I agree, but could you please explain the reference to a tin-foil hat?

here you go Chad - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_foil_hat

 

[RasputinLives]

I agree, but could you please explain the reference to a tin-foil hat?

lol - was a term used to label a certain group of posters on 606 who believe that Martin Whitmarsh, Jenson Button, The BBC, The FBI, The CIA and everyone in the world is out to ruin Lewis Hamilton's career.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Thanks jenov & Rasputinlives
I get it now.