The Car

[RevMaxPower]

There were many Chumps. Why 15 of the cars even bothered to start is beyond me... It's " Brawn" Groundhog Day all over again.

I believe Formula 1 will continue like this for the forseeable future. We will have 6 horse races at best as he who gets it right will walk away from the others race after race. To be honest, not conducive to good racing in my view.

What's to be done???

 

[teabagyokel]

Watch something else is my advice!

 

[RevMaxPower]

Watch something else is my advice!

Excellent advice. Luckily I missed yesterday's GP because I was doing something interesting.

 

[RevMaxPower]

Teabag - Am I wrong to think then that F1is primarily supposed to be a Motor race? Did I miss something along the way?

 

[teabagyokel]

Teabag - Am I wrong to think then that F1is primarily supposed to be a Motor race? Did I miss something along the way?

It is supposed to be a motor race, and it abides by the tradition of motor racing to be about the cars as well as the drivers. If you'd prefer a spec series, there are many options.

 

[RevMaxPower]

To be accurate to the point boredom, it's the CAR, always the CAR. Without a competitive CAR one doesn't have a prayer - you will not stand on the podium - unless the others either take each other out, get struck by lightening or are abducted by aliens...

If you are a good enough driver you should, in time, get a good enough car but that's basically down to some skill and a LOT of luck. The car is the main player in Formula 1, which is why it is different to other forms of Motor Racing, which in turn is why I would like to see changes to the sport to give a sporting chance to drivers who are not simply waiting to fill the shoes of "retired" stars..

 

[teabagyokel]

AXLE, I'm sorry but that has always been Formula One. Its the car. Similar things could be said of other forms of motorsport, in Le Mans for example the car is more important.

You can prefer what you like, but it is unreasonable to expect a sport to change one of its fundamental principles to suit your preferences. If you don't like the car being the key player, then Formula One is not for you.

 

[Brogan]

Unless you turn F1 into a spec' series, the car is always going to be main factor, with the driver second and set-up third.

With a spec' series the driver is the main factor and the set-up second.

GP2 might be more to your liking.

 

[sportsman]

AXLE, I'm sorry but that has always been Formula One. Its the car. Similar things could be said of other forms of motorsport, in Le Mans for example the car is more important.

You can prefer what you like, but it is unreasonable to expect a sport to change one of its fundamental principles to suit your preferences. If you don't like the car being the key player, then Formula One is not for you.

Unless you turn F1 into a spec' series, the car is always going to be main factor, with the driver second and set-up third.

With a spec' series the driver is the main factor and the set-up second.

GP2 might be more to your liking.

It was ever thus.The car has always been the main factor.The best cars attract the best drivers.
Way back in 1954 the Mercedes W196 was unbeatable.So who got drive it.Fangio and Moss.
Any driver who is good enough will be spotted by the F1 teams at a very early age.Those who are late bloomers and really excel will be spotted and given a chance of a test drive at one of the young drivers test days.

 

[RevMaxPower]

OK guys but it seems such a shame that we only see half a dozen drivers at each GP with a real chance of joining in with the podium celebrations. I'm not advocating a 'spec' series but something more along the lines of introducing more physical input being required from the drivers in respect of actually "driving" the car. Making more room for error maybe? Take away some of the electronic switchgear and replace it with mechanically operated equipment? Make the drivers 'office' more like the cab of a JCB perhaps? I know it's mainly about the car but can't we ask the drivers to do a bit more work - such as changing gear with a hand instead of a finger? Not to wear them out but to introduce an element of "Oh - he missed a gear there!!!"
Another way may be to remove some of the 'on board' adjusting mechanisms such as brake bias and the like.

I'm obviously NO expert but really would like to see a bun fight on the track rather than an almost foregone conclusion... We need to encourage spectators who may well become fans to ensure the continuation of the sport instead of boring the pants off them.

 

[teabagyokel]

But even when they were "working", I don't think you could say that the problem was solved.

There was a manual gearbox with a stick in 1988, but essentially only two possible race winners.

 

[RevMaxPower]

So IS there an answer - do we need one - or is everybody else happy with the way it is now? The current races are nothing more than a high speed procession with artificially induced overtaking. Hardly worthy of the handle "Pinnacle of Motorsport".

There is definitely room for improvement in my opinion for the benefit of the viewing (and paying) public.

 

[teabagyokel]

Maybe there are improvements, but you seem personally at odds with the fundamentals, which shall never change. Sorry!

 

[RevMaxPower]

Fair enough Mr T. We'll see if anybody else comes on board. I can't believe I'm the only one to think our sport needs a good old tweaking! If I am I'll creep away quietly...

 

[MCLS]

Take away some of the electronic switchgear and replace it with mechanically operated equipment? .

You could argue that when this was the case there were even less people capable of winning a race and a lot of people failed to even qualify.

 

[Hamberg]

I've been watching since 1993 and the situation you've described Axle has always been the way. In which case you must have been disgruntled the entire time you've watched F1.

I would thoroughly recommend GP2 though as a single seater same spec series. Even then you will often see the same cars at the front but at least the sprint race will shake it up a bit for you with the reverse grid.

 

[RevMaxPower]

I must admit I find BTCC a bit of unpretentious fun whereas F1 is too far up it's own exhaust for my liking. And when it comes to sheer driving SKILL, WRC wins by a country mile.

 

[Fenderman]

I think this touches on a lot of the discussions we have had on CTA this season with regard to the prescritpions handed down from the FIA regarding permissible innovations. I won't repeat what I've said elswhere about the DRS, KERS, EBD, favoured by the FIA (we've done those to death really) but I do find it interesting that when Mclaren came up with the F Duct it did at least help them catch up to some extent with Brawn and their double diffuser. It didn't solve the "runaway team" issue but that situation is an example of how, perhaps, a liberalisation of the technical rules could help to make life more interesting.

There is a constant tension at work and I agree with Axle that it needs to be addressed, however, I'm a tech head so I have to disagree with regard to the idea of simplifying the technology. This may seem like a contradiction but the joy of F1 in the 1960's and 70's in particular, was as much about the differences between the cars as it was about the ways in which they were driven. For me the familiar addage "variety is the spice of life" sums up what is bugging me about F1 right now.

One final thought on this subject ... I would dearly love the secrecy in F1 to be somewhat less. In those "good 'ol days" that I alluded to, the punter could get a look under the bonnet. Think about those great engine shots you get in old photo's in Motorsport magazine! These days you might get to see shots and footage of an F1 engine sitting on a bench with just the header pipes but then again, as they're all to one prescription, they all look the same anyway. Oh, sorry, starting to ramble. I'll stop now because I'm boring myself. When the "ignore" button comes along feel free to click on it!"