P1Fanatic

Its the same lot who **** and moan about TG yet pipe up in any TG titled thread

Carnut

I don't think they do watch it I often speak to big f1 fans that didn't manage to catch the last race because they were busy doing something else that more often than not is a feeble excuse for a REAL fan.

Oh and then there are those who used to watch 10 years ago and think they know all about one of the fastest developing sports in the world, f1 stands still for no one.

urban

iTrader: (1)

Eh?
Moto GP is usually the most exciting motorsport of the whole lot.

neil-h

Dam, I knew i'd forgotten something. All the 'real' fans watch every single race (even if they're on their death bed) and can't possibly find fault in the sport.

Personally I find the technology behind F1 far more interesting than the actual races themselves.

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

I'm a big F1 fan but I hate what it's turned into in recent years. I'll watch certain races if I'm not out in the real world watching motorsport at a track. I can take it or leave it.

A friend of mine has worked for a number of teams in senior positions and has recently retired because he hates the way F1 is being run and hates the new rules.

Carnut

EFA

What do you not like, of course there are somethings not to like and some of the ideas being put forward such as 3 car teams worries me but generally speaking?

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

I agree to an extent, I'm no where near as switched on to it as I used to be.

A combination of factors:
- lack of accessibility due to it being covered on Sky only (BBC, don't make me laugh)
- the ASTRONOMICAL price of going to see it at Silverstone (which is so expensive Silverstone now offer a Finance deal for your grandstand ticket!?!?!)
- the new Mickey-mouse circuits which have so much run off they may as well have bouncy walls too.
- the complexity of the racing itself, with DRS, ERS, tyre rules, fuel conservation, I'm finding I'm nowhere near as able to follow what's going on as I was 5 years ago (could be not having Brundle to explain it too )
- It seems more and more like an exercise in hubris for world leaders and corporate bigwigs to have a race in their country; rather than for the love of the sport it's to get themselves on TV and show off their malfunctioning country for a few days. Seeing Putin and Bernie on the TV made me want to vom.

The last I think is what's turning me off the most, it's no longer a sport, it's a box to be ticked.

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

Good post

fat-thomas

iTrader: (4)

in regard to the expense of it.
rather than go to Silverstone this year I went to the spanish gp.
I had a 5 day fully inclusive holiday in lloret de mar with transfers to and from the track on both days and tickets included for £450
the weather was great and all in all a far better and cheaper gp experience than Silverstone.

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

Basically the current rules making the cars much less of a challenge to drive. This years rules have gone too far too soon. All this was done to make F1 cheaper. All it's done is make it much more complicated and tied the hands of any chance of real development.

The WEC went a similar way with engines/hybrid systems but they're much freer to improve and develop. The racing is much better too.

Carnut

The cars are more of a challenge to drive with there reduced down force and higher torque.

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

I totally disagree. You only have to look at the age and size of the drivers nowadays. Verstappen is 17!!! They're just jockeys. F1 engines don't have that much torque to start with.

There really isn't that much difference in downforce from previous years. They just get it from different areas of the car now.

DRS stupid idea. Making the tyres so they only last a set amount of laps is bonkers.

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

Are you sure that is true given the pending début of a 17 year old?
Perhaps age is not so relevant as the cars become more like a playstation and his skills are maybe more related to systems control than car handling.
Give them all a foot operated clutch, a gear stick, and simple single element wings front and back and see how they get on!

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

This!!!!

neil-h

And an engine from the 80's.

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

1.5 turbo.

None of this electric bollox either!!!

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

Yeah let them use turbos.


Oh wait a minute!

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

Now that's a mental image I'll struggle to get over for a while

neil-h

Proper 1000+bhp monsters, not the pissy little hair driers they're using these days.

davyboy

Some nice bonuses being handed out in Brackley and Brixworth!

Carnut

F1 car have more torque this season over recent years and DO have less down force. They are getting ever more difficult to drive and even a F1 driver from only a few years back would have a hard time of it. The amount of work is through the roof, not just racing one of the most difficult race cars but now have all the steering wheel modes and the need to be able to adapt different styles of driving to suit fuel saving and high deg tyres etc.

So 17 year old driver, well as is the way with f1 times change very quick and we are seeing teams such a Redbull in this case train and support young drivers to get them F1 ready.

P1Fanatic

You make it sound like drivers of the past were huge beasts of men which is far from the truth. If a 17yr old can excel at more physical contact sports I don't see how F1 is any more of an issue.

Admittedly they are more akin to pilots with the amount of controls and adjustments they can make but does that really make them less skilful? There is no way we will ever know much like the are modern footballers better than those who played back in the days when ***** were almost solid?

davyboy

Even Nikki Lauda thinks modern F1 cars are easy to drive

neil-h

They were though, compare the likes of Prost/Senna/hunt etc with the current crop of drivers and they were bigger blokes.

P1Fanatic

Prost was 5'5, Senna 5'7. Hunt was 6'1 but so was Webber and Button & Coulthard were 6 ft'ers.

Max Verstappen who everyone is referring to is 5'11.

Carnut

<<<@!1!@>>>

Nikki Lauda comes from a time when there were lots of deaths each season and he thinks thats a time we need to get back to car wise

If you gave a modern f1 team over 1000bhp huge down force and tyres with a larger foot print we would see driver deaths reintroduced to f1.

I ask myself why I need to put this up but the car in the vid is a detuned slow f1 car with traction control.

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

I love Brundle's line in the first vid, "We'll send a young brave one out first, and if he comes back ......"
Strangely relevant.

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

A drivers height means nothing. The drivers needed to be much stronger and were bigger built.

Carnut

I will agree on this point, the drivers experience massive g force under braking (5 g) but cornering forces are not as high as can be seen in the drivers necks. The drivers overall are fitter than they have ever been since Schumacher changed the game but strength is down on previous seasons.

Devildog

Chris

Even the drivers are commenting that the cars are easy/boring to drive this year.

They may be more technically complex to get the ultimate performance from, but that doesn't make them more difficult in terms of handling or physically demanding to drive.

No disrespect, but I'll listen to and believe those who are driving them, and not some armchair "expert"