The imbalance in the cars is something that really drives me off. You have amazing drivers like Alonso being screwed over due to having a crap car for the last couple of years. Vettel had a stupidly good car and combined with preferential treatment within Redbull meant he had a great set up and had a massive lead. F1 has really lost sight of what made it great to watch.
On the flip side the WRC and rally cross have remained amazing, though only with the lamentation of the loss of Group B.
Here's the thing with F1. When Schumacher was just dominating for so many years, it was still good to watch. Why? Because even if there wasn't always exciting photo finish races, you still got to see a V10 Ferrari going at ludicrous speed. F1 cars are still the most exciting things on four wheels. Since then, the enjoyment from just seeing an F1 car, any F1 car, just going around a track has been diminished.
I think they should switch to entirely electric cars. Make them fucking fast with different motors and gearboxes and all that stuff. But keep the weight REALLY low, so they have to trade off battery weight for distance. Then they have to swap out batteries three or four times per race.
The noise would go down, but there will be a huge investment into electric technology in a new arms race to the top spot.
Maybe each car could have a whistle fitted, which plays a recognizable chord or tone or tune. Then as the cars race, you could track the cars by sound alone.
This pretty much wraps up what I think after Melbourne (from here):
BEN ANDERSON: Every fan of Formula 1 would have preferred to watch an Australian Grand Prix where Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa were racing Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton too, rather than just each other.
Another season of Mercedes dominance will probably be no real issue, so long as Rosberg can genuinely challenge Hamilton for the world championship. Best-case scenario for the sport is probably Rosberg winning narrowly this year. That at least would ramp up interest in their personal rivalry, while the others work on getting their acts together.
At the moment, Hamilton has Rosberg covered, which makes things far less interesting at the front of the field, which in turn throws focus on the massive gap to the rest.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff seems to think Ferrari will become a genuine threat at some point, but I doubt it will be before 2016 - if indeed it does happen.
Until then, the sport really needs Rosberg to raise his game.
Formula E is coming to Berlin in May and the track is literally just three blocks up the road from me. Tickets start at €10, so if I'm in town I'll probably go check it out!
Rosberg is actually an incredible driver. The reason he's behind is because no team puts the same effort into both cars. If the team decided that Rosberg was the top driver, you would think that Hamilton needed to step up his game. This is the problem with racing teams fielding multiple cars.
The biggest problem in F1 is that they need to decrease the cost of participation so that there can be more teams. Then at some point they can actually have enough teams that there is just one driver and car for each team. But if they did this, the cars would be less expensive. And less expensive cars means they are no longer the fastest most premiere race on earth, and thus it's no longer F1.
Another solution is to simply find more rich people to participate. If every billionaire on earth had a team, that would be more than enough.
Formula E is coming to Berlin in May and the track is literally just three blocks up the road from me. Tickets start at €10, so if I'm in town I'll probably go check it out!
Hmmm... Can I get a business trip around that time.....
Formula E is coming to Berlin in May and the track is literally just three blocks up the road from me. Tickets start at €10, so if I'm in town I'll probably go check it out!
Hmmm... Can I get a business trip around that time.....
Rosberg is actually an incredible driver. The reason he's behind is because no team puts the same effort into both cars. If the team decided that Rosberg was the top driver, you would think that Hamilton needed to step up his game. This is the problem with racing teams fielding multiple cars.
Its team orders, its become progressively worse and worse as the years go on I feel. I mean half the reason Alonso fell out with Mclaren was Ron Denis's stupid management. Redbull had it a couple of times where Vettel was obviously given preferential treatment to Webber who was, at the time, just as good.
They also used to have rich people sponsor teams, it died out once the costs got so high. I mean its astronomically expensive to run a team. When one ratchet spanner can cost £100 and is used for one thing you can understand how things rack up.
Also I watched Rush again a couple of days back and it stuck me. Its been a whole since I've look at the field and seen the crazy drivers that you used to have. I mean theres no Schumacher or Hill, no Senna or Hunt, the fire seems to have gone from the belly of the drivers.
Rosberg is actually an incredible driver. The reason he's behind is because no team puts the same effort into both cars. If the team decided that Rosberg was the top driver, you would think that Hamilton needed to step up his game. This is the problem with racing teams fielding multiple cars.
Its team orders, its become progressively worse and worse as the years go on I feel. I mean half the reason Alonso fell out with Mclaren was Ron Denis's stupid management. Redbull had it a couple of times where Vettel was obviously given preferential treatment to Webber who was, at the time, just as good.
They also used to have rich people sponsor teams, it died out once the costs got so high. I mean its astronomically expensive to run a team. When one ratchet spanner can cost £100 and is used for one thing you can understand how things rack up.
Also I watched Rush again a couple of days back and it stuck me. Its been a whole since I've look at the field and seen the crazy drivers that you used to have. I mean theres no Schumacher or Hill, no Senna or Hunt, the fire seems to have gone from the belly of the drivers.
I think the fire is there, especially when you see interviews away from the race, the cars have been forcibly toned down for the safety aspect.
However when they are going at that speed people tend to watch for the crashes rather than the great driving skill on display. The crashes also got F1 into the limelight of most media where as now you have to really watch the race.
The variable most others have missed are the engineers that are assigned to a driver and their car, it is completely personalised and also sets up the intra team challenge. Ross Brawn was Schumacher's engineer during the reign of Ferrari, he was going to join Red Bull but went to Honda instead and had developed a great car. He turned Honda into Team Brawn and made Button and Barrichello get up on the podium. He then went to Mercedes and retired last year.
Rosberg is actually an incredible driver. The reason he's behind is because no team puts the same effort into both cars. If the team decided that Rosberg was the top driver, you would think that Hamilton needed to step up his game. This is the problem with racing teams fielding multiple cars.
Its team orders, its become progressively worse and worse as the years go on I feel. I mean half the reason Alonso fell out with Mclaren was Ron Denis's stupid management. Redbull had it a couple of times where Vettel was obviously given preferential treatment to Webber who was, at the time, just as good.
They also used to have rich people sponsor teams, it died out once the costs got so high. I mean its astronomically expensive to run a team. When one ratchet spanner can cost £100 and is used for one thing you can understand how things rack up.
Also I watched Rush again a couple of days back and it stuck me. Its been a whole since I've look at the field and seen the crazy drivers that you used to have. I mean theres no Schumacher or Hill, no Senna or Hunt, the fire seems to have gone from the belly of the drivers.
I think the fire is there, especially when you see interviews away from the race, the cars have been forcibly toned down for the safety aspect.
However when they are going at that speed people tend to watch for the crashes rather than the great driving skill on display. The crashes also got F1 into the limelight of most media where as now you have to really watch the race.
The variable most others have missed are the engineers that are assigned to a driver and their car, it is completely personalised and also sets up the intra team challenge. Ross Brawn was Schumacher's engineer during the reign of Ferrari, he was going to join Red Bull but went to Honda instead and had developed a great car. He turned Honda into Team Brawn and made Button and Barrichello get up on the podium. He then went to Mercedes and retired last year.
There is never just one variable but many.
I see what you mean no one person makes the team, and it would be really interesting to give the engineers and designers more of a look in. I wish I could fully articulate what Im trying to get at but there just doesn't seem to be a stand out driver, one who really captures peoples attention.
We see them talking but they don't back it up on the track. Any time they do show a bit of gumption they are slapped down by the team head, Vettel and Webber is a prime example.
Rosberg is actually an incredible driver. The reason he's behind is because no team puts the same effort into both cars. If the team decided that Rosberg was the top driver, you would think that Hamilton needed to step up his game. This is the problem with racing teams fielding multiple cars.
Its team orders, its become progressively worse and worse as the years go on I feel. I mean half the reason Alonso fell out with Mclaren was Ron Denis's stupid management. Redbull had it a couple of times where Vettel was obviously given preferential treatment to Webber who was, at the time, just as good.
They also used to have rich people sponsor teams, it died out once the costs got so high. I mean its astronomically expensive to run a team. When one ratchet spanner can cost £100 and is used for one thing you can understand how things rack up.
Also I watched Rush again a couple of days back and it stuck me. Its been a whole since I've look at the field and seen the crazy drivers that you used to have. I mean theres no Schumacher or Hill, no Senna or Hunt, the fire seems to have gone from the belly of the drivers.
I think the fire is there, especially when you see interviews away from the race, the cars have been forcibly toned down for the safety aspect.
However when they are going at that speed people tend to watch for the crashes rather than the great driving skill on display. The crashes also got F1 into the limelight of most media where as now you have to really watch the race.
The variable most others have missed are the engineers that are assigned to a driver and their car, it is completely personalised and also sets up the intra team challenge. Ross Brawn was Schumacher's engineer during the reign of Ferrari, he was going to join Red Bull but went to Honda instead and had developed a great car. He turned Honda into Team Brawn and made Button and Barrichello get up on the podium. He then went to Mercedes and retired last year.
There is never just one variable but many.
I see what you mean no one person makes the team, and it would be really interesting to give the engineers and designers more of a look in. I wish I could fully articulate what Im trying to get at but there just doesn't seem to be a stand out driver, one who really captures peoples attention.
We see them talking but they don't back it up on the track. Any time they do show a bit of gumption they are slapped down by the team head, Vettel and Webber is a prime example.
I know what you mean with the individual drivers, there was always that tension with McLaren (Hamilton and Alonso), Ferrari (Alonso and Barrichello), Brawn (Button and Barrichello), Mercedes (Hamilton and Rosberg).
There was a time when it was team vs team Raikonnen and Schumacher days.
Back in the day the driver mattered a lot. When you matter, you have power. You can tell your team what to do, because people are relying on you to win or lose for the team.
Nowadays it's the car that matters. Hamilton isn't winning because he's the best. He's just good enough to win, but so are Rosberg, Alonso, Kimi, Vettel, Massa and Button. Whichever one of them gets to sit in that first Mercedes seat is the champion, not the one who is a better driver. If you have the luck to be in that seat, you do whatever the team says because you winning depends on them letting you sit there. People are lining up to take your spot, so you had better behave.
I'd like to watch F1 where most of the "views" are telemetry data from the cars visualized. It's a race of engines and tires and engineers and fuel planning. Have engineering commentators.
I'd like to watch F1 where most of the "views" are telemetry data from the cars visualized. It's a race of engines and tires and engineers and fuel planning. Have engineering commentators.
That would be crazy interesting for me, also on how the electronics and software works and is integrated in the cars. However due to the walled garden that Bernie Ecclestone has made, interesting stuff like this is impossible unless there was a pirate cast / stream.
I'd like to watch F1 where most of the "views" are telemetry data from the cars visualized. It's a race of engines and tires and engineers and fuel planning. Have engineering commentators.
What I like about the Formula E casts is that they show the percentage of battery power left in each car. It's like a running update on "fuel remaining".
As for the exact reasons Hamilton is out ahead, be it a better team around him, or team orders from Mercedes, I don't really care. To me he looks like the better and more mature driver, and I see that's why he's in the top car. He's the top brand in F1 right now, despite Vettel being ahead in race wins and world championships.
Without a non-teammate to "challenge" him, I'll switch off until the summer.
I'd like to watch F1 where most of the "views" are telemetry data from the cars visualized. It's a race of engines and tires and engineers and fuel planning. Have engineering commentators.
What I like about the Formula E casts is that they show the percentage of battery power left in each car. It's like a running update on "fuel remaining".
As for the exact reasons Hamilton is out ahead, be it a better team around him, or team orders from Mercedes, I don't really care. To me he looks like the better and more mature driver, and I see that's why he's in the top car. He's the top brand in F1 right now, despite Vettel being ahead in race wins and world championships.
Without a non-teammate to "challenge" him, I'll switch off until the summer.
Well, the thing that can be exciting about F1 is that another team can suddenly figure out a modification to make to their car and suddenly be competitive. Sometimes all the other teams can copy/mimic that modification, and sometimes they can't, and sometimes the rules ban it right after it's invented. Ferrari engineers could figure something out next week, and then OH SHIT HERE THEY COME.
Comments
On the flip side the WRC and rally cross have remained amazing, though only with the lamentation of the loss of Group B.
The noise would go down, but there will be a huge investment into electric technology in a new arms race to the top spot.
Maybe each car could have a whistle fitted, which plays a recognizable chord or tone or tune. Then as the cars race, you could track the cars by sound alone.
BEN ANDERSON: Every fan of Formula 1 would have preferred to watch an Australian Grand Prix where Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa were racing Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton too, rather than just each other.
Another season of Mercedes dominance will probably be no real issue, so long as Rosberg can genuinely challenge Hamilton for the world championship. Best-case scenario for the sport is probably Rosberg winning narrowly this year. That at least would ramp up interest in their personal rivalry, while the others work on getting their acts together.
At the moment, Hamilton has Rosberg covered, which makes things far less interesting at the front of the field, which in turn throws focus on the massive gap to the rest.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff seems to think Ferrari will become a genuine threat at some point, but I doubt it will be before 2016 - if indeed it does happen.
Until then, the sport really needs Rosberg to raise his game.
The biggest problem in F1 is that they need to decrease the cost of participation so that there can be more teams. Then at some point they can actually have enough teams that there is just one driver and car for each team. But if they did this, the cars would be less expensive. And less expensive cars means they are no longer the fastest most premiere race on earth, and thus it's no longer F1.
Another solution is to simply find more rich people to participate. If every billionaire on earth had a team, that would be more than enough.
They also used to have rich people sponsor teams, it died out once the costs got so high. I mean its astronomically expensive to run a team. When one ratchet spanner can cost £100 and is used for one thing you can understand how things rack up.
Also I watched Rush again a couple of days back and it stuck me. Its been a whole since I've look at the field and seen the crazy drivers that you used to have. I mean theres no Schumacher or Hill, no Senna or Hunt, the fire seems to have gone from the belly of the drivers.
However when they are going at that speed people tend to watch for the crashes rather than the great driving skill on display. The crashes also got F1 into the limelight of most media where as now you have to really watch the race.
The variable most others have missed are the engineers that are assigned to a driver and their car, it is completely personalised and also sets up the intra team challenge. Ross Brawn was Schumacher's engineer during the reign of Ferrari, he was going to join Red Bull but went to Honda instead and had developed a great car. He turned Honda into Team Brawn and made Button and Barrichello get up on the podium. He then went to Mercedes and retired last year.
There is never just one variable but many.
We see them talking but they don't back it up on the track. Any time they do show a bit of gumption they are slapped down by the team head, Vettel and Webber is a prime example.
There was a time when it was team vs team Raikonnen and Schumacher days.
Nowadays it's the car that matters. Hamilton isn't winning because he's the best. He's just good enough to win, but so are Rosberg, Alonso, Kimi, Vettel, Massa and Button. Whichever one of them gets to sit in that first Mercedes seat is the champion, not the one who is a better driver. If you have the luck to be in that seat, you do whatever the team says because you winning depends on them letting you sit there. People are lining up to take your spot, so you had better behave.
I'd like to watch F1 where most of the "views" are telemetry data from the cars visualized. It's a race of engines and tires and engineers and fuel planning. Have engineering commentators.
However due to the walled garden that Bernie Ecclestone has made, interesting stuff like this is impossible unless there was a pirate cast / stream.
As for the exact reasons Hamilton is out ahead, be it a better team around him, or team orders from Mercedes, I don't really care. To me he looks like the better and more mature driver, and I see that's why he's in the top car. He's the top brand in F1 right now, despite Vettel being ahead in race wins and world championships.
Without a non-teammate to "challenge" him, I'll switch off until the summer.