Do you care about F1, or is it just as a feeder series for endurance racing?

[aricus654]

I think that Gareth or Zogg from Gareth Jones on Speed summed it up for me when it was remarked that the off track action was more exciting than the on track stuff.

Monaco is very special, as is Spa and Silverstone, but too many of the F1 circuits are bland in contrast to many of the sports car ones.

Aricus

[Mr Termite]

My first GP was Brands Hatch '66, the first year of the "return to power" with the 3-litre formula. It all seemed over rather quickly, and the cars looked boring. I've been to three or four GPs since, the last being Spa 2005, where the circuit makes up for the cars. If I'm about and there's a GP on the Beeb (no way would I pay money to that man that runs Sky), I will watch, but seldom turn on before the parade lap, or stay tuned after the flag drops. Vacuous interviews don't do it for me in any sport.

Like much premium sport, F1 is now a huge business, aka a trough for Ecclebum and co to swill at. Much of the racing is artificial, e.g. DRS and the need for two types of tyre per race. The unregulated pit-teams, still with an impressive rate of cock-up, do not inspire. The cars still look crap. But it may beat mowing the lawns...

[Lawnmower Man]

F1 leaves me cold these days. 

I started to loose interest when they banned Skirts.   I'm now completely out of touch with F1.  I watched one a while back and found it utterly stupid that the were rules about when and where they can use DRS. 
OK the Cars have some device onboard but you would never say You can't use the steering wheel though Woodcote would you?  So why not use the DRS wherever you like?

To my mind F1 has eff all to do with Endurance racing.   

I doubt F1 will die there is just too much money wrapped up in it.    Most of the world thinks F1 the pinnacle of Motor Sport.  That's Fine let them think that. It doesn't mean I have to be interested in it or have to watch it.

[PAFC OK]

It appears that Senor Alonso may have seen a light too, any bets on seeing him at La Sarthe any time soon?

[Kristof]

Bit of a strange feeling right now.  In the past 26 years I've been to every F1 race at Spa, most of the times for the full weekend.  After the disappointment last year (sound, looks of the cars, lack of intensity), this will be the first time since 1990 I won't be at Spa, not even at any F1 race this season.  Could have had free tickets, didn't take them, lost all my interest to F1.  

I'll never forget standing at Bruxelles on a cold, almost freezing, foggy morning somewhere in the '90's, suddenly hearing the Ferrari V12 coming out of the pitlane, hammering down Kemmel straight towards us, barking out that trumendous sound of the V12, giving you goosebumps like nothing else.  Everytime we went to an F1 race, whether it was at Spa, Barcelona, Monaco or at any other track, the moment you were waiting for was that one when the engines were fired up and you could hear them screaming going through the corners.  Untill last year ... At the exit of Combes, waiting for the F1 cars to go by ... session started, no sound, no engines revving, nothing but silence.  And then suddenly something passed by, with almost no sound.  Looking at the guy next to me, asking ourselves "was this gp3 or F1" ?  Apparently, it was F1. No more screaming engines, no more good looking cars, no more sound, no more speed.  I've managed to stay untill the end of the afternoon session and drove home again, massively disappointed, wondering what's gone wrong ... and never went back.  Gave my ticket for the next 2 days away, didn't even bother anymore to put on the tv on Sunday.  

Guess it's thank you Bernie for ruining what used to be the pinnacle of motorsport with the worlds best cars and drivers.  Thank you for ruining what was the best soundtrack going round a racetrack.  And most of all, thank you for ruining almost all tracks you passed by, transforming them into concrete deserts instead of those great colorfull and challenging winding bits of asphalt with those punishing gravel traps. Thank you fot not even being able to have a 20 car grid this year and the loss of legendary names like Tyrell, Larousse, Ligier, Lotus, Brabham, Minardi ...

Somehow it's hard, watching what was once your favourite sport going down like that, losing almost all interest in something that even got me up in the middle of the night to watch a race since I was a kid.  So ... Thank you Bernie ... for opening my eyes and pushing me (since many years) straight into the arms of that other race I was fascinated by as a kid, somewhere in a field in France.  2016 will be my 20th year down there (except for 2000), and there's a lot more to come, 25 years won't be the end of that one !

[Bonio]

Dottore Sir, have a massive like  

[Barry]

Great post on why F1 has lost it!
And why sports cars is the place to be.

[Lorry]

And Spa is one of the best circuits left.  Shame about the wide kerbs, that see so much use, but some circuits are like a car park with the circuit painted on.  Corners just aren't the same

Corporate hospitality ruined it for me.  Marquees in the viewing areas, and grandstands sold out before they go on sale to public, that are then empty during the race as there's free booze and a TV in the marquee.

[Boorish Grobian]

It sounds like Monza is very much on the chopping block, which is blasphemous. One wonders how much longer Spa can hang on against some dictator in a "emerging nation" who wants a Grand Prix for his own Tilke designed go kart track in the desert or jungle.  The positive is that when these great classic circuits are no longer burdened by the horrific fees Bernie and thugs charge to host a GP, it opens up more opportunities to host other more desirable disciplines of the sport.
Fax

[mgmark]

F1 was a great attraction for me in the 70s, 80s and through the turbo era and until the mid 90s. Interesting racing and technical stuff happened. But it has waned ever since for me, as constant over-regulation has stifled the ability of teams to do something different from each other, and the media and corporate circus stifles everything, including the drivers, in the name of "the show".

Now, road racing, sportscar racing, Group C, WSC, A/ELMS and Le Mans and the roads and circuits raced on have always held a much greater appeal for me throughout. There's been ups, downs and fallow times, but somehow a much greater feeling of reality, competition, sensible regulation and sheer bloody hard effort about it all. 

Look no further than the relatively short length of the technical regulations for Le Mans now and the scope for such significantly different technical solutions it allows, yet which drives and delivers innovation and close competition. Love it. And then there's everything else that goes along with Le Mans.....

In short, no, I no longer give a monkey's about F1.  I hope that endurance racing continues to go from strength to strength without succumbing totally to the corporate glitz.

MG Mark

[Kristof]

http://youtu.be/bWhY5K89PwI

2004 vs 2015

[landman]

http://youtu.be/bWhY5K89PwI

2004 vs 2015

That link has been blocked by Bernie

How very bloody typical of FOM.

[Rachelle123]

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