Okay, I'm 29 and I've been passionate about F1 and watched every race since I was 14. I still love the sport, of course I do, and contray to many I really did enjoy this season's off track controversies. Amazing drama off the track this year.

But on the track - that's what I tune in for on Sunday. And it just hasn't delivered.

Japan was a tipping point for me. Here was one of the best circuits in the world, and all Brundle had to talk about all race was on strategy and tyre issues.

Now, I don't mind strategy. I don't mind clever engineers winning races on tyre and fuel strategies. But this is becoming repetative. Every race is the same. It's almost as if the tyres are driving the cars.

All season long we haven't seen an epic dual in the race for 1st place. The strategies can change the balance, and, erm, that's about your lot.

The championship contenders have never raced each other wheel to wheel. Faster cars when out of position just get stuck. I am utterly sick of it.

The cars need a radical overhaul for 2010, otherwise I feel I may switch off the races for good and just read about the politics.

What's your tipping point?

I enjoy qualifying more than the race at the moment, which seems similar to you. There's no racing to be observed, so all you can do is follow the technological arms race story.

There's no fight between the Red Bulls and Brawn yet. It seems that when one of them is on song, the other is no where to be seen. It's like, right after qualifying there's only one guy that CAN win it, **** ups aside.

In fact it was nice when Vettel was hounding Hamilton the race before, but even then that's the climax of racing. Even with a faster car (of the moment, or otherwise) they can't pass.

Button was reeling in Barrichello in Japan, but no pass could be made when he got there.

It seems a "racing moment" nowadays is someone closing in on someone, and as soon as they get within 2 seconds that moment is then gone, unless it's raining.

There has to be a tipping point. I can accept a few boring races in a row, but this year has been terrible. If this is the future of F1, and I see by next year's tech regs - it is - then I'm afraid I won't have the patience to sit through another season of non-events.

I don't watch anything on television except Formula 1. There are some non-racing topics I absoluty love such as the usual Silly Season. Racing indeed is a bit dissapointing, there is more excitement in the season classification then races. I'll continue to watch F1 anyway, for me, it's sort of a way not to think about work and with friends we discuss F1 stuff a lot ;-)

I am similar, I discuss it a lot with friends still. Strangely, some of the friends who only became interested in F1 recently are enjoying the year. Maybe they find it all new and interesting. I am just jaded with it and rightly so.

There are only so many times you can watch the same pitlane strategy battles rather than proper racing.

For me 2010 has been the best season for drama and the worst season for exciting races I've ever seen. It's all very strange.

And I don't watch anything on TV apart from F1 either. iPlayer and F1, and that's it. TV is dead!

who wins the championships?





my tipping point is usually after 10-12 shots.... I've heard of cow tipping, does this help?

After Singapore a lot of forum posts were about "at least we are going to Suzuka next" and I thought then that they would be disappointed.

I was at the last race at Suzuka in 2006 and the only passing in that race on track was that of Schumacher on Massa in lap 1. Despite that I loved the "procession" because there were position changes and you could see who was making good laps and who was struggling.

Perhaps the problem is watching the race on TV and only getting a glimpse of what is actually happening.

It's obvious there have been too many rule changes in F1 in the past few years. Most of them have been rushed in without much thought or evaluation. It's not surpsrising that what you see now has lost some of that spark F1 used to have.

We need to keep the competition and innovation in F1. They need to remain the best engineered cars in the world. I feel too much has been restricted in terms of development and that is affecting the entertainment value.

The points system certainly needs to be changed. Personally I would have grids chosen by lottery system (completely random) and then award points to all cars that finish the race. Spread the points out more generously, spread the competitive cars over the entire field, don't allow fuel strategy to be used to gain positions on track, and everyone will have to race each other hard from green lights to the flag. Nobody will have any incentive to be cautious or to settle for a position because they will not know how they are going to qualify or race at the next Grand Prix.

This is a radical idea, but everything in between has been tried and failed. I say make the teams and drivers earn every point and every win. Make every GP win more of a valuable commodity. Even the teams at the back of the grid would be racing for points. At the end of the season, the points translate into money from FOM. Most of all we could potentially have a different team or driver winning every other race.

That's quite an understatement

Live timing makes undertaking seem boring. My time zone and my sleep requirements makes live timing almost a no go for every race.

I have no tipping point. Well except maybe Spa 2008. Cracking races that was an utter farce afterwards. I came close last year to not liking F1 much. not turning it off, but hating it until I liked it. This year has been somewhat fresh. Brawn got lucky with their design, everyone played catch-up and it's been interesting. Stewards have kept their mitts off...

I've followed F1 since the late 60s. So far, there hasn't been a "tipping point", but there have been many "testing points" for me. This season has been the most interesting for me in years.

Now, take the underfloor / diffusers away and it will (should) get even better.

Same for me on all points!

Fixed it for ya

Also, i agree 100%. Im glad i fell asleep after the start of the race on Sunday. It seems i didnt miss much.

I've almost given up on F1 several times and always it's because of the race fixing by FIA for the benefit of the commercial rights holder.

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted straight out that every year it gets harder and harder to make the title race go to the last race of the season, but it's not for a lack of trying.

Almost every single year there will be some ridiculous penalties from FIA put on the title contenders at the end of the season in order that the WC is not won too early to benefit the TV ratings and thereby profits, I could make a long list here but we all know about it.

Renault staff now got lifetime bans for fixing a single race, but FIA fixes entire seasons for the sake of TV ratings and don't even get criticized.

Additionally, FIA runs personal vendettas against people and groups to the point of almost ruining F1, and I'm at a tipping point.

If this continues under a new FIA head, I might seriously give up the whole sport once and for all.

Yep, constant and contrived interference from the FIA to manipulate results does the sport almost as much damage as crashgate.

F1 till I die

Much as it can be a pile of shit at times it is too addictive to not see, maybe I am too long in the tooth and too much of a glutton for punishment but could never give up watching F1 same as I couldn't give up football if Spurs have a few shit games a year

I would seriously question whether anyone that has a tipping point is a true fan

yeah. i second the above, though it's MU and Fulham for me instead of Tottenham. I have a tipping point though: i usually touch the channel button on the remote with the tip of my finger if i'm fed up.

Well, unfortuantely for me, it is a 30+years addiction. I will always watch.

I've watched F1, and other forms of motorsport on and off since I was 12 years old (I'm now 39). In the last ten to fifteen years I've watched much more, both on TV and at tracks. This year I started marshalling.
This weekend I was marshalling at Brands Hatch for the TOCA meeting - the Porsche Carrera Cup, Ginetta Juniors, Formula Renault 2 litre *and* the BTCC itself all went down to the final races - with no (obvious) outward manipulation of the form book, or ridiculous penalties imposed.
This is the first year since 1994 that I didn't get out of bed to watch the Japanese GP. I recorded it but to be honest I don't know if I can be arsed to watch it - I saw more overtaking yesterday right in front of my face than I've seen in years watching F1.

If that's the nail in the coffin for me watching F1, I'm happy enough to hammer it home. I'm looking forward to standing in the wind and rain again come next March for clubbies, rather than watching the rather artificially managed professional dramatics that F1 have become.

I have no tipping point, but I have to admit, from a television spectator's standpoint, the sport has become rather dull and predictable recently (save Brazil 08).

Seems all it takes now is obtaining pole position with a decent fuel load, or some luck at the first corner. After turns 5 or 6, you pretty much get a sense of how the race is going to finish.

Every year, I wish to see more on-track overtaking/passes, drivers making their way through the field to the front, wheel-to-wheel chassis banging action, but sadly those days are increasingly few and far between. I believe that a good majority of the F1 audience could care less if the titles are locked up early in the season so long as there is constant on-track action.

But right now it seems there is more complacency with running order in the races b/c overtaking is damn near impossible in today's cars. Probably has a ton to do with the grey areas in the regulations, and the ability of the teams to exploit these grey areas and loopholes for their own benefit. For example, this season's radical aero restrictions to promote passing where immediately negated with the introduction of the DD's, which drastically shook up the F1 pecking order. If that was FIA's intention, they did a good job but those who benefited most, Jense and Brawn GP, pretty much ran away with the championship early. -which probably wasn't FIA's intention. They need to be cut and dry with the regulations early so that the focus can be on racing and not tech!

Or how about the 2-tire compound rule during races? Novel idea, but sadly hasn't amounted to much. Anyone else miss the tire manufacturer wars?

Although it would be great, something drastic should be done to spice up the on-track action, to shake things up on a consistent basis.
To bring more variables to the table, more levels of uncertainty on race day. The only uncertainties these days are rain and safety cars.

From a television spectators point-of-view, another thing that would keep things more interesting is perhaps more on-screen graphics. Every now and then I'll see a track map with live positions on screen which is nice to see -now I know I could just go online and pull up live-timing. More radio conversations than just the 2-3 per race would be nice too.

same here There's been some great stuff in those three plus decades. I'm glad I saw it. Lauda, Villeneuve, et al.

I'm grateful to have been trackside and seen giants like Senna & Prost rocket by (Senna in a blur of stuccato throttle movements, Prost as smooth as glass). I watched Piquet (sr) drift beautifully through a set of corners lap after lap, completely different from everyone else. Rosberg (sr) one big throttle application to go down several gears, unlike the others...etc etc. Mansell, obviously trying so hard. The TV only tells us a small part of the story.

When I went to my first Grand Prix, I had been playing at being a racecar driver for some two seasons in the little leagues. Thursday morning practice it was raining and I literally could not believe the speed these guys went. On thursday in the rain, with nothing on the line. Rivetting. For those who are feeling bored, I recommend you go to a Grand Prix, its a great experience.

It is the same every year since the beginning of motor racing. The tipping point has nothing to do with the sport or what they do, it is all in the mind of the "fan". The typical fan initially has a driver that is some kind of a hero. As long as the hero is doing good, all is fine, no matter how boring the races are. In fact, if the hero is completely dominating the fan is even happier because the taste of victory (which he or she shares with the hero) is the only thing that is important. Then suddenly the hero is not winning anymore. He might not even be driving anymore, and the "fan" has to watch races that is won by all the wrong people. Maybe they are even won by The Bad Guy! The "fan" is watching the races with new eyes and fail to find the thrill that was there before. It is not important who takes pole, who wins, who comes 4th or who eventually wins the WDC.

Now F1 sees that the audience is dropping and they trip over themselves trying to make the sport interesting, but it is all in vain. What happened is that countless Schumi fans never bothered to find a new hero. Sure, some of them also got bored after his 5623rd championship and left before him, but he had dominated F1 for almost a decade and all those that did not love him hated him. Some "hated" him with respect, but nevertheless, without Schumi many more than his fans lost their reference.

Then came Alonso. A whole new bunch if newbie race fans started to follow Alonso and they started to watch F1 for the first time. When Alonso was no longer winning, the tipping point was always visible. Same with Lewis. Usually though, after being bored season or so, people come back. This time as racing fans. The look at the races without following any particlar driber (although with favorites). They look at the races and see what is lacking in terms of entertainment value until the tipping point becomes visible again. If they survive that, they join the next category. Those who had a hero, lost interest when he left, got interested again but got bored because of the repetitious and boring nature of motor racing, until they suddenly accepted that monotony is actually a part of motor racing. Monotony with sudden action. They watch races and hope it will be a good one, but they are not disappointed if they are not.

FiA can dress up F1 as a clown and attract a new audience, but F1 is not comedy. It is tension. Tension in slow motion with ingredients of of flurry and wild action. Like the first lap in Singapore. Like last years race in Brazil.

F1 is not fun or even interesting the whole time, but it doesn't have to be.

I follow F1 all the time, I read this site almost daily, I follow the tech developments and the politics as they happen, as for the races? I have watched 4 races in the last 2 and a half years. Take from that what you will. Part of that reason is just being busy with family, but a lot of it has to do with total lack of interest in watching the races.

I've been watching too long to stop. In a quarter century, I've had to sit through some snoozers - I'm prepared for that - not every race can be an action-packed orgy of entertainment.

What I am finding awful are the side-shows.... all of the crap with Max Mosley and his unusual predilections, followed by his unprofessional and silly comments about Jackie Stewart, then the McLaren (and others) spying row - then the Hmilton "liegate" - then the Renault "crashgate" (watergate has a lot to answer for... ).

Seems like there has been too much of this in the past couple of years. I suspect that Max and Bernie are quite happy with this - they don't care much about the sport as far as I can see, as long as it's on the front pages - so this suits them fine, I would imagine. I can't say I'm equally sanguine about it. I've chosen as much as possible to ignore it. Still, all of these instances are unwelcome stains on a sport (yeah, sorry Bernie - "business") I love.

Similar to me then. I read F1 news daily but only sporadically watch races. When I do watch them, I usually turn off after a few laps through lack of interest. The main problem for me is the lack of serious competition to F1. F1 is the only serious game in town in the open-wheel category. The others are a joke or poorly funded/advertised. This is unlike motorbike racing where the increasingly tedious MotoGP is now being challenged by the more exciting WSBK. Unfortunately Bernie has me by the nuts. Until a real rival comes along, I'm stuck watching the Bernie and CVC show.

I love the drama of F1 as much as the rest of it. I guess I'm addicted. At least there has been different champions, and is no longer a one horse race.
That was becoming a test for me......

97 began the rot for me, Max/FIA letting Schumacher off scot free was so blatant i couldn't beleive it, that really took some of the meaning out of the sport for me.

I stopped buying end of year tapes and cars the following year as i refused to pay to watch machines as ugly as that.

The following years of favouritisim, dirty tricks and max's hamstringing of oponents has gradually poisioned the sport for me, i've stoped buying the monthly mags and technical magazines and this year i've cancelled my autosport subscription after 18 years (although that was partialy down to Roebuck leaving).

There have been great, great races, fantastic seasons but Max/Ferrari/Schumacher were a constant bad smell for me, MS is gone now, Max is on his way hopefully and Ferrari are becoming more likeable with every race under Domenicali so there is hope.

I really feel weary reading websites/mags these days though, i can feel myself slipping closer to moto gp with every season and i think if Todt wins this election i may just call it a day.

F1 can still make me jump out of my chair like a kid but they are too infrequent to get me through the shit i go through between those moments.

You know, I'm OK usually after watching a boring races, that's OK, I can almost accept a poor race like a duff episode of EastEnders, because I know that I can't drive better than those drivers, like I know my literary qualities are pretty poor and my attempts at soap wriitng would be worse.

However, it's when I watch the stewards making decisions that just seem downright wrong or inconsistent that I'm left with a nasty taste in my mouth, constantly coming across as completely incompetent. Now perhaps, I'm wrong and there decisions were the right decisions, but sometimes I am completed baffled. Like Sunday, woke up at 5am, turned the BBC on, Jake's taking us through the grid and I'm just left shaking my head at the way the penalties are carried out leaving. A 5 place grid drop that takes you from 5th to 6th. It's not a good way to start something that I should be looking forward to.

I have 8 friends (i have more but not into F1 ;) who all watched F1 for years. Now i'm the only one left out of them whos still watching and i'm considering stopping watching it
They all take the p*ss about what a waste of time it is.

x2 free practise on Fri, x1 free practise on Sat plus quali on Sat is an awfull lot of time wasted only to watch a 90+ min snoozefest on the Sunday.

As mentioned above, not every race can be dramatic with lots of passing. In the time I've been watching (~25 years), there have been much more boring races and seasons than this year.

Similar to the original poster I myself am 29 and have been an avid fan of F1 since I was 9. Somehow the declining frequency of race-day action has largely not bothered me much although I confess that Sunday's race at Suzuka certainly had me regretting getting up so early.

I share the sentiment many seem to have in that qualifying has become more exciting although if I am brutally honest anything is better than the Schumacher-dominant years. 2001 greatly saw my interest in F1 dwindle simply because each race was practically a fore-gone conclusion before the race had even started. 2002 was the only year I consciously chose not to watch races simply because I didn't want to watch yet another instance of Schumacher leading the others around like the Pied Piper of Hamelin regardless of whether there was more chances of overtaking etc than now.

Last season was perhaps the most exciting season I'd watched in years and if this year had been half as entertaining I'd be very happy. As it stands though I've really enjoyed the mixed-bag this year has been. I've enjoyed watching Brawn, who started as rank outsiders, kickstart the season with unexpected success and I've taken a keen interest in watching the other teams play catch-up. It's hard to predict now just who will have the pace at any given track and that in itself peaks my curiosity.

But yes, I agree that the on-track moments of brilliance are few and far between now and it is a great shame. I'm really not convinced that eradicating mid-race refuelling is the answer though. As it stands now a majority of overtaking is done in the pits yet at the very least I do enjoy the pitstop tactics. Sure, they'll still come in for tyres but that's just taking time away from something surprising happening with track position.

The interest is still there for me and it'll take a lot for me to stop watching but I wouldn't say no to more overtaking and examples of driver skill.

You're absolutely right, tis rubbish these days and I still watch every race out of tradition for the last 25 years. They could take away aerodynamics but they choose not to so obviously they want it to carry on like this. Actually its worse now than every before simply because the whole field is covered by not much over a second and they still can't overtake so it really has come to a tipping point.

If I have a tipping point I've not found it yet. F1 is an incredibly dynamic sport and things change. The cars could be made to be able to follow more closely though I agree. However, there's more to F1 and motor racing than just passing. I've never completely understood the obsession and attitude with overtaking, like that's the only thing that matters in a race (or the attitude that the race is over by the first corner). I don't feel F1 owes me anything, I'm just looking in from the outside.

I agree

Agree completely, for me it's been since the 1986 season when I was 7 yrs old.

There'll always be "boring" races in a season, no matter the regs.
I remember the 1988 San Marino GP was a drag after the couple of laps it took Prost to get back to second. You knew he might close up a bit on Senna but never pass him, so 1st & 2nd was settled already early. This was 21 yrs ago.
I guess this is what happens when the cars have positions according to how fast they are. What if Vettel had messed up the start last race? I think it would've been exiting to see him climb back.

There was a point in the Suzuka race that was exiting: when Kimi started to reel in Ham, once Ham got the KERS problem. He ate away a sec/lap or smth and it was exiting until after the SC when he failed to find the same pace. So this part w no overtakings was still exiting.

I watched Singapore, and I literally cannot recall a single thing from that race. It was THAT boring.

Japan was scheduled for 12:30AM on the east coast of the US. I stayed up until 12:15 ready to watch the race, then suddenly decided I'd rather go to sleep than stay up any longer. I made no effort to catch the results. When I got home Sunday evening I pulled up the Atlas RC and saw that there wasn't a thread on the race at all. Must have been incredibly mind numbing.

I was several times close to give up on F1.

The politics stinks at times, racing is mostly a procession. However I found myself to always find a point of interest, and it seems I am an eternal optimist. Next year will be better!

So what would bring me close to give up? Some closed minds and insulting fans. If F1 ever is getting close as football, I think then I might quit. That is if F1 doesn't close shop earlier.

I've followed F1, and motor racing in general since I was 11 years old (1973). I've seen great teams come and go, and great drivers as well. Through the years there have been a great many changes, not just to F1, but all across the spectrum of racing. Still I follow the various series thru magazines and other media, including the internet.

As far as watching the races on tv, I've come to do less of that over the years. Why? because for the most part the on-track action has become predictable and even boring. Most of the results of the races come down to who has the best car, or has spent the most money, and not because of the talent of the drivers (or the lack there of).

Why do I still follow racing at all? Because of the people involved. When I turn on the tv, or look on-line for a race result, it's the drivers I'm pulling for, that I'm interested in, not the cars, or teams, or even the individual series.

What will get me to watching the races on tv more? Simple! More on track action. Passing. Wheel to wheel action. More evenly matched cars that allow the drivers talent to shine through. More driver accesability. More feature stories about the drivers as people, not about their high priced machines.

til then, I'm more likely to watch the start, go do something else for an hour and a half, then tune back in to catch the finish. What's in between just isn't as interesting anymore.