52 replies to this topic

[black magic]

self explanatory. just when we have a couple of races it all goes dead again for a seemingly random number of weeks. no testing, little news, little excitement in the championship. then a race then 3 weeks off then ...

 

what happened to a race every 2 weeks except for the silly mid season holiday which again destroyed momentum of spectator interest.?

[HoldenRT]

My interest of F1 decreases year by year, but I'm not sure if it's F1 itself decreasing in quality, or just getting sick of it.  I think back to 2005 or 2006 and it felt so exciting.  The direction the regs have taken in the last few years probably hasn't helped and the calender doesn't help either.

[Nitropower]

agreed

[Andrew Hope]

It's the worst ever calendar if this is the first season you watched.

 

Try the 60s and 70s where there was a month between every race on average.

 

EDIT: On the other hand, the 1961 calendar looked like this..

 

Monaco

Zandvoort

(old) Spa

Reims

Aintree

(old) Nurburgring

(banked) Monza

Watkins Glen

 

So yeah, I agree.

Edited by Andrew Hope, 24 October 2013 - 22:33.

[Nitropower]

Me too, losing interest. I remember getting up in the middle of the night to watch end of the season Asian races, or being unable to sleep before important races.

All that is gone with a pitiful calendar, too much races and many of them in urban circuits which remind to anything but F1, and also the Red Bull domination for so many years... good times are gone. Bring back the good times!

[Seanspeed]

Pacing has definitely been pretty awful. 

[scheivlak]

 

Try the 60s and 70s where there was a month between every race on average.

Not in the 70s, maybe in the 60s but hardly anybody cared because the World Sportscar/Prototype championship, F2, CanAm etc were almost/about as competitive (with a lot of those GP drivers committed as well). Current F1 followers maybe forget that e.g. in the 60s Le Mans was the biggest race of the year and that, because of that, the preceding sportscar races were intensely followed as well.

[repcobrabham]

it would be good to get a little more fortnightly consistency in the scheduling, definitely...

[RealRacing]

It's the worst ever calendar if this is the first season you watched.

 

Try the 60s and 70s where there was a month between every race on average.

 

EDIT: On the other hand, the 1961 calendar looked like this..

 

Monaco

Zandvoort

(old) Spa

Reims

Aintree

(old) Nurburgring

(banked) Monza

Watkins Glen

 

So yeah, I agree.

I'd rather have that...

[redbarron]

I have to admit that this is the first year since watching F1 I have lost interest in the sport. Maybe its a bit of the race pacing, and other factors like the tire saga / RB domination. I'm sure i'll watch next year intently again with excitement, but at the moment its just not getting me hyped to watch practice, qualifying and race like it normally would.

[George Costanza]

I think its because of Ferrari and Fernando Alonso can't beat Red Bull. Last year we saw a very exciting end...

 

But, I agree, I much rather bring back the V12, V10, engines.

[Thomas99]

Its mostly because the season was decided back at Spa. We've known since then who will win the championship and since you expect Vettel to win every race from here on in there is very little to watch for.

 

When the championship goes down to the wire every race matters and is worth looking at, every mistake. But this is just cruise control until we try again next year.

Edited by Thomas99, 25 October 2013 - 02:40.

[SR388]

F1 could possibly benefit from a NASCAR style chase. Top 6 drivers, last 6 tracks. 

[undersquare]

We're so spoiled these days aren't we?.  We have a long season with lots of races and best-ever coverage.

 

It was only last year we started with 7 different winners in the first 7 races though, so right now the contrast is a bit of a downer.

 

But I agree with the OP the long gaps are irritating.

[Lazy]

I dunno about that but it's certainly one of the worst for thread titles.

[muramasa]

Its mostly because the season was decided back at Spa. We've known since then who will win the championship and since you expect Vettel to win every race from here on in there is very little to watch for.

 

When the championship goes down to the wire every race matters and is worth looking at, every mistake. But this is just cruise control until we try again next year.

Yes.

 

Vettel effect.

[Kelateboy]

it would be good to get a little more fortnightly consistency in the scheduling, definitely...

 

Yup like the last 6 races of this season was covered in 8 weeks. That is too much F1 action in a short period of time. I prefer a race every fortnightly than a double-header followed by 3 weeks of inaction.

[bourbon]

I watch every session as always - and LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT!! 

 

I am into flexing schedules - some seasons tightly packed, others stretched, others in between.  I'm fine with that. 

Edited by bourbon, 25 October 2013 - 06:52.

[apoka]

I think India is a nice track and I'm really looking forward to the US and Brazil GPs. I can understand that people are less excited without a WDC battle, but the negativity in here is a bit too much for my taste. Lighten up a bit and enjoy the individual races!

 

[Peat]

Glad i'm not alone in my waning interest in F1. I thought i was maybe just 'growing out of it'.

 

But, my interest in motorsport is still very much alive and kicking. I find i get excited over Sportscar & IndyCar racing instead now. The spectacle is just...........better imho.

 

I don't mind the Vettel effect so much, i'm a sports fan so i want to see the best guy/car win and i don't think there is any disputing that. What really, REALLY, kills it for me is the tyres making everyone toddle around at 6/10ths asking their engineer if they can push, and then the biggest insult of them all - DRS.

 

I am looking forward to 2014 though. I suspect i will get up at silly o'clock to catch first sight of the new formula at Melbourne FP1.
 

[ensign14]

Worst-ever F1 calendar?  1952 and 1953...

[dau]

This is definitely the worst ever forums season ever.

[basjaski]

We're so spoiled these days aren't we?.  We have a long season with lots of races and best-ever coverage.

 

It was only last year we started with 7 different winners in the first 7 races though, so right now the contrast is a bit of a downer.

 

But I agree with the OP the long gaps are irritating.

And even last year people where complaining how it was ''anyones game'' yadda yadda yadda...

I say the more races the better. Most are just bleak that Kid Index is winning it all so seemingly easily (in my book those are the same people that are only interested to see who wins, and if their favourite driver is out they turn of the TV). 

[7MGTEsup]

Personally I think it's more a human issue. People seem to have such short attention spans and no paitence these days. It seems like the average person needs to be spoon fed everything and it all has to go their way or they throw their teddies out the pram. Formula 1 is no more boring than it has been for the last 30 years. People talk about the good old days but we have had patches in the past with single team domination. McLaren 88 and 89, williams 92 and 93 Ferrar 2001,2002 and 2004. Of the last 4 years only 2011 and this year have been dominated but most people are just upset that one drive has been on top for the last 4 years even though 2 of those were nail biter last round deciders. People need to stop being so fickle and they may enjoy things more.

 

Just my opinion.

[EthanM]

Personally I think it's more a human issue. People seem to have such short attention spans and no paitence these days. It seems like the average person needs to be spoon fed everything and it all has to go their way or they throw their teddies out the pram. Formula 1 is no more boring than it has been for the last 30 years. People talk about the good old days but we have had patches in the past with single team domination. McLaren 88 and 89, williams 92 and 93 Ferrar 2001,2002 and 2004. Of the last 4 years only 2011 and this year have been dominated but most people are just upset that one drive has been on top for the last 4 years even though 2 of those were nail biter last round deciders. People need to stop being so fickle and they may enjoy things more.

 

Just my opinion.

 

 

except this year hasn't been dominated ... the races after the summer break have been. Remember before the break? Hungary? Mercedes walkover?  I know people don't like to hear it but .... bottom line Red Bull just won the development race post summer break, that is all. Others may have chosen to divert more attention to 2014, whatever the reason, the first 10 races were very much open, post Hungary Red Bull took over

[PayasYouRace]

Heaven knows how some of you would have coped in the 70s when the calendar was ~16 races spread from January to October. 1975 must have been the worst ever by that standard. 14 races between 12 Jan and 5 Oct.

 

Especially odd that this topic comes up now at the end of the season when we have no gaps bigger than 2 weeks since Spa going to the end of the season.

 

Some of the 3 week gaps this season have been a bit frustrating, but it's far from the worst ever.

[Nonesuch]

The back and forth between one week, two weeks, and three weeks is indeed somewhat annoying. But then again, I don't think many people really measure time around the F1 races so it's probably not as big an issue. I usually only watch the second half of qualifying and the race, though, so it might be different for those with the time to watch all the sessions.

 

In any case, I think the combination of a season finale filled with new circuits with (thus) little history and/or character and an already decided championship is probably more detrimental than the schedule itself. Suzuka may be fun to watch regardless of the championship, as is Interlagos, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and a few others, but Singapore, Korea, India, or Abu Dhabi... meh. Add to that a streak of Red Bull wins on those very circuits, and it doesn't offer much hope of exciting race weekend.

[EthanM]

Heaven knows how some of you would have coped in the 70s when the calendar was ~16 races spread from January to October. 1975 must have been the worst ever by that standard. 14 races between 12 Jan and 5 Oct.

 

Especially odd that this topic comes up now at the end of the season when we have no gaps bigger than 2 weeks since Spa going to the end of the season.

 

Some of the 3 week gaps this season have been a bit frustrating, but it's far from the worst ever.

 

a couple of broadcasters had said they would prefer 2 breaks and clusters of races every week, there was some research that said viewers responded much better when there were successive races every weekend as opposed to having them every fortnight. Obviously the logistics can be hard to work out.

 

and it is a different era from the 70s as far as how people consume entertainment and how patient they are

[Coral]

For the first time in ages, I actually forgot there was a race on this weekend. I only realised when I logged on to the BBC website and saw the headline "Vettel fastest in first practice".  This year's F1 season what with the long breaks and Red Bull domination has IMO been one of the worst ever.

 

I agree that we F1 fans are spoiled nowadays with the wall-to-wall coverage of our sport. I love the coverage on Sky, it is excellent, but since the summer break the races have been so boring. I wish the summer break could be scrapped, I hate it.

 

Yes in the 1970s there were boring F1 seasons, but there was so little TV coverage in those days, you took what you could get. I remember GPs being shown on BBC2 when the races were interspersed with showjumping from Hickstead! And in the 1980s, I "watched" some of the races on teletext. (BBC Ceefax)... 

Edited by Coral, 25 October 2013 - 09:24.

[RedRocksF1]

I don´t know if it´s the worst or not, but I don´t like some facts like the dispersed calendar, empty circuits, lack of emotion (2009, 2011 and this year from summer onward). Also I miss a better politic on marketing and advertising the sport (like nba for example): more interviews, some challenges out of the races, "best of" programs on tv and internet, a more concentrated calendar that keeps the attention ...

[SenorSjon]

We're so spoiled these days aren't we?.  We have a long season with lots of races and best-ever coverage.

 

It was only last year we started with 7 different winners in the first 7 races though, so right now the contrast is a bit of a downer.

 

But I agree with the OP the long gaps are irritating.

 

Are we watching the same sport? Coverage could be way better (never a decent replay from the crash in Suzuka, Penalties handed out while no-one has seen it, etc) and all those races make individual ones less unique. The 7 from 7 stat for me is the lowest point in F1. It isn't a stat brought by teams, just luck of the draw with the tires.

 

Personally I think it's more a human issue. People seem to have such short attention spans and no paitence these days. It seems like the average person needs to be spoon fed everything and it all has to go their way or they throw their teddies out the pram. Formula 1 is no more boring than it has been for the last 30 years. People talk about the good old days but we have had patches in the past with single team domination. McLaren 88 and 89, williams 92 and 93 Ferrar 2001,2002 and 2004. Of the last 4 years only 2011 and this year have been dominated but most people are just upset that one drive has been on top for the last 4 years even though 2 of those were nail biter last round deciders. People need to stop being so fickle and they may enjoy things more.

 

Just my opinion.

 

I found the Ferrari dominance less akward due to the history behind it (20 years no championship, etc). At least in those days, cars were racing, they looked awe inspiring and were the pinnacle of racing.

 

We had last round deciders in the WDC yes, but they hardly met on track.

[Borko]

I don't know if 2013 calendar is the worst ever, but for me this season is the worst ever. Tyre controversies, mediocre races, total domination from one team.

[FullThrottleF1]

Agreed, really rubbish season. Don't mind the breaks, its not as if there is something to look forward to

[Wingnut]

This is definitely the worst ever forums season ever.

 

Definitely, even though I don't regularly post myself, I used to enjoy reading the posts on this and other forums, but there appears to very few people talking about anything other that tyres and DRS. It was telling that the India 'build-up' thread was only created a day before practice started. If F1 fans don't really care anymore, who does?

 

I don't know if 2013 calendar is the worst ever, but for me this season is the worst ever. Tyre controversies, mediocre races, total domination from one team.

 

The 2013 calendar is just the start. The current regulations mean it's nearly impossible for a driver to actually defend their position, which to me is as much a part of the sport as overtaking. The whole thing just 'feels' different these days. Perhaps things will change next year, but when everyone looks forward to regulation changes in the sport to mix things up, you know something is broken.

[discover23]

F1 could possibly benefit from a NASCAR style chase. Top 6 drivers, last 6 tracks.

Vettel would walk it anyway. Towards the end of the season is when RedBull becomes more dominant.

[ebc]

I think it has been a really good season, it could be better especially if the title race was closer but the racing has been pretty good all year, and the tyre issue has been a little bit annoying but tyre conservation has been part of F1 for 40 years so it is not new.

 

I still get as excited now as I did 10 years ago and think it is so much better than it was then.  There are more races, the drivers are better and the races are better.

 

People complain when some different is winning every week and complain when it is the same person winning, I remember alot of people were complaining last year when Vettel won a few races in a row that the title race was over and it is now boring even though it was still so close and then the last 3 races were fantastic probably the best 3 of the year.

 

I don't know what people are looking for, this is F1 and it has always been like this even with the calender there has always been long breaks between some races, I remember in 1999 the first race was in Australia and the second race was 5 weeks later so I don't understand why people are only complaining now about something that has being going on for years. 

 

I think people are pissed off with the same guy winning and are looking for other things to complain about, even though they didn't complain about these things when they have been happining for years.

[JHSingo]

self explanatory. just when we have a couple of races it all goes dead again for a seemingly random number of weeks. no testing, little news, little excitement in the championship. then a race then 3 weeks off then ...

 

what happened to a race every 2 weeks except for the silly mid season holiday which again destroyed momentum of spectator interest.?

 

This post is pretty much "first world problems."

 

"Waaah, there aren't enough races, why is there so long between races?" etc.

 

You want to watch racing? Here's a suggestion: trying watching some other motorsport when F1 isn't on. It makes the breaks between Formula One races pass more quickly, and you'll find much of it is even better than F1.

Edited by JHSingo, 25 October 2013 - 12:58.

[Collombin]

Most people seem to think that having more races than in previous eras is a good thing, but the downside to that of course is that it therefore becomes less likely that the championship will go down to the wire (which most people seem to want too).

 

Best calendar? I will see your 1961 and raise you 1968: - Kyalami, Jarama, Monaco, Spa, Zandvoort, Rouen, Brands Hatch, Nurburgring, Monza, St Jovite, Watkins Glen, Mexico City. Give me those 12 races over 20 Tilkedrones anyday.

 

At least the modern F1 calendar fills the gap between the World Cup skiing seasons almost perfectly though

[KirilVarbanov]

In fact, this year's calendar seems a bit stretched, but that's simply because it isn't interesting per se - the season. It's Vettel all over the place and that's it. Everybody is looking into 2014 and nothing happens. Slow news periods, not much drama, and voila. And this is compared to the recent season. I hate to make comparisons with older F1 seasons where everything was different. 

 

Tilke tracks - believe me, it's not all down to Tilke. An article about this soon on F1 Framework. 

[Afterburner]

My biggest gripe about F1 as of late is simply that the cars aren't exciting anymore. Honestly, when the biggest innovations we have on these cars come from an artificial meta-game, there's really not much to look forward to--and when the cars are boring to me, the racing becomes boring as well. I don't care if we get 4,000 passes per race, the feel isn't the same as when we had massive, screaming V10's in the back of sleek, low-profile open-wheel jets. Even if they never passed each other, they were still fun just to watch.

 

I use P1 as an example. Pickett Racing's Honda ARX-03a killed everything over here in the US, and Audi's R18 e-tron owns the WEC, but I'd almost rather just watch those cars drive around by themselves than watch a dozen DRS-zone 'passes'. The P1s are not much slower than F1 cars, sound just as good to me, look better, and race on much more dangerous tracks more often--Laguna Seca, anyone? Road Atlanta, turn 12?

 

To top it all off, the FIA screwed themselves with the reg changes. Yes, I'm writing the new regs off before they've already begun. The cars are going to look slower, sound slower, and likely be slower. This is Formula One? Perhaps the pervading sense of gloom comes from the fact that we know we've got nothing to look forward to for at least the next three years. I'll eat my words if I'm wrong, but I'm not counting on it.

 

Oh, and as a final note, anybody whining about Red Bull and Vettel winning everything really just needs to shut up and get a life. I'm so tired of hearing that excuse; firstly, there are more forms of motorsport than just F1, and secondly, this is motorsport: the goal is to win, and the best will win--a lot. If you don't like that, go watch X-Factor or American Idol or figure skating or something where judges pick the most popular winner. Or maybe one of those artificial 'racing' series where they punish winners for winning--helps to satiate that success envy.

 

I've never found myself watching any form of sport and thinking, 'I wish so-and-so didn't win so much'. Ever. I simply don't understand it.

[SonnyViceR]

Current F1 followers maybe forget that e.g. in the 60s Le Mans was the biggest race of the year

 

Umm, it still is.

[Fastcake]

Umm, it still is.

 

It really isn't now. You'll be lucky if many people outside the motorsport world even know it's on.

[SonnyViceR]

It really isn't now. You'll be lucky if many people outside the motorsport world even know it's on.

 

I admit that this has sadly become true (then again just like NASCAR viewership it varies from country to country), however in terms of importance it really is the biggest one.

[Nonesuch]

You'll be lucky if many people outside the motorsport world even know it's on.

 

True, but the same is true for pretty much every other sporting event that is not the Football World Cup. That doesn't mean Le Mans isn't the biggest race of the year. I don't know how one would go about measuring that, or how useful it is, but I suppose there is little doubt that the Le Mans race is one of the highlights of the motorsport year, just like the Indy 500 and a handful of other classics.

[JHSingo]

It really isn't now. You'll be lucky if many people outside the motorsport world even know it's on.

 

Interesting stat: more British people attend Le Mans than they do the British Grand Prix. In a country where F1 is the only form of motorsport that gets any real mainstream press attention (other than when there's been a racing related tragedy), don't you think that says it all?

 

Over a quarter of a million spectators where there on the race weekend this year. Without going into detail and looking at the figures, I'd guess that is more than most F1 races have had this year.

[djparky]

part of the problem I guess is the endless stream of Tilke tracks in the back half of the year which look pretty (but samey) but mostly are soulless expanses of endless tarmac run offs and empty grandstands and coupled with the mind numbing certainty that Seb is likely to win all the remaining races doesn't encourage excitement- funny I remember Ecclestone saying that he thought too many races would dilute the sport- now we're looking at 22 next year- fine if its an exciting championship- less so if it's another 2002, 2004 or 2013

[Fastcake]

I admit that this has sadly become true (then again just like NASCAR viewership it varies from country to country), however in terms of importance it really is the biggest one.

 

Certainly it's a prestigious event.

 

But if you use my personal metric of appearing on the six o'clock news, Le Mans isn't even close. F1 will make it every race, Moto GP will occasionally (perhaps just because the BBC still have the rights), but all other motorsport is non-existent. Certainly if you look at British viewing figures, F1 races average several million, while Le Mans is lucky to hit 100,000.

 

 

Interesting stat: more British people attend Le Mans than they do the British Grand Prix. In a country where F1 is the only form of motorsport that gets any real mainstream press attention (other than when there's been a racing related tragedy), don't you think that says it all?

 

Over a quarter of a million spectators where there on the race weekend this year. Without going into detail and looking at the figures, I'd guess that is more than most F1 races have had this year.

 

It says Le Mans has built itself up as a great spectator event over the years. F1 hasn't, and indeed I don't think any circuit has the capacity to match it.

[Borko]

1998 calendar was insane. The gap between penultimate and last race was five weeks

[DS27]

Less is sometimes more. Wish there were fewer races - it might actually lead to some excitement when one was coming around. Combined with the technical regs, sporting regs, lack of competition and my ageing grumpiness, F1 holds little attraction these days. Gone are the days I used to watch all the prectice sessions.

[pdac]

Less is sometimes more. Wish there were fewer races - it might actually lead to some excitement when one was coming around. Combined with the technical regs, sporting regs, lack of competition and my ageing grumpiness, F1 holds little attraction these days. Gone are the days I used to watch all the prectice sessions.

 I was thinking the same myself. I'd probably prefer having just one race every 3 or even 4 weeks, as long as it was consistenty that way. It would make it more of an event. It's the 1 week here, 2 weeks there, 3 weeks some other time that is the worst.