162 replies to this topic

[Lone]

Four races in to the 2014 championship I'm wondering if, right now, Formula 1 has become boring. With Mercedes dominating it's natural to think the racing has become boring, but that's not what I'm referring to. What I'm thinking about is that the racing is not there anymore and that we're again seeing very little overtaking. To me it seems it's very difficult to see overtakings and strategy playing a big part like the last years.

Is the new Formula 1 boring?

[Bartonz20let]

No offence but all these type of threads are getting boring, has F1 changed that much??

[johnwilliamdavies]

I'll tell you what is boring, this forum. It's full of people whinging.

 

If you don't enjoy Formula 1 anymore, stop watching, and do something else with your short time on this planet.

[Lone]

No offence but all these type of threads are getting boring, has F1 changed that much??

No offence taken, but F1 seems to take a pride in making the show/racing better. They're selling the sport as beeing proactive and changing it all time to make it better but are they actually doing it successfully or are they only just changing the sports.

[Timstr11]

Four races in to the 2014 championship I'm wondering if, right now, Formula 1 has become boring. With Mercedes dominating it's natural to think the racing has become boring, but that's not what I'm referring to. What I'm thinking about is that the racing is not there anymore and that we're again seeing very little overtaking. To me it seems it's very difficult to see overtakings and strategy playing a big part like the last years.

Is the new Formula 1 boring?

 

Do you have any sound statistics comparing the first 4 races of 2013 and the first four races of 2014 that prove your statement that there is less overtaking? 

[senna da silva]

Did you see Bahrain?

[johnmhinds]

Did you see Bahrain?

 

If Bahrain is now considered the best F1 has to offer us.....then meh to F1.....

[Lone]

I'll tell you what is boring, this forum. It's full of people whinging.
 
If you don't enjoy Formula 1 anymore, stop watching, and do something else with your short time on this planet.

Don't get me wrong I still enjoy F1, and will keep watching it. Everything isn't always black and white, just because I ask the opinion of others doesn't mean I have an agenda, I was only wondering if these changes make F1 better or not. If you believe one should just get with the program why then change anything at all?

[Lone]

Did you see Bahrain?

I agree that was a good race but without the safety car that wouldn't have been that good of race anyway. And what passning did we see? The Mercedes duo fighting it out was a good show but in the end no passings, by anyone if my memory serves me right.

Still, that's only one race out of four.

[senna da silva]

If Bahrain is now considered the best F1 has to offer us.....then meh to F1.....

 

Really? Go back and watch 1998, or 1988, or even 1978. If you didn't think Bahrain was a great race then I find it hard to believe you're a fan of F1.

[SUPRAF1]

I think it's less boring as drivers at the moment have to really drive the cars. In-car cameras this year show how much corrective steering they have to do compared to last year.

 

I'm not really sure if overtaking is a good way to measure excitement because 2008 had hardly any (something like 5x less than 2012) but people usually rank that season very highly.

[senna da silva]

I agree that was a good race but without the safety car that wouldn't have been that good of race anyway. 

 

And without the red flag the 2011 Canadian GP would have been boring.......

[4MEN]

Did you see Bahrain?

Did you saw the pass of Rosberg on Alonso in China!!

[senna da silva]

Did you saw the pass of Rosberg on Alonso in China!!

 

I don't disagree that the DRS is not ideal, but F1 racing is not boring and at least we don't have to endure Trulli trains.

[johnmhinds]

Really? Go back and watch 1998, or 1988, or even 1978. If you didn't think Bahrain was a great race then I find it hard to believe you're a fan of F1.

 

What exactly was so great about Bahrain?

The utter domination of the race by one team?

The safety car that came out because one of the worst drivers in the sport wasn't watching where he was going?

 

There was barely any passing for the majority of the race.

 

http://www.statsf1.c...r-par-tour.aspx

[halifaxf1fan]

I think it's less boring as drivers at the moment have to really drive the cars. In-car cameras this year show how much corrective steering they have to do compared to last year.

 

I'm not really sure if overtaking is a good way to measure excitement because 2008 had hardly any (something like 5x less than 2012) but people usually rank that season very highly.

 

 

The drivers of the Mercedes are hardly stressed at all, other than Rosberg stressing himself out at times because he can't keep up with Hamilton.  For them it is just a matter of dialing in how many seconds a lap faster they want to be and steering the car to the finish line.

 

After watching F1 since Gilles Villeneuve came on the scene imo this is the most boring edition to date.  Slow, silent, ugly cars with the titles already sewn up unless something can be done very soon - sadly very boring,

Edited by halifaxf1fan, 25 April 2014 - 20:23.

[DutchQuicksilver]

People are seriously misunderstanding something here. Racing isn't all about passing, there's more to it. You can have a good race with hardly any passing. I can enjoy a good race when there's a good fight between drivers.

[Lazy]

What exactly was so great about Bahrain?

The utter domination of the race by one team?

The safety car that came out because one of the worst drivers in the sport wasn't watching where he was going?

 

There was barely any passing for the majority of the race.

 

http://www.statsf1.c...r-par-tour.aspx

What? Check out the race thread, it was jumping right from the start and there was loads of passing, are you sure you're completely objective about this?

[Lone]

I see have offended a lot of Hamilton fans by questioning if F1 is boring today. I sincerely want to say that it wasn't my intention, Lewis deserves another championship because of his talent but again I only want to know if the new F1 isn't as exciting, for the overall show, as it was the last years.

[johnmhinds]

People are seriously misunderstanding something here. Racing isn't all about passing, there's more to it. You can have a good race with hardly any passing. I can enjoy a good race when there's a good fight between drivers.

 

While I agree that yes you can have some good racing without having any passes, Bahrain shouldn't be considered an all time classic just because it had a safety car period that bunched the cars up for a bit.

 

Other than the field being together for a couple of laps after the safety car period the pack was just as spread out as it has been at all the other races this year.

Edited by johnmhinds, 25 April 2014 - 20:17.

[Fatgadget]

F1 boring? You gotta be kidding matey!..Its never been so riveting since the 1970s!
Only gripe I have is the fact that its now behind pay-wall..here in the UK at any rate.....Any places where its still free to air?...Would be reason enough for me to emigrate there!

[P123]

It's no more boring than it has ever been in the past. Lots of premature dejection among a very boring and very vocal minority in here lately.

[SUPRAF1]

The drivers of the Mercedes are hardly stressed at all, other than Rosberg stressing himself out at times because he can't keep up with Hamilton.  For them it is just a matter of dialing in how many seconds a lap faster they want to be and sterring the car to the finish line.

 

After watching F1 since Gilles Villeneuve came on the scene imo this is the most boring edition to date.  Slow, silent, ugly cars with the titles already sewn up unless something can be done very soon - sadly very boring,

 

Yes but that's expected from Mercedes so it's not a surprise. F1 isn't a spec series so if some group of engineers/personnel completely outperform another group then they will take the glory with the drivers having much less of an impact. The cars in general however seem much less grippy which makes it more exciting than the recent past.

[DampMongoose]

FatGadget must be a CVC shareholder.

[Fatgadget]

FatGadget must be a CVC shareholder.

Very cute!....if only mate!....Was gonna add that comment was a bit of a DampSquib!...

Edited by Fatgadget, 25 April 2014 - 20:44.

[halifaxf1fan]

Yes but that's expected from Mercedes so it's not a surprise. F1 isn't a spec series so if some group of engineers/personnel completely outperform another group then they will take the glory with the drivers having much less of an impact. The cars in general however seem much less grippy which makes it more exciting than the recent past.

 

It is a flawed series right now. Spec series or not the teams with their groups of engineers/personnel cannot implement their brilliant, innovative ideas because the power units are frozen.  Mercedes won the short winter testing season which under these rules in effect is the championship.

 

As well the less grippy cars have not played much into the racing probably due to the drivers approaching corners having to lift early as part of their fuel conservation programs which are boring in their own right.

Edited by halifaxf1fan, 25 April 2014 - 21:42.

[Myrvold]

Four races in to the 2014 championship I'm wondering if, right now, Formula 1 has become boring. With Mercedes dominating it's natural to think the racing has become boring, but that's not what I'm referring to. What I'm thinking about is that the racing is not there anymore and that we're again seeing very little overtaking. To me it seems it's very difficult to see overtakings and strategy playing a big part like the last years.

Is the new Formula 1 boring?

 

 

What exactly was so great about Bahrain?

The utter domination of the race by one team?

The safety car that came out because one of the worst drivers in the sport wasn't watching where he was going?

 

There was barely any passing for the majority of the race.

 

http://www.statsf1.c...r-par-tour.aspx

So far into the season, we've had 10 overtakes less pr. race than the whole of 2013, 2013 had 1 more than 2012, 2012 had 8 less than 2011. 2011 however, had a massively 38 passes pr. race increase from 2010!

Actually, if the amount of passes per race in average keeps on like it have in the 4 races so far. It'll only be 2011, 2012, 2013 and 1984 that have had more overtakes per race since 1981.

So, it can't be "barely any passing". We are a whopping 32 passes per race over the 2005 amount, and 31 over the 2009 amount.
 

All data from http://www.cliptheapex.com and taken from dry races only. Wet, and changing conditions, not included.

[Fatgadget]

It's no more boring than it has ever been in the past. Lots of premature dejection among a very boring and very vocal minority in here lately.

Here here Podium123.We are potentially witnessing history being re-written and its boring?? OMFG!

[Lone]

Yes but that's expected from Mercedes so it's not a surprise. F1 isn't a spec series so if some group of engineers/personnel completely outperform another group then they will take the glory with the drivers having much less of an impact. The cars in general however seem much less grippy which makes it more exciting than the recent past.

But once you cleared the first lap you will know that the remaining laps will see very little change in positions. Perhaps the idea of shortening the amount of laps would be a good idea to keep the thrill through out the race.

Besides you don't see the Mercedes, Red Bull or the Force India, slide through the corners. The best cars don't slide so a F1 series with cars sliding isn't a reality. If all cars were sliding that would be a good thing but since that's not the reality how can anyone say that's a good thing.

[Slartibartfast]

Is the new Formula 1 boring?

More boring than last year? With only two different race winners in four races? That's only one different to the number of different race winners in the previous... nine races. One more.

Is the new Formula One boring? To some people yes. That is, after all, a subjective thing. Is it more boring than it's immediate predecessor? I don't think so.

[Spillage]

Really? Go back and watch 1998, or 1988, or even 1978. If you didn't think Bahrain was a great race then I find it hard to believe you're a fan of F1.

Absolutely. If you thought Bahrain was boring, what exactly are you looking for? Bahrain showed there's nothing wrong with the technical regs as far as exciting racing goes.

 

So far we've had one great race (Bahrain), one okay race (Melbourne) and two dull ones in Malaysia and China. The last two were only dull because of the dominance of one man. So no, the 'new' F1 is not boring. If F1 has been boring at the start of this year it is for the same reason it was boring at the end of last year; the leading driver and the leading team are just too good.

Edited by Spillage, 25 April 2014 - 20:48.

[uffen]

It's too early to tell one way or the other.

[Lone]

So far into the season, we've had 10 overtakes less pr. race than the whole of 2013, 2013 had 1 more than 2012, 2012 had 8 less than 2011. 2011 however, had a massively 38 passes pr. race increase from 2010!

Actually, if the amount of passes per race in average keeps on like it have in the 4 races so far. It'll only be 2011, 2012, 2013 and 1984 that have had more overtakes per race since 1981.
So, it can't be "barely any passing". We are a whopping 32 passes per race over the 2005 amount, and 31 over the 2009 amount.
 
All data from http://www.cliptheapex.com and taken from dry races only. Wet, and changing conditions, not included.

But wasn't it the purpose of the rules change to have a better show? What is a better show, definately not cars fighting without passing. You said that the last years had more passing than 2005 but that wasn't surely the goal. If we're seeing less passing than in the last 3 years how can the show be better this year. For me it sounds like a backward step.

[Exb]

Its still very early days in this new formula. Teams (and drivers) are still getting to grips with what they need to do to understand the new cars and power units. So far Mercedes has done a better job (but have probably been working on the new regs for longer/with more resources than some of the others). The other teams will start to catch up at some point and the cars will get closer in performance, teams will understand strategies for the new cars/power units better and the racing should improve. These cars had very little testing before the season started so the teams were always going to be feeling their way a little in the early races. Already the improvement in less than 3 months since the 1st test is astonishing. This year was always going to shake things up now it just needs a chance to settle without the powers that be making any knee-jerk changes due to fans moaning about something that may not be an issue by mid-season.

[MaxisOne]

It's too early to tell one way or the other.

OMG ??? What is this ????     

 

Someone with sense in this thread ???

 

My good man what are you doing in here spouting off logical answers in this thread ?   

[Longtimefan]

Yes it is, okay we had a good one in Bahrain but that was created only by a late SC.

 

tbh F1 has been pretty boring for a few years now.

 

(and before you scream 'Well, why do you watch it then!?'.  I watch it for several reasons, firsly I've been a fan since 1970 and its an addiction and hard to stop, secondly I watch in the hope that 'this time' a race might break out..)

[Fatgadget]

The cynic in me is convinced there is a sizable majority out there only interested in thrills and spills.Accidents and blow ups are now rare occurrences these days...just saying.

[slmk]

Yes it is, okay we had a good one in Bahrain but that was created only by a late SC.

 

tbh F1 has been pretty boring for a few years now.

 

(and before you scream 'Well, why do you watch it then!?'.  I watch it for several reasons, firsly I've been a fan since 1970 and its an addiction and hard to stop, secondly I watch in the hope that 'this time' a race might break out..)

 

[F1Gui]

Most of the people complaining are those whose fav driver or team arnt winning. I found most of 2011 as well as the last half of 2013 totally depressing. Prior to that 2002 and 2004. For people not fans of ham/ros/merc its understandable theyre fed up already.

[The Soul Stealer]

To be fair 2014 is just about the same as the previous 2 seasons. The good thing about this year is the engines are soooo crap the tyres have become a non issue, however the random tyre explosions at the start of last season did spice things up a bit....

[midgrid]

To be fair 2014 is just about the same as the previous 2 seasons. 

 

Hmmm, I would describe the beginnings of the 2012 and 2014 seasons as polar opposites, as least as far as predictability of the winner and field spread are concerned...

[PayasYouRace]

F1 is never boring, and certainly not this year.

 

Congratulations on using the wrong type of poll, allowing one to vote both yes and no. [slow clap]

[superden]

No.

[Tommay]

The cars are defiantly more exciting. I can't believe peoe are cplaing about these engines, I understand the sound issues but the engines themself as a power unit are more powerful. I the FIA didn't remove allao many downforce generators they would be faster using 1/3 less fuel. That's pretty good.

I think they can only produce better racing once things even out, there so many different approaches at the moment that of course the racing is a little ****, there's a large performance difference from car to car so racing isn't going to happen. This will become closer as time goes on though and then we will have a fair point o discuss if racing has actually improved or not.

[halifaxf1fan]

More boring than last year? With only two different race winners in four races? That's only one different to the number of different race winners in the previous... nine races. One more.

Is the new Formula One boring? To some people yes. That is, after all, a subjective thing. Is it more boring than it's immediate predecessor? I don't think so.

 

It is almost ironic that you make this comment because these new rules; torquey turbo engines, reducing aero and blown floor/diffusers; were planned/hoped to shake things up by reducing Red Bulls aero advantage and also to make the racing more driver focused and exciting.  

 

However what was acheived was not a reduced domination but a continued and much increased margin of domination. And it is a 'legislated' domination as the teams languishing 2-3 seconds behind are rule bound not to develop their engines. This is something Red Bull could only have dreamed of, they had to use their know-how to stay ahead of the rest. Not Merc. Even Hamilton has said he doesn't want to win this easy.  

 

Boring racing and championship so far.

[KingTiger]

F1 has been boring for a quite a while now, it hasn't started in 2014

 

 

So far into the season, we've had 10 overtakes less pr. race than the whole of 2013, 2013 had 1 more than 2012, 2012 had 8 less than 2011. 2011 however, had a massively 38 passes pr. race increase from 2010!

Actually, if the amount of passes per race in average keeps on like it have in the 4 races so far. It'll only be 2011, 2012, 2013 and 1984 that have had more overtakes per race since 1981.

So, it can't be "barely any passing". We are a whopping 32 passes per race over the 2005 amount, and 31 over the 2009 amount.
 

All data from http://www.cliptheapex.com and taken from dry races only. Wet, and changing conditions, not included.

 

DRS assisted passing is not real racing or a pass worth celebrating. . 

Edited by KingTiger, 25 April 2014 - 23:34.

[4MEN]

They new formula may be boring, but it has spice up this forum. 

[Lone]

F1 is never boring, and certainly not this year.

Congratulations on using the wrong type of poll, allowing one to vote both yes and no. [slow clap]

So, it beeing the wrong type of poll is what's most important to you? Does that devaluate the question asked?

Out of curiousity, did you answer both yes and no?

Edited by Lone, 25 April 2014 - 23:55.

[noikeee]

People who say Bahrain was great due to the SC are smoking crack. It was a stunning race before the SC and things were setting up to be fairly interesting without it in the last few laps anyway.

 

Malaysia and China were boring, yes. Melbourne was alright. So I reckon we've got an average of alright-ness which is kinda where F1 usually is (and hell, I've endured years of outrageous dullness every single race - do you guys even remember when we had a procession decided in the pitstops every single bloody grand prix, it wasn't that long ago). I don't really get all the moaning at F1 entertainment value at all - certain aspects of the sport are highly questionable yes, but the amount of action? Not at all.

[pingu666]

It is almost ironic that you make this comment because these new rules; torquey turbo engines, reducing aero and blown floor/diffusers; were planned/hoped to shake things up by reducing Red Bulls aero advantage and also to make the racing more driver focused and exciting.  

 

However what was acheived was not a reduced domination but a continued and much increased margin of domination. And it is a 'legislated' domination as the teams languishing 2-3 seconds behind are rule bound not to develop their engines. This is something Red Bull could only have dreamed of, they had to use their know-how to stay ahead of the rest. Not Merc. Even Hamilton has said he doesn't want to win this easy.  

 

Boring racing and championship so far.

 

erm merc designed and built the engines, its no more or less valid than aero

 

but yeah this season has been abit more dull than last year i think, early season was cheese tyre time after all.