89 replies to this topic

[uffen]

Write to the teams and write to the sponsors. Tell them your opinions and what is wrong with F1 and what is right.

The sponsors are key. If they perceive that their money is going to a lost cause they will raise many alarm bells.

[pUs]

It's up to you whether you watch, but the poster to whom I was replying complained the "we have to watch boring race after boring race", so unless he literally means he and others are being coerced by a person or persons unknown to watch Formula 1 Grands Prix against their will, I am surely within my rights to suggest that, if F1 still demands an attention span thatis too long to keep him interested, he might prefer to watch a championship that features shorter races and plenty of artificial measures to promote close racing, like BTCC.

 

In my view, the problem is that F1 has been doing exactly that, for a long time - introducing 'artificial measures'. Teams with sub-par engines are basically fighting with their hands tied behind their back, and will be doing so for the rest of the season. Sure, the rules are same for everybody etc etc. But I don't find it fair. You're penalized anyway if you do a bad job, so why extend the suffering by prohibit any kind of development? Incredible..

 

Edit: And I don't care one bit that they "all agreed" or something similar. I still don't like it and I still can't imagine how on earth they did agree to keep it the way it is. I can only assume they were all very confident in their abilities.

Edited by pUs, 01 July 2014 - 13:14.

[MrMan]

Point 9 is the absolute worst thing this year IMHO. To know already before the 1st race that certain top teams won't ever be able to stage a comeback and claw back enough performance, regardless of how much effort they put in makes me lose interest. Just the thought itself goes against everything I think F1 should be about.

 

I suspect the ban on in-season engine development isn't as restrictive as one first thinks, the teams are allowed to make improvements under the guise of "cost, safety and reliabilty". That being said, even if in-season development wasn't banned, drivers are still only allowed 5 engines per season without receiving a penalty, to me that's the real restriction. Then that leads on to the whole cost-cutting debacle...

[tomjol]

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/114743

 

End of Monza?

 

End of my watching F1, if this bullshit continues.

[stewie]

Bernie you have got to be kidding me!! If Monza goes then I'm converting full time to indycars!!!

[yasushi888]

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/114743

 

End of Monza?

 

End of my watching F1, if this bullshit continues.

I was wondering when the next great F1 idea was coming as we haven't had one for a few days...

[Maikel0230]

Excuse me while I vomit...

 

When will we finally take our sport back from those moneywolfs at FOM and Bernie E.

Edited by Maikel0230, 01 July 2014 - 14:21.

[FerrariV12]

Was watching an old South Park episode the other day, one scene having quite a fitting analogy to FIA/teams' attitude to F1 in recent years:

 

 

Cartman: What's wrong with the colors on your TV, Stan? They're all saturated. [takes a hold of the remote]

 

Stan: They look fine to me. [another shot of Russell sailing away]

 

Kyle: Just don't mess with it, Cartman.

 

Cartman: [leaves the sofa] Nah, nah, the cable wire must be loose. [heads for the television]

 

Kyle: Just just leave it alone.

 

Cartman: Dude, do you wanna the Terranace & Phillip trailer with messed-up colors? I don't. How's that? [moves the cable, and the vertical goes out of whack]

 

Stan: That's worse!

 

Cartman: Okay, how about ... that? [moves it again, and the cathode ray tube pops. The wall behind the TV is blackened, and Cartman slowly peeks]

 

Stan: Dude!

 

Kyle: God-damnit Cartman! You broke it!

 

Cartman: [panicked] It was just... I just... Butters, you asshole!

Edited by FerrariV12, 01 July 2014 - 14:29.

[tomjol]

Was watching an old South Park episode the other day, one scene having quite a fitting analogy to FIA/teams' attitude to F1 in recent years:

 

 

Cartman: What's wrong with the colors on your TV, Stan? They're all saturated. [takes a hold of the remote]

 

Stan: They look fine to me. [another shot of Russell sailing away]

 

Kyle: Just don't mess with it, Cartman.

 

Cartman: [leaves the sofa] Nah, nah, the cable wire must be loose. [heads for the television]

 

Kyle: Just just leave it alone.

 

Cartman: Dude, do you wanna the Terranace & Phillip trailer with messed-up colors? I don't. How's that? [moves the cable, and the vertical goes out of whack]

 

Stan: That's worse!

 

Cartman: Okay, how about ... that? [moves it again, and the cathode ray tube pops. The wall behind the TV is blackened, and Cartman slowly peeks]

 

Stan: Dude!

 

Kyle: God-damnit Cartman! You broke it!

 

Cartman: [panicked] It was just... I just... Butters, you asshole!

 

If I remember correctly, this episode ends up with Chef's new TV in "human eradication mode", in which it becomes a walking robot with many deadly weapons, intent on wiping out all the humans it can find.

 

How appropriate for the current situation

Edited by tomjol, 01 July 2014 - 14:37.

[Atreiu]

I was wondering when the next great F1 idea was coming as we haven't had one for a few days...

 

Quadruple points for the last 3 races.

 

"Still, after the fortnight just past it's gratifying to reflect on a structure that at least offers a 50 per cent success rate rather than one which seemed in dire danger of scrapping all Friday sessions and quadrupling points for the last three grands prix of the season."

 

http://plus.autospor...7246.1389886511

 

I hate to say this, but things might reach a point in which F1 becomes another WSBK to me, I'll watch it if it's on and I have nothing else to do. And that's it.

Edited by Atreiu, 01 July 2014 - 14:40.

[LuckyStrike1]

No Monza after 2016 and Bernie thinks top teams should run three cars to solve the problem of F1 being too expensive for teams. Another fine day in F1. 

[akshay380]

My worst fears are coming true.

[AlexS]

Nah it is more appropriate compare F1 with with World Wrestling pantomines.

[Afterburner]

I had a dream the other night that I was watching F1 in 2016, and a new rule had been implemented replacing the lollipop men on the pit crews with the drivers' grid girls. During the race, Hamilton's grid-girl/crew chief attempted to perform a strip-tease during his pit-stop and failed, resulting in him losing the lead to Rosberg due to delay in the pits, and her losing her clothing to the front of his car on international television as he left the pit box. The last thing I remember before I woke up was FOM showing a replay of the incident and David Hobbs yelling at the front left wheel-gun man to get out of the way of the camera so he could see the girl.

Thought this would be perhaps relevant to a discussion of F1's 'new direction'.

[Ali_G]

There must be something going on here. Recent rule changes and constant comments by Bernie to the media are just surreal.

F1 is quickly turning into a laughing stock and yet the teams seem intent to let this roll. WTF is going on ? The sport will collapse into a pile of **** within a year or two if something isn't done now.

Back to basics is the answer but the new breed of fans just want more and more gimmicks (more DRS no doubt).

[Risil]

I sort of wonder what kind of World Cup we'd be having if FIFA had thrown out its rulebook and made sweeping changes following dull tournaments in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

Edited by Risil, 01 July 2014 - 22:47.

[Ali_G]

I sort of wonder what kind of World Cup we'd be having if FIFA had thrown out its rulebook and made sweeping changes following dull tournaments in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

I really think we need to get back to basics though.

1. Back to sporting regulations circa 2000. Return qualification to an hour session. Instead of 12 laps, give them 18 laps.
2. Get rid of long life engines, gearboxes and other parts. Introduce the budget cap which is the only sensible cost saving option.
3. Somehow get CVC and Bernie out of the picture.
4. Instead of awful gimmicks such as DRS, introduce properly thought out technical specifications in order to make closing racing easier.

Edited by Ali_G, 01 July 2014 - 22:52.

[Risil]

And the only way that could happen would be with a total FIA dictatorship over technical and sporting regulations. Unbelievable to think how much the teams fucked everything up after their power grabs of the 2000s.

[travbrad]

While I generally understand the frustrations, there's also a counter argument. F1's value is directly tied to the number of eyeballs watching it on TV. 

 

That must be why they allowed Sky to broadcast all races live but not the BBC, causing UK viewership to drop.

[akshay380]

So finally I have decided NOT to renew my F1 channels contract. Enough of this ****. Ill still continue to watch, you to how without paying a penny to the poison dwarf. 

Edited by akshay380, 02 July 2014 - 00:36.

[Wingcommander]

Dunno about F1 being a joke, but day by day I find myself less and less intrested in F1 and starting to look towards sportscar racing.

 

- "Spicing up the show" is one of the reasons. Making F1 more of an entertainment than sport is not what I want to see. I would have thought that it is the sporting aspect that makes F1 entertaining, not sparks.

 

- Getting rid of the smaller teams and other politics. There is a clear movement towards making the bigger teams richer and more powerful, and at the same time they are almost actively trying to reduce the smaller teams to just being customers or driving them away from F1. For me the "privateers" are an important part of F1.

[yasushi888]

Dunno about F1 being a joke, but day by day I find myself less and less intrested in F1 and starting to look towards sportscar racing.

Same here, sportscars are where its heading for me, They are not gimmick free but I think the best we have around at the moment. Nice cars with nice sounds, some decent drivers on some great tracks. I tend to look out for individual races rather than the championships - Bathhurst 12hrs / Nurburging 24 / Le Mans / Spa 24 etc etc. I just wish WEC went to a few more edgy tracks rather than the tarmac runoff infested places. I would follow Indycar closer if I had the right channel, but it makes it hard having to watch on the streams.

Edited by yasushi888, 02 July 2014 - 07:49.

[Wingcommander]

Same here, sportscars are where its heading for me, They are not gimmick free but I think the best we have around at the moment. Nice cars with nice sounds, some decent drivers on some great tracks. I tend to look out for individual races rather than the championships - Bathhurst 12hrs / Nurburging 24 / Le Mans / Spa 24 etc etc. I just wish WEC went to a few more edgy tracks rather than the tarmac runoff infested places. I would follow Indycar closer if I had the right channel, but it makes it hard having to watch on the streams.

 

I recommend you give TUSC a change, they race at some proper NA race tracks.

 

http://www.imsa.com

[4MEN]

So finally I have decided NOT to renew my F1 channels contract. Enough of this ****. Ill still continue to watch, you to how without paying a penny to the poison dwarf. 

Congratulations. You only have to wait half a day, don't visit this forum, download the torrent and enjoy the race. That's what I'll do when pay per view comes to my country in 2016.

[wj_gibson]

I can't see Mercedes hanging around as a constructor once they win a couple of titles. It's like Renault. Once you've done it, what's the point of hanging around for the eventual and inevitable decline? And I do wonder exactly how much longer Red Bull will pour sacks of money into it. Mateshcitz will retire eventually and whether a new board would be quite so happy to hurl cash away on an apparent whim (actually, 2 apparent whims) is hard to say.

No doubt someone on this board will shortly come along and scream "marketing value" without any understanding whatsoever of marketing.

[Risil]

If I have any understanding of marketing it's that it's what the dominant personalities in a company say it is.

 

Mercedes have had a completely solid presence in F1 for 20 years though. It would be more their style to try and mould F1 in their image rather than pull out when it doesn't suit them.

Edited by Risil, 02 July 2014 - 11:15.

[wj_gibson]

Yeah, but that presence is much like Renault's, and what will become Honda's in the coming years - mainly as an engine manufacturer rather than a constructor. It's the race team whose long-term future I'm questioning, not their presence as an engine supplier.

[flyboy]

How much longer are the teams, circuits and sponsors going to stand around and watch Bernie and his investors destroy F-1? It is time for the FIA and the european courts to give him a retirement dinner and tell him not to let the door hit him in the ass.

[akshay380]

On second thought, I can let them have these gimmicks at Tilke tracks and real, old school racing on classic tracks

[Jon83]

A bad joke

[Tuxy]

Becoming?

[Skinnyguy]

So finally I have decided NOT to renew my F1 channels contract. Enough of this ****. Ill still continue to watch, you to how without paying a penny to the poison dwarf. 

 

What these idiots will think if people stops watching is: "****, the ratings are dropping, we need something new... what about boulders randomly crossing the tracks?"

[FerrariV12]

How much longer are the teams, circuits and sponsors going to stand around and watch Bernie and his investors destroy F-1? It is time for the FIA and the european courts to give him a retirement dinner and tell him not to let the door hit him in the ass.

 

If recent reporting has been accurate, the teams seem to have been just as much of a problem as Bernie. Of course it's hard to tell whether "the teams" means all of them, a simple majority, or simply amongst the privileged elite on the strategy group or whatever the hell it's called:

 

 

Formula 1 teams in push to make cars more visually spectacular

Formula 1 teams pushing for permanent numbers for drivers

FIA confirms Formula 1 will adopt standing restarts in 2015 - "...Teams have recently been working on a number of proposals to improve F1's spectacle..."

 

And a couple of slightly older ones:

 

http://formula1.abou...-To-Victory.htm - "...in the autumn of 2010, Pirelli asked the teams what style of races they wanted. 'We were told: 'Canada, 2010,'' said Paul Hembery..."

http://www.racecar-e...-how-they-work/ - "That’s why the teams voted to remove adjustable front wings and try a new initiative with the rear wings with the intention of generating better overtaking opportunities.”

[superden]

If you want confirmation that F1 hasn't got a bloody clue where its going, have a look at the rationale given by Pirelli for testing 18" wheels. Nothing to do with performance, competitive advantage or sporting progression but a somewhat more vacuous approach:

 

 

The aim for the test is to deliver a proper answer as to whether or not the look of the tyres is an improvement over the current 13" tyres ... aesthetics rather than performance.

 

An there you have it, the state of modern F1. Does it look nice? Is it visually appealing? If I want huge wheels, I'll subscribe to Max Power.

[chipmcdonald]

Monza is history?  That's ok, nothing to worry about, because.... 18" wagon wheel rimz fixes everthing!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(the funny thing is that the mockup is with the old nose, not the Hoover snout... too much ugly for Photoshop I guess)

[4MEN]

In the spanish broadcast of FP1 someone said that it was one team who proposed the standing start after safety car! So, don't blame Bernie or the FIA for all the stupid decisions.

[akshay380]

Yup the more I think about it, more I feel that the teams share the first blame including the drivers. Pathetic state of affairs.

[Eff One 2002]

F1 will have to stand on the absolute brink of extinction before positive changes are made, and the way the FIA is going, that's the way it is headed.

[Docc]

I think the sprinklers are a great plan..along with the new track layout..and the possible figure 8 crossover..

Edited by Docc, 05 July 2014 - 07:38.

[zepunishment]

It's Ecclestone who is a joke. All the current problems f1 faces can be traced back to him, even the inability of the teams to work together, given the divide and conquer strategy he employs with them.