My biggest problem with the current formula is how restrictive the rule book has become. It stifles the ability to see an assortment of engineering approaches/philosophies that used to be available because there is very little room to work with. Everyone is limited by this which can be good depending on what one wants out of the racing. I'd personally prefer F1 to not continue down the road of being an open-wheel spec series. I miss a lot of the uniqueness the series had once. But that doesn't seem to sell anymore in the 21st century, or the belief is that for anything to be enjoyable in sport, things have to be kept as even as possible among teams.
As I said in another thread, the more things change the more they stay the same. The following was written in MotorSport magazine by one of their scribes:
"While the rationalization of design from a safety angle has been accepted by everyone and governed by writing out the rules in great detail, it also encouraged the the writing of rules to control performance design parameters and this is where the whole idea of rationalization has over-stepped the mark and resulted in the state we are in now....."
The scribe, Denis Jenkinson.
The year.............1976.
Some look back on those years with nostalgia. Speaking for myself, and I've been involved with the sport since the early 60s, I'm fortunate in that I still get quite a bit of enjoyment out of motor racing at all levels. F1, or as I prefer Grand Prix racing, is still the pinnacle. It no no longer will be when the likes of Ferrari leave and venture elsewhere.