Remember the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix? Not the one that swallowed whole the BBC's Sunday evening schedule in order to tell us that Jenson Button is quite good in changeable weather, that was 2011. The one where the track surface didn't agree with the tyres Bridgestone had brought, resulting in a spectacle of rapid degradation and passing which the Powers That Be decreed would thenceforth be the model for all F1 races to follow. Bernie asked Pirelli to build tyres that when they were good they were very good and when they were bad they were horrid, Pirelli asked Bernie where their cheque was, Bernie said the cheque was in the post, and lo, history was made.
The point of this ramble is that sometimes you get a weird but exciting race that F1's malcontents latch onto and say "THIS is what Grand Prix racing should be all about." Was the Turkish Grand Prix one of these? Should F1 lean on its tracks to repave with radically low-grip tarmac? Is there another way they can reduce grip to a minimum? Is this Sprinkers Redux?
Anyway Autosport has done a nice write-up of the contrasting opinions. Here are some quotes.
Ross Brawn:
"I think drivers sometimes need to remember it's a competition of who crosses the line first so while grip levels weren't high, it was the same for everyone.
"Some drivers got their head down and came to terms with it, others found it a distraction.
"Having a challenging surface as we had this weekend was no bad thing. It showed a driver's talent to the max. I don't think grip levels are a measure of the level of competition you will have.
"Competition needs to be fair and equal. It's a sport, so we need to give everyone same opportunity. It's challenging, but that should be seen as good thing."
Daniel Ricciardo:
"[T]his is not the answer.
"Look, don't get me wrong, and I knew everyone sitting on the couch had a fun and exciting one to watch, but, I think to be honest, I don't know if we learn anything from this weekend.
"We'll probably never come to a situation like it again with this level of group. I think as well when teams are spending so much money developing cars and putting all the knowledge into designing the fastest race cars in the world, not being able to use them....if it was all the time, it would feel like a robbery.
"It's like why are we putting so much into these cars if we can't actually push the limits?"
Anyway, if it's interesting enough for Danny Ric and Ross Brown to weigh in on, it's presumably interesting enough for us to go on and on about until the next unexpected incident makes us forget all about it. What do you think?