43 replies to this topic

[midgrid]

This isn't about the website per se, but it's significant news that Autosport is switching from a weekly to a monthly publishing schedule from next year.

[JHSingo]

Already being discussed in a thread on The Nostalgia Forum. 

https://forums.autos...m-january-2025/

 

(I guess it means reading magazines is considered nostalgic these days?  )

[DEllson]

Most recent issue of GP Racing says this is the final issue and it's merging with the new monthly Autosport as of January 25

[Risil]

That's logical, I think. Still, end of two eras. 

[Lennat]

Hasn't the magazine mostly consisted of things one already read on the website earlier in the week for many years? That's why I stopped subscribing (digitally). I did always keep the plus subscription though, since I'm addicted to motorsport news and hate ads.

I actually quite miss reading magazines, and will at least try the new merged monthly version. If it has mostly unique content I might get a subscribtion.

[IrvTheSwerve]

Genuine question, how many people on here actually buy it in paper form? I don't think I've bought one for about 15 years now - sadly - with the internet there's just no need to buy them for news any longer. I'm sure that there are some cool articles, but are they really any more than what you can find online, for free?

 

I'm kind of surprised the magazine industry has lasted this long, with the advent of the internet. I wonder how it will be in, say, 20 years time when there will be mostly people who have grown up with the internet in some form...

[chdphd]

I still get the paper one. It lives in the bathroom. I read most of it.

[Alan Lewis]

Genuine question, how many people on here actually buy it in paper form?...

I do. Have done since the mid-70s.

[H0R]

Possibly related:

Jonathan Noble and Matthew Somerfield quit Autosport

 

https://bsky.app/pro...t/3leow4i3xii2c

[Risil]

Noble's gone to work for The Race fwiw

[midgrid]

The first monthly issue of Autosport has been published today.

[JHSingo]

The first monthly issue of Autosport has been published today.

 

Popping to the shops after work to hopefully find a copy - I'm really curious to see how different it is to the old weekly issues. As I said in the TNF thread about this, I feel like going monthly is ultimately the correct decision, and if it means more in-depth articles and higher quality journalism, I'm all for it. 

[DEllson]

As a subscriber to GP Racing, I've had my digital download of the new combined magazine. (no paper copy yet) and have only had chance to have a quick 2 minute flick through. Seems a good level of coverage - mostly F1, some Rally, FE, IMSA and touring car. Similar kind of layouts as GP-Racing. Will have a proper read through when home from work but looks promising. I admit through coming from the perspective of an Autosport reader might be different - I've not read that regularly since the last 90s and so the switch to monthly plus changes in editorial style may be a bigger culture shock.

[JHSingo]

Genuine question, how many people on here actually buy it in paper form? I don't think I've bought one for about 15 years now - sadly - with the internet there's just no need to buy them for news any longer. I'm sure that there are some cool articles, but are they really any more than what you can find online, for free?

 

I'm kind of surprised the magazine industry has lasted this long, with the advent of the internet. I wonder how it will be in, say, 20 years time when there will be mostly people who have grown up with the internet in some form...

 

I still bought the paper copy regularly last year - in my teens I used to get it pretty much every week, but more recently just whenever that week's issue had been of particular interest, like the Le Mans preview issue etc. 

As someone who works in front of a screen all day, I'll always value having a paper copy of a magazine or book, rather than those becoming yet another thing you have to stare at a screen to read. I don't want to spend my leisure time looking at a screen when I do enough of that for work! Plus, no matter how much more convenient digital copies may be, you'll never get the same page-turning satisfaction you get with a paper copy. 

I do agree that the magazine needed to change though - reading race reports of events that took place several days earlier is pretty unnecessary in the internet age. And those pages could be better filled with content that isn't accessible online. 

[blackmme]

My first impressions are overwhelmingly positive. Good depth, coverage and excellent production values.

My paper copy arrived this morning and has a nice weighty feel to it.

As an ex GP Racing subscriber I feel that I’ve gained much more than I’ve lost.

 

Regards Mike

[Alexis*27]

Just dropped through the door. It's full of non-F1 stuff I'm not interested in and it's nothing like how GP Racing mag was.

 

I've been a subscriber since about 2005 but I'll now be cancelling.

[messy]

I like it. Best of both worlds. The production values of F1 Racing with more substance. 

[midgrid]

"Autosport powered by GP Racing" sounds like it may have been influenced by something...

 

[PayasYouRace]

“Bridgestone presents the Champ Car World Series powered by Ford”

[Collombin]

It's full of non-F1 stuff I'm not interested in

Maybe it might get you interested in it? Just an idea.

[pacificquay]

I find it bizarre someone would like F1 and no other form of car racing

[absinthedude]

I admit I haven't bought the physical magazine in a while. Partly because I am loath to subscribe and it's rarely available on shelves where I still actually shop IRL. 

 

It's whole purpose has changed really. When it was launched in 1950 and up to the 1990s it was a great source of results and race reports...as little was televised (especially in the early days) and results of anything other than the top flight races weren't mentioned on television or radio news. Sure, the races you were reading about happened a week or two before you bought the magazine but you literally had no other way of knowing "the news" unless you attended races or knew people who did. Autosport also quickly established a reputation for great in-depth technical pieces and for opinion pieces. All that can be covered from a variety of sources online now and anyone who subscribes to sporting TV channels gets much of the racing transmitted to their armchair. 

 

So Autosport needs to change if it is to survive. And change quite significantly. A monthly publication offering in-depth articles that aren't online and which are better than the majority of the stuff Sky Sports F1 and similar put out might be the answer. 

 

The alternative may be losing it. Hopefully Gregor Grant is not rotating in his resting place. 

[JHSingo]

Just dropped through the door. It's full of non-F1 stuff I'm not interested in and it's nothing like how GP Racing mag was.

 

I've been a subscriber since about 2005 but I'll now be cancelling.

 

Don't be such an F1 elitist.   

I wouldn't really describe it as being "full" of non F1 stuff either. It's at least 50% F1, if not slightly more - although I haven't fully dug into it yet. 

[ViperF1]

I agree with Alexis*27 that one can be only interested enough in 1 sport category to pay for a magazine about it.

 

As a reader of both Autosport and F1 Racing (as it is still F1 Racing for me since I bought my first issue in 1996) I am disappointed.

 

It looks and feels now as a slightly fancier Autosport magazine.

 

So, it truly is the end of an era for a long time F1 Racing reader as myself.

 

I also think it is a very poor choice for a cover. It feels too simple (ok for a weekly magazine but not for a monthly).

[Silverstone96]

I haven’t subscribed to autosport for about 10 years now due to similar sentiments echoed above but intrigued by this move and hope it works for them.

Perversely I do enjoy getting old autosports off eBay and reading them, just got a job lot from 1995 which was the first year I started reading it, going through them again is a delightful nostalgia trip back to simpler times that leaves a big smile on the face and fills the heart with warmth!!

Edited by Silverstone96, 24 January 2025 - 14:16.

[Alexis*27]

I find it bizarre someone would like F1 and no other form of car racing

Why? Most people are only interested in the Premier League, not the Scottish second division. 

[JHSingo]

Why? Most people are only interested in the Premier League, not the Scottish second division. 

 

Ah, let's guess. You automatically think that being in F1 automatically makes a driver 'one of the best in the world'. 

[Silverstone96]

Why? Most people are only interested in the Premier League, not the Scottish second division.

The premier league might be the “best” but it’s also incredibly plastic and not always that entertaining, especially compared to the championship.

The same could be said of f1 these days too.

[JimmyClark]

The premier league might be the “best” but it’s also incredibly plastic and not always that entertaining, especially compared to the championship.

The same could be said of f1 these days too.

.
Non league football is booming in popularity too.

For me, when I used to read Autosport I was actually interested in reading about other series, even if I didnt actually follow them. It's a shame I've drifted from that, and i wouldn't know who is in rallying or NASCAR now like I did in the old days. But I do watch Indycar and F2 as well as f1.

However, a magazine is just another expense on top of the endless other subscriptions life has now, so I don't pay for them anymore.

[Sterzo]

The new mag passed the acid test for me. I opened it, and became absorbed in various articles. The the kitchen-floor mess stays; the tax demands won't be answered, because I must read about Joseph Loake's test of an Aston Martin AMR22.

 

Anything to criticise? Of course, there always is. Given that costs have driven the change, why not chop those "dead" pages filled with pointless pictures? Photos don't have to be big, and two full pages of red pyjamas do nothing for me. (I respect those who identify as pyjama-fetishists, just saying I'd rather have words on the page).

[F1 Mike]

Shame.
Although I always felt autosport magazine was a bit too much flash & colour and not enough content. That's why I used to love F1 Racing magazine and F1 Magazine. Didn't stop me grabbing Autosport if I saw it on the shelf though. More habit than anything.

As with the majority, I now fish around online for what I need. I must say I don't really go in search of in-depth feature articles any more.

[Risil]

I think I'll pick up a copy next time I'm at a newsagents. The internet is doing it for me less and less these days.

[chdphd]

I'm enjoying it. Good production values. Not found an article yet I don't want to read.

 

Got a good heft to it. Some weekly Autosports were a bit thin.

[H0R]

Sounds like more bad news. Don't know about the reliability of the source though:

"Motorsport Network has today made the majority of the #Autosport news desk redundant, with more cuts set to take place in the coming days."

 

https://bsky.app/pro...t/3lh2q6hvn4326

 

We bloody need a contingency plan for this forum.

[Sterzo]

Sounds like more bad news. Don't know about the reliability of the source though:

"Motorsport Network has today made the majority of the #Autosport news desk redundant, with more cuts set to take place in the coming days."

Surely that's the same news? They've merged two magazines, and will produce twelve issues a year instead sixty-four. Staff cuts are inevitable.

[Dudley]

Just dropped through the door. It's full of non-F1 stuff I'm not interested in and it's nothing like how GP Racing mag was.

 

I've been a subscriber since about 2005 but I'll now be cancelling.

 

I have the exact opposite complaint and I've no idea how you've got yours.

 

The first genuine non-F1 content is on page 80.

[ArnageWRC]

Just dropped through the door. It's full of non-F1 stuff I'm not interested in and it's nothing like how GP Racing mag was.

 

I've been a subscriber since about 2005 but I'll now be cancelling.

 

Then you're not much of a motorsport fan then, are you?  There's a whole word of exciting motorsport outside the over promoted F1 circus......

[Dudley]

Not to sound the alarm bells but I can't help but notice issue 2 has already lost 8 pages from issue 1's size.

[midgrid]

Hmmm.  Formula E and rallying aside, we are in the motorsport off-season, and I imagine the editors had various pieces ready to go for the "launch" issue.  It will be an interesting thing to keep an eye on as the F1 season begins.

[Zmeej]

Ah, let's guess. You automatically think that being in F1 automatically makes a driver 'one of the best in the world'. 

 

With individual exceptions, this has been true for 70 years.

 

For that matter, with fewer exceptions, this also includes its automotive engineers.

Edited by Zmeej, 16 February 2025 - 16:11.

[404KF2]

Imprecise, semi-meaningless phrase: "one of the best in the world", unless we know the size of the cohort; and even then......too subjective. Also: is "the best" cohort the top 50 percentile? 30? 10?

 

FWIW I think rally drivers are by far more accomplished at car control and therefore are "better drivers" than those who rely on downforce to go fast on tarmacadam.

[Phil Mackley]

Sounds like more bad news. Don't know about the reliability of the source though:

"Motorsport Network has today made the majority of the #Autosport news desk redundant, with more cuts set to take place in the coming days."

 

https://bsky.app/pro...t/3lh2q6hvn4326

 

We bloody need a contingency plan for this forum.

Unfortunately, according to my sources, 6 journalists and a photographer we're made redundant.

[chdphd]

Just got mine. Five days late. Not that it matters now.

[Alan Lewis]

I see the editorial says the next one is out on March 11th, which is a Tuesday - the first two monthlies having stuck to the old weekly Thursday schedule.

Might be a permanent change or it could just be that that's the F1 season preview issue and they're giving everyone an extra couple of days to read those bits before Albert Park.