85 replies to this topic

[aportinga]

I have been watching since 1985. Waaaaayyyyyy back then I did not always catch every race and would probably say that it was not until 1989 that I began closely watching (and taping) Formula One. That said I think the best season IMO was 1990.

I think on an emotional - almost personal level, 1994 was by far the very worst - kind of just waited for it all to end. But from a racing perspective...2002 has been by far the most disasterous season of them all.... and that comes from a Ferrari fan!

Since 1989

Best: 1990
Worst: Tie 1994 & 2002

[Viktor]

I have followd F1 sence 1995. The best season was proberly 2000, first year with Bernie TV and a great battle between Häkkinen and Schumacher.
The worst has to be 1997, not as much for the racing as the lack of racing on TV. I had to watch most of the races on a coded channel with only sound, but that made it more interesting when the commentater screems "...and hes off!!!!" I had no ide who thay talked about

/Viktor

[Liam]

Watching Hill win in 1996 was far from enjoyable. As a person I like Damon a lot, but I was never much of a fan of him in a car.

Best year was probably 1999. I had to get up an 8am to watch the races in Boston as opposed to the more usual 1pm at home, but it was by far Jordans best season, so I was happy.

Although Ferrari have dominated this year, I don't find it all that demoralising. Had Trulli or Panis or some other good-but-not-good-enough driver won the title in the Ferrari this year (ala Hill in '96) simply by having an all-conquering car I'd have been dissapointed, but Michael drove well for his title, and is a big part of why that car is so dominant to begin with that I'm ok with it.

Sure I'd liek to see more wheel to wheel races, and more winners, and more passing, simply more racing, but not at the cost of the sport itself. This is F1, if you build a better car, you win more races. If you build a car that doesn't brake down all season, you win more races. OK, MS piling up the ballast as he wins and seeing wheel to wheel stuff with the McLaren/Williams would be close racing, it would even be exciting, but it would always be scared and tinged by the false trickery that created it. We would all know MS was faster but for his ballast, and in the end it would be even less satisfying to watch than what we have now. I want real racing, but I'll settle for plain real, I don't want fake racing.

[Bjorn]

Been watching since 1997.

Best: 1998
Worst: 2002

[coyoteBR]

Despite the off-track ending, 87 was great. The two following seasons also brought some thrills without paralel.

I liked 92 pretty much, too – to see Nigel finally gain a c’ship and see Ayrton Senna being beaten by na almost-rookie called Michael Schumacher.

95 brought one of the biggest joys I had as a fan of F-1: Jean Alesi's victory!

2000 was also quite entertaining.


Don't liked
the tragedies of 94, it's always bad to lose drivers that way
1996.

[PraetorAAV]

I suppose it's worth mentioning that, although I've been aware of the existence of F1 since mid 80's, I started watching it religiously in 1990.

To me, 1991 was a very good season, possibly the best, because of rather subjective reasons: being a fan of Senna the charge of Williams with Mansell and Patrese, starting mid-season was something I hoped would end. I was delighted by the Senna's ability to keep them at bay with an inferior car (well, when it was possible). Finally, it all ended up the nice way and I was really happy for his third title.

1994 was definitely the most painful, for the reasons we all know.

But, over the years, I can say I developed a taste of watching the race for the cars and the drivers, without caring much who wins or when it happens (e.g. I didn't find this season boring, even after it was clear Schumacher would break many records, good or bad). Ok, it's not entirely true (I'm human too ;) ) - I really enjoyed DC's win at Monaco, especially because he proved he can win there without the convenient help of Schumacher's retirement. Moreover, this has shown me he's able to win a race which requires skill much more than a car and he's done it before other drivers adored in this thread and constantly ranked higher than him.

So, I don't see why this season was much worse than 1996, or, for that matter 1997. There is something special about 1998, because McLaren won the title then so I cannot be even remotely objective (not that my previous reasons were).

Thus, 1990-1991 were the best, 1994 the worst and all others since 1992 came reasonably close to being pleasurable memories.

Cheers

[Jimmino]

Been watching since 1978.

Best: 2002
Worst: 1999

[Car no.27]

I've been watching since 1991

Best season was 2000.

The worst was 1996

[aportinga]

Best: 2002

Either this is a mis-type or you need some serious help!

[Scudetto]

Watching consistently since 1988, on and off prior to that.

Best: 2000 . Ferrari takes WDC after 21 years in the wilderness. Closely fought battles throughout the season.

Worst: None. I'm an F1 fan through thick and thin. I may conscienciously object from time to time, but my addiction brings me back for more. But if I have to pick one, then the trageties of 1994 make that one of F1's darkest years.

[MrBreaker]

Been watching since 1998, consistently since 1999. I think 1999 was the best season I have seen. Three way battle for WDC between MH, EI and HHF....what more can you want?

Worst: 2002

[flyer72]

I've been watching actively since 94 - but I have watched races since 84.

This season was the worst IMO - very little overtaking, no racing, in fact - I don't think I have seen a good race this year at all!

At least Williams allowed their drivers to compete with each other...

[flyer72]

Originally posted by Viktor
I have followd F1 sence 1995. The best season was proberly 2000, first year with Bernie TV and a great battle between Häkkinen and Schumacher.
The worst has to be 1997, not as much for the racing as the lack of racing on TV. I had to watch most of the races on a coded channel with only sound, but that made it more interesting when the commentater screems "...and hes off!!!!" I had no ide who thay talked about

/Viktor

Good one!!!!

[BMW FW22]

best 2000 : loved it, great racing

worst 2002

[Slyder]

Watching F1 since 1986

Best 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997

Worst: 1992, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002

[Elspeth]

1970 the worst. Can't determine what is the best year.

[lanius]

My favourite was 1950. I remember Giuseppe Farina clinching the title just ahead of Fangio.
1953 was great too, I'll never forget the classic battles between Ascari and Juan-Manuel.
Those were the days.

Worst season was definitely 1957 - what a snorefest.

[AndreasF1]

I was already watching F1 while beeing breastfeed in the early 70's. But it wasnt until the early 80's that F1 was broadcasted regularly on TV. There have been many exciting seasons since than but if I had to pick 3 it would be :
in no particular order

1984 - Lauda - Prost (Lauda wins by 1/2 point)
1988 - Senna - Prost (classic) The only thing that tainted that season was the ridiculous point scoring system)
1990 Senna - Prost (Ferrari on the rebound with the professor) Also Ferrari had a car that still is the most beautiful F1 Car ever built.

Schumacher Championship assaults are great as well, but for me Senna and Prost are my favorites.

[Jimmy]

Watching since 92.

Best: 1997

Worst: 2001/2

[Psychoman]

Since 1998:
BEST--1999
WORST--2001/2002 tie

[mikedeering]

Watching since 1985

Best 1986, 1989, 1989, 1991, 1997

Worst 2002

[jonpollak]

Been watching (and going to) since 1967
Since then I have been to maybe 50 or so Gp's

Best
Those that stick in the mind...
72 JYS made me a fan of his ON THE SPOT
76 James and Niki
78 Mario/Ronnie tour de force
79 Gilles blew my mind
86 Mansell Piquet
87 See above
89/90/91...went to many races during those years..... IN the Pits!!! AND lunch at Paddock club..with NO credentials
97 I went to 7 races..ended up at Jerez, Dry Sack corner...
I saw the whole thing, tsk tsk



Worst
All of 2002.
fell asleep 5 times watching the Gp this year(on TV that is...I attended NONE this year....tsk tsk)

ok ok...enough

Jp

[aportinga]

JP - you've gone redundant!

;)

50 forking GP's????



G Damn Man!

[jonpollak]

Originally posted by aportinga
JP - you've gone redundant!

Gone what?
Jp

[aportinga]

There was a double post in there briefly - I was too lazy to edit mine after it was removed

[The Rock]

Watching since 95.

Best: 97

Worst: 2002.

[fifi]

since about 1991

best - 1999

worst 2002

[ZZMS]

Originally posted by Jimmy
Watching since 92.

Best: 1997

Worst: 2001/2

Same for me just swap Best & worst

[miniman]

One can argue that the great rivalry years of Fangio-Moss, Stewardt-Rindt, Lauda-Hunt, Prost-Lauda. Mansell-Piquet and Prost-Senna were the zenith of F1.

There is no denying that 2002 was the apotheosis of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, as such, it was a great year. We just can't have another like it, it will get too boring.

Bravo Ferrari.

[Dunder]

Watching since 1982.

Best:
2000
(Hakkinen / Schumacher) even though the result was wrong. A topsy-turvy season with emotional highs and lows.

Worst:
1994
The disgrace that was Benneton
The entire Imola weekend
The last race 'punt'.

[CLX]

I started to watch it in 1990, but I didn't quite understand how great F1 was. 1990 and 1991 were fantastic, 1998 and 1999 were so exciting. 1994 and 2002 were painfull.

[Electric Sheep]

Started to watch in 1986 or so, didn't really get into it until 1996.

Best: 1997
Worst: 2002

[ForzaF1]

Been watching religously since 85.

Best: 88, 90, 2000. I loved the Senna vs. Prost thing. 90 was great because Prost almost won for Ferrari. 2000 because Ferrari finaly win another WDC, season came down to the last race.

Worst: 1994., didn't have much interest in 95

[aportinga]

Initial peeks at the 95 Ferrari with the slant nose did get my fairly excited but when they were easily pasted at Brazil I lost some of that momentum. The season was a bit strange. I guess I found myself searching for someone to challange Schumacher - someone of old like Berger or Alesi.

Strange season indeed.

[TimC]

Been watching since 1982. My favorite years, in terms of the championship race, were 1986 with an awsome 4-way battle between Mansell, Piquet, Senna and Prost. Even though I was rooting for Piquet, seeing Prost win in a very inferior car was thrilling. The 1998 battle between Hakkinen and Schumacher was equally wonderful. Watching Schumacher drive 60 qualifying laps in every race just to have a chance against the much faster McLaren was to see pure genius at work. 2000 was another great season, two brilliant drivers at the top of their games going head-to-head in more or less equal machinery.

However, my favorite seasons would have to be 1993, 1995 and 1996. I am a fan of individual brilliance. Watching drivers win in cars that are not supposed to win. Senna in 1993 did just that. His drives in Brasil, Donnington and Japan were nothing short of mesmerising. Watching him at those races, you knew that only he could have won in that car. He made all others look foolish on those days. Same with Schumacher at Belgium and the Nurburgring in '95. The battle he had with Hill on a wet track, he on slicks and Hill on wets, was true edge-of-the-seat stuff. He made Hill look like a child, and really ended the championship battle right there. Likewise at the Nurburgring, making up a 20 something second deficit with around 18 laps to go on Alesi, and pulling off an unbelievable pass to top it off. Again, you knew there was nobody else on the grid that could have done that. 1996 was a sort of re-run of 1993, but with a different car/driver combination. Put an exceptional driver in a pretty bad car, and watch him win with it. To me, that kind of stuff offers the most excitement in Grand Prix racing.

The worst is more difficult. I can find excitement in most races I have watched. This year however, tried even me. Ferrari keeping their drivers on such a short leash, while perfectly legal, and understandable, sure rubs me the wrong way. It certainly would seem to go against everything that the sport stands for. Therefore, I would have to say that this season was my least favorite, along with the tragedy-filled 1994.

TimC

[krakbuis]

Originally posted by Slyder
Best 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996

Worst: 1992, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002

something tells me you're not a Schumacher fan, just can't put my finger on it

I'm watching since halfway 91

Best: 91.5-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-00-01-02
Worst: errm....oops, sry i just love F1 i guess

[Arrow]

Most of the mid-late 90s years were great.

1994 was an almost surreal year.We saw the birth of a new era in the space of a race weekend.
Its still hard to comprehend that season.

[aportinga]

1994 was an almost surreal year.We saw the birth of a new era in the space of a race weekend.

Very well put indeed!

[dai_ferrari]

For me, watching since 1977, the best year and the worst year are hard to come by. I love F1, so I don't think I could ever call a season, "worst". I can think of several "ho-hum" years, and several "exciting" years, but nothing that was so damn fantastic or something that was so horribly bad.

Certainly 2000 as a Ferrari fan, was very enjoyable, the fact it went down to the wire, and in the end it was up to 2 great drivers, winner takes all, and we won, was great. 1982 and losing Gilles Villeneuve, could be deemed the worst for me. 1994 was bad too, losing Senna. But there was still some good racing that year.

No, for me it had to be 1990 for both best and not so best. It had been a long time since Ferrari had challenged for the title, and gone down to the wire to do so. Saw many great wins that year, for both Ferrari and McLaren. But the way it ended was a disgrace, and changed a lot the way I look at sports personalities. I had held Senna up close to Gilles in terms of my favorite drivers, but after that race in Suzuka, I still liked Senna quite a bit, but never the same. (And no I didn't nor have I ever cared for Prost) Don't care if he felt justified or not, cause I suppose that if Gilles had been like him, he could've driven into Pironi and offed him before the finish line at Imola in '82. But then again, Gilles was a different breed, and from a much different era. So much so, that I couldn't care less what records Michael racks up over his career now for Ferrari, he'll never come close to touching Gilles. Don't get me wrong, I love and appreciate everything Michael has done and brought to Ferrari, but it'll never match the great one.

[HardRock]

Worse: 2002

[MortenF1]

...The best seasons- '90, '93, '97, '98, '00 and '01.
Hmm, I think every season have been great! They have everything! There's always been marvellous racing, great passes, controversies, battles, strategies, (tragedies ) emotions, etc etc. You name it! F1 is the best, and even though the fight for the lead sometimes have been dull, there's always been action! Just watching the build-up to the races, with the drivers sitting on the grid, with their mysterious eyes inside those helmets, the grid girls 'n all. That's action! F1 is action! Action is F1.
And, the qualifying will ALWAYS be awesome! The worlds best drivers at full tilt. Love it! Love F1.

[LB]

Watching since 76 ( can actually remember since 79)

Best 1982
Worst 1982

not a mistype was a brilliant season everyone was winning close racing, nobody won more than 2 races,

but

We lost Gilles ( and Ricardo Paletti.

Similar feelings to 1994 as well

after that 1986 was a cracking season 4 great drivers going for a championship.

1988, 1992, 2001 and 2002 are the worst ay least in 1988 they were racing each other though

[Nustang70]

Been following F1 since the tail end of 1998.

Best:1999, great races, Frentzen and Jordan did very well, i liked the championship a lot.

Worst: i didnt dislike this season, but Ferrari's dominance did get pretty boring. that, coupled with the big three usually locking up most of the points paying positions made it dull.

honorable mention: 2000. good season, close championship, and great anticipation during the pre-season. Jordan promised to challenge for Second, the emergence of Jaguar, (both looked promising) plus the return of BMW, Honda, and Renault. (well, sort-of Renault) I was REALLY looking forward to that season.

[nagi]

Slyder, you started watchingt F1 since you were 6 years old

As for me, started watching since 94.

Best seasons: 97 and 98 : watching MS dragging an inferior car and making a run for the WDC was simply amazing (eventhough he didn't win it).

Worst season: 2002: eventhough MS did win, i would have prefered some more action.

[MortenF1]

Originally posted by nagi
Slyder, you started watchingt F1 since you were 6 years old

I know! ridicolous!

[philhitchings]

Senna's death is still the darkest day after Gilles'

greatest season 2000 as Scudetto points out 21 years.................... its a hell of a long time to follow a team with no driver winning the prize

as for when I began to follow 1960's/70's with my Dad 1976 for my self (dad lost interest when Jackie retired)

Mind you every season has its reasons for being remembered Even Mansell's drubbing of the opposition was cool though ultimately just as boring as say Maclaren's 15/16 or Ferrari's 15/17 (221 points who would have thought it?)

[Zawed]

Bets season(s) since I started watching in 94 has been 1997 (McLaren revival, Berger's win, Frentzen's win, JV champ, MS not champ) and 1999 (Frentzen and Jordan, Irv title challenge). The worst probably this year, my enthuasim has waned just a little with Schumacher, I spent most of the last half of the season willing for Michael's engine to konk out. 1995 was difficult too since Berger (my favorite driver) did'nt win a race that year and missed on 2 golden opportunities.

[jonpollak]

It seems that in some cases, the terms Best and Worst have to do with how DRAMATIC a season was.

An enthralling LAST RACE CHAMPIONSHIP DECIDER is the best example.....wide awake paying attention.

The same with 82 & 94,
Yes, there were terrible events, yet it was compelling to witness (hence required viewing)

750 million people world-wide, at the exact same time.....gasping in a breath of air.

This is why F1 is MORE than just a sport to us.
(I could go into the myriad of other reasons...but you get the gist already)

Jp

[Slyder]

Originally posted by race addicted


I know! ridicolous!

Why is it ridiculous?

Sure I was too young to understand the battles, I didn't know what the World Championship meant, but I loved the cars, the racing, the drivers and how they pushed their cars to the limit, pretty much, everything about auto racing.

And since Mexico back then transmitted F1 as a premier thing, it deepend in my roots the love for auto racing. I always loved it, it has been a part of my life for so long.

So my friend, its not ridiculous, maybe you started at a later age so you're too "old" to understand what auto racing meant to me in my early years.

It meant a lot.

that's one of the reasons I'm a diehard racing fan, I'll watch everything related in motorsports.

All other sports for me are bullshit, and are of no interest to me (except soccer of course but only for a few distant reasons).

[jonpollak]

Good on ya Slyder...
Me too..
I was 10 years old when I went to my first GP

What did one need to digest at that age besides...MAN THIS IS COOL...
That is the overriding feeling I still have today...

DON'T OVER ANALYSE THINGS
it ruins the purity of beauty

Jp