*** Official F1 2014 thread ***

[AtiFCOD]

LOL - if people are willing to pay for front row seats on pit straight just to hang stupid signs like that, I think the sport will be just fine...

People whinge about "ugly" cars every time there's a change in regs or shape or whatever. I think a few teams have done some spectacularly ugly things with their interpretation of the rules this year (yes Renault, I'm talking about your noses in particular). But on the whole I think the cars look a damn sight better than, say, 2008 when they were hanging extra wings off any surface they could find. I think the Red Bull in particular looks great this year.

As for the noise, yeah, I think I'd definitely find it disappointing if I was trackside. But let's be honest, this is a made-for-television sport and on TV the sheer noise level doesn't matter that much.

Good for you if it's enough for you.
I remember the good-old F1 era when cars were spectacular, the engines had power (1200 HP) and extreme noise, n1 pilots who solved problems alone and made decisions alone and compete alone (not just droids who do everything what team say), the rules were simple, there were exciting refuellings etc etc.
I quitted watching F1 (after 27 years) after watched the first and second race this year. This is the parody of old school F1! Many ppl have the same opinion.

 

[t1tpfdc]

I remember the good-old F1 era when ...

This is the parody of old school F1!

You're thinking of back in the day when the drivers actually had to drive the cars! Computers run the show now.

 

[OzExorcist]

Horrible crash for Bianchi in Japan, fingers crossed he'll pull through

Good for you if it's enough for you.
I remember the good-old F1 era when cars were spectacular, the engines had power (1200 HP) and extreme noise, n1 pilots who solved problems alone and made decisions alone and compete alone (not just droids who do everything what team say), the rules were simple, there were exciting refuellings etc etc.
I quitted watching F1 (after 27 years) after watched the first and second race this year. This is the parody of old school F1! Many ppl have the same opinion.

Eh - I've been a fan of the sport for 20-odd years too. I guess if you don't like what you see, you don't like what you see.

Personally I couldn't give a toss about the "when men were men and engines were huge and cars were deathtraps" stuff.

You know what's awesome about F1 at its best in my book? Close racing. Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso going side-by-side into Eau Rouge. Clever strategy. Teammates who clearly can't stand each other. Drivers getting the most out of the car in difficult conditions. None of that stuff has gone away - and I think a lot of the rule changes in recent years have actually improved the racing.

I didn't agree with the change to the engine formula, I thought that was unnecessary. But it hasn't ruined the sport. Y'know what would have ruined the sport though? Not making any rule or formula changes, letting the costs keep spiralling out of control, and ending up in a position where there would only have been about a dozen cars on the grid.

Plus I could be wrong, but aren't traction control and launch control things they've taken away in recent seasons, not added in? Hell, in the last few races they've even taken away much of the team's ability to "coach" the driver over the radio

 

[AtiFCOD]

Just posting a video about the best f1 driver.

 

[BART777]

Ayrton Senna - great. good video. has reminded of those times when sponsors were the tobacco companies, television cameras big and of course roar of motors.

 

[OzExorcist]

Huh - ancient thread bump, but this reminds me 2014 must have been the last year I followed F1 closely. Not because of rule changes or reduced engine noise or anything, but because the races aren't regularly shown on free to air TV any more.

 

[AtiFCOD]

Wow

 

[AtiFCOD]

The future. Some say Formula E will be more popular than F1 in 10 years. We will see.

 

[Chemist]

The future. Some say Formula E will be more popular than F1 in 10 years. We will see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N3EFWyoboY

If F1 keeps getting dumbed down then I suppose it could be the case.

At the moment though it just looks like failed F1 drivers playing with some very expensive kids toys.
It doesn't give the impression of a proper motor race or championship.

Hopefully the E technology will continue to improve and also spill over in to road vehicles.

Top flight racing is now too clinical and scientific.
There is just one racing line which all the drivers hit, the margins between the drivers and the cars are marginal, but also consistent despite being measured in hundredths of seconds.
In the old days a mechanic could make a difference with some late night tinkering, or a driver could make a difference following the previous nights partying.

The tracks could be redesigned to make up for some of these problems, perhaps with alternate routes, say the choice of a longer faster corner or shorter slower corner so drivers or teams have additional choices to make even in car design or setup to take advantage of one or the other, or just for a spur of the moment choice based on traffic. Because at the moment the only excitement is seeing whether the car coming down the straight having pitted the previous lap will be ahead of the car coming out of the pit lane. Having the potential for that type of scenario every lap would surely spice things up. The joker lap in rally cross certainly adds to the excitement.

Talking of which, if things don't change, it is more likely that other formulas such as rally cross or GT racing could take the popularity crown.