Fully Detached Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 We seem to have a situation where Bernie Ecclestone is trying to micro manage things to make things more exciting as he perceives it. I read today that he would like drivers to get a time penalty in qualifying based on how well they performed in the last race - ie the winner of the last race gets a big penalty to push him down the grid. This kind of managed excitement is never going to work IMO. You can't penalise someone for their success, or they will just stop playing. The drivers are there to win world championships, not take part in a stage-managed WWF style pantomime. That said, I am in favour of restricting the info that can be given to the driver over the radio, so that they have to manage their own performance based on their own skill and feedback from the car. And personally I'd like to see some restrictions on the complexity of the front wing, so that the cars can actually follow another one and get a chance of overtaking, rather than being totally unsettled by the turbulence of the car in front. As things stand at the moment, F1 is in danger of becoming a bore, even to people like me, who have followed it for 20+ years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPinwheel Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Maybe it would work better if it was 180 seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eight Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 That said, I am in favour of restricting the info that can be given to the driver over the radio, so that they have to manage their own performance based on their own skill and feedback from the car. And personally I'd like to see some restrictions on the complexity of the front wing, so that the cars can actually follow another one and get a chance of overtaking, rather than being totally unsettled by the turbulence of the car in front. I don'y get the resistance over this. Everybody knows it's the answer, there's no marketing benefit from having them (can't even get a decent logo on one), there's no great relevance to road cars, and it just turns into a financial arms race over who can extract the most air pressure out of a few square cm's of carbon fibre. It's utterly pointless and ripe for change, yet its never, ever addressed. Why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_out Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 There is one simple change that would revolutionise F1 - Don't bugger about restricting wings etc. simply decree that a clutch and fully manual gearbox is required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eight Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Fernando Alonso walks away from the mother and father of all accidents during the Australian GP. http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/27988/10212713/fernando-alonso-and-esteban-gutierrez-crash-out-of-the-australian-gp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I could not sleep overnight so ended up listening to about 20 minutes which included the Alonso crash. I fell asleep before they restarted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fully Detached Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Well I quite enjoyed it. Hard to draw any real conclusions what with it being the first day back at school and all that, but delighted to see Haas and Grosjean get such a result, although I think it might be some time before the stars align like that for them again. Also pleased to see Ferrari taking it to Mercedes - if they hadn't messed up over the red flag I think they'd have been right there. And Palmer was a lot of fun to watch, especially with Verstappen and Sainz slugging it out at the same time. Alonso crash was horrible. When the Sky commentator said he was sitting in the gravel trap and I saw the wreckage next to him, my first thought was that there was a 3rd car involved and that some poor sod was still stuck in that mangled pile of bits. Maybe it looked worse than it was, but it looked shocking to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fully Detached Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I don'y get the resistance over this. Everybody knows it's the answer, there's no marketing benefit from having them (can't even get a decent logo on one), there's no great relevance to road cars, and it just turns into a financial arms race over who can extract the most air pressure out of a few square cm's of carbon fibre. It's utterly pointless and ripe for change, yet its never, ever addressed. Why not? It's funny isn't it - the teams spend a lot of time bitching about various rules and regs and what have you, but after all that, they are still designing cars that are designed to perform best in clear air, so in reality they only have themselves to blame. There is one simple change that would revolutionise F1 - Don't bugger about restricting wings etc. simply decree that a clutch and fully manual gearbox is required. I see what you mean, and I'm sure you're right but I can't see manual gearboxes ever coming back. The F1 world would feel that was like stepping back into 1990 or so, which isn't ideal in a sport which feeds so much technology into modern road cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Well I quite enjoyed it. Hard to draw any real conclusions what with it being the first day back at school and all that, but delighted to see Haas and Grosjean get such a result, although I think it might be some time before the stars align like that for them again. Also pleased to see Ferrari taking it to Mercedes - if they hadn't messed up over the red flag I think they'd have been right there. And Palmer was a lot of fun to watch, especially with Verstappen and Sainz slugging it out at the same time. Alonso crash was horrible. When the Sky commentator said he was sitting in the gravel trap and I saw the wreckage next to him, my first thought was that there was a 3rd car involved and that some poor sod was still stuck in that mangled pile of bits. Maybe it looked worse than it was, but it looked shocking to me. Yes, the Alonso crash was shocking. The gravel trap didn't seem to work - too much energy going into that gravel and the car just continued onwards. Some commentators suggested that the gravel trap actually flung the car but that sounds like luvvie understanding of physics. Alonso was very lucky to walk away from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XswampyX Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 There's a video of if here :- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-3501131/Fernando-Alonso-admits-lucky-alive-surviving-horrific-crash-Sunday-s-Australian-Grand-Prix.html Amazing camerawork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Do they still have lights on the steering wheel telling them when to change up or down the gears? The radio thing of the mechanics telling the driver what to do should have gone years ago. Hilarious when we get a certain driver radioing in to ask what typpe of tyres he is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPinwheel Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 There's a video of if here :- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/formulaone/article-3501131/Fernando-Alonso-admits-lucky-alive-surviving-horrific-crash-Sunday-s-Australian-Grand-Prix.html Amazing camerawork. +1 when you see it in real time it was stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fully Detached Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Yes, the Alonso crash was shocking. The gravel trap didn't seem to work - too much energy going into that gravel and the car just continued onwards. Some commentators suggested that the gravel trap actually flung the car but that sounds like luvvie understanding of physics. Alonso was very lucky to walk away from that. I think it was just a suspension rod that dug in and flipped him - both front wheels were gone in the initial impact so all those parts would have been exposed as soon as he reached the gravel trap. But the protection the cars provide these days is staggering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPinwheel Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Now TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Mebbie. Can you buy the F1 channel for that? I'm genuinely ignorant on this as I haven't had Sky for a number of years now. Then you will be wise, not ignorant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fully Detached Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Sky to have exclusive TV rights in the UK from 2019, surely the death knell for the sports popularity here: http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/24/sky-exclusive-formula-1-tv-rights/ I've been watching F1 for about 24-25 years but I'm not sure I want to buy a Sky package to keep watching. I begrudgingly shelled out for it on the basis that at the time it worked out at something like £7 per race weekend. In all fairness, the extent and quality of their coverage and comment is absolutely brilliant. You really do get a lot for the money - the biggest problem for me is finding the time to watch enough of it. However, I looked at what I was paying per month recently and was a little shocked to find it had gone up a fair bit since I signed up - might be time to put in the "I'm going to leave unless you do something" call, which generally yields quite positive results. But I do completely agree with the people saying that this is a negative move for the future of the sport - if you exclude the people who can't or won't pay for it, things are only going to go downhill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPinwheel Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Where do they expect new fans will come from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snafu Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 What is the fascination with F1? Possibly the most boring sport to watch live. It's ONLY decent to watch on TV. I went on a stag do to Barcelona and we watched some F1 - and jeeeeez how boring it was! Unless you knew who the drivers were, and cared, it became utterly confusing knowing who was in the lead in the end. You sit there on one corner or straigth piece of road and....see people wizz past. And you have no idea what ranking they are. Boring boring boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fully Detached Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 So Verstappen gets promoted to Red Bull and Kvyat gets demoted to Toro Rosso. I can't say I'm surprised, and I know it's a hard and unfair sport for a driver, but it leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth when someone is treated like that. After spending all last season making complete knobs of themselves in their spat with Renault, Red Bull don't really seem to have learned much about public image - it's as if they think they're completely untouchable, and I think they are quite badly mistaken there. I wish Verstappen all the best, but I would absolutely wet myself if he were to run into the back of Vettel at the fist corner in Barcelona. And yes, I will be hoping for exactly that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 There's a fine line between hero and rock ape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fully Detached Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 There's a fine line between hero and rock ape. Indeed, but I still think it's a bit harsh all the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eight Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 So Verstappen gets promoted to Red Bull and Kvyat gets demoted to Toro Rosso. I can't say I'm surprised, and I know it's a hard and unfair sport for a driver, but it leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth when someone is treated like that. After spending all last season making complete knobs of themselves in their spat with Renault, Red Bull don't really seem to have learned much about public image - it's as if they think they're completely untouchable, and I think they are quite badly mistaken there. I wish Verstappen all the best, but I would absolutely wet myself if he were to run into the back of Vettel at the fist corner in Barcelona. And yes, I will be hoping for exactly that. I've actually got Max Verstappen in the death sweepstake, so here's hoping that either the extra pace is too much for him, or that Kvyat seeks him out with an axe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Indeed, but I still think it's a bit harsh all the same. Mateschitz is a law unto himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_out Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Mateschitz is a law unto himself. Except he got his **** handed to him by the good folks at Renault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPinwheel Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 I blame Putin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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