So I've watched a few F1 races over the years but this year I decided to watch every qualifying and race and really followed the sport, thanks in part to this forum. Here is what I saw:

The rapid rise and sudden fall of a very skilled driver.
A cheating scandel that culminated in an astounding fine.
A season dominated by two teams, with only intermittent and limited successes by the rest of the field.
A continual dismal showing by two of the worlds largest and most successful automakers.
Two really cool races in the rain.
And an improbable season ending.

All in all, very entertaining but here is my question for you long-time fans - Is this how it is every year, in terms of constant news/turmoil/scandels/excitement? Or was this year a fluke?

 

[QUOTE=8_ball,Oct 23 2007, 09:32 AM]So I've watched a few F1 races over the years but this year I decided to watch every qualifying and race and really followed the sport, thanks in part to this forum.

 

Great question by-the-way...

I will say for me the following is true
- Every year is much the same in the fact that there is great drama both on and off the trach. This year we had the spy scandal, other years we have had things like the tire debacle. F1 is a complex sport and to really follow it there is a lot of action that happens off-track for sure.
- Great teams rise and fall, minor teams rise and fall, things do indeed change from year to year, to really understand the teams you need several years of perspective. When I started following F1 Ferrari was indeed one of the worst teams out there, the cars were unrelibale, and their pit stops were more of a comedy act than anything else. For years Williams and McLaren were the best of the best, and of course how could we forget the days of Senna when he drove a HONDA-McLaren and won nearly all the races. This rise and fall is part of the sport, and makes it really fun. Another example, in 2005 and 2006 Renault was strong, very strong, they gave FA his driving championship just last year, and now this year they have been lame at best. See the complexity - is their downfall the team or the fact that they lost FA?
- I'm not one of these people standing up on the old, tired, stupid soap box screaming out there is no passing in F1, therefore, I believe all the races are exciting, sure some more than others, but exciting - yes!

Any more specific questions? Yours is very general and I could hjust sort of blab on for ever, I love my F1 sport!

 

[QUOTE=8_ball,Oct 23 2007, 09:32 AM] So I've watched a few F1 races over the years but this year I decided to watch every qualifying and race and really followed the sport, thanks in part to this forum.

 

F1 on TV is okay. F1 in person is where it's at. Visit Spa see the cars going thru Eau Rouge, see the cars live at Monza, Japan or some of the better tracks. Watch the cars leave the tunnel at Monaco. If the hair on the back of your neck does not go up,then your not a gear head.

F the politics and even the drivers per se are not important. Enzo once said the driver is not important it's all about the cars and some of the best action is the mid pack runners. The way they change direction ,how hard they brake, how hard the get on the gas.

Don't get me started on the women who are in the VIP area. Shlt top level talent only real money can create. None of this plain Jane crap waddling around.

 

The tire debacle as in Indianapolis 2005?

 

That's why I said F the politics. But what other series in the world can plss off their fans like Indy and all the fans come back with a great big all is forgiven group hug.


That's what is cool about F1, it's so big and the egos are so huge that they dictate terms and the great unwashed just bend over and take it in the a$$. NASCAR people wold never put up with "not meeting the drivers". F1 drivers can't stand meeting the fans. The key difference is NASCAR or any other American series pales in comparison to the money in F1.

 

Not all of them... I got a very nice autograph from Kimi last year, and not at an autograpg session, he just wondered out to the fence and started meeting people. It was great!

 

F1 is awesome, and there is really so much more than just the 18 races a year. The global aspect of the sport, and culture surrounding the races, teams really makes for some die-hard fans.

And about drivers not standing to meet the fans, I've seen both sides of it. I went to Interlagos in 2005 and by sheer luck happened to go into a restaurant where both JPM and FA were dining. JPM was there with an entourage of about 15 people. FA was sitting at a table with another two gentlemen (from the team, perhaps).

I tried to approach both drivers to ask them if I could have my photo taken with them, after they finished eating, of course. I did not want to interrupt them during dinner. JPM not only refused, but didn't even acknowledge my presence, even though I tried to talk to him in spanish and I even mentioned to him I had flown in that night for the race and I was a big fan. I KNOW he heard me, but to him I was just another @!#$%@#$.

The much maligned FA, on the other hand, was very gracious, took a photo with me, we talked for just a second, he asked me where I was from, I wished him good luck on his first championship run (which he won two days later), he said thanks and was on his way. Maybe it's just the timing...

 

Wow, what a cool story. I would have guessed that it would have turned out the other way around with FA giving the snub.