I stand corrected

Maldonado 1:39:09:145
Alonso +3.1 sec

 

What you have to remember, is that 'Formula' racing refers to the cars, not the drivers.
Formula One is therefore the pinnacle of engineering, not driving (although the best teams would obviously want the best drivers to be behind the wheel) or racing.

I have often been critical of the amount of 'racing' in F1, but it misses the point somewhat - the engineering going into an F1 car is staggering, but the sheer capability of the cars now means that the opportunities for overtaking are limited to other drivers making mistakes;
- In the past, braking distances were far enough from the corners to allow a dive up the inside by braking a fraction later than your opponent, now braking, aero and tyre technology means that braking distances are so short that the drivers don't have the window of opportunity available to them.
- Launch control and complex gearboxes take away the need for drivers to make good race starts and quick, accurate gearchanges - sometimes a missed change out of a corner is enough to see a car overtaking me on the following straight in club racing - no such opportunity for the F1 driver, they don't miss gears.
- The sheer grip and traction of modern tyre compounds mean that apexes are hit time after time, it's rare for a driver to run so wide as to leave an opportunity for the following car.

But that's the point - it's the pinnacle of race car engineering - it's the best solution to going round in circles the engineers can come up with.

The FIA had to come up with DRS, KERS etc. because the engineering was going beyond the capabilities of the drivers (I heard one McLaren engineer quoted as saying they could make the perfect F1 car if only they didn't have to have drivers) and the racing was becoming pedestrian - people weren't tuning in (I stopped watching a few years ago for instance, after 25 years of following F1 from the Hunt era) and their revenue could suffer as a consequence.
Of course the overtaking this season has been 'contrived', but it has at least made the racing watchable again, even if it's against the ethos of F1. But the days of daring, intuitive F1 drivers ended quite a few years ago as the technology became more and more advanced, which was always where F1 was heading.

But the technology is coming in at all levels - if you look in MB's racing thread I posted a video of a spinning Evo I race against - on another forum he was asking for help as to why his starts are so poor - the answer is that his car is set up for huge horsepower to compensate for the fact his driving is so poor, put on a smaller turbo and learn your car and you'll get better starts - but the solution he and his forum mates have come up with? You guessed it - Launch Control. Even clubbies are not immune.....

 

I agree with your analysis MB, particularly the last two paragraphs.
It does not stop me remembering those times with affection though and wishing they could come back. Jochen Rindt in a 4 wheel drift keeping the throttle buried will live with me forever.
ps That is why I prefer club racing.

 

This season has been a lot better than most in the last 10 years or so and F1 is generally going in the right direction. But if this season goes down in history its only because the last 10 years have been so crap.

I am generally enjoying this season, Monaco excepted. But it does feel contrived. I don't think that 6 different drivers winning the first 6 races has actually been a good thing. The tyres seem to be so sensitive it seems that anything more than a few fast laps where the driver is pushing hard kills them. That might be good for stimulating some interest in the overall race, but you lose the excitement of seeing a driver going balls out and chasing down other cars.

But without the contrived racing every race would be like monaco. Totally boring.

 

It is a proper catch 22 isn't it!!

Ah well, at least the British Engineers who make up most of the teams are doing such a stirling job that the FIA has to work out ways to slow the cars down. I think we, as fellow engineers or as a Brit should be proud of that.

 

I stand corrected

Maldonado 1:39:09:145
Alonso +3.1 sec
[/quote]

As I said you really don't watch F1 do you.

1 australia Mark Webber 2 Red Bull-Renault 1 1:46:06.557 25
2 germany Nico Rosberg 8 Mercedes GP 2 1:46:07.200 18
1 venezuela Pastor Maldonado 18 Williams-Renault 1 1:39:09.145 25
2 spain Fernando Alonso 5 Ferrari 2 1:39:12.340 18
1 germany Sebastian Vettel 1 Red Bull-Renault 1 1:35:10.990 25
2 finland Kimi Raikkonen 9 Lotus-Renault 11 1:35:14.323
1 germany Nico Rosberg 8 Mercedes GP 1 1:36:26.929 25
2 great britain Jenson Button 3 McLaren-Mercedes 5 1:36:47.555
1 spain Fernando Alonso 5 Ferrari 8 2:44:51.812 25
2 mexico Sergio Perez 15 Sauber 9 2:44:54.075 18
1 great britain Jenson Button 3 McLaren-Mercedes 2 1:34:09.565 25
2 germany Sebastian Vettel 1 Red Bull-Renault 6 1:34:11.704 18

So, in each of those races not a lot of time separating the first two over a race distance, hardly driving off into the sunset, more akin to close racing throughout and consistently through each race.

I watched F1 through the Senna years where he was qouted as saying he would drive the Williams car for free such was it's (boring) dominance. I watched it through the Schmacher Ferrari years where they (Ferrari) had a tyre manufacturer all to themselves and it was (boring) dominance, and then I watched it the last couple of years only to see RBR dominate due to gadgets and Neweys brilliance, again boring. This year, contrived or not (and I don't believe it is) the playfield seems more level (once RBR plug that great feking hole that is) and the racing yes 'racing' is fantastic, and I say F1 just about have it right in terms of balance at this moment in time.

 

I stand corrected

Maldonado 1:39:09:145
Alonso +3.1 sec
[/quote]

As I said you really don't watch F1 do you.

1 australia Mark Webber 2 Red Bull-Renault 1 1:46:06.557 25
2 germany Nico Rosberg 8 Mercedes GP 2 1:46:07.200 18
1 venezuela Pastor Maldonado 18 Williams-Renault 1 1:39:09.145 25
2 spain Fernando Alonso 5 Ferrari 2 1:39:12.340 18
1 germany Sebastian Vettel 1 Red Bull-Renault 1 1:35:10.990 25
2 finland Kimi Raikkonen 9 Lotus-Renault 11 1:35:14.323
1 germany Nico Rosberg 8 Mercedes GP 1 1:36:26.929 25
2 great britain Jenson Button 3 McLaren-Mercedes 5 1:36:47.555
1 spain Fernando Alonso 5 Ferrari 8 2:44:51.812 25
2 mexico Sergio Perez 15 Sauber 9 2:44:54.075 18
1 great britain Jenson Button 3 McLaren-Mercedes 2 1:34:09.565 25
2 germany Sebastian Vettel 1 Red Bull-Renault 6 1:34:11.704 18

So, in each of those races not a lot of time separating the first two over a race distance, hardly driving off into the sunset, more akin to close racing throughout and consistently through each race.

I watched F1 through the Senna years where he was qouted as saying he would drive the Williams car for free such was it's (boring) dominance. I watched it through the Schmacher Ferrari years where they (Ferrari) had a tyre manufacturer all to themselves and it was (boring) dominance, and then I watched it the last couple of years only to see RBR dominate due to gadgets and Neweys brilliance, again boring. This year, contrived or not (and I don't believe it is) the playfield seems more level (once RBR plug that great feking hole that is) and the racing yes 'racing' is fantastic, and I say F1 just about have it right in terms of balance at this moment in time.
[/quote]
You are ignoring a salient point here. The fact that the leader is in all probability easing off at the end seems to have escaped you.
You seem incapable of discussing anything in a calm and reasonable manner and are extremely opinionated and aggressive so I will leave you to your F1 TV and box of tissues.
You really need to address your issues, both personal and concerning Red Bull/Vettel.
As for me not watching F1, it is YOU who believes that it is not contrived.

 

WHS. I remember the most boring year of F1 was 1988, where McLaren were so ridiculously dominant with Senna and Prost they would have won every race, if a back marker hadn't crashed into Senna. Though I guess some of the Schumacher-Ferrari must have been as bad.

I agree with what Berger said the other day (in between swearing on live TV). It's not about the tyres; getting rid of the blown diffusers that the top teams, and most of all Red Bull, were able to develop has done an enormous amount to close up the field, and most notably you see Williams, who were nowhere last year winning a race. DRS and tyres are factors, but for the most part, what's making F1 exciting is that it's so damn close this year. The difference between a driver having a good day and a bad day can be 10 places on the grid, which is why you see Button winning in Australia and failing to get into Q3 for the last couple of races. Now I've only been watching for 25 years, so I can't say that it wasn't like this "in the good old days", but I don't remember a time.

Last weekend I watched the 1982 Monaco highlights (I love having an F1 channel), where the lead changed 6 times in the last 2 laps. Exciting wheel to wheel racing? No. None of the drivers were that close; they just either ran out of fuel or crashed. Contrast that with Monaco 2012 where the top 7 were covered by 7 seconds, and although they couldn't get past were at least pushing and challenging right up to the last second. Which is better?

 

Sure and because it is close, the drs and tyres going off is a bit over kill. The fia were not to know though.

Not complaining like, this is the best season in years, by far. But I wish the tyres largely didn't go off so quick so that you see the drivers pushing from start to finish!

 

Well the tires are more edgy because that's what the FIA wanted and asked of Pirelli... correct? and being in my second season of a Formula 1 fan (as well as a MW fan) I think the whole picture this year is great. I'm not going to compare to previous years because I would be lying to you if I tried, but having watched all the races and the anxiousness and excitement I felt watching the last 7-8 laps of Monaco was indescribable. I was so afraid that MW would succumb to Rosbergs pressure or that Lewis would get impatient and try to at least beat his two least favorite people on the track (seb and alonso) and do something more risky. Yes the poles and front pack have been winning most of the races but that has been to exceptional control and maturity from the drivers. I do agree that tires would have been better because it would have been exciting to see what Hamilton could have done at Catalunya. And sorry if i mispelled any names or what not... I am still learning. O and BTW congrats to MW for making 2 out of 3 years at Monaco!