Rate the new cars and racing, Significant thoughts?

[steelstallions]

I got up late and started watching the recording on SKY. After the first few laps i started to fast forward. It was dull from the outset. Then reminding myself this is the sport i have followed for years, i tried to watch but found myself fast forwarding even more, then i caught up the live race. Instead of watching, i paused the TV, made breakfast, spent some time with the wife and then got back to the recording. I tried to watch and started fast forwarding the rest of the race until the last lap. Switched off before the anthems played. 3 out of 10.
Is it me? am i not giving these vuvuzela sounding cars a chance? I am just not enjoying any of it, i just cannot get worked up about it, If Ferrari were leading i would be happy for that, but the racing is so dull!

[Suzie]

It was a pretty dull race, yeah. Compared to the MotoGP last weekend which was worlds away in terms of excitement.

[The Architect]

Dull is quite an apt expression. Speculating on fuel, tyres and who has the most economical engine following homologation does not make for compelling racing. Returning gimmicks like DRS and now the lack of noise have just killed the spectacle for me. I don't find it particularly worthwhile or exciting any more. I'll continue to watch for a little while, but I find myself rather looking forward to the start of the WEC season.

[SS454]

Saving fuel and saving tires is very boring. I like that the top speeds are up, but the cars are way too slow in lap times. About 9 seconds off the track record in race trim. I think this was a particularly boring race, so Im not labeling 2014 Formula 1 a fail just yet.

[Gerhard Berger]

Agree with the other posters, so far the races have been dull and pretty underwhelming. Before the season we were led to believe that the racing would be close, cars running out of fuel, mechanical retirements left, right and center, but none of that has materialized. The cars were very reliable today, and this was one of the hottest races.

On the other hand, qualifying was entertaining in both races, but i guess we can thank the rain for that.

[FerrariF60]

Saving fuel and saving tires is very boring. I like that the top speeds are up, but the cars are way too slow in lap times. About 9 seconds off the track record in race trim. I think this was a particularly boring race, so Im not labeling 2014 Formula 1 a fail just yet.

...not just yet, but in my opinion is pretty close; the NOIZE is gone, everyone is forced to save fuel, tires, engines....etc....boring....

let's face it, unless the FIA will wake up and change something about the new format....( about engines, they need to let teams develop them for a season or two) and somehow make them loud again, i bet that a lot of the spectators and people watching F1 at home will QUIT doing so because it's too boring and TOO QUIET

F1 is ALL ABOUT NOIZE, cars going FLAt out for the whole race, with NONE of the SAVE this, SAVE that....

[Cheeseman]

I took my son to Silverstone in 2012 and all he could talk about afterwards was the noise of the cars. The speed was a bonus, the noise was everything. I have to agree with Vettel on this one, without the noise the spectacle is pretty dull. I went to a few races and testing events back in the V10 days and more recent V8's. I always remember even before arriving at the track about 1 or 2 miles away from he circuit and I could already hear the cars going around the track, going up and down the gears with all the pops and bangs going on. I always took paracetamols to the track with me, after an hour of listening to the high pitch of the V8's I would have a headache but it was good pain. I can't imagine all that being gone Like most I haven't had the chance to hear the new engines in the flesh but I can imagine the noise level is similar to being broken down next to the M25 and having to half cover your ear with one hand whilst phoning the RAC. Noisy but not deafening

[Hornet]

The new rules unfortunately did not provide what many fans had hoped for, which is close racing. We simply traded a dominant RB for a dominant Mercedes.

I know many people are sick of seeing RB dominating for the past years, so some people may find this refreshing, but I personally did not see any improvement. It's just a different team now, but the gap is still the same. You have one team far ahead of everyone else, and there's simply no competition where most people are interested in, which is the front.

The field is still as spread out as it was last year, probably made worse by more DNF at the moment which meant lesser car competing.


That to me is the biggest turn off, more than the sound. If we had close racing somehow, I think we wouldn't notice the lack of sound too much, because the racing will be catching our attention. Unfortunately it's lacking in racing as well as the sound.

[wisepie]

Best thing about it now seem to be the radio messages between driver and engineer, the racing so far has been underwhelming apart from the odd spat in the mid-field, the noise and the spectacle just keeps diminishing with every new regulation and even true F1 fans will switch off after a while. Too many eco-friendly and tactical elements to be called motor-racing IMO. Moto GP is much more exciting.

[Senna4Ever]

Is it really so different to the last 3 or 4 years?

first it started with reducing the engine power with ratio of the gasoline mix (as you have only a fixed number per season)
then came tire management
and now we have the fuel consumption thing ...

really exciting races we see when something unexpected is happening (rain, safety car, whatever)
under normal circumstances it is nearly predicted by the results from FP1 - FP3 and Qualifying.

What did we got told that it might end in no one will finish the race due to mechanical issues ... far away from that.

I would wish the driver would have more influence where to use the electrical power.

But no matter which technique you will use: as long you have different speed and quality of development between the teams ... it will be boring. As long you have a team which can just easily manage a comfortable lead ... it will be boring ...

[4ever_tifosi]

Ive bet the response on this thread would be different if Ferrari would be in Merc's shoes now...

But it is what it is...Mercedes just burned a lot of money on developing the engine....

Plus they started on this 2014 car i think on 2012...

[PURE PASSION]

1 thing only!! This " thing" that they call F1 in combination with our "condition" , force me for the 1st time in a decade to skip an F1 race for a movie!!!!!

[racingbradley]

I love F1 but yesterday was booooorrrring. Maybe it was the front runner who bored me----reluctantly I have to admit that he drove a faultless race that was just a procession.
Maybe if the leading car was red or white I would have been more interested!!!!
As for mid field there was a bit of action and excitement there.

[Gerhard Berger]

If it was Ferrari leading yesterday, I would have been happy, but i still wouldn't have been excited about the race.

[steelstallions]

Ive bet the response on this thread would be different if Ferrari would be in Merc's shoes now...
.

The only difference would be that we would be happy its Ferrari in the lead, but that does not mean the show is entertaining. Unlike football where you can have a very very boring game and your team wins, the next week you could have a very very exciting game and draw nil nil. These F1 races have now come to the point that only rain shakes them up a little, otherwise its, conserve fuel, conserve tires, conserve engine and gearbox. Like many on here i grew up with cars built for qualifying, spare cars, spare tires galore, flat out racing and using reservoirs of fuel to keep up the unlimited rev, and ears nearly bleeding with the noise. This on top of drivers risking their lives on seasons where you feared crashes for a reason. Safety HAD TO BE ADDRESSED, the other rubbish does not make for the pinnacle of Motorsport.

[Silent Bob]

I got up late and started watching the recording on SKY. After the first few laps i started to fast forward. It was dull from the outset. Then reminding myself this is the sport i have followed for years, i tried to watch but found myself fast forwarding even more, then i caught up the live race. Instead of watching, i paused the TV, made breakfast, spent some time with the wife and then got back to the recording. I tried to watch and started fast forwarding the rest of the race until the last lap. Switched off before the anthems played. 3 out of 10.
Is it me? am i not giving these vuvuzela sounding cars a chance? I am just not enjoying any of it, i just cannot get worked up about it, If Ferrari were leading i would be happy for that, but the racing is so dull!

Unfortunately I did the exact same thing. The start was the only exciting part. Watched most of the race on FF. Was underwhelmed for sure by the start of this season. Maybe if they just got rid of the fuel metering might spice things up.

[Gerard]

I cannot remember when last I fell asleep during a motor race. I woke up on lap 37 and had to go to live timing on my laptop to see if Alonso is still running and where. The WRC rally cars that are also turbocharged and run one at a time, sound better than these F1 cars. And then there are the madmen with their Australian V8s.

[Nova]

F1 has always gone thru different era's n Im sure not liking this one. With the intro of all of the electrics, fuel saving,
tires (still), tiny engines with no sound whatsoever, oh, and procession like motoring around a track, I feel they have taken away my favorite sport
and pastime.
I remember the excitement I used to feel at the start of every season, b4 every race. Id watch no matter the time and found myself
unable to sit in 1 position for any length of time. Id pace all over the room for every lap watching the different battles around the circuit. It was FUN!!
It was EXCITING!! Id feel almost guilty if I had to miss a race for whatever reason and would use a beatup old vcr to try to get the race for later.
But that was then, n now is..well, I missed Mal, 1st Ive missed in many moons, and the sad thing is, I dont care. A sadder thing is, I feel we will never see F1 as we have seen it in the past. Formula electrix is here and Im afraid they will never go back to what I call real F1 racing. What a drag.
The WEC will start soon and the GT classes with the beautiful 458's running their sweet screaming V8's will hopefully rekindle some of that excitement.

[steelstallions]

says it all
http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/144365.html

]F1 viewing figures dropped by 50 million in 2013 ==Formula One's viewing figures dropped by roughly 10% last year after a predictable end to the 2013 season.

Sebastian Vettel won nine races in a row at the end of the year, securing his fourth consecutive title with three races remaining. TV figures released in Formula One's Global Media Report showed overall viewers had dropped by over 50 million last year to a total of 450 million.

"The less-than-competitive nature of the final few rounds, culminating in the championship being decided ahead of the races in the USA and Brazil, events which often bring substantial audiences, had a predictable impact on reach," Bernie Ecclestone said. "The overall effect was exaggerated further still when you consider the calendar was one race shorter in 2013."

Despite describing the new V6 turbo era as a "farce" after the first week of testing in Jerez, Ecclestone said he expected the new regulations to bolster figures this year.

"One thing I am sure of is that this coming season will not only offer a heightened level of unpredictability, but renewed excitement and fierce competition," he added.

Bernie on SKY yesterday, for the first time was talking with his heart and saying it was below par, then realising what he had said would think with his business brain and try to bolster/sell the"show" He cannot defend this new era as he would in the past. I will be curious to know the viewing figures so far this season!

[eddie]

It should drop further, if you plan to see a race life, its a bore... One big part of the show was the sound. Its gone now....

When I visited Melb for the race, I could hear the cars miles away from the City. Not this year though.

[wisepie]

Viewers will fall by the wayside if the Merc domination takes over like Red Bull and Vettel did, plus the rules and regulations are getting far too complicated for the casual observer and too restrictive for the avid motor-racing fan who wants to see just that....racing!

[stratos]

Boring.....Dull.....Boring
Save the tyres, save the fuel, save the engines....
Absolute rubbish
This is not racing, this is a soundless procession IMO.....
Yesterday at the Malay GP Torro Rosso were told to retire to save their 2nd engine out of allowcated 5.
So now the fans get less running to save engines...
Bring back racing where we all hold our breath and enjoy the spectacle....
Im afraid that I am tired of this save the engines go green era of F1.....
Dejected I am for sure.........................

[Rob]

I did, for the first time in man years, find the race on Sunday boring. Still get excited by F1 race, as Ferrari are in it, but i just feel, theres something , missing. Perhaps we all would be alot different if we would be where Merc is right now.

Im carrying on watching and cheering on The Scuderia, but think WEC is going get bit more of my attention. Has been since it started, well over past 8 years sportscars, GT racing is becoming more important to me.

These new rules/regs going take time to sort themselves out and teams get on top of all new PUs, then we may see more "racing".

[stefa]

I am really passionate Formula 1 and Ferrari fan/supporter. And as many before me in above post described I am (was) one of freak fanatics absolutely deluded by Formula 1. I am 41, obsessed by Formula 1 since very early age. It was something around 6 or 7. As soon as I saw it, I knew this is something special! This is something I really like. In pass 25 Years I've never miss a race. NEVER! I was planning my holidays in such ways not to be there when racing weekend is. Always after the Hungaroring during summer break. I remember that I could not wait till new season starts. Since 1996 when Melbourne got to host opening round of Formula 1, I was awake all night till 05:00 AM waiting for the race to begin. I could not sleep because of anticipation!
I have discovered in past couple of years, with introductions of, by mine opinion silly rules, I was not so fanatic any more. My opinion is that last real Formula 1 season was 2008. Sadly Ferrari driver didn't won WDC that year, but Ferrari won CWC, which is also fine with me, as I am Ferrari SUPPORTER first of all!
Every other season after 2008 FIA introduced something new to make races more spectacular, but on the contrary, there were more boring and predictable...
This in 2014 is not a Fromula 1 to me any more. Not the one I had privilege to watch for so many years and to enjoy in races. No! This is something artificial, hybrid and above all BORING!!!
What sport any in the world is about saving?! If you are competing, and Formula 1 is motor sport competing at the highest level (it used to be), how one can be saving something?!?!?!? Hello! You are competing! You are racing! There is no space for savings. It is 110% all guns blazing!
I always asked my self, why do teams accept all silly rules imposed by FIA?! Why they don't simply say we don't want to! That's it. Just like that! NO!
My vision of Formula 1 would be:
- Normally aspirated engines with liberty for making V8, V10 and V12 with 3.0 L capacity
- Introduce back refueling
- One tire type (there can be more than one supplier)
- get rid of all ERS, KERS and other ...RS
- more (unlimited) testing
- more engines and gearboxes per season
Race 110% every single lap of the race!
This what we have, especially now in 2014 for sure will not attract new fans. Ask your self a question. If you are to introduce Formula 1 to someone new, what will you tell him to get him interested into Formula 1 racing...? To be honest, I don't know what is there to be interested in it.... Sadly....

[wisepie]

Stefa, I don't always agree with your posts but in this instance, you're spot on! Sadly, F1 may already have gone too far in alienating the older fans but at the same time managing to put off younger fans developing the passion that we have (or had!).......I realise things have to move on, technology etc, but this is supposed to be a sport with the excitement of competition, not who can save fuel/engine/gearbox for the next race just because they're out of the points.

[Nero Horse]

I got up late and started watching the recording on SKY. After the first few laps i started to fast forward. It was dull from the outset. Then reminding myself this is the sport i have followed for years, i tried to watch but found myself fast forwarding even more, then i caught up the live race. Instead of watching, i paused the TV, made breakfast, spent some time with the wife and then got back to the recording. I tried to watch and started fast forwarding the rest of the race until the last lap. Switched off before the anthems played. 3 out of 10.
Is it me? am i not giving these vuvuzela sounding cars a chance? I am just not enjoying any of it, i just cannot get worked up about it, If Ferrari were leading i would be happy for that, but the racing is so dull!

No such problems for me yet, I still love F1 and get excited about the races, though not as much as I used to when I was younger but imo it's not that bad at all as some of you people say. My biggest grievance would be the lack of sound, and it saddens me that Ferrari isn't winning, of course, but other than that I still find F1 to be interesting and exciting. It could be better though, that's for sure.
The biggest reason why I watch and love F1 is Ferrari of course, and if for example one day Ferrari would leave F1 then that would also be the day when I stop watching F1 altogether. I really couldn't care less about F1 if Ferrari wouldn't be in it.

[Alessandra]

I'm not the most technologically -gifted person on the planet so please excuse my ignorance but I've just stumbled across a piece on the 'new' engine and its implications this year which states that the operation of the KERS button is not, in 2014, in fact perfromed by the driver but by a computer; there is no KERS button on the steering wheel so KERS is presumably enacted by the driver's engineer.
IS this the true?

[Hornet]

I'm not the most technologically -gifted person on the planet so please excuse my ignorance but I've just stumbled across a piece on the 'new' engine and its implications this year which states that the operation of the KERS button is not, in 2014, in fact perfromed by the driver but by a computer; there is no KERS button on the steering wheel so KERS is presumably enacted by the driver's engineer.
IS this the true?

Yes that's true. KERS was design to give a few second of boost each lap, so the driver control when to use that boost. The new ERS system this year is not design to give a boost spike, but to use all the time to improve the engine performance. For example, at times when turbo lag could occur, the ERS power can be use to spin up the turbo. Otherwise, the power can be use to give extra performance to the car.

It is up to the engineers to distribute the ERS power to the turbo and the engine output, how much and when. It's all done by setting it in the software and the electronics will automatically use the ERS according to what the engineers set. It's part of the engine management system now.

[Alessandra]

Yes that's true. KERS was design to give a few second of boost each lap, so the driver control when to use that boost. The new ERS system this year is not design to give a boost spike, but to use all the time to improve the engine performance. For example, at times when turbo lag could occur, the ERS power can be use to spin up the turbo. Otherwise, the power can be use to give extra performance to the car.

It is up to the engineers to distribute the ERS power to the turbo and the engine output, how much and when. It's all done by setting it in the software and the electronics will automatically use the ERS according to what the engineers set. It's part of the engine management system now.

Well, thank you very much for that, Hornet.

I'll add it to my little list of why the status of the driver in F1 is being gradually diminished.

[brembo man]

I wonder how far the engineers are allowed to go with regards to setting up one car to be faster than another causing a #1, #2 car and driver.[ Massa beware!! ]