You know, the problem with the "good old days", in my case the 1970's and in Sideways' the 1930/40/50/60's (take your pick) is that we are all very selective in our memories. Thus, we can criticise at will anyone who disagrees with our particular vision of when F1 was great. We tend to overlook the body count (unforgivable, and never mind the "when men were men" mantra), ignore the processional nature of many, many races (Clark's dominating style being a case in point), and cherry-pick the epic stuff.
Every era has had its spectacular moments, its dull episodes and it's share of tragedy. The ratio changes over the years. As for driver skills? I never came across a case in the 70's or earlier when a team-mate was criticised for being "almost a tenth slower" over a qualifying lap, as if to say he wasn't trying/worthy/capable. Modern F1, in its own way, is as difficult as it ever was, and the drivers are all, without question, operating on a level that few of us can even comprehend.
As for the entertainment, that's the debatable point. But, whatever criticism we level at the modern era, we all fret across the off-season and switch on to watch the first race.......
