The most artificial thing in F1 is safety cars

[Mystery]

Originally Posted by codename_47

Hey, I have a request for anyone who considers themselves a purist:
Stop watching, this isn't the sport for you.

Good advice. Bikes provide overtaking without this nonsense.

[BtccLee]

Originally Posted by codename_47

Hey, I have a request for anyone who considers themselves a purist:
Stop watching, this isn't the sport for you.

I'm sure there's a nice classic championship running with old F1 cars you can watch where the fastest car in qualifying lines up on pole and second in second etc and you can watch a glorious old-fashioned race unencumbered by any of that nasty overtaking that clutters up the chance to see great cars lapping on their own with no other car within 20 lengths of them.

F1 stopped being about purism a long time ago.
And I sat through more than enough races in the 90s and 2000s where the refuelling meant the only passing on track happened when the car ahead was trundling down the pit lane.
You can criticise the safety car, pirelli, Kers, DRS or the qualifying set up all you want, but all these things combined bring us the thing that all true motorsport fans should desire over anything else: wheel to wheel racing.

I also find this thread ironic as it seems this year Bernie has had a little whisper in Charlie Whiting's ear to tell him to withhold the safety car as much as possible, resulting in the Nurburgring having 2 situations that where unnecessarily dangerous all in the name of keeping the race going.
I feared for the poor marshals, unpaid, out in the blistering heat and expected to recover Massa's car right in the firing line of turn 1 under a yellow flag that most drivers barely acknowledge.
Then again with the Marussia, expected to deal with a car on the inside of the next most dangerous point on the track before the chicane until it started rolling away and sense was finally seen and the SC was called.
Like Martin Brundle I also hate to see those snatch tractors on track under racing conditions.

F1 actually had the SC rules right in 2008 or so, completely closing the pits so the drivers are not tempted to race back to pit lane dangerously through the incident that's brought out the SC in the first place.
If they have a puncture or whatever...tough...that's the way the cookie crumbled. (Less of an issue now with no refueling, natch.)
The currently system is not perfect as you get situations like Vettel passing Hamilton in Aus 2012 in the pits under the SC...well someone obviously was caring more about his racing position than respecting the flag rules on track wasn't he?
Close the pits so this nonsense can't happen.

I am a purist and I enjoy the type of championship you reference in your second paragraph. However, I also love F1 because it is still about driving skill. Yes there are other factors but no form of Motorsport could exist if they didn't rely on an element of driving skill because that's what it's about. I think I'm in the minority saying I am a purist and I enjoy these supposed "gimmicks” such as DRS or degrading tyres in F1 or reversed grids and success weight or balance of performance systems in other championships. There isn't, in my opinion, a single one of these features which directly advantages or disadvantages any driver throughout a year. They all must adapt. Driving skill isn't all about speed, that's just a part of it.
Right safety cars. Firstly the line between it being safe for marshals to move debris and the need for the motor race to continue is getting thinner. Yes races need to continue and in a lot of cases this has been possible. But recently you feel this is taking more precedent than it should. However, even the most cynical cynic must, as I do, feel the organisers will ensure this stops.
Also I totally disagree that they are the “most artificial thing in F1”. This comes down to the above. It's the same for everyone. All are advantaged and disadvantaged equally. But I do agree that the rules of 2008 were probably clearer cut, simpler and also a bit safer.