Lauda says it stinks...

[angst]

...not an exact quote. But I 've just read a snippet of an interview on itv-f1 and he questions why anybody watches F1 as the races are so boring. He puts forward solutions as to how to make the racing better and also blasts TC and auto transmissions as sh!t. Have to say I couldn't agree more. Most people within racing hate the direction it's taking. Most people who watch the sport hate the drection it's taking. Time to wake up from your slumber Bernie and Max, before those viewing figures start to drop.......

[Airhead]

Another favourite Austral ian!

Nikki, the Rat.

And he's right again. Let's see some old fashioned racing !

[Minardi fan]

F1 needs to do SOMETHING to stop it getting ever more dull - I find myself evermore getting into the BTCC instead.

[Stephen Green]

I couldn't agree more. Automatic gear boxes, traction control, power steering. Whatever next, a shopping trolley?

Let's get rid of the aerodynamics and get back to some good old racing where cars overtake each other on the track, not in the pitlane!

[Bononi]

The first step is :

LET'S GET RID OF BERNIE AND MAX !!!!!

[Maxmil]

Full article is at: http://www.itv-f1.com
His suggestions for improving the sport are very sound.

[Stephen Green]

Excellent suggestions Mr Lauda. I'm all for progress but not at the expense of the racing. What we want is wide wheels and tyres, big wings, lots of slip streaming and OVERTAKING. Oh and I forgot one other thing...NOISE!

[Total-F1]

What's the point in speculation, though?? People in 15 years will probably sit down and say, "Oh, I wish I was in 2001, Michael Schumacher was one of the best, and the racing was great compared to now...real golden age of racing..."

[Stephen Green]

Ummm, I don't think so some how!

[Total-F1]

What's the point in speculation, though?? People in 15 years will probably sit down and say, "Oh, I wish I was in 2001, Michael Schumacher was one of the best, and the racing was great compared to now...real golden age of racing..."

[f1manoz]

Like usual, Niki doesn't mince his words, and, like usual, he makes some quite valid, if not excellent, points.

A. Stop the level of downforce by not chopping wing angle, depth etc but by attacking areas that produce more downforce than ever e.g: the underbody of the car, which is known to produce more downforce than the aerofoils themselves.

B. Manual transmissions. This is how many passes used to be made, by a driver messing up a shift, so the driver behind could slingshot from behind.

C. Slicks. Don't know much about tyre technology, but from what I do know, the more rubber contact, the more grip, and the more likelihood of passing.

D. Less electronics. Sure, F1 is the innovative category of motorsport, but the cars are now too easy to drive for men who are labelled the 'best in the world.'

E. Bononi has an excellent point. Get rid of Bernie at least. He's only in it for the money, and Max is his puppet. And like usual, it's the racing that suffers because of the greedy ****ing ********. (If you noticed, I don't mince my words either. )

[angst]

Total, are you practising the art of irony?

[BBKing]

Originally posted by Total-F1
What's the point in speculation, though?? People in 15 years will probably sit down and say, "Oh, I wish I was in 2001, Michael Schumacher was one of the best, and the racing was great compared to now...real golden age of racing..."

I agree with you.

Next year there will be a series where all the drivers will have the same car and all the things Lauda is talking about. Let see how many among you "true race lovers" will support it.

F1 is about evolution and change. I don't think is easier to drive now compared to the good old days. It is just in some people's minds.

Once you start believing that things in the past were better is because you ran out of energy to make it different. Everything you do now will be seen as better than whatever you will be doing in the future. Why? Because you will be different and there will be nothing you can do to change your past. If you cannot change it you better love it. Nostalgia is like alcohol: You cannot have too much of it without risking your mental health.

Mr. Lauda has in his hands the power to contribute to a better racing. He is the head of a very well funded team. Is up to him to put together a team that can challenge the top runners. The more teams battling for wins the better racing we will get. He is part of the people who can bring the changes that can improve what we have now.

There is only one thing that should be mandatory in F1 now. Give the teams the option of running 1, 2 or 3 cars. If teams like Ferrari want to have only one driver with an option they should not do it at the expense of the driver number 2. FIA has to make sure teammates race each other. That will improve racing for sure.

[Bononi]

Originally posted by BBKing

Next year there will be a series where all the drivers will have the same car and all the things Lauda is talking about. Let see how many among you "true race lovers" will support it.

What new series ? That football one ?

Originally posted by BBKing

Nostalgia is like alcohol: You cannot have too much of it without risking your mental health.

So 10 Tenths should change its name to AA !!!

[zetta]

If most of these changes were applied to F1, we would end up with something very similar to CART. And I, for one, find CART racing a lot more exciting than F1. It's not as glamorous, and the pilots (or at least most of them) can be labeled "second tier" as compared to most of F1 pilots, but the races are close and exciting, there is a lot more overtaking, and the drivers actually control their cars. 10 different winners in this year's series tell it all. Under 1 second difference in qualifying between the pole sitter and the last in the grid, now that is an even field.

The question is, would most F1 fans give up their glorified technology in favor of this?

[Liz]

I disagree that people who think racing was better when men drove the cars instead of little boys holding onto the steering wheel and trying not to outguess the remote control boxes, are indulging in Nostalgia.

Just because something is new does not mean it is improved.

Mr. Lauda makes a lot of sense. I'd add to his suggestions the following:

1. Don't change the rules after the first wheel is turned in anger, until every lap of every race is finished.

2. Enforce the rules we already have. That is, THE RULES SAY NO TEAM ORDERS AND THEREFORE NO BLOODY TEAM ORDERS and that means Ferrari as well as everyone else.

3. Anyone who runs tattling to the principal, er, sends e-mail memos to Race Control during a race should be equally punished with whoever they're tattling about. Rat Finking is a nasty habit and should be discouraged.

and Finally:

4. All pilots should be allowed to say whatever they want to, as long as it's not actionable. No more prepared scripts or wooden recitations of the names of sponsors when you have won the race, lost the race, or whatever. Tell the truth and tell the press.

[BBKing]

Originally posted by Liz

Just because something is new does not mean it is improved.

Just like not everything that is old is better. Exception made of wine

THEY ARE DIFFERENT. NOT BETTER OR WORSE, JUST DIFFERENT

We agree on the point that team orders are the most damaging practice in F1. It defeats the purpose of it. The moment you say there is a drivers world championship you are saying that all the driver compete against each other. If they allow what happened in Austria in spite of an existing rule why don’t they just drop the drivers championship and just keep the constructors championship?

[Liz]

True - if you have a rule and you don't intend to enforce it (or can't enforce it) then why have it?

And we should not over-generalize I guess, but racing WAS better when the men had to drive the cars and not the other way around.

[Alan Jones]

Liz, what is this fascination with real men? Under what criteria do you judge them? I'm going out on a limb here but i would say if you put all the drivers from the 70's and all of the present in the same room, got their kit off, they would all ( apart from the shu's) have exactly the same " equipment".The only difference would be the amount of mullets in the room from the earlier generation


The reliance on aerodynamics is what we need to address IMHO as soon as possible. Also the manual gearchange would be a good step and the banning of all forms of traction control.

Bernie will never change from his "Formula" though as in his bank managers eyes, it ain't broke, the money is still rolling in and the sport is still growing.Shame isn't it

[BBKing]

Originally posted by Liz

And we should not over-generalize I guess, but racing WAS better when the men had to drive the cars and not the other way around.

Probably I was not born then. When did that happen?

DIFFERENT. that is the word...LOL

[Liz]

If you look at the drivers from 20 years ago, you will see that they are all adults. If you look at the drivers from now, you will see that most of them are boys. That's all I mean by "real men" i.e. adults.

[BBKing]

Is Alesi a "real mam". He is old enough to match the description. I think he is not having an easy time to drive the modern F1 cars albeit they are said to drive the driver

[JeremySmith]

Liz I have to agree with most eveything you say on this subject..Except get off the REAL men kick my dear, in all forms of sport the "players" are just getting younger and younger..The drivers today are fitter than they have ever been..Niki Lauda makes some very good points, he is in the position to see some/all of these changes take effect..The constant rule changes get on my wick and GET RID OFF BLOODY TEAM ORDERS..Time for Bernie to throw in the towel,spend more time at temple, take his millions and sail off into the sunset with Max rowing the boat and fixing the drinks..

F off Bernie!

[Alan Jones]

Jeremy,
this coming from the most well mannered contributor to the forum.
I'm shocked!! F off Bernie? Well I never...

[Neil C]

I agree w/ Mr. Lauda. There was a time when the driver was the smartest component of a racecar. Now drivers are little more than "system managers". The current state of the sport has displaced the calculated consistency of Niki Lauda as well as the intuitive genius of Gilles Villeneuve.

Still, what is, is. I will continue to enjoy F1 as a constructors competition. That's why even team orders add to the interest of the sport of F1 racing.