True Formula 1 fans step forward Please !

[Billy_Hunt]

The forum seems to be getting full of negative posters F1 is this F1 is that F1 is Cr*p blah blah blah.
I suspect some of them are coming over from them other forums.
Those who have been around a while probably know who are the real F1 fans (with just a gripe) and those who are not.

So lets hear from the true F1 fans with some positive posts

I loved last season and I am eagaly awaiting the start of the next.
I was trackside at my first F1 race last season What an experience ! tuely amazing, the sound is just unbelievable, it took me an age to save for, but I was there for the whole weekend.
I suspect I'll not be going for a whole weekend next season.
But I am going to start going to some testing sessions.

What are you looking forward to most about the coming season
Seeing what all the hype is about with this Montoya fella ?
Whats Renaults new engine going to be like, Reliable/fast?

Just a couple of mine whats yours ?

[ozywoodwards]

There are so many things but here are the few I can think of off the top of my head:

Who will win: JPM or Ralf?

Will Jordan recover from last years abomination?

Will Michelin tyres help one of the non mclaren/ferrari teams win a race.

I'm interested in what the renault engine sounds like.

Will traction control really affect the series that much?

Actually getting to the Brit GP this year (I only had a ticket for Saturday last year so...).

Can DC mount a challenge for the title?

Can anyone stop TGF as he is likely to have the best car next season (judging this on the improvements made year on year by Ferrari compared to McLaren over the last 3 seasons)?

[Carla O]

As I always said, if I didn't stop watching when senna died, I never will...

2000 was marked for me by the fact that i moved to london from Portugal and didn't have a telly until the last GP. But I am quite proud of myself coz i managed to watch nearly all the races, in a pub nearby when they saw me arrive on a sunday they changed the tellys to ITV - even when all the people there wanted to watch some football game, they changed one telly for me!

For the Japanese GP i went to this girl's place, someone i met in a different F1 forum, so i am quite thanful for the Internet and F1 forums!

Next year...

Will Button keep up what he started last season?

Will DC finally make it?

Will MH risk less now he has his little Hugo?

Will Minardi finally improve?

Will we finally see the downfall of Alain Prost?

and so on...

hugs and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all

Carla

[Minardi fan]

2000 wasn't all that bad - but as a season it paled against 1999. When only two teams win races and the same 4 finish first, it can't help but get dull. But who cares??!!

What I can't wait to see in 2001:

*BAR versus Jordan - the war of the Hondas
*Williams - How good is the new car and engine, and can Ralf win his first race?
*Button - Proving Frank was wrong to drop him.
*Montoya - Proving Frank was right to pick him.
*Minardi move up the grid.
*Seeing someone else other than a Ferrari or a McLaren win.
*Raikkonen and Heidfeld at Sauber.
*And of course being there for the French and possibly Italian Grands Prix.

How did I forget...

*stalking Marc Gene at Silverstone.

[Minardi fan]

Oops double post...

[Craig]

hmmm... so as a fan of F1 i'm only allowed to express my opinion on it if it's a good on ? OK then, my apologies, Mr Ecclestone

[Billy_Hunt]

Originally posted by Billy_Hunt

Those who have been around a while probably know who are the real F1 fans (with just a gripe) and those who are not.

I was just finding it hard to identify who the F1 fans are with all the moaning going on.

[Craig]

Maybe it's the true F1 fans who are complaining at what a farce the series has become ?

Motor sport ? hmmm...
Motor racing ? definately not

Can't we go back 10 or 20 years please ? I liked how it was back then...

[Billy_Hunt]

So I take it your no longer an F1 fan then Craig but one of the many who long for things that were.
I wasnt into F1 10-20 yrs ago and sometimes I think I'm better off for it, because all the people that were just moan moan moan.

[Craig]

In it's current incarnation, no, not particularly... Maybe if you had been a fan 10 years ago, you'd know what I meant

However... I am a motorsport nut, and I do like to keep up with what goes on in F1 - I just don't watch the races all that often. Then again, i'm usually watching real racing come Sunday

I am really really looking forward to my hero, JPM, coming into the sport next year He reminds me of Nigel Mansell without the moaning - let's hope that the current cars allow his ability as a real racer to shine through - if not, it'd be great to get him back to CART asap!

[Carrie]

I'd still like to call myself a real F1 fan, but as Craig has said, if you go back 10 or 15 years ago you had real racing and something to get excited about. Time was, if I was going to be out when the GP was on I'd make sure the video was set and wouldn't miss a GP through the season. Now, if I'm not in when the race is on I'll just tend to look at the results. Even if I video it, it's very rarely that I'll watch it.
On a weekend I'd rather be at a track somewhere watching some real racing and still hoping that one day soon F1 might rediscover what racing and overtaking is all about.
I'll be interesting to see Montoya racing. I've never watched him in CART (seen one race only), so the last time I saw him racing was in Formula Vauxhall!!

[Tristan]

FECKIN' ALL OF IT BABY!!! I'M PEEING MY PANTS IN ANTICIPATION!!! WOOHOO!!!!

[Ralf's Girl]

I'm most definitely an F1 fan, but having seen races and whole seasons from 10 years ago, F1 now is unsurprisingly looking pretty poor.

But I do still love the sport, and I'm hoping that there'll be a little more overtaking next year. The biggest single problem I have is the lack of overtaking - and of course the fact that most of the drivers never seem to want to shut up and get on with the racing instead of complaining constantly about each other.

But off the top of my head, there are things I am looking forward to next season:

Will Montoya live up to the hype?
Are Jordan going to improve?
Can Ralf break into the top four?
How good will the Michelin tyres be?
What kind of a difference will traction control really make?

[Minardi fan]

I have only watched it since 1996, and 2000 was VERY boring. Compare it to 1999 or 1997 - there is a huge difference.

[ma]

I doubt highly that anyone who posts here ISN'T a true F1 fan.

The problem lies in the fact that, for those of us who have watched & worshiped F1 for 30 years or more, most of the mystique is gone, along with the on-track excitement.

The truely great tracks are either gone, or emasculated to the point of being not much better than a parking lot slalom.

The cars are SO technical now that the handling envelope has shrunk to a razor thin edge. Along with that the chances of a truely gifted driver being able to overcome his cars deficiencies, for even a short time, have shrunk to nothing.

How many of you still remember watching Giles Villeneuve wrestling with that POS Ferarri he got stuck with, and somehow managing to send fear into the drivers of obviously faster equipment?

Or Mansell's stalking of Piquet (right driver?),with no more than a foot between them in the corners, pressuring him lap after lap, faking passing attempts until Piquet fell for one of the fake moves, with Mansell passing him on the opposite side ?

Or Rosberg's refusal to drive a fuel economy race strategy when limited fuel supply was introduced? He cost himself a lot of race wins, and a World Champoinship by driving flat out always, but DAMN he was fun to watch!

Or the absolutely dumbfounding performance of Senna in the rain shortened race at Monaco in, (what was it,the Toleman?), where he was only 2 seconds a lap slower than his qualifying time, and FIVE SECONDS A LAP faster than the next guy ?

Or the fact that you could rightfully expect to see, at EVERY race, at least 1 mind boggling display of shear driving brilliance?

If you remember this stuff, you need no explanation as to why we don't find today's "racing" very impressive or interesting.

If you weren't around then, you can be forgive for thinking what goes on today passes for real racing.

[senna12]

I have to also agree with ma on this, if you have been a Formula 1 fan for 20 to 30 years, then you would definitely miss the "good 'ol days", when driving meant more than gas, brake, and hit the buttons. Villenueve and Arnoux at Dijon in 1979, Villeneuve holding back 5 others for a whole race in Spain, or being over 11 SECONDS per lap faster in the rain at Watkins Glen!! Speaking of that Scandinavian Rosberg, how about Ronnie Peterson? Or maybe even a young Jean Alesi! Even he pines for the old days when you actually had to DRIVE the car. But I'm still looking forward to next year, because I feel the BAR Honda is ready for a breakthrough, and that the new BMW engine is going to perhaps mean a win for Frank next year, and that the Jordan will improve with a works motor, and that Arrows are only a stronger motor away from real success, and that the test times at Prost are no fluke, and........the possibilities appear endless

[neutral]

I wasnt into F1 10-20 yrs ago and sometimes I think I'm better off for it, because all the people that were just moan moan moan.

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Valve Bounce]

OK!! I'll throw in my two bob's worth. I have followed F1 from when we did not even have television in Australia. Now, I watch every race, and I must say that some of the races are trulli boring. I watch motor cycle racing and that is exciting, but when I watched last year's Bathurst V8 race between Ford and Holden; just two different makes for line honours, and that was when I realised what racing really is. The Bathurst circuit is exciting, the enduro turned out to be a full length sprint, cars could overtake, and the outcome was not certain until the last few laps. Then we turn to F1 and I cannot honestly say that any part of F1 is more exciting than motor cycle races or the Bathurst saloon car race. At times, I even found the cricket test series against the Windies more exciting than F1. Does that answer your question??

[ma]

Neutral:

I guess then that ignorance is truely bliss ?

[neutral]

My father tells me Sophia Loren was the most beautiful lady to set foot on earth. Mother swears that nobody could entertain like Richie Valens. I on the other hand am more inclined to choose Jenifer Lopez over Sophia Loren and U2 over Richie Valens. Yet I do not shove posters of Jenifer Lopez in my fathers face or play U2 at full ball in my parents room (Although it does run at full ball in my room which is right next door). I do not attempt to influence their tastes, nor do they try to influence mine. Like many, they understand that times change and what is popular in one generation will unlikely follow through to the next. MA I am not trying to convince you to agree that F1 in the 90's is superior to the 80's. What I do dislike is the constant whining on the current state of F1. If you fail to gain enjoyment from it then stop watching. If I was at a pub watching F1 and Billy was to come along, regardless of who he was cheering for, I could have a beer and chat with him knowing that we would both have fun. On the other hand MA, if you came up to the bar and began your " Current F1 is ****...90's drivers have no skill....I want to relive the 80's..yada yada yada" routine then I would be left with no option but to shove a pool cue up your throat. If you happened to use the word ignorant to describe current F1 fans then of course I would be obliged to serve up one of my special "neutral backhanders". Finally, if Schumi went on to lose the race, a fist to the face would be apt.

P.S Please excuse my violent ways, I must stop watching English football.

[enzo]

ma: Better add "touchy" to that !

[Carrie]

Surely F1 should be at the pinnacle of motorsport and as such if you attend a GP it should be the highlight of your season. Well, I went to the British GP this year and I also went to the ALMS, Jordan's 10th anniversary Bash as well as far too many BTCC and Powertour meetings to mention. I think it is a very sad indication of the current state of F1 that the GP comes a long way from being top of my list for best event attended in 2000.

[Valve Bounce]

I don't know about shoving pool cues at anyone, being an advocate of non violence. However, I would suggest that this person be told to "get thee hence and reproduce". However, I do find that staying up till midnight to watch a delayed telecast of F1 in Australia very annoying, and I do treasure the right to express an opinion in this forum that the Sydney test today will probably be more exciting than an F1 race these days.

[ma]

"UP" my throat ????

Hmmmm. I don't recall a habit of standing on my head in bars....

'Course, I don't always remember BEING in a bar, either!

[Airhead]

Here I am ambling through the threads when I come across this one. It's like walking into a bar and smelling the fear, sweat and aggression - after you've ordered the beer. Briliant, fear and loathing in the F1 corner of the bar.

For my money, and it looks like I'm buying my own drinks, VB and Ma are on the money. The black and white views expressed by neutral (this would appear to be a misnomer) don't hold up. As stated previously by someone, if your in this section of the bar you are a true believer, otherwise you'd be with the hosey set over there or with every man (and I believe his dog as well) in the raunchy front bar that everybody hides in throough the dead of night.

The F1 of today is not as exciting as 20 years ago when I first started watching. Thank you Alan Jones. But I along with every body else still stay tuned to every episode and await the second weekly instalments with great anticipation.

As for VB and the bikes. Yes brother, a true believer, lets have that drink! Keep preaching to the heathens, for some are not beyond redemption.

I've had too much to drink and the parties turning rough, I'm even starting to agree with Ralf's Girl