"F1 in its worst state for years". Discuss.

[Tristan]

This year hasn't been "vintage", has it?? What with the financial crisis sapping the lower teams of cash whilst the top team seemingly not interested in "racing", the current image of F1 is not a good one.

I can certainly vouch for this. Try explaining to a non-fan why you ARE a fan. It's not that easy!!

This, IMO is evidence of a sport in poor shape. Even a few years back, the season was going down to the wire, money and new sponsorship were pouring into the sport and things were looking up. Now this certainly isn't the case.

There are several reasons behind this, no doubt. But what are they?? What should be done to rectify the situation?? Or is the picture not quite so gloomy??

[Number Juan]

we have hope - only if bernie's fans give up a little didgi coverage to us terrestrial fans - more overtaking and the introduction of aerodynamic changes to make the cars produce more drag and thus allow more overtaking. redesign the tracks to be great tracks and not clones of the nurburgring or hungary.

[Mr V]

Stop the Bridgestone/Ferrari close relationship.

Make Ferrari give equal status to both drivers.

Hope that Williams and McLaren up their game.

Give more money to the lower teams.

Return to slicks. (for the pure fact that the pinnacle of motorsport should be on slicks!)

[freud]

Money, money, money, money!! yeah, baby!!! F1 is all about money & sponsorship now. Team with the most moey is important... sponsors with most money are important.... driver with the best contract is important... its all about power & political strength.

Right now we are in the 'golden' Ferrari era.. is in place for them perfectly... the money, the political weight, the fan following. However the situation is 'artifical' to some extent. F1 heavyweights do question the various factors which have led to this ferrari domination (like FIA banning of berrylium to paralyze Mercedez). I am sorry if I sound sarcastic since I belong to the 'Tifosi' and am a hardcore Ferrari fan. But I never wanted Ferrari to win like they have done in past few years. And the political bigwigs have again made changes in regulations that will allow this Ferrari domination to continue. Just read Patrick Head's statement on the 'new one-engine' law and you'll know

I would agree with some of the steps mentioned by mr v above. Mine would be:

- Bring back slicks.
- Remove some nasty chicanes from the circuits.
- Make drivers more accessible to fans.
- Modify the concorde agreement for balanced allocation of money among all teams.
- Any team found cheating rules should be banned for 3 consecutive races.
- Team order law enforced so team can have less say in deciding how to race drivers. (dont ban team orders completely)
- FIA stewards and panels should comprise former f1 drivers and not **** people in Max/Bernie's good books.
- & finally ... stop the stupid one engine law from enforcing.


Btw--- Cant see it happening at all

[Sato san]

i think we have a contradiction in F1 at the moment. ..on one hand it is near to crisis point with teams going bust.not enought money and the big teams being able to develop their cars at will.......

yet on the other hand....we have one of the best driver line ups weve had for years .

so its good and bad.

[Mr V]

The sad fact is, i beleve, that when we finally have drivers in f1 to challenge TGF's "mantle", the likes of JPM and Kimi etc, they haven't got the equipment to do the job over a race distance, maybe next season will be different?

[Mekola]

Originally posted by mr v
Make Ferrari give equal status to both drivers.

I read that TGF wants support Rubinho in his campaign to finish 2nd. It could turn more equal Ferrari's threatment for his drivers.

Return to slicks. (for the pure fact that the pinnacle of motorsport should be on slicks!)

If slicks guaranteed more driveability of cars, then go on!

[Legend]

There are few things destroying racing. I mention them here:
1) Money
2) Green
3) Bucks
4) Cash
5) Pecuniary papers

[freud]

If Michelin dont get their act together, next season can be even worse for Williams & Mclaren.

originally posted by Mr. Mekola:

"I read that TGF wants support Rubinho in his campaign to finish 2nd. It could turn more equal Ferrari's threatment for his drivers."

That's very kind of TGF. He is so generous, isnt he?

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Mekola

I read that TGF wants (to?) support Rubinho in his campaign to finish 2nd. It could turn more equal Ferrari's threatment for his drivers.

just a shame that the most exciting part of the season is likely to happen after the WDC has been decieded.

[Liz]

Stand back and let it collapse. Build something decent out of the remains.

[Russfeld]

Were you born with that chip on your shoulder

F1 on its worst day is still one of the best run motorracing championships in the world. Its a far sight better than the amateur hour they call CART

[Legend]

Russfeld cheers on your last comment!

[Sato san]

both series have strong points. F1 is run like clock work..but then you could say they have got many things wrong , just by the fact theyve teams in dire straights .

[Russfeld]

There are teams at every single level of racing at the back of the grid in poor financial shape, mainly because of their lack of performance. The issue with CART is that in 1998 they had 28 cars, in 2000 25, and in 200 18

F1 has had what, 22 cars since 1997? As of August 15th 2002 they're only down to 20, and it might be back up to 22 by the next race.

[TimD]

But then CART has had a rival series start up in its own back yard, which Formula 1 has not had. Furthermore, that rival series has had the CART teams' Blue Riband event sewn up from day one.

I wonder what will happen if Premier GP takes off next year. And that's without the risk of something like - say - the Italian GP at Monza going over to the new formula.

[Tristan]

"Cash". With it we get teams like McLaren, Willaims and (lately) Ferrari dominating. Without it Prost/Arrows etc. go under. Vicious circle.

[Andrew Kitson]

I really hope this Premier 1 thing does not happen and by all accounts it won't. There are simply far too many formulae in Europe - the new Super Renault one starting too - and do they seriously think that the fans of Chelsea, Leeds or whoever are going to come en mass to support their team? Come on....they will spend their money on going to away games instead of trudging down to Silverstone, Donington, Brands or wherever.
Most people I have spoken to within the racing business all have a similar opinion.
As for F1, yes it has been healthier and the fact that Rory has designed a perfect car and TGF is just so good has bored the casual fan to tears so yes, it is hard to justify to an outsider why we still watch it. As the letter in today's Autosport states, remove TGF from the equation and the Championship looks really exciting! If only they drove the cars too instead of just steering and braking!

[Lee Janotta]

Boring racing. Teams dropping dead. Too many drivers with no resumes who are terrified of passing each other. Track A that looks just like track B that looks just like track C... And a Ferrari that drives itself! Yawn! I only watch if I'm awake anyways on Sunday morning. After the first round of pit stops, I'm sound asleep again.

We need new chassis/aero regs, an end to the butchering of tracks, a better system for giving out the TV money, and most importantly, for teams like Jaguar, BAR and Toyota to get their butts in gear and become competitive.

[Liz]

"Remove TGF from the equation" -- now that sounds like a good suggestion.

I don't think there's anything that can be done until the tobacco money thing gets sorted out, TGF retires, and we figure out whether or not the Rival Series is really going to have any effect.

It really is terrible racing, when viewed from an objective standpoint it is not racing at all. But when the turbos were first coming on stream the racing was just as bad, except we had a lot of drivers who were excellent sportsmen and great personalities. Now .... robots.

[Inigo Montoya]

Tell Frank, Flavio, and Ron to get their act together. That is the solution.

[Russfeld]

or viewed from an intelligent non-agenda having viewpoint, its fine racing, and is no better or worse than the rest of the sport. At the very least its pure, with no red flags to ensure a green finish, un-needed safety cars, etc.

[TimD]

Well, to be honest, I hope I'm blessed with a certain amount of nous. And I don't think I have an agenda, except for the constant quest to see good racing with fast cars and talented drivers - wherever it may be found. And I have to say, if I was coming fresh to Formula 1, I'm not convinced the bug would bite me.

My concern is simply that Formula 1 has been so much better before. That's not signing its death warrant, it's not being a Jeremiah. I just want Bernie and Max to realise that I'm putting a great big "can do better" in their reports. Because Formula 1 can. I know it can. Because I've seen it.

In my ideal world, they would:

Free up the dimensions of the cars. Give the designers some leeway, and give any driver over 6ft2 a chance to actually take part.
Away with the grooves. Slicks are slicks, tread patterns mean something, but what on earth are grooves?
Free up the engine regulations. If someone wants to build a V-8 or a V-12, let them. I still haven't got my head around why the regulations stipulate a V-10.
If "control components" have to play a part, let it be in the realm of software and engine management. Ensure that in that one area there is a level playing field.
Massively reduce usable wing and venturi area. Give the drivers a chance to learn the ancient art of slipstreaming.
And lose the chicanes. For the reason spelled out above.

Just one final thought. Can anyone honestly, hand on their heart, scouts honour, stand up and say that every lap of every Formula 1 safety car period was justified? Especially in the light of what was regarded as acceptable in terms of racing conditions in years past?

[Lee Janotta]

I couldn't agree more on the suggested changes to the regs, TimD. How I'd love to see Ferrari flat-12s, Cosworth V8s, Mercedes V12s, Honda V10s, perhaps even something so radical as a Renault V16 all competing. Who cares what shape an engine is, as long as it can power a car to victory?

The rest of the suggestions are spot on as well, though I'd add the ideas of widening the chassis and taking away the barge boards. Maybe even get rid of the diffusers entirely, let the drivers learn to slide around a bit. And, of course, throw traction control out with the garbage.

[f1manoz]

My interest in Formula One this year is at an all-time low. It's just not exciting enough for me at the moment. The racing is dull, there is far too much politics and it doesn't help when one team (or rather one driver) dominates all the headlines.

The major problem is that the cars of today and the pussified, sanitised tracks they race on are hardly going to produce great racing. My major concern is with track design at the moment. Frankly, it's going to end up that there'll be 17 of the same type of track everywhere around the world. What happened to the word different?

The cars are ugly to look at and boring to watch. The cars are so technical now it takes a person with a degree in electronic engineering to run the bloody things. I know F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle, but when it starts to impede good racing, where do the rulemakers draw the line? Nothing done since 1998, when the rulebook was changed, has resulted in better racing.

Another problem of mine is the drivers. Most are now uninteresing characters, someone before said robots and sadly I'm inclined to agree. The F1 grid used to be filled with heaps of personalities, many of the drivers were good friends and enjoyed life together away from the track. Plus they were usually accessable. Now the drivers are cooped away in their motorhomes half the time, only the rich and powerful get a chance to meet them and they all come off as loners.

I can note a few improvements, but others have done that, so I'll leave it be. But I would like to see the return of some close, classic racing, and not the processions that seem to be occurring race after race nowadays.

Although there is hope for the future.....