F1 Is It The Pits

[Peter Gunn]

Been a fan of F1 right back to the early 60,s and lucky enough to see some races live at Brands Hatch and Silverstone before being priced out by the high entry charges and costs involved with a day out motor racing .

But we had the BBC which covered all the races with people like Murray Walker , but then Sky started to take it over money again and i was only watching 6 live races a year , could not afford joining Sky really just for motor racing .

This year i can only see one race live the British GP on Chanel 4 , so taken to listning to it on the radio , yep the radio only place left for me to at least hear a live race.

But the French GP was the pits it was so boring even the commentators started talking about other sports , like cricket, ladies football which sounded a whole lot more interesting than the GP.

Am i one of the few or are there many around who think F1 is committing suicide , ok we,ve had dominant teams for years , quite a few of the big teams have had continued success for a few years before someone else takes over for a few years .

Now we come to the tracks so many are built by Mickey Mouse a hygenic racing track where the driver can make mistakes all day because there is as much run of as there is track , all for safety but what's going on this is supposed to be motor racing , not a high speed procession , excitment yesterday was the last lap , before that the commentators were talking about a cone being blown across the track it was that interesting.

I keep being told it,s progress mate , progress seems to me the drivers should be renamed to electronic operators seem to be pressing this button , that button , chatting to the crew , asking what time the pubs open ( my joke ) will be next .

Really did love the sport , get the snacks in , beers and mates , now bag of crisps a Pepsi and no mates as they have lost interest and can't be bothered to all gather around a radio and listen to it.

[munter]

F1 is a very small part of my life...less now there is no NZ driver there....so about 0.00000000000001 of my waking hours.

 

I am more interested in retro events like the Sonoma Speed festival....again experienced vicariously through media.

[mus-28]

I think it's a pretty universal view that F1 is losing it's appeal, I think V8 Supercars is also following suit. I used to tune into both regularly but now would rather watch Touring Car Masters if you want to watch good racing and nice cars.

[DRMF1]

Yes Peter I am with you. Been a fan since the 60's, watched various teams dominate like Mercedes are now, most teams struggled to compete - the mid field today is much stronger, but without the obscene budgets of the biggest teams they will always be midfield. The noise is s#!t, just listen to the V8's, V10's, and 12's of the not so distant past. I agree the tracks are ridiculously sterile, and in the main, boring. I have always liked Monaco the most because one millimetre off line and it's an early shower, and the proximity of the cars makes them seem they are travelling a damn sight faster than they are. I have had to employ a VPN to get in through the back door to watch GP's on Channel 4 otherwise I would not see any of the season. I used to gauge my year from GP to GP but now I am drifting away. I am happy to pay, but the F1 TV access still hasn't reached us after two years. A shame, I still love the sport but it has definitely gone stale. And worse still, the Red Bull Air Race has pulled the pin. May as well take up cricket....

[aussieslotter]

I havent watched it since Schumacker started racing. Not interested.

[Caddo]

The answer for me - Moto GP, seems to be more available on Australian free to air TV, and the racing quality is nearly the best of any motor sport class IMO

[mtpanorama]

 

How to have a more interesting F1 race, give lewis a 10 second stop and hold penalty.

Maybe there should be a bounty system where if you are being overtaken by a Mercedes and can give it a puncture without causing a major accident you get some cash or points.

 

[Shaynus]

On 6/27/2019 at 11:47 PM, Caddo said:

The answer for me - Moto GP, seems to be more available on Australian free to air TV, and the racing quality is nearly the best of any motor sport class IMO

What he said

[GAS41T]

I’m sorry to say this but ....I love all car racing as times change I’ve learnt a lot about myself since loosing my father, All you hear is the old people talking about history ...Well get over it cars change , motors change an ect ect...this will burn a lot of old timers but this is 2020 ...I inherited this ...Also an update on what I’ve been up to ...

guess what it’s got a 351clevo which I hate....

the xy is a 6cy Fairmont so I’ve sold the motor an have chose to make it appeal to a new generation of car enthusiasts so I’m putting a Barra 6cy turbo in the xy 

im not a mechanic but I’ve been playing with real cars since my teens, so I built the Barra for those that don’t know what a Barra is it’s an Australian ford design an made motor from Geelong Melbourne so the xy will be 100% All Australian ...

I have done the head gasket it’s a MLS 4layer stainless steel 1.3mm thick...why : compression of the motor was 10.3-1 so to add a turbo the head gasket will lower the compression ...I used a gas motor as I learnt these motors have a turbo spec bottom end....I put billet oil pump gears with backing plate...why: factory ford oil pump gears are powdered metal...I put 12mm head studs why: stop the head lifting under boost....I changed valve springs to 95lb springs so I don’t get valve float under boost...I also decked the block an head ....why to make both surfaces flat ...I also put stage II atomic cams in for some fun...then a heavy duty atomic timing chain...I am building this in my garage at home has been great to actually build a car again...

I purchased a conversion mount kit from tuff mounts so no cutting the motor will bolt in as standard an bolt up to the C4 gearbox I got built to handle a 1000hp an a 9inch diff upgrade I’m planning on 400kw at the wheels which = 550hp

im not changing the look of the car as I want to leave it as I received ....I’m going to fit the shaker to the motor also ....

so that’s what I’ve been up to ....

so the moral of my story is times change an if you don’t adjust you miss out ...free to air tv come on if you don’t have Foxtel you don’t love sport....stop complaining about how things use to be as it’s all I hear from old people ...

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by GAS41T

[Shaynus]

Brilliant stuff GAS41T. I'm not a Ford lover but I love what you are doing!  There should be more of it I think.

You might need to change your rego plates now though... 

[Vinno]

Would like to see it when it’s running. 

[mtpanorama]

 

I like all sorts motorsport too but it is more interesting when daylight isn't the second place runner no matter what category of racing.

Also with lewis not on the podium we were spared the excessively long interview he usually gets and got more race coverage in the 1 hour highlights pack.

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by mtpanorama

[Shaynus]

But if you ignore 1st place, there is usually some great tussles in the mid-field

[mtpanorama]

 

So how good is Lewis Hamilton's car that you can put Williams driver George Russell in it and if not for a "problem" in the Mercedes pitstop he might have won his first F1GP race.

 

[Caddo]

Would love to see F1 return to its roots,  forget about fuel use limits, hybrid, electric power etc

Become a retro race series harking back to the peak period v8's to v12's in the 90's.

Seriously, motorsport is 50% about the noise for mine and most other fans I talk to...

Fuel conservation and hybrid / electric vehicles  should be left to the World Endurance Championship.

Electric vehicles have great performance due to the instant torque delivery, but close to zero theatre due to the lack of noise.....

Anyhow, just a thought, unlikely to happen if manufacturers see F1 as a way to sell road cars.

But do they??? For example, does Mercedes success in F1 translate into increases in road vehicle sales?

If not, why try to maintain relevance with road vehicle technology? Just go for the spectacle to appeal to motor sport fans

 

[gazza]

Lewis is pushing to do a deal with Mercedes before xmas, if i was Merc i'd be saying ....... hang on, there's a couple of other bums that could sit on the seat apart from George, we might just have a  little look at them, we'll get back to you.

[Shaynus]

Don't forget F1 is basically a big marketing/PR exercise these days. Lewis gives Mercedes exposure to a far wider demographic than your typical bread and butter Mercedes customer base. 

[Peter Gunn]

Personally think Lewis will stay with Merc until he decides to leave, as a marketing tool he is very valuable to them in more than one way, he may cost a lot but brings a lot of coverage to the Merc brand all over the world, don't think for profile in F1 there is anyonr bigger.

Apart from Russell there are so many drivers in the current F1 scene who could drive that car actually better than Russell, always felt Max would sell his soul to get his bum in that seat , longing to have world titles, Perez would be very good , and i suppose at least 10 more drivers would be very fast in a Merc.

My driver combination at Merc alongside Lewis is Danny Ric has the right temperment to race with Lewis and more fearless that Lewis who let's face it has nothing to prove anymore , where as Ricciardo would push at all the boundries , that's why he will never drive a Merc while Lewis is there more the pity.

[Caddo]

The driver and motor supplier merry go round is interesting, but as I get older, it's harder to remember who is with what team and what is powering them each year!!

Would like to see a generational reverse shift from F1 though, not a slow advance towards merging with the E-series

 

 

[Shaynus]

It would be interesting to see if Hamilton could be tempted to go over to the Prancing Horse stable to finish off his career?

Another year or 2 at Mercedes, re-write all the records (number of titles / wins / etc), and if Ferrari manage to pull a rabbit out of their hat and be competitive with the regulation changes,  he may be tempted to have a go with them as they are a another manufacturer and prove to his nay-sayers that it wasn't just the car...(and do something Vetted couldn't) 

Or he'll just retire and enjoy himself