Liberty Media to Introduce New Fan Initiatives During Spanish Grand Prix Weekend

[Coffer]

We can forgive depressed overtake numbers if the cars are spectacular to watch - like in 2017, so far.

Are they? I'm not convinced. One of my biggest concerns so far this season is that the cars look far easier to drive, especially on the throttle. If anything, with things such as Mercedes struggling to get into the correct tyre temperature window, this season so far looks like it has all the gimmicks of the start of 2012, but with easier-handling cars to make up for the loss of the awful "driving on eggshells" tyres.

They may not be outright awful, but they're considerably more boring than the 2016 cars to me so far. Not only that, but this will also absolutely impact my enjoyment of anything similar as a simracer once more games start to get cars that are like these. Getting rid of the idiotic philosophy behind the Pirelli tyres and just bringing race day lap times closer to the qualifying times would've likely helped a lot more than the 2017 regulation changes they went ahead with.

 

[DND]

Not flamboyant it is more self deprecating Bob, Please explain to me why IndyCar is so great.

 

[aphidgod]

I'm very polite in foreign gift shops, although I seldom buy anything.

The cars may not be spectacular to watch in the sense that they're all over the road and look barely under control, but they're putting down faster lap times than we've ever seen before in F1 around many of the venues and that's what I'm talking about. Expecting every race to look like Senna on a wet lap is a sure way to be disappointed.

 

[Coffer]

The cars may not be spectacular to watch in the sense that they're all over the road and look barely under control, but they're putting down faster lap times than we've ever seen before in F1 around many of the venues and that's what I'm talking about. Expecting every race to look like Senna on a wet lap is a sure way to be disappointed.

True, but at the same time all this does is perpetuate the modern issue of the cars and the gimmicks (tyres etc) making a far bigger difference than the drivers themselves, without letting proper skill float to the top, or at least proving themselves on the way there. Sure, it still wasn't perfect in ages past, and with things like telemetry the gaps are naturally going to continue to come down, but there certainly was a higher number of races with easily seen standout performances back then, and it's still not a good enough reason to make things even worse in that sense.

 

[aphidgod]

I'd say that - again, so far - this season we're seeing drivers contribute more to the results than in the past 3 years. The qualy and finishing order isn't as neatly divided into "2-car-blocks" as it has been. That follows logically with reports that these are tougher to drive than the last cars - if they're more demanding and (as we've seen with the durable tires) they spend more time at the limit... skill will begin to show itself.

 

[Brandon Wright]

True, but at the same time all this does is perpetuate the modern issue of the cars and the gimmicks (tyres etc) making a far bigger difference than the drivers themselves, without letting proper skill float to the top, or at least proving themselves on the way there. Sure, it still wasn't perfect in ages past, and with things like telemetry the gaps are naturally going to continue to come down, but there certainly was a higher number of races with easily seen standout performances back then, and it's still not a good enough reason to make things even worse in that sense.

That's not what the drivers have been saying, I've seen several comments about how the cars are more difficult and much more physical to drive and that driver skill makes more of a difference again. Granted a highly skilled driver in a Force India still isn't going to be able to outpace an average skilled driver in a Ferrari, but by all reports the cars require more skill than they have the last few years (except for the McLaren, obviously). Personally, I hate that the new cars are basically useless at overtaking but at least it's fun watching them manhandle the cars around on a knife's edge.

 

[eljueta]

That's not what the drivers have been saying, I've seen several comments about how the cars are more difficult and much more physical to drive and that driver skill makes more of a difference again. Granted a highly skilled driver in a Force India still isn't going to be able to outpace an average skilled driver in a Ferrari, but by all reports the cars require more skill than they have the last few years (except for the McLaren, obviously). Personally, I hate that the new cars are basically useless at overtaking but at least it's fun watching them manhandle the cars around on a knife's edge.

Unless you make the championship with a single engine and chassis manufacturer, there's never going to be that kind of parity. It has always been like that with 2, max 3 teams able to run for the top spots. What there was more, and again this can also be nostalgia goggles, was close racing even for the middle of the grid. Tyre strategies now reduce the emphasis on overtaking because what's the point when you can win places on the pits? But then again I'm not sure how you could reduce that factor without removing pitstops entirely.

 

[RichardHessels]

As long as they don't introduce "fan-boost".

 

[Dave R]

They should do a "Drive Alonso's car for a lap" promotion for every single fan that enters the gates. It won't run anyways, so I think they're safe from lawsuits for crashes

 

[Mark Aalberts]

That moment when little childs realize the only thing they have to do is to cry to meet their hero.

#Love