TO SPRINT OR NOT TO SPRINT WHAT IS THE FORMAT.

[Antony Snook]

I am getting annoyed this weekend as Qualifying was on Friday evening for the Austin GP. And then there was qualifying again on Saturday for Sprint. Then A race on Sunday. Why have a Separate Qualifying for Sprint over Grandprix. Just Qualify one and use finishing order of Sprint to start Race. I don't think teams are taking Sprint that Serously any way. The race is Grandprix 200 miles rounded up or down to nearest lap. And is quite short if you consider NASCAR CUP SERIES and INDYCAR the two other top racing series in America go 300-600 miles. So a Grandprix is kind of short. Other feeder series like F3 racing is around 100 miles. So why Sprint Format. More money and ticket sales on Saturday probably. You still have time trials and other stuff from F3 or other local racing on Saturday. And the teams are running the F1 cars 24 Races. Plus Qualifying and Practice. I am shore some teams wont even go to Abu Dhabi as it is not worth hauling car out there after a dismal season, It has happened before. Like the saying goes If it's not broke don't fix it.

 

[Terry Rock]

Sprint races are nothing more than a regulated cash cow for F1.
I personally believe they 'dilute' the sport.
It is not entirely a surprise though.
You simply knew that once state side companies got involved with F1, it would more or less become the primary focus over the contest itself.
That isn't to say F1 hasn't alway been in place to generate revenue. I'd never be that naive.
What I am saying, is that the emphasis has long been removed for the actual racing.
I've been watching F1 since 1971.....I remember when teams showed up and were on track developing the car and new young drivers.
You almost always knew who would be next in line and what their approximate performance would be. You saw them test the car...regularly.
That went away as a cost cutting measure and it single-handedly started a downward trajectory.
All the new gimmicks are just that...'gimmicks'.
A stop-gap until something more sustainable comes along.
I now...more than ever, record and skip through the races.
They're no longer as exciting...haven't been for quite some time.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

I think the sprint races ask the question to gp or not. Because the sprint races is always better where the grand prix races often feels artificially extended .

Double qualifying does feel even more redundant then two races.

 

[Antony Snook]

Sprint races are nothing more than a regulated cash cow for F1.
I personally believe they 'dilute' the sport.
It is not entirely a surprise though.
You simply knew that once state side companies got involved with F1, it would more or less become the primary focus over the contest itself.
That isn't to say F1 hasn't alway been in place to generate revenue. I'd never be that naive.
What I am saying, is that the emphasis has long been removed for the actual racing.
I've been watching F1 since 1971.....I remember when teams showed up and were on track developing the car and new young drivers.
You almost always knew who would be next in line and what their approximate performance would be. You saw them test the car...regularly.
That went away as a cost cutting measure and it single-handedly started a downward trajectory.
All the new gimmicks are just that...'gimmicks'.
A stop-gap until something more sustainable comes along.
I now...more than ever, record and skip through the races.
They're no longer as exciting...haven't been for quite some time.

I still love Formula one but it is a big money event these days. Just look at Garage, do the teams need all those flat screen monitors. PC's and stuff. I Started watching in the 90's and a garage looked like a empty storage locker. But yes i still love the sport. On Sky TV i saw Jackie Stewart behind the puppets from Sky TV talking to people. This is amazing because he is old school and still loves F1. The Problem is i don't know what the FIA are up to. Besides stupid track limit penalty's and other stupid reasons to try to manipulate sport. That don't really work. Say What you like about MAX Mosley and Bernie Ecolsone they would not let F1 get to this point. You need a real racer running the FIA. And don't bend and give in to manipulation tactics of teams. Always threatening to protest and leave the sport.

 

[Antony Snook]

I think the sprint races ask the question to gp or not. Because the sprint races is always better where the grand prix races often feels artificially extended .

Double qualifying does feel even more redundant then two r

I think the sprint races ask the question to gp or not. Because the sprint races is always better where the grand prix races often feels artificially extended .

Double qualifying does feel even more redundant then two races.

F1 is only 200 miles so in the big picture it's a sprint. If you think about it NASCAR and INDYCAR run 300-600 miles But they are Oval tracks that are less demanding to drive. The Road races more like F1 are at the 200 mile mark.

 

[Durge Driven]

I would shorten all races to 50% distance reducing the fuel cell size.
Worse thing about GP is the cars they are like slugs the first 1/3 of race.
It is unbecoming of the most tech cars looking like beached whales.

Second worse thing is pitstops, great for endurance racing, you make a pit error you
have all day to make it up. F1 a slow pitstop is a death sentence.
Why should a drivers outcome come down to 1 wheelman.
Let that happen in other series but not the premier one.

So 3 races 50% distance for mine.
Reduce fuel cell by half is the big change.
Tyre that last all race without having to baby them should not be hard to do.
Triple points and at least one reverse grid.


Most thing I like about this format would be we get 3 starts as starts are most exciting.
it would give drivers 3 bites of the cherry.

So no pits, 50% more race distance overall and faster cars from lap one, your favourite driver gets punted off he can still make valuable ground up, I would have full triple points for this reason. Sprints with 1 point a place won't help anyone, what is the use of another bite of the cherry if it's only a few points.

No one will never beat the top teams with the current scenario.
We want to see underdogs on the podium.

 

[jgf]

You simply knew that once state side companies got involved with F1, it would more or less become the primary focus over the contest itself.
That isn't to say F1 hasn't alway been in place to generate revenue. I'd never be that naive.
What I am saying, is that the emphasis has long been removed for the actual racing.

Some years ago Frank Williams was asked if F1 is about racing or about money. He replied, "F1 is a big business that happens to go racing every two weeks".

But is it not thus in all sports today? Whether you follow football, baseball, pro bowling, or auto racing, the sport is secondary to the money

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Nascar is a poor comparison how to go forward. But better use time for comparison as Nascar on ovals is quicker then f1 on street circuits

I have no doubt I would find Nascar races to long too

 

[Antony Snook]

Just saw the USA GP and Hamillton and Leclerc got disqualified due to plank wear. Not surprising on a bumpy track like this. If it had not been a sprint weekend teams would have more setup time and could of worked on ride height to accommodate the fact the track evolves from one year to the next. That is what happens when you build a track on marsh land. Bottom dollar for land. Also only a handful of cars are checked so there could of been even more worn planks. You might as well check them all and risk disqualifying half the grid. And Lewis will moan because the FIA always dig into him. In a season he that has seen him struggle the one time he gets a good run the book is thrown at him. I see nobody looking at Max Verstappen's floor.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Max car was also checked

 

[Pär Öqvist]

Watched the qualification. Then read quickly and saw the sprint race was at 15 cet. Rushed home and its yet another qually...

I guess its good for the crowds on site though instead of having to endure dull practise sessions.

 

[Pete Conway]

I suggest rather than a 'sprint' race which the teams with no real chance of a win just put miles on the car for no reason we should be entertained with a slogfest.
A slogfest in reasonably priced production cars, fit safety kit and have the leading drivers from each team and the reserve driver from each team slug it out for 20 laps on a Saturday morning, and have an additional dozen cars for guest drivers, perhaps celebrities or drivers from other categories, bang in a $1million prize money with half of it going to charity

 

[Pär Öqvist]

a bit distracting but sounds fun. Better would be half the races in equal cars perhaps. Thus creating two championships.

 

[Antony Snook]

I think the sprint races ask the question to gp or not. Because the sprint races is always better where the grand prix races often feels artificially extended .

Double qualifying does feel even more redundant then two races.

The Grandprix is 200 miles. When i started watching F1 it seemed a long way, that was the 90's and there where no commercials. But i realize it is not that long espeshaly when you figure there will be at least 1 pace car session. I also follow NASCAR CUP and that is like 300-600 miles. So a F1 race is as Jakie Stewart called it a Sprint when asked if he ever did sports car racing at the Daytona 24 hours, He said he was disaplined for short races like Grandprix's

 

[Antony Snook]

a bit distracting but sounds fun. Better would be half the races in equal cars perhaps. Thus creating two championships.

I don't like spec racing that is for INDYCAR fans. I saw the W series and the cars are all the same Jamie Chadwick won all races bar 1. She came 2nd at Hungary, won by Alison Powell. I was at Montreal and they had the Ferrari challenge, just the same car with different colors and paint job it was a snooze fest. The most important job is to design the car and get good airo. Most teams are behind on this to a extent. The bottom Line is ADRIAN NEWLEY is the best Designer and at Red Bull. He was at Williams and McALaren before and getting championships for those teams. The bottom line he is a Human being and therefore anyone smart enough can design a car just as good. Like Prost said, "Winning is nice but when you win to much people get jealous" The smart person say's what is Red Bull doing and how can i do it as well or even better. Or you can go F off to Indycar where people are scared of technology and innovation.

 

[Pete Conway]

I don't like spec racing that is for INDYCAR fans. I saw the W series and the cars are all the same Jamie Chadwick won all races bar 1. She came 2nd at Hungary, won by Alison Powell. I was at Montreal and they had the Ferrari challenge, just the same car with different colors and paint job it was a snooze fest. The most important job is to design the car and get good airo. Most teams are behind on this to a extent. The bottom Line is ADRIAN NEWLEY is the best Designer and at Red Bull. He was at Williams and McALaren before and getting championships for those teams. The bottom line he is a Human being and therefore anyone smart enough can design a car just as good. Like Prost said, "Winning is nice but when you win to much people get jealous" The smart person say's what is Red Bull doing and how can i do it as well or even better. Or you can go F off to Indycar where people are scared of technology and innovation.

The problem F1 faces is that it's competitors are all of the same caliber, they've all come up with similar solutions to the same end, and that it's all inside a fixed box that the FIA top bods provide doesn't help, it's the same with the drivers, each and every one of them would circulate within a handclap of each other given the same car, it's gone too far towards perfecting the man/machine combination and the 'think outside the box'ers' are the ones that are making the tiny differences that make a world championship team/driver and a bunch of losers.
The only thing that can make F1 go forward now is the spectacle and pazzaz that we see now, and, most of their claimed 500m F1 fans will be gone in a blink if something more exciting comes along, so F1's job is to keep offering more and more, more ways of viewing, more ways to see the action (crashes) and make more simply better.
Don't get me (too) wrong though, I do enjoy F1, simply not as much as I did in the past, and certainly not as much as a day watching hero's thrashing Classic/Historic cars (regardless of their overinflated value) to within an inch of their lives for the enjoyment of doing it.