Alright when was that again.....?

[CC]

As someone once said: 'F1 is a sport, soap and science all in one'.

Totally thrilling!

the only thing what lets it down slightly for me is back in the 80,s and 90,s when I used to watch it with Murray Walker the starts was so entertaining gave me a rush,
then with Martin Brundle, I think it was "look but do not stare!" gave me goose pimples I love this stuff,
now its not the same at the lights out for me personally if I could change anything be that 1 thing switch over the commentators back to Martin at lights out!

 

[Appie Kuipers]

Without that stupid DRS, yes.

 

[Atticvs]

Because Hamilton wins all the time............................................... . . .

 

[thunderpop]

I vote no because too many rules have destroyed the designers' imagination, too much electronics, too many stupid tracks, too many drivers who cry. Put any driver on a Mercedes and he will become the new world champion. the cars are too easy to drive, the circuits have all the paved escape routes so you can make a mistake but don't miss a thing. I prefer to see the races on the PC are more fun, I still watch F1 but I am not excited anymore, watch a video of Senna and one of Hamilton and then judge what F1 is now.
the real problem is that it will continue like this with increasingly stupid rules

 

[azaralamouri]

Because life isn't always fare (example moto3 racing, or rally driving skills are much better, but no one watches it).


And because it makes me feel that there are other people in the world who share the same interest with me, (you can find hype videos and stories and memes for example comparing).

 

[Dan ONeill]

This one is easy for me.
The technology involved in the sport!
Also... if you’ve stood at the usual corners in the last year or two (silverstone turn 1, copse, Becketts, Barcelona turns 7&8 etc...) you’ll know...

 

[BillyBobSenna]

I have been closely following F1 since the mid-70's. Even though the experience of following F1 has changed wildly since the '70's, modern F1 is still very interesting. The races themselves are only a small part of following F1. Other aspects of the total F1 experience includes:

• New car launches and livery revels
• Pre-season tests
• Netflix and other documentaries (there seems to be tons available to stream)
• F1 podcasts
• Going to F1 races
• F1 TV and all the alternative feeds (when the service works)
• Photographing F1 races
• Pre-race coverage
• Endless online coverage
• Book collecting
• On-line F1 debates (like on this site)
• The global aspect (each race has a different flavor)
• The beauty of the cars and action
• etc.

 

[Jack Sargent]

Technically the scope of the rules is too narrow meaning there is little room for individual and unique designs. Most of the cars look incredibly similar apart from the paint jobs. Also these new regulations that keep coming in to improve overtaking seem to fail at every attempt. The 2022 regs may improve the show slightly but they are still going in the wrong direction.

But if you ask me I would have manual gear boxes and clutch straight back in, then we'll see how good some of these guys really are! Gear shifting used to be an art. Now you just pull a lever. Anyway going back to manual boxes will never happen and there are other ways to improve the racing.

Also DRS really has made a mockery of the sport in my opinion. That needs to go asap.

I just don't like where we have arrived at with the sport at this point but my opinion is worthless. When I do try to get interested in it and watch a race it leaves such a bad taste in my mouth I then avoid it altogether.

But the absolutely number one problem with F1 today is....

People think there is no problem with F1.

 

[MikeNorth]

It's a high speed parade...but oddly fascinating for the technology and race strategy.

 

[markg88]

Nowadays I find all the stories involving teams and drivers interesting, Ted's Notebook sort of stuff interesting, the first couple of laps or so interesting, sometimes exciting, then I am watching out of habit really. Young guys won't understand, but F1 has gradually got worse over the years, mainly because of aero, sanitised circuits, and no need to be brave like drivers of the past had to be. Motorcycle racing gives me more of what F1 used to be like. Bravery should be a part of motorsport.

 

[bwoah326]

F1 has good and bad parts for me. The speed, technology, and drivers/characters are good. On the bad side, there are too many rules, and the sport has gotten to be too politically correct. Unfortunately for me, the bad stuff makes the sport boring and a bit repulsive.

The rules I don't like include things like banning refueling, forcing teams to use different tire compounds, the qualifying minigame, DRS, and overly restrictive car design rules. I like dynamics and variety that emerge from simplicity rather than rules that try to force complexity, but usually end up leading to the same single solution for everybody.

The problem is a majority of fans like good racing over impressive innovation, so it ends up that they have to make regulations that let innovation thrive without making the racing boring. Hard to find a balance between those things. Also, the F1 rules are actually quite loose, with two main solutions. The Mercedes philosophy, which has a long, low, flat car, and the Red Bull philosophy, with a short, high rake angle, taller car. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Hopefully the new 2022 regulations will get a good balance, without all the winglets and dirty air, and with a good amount of innovation and better racing. Also it's almost impossible to race with these current era cars without DRS, so I think it's a good temporary solution until dirty air is at a minimum. Also refueling was banned due to the nature of an F1 pitstop, because it's a fast, high pressure, precise pitstop, and that makes it dangerous to refuel. Refueling may be cool, but if it's unsafe then it shouldn't exist. And qualifying is actually really fun to watch despite it's "Minigame" style.

 

[wombat999]

As a 'Senior Citizen' today I should mention that my Father took me off to see my very first 'Australian Grand Prix' at Albert Park in 1956. I gave up on 'Formula One' toward the end of the 90's and only glance briefly at race results when they appear on News.

 

[michelforest]

I've been watching since 1978. People who complain that F1 sucks now because Mercedes and Hamilton always win probably don't remember how bad it was between 2001 and 2004 when Ferrari and Schumacher always won. Remember Austria 2002, when Barrichello was told by his team to give up a certain win to Schumacher in the very last lap?

Anyway, there are things in modern F1 that I don't like, like DRS or the absurdly complex "power units" that they're using now. But there has always been something to bitch about in F1. Personally, I hated refueling when drivers qualified with different fuel levels and "passing" was done by using a different strategy in the pits. And I was glad to see slick tires back in 2009.

There are boring races and exciting races, it all depends. But in 42 years, I can tell you that there were boring races and exciting races in every era.

As far as I'm concerned, F1 still has the best drivers and the most interesting cars. It's the only series where every team design its own car (insert you own Racing Point joke here). And the level of competition is still incredibly high. Doesn't mean other racing series are not good, of course. One can like chocolate ice cream and butterscotch ice cream too!

 

[bgil66]

I still watch it but not as interested as I was in the past when we had nice screaming engines. Listening to Crofty is torture. I’m in the USA and would love to hear Varsha, Matchett and Hobbs again

 

[BillyBobSenna]

Driver of the day goes to Pato O'Ward!

I snapped this photo last weekend when Pato was passed at the end of the race. Seems that the tire choice cost him the race.

 

[nightingale038]

car go vrooom

 

[Tormentor]

Voted no.

The reason for this vote (and sorry, but that's MY opinion), if you grew up and started watching F1 in the late 80's, you can't like modern F1. Never.

 

[Copef1]

I do find modern F1 interesting, but I have no idea why. All forms of auto racing have fascinated me since I was a young boy. I bought a book called Indy 500 winners in 1973, when I was 7 years old. Its one of the only things I still have from my childhood. I discovered F1 not long after, and have been a fan ever since. I've seen virtually every F1 race since 1983, and quite a few before that. F1 was the catalyst for me attending a racing school in the 80's, and doing some lower formula racing. I guess it is like anyone who falls in love with any sport or hobby, you start following it, and it becomes a life long obsession. The funny thing is a lot of the stuff people hate about F1 today is the same thing people were saying in the 80's, 90's, and 2000's To be honest with you the Schumacher era was the most boring for me, but it didn't stop me from watching every race.

 

[sonicviz]

The crashes

 

[Richard Dastardly]

I've been watching since 1978. People who complain that F1 sucks now because Mercedes and Hamilton always win probably don't remember how bad it was between 2001 and 2004 when Ferrari and Schumacher always won.

Remember when Mclaren and either Prost or Lauda seemed to win literally everything? zzz. It's how it's always been, albeit cars used to fall apart.