Formula one boring.

[robk1982]

I just think that Formula one is getting quite boring. There is no real racing acton to speak of, and usually very predictable and really only 3-4 cars competing(Maclaren&Ferrari). Compared to the Australian V8supercar series and even the cart series formula one really has nothing to offer anymore.
What does everyone else think?

[Crash Test]

"Compared to the Australian V8supercar series..."
- I guess if you get rid of HRT

[Ralf's Girl]

F1 is pretty boring right now. There's more action round the midfield, but no-one ever bothers to show it because it's not McLaren or Ferrari. They never overtake. Ralf does more overtaking in one race than half the grid do in a year. F3000 is always good to watch, there's more action than in F1.

[robk1982]

Yes but even with HRT, the top 16 cars qualify withing a second of each other, and theres passing and overtaking all the way through the feild, inlcuding up front. Quite a few differnt rcars have won races, HRT are just consistent.
You cant say any of the above about formula one can you?.

[Sharky]

Actually...one of the things I like about F1 is that there are teamsthat are better than others.....much better. I mean....A great part of racing is to see what happens when the leaders are approaching traffic....just to name one aspect. However I have to admit that this year's gap between the top 2 teams and the rest is absurd...and not much fun either.

[Jay]

Is the difference between the two top teams and the rest of the field anything new?

I think a cap on spending and testing would be a very good idea to increase competitiveness. Let all the teams start off with the same budget, and they can spend it where they want. The problem is that the big auto makers would never agree with it.

[Gerard]

I agree, Formula One is boring.
And we all know how to improve the racing, don't we?
But since we're just the fans and our financial contribution to the series is minimal (advertisements and television rights etc. are more important) it will probably not change for a long time.

But how boring is Formula One?
Why are hundred thousands of people still visiting the races, why are millions of people still watching it on television, why are there dozens of formula one magazines, why are there thousands of formula one websites, why do we, after every race, still discuss wat happened?

Surely, if Formula One is that boring then how come it's one of the most watched sports in the world?
It's something we like to watch, some of us are die-hard fans going back to the sixties.

I think it has something to do with expectations.
Maybe the next race will give us the suspense we look for. Maybe the next time our favourite driver will finally win.
Maybe the next race we will see those overtaking manoeuvers we like to see.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
Because in Formula One a lot of things can happen.
And that's why we, although it's a bit boring, are not giving up on the sport we love.

[Mr.S]

Formula 1 is about the people mainly not the racing. I could find the most boring race exciting as long as my favorite guy is doing well. I mean, Indy or Barcelona (two tracks I hate with a passion) would become exciting races even with no passing if Ralf brought that BMW home in third or second.

Along these lines think what a win for Gene would do to MinardiFan!

[Minardi fan]

If Gene won... Now THAT would be an excuse for a party. And a big one at that. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!.

It's like Murray says - F1 is If backwards. We watch every fortnight just in case Ralf wins, Minardi get a point or two, TGF cheats again, BAR get on the podium, HHF wins again etc...

And if Minardi do well in a race, then I'm HOOKED. YAYAYAY!

[Crash Test]

"A great part of racing is to see what happens when the leaders are approaching traffic....just to name one aspect."

-ZZZZZZZZZ.....Thats the lamest excuse ever!!
Heck, people get lapped in competitive forms of the sport, people dont watch Cart because there is the chance that someone will get lapped

[Ralf's Girl]

I agree. I'd much rather see a car approaching another car...on the same lap. Then we'd have the excitement of some real racing.

[Sharky]

Mhhhh....you're right crash test. that's a pretty lame excuse. Shame on me!! He he he. No...what I meant was that usualy when there's someone behind but there's no overtaking chance you can always count on trafic to change the whole course of the race.....mhhh....no...wait....It's still a pretty lame argument.

Ok. Let me think. How about this. I like F1 a lot because of the high technical level of the teams and the cars. Myself being a mechanical engineering student enjoy reading about technological advances in F1. That only happens if you have some guys having the money to develop and test new engines with new materials or being able to send the model trough the wind tunnel lots of times....however I would give up some of that if there was a little bit more of competition...If there were at least 3 teams that could challenge for the championship and there was a "progressive" performance descent along the rest of the teams.

It's funny. Lately I've notice that I have much more fun talking and reading about F1 than watching the races.

[Liz]

I'd rather read about it than watch it. After the first corner I just leave the TV on and do something else, and watch the replays to see who crashed out. But the stuff about the pilots and the historical stuff in the magazines are usually pretty good reading.

And F1 goes in cycles - it will be interesting again some day.

[Ralf's Girl]

I hope so. Give it ten years?

[fatbloke]

Agree with Liz - if i'm home i'll watch the start and then do some work or something. If i'm trackside, i'll probably not even do that.

Why do millions tune in to the sport ? Because they knowno better - they're not aware that there are series such as CART, ALMS and DTM, as well as things such as the FIA's Historic Touring Cars, or the European Renault Clio series (3.0ltr RWD monsters!) which they could be tuning into instead. If they knew of these series, as we do, i'm sure they'd agree that F1 is boring as shyte.

How to make it better ? As well as the obvious things such as banning wings and bringing back slicks, i'd like to see Prost, Senna, Mansell, Berger, Piquet, Patrese and the rest back - that's one of the major problems - without drivers of their calibre we're always going to be looking back to the 'good old days' Hopefully, with drivers such as Pizzonia and Montoya on the horizon, we can look forward to some real stars again in the future, but we've been saying that for the past five or six years, haven't we ?

[fatbloke]

Another thought - after watching old Tyrrells and Benettons battling each other at Brands Hatch today (BOSS F1 Series) I have to contend that McLarens and Williams should be banned! It was very exciting watching these cars race - who'd have thought we'd ever be saying that about post-Alesi Tyrrells!!

[Ralf's Girl]

Fatbloke - I take it the Renault Clio series is the one you've been telling me about?
And I always watch the entire race attentively, but it tends to be that I find my lunch a whole lot more interesting - which is saying something, as a ham sandwich is not very interesting...

[fatbloke]

Actually, no! The BTCC supporting version of the Clio's are great fun, but the European versions are amazing pieces of machinery. They raced at Donington last weekend and IIRC around 50 of them turned up. Absolutely superb racing too as they have 3litre engines and are rear wheel drive. mmmm... I think the regular British cars have just 2litre engines...

[Ralf's Girl]

They both sound pretty good! Oh, you're making me want to go there now!

[Minardi fan]

F1 has bad years - ie. 1998. It also has great years - ie. 1999. 2000 is shaping up to be pretty poor.

[Bononi]

Weird dream [nightmare ?]
Instead of TGF and Cranky Mika ruling, let's see an awesome
final lap with Zonta and Mazzacane !
Zonta gets into the corner to the straight head to head with
Mazzacane, and their wheels collide... Zonta gets a superb upside down flight (Fittipaldi's Monza ?) and crashes into the winning flag just before Mazzacane !
Is F1 boring ????

[Valve Bounce]

I have th eperfect solution : watch something else, like Aussi Rules!! Carna Bombers!! Or Rugby between the Wallabies and the Springboks next week, or Rugby League, or if you are in the U.S., there are heaps of sporting events like Gridiron, or basketball, or Ice Hockey where there's tons of action. If you must have wheels, then watch Motor Cycle GP's. F1 is now usually watched by those who want to see how their favourite driver performs, and to hear the words of wisdom from Murray.

[fatbloke]

I have th eperfect solution : watch something else

Thanks for the suggestion but that's what a growing number of us do anyway... It just seems a waste of a promising sport to ruin it in the way they're doing now.

[Ralf's Girl]

I agree. I'll never stop watching F1, since I started watching it I've been hooked, but I'm gradually starting to watch other forms of motorsport and I've started to really see what F1 is missing out on.

[angst]

I think we all watch hoping that its going to be better, that we are going to see a return to the racing we remember, that got us interested in the first place. However, to say we are only the fans and we don't have the financial clout to make a difference is missing the point. Sponsors and manufacturers are interested in the sport to get their message to us. We are the paying punter, in as much as we buy the goods advertised, if we don't watch, and we give our reasons (if we could do this on some sort of grand scale, obviously) then obviously we would be listened to.