Keke Rosberg: "We're Getting Close to Arcade Racing"

[Liz]

I just got the new Autosport and thought this quote from Keke was instructive.

"Funny, isn't it? In the lower levels of the sport you spend all this time teaching the kids how to shift gears properly, how to heel-and toe, how to balance the revs right, and so on. Then you teach them about the importance of throttle control, and then how to get the best out of a set of slicks. They need these skills all the way up to Formula 3000. But when they get to [F1]-- the top of the sport -- they don't need to use any of these! Let's face it, we're getting pretty close to arcade racing now, because everything's pre-programmed, isn't it?"

(emphasis added)

Later in speaking to Nico, he says

Everything went so fast and seemed so unreal, like a Playstation game.

My question is this: Are we wasting time and money teaching aspiring F1 drivers the wrong things entirely? Should we not be sitting them in front of Playstation or Game Cubes instead? Or is Keke just an old grump who "doesn't understand"?

[JonesF1]

Maybe he should have a talk with Niki Lauda.

Seriously, some of the requirements of the Red Bull search were way out of date with modern cars. But I think certain skills should be learned to really "master" driving. Also whats the ratio of sucessful versus joker careers in F1? These kids better learn to drive anything they can get their hands on cause I wouldnt bet on anything going the right way in F1 IF they even make it that far up the ladder.

[ghinzani]

I was just thinking same yestrday - I was playing GP3 and it gives u a semi-auto box, even in ace mode...where as with GP1 (circa 1990) you had to shift urself at the top levels. F1 is becoming irrelevant really, isnt it? I can recall Senna bemoaning the loss of skill involved when auto-boxes came in. Same thing applied to a season rview of I think 1988 when someone said about Tarquini in the ratty Coloni something along the lines of "difficult to judge his abilities in this car, but his gear changes are the sweetest". That skills going now....

[RT]

If there was only one thing I could change, it would be to ban automatic gearboxes. I have a feeling that having to shift gears manually, without the auto or semi-auto gizmos, would do a lot to improve passing, make races more exciting and separate the real talent.

It would stress the driver's ability to concentrate, give a much bigger margin for error and reward those with a true feel for the car and the circuits.

It would be much easier to monitor than TC and all that e-driving, wouldn't it??

[429CJ]

Rosberg drove so much sideways. If you try something like it with modern grooved tires, car will snap out because lack of MECHANICAL grip.

[Lee Janotta]

Mmm... More like it won't snap out unless you _really_ kick the rear end, and then it'll come straight around, no way to correct.

Keke'd likely have had more success in rally cars...

[Russfeld]

Yeah, have a talk with Lauda first. I think its another case of a past driver taking the current specs down to make him look like some God of motorsport. "In my day, we had to walk 6 miles in the snow, uphill both ways, to get to Parc Ferme"

[Adam43]

Or maybe that is just his opinion and he is concerned about the way the sport is going. It's not as if he is alone in this view (especially from drivers).

If Keke did things the hard way that's because he wanted to.

[Russfeld]

I think you understimate the ego of the acing driver.

[Liz]

Well, nobody ever called Rosberg "modest" now you mention it. But I think it's just as interesting that his son, who actually drove the car, likened it to a Playstation game. Never having played anything on Playstation OR driven an F1 car myself, I wonder how similar they really are.

[Russfeld]

.

[Russfeld]

Id like to beleive the refernce was more to the speed and response, than the ease of playing a video game. For instance I watched the BTCC race from Snetterton last night and a guy got a massive launch off the rear of the grid and picked up at least 5 slots and they likened it to playing a video game, and I dont think they were meaning to say it was easy for him to do that, just that video games tend to be extreme in performance to the point of being almost unrealistic

[bella]

the original point he makes about teaching drivers all this technical understanding only for them to essentially not need it is very valid though.

[Russfeld]

Yeah but how much of what you learned in school do you still use

As long as guys like Alex Yoong are still out to lunch in qualifying, the series is fine with me on the difficulty level

[Adam43]

Well, things like reading, writing and arithmetic, er, all the time!

In the same column a few weeks earlier it was Martin Brundle who was expressing the same things. He conceded that, yes the best drivers are still at the top, but it has got to the point that people stop thinking that they are doing something out of the ordinary.

They are the best drivers in the world. Making it a bit harder for them would not go a miss IMO. And, It think, the majority of F1 drivers (past and present) agree with this.

[Valve Bounce]

There is one more point that I'd like to bring up, and that is that the cost of all these latest devices is putting the cost of F1 way beyond anything that was say only 5 years ago, and while the top manufacturers like to be competitive, it may kill the goose that lay the golden egg for the fans.

[Russfeld]

Traction control was in the cars long before it was allowed. All they had to do was activate it.

[Liz]

Well that's a whole different subject, Russfeld.

Has anyone here driven a race car and played on a Playstation and how do you compare them?

What other OW series use the skills that people learn and can't use in F1?

[DNQ]

I certainly haven't driven a racing car, but I wouldn't be surprised if "Grand Prix Legends" is harder to drive/play then the F2002

Thank you for posting that quote Liz, very interesting. We need more of the former champions speaking out like this.

[mac]

If it was such an arcade game, how come we still see such differences in driver performance? You still need a heap of talent and bravery to drive F1 cars. It's just that current drivers are having to acquire different skills.

In saying that, if I was in charge, the series would be vastly different.

[Lee Janotta]

But we _don't_, mac! Drivers constantly finish within 2 spots of their teammates! Well, aside from the Minardis, but Alex Yoong doesn't cound as a driver.

[Russfeld]

Are you surprised? If you've got two talented drivers on your team, and both can get to the limit of their cars, and the cars are equaly prepared...

[Liz]

And there are no rigged contracts or team orders ...

If the cars are more like arcade games, I'd expect the youngest drivers to be the best ones. I bet Rosberg doesn't play video games. However, he's probably a Pinball Wizard!

[Adam43]

Originally posted by Russfeld
Traction control was in the cars long before it was allowed. All they had to do was activate it.

Actually, Traction Control was around long before it wasn't allowed!

It was almost standard on cars by the end of 1993 and then it was outlawed because Max et al believed it deminished the input from the driver. It was reintroduced due to concerns about policing various traction control systems.

[Russfeld]

And in all honesty I doubt I could tell the difference between a TC equipped car and a non-TC car, with the sound off.