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Post by Big Blue on Oct 2, 2022 20:37:22 GMT
I’ve watched rain affected MotoGP and F1 this weekend, amused at the fact the rain from the former in Thailand moved south to SG. What I have concluded is that F1 has lost its zest in such scenarios, for me anyway, but I can’t quite put my finger on why or what.
Riders v drivers may have a part to play. In the parc ferme of bike races the character and liveliness of the riders shines through, with only the sunglasses, advertisements on leathers and a Michelin cap paying service to sponsor affected etiquette. Then there’s the crash, get up and ride on with fingers hanging off aspect but mainly it’s the racing.
This week the bikes weren’t full of insane overtakes and lunatic lunges as they can be but even with more thoughtful riding it was just a better spectacle. I still love F1 but this weekend’s race left me ice cold. Which is unusual in Singapore, I’m sure.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2022 21:02:34 GMT
Similar, I found the gp less than gripping but it had that 'Max will be champion either way' feel to it. Max had to fight for positions this time round rather than have folk jump out of the way but the best description I can come up with is 'disjointed'.
As far as the budget cap transgression goes, no confirmation that it even happened yet tho', no smoke without fire as they say. I would like to know, just pointless having a raqce reries if there is going to be a quiet acquiescence when rules are broken to wake up the championship and change the winner.
I am aware I come across as a simple Hamilton fan but frankly I was just as happy when Button showed him the way home. Clean but close racing without cheating is what I am after and we saw more of that in the motogp this weekend.
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Post by Alex on Oct 2, 2022 22:12:40 GMT
It ended up being an utter bore fest with half the field crashing or skidding off at one point or another and the racing line being so damp that once the slicks were on there was pretty much no chance of any overtaking. It looked like any skill a driver had in the rain was just if no consequence. Struggling to see the point in some of these street circuits.
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Post by Sav on Oct 2, 2022 22:50:01 GMT
It would appear that F1 no longer has any interest in going racing in heavy rain anymore. They now prefer to wait an hour, until the track surface is suitable for intermediates. I think the excessive health & safety-approach is robbing us from the drivers putting on a show. From drivers doing what they do best; improvising with bravery and skill that wows us.
The excessive puddles dried very quickly. Just as they dried, it was announced that the race would be starting in an hours’ time. The time-delay, just like at Monaco was ridiculous. If there had only been a 15-minute delay, the track would have been wetter, and the racing would have been more plentiful and unpredictable. Even as they started the race, it had dried up to the extent that the dreaded complaints about turbulence started – that wouldn’t have been the case if the race had started when the track was wetter. There would have been a greater variance in mechanical grip, a wider racing groove, therefore better racing.
F1 has a lot of issues at the moment. Bernie and Max didn’t get everything right, but you knew exactly how they operated and they had firm leadership. Now we can’t have wet races anymore, there is a silly superlicense system (if someone shows up and performs, give them a bloody license, good cash cow for F2 is the current regime), silly sprint races, financial rules that can probably be bent, cars that still struggle to overtake, and a field that hasn’t closed up despite the good intentions of the new regulations.
The sprint races are completely pointless. Drivers won’t push because of parc ferme and the risk of ruining the car for Sunday, and there are no further engines available, so nobody has any incentive to push. If Sunday’s race was brilliant, nobody would be demanding sprint races.
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Post by Alex on Oct 3, 2022 5:13:20 GMT
Agree with a lot of that. The budget cap has done nothing to help and these new cars were supposed to allow closer racing and a more bunched up field that can overtake more. Instead in their first season one driver has again been able to sod off into the distance with little competition and effectively seal the drivers title with 6 races to go (no point worrying about the maths, Max has effectively been champion for over a month now). If RB have broken the budget rules and don't see a significant punishment it will cause uproar and other teams will start pushing the boundaries or finding sneaky ways to spend extra money.
The engine penalty system is a farce and feels like they see it as a way of mixing up the pack rather than to actually reduce costs. If more than half the field have to take a penalty because they run out of engines 2/3 of the way through the season then it's clear that their allocation is not enough for such a long season. Some races have so many taking penalties it's difficult to actually work out what's going on in qualifying and who's in what actual position. Pointless.
The not racing in the wet was exacerbated by the street circuit format which just made any serious skid mark the end of a drivers race. They waited an hour and we still ended up with safety car after safety car as a third of the field crashed to retirement and one team managed to blow up both their engines (was it Alpine?). If they'd gone earlier we'd probably have only been left with 5 or 6 drivers by half race distance.
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Post by Boxer6 on Oct 3, 2022 8:55:18 GMT
I watched the 'race' last night and was utterly underwhelmed. Only watched it to see if Hamilton could manage at least a podium after P3, but not at all impressed with the lack of wet weather racing. I'm mindful that it's not that long ago they still raced in the rain at the TT, and that's a proper road circuit!  |
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Post by Eff One on Oct 7, 2022 11:00:14 GMT
I seem to be in the minority having enjoyed it. The delay was annoying as was the wait for a confirmed result.
But I love an underdog victory and thought Perez drove the race of his life in challenging conditions and under constant pressure.
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