F1 Thread, 2015 season, sponsored by MardyBum

[The Camel]

Wow.

Instead of the one horse race everyone expected, it is just possible, maybe a 2% chance, that we might actually see a two horse race this year.

How exciting! Now I can understand why Formula One is SO popular and gets SO much coverage.

[tikay]

Wow.

Instead of the one horse race everyone expected, it is just possible, maybe a 2% chance, that we might actually see a two horse race this year.

How exciting! Now I can understand why Formula One is SO popular and gets SO much coverage.

Even my notoriously weak sarcasm-meter detected that one Keith......

It's more popular than I suspect you think it is. Globally, some 400 million tune in.

I've no idea how many people watch televised horse racing in the UK, but I'd be surprised if F1 audiences are far behind.

[DungBeetle]

"Instead of the one horse race everyone expected, it is just possible, maybe a 2% chance, that we might actually see a two horse race this year."

2% is pretty optimistic I reckon!

[The Camel]

Wow.

Instead of the one horse race everyone expected, it is just possible, maybe a 2% chance, that we might actually see a two horse race this year.

How exciting! Now I can understand why Formula One is SO popular and gets SO much coverage.

Even my notoriously weak sarcasm-meter detected that one Keith......

It's more popular than I suspect you think it is. Globally, some 400 million tune in.

I've no idea how many people watch televised horse racing in the UK, but I'd be surprised if F1 audiences are far behind.

Oh, I know how popular it is.

The unfathomable mystery is WHY it is so popular, when the persoanlites of the paticipants are so unappealling (eg Hamilton, Alonso, Horner, Ecclestone etc etc. Jensen Button lterally seems the only person involved in the sport in whose company an evening in the boozer would be halfway tolerable) and the results of the races are almost certain before they start.

Give them all the same equpment. Then the races might be interesting.

Not sure how you solve the personality problem though.

[The Camel]

Oh for the days of Senna, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, James Hunt and Emerson Fittipaldi.

It all started to go downhill when Mansell hit the top. From Schumacher onwards it has been a snoozefest.

[tikay]

Wow.

Instead of the one horse race everyone expected, it is just possible, maybe a 2% chance, that we might actually see a two horse race this year.

How exciting! Now I can understand why Formula One is SO popular and gets SO much coverage.

Even my notoriously weak sarcasm-meter detected that one Keith......

It's more popular than I suspect you think it is. Globally, some 400 million tune in.

I've no idea how many people watch televised horse racing in the UK, but I'd be surprised if F1 audiences are far behind.

Oh, I know how popular it is.

The unfathomable mystery is WHY it is so popular, when the persoanlites of the paticipants are so unappealling (eg Hamilton, Alonso, Horner, Ecclestone etc etc. Jensen Button lterally seems the only person involved in the sport in whose company an evening in the boozer would be halfway tolerable) and the results of the races are almost certain before they start.

Give them all the same equpment. Then the races might be interesting.

Not sure how you solve the personality problem though.

Generally, the Great British public love anything to do with motor cars.

Ecclestone no personality? I could listen to him 24/7, fascinating man. Speaks very bluntly, too.

Then there's Suzy........

Click to see full-size image.

[The Camel]

Wow.

Instead of the one horse race everyone expected, it is just possible, maybe a 2% chance, that we might actually see a two horse race this year.

How exciting! Now I can understand why Formula One is SO popular and gets SO much coverage.

Even my notoriously weak sarcasm-meter detected that one Keith......

It's more popular than I suspect you think it is. Globally, some 400 million tune in.

I've no idea how many people watch televised horse racing in the UK, but I'd be surprised if F1 audiences are far behind.

Oh, I know how popular it is.

The unfathomable mystery is WHY it is so popular, when the persoanlites of the paticipants are so unappealling (eg Hamilton, Alonso, Horner, Ecclestone etc etc. Jensen Button lterally seems the only person involved in the sport in whose company an evening in the boozer would be halfway tolerable) and the results of the races are almost certain before they start.

Give them all the same equpment. Then the races might be interesting.

Not sure how you solve the personality problem though.

Generally, the Great British public love anything to do with motor cars.

Ecclestone no personality? I could listen to him 24/7, fascinating man. Speaks very bluntly, too.

Then there's Suzy........

Click to see full-size image.

Oh Ecclestone has plenty of personality,

100% pure scumbag though.

[The Camel]

I quite understand to be a popular form of entainment you need your fair share of panto villains to boo and hiss against and for the good guys to beat.

But as far as I can see F1 is infested with only bad guys.

[tikay]

Oh for the days of Senna, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, James Hunt and Emerson Fittipaldi.

It all started to go downhill when Mansell hit the top. From Schumacher onwards it has been a snoozefest.

They were great personalities, yes, (Jim Clark not so much, though the best driver arguably) but those names span a 30 year (?) period, so you are cherry picking imo. 

Thinks always seemed better back in the day, particularly to elder people like yourself.

[The Camel]

Oh for the days of Senna, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, James Hunt and Emerson Fittipaldi.

It all started to go downhill when Mansell hit the top. From Schumacher onwards it has been a snoozefest.

They were great personalities, yes, (Jim Clark not so much, though the best driver arguably) but those names span a 30 year (?) period, so you are cherry picking imo. 

Thinks always seemed better back in the day, particularly to elder people like yourself.

I've never been a big motor racing fan, but I would sometimes watch a grand prix on a Sunday afternoon when there was no proper sport on.

It was always a race and there would be some excitement.

Now it's just a procession. And the cars are so reliable they virtually never break down either.

It is completely and utterly boring.

[hector62]

I find myself agreeing with the Camel again. I liken it to watching someone playing a video game, and I can only manage that for about 20 seconds. The races are only exciting when it rains. Hamilton lost the race this weekend because he had the wrong tyres on. How dull is that? I yearn for the days when at least they had to put petrol in the cars.

[Rod]

Can see Ferrari winning a good few races this season on high degradation tracks. Merc will still be much stronger I think but not to the level of last season. They are likely to be 1 and 2 in the WDC though. McLaren are the wildcard, we know the Jonda engine is turned down but has the Merc double turbo design and the carbs reported to be excellent. They won't compete the year of course but could be the ones to watch in 2016. Williams will hopefully get a race win, not sure what to say about Red Bull. Renault are obviously struggling and can't do much to catch up during the season. Think it will be a tough season for them.

[The Camel]

When the most exxciting thing in a raace is "the fascinating battle for 6th" there is something seriously wrong with a sport.

It is like the purely contrived and artifical "battle for 4th place" in the Premier League.

It has been created by the authorities to keep up the interest in the league for as long possible because 90% of the time the title is settled weeks or months before the season ends.

And we, the people who pay for all this shite, like mugs, completely fall for it and lap it up.

[TightEnd]

I love it to bits

off the track there are characters, intrigue , politics and skullduggery

on it (and there is nothing like being there to appreciate the noise, smell and atmosphere) there are good and bad races, just like there are good and bad matches in any sport and it certainly helps if weather jumbles things up

who can forget jenson button going from last to first in Canada?

Hamilton winning the title on the last corner at interlagos?

now of course there is plenty wrong with the sport and it currently lacks some competitive depth but it is ironic that this conversation has sprung up 24 ghours after the biggest surprise win in many years

with the exception of the US Sports NFL, NBA, MLB etc which all structure to provide competitive balance, a lot of sports are less competitive than they were because of the huge tv deals which create bigger inequalities in acquistion of talent.

in F1s case this is not only drivers, but engineers, designers, wind tunnels, factories, engines etc etc

[Doobs]

I find myself agreeing with the Camel again. I liken it to watching someone playing a video game, and I can only manage that for about 20 seconds. The races are only exciting when it rains. Hamilton lost the race this weekend because he had the wrong tyres on. How dull is that? I yearn for the days when at least they had to put petrol in the cars.

Didn't Hamiton lose because he was only rated a 3 on Peter's Hamilton moodometer?  It was a shame, there seemed so many opportunities for a 10 from the pictures I saw.