Well nothing is currently turning off the traditional audience more than these boring races, in addition to boring rules and boring cars. If we lose any more of the classic (mainly) European circuits to those willing to pay more then the sport is done and dusted for me. As it already increasingly is for millions over the world.
Go back to 1950 then...
Why shouldn't Singapore have a race? Cos they're not "traditional" enough? They've had a grand prix since 1966, on the Thomson Road circuit.
The irony of the Team radio highlights feature on the official website, being in text only, is that most of those radio clips were transmitted as audio via the live timing system, and still exist on their servers...
There's nothing a broadcaster can do to enliven these dull as ditch water grand prix that Ecclestone is happy to include in the calendar for anybody willing to pay enough cold hard cash. Although obviously it's marketed as bringing Formula 1 to hitherto closed markets to the sport.
Well nothing is currently turning off the traditional audience more than these boring races, in addition to boring rules and boring cars. If we lose any more of the classic (mainly) European circuits to those willing to pay more then the sport is done and dusted for me. As it already increasingly is for millions over the world.
it's ironic really, it's supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport but, in reality, from an excitement perspective people would be more gripped watching a local karting race than many F1 races ... unless you glean your excitement from aspects such as tyre temps, DRS, QRD, URS, HRS, TOYS'R'US etc etc :cool: oh yeah and the now extremely boring pit stops that are so clinically good these days, what's the point???
it's ironic really, it's supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport but, in reality, from an excitement perspective people would be more gripped watching a local karting race than many F1 races ... unless you glean your excitement from aspects such as tyre temps, DRS, QRD, URS, HRS, TOYS'R'US etc etc :cool: oh yeah and the now extremely boring pit stops that are so clinically good these days, what's the point???
No-one's stopping you from watching a kart race tbh.
F1 to me is the pinnacle of automotive design & technology all fused together as one. That's why I watch it.
F1 isn't great right now but I still don't think its anywhere near as bad as some are making it out to be, I've certainly seen far worse races/seasons in terms of the racing.
I saw a comment in the F1Fanatics comment section recently that I kind of agreed with which basically suggested that a part of the perception that the racing is boring or whatever now is because since 2011/2012 (Which featured DRS & Pirelli led craziness) expectations were raised & now everyone expects it to be like it was then & is disappointed when its not.
Mercedes dominance isn't great but its a part of the sport & throughout F1's history there has always been teams that get it right & dominate for a year or more. Unless your going to move towards F1 been a spec series your always going to have that possibility because with everyone designing there own cars & with multiple engine suppliers there is always a chance that 1 will figure something out that gives them a big advantage.
I also think people within F1 (Bernie especially) constantly bad mouthing it & talking about how awful these new engines are & how slow they are hasn't helped.
They should be talking about how these power units are already more powerful than the V8's were & that there getting towards the power levels the V10's were at & how much of a technical marvel they are. Yes the volume could be higher but for me that still doesn't take away from the performance & how impressive they are in that area.
There's nothing a broadcaster can do to enliven these dull as ditch water grand prix that Ecclestone is happy to include in the calendar for anybody willing to pay enough cold hard cash. Although obviously it's marketed as bringing Formula 1 to hitherto closed markets to the sport.
Well nothing is currently turning off the traditional audience more than these boring races, in addition to boring rules and boring cars. If we lose any more of the classic (mainly) European circuits to those willing to pay more then the sport is done and dusted for me. As it already increasingly is for millions over the world.
I always thought it was 'dull as dish water' but after a quick google i discovered that 'dull as ditch water' was the original saying and at some point it became more popular to say 'dish water'.
Anyway, carry on
Actually, i'll just add that i agree with your point. The last 3 races have been insufferable. This is a personal low point of the last 20+ years and all i need is a nudge to walk away from the sport. Losing a few classic circuits might be enough to do it.
GT Asia Series at Sepang is on Motors TV just now. Some low-down camera angles showing elevation changes that I don't think I ever knew existed from watching the FOM coverage of F1.
who did the drivers conference interviews this morning?
Jennie Gow from BBC Radio 5 live. Odd that James Allen doesn't travel to this Grand Prix, so soon after Singapore. Did he insult a Japanese driver back in his Itv days or something and get banned?
Don't know if anyone else saw this, but Sky News cut to the live press conference for a few minutes when Button was being asked about his future. They were obviously expecting him to confirm his retirement there and then. Quite funny when he said he hadn't made a decision and that talks were ongoing. Guess it was a slow news morning.
F1 isn't great right now but I still don't think its anywhere near as bad as some are making it out to be, I've certainly seen far worse races/seasons in terms of the racing.
I saw a comment in the F1Fanatics comment section recently that I kind of agreed with which basically suggested that a part of the perception that the racing is boring or whatever now is because since 2011/2012 (Which featured DRS & Pirelli led craziness) expectations were raised & now everyone expects it to be like it was then & is disappointed when its not.
Mercedes dominance isn't great but its a part of the sport & throughout F1's history there has always been teams that get it right & dominate for a year or more. Unless your going to move towards F1 been a spec series your always going to have that possibility because with everyone designing there own cars & with multiple engine suppliers there is always a chance that 1 will figure something out that gives them a big advantage.
I also think people within F1 (Bernie especially) constantly bad mouthing it & talking about how awful these new engines are & how slow they are hasn't helped.
They should be talking about how these power units are already more powerful than the V8's were & that there getting towards the power levels the V10's were at & how much of a technical marvel they are. Yes the volume could be higher but for me that still doesn't take away from the performance & how impressive they are in that area.
I couldn't agree with you more, especially the final paragragh. People forget how utterly dominant the McLarens were in the late 80s or the Williams were in the 90's or indeed how dominant Ferrari were in the early 2000's. F1 has always been like this.
I do think that the wall to wall coverage on channels like Sky F1 have done alot to demystify the sport which has made it less exciting as we all know whats going on in the race at all times, from team radio and commentators (Not that I'd want to give up this excellent coverage).
Two hour programme for P1 on 5Live Extra, 10 minutes longer than Sky- 20 longer than BBC2! Jennie is talking to three journos in an Italian pizza restaurant before they join with the TV broadcast.
Bad stuff about Lotus, hope the sport doesn't lose that team. It has a lot of history through the years.
Thought it was really strange that when Ted and Rachel were outside of what should be their hospitality unit they had pallet trucks (the orange forklift type things for those who don't know) that had the old "VR" Virgin Racing logos on.
I really hope the grid next yeat isn't 20 cars yet again, with Haas joining but losing Enstone.
Something I noticed during FP1 was that FOM didn't seem to show many (If any) shots from handheld cameras in the pit garages. They had cameras on the pit wall, the usual wire-cam above the pit wall & cameras in the paddock which were used a lot but there was virtually nothing (If anything) in terms of shots from cameras in the garages.
Before the session starts we usually get shots of drivers been strapped into cars getting ready to go out but for FP1 today we saw shots of the track, the empty pit lane & the fans in the grandstand & it was the same during the periods where no cars were on track. Nothing showing the cars in the garages & it was the same story on the pits channel throughout the session where any shots showing cars been worked on were from the cameras on the pit wall.
My Sky box has not picked up FP2 to record under the "Series Link". I assume this affects everyone using that method, so might be worth setting up one of the repeats later in the day.
Red Button app wasn't working again for me for FP2.
Was fine for FP1 & was initially fine for the start of FP2 but then it froze while I was on the pits channel & started doing the same thing its been doing at times for me since I moved away from the sports pack in August.
Also FOM continued to stay away from shots from within the garage during FP2. Was one occasion where they showed a car coming down the pit lane, stop in the box & as it started to get wheeled back into the garage but didn't continue to pan the camera as the car entered the garage itself. Bit odd.
Red Button app wasn't working again for me for FP2.
Had no problems with red button or the sky sports app f1 race control on the iPad during FP2.
If you have a drx890 or 895 the latest R012.079.50.00P firmware was added to the dr stream to download on Monday 21st.
My Sky box has not picked up FP2 to record under the "Series Link". I assume this affects everyone using that method, so might be worth setting up one of the repeats later in the day.
No prob with Fp2 series link.
All the sky f1 japan weekend stuff so far recorded fine and is listed fine here as has all the previous races.
Good stuff from Ted during FP2, enjoyed it. Simon on the mic, interesting.
My Sky box has not picked up FP2 to record under the "Series Link". I assume this affects everyone using that method, so might be worth setting up one of the repeats later in the day.
FP2 missing for me too. Already on latest firmware as I installed it from the DR stream earlier this week.
It has picked up FP3 in the schedule by the looks. Going to record BBC this weekend anyway, but it will be a useful backup too in case qualifying or the race fails on SSF1.
Jennie Gow from BBC Radio 5 live. Odd that James Allen doesn't travel to this Grand Prix, so soon after Singapore. Did he insult a Japanese driver back in his Itv days or something and get banned?
Thx, again on team principal conference, did good job
I wish on the analysis of certain corners they put the relative times of everyone to compare the current driver.
Telling me that Vettel completed Turns 3 and 4 in 12.8 seconds means absolutely nothing unless you know how that compares to other drivers.
Actually Ben Edwards could remember an earlier time by another driver but they really could make the commentators lives a bit easier!
It would actually be a good idea to do this kind of thing on the straights as well, even though we can see the different top speeds it could tell the general public exactly how much time teams like McLaren are losing due to their PU
Had no problems with red button or the sky sports app f1 race control on the iPad during FP2.
If you have a drx890 or 895 the latest R012.079.50.00P firmware was added to the dr stream to download on Monday 21st.
It was still on R011...., Did a forced update (Turned bof off at mails, Held down back-up & turned it back on until update message came up) & i'm now on the newest firmware it seems so hopefully it sorts things out.
Like I said when I 1st started having this issue it only started after I cancelled the sports pack, Red Button stuff had always worked perfectly until then but since its been hit or miss. This morning for example FP1 was fine but FP2 initially worked but stopped after 2-3 minutes.
I was trying to post on the sky help forum earlier but for some reason it won't let me sign up using my e-mail address. I'll try with another one later on if its still playing up for FP3/Quali.
Comments
Why shouldn't Singapore have a race? Cos they're not "traditional" enough? They've had a grand prix since 1966, on the Thomson Road circuit.
it's ironic really, it's supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport but, in reality, from an excitement perspective people would be more gripped watching a local karting race than many F1 races ... unless you glean your excitement from aspects such as tyre temps, DRS, QRD, URS, HRS, TOYS'R'US etc etc :cool: oh yeah and the now extremely boring pit stops that are so clinically good these days, what's the point???
There have been plenty of poorly exceuted pitstops in the last few races.
Heck, there were plenty of poorly executed pitstops in the last one race, let alone races plural.
F1 to me is the pinnacle of automotive design & technology all fused together as one. That's why I watch it.
I saw a comment in the F1Fanatics comment section recently that I kind of agreed with which basically suggested that a part of the perception that the racing is boring or whatever now is because since 2011/2012 (Which featured DRS & Pirelli led craziness) expectations were raised & now everyone expects it to be like it was then & is disappointed when its not.
Mercedes dominance isn't great but its a part of the sport & throughout F1's history there has always been teams that get it right & dominate for a year or more. Unless your going to move towards F1 been a spec series your always going to have that possibility because with everyone designing there own cars & with multiple engine suppliers there is always a chance that 1 will figure something out that gives them a big advantage.
I also think people within F1 (Bernie especially) constantly bad mouthing it & talking about how awful these new engines are & how slow they are hasn't helped.
They should be talking about how these power units are already more powerful than the V8's were & that there getting towards the power levels the V10's were at & how much of a technical marvel they are. Yes the volume could be higher but for me that still doesn't take away from the performance & how impressive they are in that area.
I always thought it was 'dull as dish water' but after a quick google i discovered that 'dull as ditch water' was the original saying and at some point it became more popular to say 'dish water'.
Anyway, carry on
Actually, i'll just add that i agree with your point. The last 3 races have been insufferable. This is a personal low point of the last 20+ years and all i need is a nudge to walk away from the sport. Losing a few classic circuits might be enough to do it.
I couldn't agree with you more, especially the final paragragh. People forget how utterly dominant the McLarens were in the late 80s or the Williams were in the 90's or indeed how dominant Ferrari were in the early 2000's. F1 has always been like this.
I do think that the wall to wall coverage on channels like Sky F1 have done alot to demystify the sport which has made it less exciting as we all know whats going on in the race at all times, from team radio and commentators (Not that I'd want to give up this excellent coverage).
Thought it was really strange that when Ted and Rachel were outside of what should be their hospitality unit they had pallet trucks (the orange forklift type things for those who don't know) that had the old "VR" Virgin Racing logos on.
I really hope the grid next yeat isn't 20 cars yet again, with Haas joining but losing Enstone.
It could be 21 next year.. ;-)
Before the session starts we usually get shots of drivers been strapped into cars getting ready to go out but for FP1 today we saw shots of the track, the empty pit lane & the fans in the grandstand & it was the same during the periods where no cars were on track. Nothing showing the cars in the garages & it was the same story on the pits channel throughout the session where any shots showing cars been worked on were from the cameras on the pit wall.
Was fine for FP1 & was initially fine for the start of FP2 but then it froze while I was on the pits channel & started doing the same thing its been doing at times for me since I moved away from the sports pack in August.
Also FOM continued to stay away from shots from within the garage during FP2. Was one occasion where they showed a car coming down the pit lane, stop in the box & as it started to get wheeled back into the garage but didn't continue to pan the camera as the car entered the garage itself. Bit odd.
Had no problems with red button or the sky sports app f1 race control on the iPad during FP2.
If you have a drx890 or 895 the latest R012.079.50.00P firmware was added to the dr stream to download on Monday 21st.
No prob with Fp2 series link.
All the sky f1 japan weekend stuff so far recorded fine and is listed fine here as has all the previous races.
Good stuff from Ted during FP2, enjoyed it. Simon on the mic, interesting.
FP2 missing for me too. Already on latest firmware as I installed it from the DR stream earlier this week.
It has picked up FP3 in the schedule by the looks. Going to record BBC this weekend anyway, but it will be a useful backup too in case qualifying or the race fails on SSF1.
About time they put them all in on demand
Repeated twice today if you missed
Thx, again on team principal conference, did good job
Telling me that Vettel completed Turns 3 and 4 in 12.8 seconds means absolutely nothing unless you know how that compares to other drivers.
Actually Ben Edwards could remember an earlier time by another driver but they really could make the commentators lives a bit easier!
It would actually be a good idea to do this kind of thing on the straights as well, even though we can see the different top speeds it could tell the general public exactly how much time teams like McLaren are losing due to their PU
Like I said when I 1st started having this issue it only started after I cancelled the sports pack, Red Button stuff had always worked perfectly until then but since its been hit or miss. This morning for example FP1 was fine but FP2 initially worked but stopped after 2-3 minutes.
Here is a video showing what happens, The main SSF1 program still works on the red button but nothing else does:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x37r845
I was trying to post on the sky help forum earlier but for some reason it won't let me sign up using my e-mail address. I'll try with another one later on if its still playing up for FP3/Quali.