From Autoweek "MERCEDES' DOMINANCE IS IN LINE WITH HISTORY OF THE SPORT, HE SAYS FIA president Jean Todt says he is happy with the state of Formula 1 at the moment. The Frenchman told Italy's Radio Uno that life as the president of F1's governing body is "challenging and interesting." And he said those who constantly criticize the sport "do not understand much." "F1 is in a good condition but we can always do better," said Todt. "Next year we have some interesting changes to the regulations, but already this year the championship is a fight. There's a dominant team, which is Mercedes, but it's up to the others to try to improve. In F1 history there have always been teams that dominate for a time. "With the new engines we saw that Mercedes worked better than the others but there are teams now who are making progress and a promising recovery." By GMM" Anybody agree?
My biggest issue with f1 currently is starting under safety car when it rains and the stupid radio rules. The rest is good, better than the Ferrari dominating years when there was no challenge, at least Nico is giving Hamilton a fight. Power units are vastly more interesting, more powerful and more efficient. Driver quality is higher than it's ever been. Who's the worst guy out there, maybe Palmer? He's a far sight better than Maldonado or the other backmarkers of the past. We have 3 teams right now that can win on a given weekend - Ferrari has screwed up 2 that they had on sheer pace, Red Bull has won 1 when Merc cocked up. Lap times are on par with the fastest ever and without a tire war dropping the times by seconds. Next year we get more mechanical grip which should make things more exciting - what more do you guys want? Sound? All that and all you care about is noise? Give me a break. That's as bad as the NASCAR guys wanting to see wrecks. We've got outstanding drivers, fastest cars ever, 2 second pit stops, actual overtaking in often spectacular fashion, some new outstanding tracks and what, the noise isn't enough? You know what was ****? Indy 2005, loud v10's and all. This is better by far.
The radio ban, testing restrictions, questionable SC rules are my biggest issues. As far as this era being better than the Ferrari era or even the Vettel era we can thank MB for that not the FIA. At least they let them race. As far as sound goes it's part of the show and the new power units sound like crap. Not a deal breaker but why do they have such a low rev limit? They'd sound way better spun up higher. Also fuel restrictions. This is F1 not LeMans.
Todt telling everyone the FIA is really happy and that the FIA rules are working fine, what a shock..... If he said they weren't working and they made the racing crap he'd look pretty stupid wouldn't he? Declining spectators, boring races, pre-defined winners of every race barring a failure or a crash, wow, that really is progress over exciting championships with the prospect of different teams developing during a season and championships swinging between two or even three different teams ........ Dear oh dear
Yet another ex leader stuck in the past who is completely disconnected from what the sport and its fans need.
Todt is a monumental moron for F1/FIA. He was a fantastic team leader but failing every single day at his current job. I wish Vatanen won the election a few years back. Surely couldn't be any worse. He's quite outspoken so at least he has a spine and doesn't bend over to just anyone.
Actually I wish he were stuck in the past. You know the past where racing was dangerous and sex was....Sadly he brought a ton of new crap to F1 which is killing the sport. And an ill timed statement after the Silverstone SC and radio FIAsco
+1! I thought British fans were pretty rabid, on a par with the tifosi, but there sure were plenty of empty grandstands last Sunday. I remember when Friday in Montreal was packed...
Is there any evidence of that? Attendance at some track may be reduced, but I think the number of TV viewers worldwide is increasing, and many pay to watch F1.
Vatanen was an unknown quantity, IMO, that's why he wasn't selected in the end. Todt is no different from any organisation leaders, heads of federation, or even most successful politician; soon or later, they have to accept reality and bow to corporate interests. It's well and good to pretend to listen to the "fans", but they have a very small stake in the whole F1 business. It's big financial conglomerate, multi-nationals, and the adverising lobby that ultimately fund the sport, pay the bills and impose their views.
1.) The new PUs are laughable compared to the V10s or V8s especially for fans/spectators at the races. The awe inspiring noise is gone. The drivers hate the lack of noise. Fans don't care about hybrid tech, there is no emotion attached to it. This is just how life is. 2.) Lap times are not even close to on par with the fastest ever. LOL at you thinking these are the fastest cars ever 3.) At least in the dominant Ferrari era (which wasn't even close to as dominant as the Mercedes domination currently - I posted the numbers in another thread and will gladly repost if you want them), the cars were a spectacle to watch/listen to and the drivers pushed all race 4.) LOL again at "3 teams able to win on a given weekend." The only time others have a chance to win is if Merc screws up. Period. Except for Monaco which was an anomaly and Red Bull still screwed it up. Please spell out to me these two weekends where Ferrari had the ability to win on sheer pace because they haven't existed, sorry 5.) What makes you think this is the most talented field ever? It's not 6.) The cars are easier to drive than ever, guys coming from GP2 have commented on how there is little difference. Hopefully next year's rules help with that All in all, you are entitled to your opinion but that was a terrible post
1) You may be right, but hybrid cars is what the players (manufacturers) wanted to race, and they are the ones who influence the FIA. Atmospheric V10 or V12 are on the way out in street cars, so there is very little incentive to see them on the track. 2) The FIA wanted lap times to come down anyway. Most tracks cannot substain increase speed every year. Even Indy knows that. It's easier and cheaper to slow the car down by regulations, rather than redesign most of the tracks. 3) No idea what means "most talented field ". The talent may be in the technical teams? 4) Not sure if the cars are easier to drive. It looks like a driver alone cannot race without input from the pits. This is the pandora box; without coaching, the cars are almost undriveable. Also, without a team of stategists in the pit instructing him, a driver cannot coordonate his stops, manage his tyres, etc... I don't know is F1 "sucks" as many put it, but the fans have to adapt to changing times. Nothing is cast in stone.
Todt, what happened to you? Im glad u like the current state of F1. At this rate, there wont be any F1 in a few years. Change the rules, the cars, the engines, allow testing.. its turning into Formula E, n I dont watch that. And yes, I like V8's n V10's, but as you said, I guess I dont know F1. Guess Ive been dumb for 50 years... Reading some of the conversations, I have to say that I dont want to adapt to the new rules..I dont like them. Ive missed races this year and didnt care. N thats coming from a guy who has been following F1 since the Phil Hill days. WEC is looking good though.
But they are making them much faster next year, so I don't agree with this By most talented field I think he believes top to bottom this is the most talented F1 grid ever. I strongly disagree, but that sort of thing is impossible to prove so not much sense in going tit for tat over it
Well, we will see how long existing tracks can substain increasing lap speed in futiure, before more technical regulations are introduced to slow the car down. The fact is that most tracks on the calendar are already operating with a very thin safety margin.
The new PU's are more powerful and use way less fuel. By any racing measure, that's a better PU. If you ask any single racing driver on the grid if they'd prefer a PU that makes more power from less fuel vs. one that makes more noise, every single one will pick the one that makes more power from less fuel. Every single one. There have been a couple of qualifying records broken this year (Bahrain and Austria), so yes, these cars are as fast or faster than ever over one lap depending on the track. That without the benefit of a tire war. Ferrari blew Australia from the lead with a bad tire choice during the red flag, for one. Have you watched any of the races? This is the most talented field in recent memory as there are almost zero low potential, pay backmarkers. The worst team (Manor) has much hyped Mercedes protege Pascal Wehrlein, who is actually being matched by his teammate. You can argue that the Sauber guys aren't great, but I can't remember another time when there were so few bad pay drivers. There are also 5 wdc winners driving right now (Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel, Button, Raikkonen) with 11wdc's between them. You'd be hard pressed to find an era with more talented drivers top to bottom. The cars are easier to drive than the active suspension days or the traction control days? Come on. You can actually see the drivers working in the cars unlike a few years ago when they just sailed through on rails. You have also seen more than one driver not able to figure out how to work the buttons on his steering wheel during a race... All in all, you're entitled to your opinion, but not mine. What a condescending post.
On the whole, I agree with you. The fact is that being based on technology and finance, F1 will always evolve, year after year to follow new trends. The fans? Well, they adapt, or give up and new ones replace them.
