"F1 should drop V6s for old V8 engines - Red Bull's Christian Horner"

I think F1 just jumped the gun with the V6 hybrid and all. A little too fast, a little too soon.

 

But it's the technology race that is killing F1.
Only rich car manufacturers can afford it, and even then, not all of them.
Then, car manufacturers come and go and cannot be relied on to keep the sport alive, so they shouldn't be allowed to dictate their terms.

Most people aren't interested in technology; they want nice looking cars, lots of noise and some action on the track.
That's what motor racing is all about, not a competition between labs and research departments.
Simpler cars, built at a fraction of the price, would be just as entertaining, and determine who is the best driver each year.

And before kicking NASCAR as obsolete, just look at the audience that series has; it's after all just a national championship, but the attendance figures would make some tracks on the F1 calendar envious.

 

Nothing to do with the rules or engine type, etc. ... all Michael Schumacher.
Pete

 

People are attracted to F1 for various reasons, but one of the reasons is because they are the fastest race cats on this planet. Without that technology they wouldn't be. Take that away and it would just be another race series that would not endure the decades like F1 has.

Oh and there are many spec series already that decide who is the best driver. F1 WDC is the best driver because he can tame and win in the fastest cars ... this is why the WCC is not required because everybody with half a brain knows that the WDC can only win with the best car.
Pete

 

+1 Exactly!

 

I guess define 'spectacular'?

- the fastest? Check
- the most popular? Check
- the most watched? Check
- the most technologically advanced? Check
- the closest racing with a level playing field? A long as you've got the budget, check. No BOP BS here.....
- the most 'glamorous'? Check.
- a true World Chamopnship? Check.

'Unlimited technology' is also very far from the truth, at least today. Many, many 'technological wonders' (trick materials being but one) are completely outlawed, primarily on the grounds of cost, but also in attempting to keep the driver relevant. No ABS, TC, auto 'boxes, active aero/suspension etc etc.

Again, that half the field (at least), from five different true manufacturers can get their designs around a ~3mile road course within a second or so of each other I find pretty 'spectacular'. That Merc is pissing on the rest right now I actually find pretty spectacular too! [Ducks & covers! ]

As I've said before, it's a long way from perfect, they sound like crap and the noses are ridiculous, but be careful what you wish for.......

Cheers,
Ian

 

So we gained Honda yet lost Cosworth and now two teams have vanished because of the extreme cost. Doesn't sound like a winning formula to me.

What are you talking about? I hate when people try to act like the V8s were some sort of archaic technology. Comparing them to pushrod Nascar motors? Seriously?

 

How do you explain the decline with MERCEDES winning everything then? Or the decline when Seb won 4 in a row?

 

Sorry; Technology entrepreneur behind Las Vegas F1 bid - Pitpass.com

Are we though? There's a handful of folk here (hardly the average demographic!) who are tuning out due to the noise. Beyond that? I dunno, but I suspect the TV audience remains strong.

I'm sure Hairy Scotsman or Big Tex will be along shortly, but the same article also noted almost 1/4MM fans attended Austin this year..... I think that's an increase over previously(?)

Fair enough.

But, there is no doubt that many here blame 'rule instability' as at least one of the reasons why F1 is dead....

I beg to differ, but that's all good too.


Cheers,
Ian

 

They hadn't heard 'em yet. Let's see attendance figures next year....

The noise has to be addressed.

 

I don't but that graph shows the MS years when F1 was very exciting purely thanks to can MS win in a Ferrari.

I guess we could say Germans like MS more than Mercedes and Vettel maybe?
Pete

 

But they are now old tech. We have been racing these types of engines since the late 80's now, ie. combustion with pneumatic valves. All they change is the cc size and number of cylinders. The current technology is NOT in combustion engines any more. Us car nutters have to face this. I've done that by continuing my path with classic cars, but current and modern cars are all about hybrid technology.

So my point was if F1 restricts the use of current technology it will soon be viewed like NASCAR and Aussie V8 supercars. I personally think that would be an unwise move. The kids growing up today don't get erections about the internal combustion engine like we used to ... and they are the F1 spectators of tomorrow.
Pete

 

Agree, but the person at the top who is responsible has been sucking the sporting component out of it since his tv show started making him bucket loads of dollars.

In the end we are learning that a heathy does of sport has to remain. Heck people in Victoria will watch, what they call, Aussie rules the most boring long game on earth because there is a contest to them. I could not care less ...
Pete

 

I see your point but the kids of today also don't care about cars/racing like we do. That is a proven fact. Adults are the ones spending the big $$$ to go to these races and this Formula is only designed for another 6 years anyway.

Nascar has had the same formula for about 70 years now and is extremely popular. Sometimes when you hit a winning formula you keep it. It's not F1's job to be on the forefront of green technology. F1 is solely for entertainment. People that go on and on about how F1 needs to be more green are ridiculous. Everything about car racing is wasteful. It's not some eco-exercise and never has been.

 

Not sure. It's hard to explain. I think MS popularity levels far exceeded Vettel at their respective peaks.

 

For sure...Michael was the one started all the F1-hype in Germany. I remember watching F1 before when Prost raced against Senna but I think you could have counted TV audience on two hands.
F1 in Germany will never be as popular again as it was when Michael won in Ferrari, the comeback for Mercedes was not the same.
Mercedes: I think the fanbase for a company/team will be never the same as for a driver.
Vettel: his problem is that he is second after Michael so it was not a sensation anymore.

We had the same in tennis when Steffi Graf and Boris Becker appeared, no matter what future generations will achieve in this sport, they will never get the same recognition.

 

Thanks for the info! Nice to have a native perspective.

 

+1000 Rediculous to make a hype about using "xx%" less fuel of a load to travel 250 miles, when you fly the team in an airplane all over the globe that burns in seconds, what an F1 car burns over a race.

That said, I do find this year's cars/engines far more exciting than several years preceding.

 

Corrected.

Incorrect. It is supposed to be telling us who can build the fastest race car on the planet and who can drive it to the most wins. Without this sporting side, F1 would have died ages ago because entertainment eventually bores people. A true sporting conquest holds people for life times. Bernie doesn't get that and is responsible for f**king F1 IMO. Sure a lot more of us watch it on TV now than the very old days but what we are seeing is the thin edge of the wedge getting thicker quickly thanks to Bernie fiddling with the sport to "attempt" to make his TV show more entertaining. Just imaging if they did that to Olympic sports, ie. lets make hurdles more interesting by making the hurdles randomly move ... wtf!
Pete

 

Why have you just set up in business selling ear plugs ?, there again I like the fact I can hear .

 

Corrected bit agreed, however I don't think Bernie has made that bad of a job holding a rich mans playground full of egos together.

 

While your post makes for a nice whimsical dream, in the end $$$ rules and people pay to be entertained. No fans, no F1. Period.

 

While your argument makes sense it does not speak for all. I guess I will always be the "odd duck" simply because the noise is not what makes F1 F1, it is about what happens on track. Some people get it and some people don't.

 

Denis Jenkinson used to make the distinction between noise and sound--one is annoying racket, the other can be pleasing(and even painful) to the ear. The sound of a multi-cylinder racing engine at full whack is the sirens' song to the F1 fan, it is an indispensable part of the F1 experience.
Noise is the only thing these hybrid buzz-bombs generate. Plenty of noise(racket) on this thread as well.