Is F1 falling apart?

F1 has been falling apart for a long time now. The Covid-19 just accelerated the process. From a fan's point of view, it's a complete boring disaster series with ugly cars and crap engine noises the last couple of years now.

 

Couldn't agree more.
Cars from 2009 to 2016 were absolutely horrible
Now they are way too heavy.
Formula one cars should be small and light with an NA engine.

 

Mssr william, as usual, your answers have naught to do with my question. What has simple maintenance to do with "I don't know what it looked like on your side of the pond, but, how many "kids" do you see, these days, under the hood (bonnet? ) changing engines, cams, heads, pistons, fuel systems, exhausts, etc to improve performance?"
Regarding the rest of your explanation, hogwash.
lastly, where's the pride in "If you want a "special", buy yourself a Factory Special that is homologated, and don't modify it."? Where's the pride in that???
In a heartbeat, I'd rather buy a a nothing and make a "sleeper" out of it like I have in the past. My last, an '86 Mercury 302 c.i., automatic (), Capri from a junkyard (admittedly got lucky, beautiful body and interior, obviously well kept, $1,000); replaced the bubble hatch with a 'tang hatch, stuck in a mild cam, light rods and pistons, 'fergit the name springs that lowered it 1 1/2 inches, guages galore, tranny shift kit, stiffer anti-rollbars, MagnaFlow exhaust, and other bits and pieces. About 20 years ago, it cost me about $17,500 total. A friend painted for me; immaculate fire engine red. It had no markings on it but did have the Capri fender flares, air dam with lights, the Mustang hatch spoiler, and the magnaFlow growl....'did appear menacing. 'Went like bloody 'ell......'could out-run just about anybody/thing combo on a twisty road. 'Sold it to some fool that crunched it shortly after buying it from me. Wish I had kept it. If I had a scanner, I'd post pics to you.
That, sir, was something to be proud of, something I built (from a tired drivet rain, well kept junker) not some off the rack, over priced, "Factory Special" .

 

I wrote:
"Here, you are not allowed to change bits of your car (cams, exhaust, wheels) to improve performances. You would lose your Type Approval Certificate, your insurance wouldn't be valid, and you risk your car to be impounded by the cops. A vehicle has to stay as it comes from the factory.
If you want a "special", buy yourself a Factory Special that is homologated, and don't modify it."

I have tried to explain to you why youngsters don't fiddle with cars anymore, here in UK and many countries in Europe.
Simply because it's discouraged by the constructors, and the law.
Whatever was done in the past by car enthusiasts is irrelevent now.
The constructors make it so that you need to have your car professionally maintained, to keep warranty, pass your yearly safety test, etc ...
Modifying a vehicle is not allowed; vehicles must stay as they left the assembly line.
That's why, here at least, we don't see anymore people under the bonnet.
I have tried to explain you that!!!

Also, we don't live 20 years ago, but NOW, in 2020 !!!

 

Here is a young guy (i am not so young, but) who is passionate about cars and is building a replica TR250 from just lumps of metal.


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F1’s suicidal obsession with relevance will soon render it irrelevant.

Bernie’s looking pretty smart. Liberty’s looking like a chump. Todt’s looking like, well..............Todt.

 

We don't either. My discussing my last build has nought to do with living in the past.
There are those that are still doing it (I referenced a friend that still does it for a living).
Tha's why there are parts still available. https://www.google.com/search?q=high+performance+parts+catalogs&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab

I rather live like I did 20 years ago rather than under someone's thumb as it appears you must.........'gotta be terrible.

You need to move over here where we still have (for the time being...) freedom.

 

I can only agree.

While an awful incident, I don't think Hamilton judging his peers in such a public way is a help to F1.
There are many injustices around the world and sport exists to transcend national politics / war / injustice etc

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/01/lewis-hamilton-slams-white-dominated-f1-silence-george-floyd/

 

So true!
F1 has outruled itself. And honestly, it's not only FIA to blame. The pilots are sissies, never stood up against the system.
I never missed a GP since the early seventies. Now, since the turbo/halo era, I couldn't care less.
The day F1 becomes a real motorsport again, I 'll start following it again. But that day won't come.
F1 is doing a slow, painful harakiri.

 

+1

 

I think you notion is pretty romantic - One I wish was true - but history will show was not. All the folks you noted above (Old Man Porsche excepted ) went racing to make a living... Ferrari liked it -but he liked the money and control and fame more. Champman liked to win - and liked the money... perhaps in the beginning they all raced to prove they were better than the next guy... but by the mid 1950's ... F-1 was a business hiding in a sport.

In my opinion what we have lost is the sport part... trying to make a "show" from something that should just naturally evolve.

 

Welcome back!

 

oh, thanks... the powers that be were not happy with my appraisal of our president & his supporters.... so had to go to time out.

 

Oh you bad boy lol

 

I fear a Liberty bought in at the top of the market. Bernie got paid all the money for what he had built. Even without the pandemic they were going to be in trouble this year. F1 has left some of the best old tracks for newcomers with larger checkbooks. With The cost of fielding a team or holding a race is so high that I fear they are pricing themselves out of business.


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Bernie didn't sell to Liberty. The last FOM owner was CVC.
Bernie got his money long time ago, and was only managing FOM on behalf of CVC.
But I agree that Liberty only bought an ailing business; the best days of F1 are behind now.

 

Or, maybe, just maybe....the current formula isn't interesting enough, and lets face it, hasn't been that interesting since 2005. The gutless 2.4 V8 that replaced the V10 didn't really improve racing, and the noise that came from the V8 wasn't beautiful wail but more a loud shriek. Had they simply frozen the 2005 end of season engines it would've not made a difference in cost from 2006-2013. In fact, it would've worked out cheaper I'm sure! The V6 has been discussed till the end of time already and enough said about that.

Of course it isn't just the engines that are the problem. Of course the 2022 regs are looking to be a huge step in the right direction, chassis and aero wise, but we're still stuck with an expensive engine that's just not very exciting to hear.

There's overwhelming evidence that the current formula's they've tried simply aren't working, and are accelerating the decline in F1. Make it exciting again, and perhaps they'll regain those that they've lost, and with a bit of luck, get new people interested in the sport.

Let me put it this way....do you believe switching to a more exciting, 3.5 liter NA V10/12 will lose fans? Stabilize? Or gain?

At this point, what does F1 have to lose.

 

He's just jumping on the bandwagon. You don't hear him speak out about other matters...and I do belieive several F1 drivers and people within F1 where well ahead of him making a statement on the murder.

So he's a virtue signalling asshat, that doesn't even get his facts straight.

I'm not going to get more into it as it'll just get too P&R but people shouuld really look at Hamiltons statements, and earlier statements in the past 10 or so years and you can clearly see he's a ****.

 

Well, Lewis, Ok, but before you go on the attack, how about using some of your tax free Monaco domiciled millions to help the children of low paid (but tax paying) UK BAME people get into motorsport? You have what George Floyd didn't, I think these days it's called agency.

 

To put it politely, I think you are obsessed by this 3.5 liter NA V10/12 formula.

You keep on and on, and on about it.

You may not like it, but I don't see much wrong with the formula we have now. It's high tech, like everything around us.

I think there are different factors for the so-called decline in viewership.

The biggest factor, IMO, is that now people have to pay for what they used to get for free before.

 

In the US, cable TV has been going strong for 40 years. In fact, F1 and motorsports in general have greatly increased in popularity because of cable TV. ESPN especially, embraced motosports enthusiastically. So paying for it isn't exactly new. Just ask Bernie!

 

Very true statements. The problem is not the requirement to pay, it is the low quality high cost (teams and venues) that provide little value to the spectators, teams and venues. The irony was 2007 and 2008 were exciting seasons and F1 and the FIA have continued to fiddle with everything and make it far less exciting and driving spectators away due to the cry of road relevance for a product (turbo-hybrid) that is on its way out for most of the manufacturers. We went from shock and awe to yawn and snooze since 2008. Bernie knew the time was ticking on F1 being a sustainable business model and got out just in time. One cannot just blame COVID, it has only expedited what was happening anyway.

 

In UK, F1 was broadcasted for free on terrestrial channels for decades, first on BBC1 (no advertising), then on commercial channels.
Then it slowly went on satelite TV with better coverage, to become pay only when terrestrial channels lost the contract.
From paying £136 a year, it went to something like £70 per month (plus the £136 TV license yearly fee anyway).
That's when many people stopped watching F1 (and other sports too), and the audience decreased.
Of course the people who don't like the present hybrid formula claim it lost viewers, but I think they are barking up the wrong tree.
If F1 was again broadcasted for free (well almost), people would watch it again; it has just been priced out of reach for many people.
I can't say for sure, but I think it's a similar situation in many countries in Europe, which had the biggest number of F1 fans.

 

So what you are saying is that it is worthless (nobody would pay for it). Demographics and poor value are the problem, it does not work for anyone if it has to be given away. I used to go to at least 1 race per year and as many as three per year, haven’t gone since 2013 as the product just is as compelling as watching laundry in a washing machine. I have not missed F1 this year, even more so as I have watched older races on YouTube that just remind me of how great it used to be and how poor it has become. It is a shame as Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are very exciting drivers stuck in a dull as dishwater series.

 

I keep going on about it, because it's an engine that sells. It makes a sexy noise and has great power. What else do people want from engines in motorsports?

We can't blame it on pay per view. If F1 had a good product, people would watch. It doesn't, ergo, they don't.