Suzuka is the best, but it begs the question :

Did you watch Spa?

 

First of all, there is no criteria in which Suzaka is best. It's a good track, it's not better than Spa or Silvertone.

 

I like it I know it like the back of my hand, it was the first F1 game on one of my first PC's.

Not a good one for overtaking though.

 

Suzuka is proof positive that the 2009 rule package to help improve overtaking is a total flop. The cars are butt ugly, not real stable, and cannot overtake. Even the KERS cars are not heads and tails above the non KERS cars.

I have a feeling that next years rules with no refueling is going to make the racing even more boring. Since all the cars will start with a full load of fuel and nothing but tire stops, the racing will be more of a funeral procession.

 

Next year is going to be a COMPLETE snoozer.

 

excuse me? i believe there were 2 passes in that race. well one pass and one attempt (sutil).

 

Pretty sure I read earlier this year that almost all drivers think Monaco is a joke ... not really a "race". Street courses are tough in general and Monaco is the exemplar. The fans do love Monaco, just because it's Monaco.

 

I thought it was me; I was bored to death. With all these changes, there is no difference in the racing in the last 15 years. More follow the leader processions....

 

button vs kubica, lap 3 or thereabouts

 

IMO, there's no chance that Suzuka would get even a third of the driver votes that Spa would get. It's not even close.

 

I've asked several former F1 drivers what their favorite was and it was SPA. Sorry to disappoint you.

Carol

I don't know what race you were watching this weekend, but it sure wasn't the race at Suzuka.

 

I agree.

 

It's nothing to do with the track, more like with the cars. Rewind back 9-10 years. See how freely overtaking was done, basically due to the aero of the cars at that time. Now it's all so efficient, but it discourages overtaking.

 

That's what I thought as well.

I've never talked to any F1 driver (past or present) but watching interviews led me to believe that Spa is just about every F1 driver's favourite track to drive. Monaco victories are perhaps more glamorous, but Spa is the track they all want to drive.

I've said it before, but I think it's appropriate here as well: The FIA needs to back off. Their silly little rule changes are what's driving the sport to ruin.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Well, I thought the race itself was perhaps a little on the tame side... but qualifying was extremely exciting! Overall, it was a good weekend, but mostly because of Saturday.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Bernie/Max ARE doing what they can to make it more exiting to watch. Almost to the point of fixing.
We now have 2 seperations in tire compounds, 3 qualifying sessions with different strategies in the first two from the last one, KERS optionality, and Pit stops. Supposedly the aero rules and testing ban this year were supposed to tighten the field and it did.

What is really needed is an aero rule that creates drafting.
Let me repeat that; What is really needed is an aero rule that creates drafting.
If it slows the cars down then so be it.
NO blocking moves allowed.
And (now this is going to hurt) Nascar points rules where they give buckets of points for laps completed as well as finishing position.

I think we have become spoiled with the last few years of championships going down to the wire and now expect each and every race to be a spectacle.
Processions ? I dont think we remember the processions of the past.

 

ha ha ha

what about the battle between RB, JB and RK in the final laps
what about JT and LH throughout the race
John Hugenholtz's circuits are better than the Tilke stuff
this was better than many of the races

btw, my husband and I have also attended 2 or more F1 races in a season, I'd go if it were free - (we've gone back to sportscar racing again as its cheaper/better racing/longer races/better support races)

Carol

oh yes, "If you asked every Grand Prix driver, past and present, what their favorite track is, my money would be on Suzuka " - too bad I'm not a betting person - I would be a winner!!!

 

The FIA has always had good intentions. The 3.0L V10's were just way too powerful, so they introduced grooved tires to reduce cornering speeds, ironically making the car inherently less safe. The problem with that is that just forced the engineers to go find aero grip (you can't compete in F1 now without a 50% scale wind tunnel operating 24/7). Since the cars were relying more and more on on aero grip, any disruption of clean air flow reduces downforce and the cars can't get within 0.5 sec through a corner. The problem is making up 0.5 sec on most straights in F1 is nearly impossible, so when they get to the end of the straight they need to bail out, catch some clean air and hang on. With the smaller rear wing, re-introduction of slicks, hypothetically, the improved ratio of mechanical grip to aero grip, along with slower V8's, should have allowed more passing. The real problem is the top cars are ultimately so evenly matched that they're basically all running similar speeds. That isn't a rule issue. That's an engineering issue.

What F1 has become is a set of sprints interrupted by pit stops. Strategy and pit stops still allow changing of position, but it's a different game now. Individual and consistent lap times are even more critical and races are won and lost by gaps and whether they're shrinking or expanding. I'm still trying to understand how Timo Glock was second in Singapore.

Next year's rule change will definitely change things and again, theoretically, should make things more interesting, not less so. Refueling adds weight, so while a car gets fresh tires, the benefit is more than offset by the fact that the car is heavier. Next year, when cars come in for tires, they will leave, at least for a few laps, faster than when they entered the pits. Ultimately, I doubt this will result in much new passing on the track, but it definitely will alter strategy. Will a driver attack or defend? Come in early or late?

Here's one thing I do know. If I were driving an F1 car next year with new strategies being developed on the fly in the heat of battle, I'd want Ross Brawn involved with those decisions.