Is it just me or is F1 really not worth watching?

[froggy_drew]

Does anyone else find Neil Crompton annoying??

Mate, you're on the same wave-length as me and two of my mates.

In fact, we detest him so greatly that last year when we used to have our chunky challenge arvo's (a carton of beer each while watching the V8/ F1 marathons on a sunday) we would each keep a note-pad and pen handy to write down all his ***ing stupid calls. often we would have 4 pages each.
we would then call up the Cannel 10 consumer feedback phone number at about midnight after the F1s had finished and let fly with abusive phone calls asking for him to be removed from the payroll.
I bet whoever the feedback operator was would enjoy Monday mornings cause they would have been funny calls to listen to sober.

One of the worst calls he ever made was in the dying stages of a V8 race last year. It was really close between a few racers, and it was starting to cloud over, dropping the temperature. The idiot then said that he wouldn't be surprised to see a few of the leaders pitting to have the tyre pressures altered! this is a race with about 10 laps to go and the first three drivers separated by a few seconds. who is he kidding?!

he really needs to admit his best ever achievement was forgetting to brake at the end of the straight at QR. at least he got some bloody air-time sitting in the kitty litter

 

[Luca]

Dude that aerodynamic shit is for safety it's pushing the car on to the road for traction... you can't take the safety factor away.

I agree with the turbos nitrous and superchargers though.... get the things going a bit faster and we'll see the ferraris go down.

 

[Warwick]

Damn, missed the Celeb boxing.
Boring as batshit; Formula One. I loved the old days with Turbos and blow ups etc.
Moto GP was grouse when they were running 2 strokes, now I find it dull too.
Replace Formula One with a FOXY BOXING series. 14 rounds, all corners of the globe.

I would dearly love to feel excited by F1, but with the Italians being so good, it will take a rule change to fix it.

 

[Luca]

I would dearly love to feel excited by F1, but with the Italians being so good, it will take a rule change to fix it.

The Italians aren't good they're just the richest... it's a case of he who has the most dollars wins.

 

[gti138]

I dont think it's the matter of who's the richest either - Because most teams that are backed by a manufacturer (Ferrari, Mclaren, Williams, Toyota, Renault etc) have almost a limitless budget.
If you look at the grid the Ferrari isnt that great - look where Rubens puts it on the grid - or the relative gaps to the field. I think it's a matter that Schumacher is just a class above everyone else in the field. If you go back a decade or even back to 1999 there were at least two drivers of equal skill in near enough to equal machinery. Prost V Senna V Piquet V Mansell in the 80's is a good example. The last driver in F1 who could stick it to schumacher on a regular occasion was Hakkinen. The rest these days may as well not turn up.

Look at Rossi in the moto GP He has that Yamaha at least 10 places further up the grid than it should be. It's a similar thing!

 

[Luca]

Dude your a Schui fan yeah?

All the attention goes into his car.. that's why he is so "up there". The mechanics set his car up as the best car in the field and that obviously gives him an advantage. I can't remember him being anything special in his career with Beneton.

Don't compare Rossi and Schui though coz Rossi is a true champion (regard less of machine) and Schui is just the man of the moment. BTW the cars back in the day were wilder beasts too not the fully automatic things that practically drive them selves like they are these days...

 

[froggy_drew]

i would have to agree quite a bit with gti138.
I'm sick of hearing about how Schumacher isn't a brilliant driver because the cars have traction control and no clutch etc etc.
I can't imagine there are many people who wouldn't consider F1 to be the pinnacle of motorsport.
So would you think the highest paid driver is useless? i think its a case of mis-guided tall-poppy syndrome.
i dont care what extent of technology the car uses, he is the best driver around.
agreed though, Rossi is probably better at what he does than schuey. although you're only as good as the competition...

i reckon 4 inch wide tyres would be wicked. not only would it make for great development in tyres that you guys have on your little machines, it would also prove beyone doubt that Mike is the best around at the moment.

and as for making the sport dangerous by removing the under-car aero stuff, what a load of bunkum. it just means that when you do come un-stuck you won't be going as fast.

 

[Luca]

i would have to agree quite a bit with gti138.
I'm sick of hearing about how Schumacher isn't a brilliant driver because the cars have traction control and no clutch etc etc.
I can't imagine there are many people who wouldn't consider F1 to be the pinnacle of motorsport.
So would you think the highest paid driver is useless? i think its a case of mis-guided tall-poppy syndrome.
i dont care what extent of technology the car uses, he is the best driver around.
agreed though, Rossi is probably better at what he does than schuey. although you're only as good as the competition...

Such a product of main stream media and a victim of advertising.

The truth is that there probably 1000 better drivers that Scummi in the world it's just that they don't have the dollars to be there. He paied for his first drive in F1 and yes he's from a rich family (like Barichello)

 

[gti138]

Oh im not a Schumi fan at all - If i was I would be glued to the TV whenever a F1 is being dominated (killed?) by Schumacher. Im actually a Senna fan from way back - Anyone who punches out Eddie Irvine has got my vote

I think he's simply the best driver in the best equipment at the moment and there is no-one around of similar skill to him in F1 at the moment - although get Mark Webber in something more reliable than a Jaguar and it might be intersting - I'm biased though cos he's an aussie!

 

[froggy_drew]

ok ok, lets not go on about this rot for too much longer.
there are probably 1000 better drivers than Marcos Ambrose, but they didn't win the V8 title last year.
there are probably 1000 better go-kart drivers than.....

you can argue this point till you're blue in the face. its irrelevant whether he paid for his first root, he isn't winning 4 races in a row and probably 4 championships in a row because he is crap.

i rate webber too, but once again, thats bias. and who's to say he doesn't torture the car?
i know for a fact that Dick Johnson used to get the shits with Radisich because he always drove the cars harder than they could handle, yet most people only heard about how un-reliable the kiwi's car was.
there's 2 sides to every story.

i think the fact that Mike is getting all the attention and you're sitting behind a computer screen is somehow clouding your judgement. good on him, i hope he continues to dominate, because it just means that the others will have to get better

 

[Luca]

How many Ferrari hats do u have?

Thank God the motoGP is coming up......

 

[froggy_drew]

Nah mate, no prancing (homo) horse hates sorry.
In real life i am more of a Porsche fan, thanks to dad owning one, so i am really not one of those cock heads who support them just because they are winning or becuase they bought a full Ferrari warddrobe from a market in Malaysia.

they are my fave team in F1, no doubt.
but bring on the GP for sure! so much better to watch, and having very limited experience on bikes, i can't even begin to imagine how skilled those riders are. if you overcook a car into a corner, you might hit a wall, but you will just hop out and be pissed off.

in a bike, there's a lot more at stake!

 

[Luca]

A Porsche fan....

U better see a doctor about that!

 

[XTC]

in a bike, there's a lot more at stake!

And in a WRC car ... that's why I admire these guys the most, 200kph in some sections only meters from trees (or 50m drop offs) .. that takes BIG ONES ... no kittie litter, no run-off areas, no tyre barriers, no blue flags, forever changing course, dust, snow, ice, rain, mud, gravel and the occasional tarmac.

Dirt is for racing, tarmac is how you get there.

- XTC206 -

 

[Haakon]

And in a WRC car ... that's why I admire these guys the most, 200kph in some sections only meters from trees (or 50m drop offs) .. that takes BIG ONES ... no kittie litter, no run-off areas, no tyre barriers, no blue flags, forever changing course, dust, snow, ice, rain, mud, gravel and the occasional tarmac.

Dirt is for racing, tarmac is how you get there.

- XTC206 -

A man after my own heart :headbang: Watch the WRC coverage on Ten on a Sunday and watch the V8 wnkercars after it - what a yawn. Bitumen roads going circles is very dull and regulated. Rally is where you, as XTC206 so elequontly put it, you need big ones and real skill - the incar footage of the 307 been pushed hard in NZ along snaking undulating roads with trees a metre from the road at 150 + kph was real scary stuff! One day when I have spare cash (ie never) I will build a Fuego rally car and go have some fun!

V8 on bitumen - yawn.....

 

[Billy]

it wasn't that boring:

It was vintage schumacher applying the pressure at the right time - the 1st pitstop converting a 1 second deficit to a 6+ second lead in about three laps - absoultely brilliant driving and teamwork.

And how good was Alonso to use a similar pressure to pass Ruebens and Jarno - and then the charge at the williams was fantastic (if a little late - if only he had managed to clear the other at the previous pitstop)

---
I am a schumacher fan - I have never seen anyone more impressive in a formula 1 car. Reubens is very average and shows the Ferrari, of whom i am not a big fan, is not so dominant but they do have some fantastic people who work well with the schu.

Renault would be my favourite team at the moment - perhaps a bit bias , but their car looks sweet.

 

[gti138]

And in a WRC car ... that's why I admire these guys the most, 200kph in some sections only meters from trees (or 50m drop offs) .. that takes BIG ONES ... no kittie litter, no run-off areas, no tyre barriers, no blue flags, forever changing course, dust, snow, ice, rain, mud, gravel and the occasional tarmac.

Dirt is for racing, tarmac is how you get there.

- XTC206 -

Agree with you there XTC - WRC is about the best there is at the moment. Even if the 307 is having a few teething troubles! It really takes 100% commitment to go as hard as they do with as little margin for error as they have. I believe it also tests the most "complete" driver due to the different terrains covered and the fact that it's not lap after lap after lap on the same circuit.

 

[gti138]

it wasn't that boring:

It was vintage schumacher applying the pressure at the right time - the 1st pitstop converting a 1 second deficit to a 6+ second lead in about three laps - absoultely brilliant driving and teamwork.

Vintage Schumacher? as in no fight apart from the first 5 laps? It wasnt the pitstop that changed the lead it was Schumi pulling a couple of laps out of his arse when it counted

I am a schumacher fan - I have never seen anyone more impressive in a formula 1 car. Reubens is very average and shows the Ferrari, of whom i am not a big fan, is not so dominant but they do have some fantastic people who work well with the schu.

You dont remember the 80's in F1 do you? There were 4 or 5 drivers of the calibre of Schumacher running in the one race. From the early 80's with drivers like Gilles Villeneuve & Rene Arnoux having some classic battles in the very early 80's to Nikki Lauda, Aytron Senna - watch an on board lap of him at Monaco and you will know what 110% commitment is! - Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Keke Rosberg & Jacques Laffite. Just to name a few. All you need to do is watch a few old races or snippets to see that F1 back then when there were lots of great drivers and also lots of engineering innovation.

 

[Luca]

How many sleeps til the motoGP?

 

[XTC]

Agree with you there XTC - WRC is about the best there is at the moment. Even if the 307 is having a few teething troubles! It really takes 100% commitment to go as hard as they do with as little margin for error as they have. I believe it also tests the most "complete" driver due to the different terrains covered and the fact that it's not lap after lap after lap on the same circuit.

And people forget .. they drive on this knife edge for 400+ kms - how long is the average V8 race? ... (used to be 1400kms on WRC Safari Kenya) ... sure no one stage is usually more them 50kms .. but that's a long long time to concentrate .... no back straight for a rest every lap.

Too bad it doen't get the deserved coverage (free to air that is). Not saying F1 isn't skillful .. but they get to hone their skills, line and setup for lap after lap - it's a art, but in true "recon" style the WRC guys have to adapt on the spot .. even driving without power steering, bad brakes and 3 wheels, to barely drop anytime at all.

Give me WRC over the "roundy roundies" any day.

- XTC206 -