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I also still watch every race and quali. But practice sessions only for Monaco, the rest i also rather stay in bed.. or do something else..

I hope Lewis Hamilton wins the rest of the races this season with Nico Rosberg coming in second for all of them. That would be pretty statistically interesting...

F1 for me is still #1 priority and I believe that'll remain unchanged until I die (or F1 gets deceased)

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This season I've grown a bit more interested again due to the new rules which intrigue me. I've never been one to wake up at 6AM though, so I often watch the overseas qualifying and/or races in delay. I won't stay home for F1 if there is something else either.

Le Mans + WEC and Blancpain remain my best followed series.

me too. If that isn't the case, then I hope Nico has some DNFs so that Lewis can wrap up the tittle way before Abu Dhabi to fuck the double points shit.

Also, F1 should implement another gimmick to spice up the show like ditching qualifying and grid being defined by inversed WDC position. You will have lot's of passing with that

Drivers using their skill to pull an overtaking is very important for me, as well as a driver having the possibility for defend his position and not being a sitting duck.

Another thing about F1 of recent years that pisses me off is the "saving" aspect of things. Imho, racing is fundamentally about doing lap on the edge after another. If they are not on the edge, they are not racing for me, just cruising

That's why WEC has been the pinnacle of racing, imo, for several years now. They check all the boxes of good racing for me

Can we just start an F1 moaning thread or perhaps rename this one please? Lol

That said, is it just me or is there far more negative feelings toward F1 this year than there has been throughout the last few years which included Vettel domination and some pretty dire races? And if that is the case, why? Is it because we all had high expectations of these new rules or is it something else?

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

High expectations I guess.

That and people moan more as they get older/more mature.

Mature and moan more? That's a bit of a contradiction right?

Think we should rename this the "Grumpy Old Men" thread

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Mature old people moan a lot, haven't you heard them?

Edit: Done!

Haha nice!

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Ironically enough I feel a lot more positive about F1 this season than last.

Yeah, we have 1 team dominating but they're letting their drivers race so we have 1 more driver in the world championship hunt than last year.
And I love the torque of the new power units. It's been a long time since a driver has had to really control their car as it squirms under acceleration.

My main fear of this season would be everyone would be running around on half throttle fuel saving to make their fuel economy numbers but the teams have pulled a blinder on that one and we're not even really getting close to it being an issue (Melbourne aside)

I still think we have a chance for a few more classic races this season too.
Imagine if a mercedes had some kind of minor gearbox or other issue that gave it a grid penalty. Ideally one or both of them would start from the back.
Then we'd really see their true pace, could they overtake the entire field?

Well, probably, but it'd be a lot of fun watching it happen

Also Monaco could be the only chance this season for a non-Merc victory.
Qualifying in particular is going to be INTENSE this year I think.

So, lots to look forward to

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Amen to all that. It's been a while but it appears Codename and kals agree on something.

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/113964

Pirelli actually gets it. Fan input is needed when it comes to changes.

I guess I'm also in the grumpy old men category. My interest has been declining over the last few years, yet I never missed a race. This season I've been missing qualifying. Even during the races I'll go on the computer or flick between channels.

For me it's not the rule changes. I really don't mind the new sound, and the cars look a little more tricky to drive. I don't think it's age, as there are other series that I get excited about and never miss the races (BTCC or Indy). I personally think it's how the challenge has slowly been taken away. Making Monaco more forgiving, the horrible big wide modern circuits with acres of run off. We shouldn't even have to debate 'track limits,' because circuits shouldn't be so easy that you can make mistakes and gain time! So no one ever retires through a mistake. No one retires through reliability. There's no unpredictability to keep your interest. There's very little in the way of good battles, because DRS makes it a quick drive by, or the tyres have gone off so badly that you can't defend at all. And even this poor style of racing is only possible if the team allow you to push. Oh sorry old chap, just ride around 2 seconds behind the car ahead and save fuel.

Of course I continue to watch, because I don't want to give up on something I've loved for 22years. I just long for the same interest I used to get, and big changes are needed for that to happen.

Ok, this is flat wrong, esp if you think the old days were less about that than today. Back then, equipment was so much more unreliable across the board, they did more 'saving' than they even do today, I bet. I'm not talking just in terms of tyres like today but the whole car was brittle back then. You had to 'save' in every way. Revs, shifts, brakes and of course tyres. It was always about straddling that line between taking care of your equipment and going flat-out within those constraints and doing it better than the rest of the guys. Now everything's just gotten so damn reliable that you require things like ice-cream tyres and all to maintain that element of management.

I think the whole reliability is one of the reasons I'm not excited anymore.

Someone on another forum mentioned 1988 in comparison to Mercedes dominance this year. The cars back then where much more unreliable, as you mentioned, so winning 15 out of 16 races is an astonishing accomplishment. Now every car is reliable. Hell, Chilton managed to finish each race in the underfunded Marussia last year. Regardless of your opinion of him, that is spectacular. Back in the days the underfunded teams where so unreliable that for some reaching the end of the pitlane was like winning a race.

Because of the fact that most cars don't break down, the boring races get more boring. If 30-50% DNFs due to car trouble was still the norm even the boring races get excited because the car in the lead could break down any moment.....or not......but what if....is that smoke??....

I think the fact that we can now *hear* the drivers being told to do it makes a lot of difference. I distinctly remember Damon Hill approaching the end of the '96 Japanese GP, and being shown different instructions on the pit board every few laps. That made Murray Walker worry quite openly about the state of the car, but I read later that it was all fairly normal stuff.

cut off all radio communication. a very easy measure.

That would be cool. From team to driver you'd still have the panels, but driver to team would become awesome: big gestures each lap, or plain going into the pits at an unexpected time and the ensuing rush.

Everything looks too smooth and planned nowadays. I agree with gkmotorsport. Bring the driver back in charge, alone out there on the track.

Perhaps they could ban or limit telemetry in some way? We could see a lot more reliability issues imo.