In the round-up: Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff says he is encouraged by Formula One’s improving television viewing figures.
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Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.
Formula 1 negativity no disaster, says Wolff (Motorsport)
"F1 is in a good position because we are managing to increase TV figures in many important markets."
Wolff: Start rules might need tweaks (Autosport)
"What none of us want is completely unpredictable starts for everybody which then completely devalues qualifying."
De Ferran: Formula One 'too perfect' for its own good (F1i)
"Over the last two decades there has been huge investment in Grand Prix racing. Everything got better, and they have finally reached close to the optimum. The aim was and is to eliminate mistakes and mishaps. I wonder, is there anything left that's not completely perfect?"
Tweets
Hanging with the legendary Jon @BonJovi!! Awesome night! pic.twitter.com/gh4BsluvYV
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) August 16, 2015
What an honour to hang with the incredible and legendary, Jack Nicholson!! pic.twitter.com/Y1ou6Dcegh
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) August 16, 2015
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Neil’s caption was selected as the winner from over one hundred entries this weekend:
Not everyone was impressed by Sebastian’s straw-art version of Kimi’s line through the Montreal hairpin.
@Neilosjames
Thanks to everyone who joined in, especially Coldfly F1, Suvan Naidu and Pennyroyal tea who made some of the best suggestions.
From the forum
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Luts, Electrolite and Electrolite!
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On this day in F1
Vittorio Brambilla scored his only grand prix victory in a rain-hit Austrian Grand Prix 40 years ago today. The March driver won when the race was stopped early due to rain, then crashed after taking the chequered flag:
James Hunt came second ahead of Tom Pryce.
However Mark Donohue had been injured in a major crash during the warm-up earlier that day, and lost his life two days later.
OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 41 wins!!! For Jules (@)
17th August 2015, 0:13
I hope, and I really mean it, that Lewis always knows what limits not to cross when hanging on with celebrities. I mean, it’s not such a healthy environment when it comes to their idea of having fun. Hunt crossed that line and see what happened.
IndianF1
17th August 2015, 4:30
+1 Totally agree. As Wolff said it is his private life and he is on holiday. But all this partying with celebrities who have different norms of behaviour makes me nervous too. After that poor race he had before the break, imagine if he has another poor one at Spa. As it is, it is not his best track. There will be a lot of talk about his partying and what effect it is having on his driving.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
17th August 2015, 9:25
I don’t think Lewis had Hunt’s confidence when facing other celebrity. These two tweet looks like it was a regular fans selfie and all his pics with Rihanna were so awkward. Either he cant blend in or he was trying too hard.
pxcmerc (@)
17th August 2015, 10:49
Maybe he is a fan of those guys. And maybe hes more down to earth, humble and ‘normal’ than what people think is normal after watching years of television, sucking up the “what is socially acceptable behavior” stuff. I like the guy, hes not too comfortable being mr. cool, something more people need to appreciate, and realize that makes him a real human being, and not some sort of icon/idol to be praised.
I would just like to add, even though Rossi has an interesting presence in GPs, and some charisma, he is way socially awkward in some circumstances, something I actually enjoy seeing, knowing that the guy has real human qualities. Just watch him being interviewed by Suzi at the Goodwood festival. That is the Vale I root for, the guy who has real human qualities, not some sort of facade which is easy for consumption.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
17th August 2015, 14:40
Yea. It’s not a bad thing. I’m sure Lewis not gonna be another Hunt.
PeterG
17th August 2015, 0:22
In terms of the Codemasters F1 games 2011 is probbaly my favorite closely followed by 2013, They just felt right with a wheel & gave a good feeling for what the car was doing through the Force Feedback which just allows me to feel more in control.
2012 is my least favorite of the Codemasters titles, Contrary to 2011/2013 I could never get a good feel for it through a ffb wheel & overall I felt the handling model didn’t feel as good as 2011.
PeterG
17th August 2015, 0:26
Actually correction 2010 is my least favorite codemasters f1 title with 2012 not far behind it.
2010 was a good 1st try but looking back there was a lot wrong with the handling model in that it was extremely simplified, I recall that when played with a wheel if the car started to spin & you hit the brakes the car would auto-correct itself which was something that i seem to recall actually reappeared in 2012.
Rigi (@rigi)
17th August 2015, 1:03
i remember thinking f1 2011 is great, simply because a lot of stuff had changed fron f1 2010 (DRS and KERS, for example) but after i had a go on the nurburgring two years after the game came out (f1 2013 hadn’t come out yet and f1 2012 only had hockenheim) i discovered that it’s probably the worst game in the franchise. handling and AI were just awful because i was used to f1 2012, where i though it was really good.
i feel the exact opposite way from you. f1 2012 is the best and f1 2011 is the worst game, along with f1 2014.
graham228221 (@graham228221)
17th August 2015, 5:47
I’m playing 2013 at the moment. Wasn’t 2012 the one where it rained almost every race?
Kingshark (@kingshark)
17th August 2015, 10:54
F1 2010 and F1 2011 were great for those who enjoyed the “live the life” aspect of the game, but to be honest, the handling model and the AI were beyond terrible.
Willem Cecchi (@)
17th August 2015, 11:35
– All the AI from 2010 – 2014 is terrible. It is primary school all over again and you’re the bully
– 2010/2011 has visually shows understeer but the car always makes the corner
– In 2012 it is difficult to keep the car in a straight line
– Miss the 2013 1980’s and 1990’s additions
– 2014 is pretty dire but I enjoyed it
– 2015 is a great experience despite the glitches
Brownerboy (@brownerboy)
17th August 2015, 11:48
F1 2015 Has a good handling model but its lack of features such as safety cars and a proper career mode is a big turn off for the die hard fan. Im sure many people on the CM Forums that race in leagues would agree with me when I say the game was no where near ready to be released.
Deej92 (@deej92)
17th August 2015, 21:40
I found F1 2011 really enjoyable. The handling looks worse now after a few years, but I didn’t get bored of it. I could drive around Istanbul Park for hours.
The lighting on 2010 annoyed me and AI was poor. 2012 would’ve been more enjoyable, but the penalty system was an absolute joke. 2013 I thoroughly enjoyed with the 80s and 90s features. I hope they do more classic modes soon. 2014 was a disappointment. No improvements made, seemed just a stop-gap. 2015 I am thoroughly enjoying. No career mode isn’t something that bothers me. Wish they had the safety car though and there are still a lot of glitches that need sorting.
My order of preference goes: F1 2015, F1 2013, F1 2011, F1 2012, F1 2014, F1 2010
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
17th August 2015, 0:24
Meanwhile, in Latin America, you’re forcing people to pay even more (you already needed to pay!!) to watch the whole season live on TV. Same in the UK, same in France (I think?) and some other places.
So what he’s basically saying is that maybe in X country is an important market for F1, and 100 people watch F1 now, and it didn’t use to be that high, while in the biggest markets (not the most important, but the biggest) numbers are coming hard down.
George (@george)
17th August 2015, 0:35
What’s good for F1 and what’s good for Mercedes aren’t necessarily the same thing I guess. Ditching their core viewerbase for a quick buck is probably a bad move in the long run, but Bernie and Merc probably wont be around to suffer the consequences…
petebaldwin (@)
17th August 2015, 10:36
You can make stats say whatever you want them to providing you keep information to a minimum.
How about we pick the top 5 countries in order of importance to F1 and it’s sponsors and look at how many 10-20 year olds are watching compared to 15 years ago. I bet the results would make eye-watering reading.
knoxploration
18th August 2015, 4:39
I’d note that while Toto is claiming viewing figures are up, no hard information is provided to back this up. Frankly, I don’t believe it for a second: Why would anybody tune in to watch the yawnfest we have now where a race podium can be predicted accurately a year ahead of time, if they didn’t tune in previously when there was actual racing happening?
Sorry, Toto, but this is spin, pure and simple. You don’t want your dominance taken away, so you’re trying to pretend viewing figures are up. They’re not. End of.
David-A (@david-a)
17th August 2015, 0:39
Wish the 2005 European GP was 1 lap shorter… Raikkonen would have finished the race just like Brambilla did there.
Retired (@jeff1s)
17th August 2015, 7:04
:)
Park
17th August 2015, 9:43
Wish the 2008 Brazilian GP was 1 lap shorter…
zekeri
17th August 2015, 11:41
Hehe. 1 corner shorter…
RL
17th August 2015, 23:31
If Lewis not winning in 2008 meant Kimi is a World Champion in 2005, I would be happy with that.
Luis Conde (@luchingador)
17th August 2015, 1:58
“people who didnt watch F1 before because they still have it in basic cable service dont know how good it was before”
mfreire
17th August 2015, 2:37
There goes Lauda playing his usual political games. That’s the main reason I have never been a fan of him. F1 isn’t as good as it could be right now and MotoGP has had some good races, but the series with the best actual racing I’ve seen is IndyCar and the BTCC.
Alex Ward
17th August 2015, 5:02
try moto3 its awesome
The Blade Runner (@)
17th August 2015, 11:22
+1
petebaldwin (@)
17th August 2015, 10:38
You must hate Ferrari then…..
ACx
17th August 2015, 12:08
Yeah, Indycar is great to watch. Ok, its not “pinnacle”, as professional, and the drivers arent up to the same standards, but it really is great fun.
Not sure how F1 can learn much from it though. Its a spec series, and I think thats what makes the difference. We dont was F1 to be a spec series, do we?
Fletch (@fletchuk)
17th August 2015, 20:13
Agreed, except obviously for JPM who is a god-amongst-men ;) ;P
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
17th August 2015, 2:49
“Traditional TV has a declining market share against the digital world, but we are able to maintain a stable or even slightly upwards slope, which is encouraging.”
This quote from Wolff shows what’s wrong with F1 marketing.
Having a bigger share of a smaller cake leaves you with as much cake as before. But as the cake becomes smaller, it will be harder to keep your share.
Instead, they could be trying to find another cake. A growing one. One which will eclipse their declining cake in a few years.
But they don’t, because their cake is all they know about, all they care about, and all they’ll ever need. Until it’s gone, and then everyone will starve to death.
BasCB (@bascb)
17th August 2015, 7:19
This:
Especially with a promoter company headed by an 80+ guy who still lives in the past and seems to keep trying to repeat the same trick with ever declining success
petebaldwin (@)
17th August 2015, 10:42
Unbelievable that Toto can say that and not realise the stupidity of what he is saying….
So Toto, “Traditional TV has a declining market share against the digital world” does it? Fair enough…. so what is the sport doing to capitalise on this then? What adjustments is the sport making in order to fit in with this new digital world? Absolutely nothing at all. Nothing. Zero.
And you consider that as F1 being in a good position? All of the eggs in the basket of a rapidly declining media? Sounds like some good long-term thinking there.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
17th August 2015, 2:49
Wolff’s comments about starts are really funny. He can’t point out one reason to why this rule change won’t possibly damage his team’s earned advantage.
dane
17th August 2015, 8:04
He doesn’t know what’s wrong with past starts either, especially Hungary. So I think there weren’t any problems. Rosberg’s starts aren’t really bad anyway…
Ron Brooks (@)
17th August 2015, 5:15
I’d be happier if there were no more self promoting “hanging” Tweets on F1 Fanatic.
They make me nauseous.
When a driver hits “start” I get interested.
When he hits “stop” I lose interest.
Simple enough?
Selbbin (@selbbin)
17th August 2015, 7:57
Is this your own private website catering to your own personal needs? Sorry for intruding.
Curlee
19th August 2015, 1:11
No, it is not. I expressed only the opinion I’d be happier without. That’s what comments are for, I believe.
Nase (@)
17th August 2015, 9:44
@curlee
My feelings are similar. If Lewis Hamilton (or anyone else – but I’m under the impression that 95% of these tweets are about Hamilton) likes to hang out with Hollywood celebrities, wearing fancy clothes, that’s fine with me. I wouldn’t want to switch places with him, but if that’s his idea of fun, I have no intention of taking that away from him. But do I want to hear or read of Lewis in fancy pants meeting this singer or Lewis in a fancy hat meeting that actor? I don’t. I’m thoroughly disinterested in the person behind the driver, regardless of whether he’s a fun and outgoing chap, or a histrionic over-sharer who loses his interest in a person after twittering a selfie with them. I don’t care about that, or rather, I anti-care about that. I feel annoyed by such irrelevancy. This is a blog about F1, not a blog about F1 and what Lewis Hamilton posts on the internet.
petebaldwin (@)
17th August 2015, 10:49
@curlee – Absolutely 100% agree. I hate that whenever I look online for F1 news, I get “Lewis is hanging out with a new celebrity” or “Jenson and Jessica went to a restaurant after competing in a triathlon”
I appreciate it’s to try and widen the audience and make F1 more interesting to your Daily Mail/Heat/Take-a-Break readers but it’s frustrating. All of this (not talking specifically about this site – all sites) should sit in the gossip/celebrity section, not the sports section.
The Blade Runner (@)
17th August 2015, 11:32
I must admit that I find it all a little “squirm-inducing” BUT it does get non-F1 fans talking about the sport. I get work colleagues come over to me to discuss Lewis’ latest media appearance (social or otherwise) before us then talking about F1 itself. Most are either people who don’t follow F1 or who only do so in passing.
I’ve said it before, Lewis may divide opinion massively but he does more to bring new fans into the sport than any other driver.
ger
17th August 2015, 11:43
It is squirm-inducing STOP.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
17th August 2015, 11:58
@petebaldwin @nase @curlee While I totally share your feelings and absolutely hate the modern celebrity “culture”, it’s unfortunately an integral part of the modern life on the internet, so this blog cannot ignore it. My advice is: do as I do-never click on the celebs gossip drivel. Then if enough people don’t click on such stuff, there’ll be no value in posting it hopefully
ura
17th August 2015, 14:26
+1 No need to even comment on here. That’s the best way to show how much you don’t care.
Nase (@)
17th August 2015, 15:33
@montreal95
I don’t do that, either. Still, I can’t help but feel that including gossip-y tweets about or from an F1 driver who likes to hang out with A-list celebrities in a daily round-up on an F1 blog is not the way to go. Leave that to the Daily Mail or whatever your country’s tabloids are called. Me, I like to read this blog to inform myself on F1-related subjects, and maybe also other motor sports.
But gossip? I don’t just not want to read anything like that, I actively want to not-read anything like that. If that kind of tweets turns out to be a trend, I’m going to lose my interest sooner or later and probably stop reading the round-ups altogether.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
17th August 2015, 18:03
@nase Ok. To me it’s not difficult to just scroll down quickly thru such stuff. Obviously each to his own
Curlee
19th August 2015, 1:28
Thanks for all the feedback.
I’ve always found an F1 calendar above my desk at work pays double dividends:
– It starts conversations about F1.
– I get to ogle it while I’m thinking.
The website will do what it feels it needs to do. I’m more than capable of skipping past Tweets.
But I’m not sure it’s all that clear what are rumors and what is news. But I’m new here, and may have simply missed the signs.
AmbroseRPM (@ambroserpm)
17th August 2015, 6:18
The issue I think with TV and sports in general nowadays is the sheer cost to obtain the rights (a cost which only skyrockets). Here in Australia for the local rugby league competition Channel 9 paid $AUD1.025billion for half the games per round which is an increase on three before. The pay TV rights for the remaining games is still to be seen, it could end up being $AUD1.7billion.
The thing is: how can free to air broadcasters compete for F1? They cannot now. It is far too expensive. This is where Sky and Fox Sports swoop in and pay what is being asked for. Costs never go down for these type of things so it is inevitable that the current FTA structures will be gone as soon as we know it.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
17th August 2015, 12:22
@ambroserpm The cost of buying the rights is expensive (Although F1 is actually closer to the lower end of the scale in that regard) but as i’ve said before something thats equally an issue for FTA broadcasters is the cost of producing there broadcast.
Buying/renting/maintaining the broadcast trucks/equipment, Sending out crew/equipment, Buying the satellite time is all expensive & for a sport like F1 where your sending these things out every 2-3 weeks all around the world add’s to those costs & many FTA broadcasters struggle with that.
Looking at the UK ITV dropped there coverage early not because they couldn’t afford to pay for the rights but because there internal budget cuts meant they could no longer afford to maintain the same level or quality of coverage as they had before & felt dropping the coverage rather than scaling it back was the better option for them.
It was the same with the BBC, They went to Sky with the shared deal because after they got the contract off ITV they found it was much more expensive to produce than they anticipated & with the TV license freeze brought in by the then coalition government they found themselfs faced with the same problem ITV had but decided upon a 3rd option of sharing the coverage with Sky (As those running BBC Sport saw a value in retaining F1 in some capacity).
The irony of what the BBC did however is that the quality of there coverage ended up declining anyway as they again underestimated how much even there cut back coverage was going to cost them so ended up having to cut more (Smaller crew, less features etc..).
I would also add that something fans often don’t think about is the quality of the coverage & how that affects viewership. ITV for example is FTA but from 2000-2008 its TV ratings were lower than what we have now despite the current BBC/Sky shared deal because a lot of people felt the overall quality of the ITV product was sub-par with the Ad-breaks, unpopular on-air team & lack of practice coverage or additional video feeds as was been done elsewhere in Europe.
I know quite a few UK fans that were signing up to German provider Premiere Sport (Now Sky Germany) to get there full weekend, Ad-free, Commentary free (Using BBC Radio coverage for commentary) & interactive coverage due to how much they hated the ITV product.
The ratings increased when F1 moved to the BBC because the BBC were offering a product of far higher quality when compared to ITV & I’d argue that had the BBC retained full live coverage beyond 2011 & had to cut the quality then TV ratings would have declined to about where they are now anyway (There still higher than what ITV were averaging as I said above). I think the same would be true had F1 moved to Channel 4 or 5 as having worked with both I can’t see either been able to have the sort of quality of coverage the BBC had those 1st 3 years, Especially since they would have featured Ad-breaks.
@HoHum (@hohum)
17th August 2015, 23:48
@gt-racer, your analysis is probably correct for the UK but in Australia we get 2 guys (1 ex WDC) sitting in the studio to give the preamble and then during the race they only announce the commercial breaks and give us an update after the break of what we missed, the main race commentary is from Sky UK, in the US they actually call the race in the studio from FOMs feed, both countries pay a little extra to have some trackside interviews from freelance journalists, but that’s it, no trucks, no accommodation, no travel.
McF1 (@mccosmic)
17th August 2015, 7:12
I do not see what LH is aiming to get out of repeatedly posting photos of himself looking smug with A-List celebs. Is he trying to win new fans for F1? Did Bernie get it written into the ‘standard duties of an F1 champion’ to promote the sport? Or is he being secretly sponsored by hello magazine? I follow F1 fanatic here and on twitter because I’m interested in news about F1. This is not news, this is gossip. Please do not post any more ‘stories’ of celebs with F1 stars.
Philip (@philipgb)
17th August 2015, 7:40
It’s not something I do, but most of my friends if we spot a celebrity get a picture with them, it’s fairly normal behaviour and it’s kinda refreshing to see Lewis still do it like a regular person in reverence of someone he respects.
But agreed I could live without the gossip mag stuff on a sport fan site.
Curlee
19th August 2015, 1:47
I guess I’m old school.
I do the celebrity a favor by ignoring them.
Saw Mario Andretti eating out. Considered it good manners not to disturb him.
Same with Paul Newman after a tough race.
I’m not being critical, but for me it’s the difference between admiring an animal, and killing it to put on my wall.
But times change.
Selbbin (@selbbin)
17th August 2015, 7:59
Maybe he’s just using twitter the same way as everyone else.
beneboy (@beneboy)
17th August 2015, 9:02
@mccosmic
You need to get yourself a new Web browser, mine lets me scroll past things I’m not interested in.
ColdFly F1 (@)
17th August 2015, 10:26
Or install the Hamilton Tweet Blocker extension to your browser! @mccosmic, @beneboy
McF1 (@mccosmic)
17th August 2015, 10:42
That is brilliant @coldfly. When is the crowdfunding kickstarter campaign starting?
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
17th August 2015, 15:01
Wahahaha. I laugh more than I should have @coldfly
Nase (@)
17th August 2015, 16:51
:D
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
17th August 2015, 9:58
@mccosmic I couldn’t have put it better than @beneboy:
For what it’s worth though, here’s what I’ve already said on the Hamilton celebrity thing.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
17th August 2015, 10:24
Unfortunately some of that increase is because people saw the end of an F1 race as part of a news broadcast, where a car crossed the finish line and the checkered flag was waved. I don’t believe that is a good measurement. A better measurement would be how many people watched most or all of the race, so that would exclude those people who just saw the end of a race.
If F1 wants to be taken seriously then it needs to be easily accessible, and that means either free or very cheap to watch.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
17th August 2015, 12:31
@drycrust
Not true, TV figures are only taken from the live broadcast or highlights program, Clips shown on news broadcast’s or other programming isn’t part of the breakdown.
The TV figures used are peaks & averages of the live broadcast/highlights program. The peak been the highest number that was watching at any 1 time & the average been the average number that watched throughout the full broadcast.
In the UK The Hungarian Gp the BBC/Sky combined figures saw it peak at just over 5m with a combined average over the full live program of 4.61m.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
17th August 2015, 19:41
@gt-racer Yes, it is as you say. I am surprised because I was sure I had researched this once before and was surprised to find out what I said. However it appears I must have misread the information or used an unreliable source. I thought I had got the information from a credible source like the F1 website.
Anyway, regardless, I was wrong, so my apologies for that, and my thanks to all who corrected me. According to something posted on the Pitpass website the standard is 15 minutes of non-consecutive viewing time.
http://www.pitpass.com/48426/The-truth-behind-F1s-viewing-figures
petebaldwin (@)
17th August 2015, 15:45
2012 Season:
https://www.racefans.net/2012/03/22/uk-tv-audience-falls-one-million-sky-first-f1-race/
“Viewing figures from the first race weekend of 2012 indicates a fall of over a million viewers in the UK.”
https://www.racefans.net/2012/09/06/uk-f1-tv-figures-bbc-sky-2012/
“For the five races which were shown live on both the BBC and Sky, the average is 3.8m – much closer to 2011, but still a fall of 9.5%.”
2013 Season:
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/306196/f1-tv-audience-falls-in-2013/
“F1’s global television audience fell to 450 million in 2013 – a drop of 50 million, it has been confirmed in a global media report issued by Formula One Management.”
2014 Season:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2015/02/01/f1-loses-25-million-viewers-driven-by-switch-to-pay-tv/
“Bernie Ecclestone, chief executive of Formula One Management (FOM), has revealed that his auto racing series lost 25 million viewers in 2014 but he says he is not concerned”
You keep telling yourself whatever you want Toto.
petebaldwin (@)
17th August 2015, 15:45
@drycrust
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
17th August 2015, 18:05
@petebaldwin The thing to consider regarding the TV figures is that there lower now than they were 3-4 years ago but there actually still above what they were prior to that in most regions (Including the UK).
The 2011/2012 period saw a big spike in the figures as there was a significant influx of casual viewers watching F1 (Probably thanks to the DRS/Pirelli craziness of those years) & its mostly those fans who have since left, The core audience is still pretty strong with overall figures simply returning to where they were prior to that 2 year spike.
Looking at the UK for example the past few years the annual average has been around 4m which is still higher than what the annual figures were through the 2000-2009 period.
North America has seen a significant rise in TV figures recently. 2014 saw an 85% increase & TV figures have continued to rise through 2015.
TV figures in Germany have plummeted but thats been a trend since Schumacher’s 1st retirement in 2006 & TV figures (And attendance) for MotorSport in General has been on the decline in Germany for about a decade for whatever reason (That includes categories like DTM which used to be massive in Germany, Rivaling F1 at times).
petebaldwin (@)
18th August 2015, 11:13
@gt-racer – It may be the case elsewhere in the UK but certainly in Cardiff where I live, there has been a massive drop in people talking about F1. I can think of at least 10 friends who “no longer bother with F1” but used to watch it every week. Similarly, there are several people in work who I used to chat to on Mondays after a race – when I ask now, they usually say “oh yeah, I saw that on the highlights.”
The product is just not very good at the moment and with the switch to pay TV, it’s not worth the cost. Those who have a deep-rooted interest in F1 (I assume like most on here) will continue to watch regardless but the casual fan won’t.
I suppose that’s partly why all this celeb “OMG! Look at #LH44’s new diamond earings! That’s like..ummm.. so amaze!!!!” rubbish grates on me so much. F1 is doing absolutely nothing for the casual fan but this celeb nonsense gets thrown in our face and we’re told it’s for the casual fan’s benefit… None of them are watching anymore!!
beneboy (@beneboy)
17th August 2015, 11:20
Gil de Ferran makes some very good points, personally one of my main complaints about F1 is the ever increasing amount of live telemetary used by the teams. The big teams are now transmitting the telemetary back to huge teams of data analysts back at their factories, who are then able to advise the pit wall about almost every aspect of the car’s performance, which has lead to an increase in the amount of coaching the drivers are given during qualifying and the race.
I’d love to see live telemetary restricted to the minimum amount of information as is possible. I don’t object to the teams being given a warning that the engine/PU is about to fail, or to get similar warnings about certain other parts, so that they’re able to pit the car, or give the driver a warning to slow down in order to prevent them causing an accident. But these warnings should be a simple safe/danger warning with no specific information given until the car is back in the garage where the team can physically download the data files.
I’d also like to see a limit to how many settings can be changed during a session, in the past the teams had to make far more compromises with the set up of the car, these days they can change so many settings that they’re able to modify the set up for different sections of the circuit. This has taken away a lot of the challange, and prevents the kind of situation where some cars are faster through one section, but slower in others, which has made the racing less interesting.
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
17th August 2015, 15:33
I couldn’t agree more @beneboy.
If you can tell your driver ” your shifting down 20m too late into turn 4″, then they aren’t really driving the car, you are.
Mark Imbesi (@trymark)
17th August 2015, 12:28
In the pics Lewis is dressed just a tie short of seeing a tebreak,match! As for Motogp I love it and they don’t have a 3 then 4 week break, Indy is enjoyable, it doesn’t have to be the pinnacle hell I’ve watched modified lawnmower races just because its interesting!
Mark Imbesi (@trymark)
17th August 2015, 12:37
In the pics Lewis is dressed just a tie short of seeing a tennis match! As for Motogp I love it and they don’t have a 3 then 4 week break, Indy is enjoyable, it doesn’t have to be the pinnacle hell I’ve watched modified lawnmower races just because its interesting!
Proteus (@proteus)
17th August 2015, 14:02
LEwis is dressing like a pimp xD
Apex Assassin
17th August 2015, 17:15
F1 too perfect?
What channel is that on because what I see (and HEAR!!!) is FAR from perfect. Gill needs to shush while the adults are talking.
And what is Lewser thinking with that outfit? No wonder he only gets transvestites.
petebaldwin (@)
18th August 2015, 11:26
I get what he’s trying to say…. Perfect is the wrong word because F1 is far from perfect – he means “optimised.”
Currently, F1 is only interesting if we have rain or a safetycar because it doesn’t allow the teams to be “perfect.” They try (it will rain lightly in 2 minutes and then stop for 30 seconds and then rain slightly more heavily for 3 minutes) but thankfully, mother nature doesn’t play by F1’s rules and they often get caught out.
Starts have become boring because they are so controlled so I am absolutely delighted to hear they are making this more difficult for the drivers. They need to go further with other aspects of the race and heavily limiting real-time in-race telemetry would help a lot.
Strontium (@strontium)
17th August 2015, 21:10
And it became boring.