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The plight of mid-field (18 posts)

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vickyy said 2 years ago:

After witnessing 4 exciting races, I witnessed a definitive pattern which relates to the title of the topic.
With no safety car and almost no crashes, all top 5 teams have locked the top 10 grid slots with seldom 9-10 positions acquired by mid-field.
Comparing to 2010, by the end of 4 races Force India alone had almost 20 points (courtesy 5th at Sepang ) and this year situation looks quite gloomy as only 18 points are shared among 4 mid-field teams. Today also, Buemi and Kobayashi were little lucky to nurse their final set of tyres for 20 laps with Massa and Shumacher closing the gap.
Even if any of the top 5 doesn’t make it to Q3, DRS comes to their rescue and all advantage gone just like that.
What could be the factor, Pirellis’s?? DRS??
But personally speaking, even if the races are damn exciting, I eventually left out frustrated, seeing my favourite teams FI & Sauber trying to get onto the tail.

And I can’t see much changes in this pattern at least for some 4-5 races and until some mid-field pack updates itself with magical wing.

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Ned Flanders said 2 years ago:

Yeah, it’s been a great start to the year in terms of racing but the dominance of the big 5 teams is really unfortunate. I don’t know what can be done about it though, and I’m afraid can’t see it changing any time soon. Oh how I miss the days of attrition and unreliability…

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Icthyes said 2 years ago:

Well, F1′s not a charity. The points positions were already extended last year to give midfielders more chance of scoring. We might as well have points going down to 22nd place, taking it to the logical conclusion. I know there’s a financial aspect to all of it but that’s the fault of that rule and chances are most teams will get at least 1 point. I know points are also badges of honour but how is a Sauber going from 12th to 10th any better than a Lotus going from 18th to 13th? One gets rewarded and the other doesn’t.

Um, sorry. Once upon a time that was actually going somewhere.

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pepsiperfect said 2 years ago:

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor racing,
the points system revisions have helped to make
the sport more Americanized – get points just for
turning up, running a car and taking part – just so
competitors go away with something. Not
because they are the better competitors, they just
have the required resources.

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Ned Flanders said 2 years ago:

Icthyes- I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the rules or anything like that. It’s just a shame that cars are so bulletproof these days that the midfielders are usually fighting over scraps. In 2011 there is virtually no prospect of any team outside the Big 5 getting a car in the top 6, never mind the podium.

I really didn’t much enjoy the 2009 season, but one thing about that season I always loved was it’s unpredictability. All 10 teams scored points, all of them with exception of Toro Rosso got a car into the top 4 at least once (iirc). Those days seem long gone now, yet it was only two years ago, and F1 hasn’t changed that much since then

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Zadak said 2 years ago:

Monaco is coming soon, normally something unusual happen there.

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Bradley Downton said 2 years ago:

Sorry but i saw that and had to comment, in the last two years Monaco has been rubbish. Nothing decent has happened… the best bet for a lower team. Rain.

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wigster said 2 years ago:

I think there are a few reasons the top 5 teams are monopolising the points so far.

1) Red Bull, Mclaren, Ferrari, Merc and Renault all have had bullet proof reliability during races and none of their drivers have crashed out yet.

2) With DRS, KERS, and pirreli tyres its relatively easy to pass compared to last year so the top 5 teams are less likely to get stuck behind a mid field car and ruin their strategy. If they do its not for long as theres a pit stop around the corner and a chance of some clean air anyway.

3) We havent seen any rain or safety car periods yet, both of which tend to bring the mid field closer to the front.

4) I think this season Mercedes and Renault have jumped from being at the front end of the midfield to being regularly either with or just behind Red Bull, Mclaren and Ferrari, which means fewer opportunities for the teams behind to pass them.

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butterdori said 2 years ago:

I’d see it as the top 3 plus top 2 midfield teams
Both Mercedes and Renault show potential, but they are not quite in the same league with the top 3
It’s just that their difference to Sauber, FI, Toro Rosso and Williams is too big.

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JCCJCC said 2 years ago:

I think the problem is the reliability of the cars.
In fact, the increasing of the points zone, from 6 to 8 to 10, as reduced the opportunities of the small teams. Because the top teams now won’t take any mechanical risk. The freezing in the development of the engines is another reason.

I believe, if we re-open the development of the engines, and switch to a point system who encourage the risks (with differences from place to place, like the 10-6-4-3-2-1), we would see again lots of retirement due to mechanical failure.

And even the retirements due to accident had reduced a lot since the F1 moved from real tracks to parking lots, where going out of the track is a normal a thing.

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Icthyes said 2 years ago:

Thing is Ned, if the cars were more unreliable, then it’s just as likely the midfielders will blow up or conk out too and they’d score points from the law of averages. I’d rather they have to beat a Renault and Mercedes, because it’s just as (un)likely to happen.

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sbl on tour said 2 years ago:

pepsiperfect- well said!
lets face it who really gives a s… on who comes 4th to 10th

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Ned Flanders said 2 years ago:

Me

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Dizzy-A said 2 years ago:

I agree pepsiperfect- I hate systems that give points to everyone. Lets spare a thought for the people in the 50′s who must have been disappointed to finish in 6th place (which got you nothing). Ten places is enough (arguably more than enough).

But sbl on tour- didn’t we all care about Alonso finishing between 4th-10th at Abu Dhabi last year and the points that gave him?

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vickyy said 2 years ago:

sbl: I really do. It totally comes down to personal choice, I really watch F1 only because of these two teams FI (I am biased) and Sauber.

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