Formula 1 2016

[JAS-25T]

Lets do this...

Hopefully it's not at boring as last season

[zebra]

Screamer Pipes for 2016 yeah?

[JAS-25T]

Just for a bit of interest, and it may not be exclusively a reflection of the F1 following entirely but gives some idea

2011 & 2012 F1 threads: 200+ pages

2013 & 2014 F1 threads: 100+ pages

2015 F1 thread: less than 50 pages

[Anfanee]

yeah we will see...

[hrd-hr30]

coincides 100% with the pay TV thing and limited free to air coverage, not the apparently boring turbo cars or Mercedes dominance.

[JAS-25T]

Didn't think of that, but I don't think it's that simple.

it would be a combination of those factors.

[warps]

coincides 100% with the pay TV thing and limited free to air coverage, not the apparently boring turbo cars or Mercedes dominance.

Not 100%, but not far off.

[tweety bird]

Yep.

And I don't whore as much as I used too.

[hrd-hr30]

there's a strong correlation at least

2015 F1 thread less than half as long as 2014

2015 F1 Free to Air coverage, less than half as much as 2014

I can tell you it made me lose a lot of interest in the sport... No point watching a shortened replay the next day. And if you can't watch the whole season, well why bother really...

out of sight, out of mind

Edited December 17, 2015 by hrd-hr30

[Kinks]

It's not the lack of free to air that has turned me off. Half the time I watch a recorded race anyway cos I don't fancy still being up at 1am and having to work the next day.

It's not the Mercedes dominance either. Before Mercedes it was RBR dominating. Before that it was Ferrari.

It's the rules and the way Bernie is trying to manufacture a show. It's not racing any more. It's a car management demonstration.

The cars are 6 seconds a lap slower than a few years ago.

Drivers have to drive at 7/10ths because the tyres will overheat and go off if they push. They don't fight for position any more they just say "he's on a different strategy, let him past".

Aero grip is too important relative to mechanical (tyres), making it hard to follow another car. DRS is a gimmicky band-aid.

The engine rules have gone stupid. The power plants are hideously complicated yet they have to last half a season. Why not just make cheap NA engines and let them blow up more?

No refueling means the strategists can't use weight vs grip to their advantage.

Fuel cap is bullshit, if you want environmental credentials then DON'T GO RACING. Or go E85 like the supercars did, that's smart.

The fewer the cylinders the worse it sounds.

Fixing it is easy. Tear the rule book in half, then tear it in half again. That's the right amount of rules.

Make it a 2.0L NA V10. Unlimited revs. Engines must last 1 race weekend. Gearboxes, 2 weekends.

Fuel them on E85. Bring back refueling. Get rid of the fuel cap. Use an ECU interlock so selecting first gear is impossible if the fuel nozzle is inserted.

Reduce aero, bring back ground effect to minimise wake turbulence so cars can follow each other in corners.

Increase mechanical grip, make the tyres sticky and have a wider temperature envelope. Nominate 1 compound for each race and have a max tyre cap per weekend.

Let em race. None of this "saving" bullshit. We want to see 10/10ths all the time and 11/10ths when they're trying to put a move on somebody.

[djr81]

The cars cant overtake has been a complaint ever since the invented downforce. It can not be fixed, just made a little less worse.

For me the problem was the lack of progress ingrained by the regulations and the lack of money. It used to be that people would front with engine improvements or gearbox improvements or aero/chassis improvements etc. Now either because of the rules or a lack of testing or just because everyone is broke there are only really four teams that can get on with any development worth the name. Of those McLaren is so far behind no one notices a few tenths gain anyway.

So this race is just like the last. MB wins and the driver in second (Hamo or Britney) chucks a tantie. Atleast it is better than when Schumacher was the only one allowed to win races, so we should be thankful for that.

But yeah technical development and team progress year to year or during the year used to be a point of interest. Not any more.

[dezz]

there's a strong correlation at least

2015 F1 thread less than half as long as 2014

2015 F1 Free to Air coverage, less than half as much as 2014

I can tell you it made me lose a lot of interest in the sport... No point watching a shortened replay the next day. And if you can't watch the whole season, well why bother really...

out of sight, out of mind

You didn't miss much

[ctjet]

The sport is dying

People need to get used to that. Its not going back to the 90's... its not coming back to free to air... its not going to be loud... no more in season development... its not going to be reckless speed any more

Its going to get progressively more complicated and rule driven

I'm just riding this till the wheels fall off, then move onto whatever replaces it

[djr81]

Problem being the entrenched self interest mostly of Ferrari and whoever owns F1 this week is preventing anyone from moving to fix anything.

[ctjet]

Max and Bernie are 90% to blame for where we are now

I'd give the teams the remaining 10% blame, with Ferrari taking the lion share of that

Unlike some other sports, everybody is looking after number one here. Bernie wants to maximise his own wealth by selling out places like fcuking Azerbaijan, Max was implementing 'cost cutting' that has ruined flat out racing, and the teams want to bicker over the minor issues for their own short term success.

But most importantly for me, the noise is gone. Its now just another racing series that you have to pay A LOT of money to watch. And that no way to bring in a new and young viewership. Seriously, F1 is in big trouble.

[djr81]

But thats the stupid thing. The engines cost vast amounts of money and the teams down the pecking order don't get enough coin to run properly because Ferrari keep it all. So they damage the sport to protect their own short tem interests. Like they have been doing for the last 20+ years.

The cost constraints don't work. The teams don't get enough income. The circuits don't get enough income so you get dodgy third world governments propping up the races and the good venues get nothing. Ticket prices are so high because it is the only income the circuits receive. Speaking of third world countries I though the prices for the Melbourne GP started at half way sensible $'s?

[ctjet]

F1's new exhaust rules explained - will the cars be louder in 2016?

Formula 1's push to make its latest-generation engines louder has stepped up a gear with the FIA approving rule changes around the cars' exhaust systems...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/121332

[Kinks]

The cars cant overtake has been a complaint ever since the invented downforce. It can not be fixed, just made a little less worse.

For me the problem was the lack of progress ingrained by the regulations and the lack of money. It used to be that people would front with engine improvements or gearbox improvements or aero/chassis improvements etc. Now either because of the rules or a lack of testing or just because everyone is broke there are only really four teams that can get on with any development worth the name. Of those McLaren is so far behind no one notices a few tenths gain anyway.

So this race is just like the last. MB wins and the driver in second (Hamo or Britney) chucks a tantie. Atleast it is better than when Schumacher was the only one allowed to win races, so we should be thankful for that.

But yeah technical development and team progress year to year or during the year used to be a point of interest. Not any more.

Yup, agreed. The lack of in-season testing and upgrades kills it.

Bernie is flogging a dead horse, I actually wouldn't mind seeing F1 die in a fire because something better will spring up to replace it.

[hrd-hr30]

F1's new exhaust rules explained - will the cars be louder in 2016?

Formula 1's push to make its latest-generation engines louder has stepped up a gear with the FIA approving rule changes around the cars' exhaust systems...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/121332

screamer pipes = wasted energy not being recovered. They'll hardly ever open - only when the energy store is full.

[djr81]

screamer pipes = wasted energy not being recovered. They'll hardly ever open - only when the energy store is full.

So nearly all the time on the Honda?