the rebirth of F1

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lazarus · #1 Post by **lazarus** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 1:26 pm

started watching BSB and then MotGP when F1 became processional. Themn last year MotoGP was somehow a bit dull whilst F1 has started off with a bang. Lots of overtaking, lots of offs. Even decent music to start with. Great.

Will be interesting to see if this years bike racing can match F1.

D-Rider · #2 Post by **D-Rider** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 3:28 pm

Same old stuff

Teams cheating

Chaos in whatever they try to do

Results always provisional subject to the obligatory after-race political wrangling

BikerGran · #3 Post by **BikerGran** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:31 pm

At least the abandonement of todays race means no wrangling!

What an epitaph..........

#4 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:25 pm

Formula 1 is unbelievably crap. The racing is generally dull with the occasional bit of interest, but I'm thinking more of the general governance and running of the show (or lack of it). The Sepang race was a classic case in point. The weather in places like Malaysia is pretty predictable, and it's almost a given that in the late afternoon there will be a thunderstorm of sizeable proportions. Also, when light fades in the tropics, it doesn't fade, it goes from full bright to full dark in half an hour. You can actually watch the sun dropping out of the sky.

So what does Bernie do? Because he reckons he can get bigger viewing figures (read, more money) by delaying the race until Europe is awake he starts it at a time known to be prone to thunderstorms, and any delays will cause the race to be truncated due to darkness. A 5 year old Malaysian child could have told Bernie this, but still he goes ahead and F1 descends into farce. Again.

The results of the first two races still have a cloud hanging over them, as does the future of McLaren. Again.

What a shambles. What an absolute and total shambles.

Piss-ups and breweries spring immediately to mind.

D-Rider · #5 Post by **D-Rider** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 7:57 pm

I did watch some of today's race and the highlight was the look on Hamilton's face when he was interviewed afterwards.

Interviewer: "Lewis, what's your reaction to your 7th place?"

Hamilton: "5th place wasn't it?"

Team voice, gently in the background: "7th at the moment but we're looking in to in"

Not the exact words - but that was the gist of it.
His face was a picture

Falcomille · #6 Post by **Falcomille** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:43 am

Totally agree. The bright spot is Brawn getting it right (until the hearing takes their points away). The sooner Bernie is removed from the picture the better. I gather that there is even some doubt over the British GP at Donington (again) as Bernie sees the future in Asia.
On the other hand... Moto GP starts this weekend..

lazarus · #7 Post by **lazarus** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:19 am

some of the replies here arent open minded - they are simply prejudiced.

Do you think that MotoGP fixtures are run at times to minimise TV income? Do you think that football matches are fixed at times and dates that are inconvenient for TV? And when someone gets red carded at football for a foul (ie cheating) do you think that Maclaren should be allowed to get away with it?

A couple of years ago F1 was boring and processional. Under the new rules it most certainly isnt, with lots of overtaking, lots of offs and surprise results. Maybe like MotoGP would be without Rossi.

D-Rider · #8 Post by **D-Rider** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:09 am

Unfortunately TV does interfere unduly with sport - it does annoy me when football matches, for which I have a season ticket, get moved - especially when they are moved to a date that is not convenient. What's more, they never actually inform you of the move - you're left to find out for yourself.

Back to F1.
Well, there is a bit more overtaking but there really isn't much. Button overtook the Renault pace car but needed the pit lane to get by the other 2 cars in front of him. A few others got past people too.
Where is the overtake, retake, overtake again drama?

Ah, I know - saw a lot of that yesterday too - World Superbikes and World Supersport.
The supersport battle, right to the end, between Coventry's Cal Crutchlow and Anthony West was fantastic.
WSB had riders swapping positions a plenty - Biaggi gaining 10 places in each race - with more than 10 overtakes as people went past him too.
As a race, bikes are on an entirely different plane.

What really turns me off F1 though is the cheating, bickering, rule book protesting and the general shambles of the way it's run - like running yesterdays race at the time they did which every local said was at least an hour too late - something the commentary team said before the race took place.
It's all a bit of a joke really .... and a very expensive one at that.

I am glad to see Button doing well though

#9 Post by **mangocrazy** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:36 am

lazarus wrote:some of the replies here arent open minded - they are simply prejudiced.

The word you're looking for is opinionated, not prejudiced.

lazarus wrote:Do you think that MotoGP fixtures are run at times to minimise TV income? Do you think that football matches are fixed at times and dates that are inconvenient for TV?

Of course they are timed to maximise revenue, but the timing change doesn't render the event a farce and truncate it to half its planned distance/time. There is a big difference. Bernie is already making a mint on the TV rights, but he just wants more and doesn't care if he ruins the spectacle of the very thing he should be protecting.

lazarus wrote:And when someone gets red carded at football for a foul (ie cheating) do you think that Maclaren should be allowed to get away with it?

The punishment should be proportional to the crime. Footballers don't get landed with $100 million fines or run the likelihood of being expelled from the sport. The FIA's treatment of Maclaren is unbelievably OTT when compared to the kid glove treatment (read assistance) that Ferrari gets.

lazarus wrote:A couple of years ago F1 was boring and processional. Under the new rules it most certainly isnt, with lots of overtaking, lots of offs and surprise results. Maybe like MotoGP would be without Rossi.

That's your view. Mine is that it has descended further into farce, due entirely to off-track activities. If we could view the racing without all the nonsense that surrounds it, maybe I'd feel warmer towards it.

Don't understand at all what Rossi has got to do with this.

BikerGran · #10 Post by **BikerGran** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:39 pm

One of the things I simply don';t understand is why teams get told AFTER a race that their car is illegal - they all go through scrutineering before the race, I know a lot of that is about safety but it's also about whether they comply with the rules!

scottyni · #11 Post by **scottyni** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:57 am

formula one nowadays is just a waste of time. i can remember when it was the driver who won the race NOT THE GEEK WITH THE LAPTOP!!!!!!!!

until they get rid of all the electronics then it's just who can programme the brain of the car to be most efficient.

remember the hp advert with coulthard and montoya sitting in the stands.... remote control next season so the drivers can still look good and not get ruffled.

motogp is bordering on the same... the riders admit it but nothing happens about it...... MCCOY is all you need too say really.

Hopkins interview in mcn said it too, spinning up, backing it in = great. wsb has been all good so far and supersport races too.