F1 drivers to ask public why they find it boring

get clarkson to present with some small minded racism, F1 fans would wank over the tv

I'd pay money to be in that Focus Group!

Bring back Murray Walker as his commentaries were excitable and emotional.

What we have now is dull and monotonous and the could be commentating on "Crown Green Bowling" for what difference it would make!

The thing is that they don't capture the speed, as generally they look to be going less than half as fast as they are.

It does help with the "in car" views, but the camera angles of, in particular for example the start, makes them look to be going at a quarter
of the speed, yet this is one of the most exciting, and drama filled, parts of the race!

Watching someone change a tyre is a 'highlight' ffs.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the pit stops are easily the most interesting thing about the actual races.

fit the cars with ballast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0TZ_YLQSgg

MURRAYISMs.  What a great character ffs, 92 this year.  A touch of the Alan Partridge about a lot of it.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the pit stops are easily the most interesting thing about the actual races.

So the best part of a race is when the cars are stationary!

last time I sent a half interested glance at the TV when F1 was on, was when Nigel Mansell was at his peak.

That's the thing, apart from the sprint to the first corner and the pit stops it's f00kin' boring.

It's about as exciting as a funeral procession.
In my youth I was persuaded by a few friends to go to Silverstone. After a couple of laps we had no idea who was leading, just saw an occasional car flash past and soon wanted to go home. When we tried to leave, found ourselves sitting in a massive traffic jam. Why anyone should want to go to these events more than once is beyond me.

much better circuit now, BRDCA spent millions on it after the Donnington Park fiasco

the reason F1 is boring now is because its so uncompetitive, last 4/5 seasons only one car could win the championship, this is why it really irritated me that lewis hamilton won SPOTY ahead of mcilroy, hamilton essentially had to beat 1 driver to win the title, mcilroy won 2 majors beating 100 odd golfers

Why do they only have 2 drivers per team ? Why not have say 4 teams of 6 drivers ?

Repetitive, too technical, less dangerous, uncompetitive and Eddie Jordan reminds me of Noel Edmonds

do they really need to ask??

Also asking if it is still considered a sport or a spectacle.

....or a branch of the marketing / PR industry?

The guys got bored with each other's company, and nothing worth seeing, so we all went walkabout in the blistering heat.

I had only gone a little way and there was a massive, and solid, fence stretching for I don't know how far.
What the hell that was about I don't know!

One of the guys had gone off to watch in a hotel, or bar, and I can only say I wish I had gone with him!

The guys got bored with each other's company, and nothing worth seeing, so we all went walkabout in the blistering heat.

I had only gone a little way and there was a massive, and solid, fence stretching for I don't know how far.
What the hell that was about I don't know!

One of the guys had gone off to watch in a hotel, or bar, and I can only say I wish I had gone with him!

Had the fence recently been painted?

Maybe he wanted to watch it dry instead of watching the Grand Pri(ck)x?

I think it is because the attention span of most people is about five seconds. I can only suggest that these people would be better entertained if they watched NASCAR racing. They usually (after a few 1 mile laps) have cars coming past every second or so.
It makes you wonder how they would have coped with old Nurburgring or the Milia Mille! 
Maybe Basketball or American Football might float their boat...both seem to have lots of goals.

*Miglia Mille* ffs! 

Very droll rtb.

Painted or unpainted, he made the right decision.

After  perhaps 60ms of the eclipse of the race there was a gap in the fence, and some random guy, with a helmet on, came through with some other guys
who were probably track marshals.

I was right smack in front of them but haven't a clue who the driver was!

He was imbibing on expenses, in air conditioned comfort, and all I got was sun burnt ears!

Reverse the grid.. pole starts from the back

Then everybody would go slowly in Qualifying...the ide doesn't work. Apart from that it would cause carnage. They used to do something similar at Le Mans. It doesn't work.

..... The goal is to get audience numbers UP

That's easy. Increase coverage. It might be a good idea to go back to having National teams and National team colours. As it used to be. Red for Italy. Blue for France. Silver for Germany. Green for Britain. Yellow for Ireland etc. etc.
Far too much focus on the driver.

This doesn't happen in horse-racing, for example. It is the horse's name that goes down in history, not the monkey in the saddle/driving seat.

Increase coverage!!!???

You can't bloody escape the whole 'emperors new clothes' all-platforms $punkathon as it is!

Get rid of practising.

If the feckers dont know how to drive by now, they shouldn't be out there.

Grid drawn at random.

Have it in the winter.

Who wants to spend hours inside watching a Grand Prix when the weather is nice.

Plus, the odd patch of black ice would surely only increase the interest.

I hardly think THAT would qualify as Grand Prix anything as it would be extremely slow. They already have Rallycross which is along those lines.
They also have ice-racing in Scandinavian countries for cars, motor-bikes and horses.

No. I guess all-in-all you're pretty well stuck with the present format until the lack of coverage has an affect on the sponsors. That's the curse of selling out your broadcasting rights to the highest bidder.

The same has happened in MotoGP 'bike racing. Less people see it, so the sponsors get less advertising for their wares, so the point must arise when they withdraw their sponsorship and advertise elsewhere. Then it is a downward spiral. There are no sponsors, so there are fewer teams, so interest dwindles, so it is no longer popular, so it is no longer of interest to Pay-per-View bidders, so they don't bother bidding for the rights. Then the MotoGP format dies because it can't be maintained by paying spectators alone.

I did used to enjoy motor-sport on Grandstand where they had identical vehicles racing against each other - like V/W/ Golf GTI's etc. dint see it often :( Dunno if it still exists..

loads still going Ivor

Oh naydam - bring it on!!

Naydam are you on drugs?

naydam    15 May 15 16:00 
That's easy. Increase coverage. It might be a good idea to go back to having National teams and National team colours. As it used to be. Red for Italy. Blue for France. Silver for Germany. Green for Britain. Yellow for Ireland etc. etc.
Far too much focus on the driver.

This doesn't happen in horse-racing, for example. It is the horse's name that goes down in history, not the monkey in the saddle/driving seat.

Its always the main story on Sky Sports News and BBC Sport and its got its own 24/7 SkySports channel




naydam    15 May 15 16:52 
I hardly think THAT would qualify as Grand Prix anything as it would be extremely slow. They already have Rallycross which is along those lines.
They also have ice-racing in Scandinavian countries for cars, motor-bikes and horses.

No. I guess all-in-all you're pretty well stuck with the present format until the lack of coverage has an affect on the sponsors. That's the curse of selling out your broadcasting rights to the highest bidder.

The same has happened in MotoGP 'bike racing. Less people see it, so the sponsors get less advertising for their wares, so the point must arise when they withdraw their sponsorship and advertise elsewhere. Then it is a downward spiral. There are no sponsors, so there are fewer teams, so interest dwindles, so it is no longer popular, so it is no longer of interest to Pay-per-View bidders, so they don't bother bidding for the rights. Then the MotoGP format dies because it can't be maintained by paying spectators alone

MotoGP is absolutely booming! 3 very competitive manufactures, new manufactures coming in (Suzuki, Aprillia)
Lots of sponsors replacing the Tobacco loss. Red Bull, Monster, Estrallia Gallacia, BMW, Movistar, Repsol...


And why MotoGP is booming:

Best riders on the planet
Best bikes on the planet
Is has a natural feeder series with Moto3 and Moto2 part of the show
Every lap is like a qualifying lap
The top bikes are pretty even
Natural overtaking occurs
All the drivers have personalites and not corporate spokesmen
Its dangerous

No fuel economy graphics in MotoGP. Its all about top speeds, lean angles and elbows down

Watching someone change a tyre is a 'highlight' ffs.
can do that with a pint in the boozer over from the local garage

I'm another who finds F1 completely tedious, I'd rather watch an entire rerun of every episode ever made of Allo Allo than watch a grand prix.

We where lead to believe Schumacher was an animal driver fact is he had better car , like vettel in red bull and now the mercedes

team mates all fall out also why have teams and just admit your out to win and care for no one

F1 is doomed simply because it is so dull to watch. It can be considered interesting as long as you dont have to watch what they jokingly call a race. Professional sport has to be entertaining otherwise the public won't part with their money and F1 ceased to be entertaining many moons ago.

people have been saying it's doomed for the last 20 years but the attendance figures say otherwise.

I miss the noise

its boring by design

the whole starting grid bias, and massive inequality in cars/engines.


and don't get me started on Mr Dull

Maybe some of you should Google MotoGPfuel allowance for some relevant info...because it IS restricted.
Also, it is NOT all about speed because, if that was true, the fastest 'bike would win the race. Very often it doesn't.

It is, as is the case in all types of racing, a  combination of strategies to enable your rider/driver/runner/swimmer/cyclist to cross the finishing line first. Occasionally, there may be some kudos in 'fastest lap' times, but it is irrelevant really, because if the track was long enough there wouldn't be any f**king laps! It would be starting point and finishing point.

Regarding 'massive inequality'...the engines are provided by three or four manufacturers with very little difference between first team and satellite teams...its just that the first team gets the updates first.
With regard to an 'unequal car'...why not design it equal? In fact, why not design it  better than the others?
You all seem to speak from the exhaust pipe...but at least you're still watching.

I don't watch it. Never have, never will.

Give me a wall, a wet coat of paint, and a comfy chair,  any day

Me too. Creosote is a personal favourite. Especially with a couple of beers on a nice summer day.

I've tried a few times but it's not for me. Maybe they could have a female naked version?

Ad get rid of the cars.

They could just run around frolicking.

Formula yawn? Fans suggest how to spice up F1

BBC news today
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/32834519

Very dull stuff.  People in the pits with computers saying he can shave 1/1000 of a second off in turn 15, and the commentator saying the driver is allowed to use MDF or PDF here or something.
I would prefer to see a race where they were not allowed extra fuel or change tyres or come into the pit.  Just a race on the track.
I would also prefer to see football (soccer) use only one sub.
It is all getting a bit like the "sport" of American Football where teams have 45 players (I kid you not), and the game is mostly two guys in a studio saying wasn't that amazing.

the commentator saying the driver is allowed to use MDF or PDF here or something.

Quite a few suggestions there...mostly silly ones.

Instead of one long race perhaps 2/3 shorter ones. The selection is made very early on and after that it's a procession.
Get rid of practice and qualifying days.
No tyre changes or pit stops.
Draw for grid places. Giving the fastest car/driver a start makes for very boring races.
Less rules and regulations about car/engine design. The object is simply to get the car first over the line at the end of the race.
Swap the drivers and cars around so we really know which is the best car and the best driver. The best driver driving the fastest car every event again becomes very boring.
No computer or radio contact between car/ driver and pits.
Decide whether it's meant to be a race/sporting event or  a spectacle showcasing machines at the cutting edge of science and technology. The market for both is totally different.
Lots of reasons I'm sure why some of the above wouldn't be taken on board but there are lots of reasons why something drastic needs to be done.
Sport in the main needs to have excitement; a quality sadlly lacking in the current computerised and sanitised version of F1.

*Miglia Mille* ffs! 

Mille Miglia, sorry naydam 

Give everyone exactly the same car. Job done.

^^^

F1 would die overnight if it was a spec series. Look at A1 etc

Used to watch every race, qual and most practices. Haven't watched any of Monaco and didn't watch any Spain.

The survey shows F1 knows why it is boring. Questions like 'are the drivers really boring because they are too restrained by their PR manager?'
'is F1 less of a spectacle now the cars are slow and quiet?',  'does it matter if all the on track overtaking is derived from DRS and silly tyres?'

I'm confident any top level driver (wtcc,indycar, nascar,wrc) could finish in the top 2 if they drove the Mercedes and we're given six months on the simulator

Mister Badger. I'm going outside now to hide my shame. I may be some time.
What a shocker!!

Get the Speedway Grand Prix on

Can't remember the last time it wasn't a thrill-a-minute

there you go!!

What a win for Woffinden

brilliant stuff - more excitement in one evening than a whole F1 season

that was some racing
best racing so far
shame some of the tracks have the same problem  'it is difficult to overtake'
speedway SOMETIMES has the same problem.
but go and watch it live and you will see how brave those guys are
As an ex F1 fan - I feel Monaco should be stripped of F1 status
but I feel like that about many circuits

A PIRATES FAN!!!

F1 racing is always much more exciting when it's raining, or about to rain so first up they should get rid of staging it in places like Bahrain and start doing it in places like Manchester.

The most annoying thing though is all the non-racing that goes on. Save your tyres! or conserve your fuel! All these messages that come through from the pits basically telling the drivers not to race. If I want to go and watch cars being told not to go too fast i can go and stand on a motorway bridge. It's a race so why are they being told not to race all the time. Give the drivers more control, more decisions. There should be only 1 way radio communication and that is from the driver to his team. Only communication from the team should be by holding up a board when the driver passes them. Leave it to the driver to make all the decisions out on the racetrack, the team do all their stuff when the car is stationary.

Put more skill and decision making back in the hands of the driver. I'd love to see the cars have a gearbox and the drivers have to use the clutch again during the race (rather than just from moving from a standstill), although i'd imagine most would see this as too much of a backward step.

Zazu Spot on

U.A. The reason for conserving fuel is that you will not reach the end of the race. Similarly, if you don't respect your tyres, you will lose grip on acceleration, braking and cornering...and you will lose the race. If you call into 'the pits' for a tyre-change, it will cost you twenty seconds in time...and you will lose the race.

Why7 can't any of you understand that the race finishes at the winning line. Would you expect a 5,000 metre runner to run flat out at 100 metre speed? NO...because he would lose. He would run out of fuel and he would lose!
Would you expect a Gold Cup horse to set off at a sprinter's pace? No...because he would lose.

You can't win a race in the first furlong, but you can certainly lose it!


Today's Grand Prix is, of course, run at Monaco which is extremely difficult regarding overtaking. But, if you want to set off at the front, you simply have to go fastest over a very short distance of a complete lap and Voila, you will have 'pole' position. It is a level playing field.

Apparently David coulthard wrote a rather interesting article about all this saying, 'drivers are hardly ever driving on the limit anymore'!!!   
hmmm!!  Racing??  It doesn't seem like they are racing anymore - work that one out??
Ban radios for starters.
Hamilton has just been told rear tyres are ok so change balance to help the fronts - unbelievable!!!

I have just been talking to a friend about the Mansell style of racing also ronnie peterson etc  but F1 needs a d^rn good sort out.

the tyre situation is ridiculous and they should also get rid of wings.

I'm surprised that they still have radios...there's not much on these days on a Sunday afternoon.

ridiculous race today

Vettel was doing his very best not to p1ss himself laughing

sport itself is laughing stock, i still tune in but my god its desperate at times

what about ... depending on your position in the world championships determines the amount of fuel you get. it will still be an incentive to be in the lead and win but the smaller teams will get more fuel and be able to drive more aggressively .. requires no cost changes to the car at all.

Naydam, if you weren't so concerned about being patronizing you might be able to work out the point I am making. Yes I do know it's a race, yes i do know it's first across the finish line, yes I do know that if you don't conserve your fuel when it runs out the engine thingy wont work properly. My mum explained all of this after i finished my long division homework.

My point is that these types of decision should be placed in the hands of the driver. You don't see athletes with various sensors on their body which gives feedback to their coach on a laptop who then starts to tell the athlete slow down or react accordingly. The athlete, jockey, whoever has to figure all of this out by himself during the race. Any tactics discussed are done before the race. When the car is moving, it should be the driver in charge and making the important decisions. It needs to be more subjective in my opinion.

This is the main reason I find it boring. Whether you think I am right or wrong I still find it boring and so now i don't watch it. Ignore the masses at your peril.

Once again all the 'excitement' was in the pits. Why, if the sport is all about speed and danger do they have a safety car? Can't they be trusted to swerve round a bit of debris?

there was a 'virtual safety car', for a bit

Vestappen was hilarious, "best exciting new driver" nipping in to steal places after cars in front were told to move over

Exciting like cars exiting lidl car park

Yes they love that word "exciting" when promoting F1. Interesting perhaps in a nerdy sort of way but there's never a glimmer of excitement watching the same cars following each other round and round and round and round and..................................................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

After the pits fook up / technical miscalculation with Hamilton he came out behind Vettel, commenter goes "this is what we have been waiting for Hamilton and Vettel wheel to wheel" Like the technical miscalculation by the pit wall geek was somehow a blessing to the race and the sad viewers watching.

1 lap later Hamilton on radio "impossible to overtake"

Monaco the jewel in the crown of F1

Only F1 could have a "race" on a circuit where you cant overtake, but they do have a taz round the day before to decide what the result will be and then get the gullible to pay megabucks to watch a "race" where they already know who will win.
A bit like having the 100m Olympic final run in one lane and the runners lining up in the order in which they finished in the heats.

"Sad viewer" signing in. I thought it was a very enjoyable race yesterday. Hamilton's team conducted an almost perfect race from 'set-up' (practising  ) through qualifying and almost throughout the race. But almost isn't good enough...this is Formula ONE.

It's nice to see that they still race at Monaco...it's quite a tradition, you know. Stirling Moss, Grahame Hill, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Fangio, Brabham and McLaren all won round there. As did Ayrton Senna, Schumhcker and Prost.

They've been racing round there since 1929, with a short interval for a war. It's been won by Maserati, Ferrari, Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz, Brabham, Lotus, McLaren, Renault, Williams, Cooper-Climax and uncle Tom Cobley and all.

It's always been the same. It's always been at the top of races that teams want to win, along with Silverstone and Spa.
It might also interest you 'not as fast as it used to be' boys to learn that Stirling Moss was going round there at an average speed that was SIXTY miles an hour slower than the do now! Christ, there would have been some whinging from you then!

It was a procession.  Again.  Get rid of it.

It is a tradition. It must remain. You'll be getting rid of the Queen next!

F1 has become a sport followed mainly by Ford Mondeo drivers who have a small c0ck

would you recommend the Mondeo then bigH as a good run around?

A little bit stop start but ......the last half an hour of the Indy 500 yesterday with Montoya winning a second time and the lead changing umpteen times in breathless high risk style was everything Formula Dull is not !

BB - I've never been in a Mondeo

Daytona 500. Is that the track with no right turns? It must be very difficult to memorise the circuit. Most of them don't change gear once they're up to speed.

iv'e got a mondeo but it's an estate

Do team orders still exist?  From an outsider pov it's laughable to call it a race when you have drivers being told to slow down in order to let someone else win.

Hmmm. It happens in cycling. And in running. And in horse racing. And in cricket. It could be argued that it happens in football with substitute players.
Teamwork is not confined to any single sport.