Arrogant. Obnoxious. Naïve.
These are just some of the comments directed at me for having a positive outlook when it comes to the current state of Formula One.
While such comments are an indictment of how the standards of debating have slipped in recent times, they are understandably born out of frustration that this season has more or less been a one-horse race with Mercedes once again running away with the championship.
The start of this decade is a far cry from the start of the last one with the 2010 season seeing five drivers in contention for the world championship.
Since then, there have been two dominant spells from Red Bull and Mercedes with only three out of the nine seasons between 2011 and 2019 going down to the wire. And two of those were between former Mercedes teammates, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, in 2014 and 2016.
This season will be the fourth consecutive season in which the title has been decided long before the final race, despite Sebastian Vettel’s title challenges in 2017 and 2018, both of which failed to go the distance.
Sebastian Vettel. (Photo by Pablo Guillen/Action Plus via Getty Images)
Regulation changes have come and gone, having been unable to do much to shake things up.
Not that the FIA can do anything about teams failing to step up to the plate.
Ferrari were better than Mercedes last season at power-sensitive circuits and the Honda power unit in the back of the Red Bull was giving Max Verstappen the ability to give both the Scuderia and the Silver Arrows a run for their money.
Mercedes knew there were improvements to be made to combat the threat posed by Ferrari and they have come into this season with a stronger package.
Meanwhile, Ferrari have been hampered by the aftermath of the investigation into the power unit they used last year, which raised questions over its legality.
Simply put, Mercedes have just been better than everybody else this season.
That brings us to the here and now.
The 2020 Formula One season has hardly been the ideal advertisement for how good the sport is, owing to the almost non-existent battle for the race win.
At seven out of the 13 races held so far this season, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen have been together on the podium.
(Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
That’s the perfect statistic to illustrate how predictable it has been out front.
However, change is afoot.
Next season will see the introduction of new sporting regulations, designed to make Formula One more egalitarian with a new budget cap of US$145 million (A$199.3 million) coming into force.
For reference, it is estimated that Mercedes spent £380 million (A$685.6 million) on their title campaign in 2019 with Ferrari spending £400 million (A$721.7 million) and Red Bull spending £270 million (A$487.1 million) compared to the midfield teams who spend between £125 million (A$225.5 million) and £190 million (A$342.8 million).
The 2022 season will see the delayed introduction of the new technical regulations, which I explained in detail along with the new sporting regulations when they were both announced last November.
I may be content with what I’m seeing this season in Formula One but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see competitive racing and, if possible, a greater spread of drivers who appear on the podium, particularly from the smaller teams.
For instance, the Supercars Championship saw 14 drivers appear on the podium at some stage this season.
Regardless of whether that number has been skewed by the SuperSprint format that Supercars was forced to use for all races bar the Adelaide 500 – which was held before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold – and the Bathurst 1000, there is always variety to be found in Supercars, something that Formula One is aiming for, as long as the title protagonists can still shine through.
While those who have disagreed with my comments about how Formula One is not a snoozefest and doesn’t need to be changed much have raised some good points, there hasn’t been much talk about what specifically needs to be done in the future to improve the sport.
Therefore, I am giving Roarers the opportunity to have their say on the current state of Formula One and its future through this survey. Feel free to add topics of discussion in the comments section if you think there is anything else that should be addressed.
woodart
Guest
that bus has already left. formula E has scooped street races in cities. f1 has lost that outlet. argueing about tracks and their effect on the races ignores that fact that $$$$ chooses the tracks. the race is becoming secondary to the event, concerts , parades ,cocktail parties etc. a large percentage of monaco's spectators dont get to see a racing car, more interested in being seen than looking at others.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
At the end of the day Dexter, the fact that I agree with you on points like this (and always have) makes the division between us pretty ridiculous. We may have different opinions on the current state of Formula One but we both want to see the same things, I.E. anything to create unpredictability.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
You're a breath of fresh air compared to this! :laughing:
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Geez, and people tell me I'm negative......
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Micko, I tend to disagree with this sentiment. Yes, Melbourne has given us a few dull races, but the beauty of the track, city backdrop, its what F1 is striving for. There has been talk about street races in London, Moscow, NY and Miami for some time now. I don't mind a healthy mixture, its about growing the sport as well.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
I mean really, whenever you have a season where one team (or driver) is dominating, everyone gets excited when there is rain on race day. People love the unpredictability of it all. Good teams can still do well but it brings everyone else back into it a bit.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
That would be disappointing if those plans come to fruition.
Micko
Roar Rookie
I guess that's the problem now: F1 GP's are "events" now, not races. Interlagos is going to be replaced by a street circuit too.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Each to their own on that front. Would F1 want to disregard its strategy of event races and move to Tailem Bend? That's very unlikely. The buzz and the atmosphere boosts Melbourne's case (which I have been told about from my Melbournian mate). And it would feel like there was something missing if F1 didn't open the season at Albert Park.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Think I’d prefer Phillip Island, SMP or The Bend for F1. Albert Park doesn’t really make a good F1 circuit. Would be good to keep it for Supercars though, like they did for Adelaide…till now. :unhappy:
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
How liberal are we being in our description of chaos? Because I would disagree Dexter as there have been many races in recent years which have seen great battles on raw pace. Unfortunately, I will add that this is the sort of negativity that I do not agree with, although I can see where the view stems from. It's not as bad as you've made it out to be there. Not the best but not the worst.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
I knew don't worry! Monaco the only street circuit? What about Melbourne?! :shocked:
Micko
Roar Rookie
I was being sarcastic. Obviously I'm not advocating for no Monaco GP. But for mine, Monaco should be the only street circuit, and genuine circuits should be encouraged. But the 2022 regulations could hopefully be a godsend to revitalise the street circuit GP's.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Damn, how could I forget about that? The history behind the Monaco Grand Prix justifies its place on the calendar and it's actually thrown up some good races over the past few years in seasons which are otherwise classified as being dull overall. And surely everybody watches it for that beautiful backdrop?
Micko
Roar Rookie
That's it...no more Monaco then! :silly:
Leroy14
Roar Rookie
Why would I bother with F1 anymore? The whole sport has become money based and not about the best drivers in the best cars. F1 is so far ups its own arse to see how shit it's become. I switched off. Switched to Formula E. It's the future, competitive and interesting. How long will it be before someone of likes of Hamilton pulls the pin and joins Formula E instead of drop outs from F1 finding an even racetrack. F1 is dead in the water.
Joshua Kerr
Roar Guru
Indeed - but the influence of the character of the circuit must not be ignored.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
Any chaos has been a welcome relief in any race for pretty much the last decade. Love seeing a few tyre blowouts.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
I guess a dull track will kill a race, but a dominant car can kill a whole season. I feel that's the difference from my point of view.
Simoc
Guest
I don't have a problem with F1. When I look at old races it's only for a little while. They don't compare favourably with the present. So Mercs are out front and then Verstappen on his own. After that it is as good as it gets. I think one point separating Renault, Racing Point and McLaren for third with Leclerc following also on his own. Certainly Wolff has been the best manager and Hamilton the best driver in F1 history and they're proving it. But the signs are they've nearly had enough. And whose next? Can Leclerc galvanise Ferrari - probably not but if they sack Binotto then the possibility is there. Red Bull may not be around after next season in F1. But they have a fast driver currently. And we'll know soon enough if Alonso can match Ricciardos performance in the Renault. And can Vettel take Racing Points new name forward. I say he can. They've never had a fast driver to date and Vettel has the knowledge and know how. I predict Haas won't be around for to long. Poor management there. Williams has the big chance under new regs to move forward and match the best in the midfield. Another team that has been living in the past for to long. Hopefully Alpha Tauri ditch Red Bull and move forward alone and get Alex Albon back. And the Sauber lot have gone nowhere for awhile and will continue along that path. McLaren will entrench themselves in the midfield pack, a few podiums, maybe a win but not contenders.