When I was younger my love affair with Formula One began in the late ’80s and early ’90s. What I miss most of all from those days (apart from not having to pay rent) was the great sense of anticipation I felt approaching a Grand Prix weekend.
And as much as I still love F1 the prospect of another race doesn’t quicken my heart the way it used to – grooved tyres. refuelling and the consequent lack of overtaking means I now tune in more to see what happens than to appreciate a sporting spectacle.
The best part of a Grand Prix weekend these days is the GP2. These races are real treats – excellent drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Adam Carroll, Alexandre Premat, Nelson Piquet Jnr and Neel Jani in cars with slick-tyre grip and skinny wings provide excellent racing.
The GP2 formula is a prescription for racing that F1 should follow.
Hamilton has been fairly dominant but the racing has been great almost everywhere. While the F1 drivers moaned about Imola not being a circuit you could overtake on, the GP2 boys proved the problem is more to do with the aerodynamic grip of F1 cars by putting on a pair of belting races.
It could well be the same at Magny-Cours this weekend. As exciting as the prospect of a Fernando Alonso-Michael Schumacher battle is, the likelihood that it will be fought via the pits takes the edge off it.
But I can’t wait to see what goes on at the Adelaide hairpin in the GP2 races.
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Tags f1 / formula one / grand prix / motor sport / gp2
miranda
15th July 2006, 6:40
Couldn’t agree more – the apathy I feel towards F1 these days is really quite shocking, whereas the anticipation for GP2 is very much what I used to feel for F1.