2014 Austrian Grand Prix Friday in Tweets

9 comments on “2014 Austrian Grand Prix Friday in Tweets”

1. 

   ^Mo^
   20th June 2014, 22:16

   In one way I can’t imagine the most influential people in Formula 1 are completely stupid. And yet in another way I’m scared to think of what Formula 1 looks like 5 years down the road… they’re really driving the sport into the ground. And they’re so much out of touch with the fan base it seems. It’s sad really.
   1. 

      Tim M (@tim-m)
      20th June 2014, 23:10

      5 years down the road: ‘As part of the green initiative, we need to harness wind power, so we’re going to attach masts and sails to the cars, but with very tight jib regulations’. Newey would be a natural.
   2. 

      Patrick (@paeschli)
      21st June 2014, 6:52

      Every decision they make proves they are thinking on the very short term, but I wouldn’t go as far as calling them stupid.
2. 

   Jack (@jmc200)
   20th June 2014, 22:29

   I don’t agree with Moy that all of those bosses are “clueless”, I have a lot of time for Monisha, but I agree that F1 does zero promotion. Bernie naively thinks that social media and the internet will blow over, and acts shocked when f1 viewing figures are down when he’s got the vast majority of races of pay per view, and has European heartland races struggling due to his extortionate hosting fees. F1 is still fantastic, but gimmicks won’t help it, cost control, and more readily available viewing will. Without free viewing nobody like me would one day switch on F1 on free tv and get hooked, and without fans they’ll be no sponsors and with no sponsors no teams. Rant over!
   1. 

      Sam S (@sam-sam)
      21st June 2014, 0:00

      I concur and would like to add to that. I live in USA and in my area the only way to watch it is through some form of TV subscription. I told the TV marketing calls folks many time that I’d like just a few certain channels. And just as many times I was told it’s not possible. I would even pay for a package or race by race to be able to watch it over the internet, but there’s no such option. I think the big problem here is that Bernie gets his money from fees and doesn’t care much about anything else. Could F1 and the teams make money from me by giving me the option to pay and watch? They could but they don’t, because there are still enough sponsors and viewers where it doesn’t hurt them much, if at all. But it’s sad to think that I have to resort to other ‘channels’ when I could just pay them and it would benefit both parties.
   2. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      21st June 2014, 12:05

      Its really easy. They are in power for FAR too long. And when you are in power the people around you often stop telling you you are talking nonsense. Instead the answer you only what you want to hear and that way confirm your nonsensical beliefs.

      Result? See the lovely ideas to improve F1
3. 

   Nick (@npf1)
   21st June 2014, 0:01

   I have to agree to a certain extent with Sean Kelly. When the A1-Ring was dropped, not many people felt really bad about it, though I feel the A1-Ring was ‘tainted’ by the Ferrari team orders as much as Indy was by the Michelin debacle in 2005. Looking back, I’d say the races there were pretty typical, although the 2001 race stands out to me personally because of Verstappen’s strategy and running up pretty high at some points.

   That being said, standards have fallen (the amount of love lost on the Korean and Indian venues is a fraction of how people felt about losing the Austrian GP at the time), but I’m not surprised people think this is a good track. It’s old school, it has atmosphere and a stunning backdrop; especially the latter lacks at most modern tracks (and even segments like the new Bus Stop look awful from a scenic point of view).

   Personally, I’m a lot more worried about people calling for the return of Magny Cours. Now that was a track nobody liked, had boring races and was considered to be in the middle of nowhere (at the time). I’m all for a French GP, but at this point, I’d prefer a well-dressed Paul Ricard (better direction and more scenic shots) to Magny Cours.
   1. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      21st June 2014, 12:07

      Surely the current configuration as A1 ring / Red Bull Ring is not as interesting as before they cut it in half. But the repeat offence of Ferrari making a mockery of racing will surely have helped fans view of the race.
      The backdrop is stunning, and yeah, its certainly different than all the cookie cutter recipe tracks on the calendar
4. 

   Ncedi
   21st June 2014, 8:39

   I know hate is the wrong word, but I really hate the negativity of some around f1. While I understand that we should look to what made the past so exciting, times also have to move on.

   Do you all pine for the days of your Nokia 3210? Do you have a problem with the advances made in safety, medicine and medical treatment? So why do we have a problem with f1 moving forward?

   F1 is the only sport I know where people continuously want to go back into the past. Never happy with what they’ve got. In MotoGP, the bikes are getting more advanced but the racing is excellent. In F1 we’ve had some great racing this year, I’ve genuinely enjoyed every race for one reason or another.

   So stick me if you will (and I apologise for the disjointed rant) but I love F1. I love deep growl of the engines, I love hearing the tyre squeal, I love DRS giving us more than a Trulli train of cars (while not making it too easy), I love that it’s very technical and uses hybrid technology, I love the tyres and how they spice up strategy. I just love F1, it is what is. I’m only 27, but I can’t go back to being 20 when a hangover only seemed to last a few minutes vs a couple of days now.

   F1 only seems to keep tweaking things because the fans and media always find something to moan about. No overtaking, they gave us more. Cars are ugly, they sort it. No engine noise, they try bring some more.

   Let’s just love it for what it is, it’s great technology, very safe (thankfully) and ultimately the racing is great enough for us to spend Sunday afternoons watching. Things of the past are gone and some thankfully so.

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