Le Mans offers what F1 has forgotten – Alonso

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In the round-up: Fernando Alonso explains why he and other F1 drivers are attracted to competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

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Le Mans looks more fun to drive than F1 - Fernando Alonso (ESPN)

"You drive within 0.3s (per lap) for two hours and three stints. Being able to drive the same car for two hours is something we have forgotten in Formula One for the last couple of years."

Mark Webber enjoying French renaissance ahead of 24 Hours of Le Mans (The Telegraph)

"I mainly think about the drivers; the guys who should have the opportunity to experience something phenomenal. If they’re happy, and on the edge, and it’s risky, pushing the boundaries, then the fans love it. At the moment it’s not like that."

Honda keen to supply second team (F1i)

"Unfortunately I don’t have any offers right now. Maybe after the summer break, I hope someone calls me and says 'please give me your good engine'!"

Vettel says Ferrari surprised him (Autosport)

"Since the moment I started getting to know the team, I have been positively surprised about the potential and manpower and the passion for the brand."

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Comment of the day

Andy has his first experience of the Le Mans 24 Hours:

I’m a long time F1 nerd. Over the last ten years I’ve been a little blinkered to anything else, because F1 was delivering the goods. Now that F1 is failing, for reasons we’ve all read about on this very forum, I find myself watching the 24-hour race at Le Mans with any degree of committed attention.

I’ll be honest, I’m finding things pretty difficult to follow, but a fair level of finger pointing can be made in the direction of the UK TV coverage people for that. It’s not terrible, but far from poor also. I’m also struggling to follow some of the battles, but then again, I imagine it’s nearly impossible for the race camera director to cover such a large circuit with such a spread-out field to get all of the action in.

On the positive side, I love the speed of the LMP1 cars. They are very impressive to watch. I’m also impressed with the level of work undertaken by the pit crews to get the cars serviced and back on track. Especially the lengths they go to make repairs after an accident!

Broadcasts of the race director’s communications to the teams is a very good idea. As is the ‘slow zone’ idea. I’m am, however, concerned about the heavy braking in the yellow flagged zone prior to the slow zone. It looks a tad unsafe to me to unsettle cars of various braking capabilities stamping on the brakes so close to each other on the approach to the scene of an incident.

All in all, I’m properly enjoying this. F1 has a lot to learn and should probably lend an ear to the WEC and how it does things. Even in regards to the speed and reliability the LMP1 regulations seems to provide. F1 should take note, better that than the current rhetoric of total ignorance and aggressive competition with rival categories.

Anyway, pour me another wine! There’s a race to watch!
Andy

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Snapshot

The number 19 Porsche 919 of Nico Hulkenberg, Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber leads the Le Mans 24 Hours at Round Up o’clock (1am in France). Join us for live comments here until the chequered flag:

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85 comments on “Le Mans offers what F1 has forgotten – Alonso”

  1. LeMans is about man & machine v the elements, F1 is just about money, i get more enjoyment in watching LeMans during the 24hrs than watching a season of F1, LeMans is an event, a spectacle, F1 is just another race.

    1. yeah we could have 6 Mecs on the track in F1 now that would spruce up the battle in the front.

      1. I’m going to bed now. It was the most boring 14 hours of my live. The first 20 cars are split 31 laps. Top three are split by just under 2 minutes. I really need some one to tell me explain to me how this entertaining. At leas the engineer behind the cars are interesting.

        1. Yeah I feel exactly the same, its not good to watch I cannot believe people are comparing it to F1. The engineering is good but not the race itself.

        2. The live feed on the Le mans website kept on reminding us how much more exciting and relevant WEC is. So he must be right. Even though it looks even more boring than say a 2004 F1 race.

          Well the cars look different and they are noisy. So if that’s all you’re looking for then it’s super.

          1. It became a fashion to just say F1 is boring and Wec is awesome it seems no matter the reality.
            F1 isn’t failing anymore that it had failed before. Actually i can think a lot more boring years no matter what some say. Sorry Ferrari and Red Bull fan-boys that you team isn’t winning but F1 isn’t failing because you feel sad your team isn’t winning.

    2. I’m enjoying the race, but give me a break. As if the front in Le Mans isn’t just about the big manufacturers throwing money at each other, too. The whole class system would be a wet dream for Christian Horner. The big names are required to run Hybrids, and everything is rigged so that only Hybrids are able to win the race by default.

      Imagine if Audi would have called quits for whatever reason last year… Then you would have Porsches beating the hell out of anybody else like Mercedes in Formula 1.

  2. So go to LeMans and drive there Mr. Alonso. 38 million to complain all the time…
    Give up the money and go there.
    If you were winning, F1 cars could be just like a Beatle and i’m sure you would be loving it.

    1. Vijay Mallya should quit F1 and join WEC too.
      F1 is full of people that do nothing other to talk the sport down.
      And this got nothing to do with F1 problems, which we all now that are real. But the need to talk the sport down at every oportunity is ridiculous.

      1. So just because these guys appreciate WEC over F1, they’re talking the sport down? How about saying that they’re talking the REALITY in the current state of both the sports?

        Watch the Le Mans and you know what magic it is!

      2. Alonso tried to dovetail F1 with a Le Mans appearance this year and failed, and maybe if Vijay had more money he’d be in both series. There is no rule that says both cannot be appreciated (which I suspect is the case for Vijay) or attempted together.

      3. @Ed Marques, he didnt talk f1 down, he talked WEC up. and anyway, there is plenty wrong with f1 at the moment to talk F1 down

    2. @edmarques he wanted to go, but Honda didn’t want to.

      And I don’t think how Mallya is talking the sport down with that tweet.

      1. If he really wanted to go he would of done a Mark Webber and gone, he didn’t want to go he wanted the best of both world and Honda understandably after helping pay his massive salary didn’t want that.

        I have to be honest though, I agree with Ed, If some F1 drivers aren’t happy in F1 then simply leave, plenty of other talent out there to take their place . I also agree that if Alonso was leading the championship in his Mclaren then F1 would be great and there would be no complaints.

      2. @fer-no65 Dream scenario for Alonso – Porsche buy Red Bull, hire Alonso, Hulkenberg and then Evans (for Webber) as the drivers. Honda leaves F1 while Alonso, Hulkenberg and Webber start to dominate Le Mans :D.

    3. No everybody is complaining about Formula One because that is their true love. It has just transformed into some garbage racing series that happens to be called Formula One. If another racing series came along with these same stupid rules, sanitized racetracks , DRS etc I highly doubt peopel would defend it so much.

  3. The Hulk was pretty conservative at the start, but his night stint was mega, the #19 Porsche is back in the hunt.

    1. @jmc200 Yep, he was dialling in.. well, either that, or he forgot that F1 the endurance race doesn’t apply to Le Mans 24 hours the sprint race :D.

      Would it be ironic if Hulk wins Le Mans first time out but still can’t get a top drive in F1?

      1. Or he’s aware that it is STILL an endurance race. Fingers crossed #19 doesn’t have any problems. Go HULK!!!

      2. Good question there @fastiesty. Now that Hulk fulfilled the first bit, lets see how it pans out with the rest of that

    2. The Hulk was pretty conservative at the start

      @jmc200

      Maybe he was saving fuel ;)

      Old habits die hard

  4. What I find astonishing is the LMP1’s are apparently 30% more fuel efficient than they were two years ago and this year’s pole time was 5 seconds quicker than last year’s.

    1. @stifsemperfi Sounds very similar to the F1 efficiency drive, the only difference being F1 is 5 seconds slower in race trim. But when was LMP at it’s fastest? It’s a genuine question – I heard about this year that ‘they are getting back to record speeds’, hence ‘they might want to make it slower again for safety’. That makes it sound like if F1 was approaching 2004/5 speeds again it would be a comparable performance jump (and they are at Interlagos).

      1. @stigsemperfi Typo (in the dark).

        I wonder if Honda is cheaper than Ferrari? If so.. Manor may be an option, along with better pricing for McLaren tech than Ferrari tech. If not.. ART is probably their only hope?

        1. I don’t think it could be, the engine looks incredibly complicated, more so than the Ferrari.

          1. Honda may just want to make a better offer no matter the cost of their research. I mean the research is already being made so the only cost are the materials for another two engines and those materials cost very little compared to the R&D.
            The reason other teams pay so much is because the engine makers try to get back the cost of their R&D too. But if Honda decided that materials and maintenance are only 5 million and it doesn’t need to charge the cost of the R&D because it would have made it for Mclaren anyway and it can just get some money and more data by simply charging 8 or 10 million then it can easily do it.

      2. I would presume that they are thinking of 2008 – although the cars were slightly slower in qualifying trim, they were fractionally faster in race trim.

        However, the ACO has already confirmed that they are planning on slowing the cars down – they want to prevent the cars from setting sub 3m20s lap times at Le Mans and to reduce the cornering speeds, in part because of Gene’s severe concussion in 2014.

  5. I’ve been watching Le Mans since it started yesterday morning (10 am in Argentina).

    So far I cannot keep away from the stream. I’ve done some stuff for uni but basically it’s been all day Le Mans.

    It’s been fantastic. I used to say that endurance racing is very hard to follow and that it was mainly waiting until 3 pm local time on Sunday.

    But it’s been a complete new experience, one which so far has really struck with me. I want to go there. I desperately want to go and feel it all first hand. The atmosphere, the sound of the GT cars over the buzz of the hybrid LMP1s.

    It’s so far beyond belief all this. They are officially going faster than when there were no chicanes on the Mulsanne straight. And hardly any reliability problems in the whole field. And the race for the lead is really, really on.

    Maybe it’s the way this is. 1 very big race a year, so you are looking forward to it since April, basically.

    But it’s certainly been a superb day watching motorsport. The commentators are fun, they talk about all the technical bits and also about random stuff to make it all easy to watch. And there are so many options ! live streaming, TV (depends where you are), Radio Le Mans is live on youtube all day long, Nissan has onboard footage from their LMP1 cars on youtube too.

    Somehow, I can see Hulkenberg smiling on his car. His 2nd stint was superb and he’s now leading. And I can also see Fernando watching the race and kicking himself: “I should’ve been there”.

    1. I bought the official stream. Best $10 I ever spent. I love all the options of changing which cameras you want to watch and you can have numerous windows open and on your cell phone, all high quality streams. I love it and would be awesome if F1 could offer something like this though I understand the TV contracts BE has in place.

      1. And the Corvette sounds awesome.

    2. @fer-no65 Hulk’s onboard night stint = awesome! @beejis60 Yes, eventually F1 might move to something like this, a combination of Bernie’s satellite experimentation and live streaming?

    3. Fer no. 65, I got the endurance bug myself a few years ago and re-watch the 2104 broadcast often.

      I made the trip to Le Mans from Los Angeles for last weekend’s race. It is an amazing thing to experience first hand. The sounds of the WEC cars are beautiful unlike the boring drone of V6s I experienced at last year’s F1 Grand Prix at Austin, TX.

      The size of the crowds is immense and the huge displays infield are impressive. Everything is big and better at Le Mans. Well, except the food vendors, hahah.

      I listened to Radio Le Mans the entire time and watched the giant screens infield while seeing the cars live, so I enjoyed every advantage.

      I didn’t sleep for over 40 hours straight!

  6. Alonso’s right, 250.000 + fans are there watching the drama unfold…

  7. Paul (@frankjaeger)
    14th June 2015, 2:08

    Ahhh so Honda are somewhat geared towards accepting another customer onto its ranks. I always thought the Mc-Honda relationships was built on exclusivity, because they would produce this unreal engine eventually. I suppose once they supply the engine to another team (the terms of which this is sold is another an argument for another time i.e. whether a customer would receive the same engine as McLaren) it’s only the aero package which would be the competitive element in a Honda Honda battle.

    No doubt it would have been beneficial for Honda to get onboard another team to develop the engine this season. I will be watching very closely in Austria for these upgrades

    1. No team (including Manor) would opt for a Honda PU. The only way Honda can get a team like Manor to use their PU is by giving it away for free.

      Honestly, I cannot remember an engine supplier who is as poor compared to the competition as Honda is at it’s rivals, and any adoption of their PU would be down to them bribing one of the poor teams.

  8. I like Le Mans but it tends to completely gloss over what F1 gets criticised for. Point in case – I’m watching some Audi onboards at the moment and they’re lift and coasting for up to 2-3 seconds at the end of straights. F1 gets massacred for anything even remotely comparable.

    1. To be fair, that lift and coast procedure in the LMP1 cars is due to an entirely different reason than in F1, but point taken.

    2. FlyingLobster27
      14th June 2015, 7:24

      Point not taken. I read your comment about the “Noah’s Ark” grid yesterday, I see the reasoning, but I find it a curious mindset to be in if you’re holding against the WEC the fact that their fans don’t criticise things that have always been happening, and that for many reasons should be happening. That actually says more about the state of the F1 fandom, IMO.
      That doesn’t mean endurance fans can’t be critical though: many are not happy with the future limitations on P2 (choice between only 4 chassis makers, spec engine).

    3. they lift to regenerate energy. the cars are running consistently fast times for 24hours, and not running slow like you might think would happen in endurance, they cannot afford that or they lose time to the opposition. in this day and age at lemans, the drivers are driving ass fast as they can in every strint.

  9. Hearing the last few days of comments about how f1 needs to go flat out and be dangerous it got me thinking about why its not. A couple of years ago tyres were degrading so fast and tyre mgmt was the isssue. Now fuel… So why not give a fixed (minimum) ammount of fuel for each race and allow pireli to make more resistant tires. Drivers will surely go more flat out then.

    Also, aal this talk abt changing the rules. Imagine if suddently football decided to have 10 player teams and do games for 3 hours just to improve the nr of goals… It would be riddiculous.

    So racing will improve with faster more resistant tires. And racing faster will not be limited by fuel.

    1. I agree with the points you made but not with the football analogy, the only way they could be compared was if football had ball or boot development so that each team used different boots etc. Its a completely different type of sport.

  10. Who wants to see Button, Alonso and Webber all together in a Porsche at Le Mans!

    1. Me! I wonder how Hamilton would do at Le Mans. Could he work effectively with his teammates?
      I think endurance racing could be right up Jenson’s alley.

      1. Maybe one day for Hamilton but his F1 career is still very much in its prime time. Alonso and Button are both getting older, like Webber was, and it won’t be too long before they’re looking to move on.

        Plus I believe the three of Webber, Alonso and Button all get on quite well so it could be a good team.

    2. What a team. That would be awesome.

    3. Certainly not me. If you look at the last part of Webber interview you’ll find out that the englishman Nick Tandy worked in a recycling tyre plant and in an Autoglass shop before becaming a professional driver and he probably never though about driving a LMP at Le Mans…now he (together with his two teammates) is leading the race and I really hope for them to win it. Now that’s a story to tell. I don’t want some spoiled F1 brat to prevent this people chasing ther dreams just because they are not satisfied with their 40 million trolley shop (that’s what F1 became in the last 5 or 6 years). They want the money? Just stick whit that c..p. I’m gonna make an exception though…I’m glad the Hulk can finally show his talent in a big stage, he did a monster stint this night. I’m happy for him and I’ll definitely root for the #19 Porsche.

      1. +1 GO HULK!! #19

      2. I agree that Tandy has more than proved his worth as an endurance racer today. It’s unfair to describe all F1 drivers as brats, though. They’ve all worked hard to get to F1, often from humble beginnings. As an example, Hulkenberg worked as a fork-lift driver when he was a teenager.

  11. Mustavo Gaia
    14th June 2015, 3:02

    What is the point of loving WEC?
    If it gets too much audience in a couple of years Tv will demand shorter races.
    I repeat, make F1 cars able to run in dirty air and the problems are over.
    Racing will be back and they can get rid of the gimmickies people hate (DRs, experimental tyres etc).

    1. Unlikely. If that demand is made, the Blancpain Series will simply bridge the gap for those demanding TV-friendly race lengths.

  12. Alonso if you aren’t happy with F1 just leave

  13. Alonso is dead right. He’s jealous of the people driving in the WEC. Who can blame him? It’s a true drivers series. F1 is now a joke. A complete yawn fest with the occasional spark of action. He won’t leave because they offer him truck loads of money and I guess he wants that third world title on his resume. How many people do jobs they don’t like (or don’t go to another) because of the money? Probably all of you. He has every right to make these comments.

    1. Hahahaha it’s a true drivers series? Yeah, the cars don’t make any difference, just look at the Toyotas…
      All the drivers lift and cost, all the drivers save fuel and tyres, etc. (in Lmp1, which is what matters)
      The need in overhyping WEC is ludicrous.

      He doesn’t leave because he doesn’t want to. Since he is not winning, talking trash about the sport is a way to justify his failures, or bad decisons.

      1. spafrancorchamps
        14th June 2015, 8:54

        To be fair, lift and coast has always been a part of Endurance racing with the hardware to save, tires to save, fuel to save. While in F1 people expect drivers to drive on the limit, lap after lap.

        People have got different expectations from different race classes. And Le Mans is currently living up to its expectations with huge competition in all different classes.

        F1 on the other hand has been disappointing for years now. It has got no competition, drivers are cruising on race day, DRS has taken away beautiful overtakes and they’ve taken away its iconic engine sound.

        In current F1, the race is basically over after ten minutes. You already know who is going to win and you probably know who is finishing 2nd or 3rd too. Le Mans is currently on for 19 hours and it’s still open for the win in some classes and drivers are still fighting for position.

      2. I agree that it is wrong to think that money doesn’t make a difference – Audi and Porsche are, by far, the heaviest spenders at Le Mans, whereas Toyota won’t even pay to run a third car at Le Mans. Toyota have already written off their entire 2015 campaign – Davidson admitted they were just “going through the motions” as they cannot compete – because the ACO’s regulations means that they cannot actually develop the cars during the season.

        1. because the ACO’s regulations means that they cannot actually develop the cars during the season.

          What are the regulations preventing? Because as they’ve all brought out massively different low drag variants there’s clearly scope to make a lot of changes.

          1. @matt90, with regards to the aerodynamic packages, all of those packages had to go through a homologation procedure before the ACO permits them to be bolted onto the car.

            The regulations specify that a modified part can only be attached to the car if the Holologation Group provides its approval a minimum of 15 days before the event.

            However, the team has to submit its draft homologation form a minimum of 15 days before that deadline – so, in effect, the teams have a minimum delay of a month before they can introduce a new part onto the car.
            Those homologation rules are part of the reason why Nissan’s car was so late to launch after failing its crash test – they missed the homologation window for Silverstone, and because the 6 Hours of Spa was less than three weeks afterwards, they weren’t able to schedule a new crash test and then homologate their car in time for that race either.

            It doesn’t completely prevent teams from introducing new aero packages, but it does slow them down considerably – Toyota’s aero package, for example, would have had to have be submitted for homologation back in May at the latest.

            The bigger problem that Toyota has raised, however, is the fact that the power unit also has to be homologated and cannot be modified during the season.

            That is a consequence of the ACO’s Balance of Performance regulations – because the ACO decide on the amount of fuel and electrical power that the teams can use per lap after the pre-season tests, the ACO fixes the performance of the power units at that point to try to ensure that the Balance of Performance lasts throughout the season.
            If you start the season at a disadvantage – as Toyota has – that disadvantage is locked in as the ACO’s performance balancing mechanism has to assume that the engines maintain the same performance specs during the year.

            Even simple changes to the engine maps are effectively outlawed – the homologation forms specify that the teams have to submit the torque curve as part of the parameters for homologation, as well as running torque sensors on the axles to ensure that the homologated torque curve matches with the performance on track.

        2. Toyota have been caught out and out developed, last year they were WEC champions, they are now looking at using different power units next year, but they have lost out a lot more it seems in aerodynamics, the Audi is a monster this year, more efficient aero-wise then f1 cars, porsche not far behind, but with more power.

      3. Of course the cars make a difference. The huge difference is the cars are driven harder, more often and the drivers are tested physically for longer periods of time. F1 is getting pathetic. Have a look at Andre Lotterer after his stint today. That is how an F1 driver should look after a race.

  14. I have watched, and will be watching, as much of Le Mans as possible and I have to agree with most other people that it has been a fantastic race so far. Not a classic, but it has been good. But there are so many factors that contribute to that spectacle, the amazing track, the traffic, racing at night. Having Hulkenberg in the field is a major draw to, his pace proves just what a talent we all know he is. It is ace to watch. The best endurance race in the world.

    But people who are turning to WEC to spite F1 will be sad to see that the things they hate about modern F1 are still prevalent in WEC. They are lifting and coasting, the cars sound rubbish (more like Formula E because of the powerful hybrid systems than the Group C monsters of the past) and the teams are all managing fuel and tyres to try gain an advantage. But does this take away from the skill of racing a car for 24 hours? Of course not, it is part of the game. I love the Le Mans 24 hour race and I watch it every year on TV and hope to watching it live one day, but to say it could ever take F1’s place is nonsense.

    1. it wont- it is a different racing series, but it is obviously taking on new fans, many not happy with f1, and those switching to watch WEC and applauding it in forums – they should not be critised if they actually like WEC – i dont think people do it to “spite” f1, but if they do i cant blame them with how f1 is. . i like both, always have, but at the moment i much prefer to watch WEC – and you are wrong on one thing – the sound – you must only be watching the P1 cars, have a listen to the Ferraris and Corvettes – that is the other great thing about it, so many cars in so many categories and so many different configurations of cars, and so many different sounds.

  15. Red Bull/Toro Rosso-Honda news coming in the next 6 months?

    And in other news, it’s disappointing to see the Toyotas lacking pace to the VW parade; although I am hoping Porsche wins it this time. Audi always seems to have had luck, pace and reliability on their side.

  16. @GeeMac

    Do your best to get there.

    I know you’ll just love it

  17. I just don’t get the WEC hype, I’ve been watching le mans & have so far found it to be really boring.

    no on track battles for the top spots, the lead car leading by over a lap, most the other top cars separated by a lap or more. as a race its been really boring.
    The TV coverage has been appallingly bad as well, especially the eurosport coverage which has been like an amateur budget broadcast.

    on top of that lots of talk about fuel & tyre saving & no sign of this 24 hour flat out sprint that the anti-f1 brigade are constantly saying it is to hype it.

    wasn’t enjoying anything about it so have switched off.

    1. FlyingLobster27
      14th June 2015, 12:45

      You have to like long games to enjoy long races. If you’ve only started watching now, sure, you’re not in for much – the pace has delivered its verdict, and only problems can change the order for the vast majority of the field. There was a 13-second margin for the win some years ago, but several cars on the lead lap after 20 hours is a rare occurrence at Le Mans.
      You do need to know this to enjoy it; sorry if that’s not your thing.

  18. I’m still undecided on how to judge Le Mans…I don’t think I can compare it to F1. The best comparison would be cricket – there’s the tests and then the ODIs.

    I love the noise of the LMP1s but it’s a bit hard watching it for more than 30 minutes because of a lack of wheel to wheel action. I really like the pit stops though, watching the team work and the limited amount of crew allowed to work on the car (unless it’s inside the garage).

    I understand why Alonso is saying he wants to be able to push flat out for whole races.

    1. there is usually a battle somewhere in the field of 56 cars, but the tv usually doesnt follow the lower classes as much as the P1 cars.

  19. People making comments about there being lift & coast and fuel conservation at Le Mans appear to have missed the fact that it is a 24 hour endurance race and that these things have been happening since the early years of the event. It is important for endurance drivers to be able to save fuel, tires, brakes etc while still putting in consistant lap times.
    Just because fans of Le Mans accept these thing in an endurance race, it doesn’t mean we want to see them becoming as important as they are in F1 at the moment because F1 isn’t an endurance race, it’s a series of 200 mile sprint races where cars, drivers and teams should be going as fast as possible (within the limitations of the regulations) from lights to flags.
    It’s understandable that there will always be some conservation in F1, it’s not acceptable that this conservation has become a dominating factor of the sport that is denying us the opportunity to see cars and drivers pushed to the limits in the way they have always been throughout the history of F1.

    1. @beneboy The level of management in F1 currently is no worse than it has been in the past, The only difference is that were now hearing about it thanks to the team radio been played out relating to it.

      Fuel for example was a far bigger issue in the 80s when we regularly had cars running out at the end. Look at the 1985 San Marino Gp for example, You had Senna run out of fuel while in the lead & then Sefan Johansson lose his best chance of a win by also running out with Alain Prost running out as he crossed the line to take the win.

      If we didn’t have so much of the team radio comm’s relating to tyre/fuel/brake management I doubt most people would even really notice, Certainly didn’t in the past when there was just as much (If not more) management going on.

  20. Watching Le Mans made me think of F1 as ‘sanitized’. As a driver, it must be much more exciting to drive as at Le Man (or rally). F1 you might get one overtake or an undercut to get past. Yawn. Maybe if F1 reintroduced gravel traps instead of run off areas it might throw a few spanners into the works now and then. Nobody has been hurt (so far) in the 24hr race, so making it more risky isn’t necessary. Get more cars on the track. F1 cars cost too much to be touched on track with anything other than a penalty.

    I wish the Eurosport commentators would explain the rules.

    Reading an article about Bernie, he refuses to move to modern social media,

    “I tried to find out… but I’m too old fashioned…I don’t know why people want to get to the ‘young generation’…I’d rather get to the 70yo who’s got plenty of cash…” F1 Racing

    Says it all, he’s too old to understand anything other than money. It needs more than that.

    1. @jan54321 You mention gravel traps, Yet many of the gravel traps at Le mans have been changed to tarmac recently.

      Also worth noting in that regard is that since they started doing that the number of punctures has decreased as the primary cause of punctures at Le Mans in the past was due to cars running over gravel that had been pulled onto the track by other cars.

    2. @jan54321, with regards to your comment that “nobody has been hurt (so far) in the 24hr race” – whilst that is true this year, this is the first race for several years where there haven’t been drivers suffering from serious injuries during a practise session or the race itself. Nakajima is only just fit to drive now after breaking a vertebrae during the race in Spa, so injuries are fairly common in the WEC.

      Loic Duval had to pull out of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year after suffering from severe concussion during a practise session, whilst two years ago Allan Simonsen was killed when he crashed at Tertre Rouge.

      Boullion had to withdraw from the 2012 even after suffering from broken ribs in another practise crash, and that same race saw Davidson break two vertebrae after he collided with a GT car and flipped into a barrier.

      Furthermore, the gravel traps have caused problems in the past – only a few years ago, McNish’s car was launched across a gravel trap and nearly crashed into a marshals post, so gravel traps can be particularly problematic.

  21. I don’t think Alonso is the only one thinking it – others don’t want to say it.
    Like him or not, he’s accurate – F1 is on it’s deathbed. I expect to see more drivers do the same as Hulk and lWebber.

    1. Web didn’t say he got bored with F1 or something, he said “I run out of talent”. So….

  22. “I hope someone calls me and says ‘please give me your good engine’!”

    that would be McLaren saying that and they’ve been begging for it all year. where is this “good” engine you’re hiding?

    1. Someone’s bound to think Honda has a good 2016-spec engine in some heretofore-unknown loft…

  23. I have been to Le Mans 24 Hours twice now and I can honestly say the first year I went I knew very little about the cars, driver etc. and I was really sceptical about a 24 hours race! as I believed it was far to long to keep up, however I was completely wrong! When I turn up at Circuit de la sarthe you can feel the energy and the excitement, which as good as Silverstone was I didn’t feel the same. The experience is so much better, in F1 you sit down for the race and that’s it, at Le Mans you have all day and night to view the race from different view points on the track, you can access all the stands for free normally two hours into the race, then theres the driver parade through the town centre, which is like a event in it self! not just a quick lap around the track on the back of a truck, then to top it off theres the holy grail for Le Mans fans, RadioLemans I can sit there all day listening this station! great interviews and they bring the race to life.

  24. I don’t know how anyone can like WEC and complain about the noise in F1 !

    1. The LMP1 engines may be quieter than F1 engines (most of the noise at a WEC event comes from the GT engines), but they have the benefit of sounding like actual engines and not a synth rendition from 1995.

  25. if the LMP hybrid cars can be good old fashion noisy why can’t the F1 car be the same way?

  26. Horses for courses. Endurance racing and F1 is chalk & cheese. There was not a single battle between LMP1 cars for the actual lead – it was all about pit stops and strategy., the very elements F1 gets criticised for. What is impressive, is that Porsche have developed a really oddball ICE (2 litre V4 Turbo) and made it absolutely competitive within a very short time frame – something that Honda has thus far spectacularly failed to achieve in F1. LMP1 cars are even more fuel regulated than F1 – they run to a lap consumption delta far more rigourous than F1 – you just don’t get to hear about it. I like endurance racing and I like F1. They are not the same and never should be so vive la difference…

    1. +1

      Well said.

      1. I don’t disagree with everything you said, but it is untrue to say there was not a single battle between LMP1 cars for the lead, as this changed ON TRACK in the opening hours.

  27. This year was the first year i actually watched the L Man 24hr and i have to say, i couldn’t turn away from it. There was something about it and i was mighty impressed by the whole lot of it. Those LMP1 cars are just phenomenal, not sure how they drive those things at night. The on board shots at night made me really appreciate how on the limit those drivers would be. Well done

  28. Alonso perhaps is talking about a good car. Quite right considering his current plight.

    He must have gone ‘Wow’ to know that a car can run trouble free for 24 hours. His McLaren is worth only for 24 laps most times :)

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