Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Paul Ricard, 2019

Stop overreacting to “boring” F1 races – Hamilton

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In the round-up: Lewis Hamilton says the well-received Austrian Grand Prix shows people were too quick to criticise Formula 1 after a processional race in France.

What they say

Speaking after the race at the Red Bull Ring Hamilton said people shouldn’t criticise F1 on the strength of a single race.

You guys have been begging for racing for ages and you got it today. I think ultimately what today shows is that you can’t just look at one weekend and complain because that’s what it seems happens. One weekend doesn’t go so well and then everyone’s like ‘the racing is boring’. And then you have a race like this and then you’re like ‘oh, it’s exciting’. Then the next race, ‘oh, it was boring’. So make up your mind and just chill.

Racing’s racing. It’s a difficult formula today, it’s very technical. If we didn’t have our engine temperature issues today we would have been in that fight. We had the tyres to do it, we had the pace to do it, I would have been in that fight. But unfortunately the way these cars and the way the rules are set all these things means we unfortunately were in the wrong place today.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

Following their first victory, should we take a second look at Honda’s performance since they returned to F1?

I’m not convinced the Honda engine has ever been as ‘bad’ as made out. McLaren’s struggles after parting ways I think partially proved that they never did have the ‘best chassis’ as they claimed at the time.

Kudos to Red Bull for taking a (calculated, I’m sure) gamble though – I suspect it’s going to pay dividends in more ways that one.

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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56 comments on “Stop overreacting to “boring” F1 races – Hamilton”

  1. Sure Hamilton, how about you take Mercedes out of every race and then people will stop complaining. What a silly argument to say the state of F1 is fine due to the result of one race where the team that has been dominant simply wasn’t even close on race pace.

    One weekend doesn’t go so well and then everyone’s like ‘the racing is boring’. And then you have a race like this and then you’re like ‘oh, it’s exciting’. Then the next race, ‘oh, it was boring’. So make up your mind and just chill.

    Try 10 races are boring, there’s one good race like this, then it goes back to another 10 boring races. It’s ridiculous to use one interesting result as proof that F1 is in a good place and shouldn’t be critiqued. I’m sure if it were possible the other teams would be lobbying and we’d be having a vote to move every track 600 odd metres above sea level just like they wanted with the tyres. But of course this statement is just more political rubbish anyway, of course nothing should change says the championship leader who’s team is ~130 points ahead of the nearest rival.

    One good race does not even come close to making F1 a compelling championship series for the viewer

    1. Just like you Hamilton is entitled to his view …. if you find it boring don’t turn on your TV then you wont have cause to complain.
      I say this a race fan and not a Ham/Merc fan but you obviously seem to want to deny Mercedes their success for doing a better job than their competitors, that is hardly Mercs fault.

      1. Do you have even a foggy idea of what his point was? Did you even bother to read his post? His reasoning is that there are many more boring races than exciting ones and he was criticizing Hamilton’s opinion for not being based in fact.

        1. Yes I did and I did not deny there have been boring races, France was one of the most tedious races I have watched in a long time … all I said was Hamilton is entitled to his view just like everybody else.

      2. I’m not denying Mercedes anything, even Wolff has said in the past that Mercedes domination is boring. The teams aren’t converging, the aero effect is lessened but still very much there, the DRS change has been barely effective.

        One good race because Mercedes couldn’t turn their car on doesn’t change that.

        1. I’m not denying some of the races have been boring, just saying Hamilton is entitled to his opinion.

          1. Ofcourse he is, that’s what all this media circus is about, it’s the show outside the show. But when his opinion is that we should all just “chill” and F1 is fine the way it is, I have no problem pointing out that in my opinion he’s wrong, and it isn’t.

    2. ‘How about take Mercedes out of every race and then people will stop complaining’? So fans don’t want to see the best driver/car winning; they want to see a team stumble and the driver spin their way to victory? As Ferrari would do.

      And I can’t see where Hamilton says it’s fine. He said stop overreacting and chill a bit. Or maybe we should bring Bernie back so we can implement some knee jerk solutions?

      1. When he says people are over-reacting by saying the racing is boring it implies that in general it is not, otherwise it would be a just reaction and nothing to complain about, not an over-reaction.

        What does knee-jerk solutions have to do anything, Ferrari and Red Bull are the ones asking for that and as an extension this Hamilton comment is an extension of the reply to that. How about as a whole they focus on the regulation changes Brawn has had 2 years to work on which are already overdue? If they get that right then we won’t have to worry about boring races at all!

        1. Read it again, he was implying overreaction to both the boring and the good races ‘then you’re like its exciting. So make up your mind and chill’. I don’t see anywhere in there where is is implying the overreaction is specific to the boring races.
          As for your last part, I don’t see where you differ from Hamilton on this. You are both saying, stop overreacting, just chill and give Brawn and co and chance to sort it out.

    3. Were you asleep when Lewis Hamilton said “Don’t blame the drivers”?

      George Russell has spent the season running around at the back. Do you think he likes it? He can’t make the Williams into a winning car, and neither can Lewis turn the Mercedes into a losing car. Drivers race what they’re given to the best of their ability. No amount of you moaning will change that fact.

      1. and neither can Lewis turn the Mercedes into a losing car

        His multiple turn one kerb riding cost him a frontwing and a lot of time. So yes.. a driver can turn a winning car in a losing car.

        1. No it didn’t, his front wing was broken on the exit of turn 10.

    4. @skipgamer – Thanks for saying this and saving me the time. #cotd

  2. Nice tweet by Zak, good of him to do so.

    Lando Norris to Max: “I was trying to give you a tow on that last lap” – priceless!

    1. That was grand of Zak.
      Im very happy for Honda, being myself a lifelong Honda man.
      At the time of their split, until now I felt McLaren had buried themselves for good and very unjustly tried to blame Honda.
      Now Im happy it worked out well for both parties, especially the Niponic one. McLaren on this ressurgence looks promising, but their PU will relegate them to the midfield at best, at least until 2021.

  3. A little off topic: Another reason for the need to 2021 rules bringing real competition is the level of the line up available for the next years.
    Yes, there are two or three burocratic drivers who need a jolt to delivery something special and one or two rookie that need further proofing, but there will be a clear dozen of top notch drivers.
    8-10 cars able to compete for a podium would make it a perfect use of them.
    Keeping the same three guys on different step of the podium would be a waste.

  4. Didn’t Hamilton say a few races earlier that he felt as if F1 was “too easy and too boring” as of now? His comments are quite hypocritical sometimes, though I do agree with what he says here.

    1. came to say exactly this

    2. Contradictory is the right term in this case, not hypocritical.

      If you were generous – don’t worry, I don’t expect you or other fans to be, not your thing – then you could actually say Hamilton is being unhypocritical, since he said a race where he came first was dull and race where he finished 5th was exciting.

  5. Re COTD
    I must admit I was pleasantly surprised to see how good the Honda power unit is when fitted to the Red Bull car, and especially with Max driving it. Surely Mercedes and Ferrari need to wonder which power unit is the best on the grid now.
    I too am beginning to suspect that Honda were unfairly blamed for some of the problems they encountered when their power unit was fitted to McLaren’s car. I think asking Honda’s representative to receive the Constructor’s Trophy was a great tribute to their efforts.

    1. I see that quite differently @drycrust. Sure, the McLaren was not as superb as McLaren was trying to tell the world – they put on heaps of downforce for slow bits because the engine was not giving any straight line speed anyway. It was very much not efficient with aero.

      When you look at where they are now, they are already back ahead of Renault. And the Renault engine seems to be at least as much improved as the Honda, who knows which is better – last race we had Verstappen complaining about how the Renault had better qualli boost and speed – and we could see McLaren don’t lack in the engine department at all compared to Honda.

      I fail to see why anyone needs to try and talk about how McLaren did a horrible job, lying about Honda being bad etc and Red Bull is doing better somehow when Red Bull had a far more acrimonous relationship with a better engine than McLaren had.
      Fact is, it was healthy both for McLaren and for Honda to seperate ways. Honda started working harder on getting a good engine together, McLaren realised their cars weren’t that great and got into changing their approach and it seems to work out ok for both, and that is a pro for F1 as such.

      1. The big difference is that RedBull were able to offer Honda something McLaren couldn’t, a free year of development on an actual F1 car… That made a huge difference to the current situation.
        McLaren and RedBull have to deliver while ToroRosso is the perfect development platform before being fitted to a RBR.

      2. @bascb – As @jeanrien seems to allude, McLaren kept Honda to themselves even when other teams were interested, and that was to the detriment of both Honda and McLaren. I would agree that ending that relationship (McL-Hon) was good for both sides but I don’t think it had to be as bad as it was to begin with.

        1. Yeah, well, sure @jeanrien. But as you mention, McLaren wasn’t able to offer that – although they did agree on Sauber joining them. Honda knew that up front and agreed on the deal. You can hardly hold that against McLaren.

          @Hobo – so? Red Bull also keeps Honda to themselves – currently because no one was interested after last year, but I am sure they won’t be too eager to allow any others “in” once the Honda does turn into a top notch package.

  6. So should we chill, or blame F1 bosses?

    1. Yes Iast week he was saying don’t blame the drivers for boring races and now he is saying that everyone overreacted to the French race.

      I think what Lewis says needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. However I think there has been and overreaction to the Austrian race as well but in the other direction.

      I still suspect wel’ll see a lot more dull and processional races this year than exciting ones.

      1. I still suspect wel’ll see a lot more dull and processional races this year than exciting ones.

        @phil-f1-21 – thanks for your response.

        Yeah, I too expect some boring racing coming up. In honesty, I think a reasonable expectation would be something like 20% of a season to consist of some stellar (and occasionally controversial) racing, 50% run of the mill processionals enlivened by slipups anywhere in the field (e.g. Grosjean putting it in the wall at Baku), and the rest of the utterly tedious. I don’t think there are many sports that offer up consistent excitement (if anything, that level of excitement will become the new normal, causing people to think its boring).

        And I don’t care even if all the 20% of the good races are won by Mercedes or even solely by Hamilton. That’s their reward for a (near*) perfect operation.

        * Ha, I wouldn’t have added this qualifier prior to this weekend!

    2. @phylyp: exactly what I wanted to say… wasn’t Hamilton the one who urged F1 to heavily change the format just after the race he won in France? Also, saying that the races are sometimes dull and sometimes exciting doesn’t paint the correct picture, as races usually are pretty dull (this year they all have been rather processional) and just once or twice in a season we get a sensational one like Austria. So I agree that something needs to change, we need the balance between dull & exciting races inversed.

  7. I’m sorry but the second part of the COTD is utter nonsense. Red Bull didn’t take a calculated risk on anything. No matter what Honda did last year, they were going to be in the back of he Red Bull this year.
    Mercedes said no to an engine supply.
    Ferrari said no to an engine supply.
    Renault had enough of them, and RBR had enough of Renault.
    Cosworth/Aston Martin were never going to have an engine ready.

    The only calculation they made was to stick the Honda in back of the Torro Rosso last year so they could get to know each other because they knew the complete lack of options they had for 2019!

    1. And that why RB have pressurised the FIA and FOM to change the rules to force engine makers to supply everyone who wants their engine, and at a cheap rate too. It’s a bit of a pity the Honda engine wasn’t an anchor, RB would have reaped what they sowed after they crapped all over Renault.

      People need to acknowledge that RB have never given any other team one iota of help in F1. They whined and moaned from the start and bent to rules at every opportunity.

  8. So we need to chill but he wins last week and immediately blames the bosses for the way F1 is? Considering his position, I’d say he is the one who “overreacted”, not us.

    1. Lewis Hamilton is inundated with questions at every race and between them too. Every answer he gives is scrutinised to the Nth degree by people with nothing better to do. He’s there to race, not to be a politician or steward or team owner or journalist. He does his talking on the track, because his words, as a driver, have no power in F1, despite what the armchair critics like to think.

      Lewis has said once he finishes racing, he’s leaving F1 well behind – who can blame him.

      1. Oh look Lewis said something and all the trolls are having a whale of a time.

        His comments regarding the state of the REGULATIONS and the kneejerk reactions after a boring race actually make perfect sense to those of us not looking to find any excuse to find issue with him.

        And you people wonder why he hates media commitments.

        Shame so many people here can’t decipher that, and I thought this was one of the more well educated F1 sites, guess not.

        1. They can’t decipher because they don’t read past Keith’s clickbait headlines. Just chill and stop overreacting to both boring and exciting races becomes what Keith wants it to become. And the sheep go baaa.

  9. DAllein (@)
    2nd July 2019, 7:33

    Yes, Lewis, thank you!
    I was less politically correct and named all moaners as hypocrites (because you are) the other day.

    Maybe if more drivers join Lewis, “fans” start to reconsider their complaints.

    1. Its quite amusing. He bought the boring aspect up 2 years ago at the HP event and spent about 40 minutes putting forward various ideas to improve F1. Everyone overreacted. He has been banging this drum every chance he gets, and every time the usual suspects have overreacted. He attended the FIA meet with a 5 point plan-overreaction. He says stop overreacting; just chill. End result-everyone overreacts.
      So it seems that fans do not want the likes of Brawn, the FIA, Liberty, GPDA, etc to carefully consider the future and implement an agreed solution in a timely manner. What we want is kneejerk reactions and rash decisions.
      MotoGP was in this position a decade ago; sometimes only 16 bikes on the grid, with half of them having no chance of even getting on the podium. We are where we are today because they spent a considerable time on the problem, and a considerable time implementing the changes.
      You would think people would just chill.

  10. You guys have been begging for racing for ages and you got it today. I think ultimately what today shows is that you can’t just look at one weekend and complain because that’s what it seems happens. One weekend doesn’t go so well and then everyone’s like ‘the racing is boring’. And then you have a race like this and then you’re like ‘oh, it’s exciting’. Then the next race, ‘oh, it was boring’. So make up your mind and just chill.

    … and then makes up his mind based on one race…

    1. @mcbosch – good spot :)

  11. Don frika del prima
    2nd July 2019, 8:13

    The difference is, while we pay to see countless bring races spiced up with one or two good ones, lewis gets paid millions to race countless boring races with one or two good ones. Or did he forget how often he says he needs a battle for p1 to have a good race? Or is that just some other BS he tells us?

    1. You are not paying Lewis Hamilton or any of the other drivers wages.
      Get over yourself.

      1. Don frika del prima
        3rd July 2019, 21:06

        I didn’t say that @jon bee. I said we pay to see the races. Which we do. I pay for f1tv pro, and many here pay for sky f1. Perhaps you should try comprehensive reading and get over yourself!

  12. Matteo (@m-bagattini)
    2nd July 2019, 8:34

    Honestly Lewis, fu. We’re having the most boring season in years, I need to stab myself to stay awake while you and your bearded friend are leading sunglasses on with an arm outside the cockpit. I have to make up excuses about how interesting the midfield battle is to keep me into the sport and to justify the cost of the TV subscription to my wife.

    You’re just bitter because you tasted what other drivers and teams feel every racing weekend. Or because one of the best races in years hasn’t you as a protagonist. Don’t worry, we know you had to lift and coast for like 80% of the race with engine mode “sloth” and you’ll bounce back in a couple of weeks, in front of the best fans in the world.

    1. I have to make up excuses about how interesting the midfield battle is to keep me into the sport and to justify the cost of the TV subscription to my wife.

      this sums up perfectly the modern F1 fan :))

  13. RocketTankski
    2nd July 2019, 9:16

    I’d say Lewis’ racing is nearly always exciting. The trouble is he doesn’t get to do enough of it. That’s more the fault of the formula rather than any given driver or team.
    It’s like cricket, some people find it inherently boring. Fans just find a way to love it. :-)

  14. Stop overreacting to Hamilton says Fan

    I’ll get my coat.

  15. Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for Haas the courts threaten to imprison and bankrupt their sponsor!
    Steiner must lay awake at night wondering what on earth he has done to offend the Gods!

    I am delighted with Honda’s ongoing improvement but I don’t think they can afford to start stroking their own egos.
    The other three Honda engined cars didn’t exactly dazzle as brightly as Mr Verstappens.

    1. Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse for Haas the courts threaten to imprison and bankrupt their sponsor! Steiner must lay awake at night wondering what on earth he has done to offend the Gods!

      @nullapax – in an earlier article about the dispute between Whyte Bikes and Rich Energy, a commenter mentioned that Haas had secured bank guarantees for the sponsorship that Rich had committed to. So, either Rich Energy pays, or the bank holding the guarantee pays – either way, Haas get the money.

      1. @phylyp ahh good to hear, it’s not a total nightmare for the team then ;)

  16. RE COTD:

    Red Bull Racing spent considerable time bad mouthing Renault, yet even in the year that they were obviously parting ways, Red Bull and Renault won 3 races by the time Red Bull Honda have won 1 race this year.

    Maybe we need to look again at how Renault was?

    Oh wait, no. The Renault was woefully underpowered.

    The Honda wasn’t just woefully underpowered, it broke down every other race, especially in the first 2 years.

    Yes, by the end, it was likely improving, but they’re now at the level of Renault *at best*.

    Yes, McLaren understated their improvement at the end, and severely messed up their cars after that. But this season have shown they can make improvements, and aren’t as bad as they looked last year.

    Honda have performed well to get into a level of competitiveness in Formula 1, but lets not pretend the issues they had getting there did not exist.

  17. I couldn’t agree more with him, and I also agree with the COTD.

  18. Following a point made earlier, I think there has been an overreaction to both of the last two races. The race in France was pretty boring and precisely at that point seemed to encapsulate all that is wrong with current F1. However the race in Austria was quite entertaining and quite a lot of people on here were raising it 10/10.

    I don’t think it deserved a 10. I gave it a probably slightly mean 8/10 but everything is relative. It’s no wonder it compared so favourably to the French race before.

    Looking at the detail though the top five places were still filled by cars from the top 3 teams. In this instance it was unusually a car from the third ranked team which won. Both the cars from the top team were on the second row of the grid. Again a little unusual, and one of the top cars was out of position at the start (Vettel).

    This all helped to make it an exciting race but the top teams still dominated. What we really need is the occasional race where a car from further down the order can sometimes grab a podium. Or maybe a place in the top 3/4 on the grid.

    Until the huge gap in performance between the top teams and the middle ranking ones is reduced or is least more competitive fairly boring or processional races will be the outcome pretty often. F1 has always had boring races at some point in the season but it’s the predictability and lack of competition which is one of the main problems.

  19. Dear Lewis
    I apologize for my knee jerk reaction after Austria causing me to believe F1 was indeed an exciting spectacle. I will instead judge the sport over the whole 21 races instead of just one.
    Cheers for the advice mate!

  20. remember the days when cars like Sauber, Torro Rosso, Jordan, amongst others could steal away victories and podiums from the big boys!!! Even though I support the Brits on the grid, so by default, a Hamilton fan, I do miss the great underdog moments. Bring the teams closer together!!!

  21. Lewis is right in the sense that I think people do tend to over-react to dull races & that has in recent years led to knee jerk pushes & reactions in terms of rule changes.

    The regulation changes that happened this year for example were largely a response to the cry’s that Melbourne last year was ‘one of the worst races ever’ & go back a bit further & they came up with DRS because of cry’s that Bahrain 2010 was ‘the worst race ever’ despite the rest of 2010 actually been rather exciting.

    Some races will be great, Some will be good, Some will be average, Some will be poor & some will be awful & it’s the same with seasons/title fights. That is the way it’s always been & the way it will always be so people just need to accept that & calm down. And that goes for both fans & those in F1 who tend to start looking at knee-jerk changes every-time 1 race is labeled as ‘the worst race ever’.

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