New races must stop
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The gap was about a hundredth of a second. How is that ‘boring’?
Glad you managed to not get either me mentioning Schumacher let Barrichello past, or the Wikipedia article mentioning that…
While the championship battle in 2010 was intense, the race itself was largely uneventful. I think you’re watching F1 in an entirely different mindset than me.
As for boring races being a myth, talk to anyone who watched F1 in either 2002 or 2004. I was a Schumacher fanatic as a kid, but I actually turned off the TV during several races in 2004.
The gap was about a hundredth of a second. How is that ‘boring’?
If you’re referring to the 2002 USGP results, and the 0.011s gap between the two Ferraris, it’s because the finish was staged. Schumacher deliberately slowed so as to allow Barrichello to finish in formation with him.
Most races from that era were highly processional – although I admittedly haven’t watched many full races from that era, what snippets I have seen show pretty much the scenario described by Nick ( @npf1). One driver streaks into the lead, usually Schumacher, and the cars circulate in generally the same order for the entire race, barring pitstops and mechanical retirements.
How does more overtaking make races ‘more interesting’?
How does more overtaking make races ‘more interesting’?
Because it creates a possibility where someone can overtake the leader during the race, rather than the result being decided by whoever is the first to reach the first corner. It also allows drivers to overtake one another for position, scoring more championship points for their efforts, which will help keep more drivers in contention for the World Championship for longer.
I fail to see how any of that is a bad thing.
How does more overtaking make races ‘more interesting’?
A few reasons off the top of my mind:
– Seeing drivers change positions, or make an effort to trade places, is visually appealing, and injects energy into what would otherwise be a lifeless procession of cars circulating in a single file.
– Overtaking comes across as a demonstration of added driver skill. Proficient overtakers like Kobayashi and Hamilton are usually considered entertaining to watch.
– Overtakes create memorable highlights of the race that fans will remember (examples being Hakkinen on Schumacher in Belgium, and Massa on Senna in Singapore). As opposed to a race without overtaking, which is less likely to produce such “moments”.
– What would be the alternative? A race with no overtaking, and by extension, no challenges for the lead, and no change in the running order, would most definitely be less interesting to watch than a race littered with overtaking, like this year’s Brazilian GP.All good points. I fail to see how anyone can claim that more overtaking is a bad thing, or somehow makes the races less interesting. Especially since the alternative is the 1999 Spanish Grand Prix, which was notorious for being a procession with just a single recorded overtake all race.
I believe the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix had zero (nope, that’s no error) overtakes throughout the whole race. I remember watching this race Sunday morning, when I was a kid. I was a Ferrari fan, but even for me that was a horror show.
Although in my opinion, what really makes F1 exciting is a competitive field where many cars can win. In 2002, every race was the same crap. Schumacher leads Barrichello, the Williams’ of Montoya and Ralf behind, then the Mclaren’s of Raikkonen and Coulthard, then a very noncompetitive and spread out midfield, then Minardi. The whole season in general was a dreadful disaster, all the more ironic given that the season following it (2003) is still, to this day, the best F1 season I’ve ever seen.
If I could chose between having overtaking, versus having a competitive field. For me, the decision would simply be too difficult.
what really makes F1 exciting is a competitive field where many cars can win
And the ability to overtake facilitates that end.
For example, you can have a competitive grid where plenty of drivers can win … but the results of the race can still be largely decided by qualifying, with the field settling down into a running order by the end of the first lap, unable to overtaake one another. That’s precisely what we got in Korea and India this year.
I agree.
China 2011 was a perfect balance between competitiveness, overtaking, and an exciting battle for victory. It had every ingredient necessary for an awesome race, and delivered.
Amazing to think though, how the highest rated non-weather affected Grand Prix, since Keith started these polls in 2008, was held on a supposed modern day Mickie-mouse Tilke circuit in Asia with no one actually interested in the sport. The main grandstand was full.
I find myself stuggling to work out how this thread has lasted five pages of discussion so far. Reading back over some of the comments that have been made, I find them to frequently contradict other comments that have been made. The core of this discussion seems to be deliberately provocative for the sake of being deliberately provocative, getting attention through controversy. I don’t find any of the arguments here to be substantial or consistent enough to continue discussing the subject.
Purely out of curiosity; how would F1 fans perceive Monaco, if it was designed by Herman Tilke, and just newly added to the 2012 calendar? That’s now an even more interesting question, given that the 2012 race on this circuit was a borefest.
Likewise, how would people perceive the Singapore night-race, had it been on the calendar since 1950?
People don’t like change, and people like to complain. That’s the truth.
given that the 2012 race on this circuit was a borefest
LOLwut? That was one of the best races all year.
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/05/27/rate-race-2012-monaco-grand-prix/
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/06/05/monaco-grand-prix-receives-lowest-rating-2012/The rest of this blog doesn’t agree, unfortunately.
This overtaking-obsessed group drives me mad, sometimes.
@joey-zyla Why did you find it to be such a good race?
This overtaking-obsessed group drives me mad, sometimes.
Tell us, then. What is it that you look for in a Grand Prix? F1 wouldn’t be much without overtaking. Watch some races from 2002, and you’ll see just how bad it can get.
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