Rantbox

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Waris
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Waris »

Looks like we've got an early contender for Post of the Year.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

UgncreativeUsergname wrote:...All this other crap about the "DNA of Formula One",...

Oh, tell me about it. There are people of all ages trotting out this bullshit phrase who clearly have no understanding whatsoever of the history of Grand Prix racing (and I emphasise "Grand Prix racing"; Formula One didn't just pop into existence out of nowhere in 1950 like most of these people seem to think).

The fact is that the FIA have been "tampering" with the aesthetics of Grand Prix cars since the 1961 formula when they banned full-width bodywork. And yet by some miracle it's endured...
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

I've seen people online talking about how Porsche are unlikely to enter F1 on the basis of how the Footwork partnership went in 1991, which has to be by far the stupidest of the several counter arguments presented. By that logic, Sauber are going to be running out of fuel very often if Alfa start building F1 engines again.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by mario »

Simtek wrote:I've seen people online talking about how Porsche are unlikely to enter F1 on the basis of how the Footwork partnership went in 1991, which has to be by far the stupidest of the several counter arguments presented. By that logic, Sauber are going to be running out of fuel very often if Alfa start building F1 engines again.

It is true that, by the time the new regulations are introduced in 2021, it will have been 30 years since the Footwork-Porsche deal took place, so in terms of technical prowess it is indeed a rather specious comparison. If there are any comparisons that can be made with that deal, I would say that they are more likely to come down to media management and commercial risk management.

I can see there being an argument that Porsche would probably only want to enter if they can secure a partnership with a team nearer the front of the grid, rather than wanting to form a partnership with a smaller team (as was the case in that Footwork-Porsche deal), and there are arguments about how Porsche could seek to limit potential adverse media coverage if there was criticism of their performance. Those wider issues are where there might be some comparison that is valid, but as for the likely performance - well, I'd agree that comparison is not really relevant now.

Realistically, I would say that it's more likely that Porsche might choose not to enter because the marketing message that F1 wants to send out is one that is at odds with what Porsche wants to send out, particularly given the wider VW Group's shift into the electric car market (such as with the Mission E that is due to come out in 2019).
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Re: Rantbox

Post by sswishbone »

When I was at EGX last year Porsche were the main sponsor for Forza Motorsport 7 and the driving rigs with pedals and wheels had cockpit with Porsche LMP1 livery but an F1 shaped monocoque... Just leaving that stretching at straws here.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Klon »

I am so sick and tired of F1 drivers whining about penalties and steward decisions. This complaining is awful because of three reasons:

a) It's telling us stuff we already know about and stuff that won't change. Sometimes stewards make bad decisions because stewards are humans and humans make errors. Consistency matters and they are working on it, even if things still are a bit messed up.

b) It's self-serving. You can count the number of times a driver has complained about a penalty for another driver that isn't a teammate on one hand. Complaining about punishments only when you are the one being punished is hypocritical as hell and disqualifies your opinion outright.

c) It makes the entire sport look bad. Someone whining about something is pretty much F1's biggest headlines in the news - and then we wonder why nobody invests into F1 and its teams anymore. By now, pretty much everyone understands the importance of good PR except the Formula One Group apparently.

The FIA seriously needs to look into copying the NBA rule (which I am sure exists in other sports as well) where competitors get fined a healthy amount if they discredit the referees in public statements. I can understand a driver being angry on team radio at a ruling, heat of the moment and everything - but on the mics after the race, the drivers would make themselves and the sport look better by toeing the company line.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Ataxia »

Klon wrote:By now, pretty much everyone understands the importance of good PR except the Formula One Group apparently.


Pardon me? ;)
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

Force India have finished fourth in the 2016 and 2017 Formula One seasons, and they went into administration in 2018. I know I'm a few weeks late to the fact of that administration, but it still makes me mad.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Fred Mayo »

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13858 ... n-for-pace

I find it hard to fathom how two such respected journalists as Noble and Cooper can piece together such a content-free bit of drivel.

Indeed, for the past few years the modus operandi of the site has felt like "Hey, we haven't published anything for five minutes, can someone call Toto Wolff to see if he has something to say, preferably something about Lewis. Oh no, he didn't answer his phone! Quick, call Zak Brown who just happens to be chairman of the company that owns us! Oh sh*t, no answer from him either. Well, perhaps Felipe Massa has something he wants to whine about?", etc

Throughout last year I basically only stayed on thanks to Gary Anderson's column and Dieter Rencken's interesting stories about the commercial side of F1, but Dieter no longer writes there. I've been reading Autosport for 24 years now, the first 12 as a paper magazine subscriber and as a paying online subscriber since 2006, sans paper magazine. But I think that when my subscription expires in December, I will call it a day...
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Re: Rantbox

Post by girry »

I find the ever-repeating narrative of "Williams/McLaren, the top team that historically ought to be on the top but shock and horror, fell from grace because x, y and z" jading.

As if there has never been fluctuation of team form in the history of F1! The longevity of teams and the stability of the grid right now is more or less unprecented in the history of the sport - yet apparently some would like to see even more stagnation with top spots on the grid belonging to the Ferrari, Williams and McLaren forever and ever, it seems... :evil:
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Re: Rantbox

Post by mario »

giraurd wrote:I find the ever-repeating narrative of "Williams/McLaren, the top team that historically ought to be on the top but shock and horror, fell from grace because x, y and z" jading.

As if there has never been fluctuation of team form in the history of F1! The longevity of teams and the stability of the grid right now is more or less unprecented in the history of the sport - yet apparently some would like to see even more stagnation with top spots on the grid belonging to the Ferrari, Williams and McLaren forever and ever, it seems... :evil:

I can't help but wonder whether, given the age distribution of the fan base indicates most fans now will have begun watching the sport in the era when Williams, Ferrari and McLaren were the top teams, there is a strong element of wanting things to go back to an idealised version of their childhood - and, with it, going back to the competitive order that was in place then.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

giraurd wrote:I find the ever-repeating narrative of "Williams/McLaren, the top team that historically ought to be on the top but shock and horror, fell from grace because x, y and z" jading.

As if there has never been fluctuation of team form in the history of F1! The longevity of teams and the stability of the grid right now is more or less unprecented in the history of the sport - yet apparently some would like to see even more stagnation with top spots on the grid belonging to the Ferrari, Williams and McLaren forever and ever, it seems... :evil:

Ugh, I know... based on when I started watching, Red Bull should be on top for eternity, with Ferrari and McLaren the others of the big three. That's what "feels right". Time isn't going to stop, people....
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Re: Rantbox

Post by good_Ralf »

I hate being cynical like this, and this might be a bit heavy-handed/unbalanced in places, but here goes...

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/formula-1/wolff-blames-politics-and-lies-for-ocon-s-plight_sto6931326/story.shtml

Toto Wolff is complaining about other teams not having the "balls" to sign Ocon. If you rate him so much Toto, then friggin GET HIM A SEAT. Or have a good talking to Williams even. Although if Ocon were to replace Bottas, I expect that he would get as much of a chance to win a race as Bottas has gotten so far this year, as long as Lewis Hamilton is driving for the team.

I used to have a bit of time for Wolff, even if I hardly agreed with him in recent years, but how dare he blame "politics, hidden agendas, lies" from other teams when he and Mercedes have probably been just as guilty of these things in the past?! Especially given how much more money and influence they have than the likes of Force India or Williams?! I know it happens all the time in F1 and politics in general, but this kind of attitude disgusts me. Esteban's at risk of dropping out of F1 in the same way Wehrlein did last year, and Toto's trying to avoid blame for a situation he's at least partially responsible for creating.

Then the cheek suggests the idea of 3-car teams to accommodate Ocon, something I liked of idea of a few years ago, but when you realise it gives the top teams even more dominance and power in the sport, and potentially compromises or even bankrupts the midfield/backmarker teams, it isn't worth doing.

Of course, Ocon's situation wouldn't be as bad if there weren't only 20 cars on the grid right now, but the FIA/Liberty have tried and failed to make the 2021 rule changes appetising for any new teams and manufacturers, having created EXACTLY the situation they were hoping to avoid when they started drafting the 2021 changes. Not to mention that they might not even achieve the ambition of closing the gap between the top and bottom of the grid, both pacewise and financially.

I still have hope that Ocon will find a seat, and that the rule changes will satisfy enough people in time for 2021 (or 2023 if the changes are delayed), but I don't see a light coming from many places at the moment.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

UgncreativeUsergname wrote:
giraurd wrote:I find the ever-repeating narrative of "Williams/McLaren, the top team that historically ought to be on the top but shock and horror, fell from grace because x, y and z" jading.

As if there has never been fluctuation of team form in the history of F1! The longevity of teams and the stability of the grid right now is more or less unprecented in the history of the sport - yet apparently some would like to see even more stagnation with top spots on the grid belonging to the Ferrari, Williams and McLaren forever and ever, it seems... :evil:

Ugh, I know... based on when I started watching, Red Bull should be on top for eternity, with Ferrari and McLaren the others of the big three. That's what "feels right". Time isn't going to stop, people....

Yeah, I've hated F1 ever since Brawn disappeared...

Somewhat related though: I also hate the attitude that teams like Sauber and Williams somehow must be kept in F1 no matter what simply because they've been around for so long. Obviously if there's no one to take their place it's a disaster, but if not... it's sad but it's not the end of the world. Even Rome fell.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Spectoremg »

Sauber and Williams need the financial deal that Ferrari get, that's what keeps you in F1 forever :D
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Re: Rantbox

Post by DemocalypseNow »

Fred Mayo wrote:https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/138585/mercedes-turning-factory-upside-down-for-pace

I find it hard to fathom how two such respected journalists as Noble and Cooper can piece together such a content-free bit of drivel.

Indeed, for the past few years the modus operandi of the site has felt like "Hey, we haven't published anything for five minutes, can someone call Toto Wolff to see if he has something to say, preferably something about Lewis. Oh no, he didn't answer his phone! Quick, call Zak Brown who just happens to be chairman of the company that owns us! Oh sh*t, no answer from him either. Well, perhaps Felipe Massa has something he wants to whine about?", etc

Throughout last year I basically only stayed on thanks to Gary Anderson's column and Dieter Rencken's interesting stories about the commercial side of F1, but Dieter no longer writes there. I've been reading Autosport for 24 years now, the first 12 as a paper magazine subscriber and as a paying online subscriber since 2006, sans paper magazine. But I think that when my subscription expires in December, I will call it a day...

Websites must cater to their audiences. To determine an audience's desire, traffic numbers associated with each type of story must be analysed to plan out what requires prioritisation. Any story related to the front-running Formula 1 teams does well, regardless of what it is. If people didn't read them, they wouldn't be written. It's a simple case of supply and demand.

If people aren't willing to pay for motorsport journalism, then there will no longer be motorsport journalism of any kind. There will only be PR, we will only hear what organisers, teams and drivers want us to hear. There will no longer be objectivity. And that thought troubles me greatly, even as someone that works in motorsport PR.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Fred Mayo »

DemocalypseNow wrote:Wise words


You are correct, of course, and I agree with you. My rant was fuelled by a general annoyance at several aspects of F1 for the past few months. Looking at it with a sober mind, I probably won't cancel my Autosport.com subscription any time soon. I will just stay far, far away from any obvious click-bait/paid-for-even-though-we-try-not-to-make-it-look-like-it/etc articles... :badoer:
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Re: Rantbox

Post by good_Ralf »

While a large amount of the criticism over Valtteri Bottas' 2018 has been justified, I'm seeing a number of people tying in his below-par performances in the latter part of the year with him being a nice lad and going along the lines of 'nice guys finish last' etc. Similar things were said in the direction of Stoffel Vandoorne and Brendon Hartley as well. What a load of tripe.

For me, it's simply daft to suggest that nice people don't have the mentality to win/do well in motorsport, indeed in sport in general. Yes, Valtteri was weak when it came to attack and defence this season (although he ended up in some of those situations through no fault of own...), but look at Charles Leclerc, who was a contender for driver of the year.

Charles, in my eyes, is one of the most pleasant personalities in F1, a role model even, but do you see him giving uninspired drives in his Sauber regularly? No, and if you want to go further back in time, look at someone like Mika Hakkinen, or Damon Hill. Or Andres Iniesta in football, going beyond motor racing for a minute.

These criticisms could be coming from people who aren't particularly sympathetic towards disappointing sportsmen, but they come off as stereotyping and oversimplifying the qualities of individuals, which is one of the biggest failings amongst human beings.

Sorry if I got a little too existential at the end!
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Re: Rantbox

Post by girry »

^ That's a mindset that, I feel,has a lot to do with people knowing little about F1 history and thus recognizing only Senna and Schumacher (and perhaps Prost, but it doesn't change the point) as F1 greats. Way too often I hear fans justifying the moves a certain young Red Bull driver occasionally makes, by the line "you cannot become a great in this sport if you don't do these tricks [that Schumi/Senna resorted to]" - as if Jim Clark or Fangio never existed...
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Re: Rantbox

Post by FortiWinks »

giraurd wrote:^ That's a mindset that, I feel,has a lot to do with people knowing little about F1 history and thus recognizing only Senna and Schumacher (and perhaps Prost, but it doesn't change the point) as F1 greats. Way too often I hear fans justifying the moves a certain young Red Bull driver occasionally makes, by the line "you cannot become a great in this sport if you don't do these tricks [that Schumi/Senna resorted to]" - as if Jim Clark or Fangio never existed...


...not to mention Jackie Stewart as well!
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Re: Rantbox

Post by The Chicane »

Max Verstappen is one of the fastest drivers on the track but off the track his attitude in my opinion stinks.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

I didn't hate the French GP. It wasn't the most memorable race, as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember much about it, mostly Russell's pass that didn't even get shown and people complaining about the stripes I actually think look kind of cool, but it wasn't offensively bad like, say, the average race at Sochi. I remember enjoying it like any other race, but the way it's been referenced in the media (that I've seen), you'd think something USA 2005 went down.

I mean, that happens with a lot of races, most people will say it's boring and I think it was fine, maybe it's just that I'm more easily entertained than most by the feel of this F1, like a lot of people get with a certain era. But I'd never heard so much "coming from an awful race out in [country]...", when I've seen many worse races.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

France in particular likely drew so much ire because of Canada. If Canada hadn't been controversial, and we'd had a Vettel win, the media would have been travelling to France going "can Ferrari and Red Bull topple Mercedes again and swing the championship?" But as it was, we came in after a lot of public and media backlash, and so any little thing was going to draw criticism from the audience.

Now that we have a Verstappen win, I expect that ire to reduce somewhat.
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Re: Rantbox

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UncreativeUsername37 wrote:I didn't hate the French GP. It wasn't the most memorable race, as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember much about it, mostly Russell's pass that didn't even get shown and people complaining about the stripes I actually think look kind of cool, but it wasn't offensively bad like, say, the average race at Sochi. I remember enjoying it like any other race, but the way it's been referenced in the media (that I've seen), you'd think something USA 2005 went down.

I mean, that happens with a lot of races, most people will say it's boring and I think it was fine, maybe it's just that I'm more easily entertained than most by the feel of this F1, like a lot of people get with a certain era. But I'd never heard so much "coming from an awful race out in [country]...", when I've seen many worse races.


I completely agree the extreme negativity was unjustified. It wasnt that bad. People are fed up with Mercedes winning all the time..all the time . Then bizarrely the commentators come up with ways to fix F1 whilst decrying knee-jerk reactions ( and yes - I do think some of the proposed fixes are indeed not well thought through )
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

yannicksamlad wrote:
UncreativeUsername37 wrote:I didn't hate the French GP. It wasn't the most memorable race, as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember much about it, mostly Russell's pass that didn't even get shown and people complaining about the stripes I actually think look kind of cool, but it wasn't offensively bad like, say, the average race at Sochi. I remember enjoying it like any other race, but the way it's been referenced in the media (that I've seen), you'd think something USA 2005 went down.

I mean, that happens with a lot of races, most people will say it's boring and I think it was fine, maybe it's just that I'm more easily entertained than most by the feel of this F1, like a lot of people get with a certain era. But I'd never heard so much "coming from an awful race out in [country]...", when I've seen many worse races.


I completely agree the extreme negativity was unjustified. It wasnt that bad. People are fed up with Mercedes winning all the time..all the time . Then bizarrely the commentators come up with ways to fix F1 whilst decrying knee-jerk reactions ( and yes - I do think some of the proposed fixes are indeed not well thought through )

I'd even extend it to this season as a whole. There's a thread on Autosport right now (and before anyone starts, I only go there for TNF and the IndyCar threads) discussing whether 2019 is the worst season ever. Now, apart from the fact that I can't bring myself to agree with that sentiment (depending on the criteria I can think of at least ten that I'd say were worse, three of them within the last twenty years), I fail to see what constructive discussion could possibly come from that.

And this general sentiment is unfortunately to be found here as well, to the point where it feels like every other thread is just people ranting about the current state of F1. Although I obviously can't control what people talk about and I appreciate it might offer some form of catharsis to those posting, it's far from what I like to see when I log in here (that and the bizarre fixation with Hamilton's behaviour...).

Out of nine races so far, four of them I'd say were great (though Monaco proves as divisive as ever, so make that three if you want). 31 points separate the top two; at the same point in 2002 the gap was 46 points. We've a great midfield battle, Honda is finally coming good, Charles Leclerc is measuring up well against his world champion teammate, McLaren seems to slowly be on the rise again, and just out of earshot Mahaveer Raghunathan is writing the best reject story since Chanoch Nissany. :deletraz:
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Re: Rantbox

Post by CaptainGetz12 »

Simtek wrote:
yannicksamlad wrote:
UncreativeUsername37 wrote:I didn't hate the French GP. It wasn't the most memorable race, as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember much about it, mostly Russell's pass that didn't even get shown and people complaining about the stripes I actually think look kind of cool, but it wasn't offensively bad like, say, the average race at Sochi. I remember enjoying it like any other race, but the way it's been referenced in the media (that I've seen), you'd think something USA 2005 went down.

I mean, that happens with a lot of races, most people will say it's boring and I think it was fine, maybe it's just that I'm more easily entertained than most by the feel of this F1, like a lot of people get with a certain era. But I'd never heard so much "coming from an awful race out in [country]...", when I've seen many worse races.


I completely agree the extreme negativity was unjustified. It wasnt that bad. People are fed up with Mercedes winning all the time..all the time . Then bizarrely the commentators come up with ways to fix F1 whilst decrying knee-jerk reactions ( and yes - I do think some of the proposed fixes are indeed not well thought through )

I'd even extend it to this season as a whole. There's a thread on Autosport right now (and before anyone starts, I only go there for TNF and the IndyCar threads) discussing whether 2019 is the worst season ever. Now, apart from the fact that I can't bring myself to agree with that sentiment (depending on the criteria I can think of at least ten that I'd say were worse, three of them within the last twenty years), I fail to see what constructive discussion could possibly come from that.

And this general sentiment is unfortunately to be found here as well, to the point where it feels like every other thread is just people ranting about the current state of F1. Although I obviously can't control what people talk about and I appreciate it might offer some form of catharsis to those posting, it's far from what I like to see when I log in here (that and the bizarre fixation with Hamilton's behaviour...).

Out of nine races so far, four of them I'd say were great (though Monaco proves as divisive as ever, so make that three if you want). 31 points separate the top two; at the same point in 2002 the gap was 46 points. We've a great midfield battle, Honda is finally coming good, Charles Leclerc is measuring up well against his world champion teammate, McLaren seems to slowly be on the rise again, and just out of earshot Mahaveer Raghunathan is wrting the best reject story since Chanoch Nissany. :deletraz:


Is it too soon to write about the reject career of someone still racing in F2, and may yet reach F1?
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Spectoremg »

Simtek wrote:
yannicksamlad wrote:
UncreativeUsername37 wrote:I didn't hate the French GP. It wasn't the most memorable race, as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember much about it, mostly Russell's pass that didn't even get shown and people complaining about the stripes I actually think look kind of cool, but it wasn't offensively bad like, say, the average race at Sochi. I remember enjoying it like any other race, but the way it's been referenced in the media (that I've seen), you'd think something USA 2005 went down.

I mean, that happens with a lot of races, most people will say it's boring and I think it was fine, maybe it's just that I'm more easily entertained than most by the feel of this F1, like a lot of people get with a certain era. But I'd never heard so much "coming from an awful race out in [country]...", when I've seen many worse races.


I completely agree the extreme negativity was unjustified. It wasnt that bad. People are fed up with Mercedes winning all the time..all the time . Then bizarrely the commentators come up with ways to fix F1 whilst decrying knee-jerk reactions ( and yes - I do think some of the proposed fixes are indeed not well thought through )

I'd even extend it to this season as a whole. There's a thread on Autosport right now (and before anyone starts, I only go there for TNF and the IndyCar threads) discussing whether 2019 is the worst season ever. Now, apart from the fact that I can't bring myself to agree with that sentiment (depending on the criteria I can think of at least ten that I'd say were worse, three of them within the last twenty years), I fail to see what constructive discussion could possibly come from that.

And this general sentiment is unfortunately to be found here as well, to the point where it feels like every other thread is just people ranting about the current state of F1. Although I obviously can't control what people talk about and I appreciate it might offer some form of catharsis to those posting, it's far from what I like to see when I log in here (that and the bizarre fixation with Hamilton's behaviour...).

Out of nine races so far, four of them I'd say were great (though Monaco proves as divisive as ever, so make that three if you want). 31 points separate the top two; at the same point in 2002 the gap was 46 points. We've a great midfield battle, Honda is finally coming good, Charles Leclerc is measuring up well against his world champion teammate, McLaren seems to slowly be on the rise again, and just out of earshot Mahaveer Raghunathan is writing the best reject story since Chanoch Nissany. :deletraz:

You've seen a great race this year? I missed that one.
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Rob Dylan
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

Jeremy Clarkson, former host of Top Gear and current host of The Grand Tour, has put some stream of consciousness words in about what he thinks of current F1.

And as usual, I agree in principle with most of his sentiments. Of course he's being hyperbolic, though I find it refreshing to hear, much like Paul Stoddart, someone who doesn't mince words, and just expresses their disillusionment outright - such as calling current F1 a "health and safety exercise". In short, more close racing and removing some of the hindrances to such things is what he wants. But otherwise it's more of a rant than it is a ponder, so I will leave the link in this thread.

He also says he'd rather watch Formula E than Formula 1.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by yannicksamlad »

Rob Dylan wrote:He also says he'd rather watch Formula E than Formula 1.


That's just inflammatory (!) and I think indicates that he knows exactly what he's doing .....
Question; at what level of F1 sterility/predictability does the randomness and bump'n'grind of Formula E become more attractive than F1 to the 'average' viewer?
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Re: Rantbox

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

yannicksamlad wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:He also says he'd rather watch Formula E than Formula 1.


That's just inflammatory (!) and I think indicates that he knows exactly what he's doing .....
Question; at what level of F1 sterility/predictability does the randomness and bump'n'grind of Formula E become more attractive than F1 to the 'average' viewer?

Doesn't matter, the average viewer hasn't heard of Formula E.... And really, does anyone know what in a series is actually likely to cause a change in viewing figures, apart from the championship being decided?
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Re: Rantbox

Post by yannicksamlad »

UncreativeUsername37 wrote:Doesn't matter, the average viewer hasn't heard of Formula E.... And really, does anyone know what in a series is actually likely to cause a change in viewing figures, apart from the championship being decided?


My experience is that quite a few people are aware of Formula E. People I meet who know about my interest in motor racing will ask about Formula E sometimes . I agree its only a subset of the people who already have some awareness of motor racing already, but its free on TV, it does have some manufacturers and driver names and it is used for marketing quite a bit.
But if we agree that F E is still largely unrecognised and so won't steal significant numbers of viewers from F1, what about F1 fans; would anyone switch to having Formula E as their preferred racing category?
I don't know, but there seems a lot of negativity around F1, so perhaps?...(Although I struggle to see Formula E's attraction personally).
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Re: Rantbox

Post by mario »

yannicksamlad wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:He also says he'd rather watch Formula E than Formula 1.


That's just inflammatory (!) and I think indicates that he knows exactly what he's doing .....
Question; at what level of F1 sterility/predictability does the randomness and bump'n'grind of Formula E become more attractive than F1 to the 'average' viewer?

Quite - Clarkson's business model relies on him creating outrage in order to promote himself, and in the past he has also talked about being more interested in seeing spectacular crashes - so, in that sense, it's probably not surprising that he prefers a series where crashes during the races are pretty much guaranteed.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by UncreativeUsername37 »

yannicksamlad wrote:But if we agree that F E is still largely unrecognised and so won't steal significant numbers of viewers from F1, what about F1 fans; would anyone switch to having Formula E as their preferred racing category?
I don't know, but there seems a lot of negativity around F1, so perhaps?...(Although I struggle to see Formula E's attraction personally).

It's of course all speculation, but:
I can see some people "leaving" F1 for something else, but not enough that it makes a big difference, especially since I don't see FE being the destination. I imagine it would be hardcore people fed up with F1 having so many gimmicks and artificial rules in general, but FE isn't the most gimmick-free thing itself.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Butterfox »

FE is free to view here and F1 is not, so plenty of people here simply think FE is F1 (for examply my mom lol, they are of course not motorsport fans)
Also it seems lot of non-motorsport fans who are into technology have a better grasp of what FE is than what F1 is. (for example my american GF who is an absolute tech nerd). This seems to imply that FE might simply attract different audiences than F1 when it comes to recruiting new fans. So it won't steal much audiences, just like WRC, Nascar or superbike don't seem to really compete for the same pool of fans. (and we here just tend to be fans with overlapping interests)
FE defenitely has a chance of attracting the 'geek' audiences since they don't have to compete with an established conservative fan base, something that generally makes them avoid sport in general. Theres no anoying fan base to argue against, they can shape the fanbase how they want it. Don't underestimate FE, but also don't see it as competition to F1. I think it potentially just makes both series stronger.
Adittionally the gimmicks in FE can also attract gamer fans who haven't really gave realistic motorsport much thought. And that a huge pool to fish in. Also fans of mecha shows... FE just has something robotic about it that draws in lots of curiosity.

The question is, will FE understand the marketing potential to these potential fans?

Another marketing tip: let Daft Punk make the FE theme song, i promise you that'll work :D
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Miguel98 »

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-engine-deficit-red-bull/4527938/

No, Toto, you don't. Because in 2014-15, Red Bull were lucky to win a race considering the deficit between both teams. So, no, you don't. Just look at the freakin' championship.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

Image
Hope the image loads...



Now they say there's a massive bias towards George Russell in the TV media. And there is. It's obvious. But this, THIS is the most egregious example of favouritism I have seen in F1 in a long time. Autosport magazine gave George Russell seven out of ten in Imola last year, where he crashed under the safety car.

It's an unforgiveable mistake that in most other drivers would be a slam-dunk "amateur error from someone who should have known better". I think Russell is talented, but he doesn't deserve anything more than anyone else just because of the nationality of the Sky broadcasters. Things like this make me like Russell less than I normally would, just because of that blatant favouritism.

For reference, in 2018 Grosjean crashed under the safety car at Baku, and when Autosport had fan ratings for the drivers, he got 2.7/10. Autosport today published their driver ratings from Silverstone yesterday, and Vettel got 2.5/10 and Pérez got 2/10.

Something like rating drivers in a race is silly, of course it is, but if you're a respected magazine like Autosport, at least try to have some dignity about doing something like this.
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Re: Rantbox

Post by CoopsII »

My ‘rant’ is that you don’t get many F1 jokes, do you? Here’s one Ive just been sent by a Jock relation…

Have you noticed how many Formula One drivers have names linked to Scottish towns?

Stirling Moss, Lewis Hamilton, Eddie Irvine……Ayr Town centre...

Oh please yourselves
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Re: Rantbox

Post by dr-baker »

Who's the best F1 driver?

Louder.

Who's the best F1 driver???

LAUDA.

I said, who's the best F1 driver?!?!?!

LAUDA!

I BLOODY ASKED YOU, WHO'S THE BEST F1 DRIVER?!?!?

AND I BLOODY TOLD YA IT'S NIKI LAUDA!!!
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Re: Rantbox

Post by tBone »

dr-baker wrote:Who's the best F1 driver?

Louder.

Who's the best F1 driver???

LAUDA.

I said, who's the best F1 driver?!?!?!

LAUDA!

I BLOODY ASKED YOU, WHO'S THE BEST F1 DRIVER?!?!?

AND I BLOODY TOLD YA IT'S NIKI LAUDA!!!

But what's his mother's name?
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Re: Rantbox

Post by CoopsII »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/57949190

So this is new. In the ongoing attempt at stirring up trouble Horner has now listed, essentially, how much Lewis Hamilton has cost Red Bull Racing. Ironically, it's a pretty cheap ploy in a sport where if you're not pissing money away why did you even show up.

Dietrich Mateschitz is worth nearly 28 billion dollars by the way.
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