F1 Racing in 1979

Overlag said:
yup, as was Schumi vs Kimi 2006 Brazil, as was Schumi and Alonso at Imola etc etc. List can go on forever really. It does still happen today, its just rare that we see it lol
Click to expand...
If you think F1 racing is as exciting as it used to be then I think you are mistaken. Modern F1 is positively yawn-inducing most of the time. It wasn't like that in the 70's, 80's and early 90's.
 
Lopéz said:
If that was in 2008 we'd have had new nose cones all round. What is it with the current GP crop and their inability to race without clouting each other?
Click to expand...

Visibility from F1 cars was much better in 1992.

I also noticed in those clips there is a lot less tyre debris off the racing line. One of the problems with F1 at the moment is it's difficult for people to use different lines because there's only one clean route.
 
Last edited:
Overlag said:
well there's 2 stark differences that stand out there:

1: Circuit. Its fast, flowing corners allowing different lines to be taken to have faster entry, slower exit or vise versa. Mr Tike's F1 circuits these days are good, but they often miss flowing sequences of corners. We DO see that stuff happen these days just a lot of it is missed by TV, or whatever. Also another "problem" with people wanting overtaking is they seem to forget that generally once a overtake is done, the car pulls away into the distance these days.

2: the cars. Ground effect cars, with big fat sticky slicks. almost no upper body downforce (relative to today). Problem with the new F1 rules next year is they are cutting downforce from everywhere, and if anything the ground effect is what is going to stuffer most next season with a diffuser almost half the size of this seasons. This will make following a car even worse as there wont be any ground effect still helping them once they loose upper body downforce..



the problem is they are cutting underbody downforce (ground effect) as well. This will NOT help the car following. This is why raising the front wing stopped people following closely. Before, when it was close to the floor, it was generating downforce by ground effect as well as by the air pushing against it. The Raised front wing and it reduced its working ability. This has gone back to "normal" next year i believe. However they are cutting soooooo much off the rear ground effect that i dont see it helping too much. Dirty air kills upper body downforce, but NOT ground effect.
Click to expand...

We need both back - which we won't get while that German Tilke is designing the circuits and that whoremonger Mosley is in charge of the FIA
 
Spie said:
If you think F1 racing is as exciting as it used to be then I think you are mistaken. Modern F1 is positively yawn-inducing most of the time. It wasn't like that in the 70's, 80's and early 90's.
Click to expand...

its not as exciting ( i only started watching 92) but its still "good".

Its never going to be great with mosley in charge.


my point im trying to make is everyone thinks the "old days" was best, with everything in life, not just F1. Id much rather watch F1 knowing that 1 or 2 people aint going to die again this year.


K.C. Leblanc said:
Visibility from F1 cars was much better in 1992.

I also noticed in those clips there is a lot less tyre debris off the racing line. One of the problems with F1 at the moment is it's difficult for people to use different lines because there's only one clean route.
Click to expand...

Next year might be better. Groved tyres grained a lot which caused rubber to fling off. Plus tyres are so soft also. Next year they are suposed to be harder compound. However Tyre debris is part and parcel of racing. Even normal road car track days cause a lot.
 
Last edited:
Overlag said:
Id much rather watch F1 knowing that 1 or 2 people aint going to die again this year.
Click to expand...

I agree that modern safety standards are much better but it was rare for 2 people to die in one year. In fact in the 80's and 90's only 2 people died per decade. Still 2 too many, but I just wonder if safety has sanitized the sport too much now.

Here's a list of those who died between 1970 and today.

June 7, 1970 Piers Courage (Britain) - Dutch GP
September 5, 1970 Jochen Ridnt (Austria) - Italian GP qualifying
July 29, 1973 Roger Williamson (Britain) - Dutch GP
October 7, 1973 Francois Cevert (France) - U.S. GP qualifying
October 6, 1974 Helmuth Koinigg (Austria) - U.S. GP
August 19, 1975 Mark Donahue (United States) - Austrian GP qualifying
May 5, 1977 Tom Pryce (Britain) - South African GP
September 10, 1978 Ronnie Peterson (Sweden) - Italian GP

May 8, 1982 Gilles Villeneuve (Canada) - Belgian GP qualifying
June 13, 1982 Ricardo Paletti (Italy) - Canadian GP

April 30, 1994 Roland Ratzenberger (Austria) - San Marino GP qualifying
May 1, 1994 Ayrton Senna (Brazil) - San Marino GP

Some great drivers there. Rest in peace.
 
Spie said:
...but I just wonder if safety has sanitized the sport too much now....
Click to expand...

i agree and disagree, we would have almost certainly lost Kubica last year, Alonso (brazil, 2004?), Burti (Spa, while driving a prost) if it wasnt for the safety standards set out from 94 onwards. BUT.... FIA keep fineing, or giving stop goes for simple taps these days which is just stupid and ruining the sport. Yeh we dont want drivers taking other drivers out like Senna, or MS did a few times (nor do we want BTCC banger racing) but please.. This is motorsport accidents happen.


Spie said:
...Some great drivers there. Rest in peace.
Click to expand...


indeed, RIP. :)
 
Last edited:
Overlag said:
my point im trying to make is everyone thinks the "old days" was best, with everything in life, not just F1.
Click to expand...

This is so true. Not just F1, but in life. People view the past with rose-tinted specs.

With regards to racing the early 90s being exciting: I have to disagree in the idea that it was exciting.

In the those years, you had Williams totally dominating. In some instances you had Mansell qualifying over 2s faster than every other non-Williams car. When the race started, he would pull away by over 1s/lap. That is not close racing by any stretch of the imagination.

F1 in the last few years has improved as the titles have generally come down to the final few races. In 1993, virtually every race was turning into a procession, with Prost leading. If he broke down, then somebody else would take over (Hill or Senna). These days, its difficult to predict who the race favourite is, before the race begins. This was not the case in the early 90s.

I certainly enjoyed 2007, as I felt it was a vintage year, rekindling the rivalry that we saw in the 70s, 80s and 90s. We had Alonso and Hamilton who genuinely disliked eachother and wanted to beat each other at any cost. The top 3 drivers finished 1 point apart, in the WDC, which was great.

Modern F1 isnt as bad as some people make out.
 
Spie said:
Younger and less experienced.
Click to expand...

Given that Mr Hamilton is now the youngest F1 World Champion in history, I think your point does not hold water...... ;)

I do agree, however, that F1 of yester year was a lot more of an entertainment sport than it ever is today.

Spie said:
I agree that modern safety standards are much better but it was rare for 2 people to die in one year. In fact in the 80's and 90's only 2 people died per decade. Still 2 too many, but I just wonder if safety has sanitized the sport too much now.

Here's a list of those who died between 1970 and today.

June 7, 1970 Piers Courage (Britain) - Dutch GP
September 5, 1970 Jochen Ridnt (Austria) - Italian GP qualifying
July 29, 1973 Roger Williamson (Britain) - Dutch GP
October 7, 1973 Francois Cevert (France) - U.S. GP qualifying
October 6, 1974 Helmuth Koinigg (Austria) - U.S. GP
August 19, 1975 Mark Donahue (United States) - Austrian GP qualifying
May 5, 1977 Tom Pryce (Britain) - South African GP
September 10, 1978 Ronnie Peterson (Sweden) - Italian GP

May 8, 1982 Gilles Villeneuve (Canada) - Belgian GP qualifying
June 13, 1982 Ricardo Paletti (Italy) - Canadian GP

April 30, 1994 Roland Ratzenberger (Austria) - San Marino GP qualifying
May 1, 1994 Ayrton Senna (Brazil) - San Marino GP

Some great drivers there. Rest in peace.
Click to expand...

On this, your absolutely spot on, however, for good reason, Motorsoprt events have long had notices around the track, on tickets & in literature warning that "Motorsport is dangerous" as it is.

They all know the risks which is imo part of the reason why many racers race.

Rest in peace all of them.
 
Last edited:
i find it mad how F1 has gone so mad with safety etc while moto gp seem to get away with them risking there lifes

i really hope the new changes make F1 more exciting because at the moment motogp is beating it hands down as far as im concerned. laguna seca this year for example
 
"andy" said:
i really hope the new changes make F1 more exciting because at the moment motogp is beating it hands down as far as im concerned. laguna seca this year for example
Click to expand...

Dont know what it is about bikes, but it has never really clicked with me personally

Loved rallying with C McRea, Burns (to a lesser extent), C Seinz, Makkenen (sp) and touring cars also - but these just dont seem as exciting as they used to be either

F1 has been diluted heavily because of the one line tracks and safety measures - I just really hope they dont have standard engines etc, that will be the nail in the coffin for F1 imo
 
A classic race. F1 was definitely more exciting back then when the results of races wasn't always decided by qualifying order.

The overreliance on aerodynmaic grip, exacerbated by the narrow track/groove tire rules in 1998 have for the most part been the culprit in this dumbing down.
 
Today if you did that the stewards would investigate and send you for a nice trip through the pits.

God there are too many regs these days, and I do miss the days with senna and schumacher. Still, I have touring cars to watch avidly :D
 
some awsome racing but if that was this year, poor yellow car would be disqualified for overtaking a red car so many times.

much better with murray comentating
 
Last edited:
Different times, different outlooks and different driver mentality. Gilles and Rene were slaughtered by the older drivers in 79 after that race....not that it bothered them much mind and the press wrote about the dangers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom