Without diluting the Malaysian GP thread I thought id pose a few points and questions here.
I watched this weekends GP with a renewed interest from about half way into the race.
We all know what transpired, and I am conflicted with the way the setup is at the moment.
Team Orders, I personally completely and 100% disagree with and will never think they are a good thing or good for the sport. F1 drivers are considered the best drivers in the world, and they are employed to WIN races.
Vettel is a born winner, everyone can see that, the same as all of the other drivers, so to be told to "hold position" is wrong, and extremely anti competitive.
I know there are arguments both ways, the fact that if we break it down as employee vs employer, he disobeyed an instruction from his employer and should be punished.
But lets look at it from the viewers perspective, both the millions watching worldwide and those that made the effort to go to the race are being stripped of what they are trying to watch and that is good, true racing.
15 laps from the end of the race, mercedes and red bull had both told their drivers to hold position and 'conserve tyres and fuel', pretty much ending the race as a spectacle right there (other than races further down the pack).
How can this be allowed? A good comment was made on TalkSport this morning regarding those betting on the race? Imagine those people who had bet on Vettel to win and then heard the message that he was to hold the position behind Webber and he followed that instruction?
F1 as a sport, as a spectacle has become too much a game of chess. Races are won in the pits and by good tyre choice and good decisions over the weather, not by the drivers actually out racing. The advent of DRS basically making passing a car as easy as pushing a button.
Every team being able to listen to every other teams radio messages, etc.
Im sure a lot will argue regarding the safety of the drivers with regards to things like DRS, but track and vehicle safety has come on leaps and bounds since tragedy such as Senna and Ratzenberger.
The accumulation of the above means I won't watch anything other than the start of the races now, purely because any true battles within the race itself will be put to bed by the team because either they want to make sure the car stays in one piece or they are more interested in the manufacturers title.
I watched this weekends GP with a renewed interest from about half way into the race.
We all know what transpired, and I am conflicted with the way the setup is at the moment.
Team Orders, I personally completely and 100% disagree with and will never think they are a good thing or good for the sport. F1 drivers are considered the best drivers in the world, and they are employed to WIN races.
Vettel is a born winner, everyone can see that, the same as all of the other drivers, so to be told to "hold position" is wrong, and extremely anti competitive.
I know there are arguments both ways, the fact that if we break it down as employee vs employer, he disobeyed an instruction from his employer and should be punished.
But lets look at it from the viewers perspective, both the millions watching worldwide and those that made the effort to go to the race are being stripped of what they are trying to watch and that is good, true racing.
15 laps from the end of the race, mercedes and red bull had both told their drivers to hold position and 'conserve tyres and fuel', pretty much ending the race as a spectacle right there (other than races further down the pack).
How can this be allowed? A good comment was made on TalkSport this morning regarding those betting on the race? Imagine those people who had bet on Vettel to win and then heard the message that he was to hold the position behind Webber and he followed that instruction?
F1 as a sport, as a spectacle has become too much a game of chess. Races are won in the pits and by good tyre choice and good decisions over the weather, not by the drivers actually out racing. The advent of DRS basically making passing a car as easy as pushing a button.
Every team being able to listen to every other teams radio messages, etc.
Im sure a lot will argue regarding the safety of the drivers with regards to things like DRS, but track and vehicle safety has come on leaps and bounds since tragedy such as Senna and Ratzenberger.
The accumulation of the above means I won't watch anything other than the start of the races now, purely because any true battles within the race itself will be put to bed by the team because either they want to make sure the car stays in one piece or they are more interested in the manufacturers title.
