Just curious. I started watching F1 back when DTS started airing (so during Hamilton’s domination). It was fun, even though results were often predictable (HAM-BOT-VER).
Then there was this awesome season when Max got his 1st WDC title. It was the most fun I ever had with any sport ever.
But now? I still watch races, but, I won’t lie, it’s getting less and less exciting. I noticed that F1 is no longer a huge talking-point in my friend’s group, as there is just less going on. Max has so huuuge advantage, that it feels like all that sport magic is gone.
What are your thoughts on this? Are you still watching races every rawe ceek? Do you still feel engaged in F1 community?
This season is pretty damn exciting if you exclude Max imo. With Checos form being nowhere at the moment, P2 is a free for all. I find the battle between Merc, AM and Ferrari super entertaining, and the same goes for the rest of the grid, especially with McLaren and Alpine trying to find their rhythm.
Yeah, F1.5 is pretty nice this season!
So much this. Merc mini-redemption from lower midfield to fighting again is the most fun I had in ages with F1
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I’ve been watching F1 since 2014, if I was easily bored by dominance I would have stopped watching years ago.
I’m watching F1 since the early 90s. I got to enjoy the golden Senna/Prost years before back to back Schumacher - Hamilton - Verstappen reigns. I, for one, welcome our new VER overlord.
You forgot Vettel :)
That probably was the period I dropped F1, lol
This, but since 1990. 4 notable dominant periods since then (Schuey, Seb, Lewis & now Max), but I’ve never stopped enjoying it. The dominance never lasts forever. Focus on the midfield & there’s always entertainment to be had.
If all you care about is who wins, then yes it’s boring. But you’re totally ignoring the fact that there are 19 other places. Today was a good race. Leclerc was happy being second, Norris was happy being fourth, Hamilton was whining and received an extra penalty.
Yeah, everything from P2 back is great, at least there are some great battles to watch. A few years ago it seemed like a lot of races were just parades with no overtaking because of dirty air.
I’m loving it. Ignoring Max, every race is different. Basically anyone can finish at any place, even though there are definitely trends. Hulkenberg and Norris suddenly being up in the top 5, Albon in the points. Then you have the constant fight between Aston, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Perez. There’s plenty of good racing, you just shouldn’t care too much about who wins (since that’s almost a given).
Idk about putting Perez in there, he’s mostly just been fighting his own qualifying pace and ability to overtake in what is far and away the fastest car on the grid. I mean he has now missed Q3 5 out of 9 races. Even hard core Perez fans have to admit he’s bottling it
He has been in the past few races. Before that he was challenging Max. Last weekend he was again battling in the Mercedes/Ferrari/Aston area. That’s where I’d expect him to be the rest of the season. In a good weekend he can easily beat them, and maybe even keep Max honest. But in a worse weekend he’ll be fighting for a podium just like those teams I mentioned.
Just my opinion but that undersells how much Perez is bottling it. If he hadn’t failed so badly at qualy he wouldn’t be fighting for podiums he would be taking a gentle Sunday stroll, somewhere between Max and P3. He’s shown he is capable of it, but he’s objectively performing way below his capability across more than half the season so far
I think it’s an exciting season so far, as long as you ignore Max a bit. Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin competing. Drivers and teams up and down the field struggling sometimes and excelling other times. Clear rules, which sometimes seem a bit silly but remove a lot of the arbitrary stewarding which I hated. Haas and Williams scoring points.
Then again watching Max is also exciting. It’s Schumacher levels of dominance as he goes for every bit of pace on every race and every lap. Watching Max is watching a master athlete in his prime. That qualifying lap in Monaco was * chefs kiss *
I screamed when Max pulled out that lap. I really wanted Alonso to have poll, and I’m not a huge Max fan, but he earned it. No one can ever say Max just “had a good car” because it is clear as day he’s a generational talent and extremely hard working at racing and doesn’t rest on his laurels for a moment, every GP.
The little details of him holding back while overtaking to get a bit more DRS. He is meticulous in his driving. I quite like it! But I’m hyping Albon up every race hoping for good Williams results as well.
Albon is one of the reasons I’m liking this season. He’s obviously not in the fast car anymore, but he’s getting great results and he seems happy.
I’ve been watching F1 for over 20 years and to be fair, most of the time there’s been one guy who’s dominating. Before Max it was Lewis, then Vettel, then before him Schumacher. Of course, the years with tight battles until the very last race are the most exciting ones, but at the same time it’s very interesting to see history being made. Plus, the midfield has been quite interesting this year and with McLaren hopefully closing the gap, it will be even more interesting.
Absolutely, it’s not the best season of course but I don’t find it worse than the ~6 years of Mercedes dominance really.
The midfield seems much closer with the new regulations compared to the old ones so we actually have some great battles to watch still.
It’s better than it has been, still not good. If you follow only for the top 2 drivers then it is definitely going to be extremely boring.
The midfield action hasn’t been bad this year and that seems to get most of the commentary spotlight with Verstappen 30 seconds ahead every race. Big Mclaren fan myself, which has been hard to watch this season, but seeing Aston improve the pace substantially this year has been great.
Also Ferrari seeming to be just as confused every week even without Mattia has been hilarious. Great drives from Carlos though this year!
Needless to say, there’s a lot of interesting things still happening in F1. Even with the Verstappen dominance.
You should be glad right now, the aero upgrades seem to have worked out for Norris this time around.
As someone who has voluntarily chosen to support Haas for some reason I cannot figure out myself, things have not been the best
This weekend was definitely a good weekend for sure! Lando had a great race but paistri not so much.
Haas really just can’t catch a break though right?
Max is my favorite driver but I still have a lot of interest in other drivers such as Albon, Tsunoda, Alonso
AM vs Merc vs Ferrari
Can Williams develop into midfield contention?
Will Haas ever figure out how to fix their race pace?
sure P1 is pretty much settled every race but there are a lot of interesting storylines down the grid
Yes, on the surface it might look predictable with Verstappen so much better than the rest, but this season there are often battles/unpredictability for up to p2.
This season is a bit of a snoozer no doubt. Even 2020 was more fun because the rest of the field was so crazy tight that anyone could get a podium if one of the top 3 had a DNF.
This year the hierarchy is very obvious, so less chance for anything crazy or unexpected happening.
The wife and I watch almost every race. I don’t mind Red Bull dominating at the moment since they’re my favorite team to rag on but it’s undeniable they have a great car.
I’m basically a fan of everyone on the grid except Max since I find him and his dad to be annoying. Karen Horner is also pretty funny 😂
Yes, his dad’s a piece of shit, and sometimes I feel like Max lets the mask slip. He’s very jokey-jokey when things go well, but I remember his shitty attacking, post-race petulance and running people off the track when he didn’t quite have a winning car.
He can afford to have great wheel-to-wheel racing skills now that he’s got the thick end of one second in his pocket over the other cars and his teammate is pottering around in P10.
Yes, I’ll never not enjoy F1.
I’ve slipped out of following it for a number of reasons:
- The season was decided as soon as we saw how fast and reliable RB are.
- In the UK you either have to choose between watching F1 on tv or eating, or find streams
- The racing just isn’t that great with the new cars, still mostly basic DRS passes.
- the sprint race format isn’t worth it and makes it harder to keep track of what’s going on if you aren’t able to watch live.
Another UK fan… I totally agree with this take.
Another UK fan… I totally agree with this take.
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Looks like you’ve tripled posted. This is the 2nd comment
Get an VPN & F1TV… I’m in the UK but I refuse to give a penny to Murdoch & the channel 4 coverage is compromised of course.
Getting F1TV has completely revolutionised my F1 watching. Being able to watch easily, with time shift if needed, & no streaming stress. The commentary is even better imho (though you can choose the Sky feed if you miss Martin & Crofty). The pundits are better too. And you can watch any in car view at any time. It’s worth every penny.
Another UK fan… I totally agree with this take.
Overall I have lost interest. After the title was stolen from Lewis I was pretty bitter. I have been watching for about 15 years (American) and this year is just incredibly boring. This is by far the most dominant car I have ever seen and no one can challenge Max, not even his teammate. At least when Lewis was winning all the time he had a competent teammate to challenge every weekend.
title was stolen from Lewis
This is like listening to a trump supporter; it gets more pathetic every time
This is by far the most dominant car I have ever seen
W11, FW11 and FW18 have entered the chat and did donuts on your eyeballs
When it comes to who wins the race, sure, it’s fairly boring. I just focus on the midfield, and my personal favorite Albon. Watching it with that mindset makes it a lot more interesting in my mind.
Been watching F1 since the early Schumacher years, so one driver/team dominating all years long is nothing new. At least the field as a whole is a lot closer than it has been in those days. No more people getting lapped 4-5 times, and a genuine battle in the midfield. Could it be more exciting, sure, but phases of dominance is pretty much how F1 works these days. I hope the cost-cap will change that going forward a bit more. And stuff like Aston/Alonso just surprising everybody with their amazing performance still makes for a great story and races.
