The F1 thread

Fretwired

Heartfeltdawn said:

@fretwired If Formula E could get some decent scheduling, then the figures would improve. It's actually got some really great racing in there. Formula 3 and GP2 has overtaking and good racing. The WEC, Blacnpain Endurance, BTCC and as far down as Aussie Racing Cars (the best competitive racing series I've watched this year) all have had good racing this year. F1 has been diabolical. It's a good thing Verstappen did succeed because there would be nothing else for the pundits to go on about over the season. 

I'll check Formula E out .... sounds better than F1.

Heartfeltdawn

@fretwired. Here's something else that sounds better than F1 that went up today. 

Fretwired

@Heartfeltdawn

That was cool .. lovely car and hill climb .. :-)

stickyfiddle

I have to say, the GP2 race we watched immediately after F1 quali was fantastic.

I don't have an issue with the way the current engines sound but the GP2 cars were Hell of a lot louder too...

chillidoggy

Fretwired said:

Heartfeltdawn said:

@fretwired If Formula E could get some decent scheduling, then the figures would improve. It's actually got some really great racing in there. Formula 3 and GP2 has overtaking and good racing. The WEC, Blacnpain Endurance, BTCC and as far down as Aussie Racing Cars (the best competitive racing series I've watched this year) all have had good racing this year. F1 has been diabolical. It's a good thing Verstappen did succeed because there would be nothing else for the pundits to go on about over the season. 

I'll check Formula E out .... sounds better than F1.

I wouldn't get too excited Fret, it doesn't really do it for me. And if you're a lover of howling engines, well let's just say it won't hit the spot. That said, I'd rather watch that than nothing, and there have been some good moments.

Nitefly

If they want viewing figures up, it needs to be free to air.  Here's a radical idea:

Bernie pays the Beeb to show his second-rate borefest, instead of charging them for it.

Fretwired

Nitefly said:

If they want viewing figures up, it needs to be free to air.  Here's a radical idea:

Bernie pays the Beeb to show his second-rate borefest, instead of charging them for it.

Bernie says he'll sue the Beeb if they try to pull out of their contract. Sky haven't done well either - they're not happy. Maybe ITV will make a bid. Bernie has said he'd cut the fees if the BBC were to show all the races. Given how much sport they've lost I guess they could be interested if the fees are cut. Each GP is a four day TV extravaganza.

Nitefly

LOL Hardly surprising that Sky haven't done well!  

You don't have to be a genius to work out that people are unlikely to want to pay for something that was effectively free the year before! (given that most already paid the license fee).

Fretwired

Nitefly said:

LOL Hardly surprising that Sky haven't done well!  

You don't have to be a genius to work out that people are unlikely to want to pay for something that was effectively free the year before! (given that most already paid the license fee).

Spot on. And I also think people were happy to watch the highlights.

chillidoggy

I would pay to watch decent F1 coverage, but it don't want all the other SkySports shite that goes with it. If they offered it to me as a pay per race I'd consider it.

Heartfeltdawn

F1 on the BBC was not free. There's still that licence fee to pay up. The real question is whether subscribing to Sky F1 offers value for money. Are you getting a superior product to the F1 coverage you were getting before?

-Racing: crap for the last two years. 

-The actual film direction during the races has been terrible this year. 

-Johnny bloody Herbert. 

-Simon Lazenby. 

-The magic of Paul DiResta on the Sky pad. Charisma underload. 

So the answer is no. It's an all-round unattractive package and that is the principal problem. With cricket there is at least the argument of greater enhanced coverage now that virtually everything is on subscription (versus falling numbers and participation and a load of money-related grumbles). Rugby union would do likewise but perhaps the obvious example is how darts has been transformed. 

F1 looks old fashioned and greedy. It's massively behind the times in terms of social media. Compare how F1 itself does the social media work with the fabulous work Nismo do on Youtube (live streaming of Super GT races, in car cameras in endurance races, and cracking videos like this...)

chillidoggy

Believe me, if I thought I could get away without paying a licence fee, I would be doing it, and it's not just F1 that it pays for, is it? Especially when my terrestrial Freeview signal is practically non-existent, which makes paying the fee even worse.

But I'm thinking of if/when BBC ditches the F1 coverage, which is looking increasingly likely. I've long since thought that Sky could make more money if they offered more individual services, rather than the packages of shite they offer now. Actually, Sky makes enough money already, so I don't care if they make any more, but there you go.

And as for BTCC, I can't stand it. It's like bumper cars, waaay too much banging and crashing into each other. Years ago drivers would have been banned for that much contact.

chillidoggy

I read some more detail about the possible JLR buy-out of Silverstone this morning. Looks like it could be good, assuming it's approved.

Fretwired

Renault are back as a team .. goodbye Lotus ..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35002555

chillidoggy

See, I told you it would be Renault:-

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122128

ESchap

Good to see Palmer is getting a seat with Renault.

Fretwired

ESchap said:

Good to see Palmer is getting a seat with Renault.

@ESchap Palmer hasn't got a guaranteed seat .. Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn hints that the team may not retain Lotus drivers Pastor Maldonado and Jolyon Palmer following the French manufacturer's takeover.

stickyfiddle

Hopefully they'll keep Palmer and dump Crashtor for Vandoorne or JEV. Who else is around who's up to it? 

Alonso...??

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

Hopefully they'll keep Palmer and dump Crashtor for Vandoorne or JEV. Who else is around who's up to it? 

Alonso...??

I wondered about Alonso .. I think Crashtor will go .. I also think Renault will want experienced drivers given the fact Red Bull will have the same basic engine for 2016 so Palmer could be out as well. I bet Renault's CEO has gone on a fishing expedition to see if anyone like Alonso might want to jump ship.

ESchap

Fretwired said:

ESchap said:

Good to see Palmer is getting a seat with Renault.

@ESchap Palmer hasn't got a guaranteed seat .. Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn hints that the team may not retain Lotus drivers Pastor Maldonado and Jolyon Palmer following the French manufacturer's takeover.

Ha!  should know better than to belive anything I read on the interweb!