Formula One Boredom

by Christopher Clark

The last five years in Formula 1 has been fairly monotonous with the winner coming from the same team each time, and the same person four times. The increasing success of Formula E, and the excitement of the past, led me to think that modern Formula 1 has become too boring. Has the edge been lost from what was once a lethal sport that risked death every time someone stepped into a car? Quite probably and here is why.

The first reason that Formula 1 has lost the appeal is that the races seem to be very predictable. Generally the winner is fairly predictable, it can be closed down to very few individuals each time as cars do not fail often and the speed is evenly matched, if not they have better cornering than the others. The engineering supremacy of Mercedes over their rivals for the past four years has continued into this year as they hold the first two positions in the drivers’ standings, with a forty point gap to the nearest driver after them. In the past cars would be running closely each race, even if there were favourites there was a much higher chance of a mechanical failure than there is now. The input that the drivers receive from teams means that they can be told the best way to be driving their car and the best times for pit stops. In the past the racers were not given any of this information through their helmets and had to decide themselves on many of the calls that they were making when it came to pit stops, overtaking and tyre wear.

Another reason for the newfound boredom with Formula 1 is that the racing has lost the dangerous edge that it used to. Whilst the deaths within Formula 1 in the past are horrible incidents and I wish that they never happened or happen again, the risk the drivers faced made the sport as a whole more exciting. The modern race suffers far fewer crashes and the drivers are much less willing to take risks. The immense paydays that they receive make the gains completely negligible. The drivers of the past drove with much more aggression and spirit, men such as James Hunt and Jody Scheckter took risks on the circuit, which led to much more entertaining racing. The drivers also had to physically fight with their cars to get them round the circuits, enticing the viewer in with their supreme driving skill. The modern cars are not the same and the drivers no longer have to battle in the same way. Furthermore the cars of the past were much more exciting, the beautiful notes that the engines hit can never be matched than the current 1.6 litre V6 hybrid engines. The sounds can never be the same. Also the older cars had looks that could be completely insane, the most perfect example being the six-wheeler Pyrell P34 which was very fast but the unfortunate problem of being too heavy and not cornering well. These cars were combined with lethal tracks such as Goodwood, Brands Hatch and the Nurburgring, which were exceptionally dangerous, but could be fascinating for the viewer. The loss of drivers at these tracks is horrible and the death of Aryton Senna was horrible, but the clinical, sanitised F1 we see now is not the same at all.

Finally, F1 has failed to move forwards with the times, it has not kept the same viewership that existed in the past. The arrival of Formula E has created a viable competitor to Formula 1 now, with much more interactive racing. The racing in Formula E is only in cities, so the more entertaining elements, cornering and overtaking are more heavily incorporated. This also makes it much more accessible to the viewer as it is much easier to travel to a city, and also view it from different areas. There is also an interactive element to Formula E as the viewers can vote on their favourite drivers up to fifteen minutes into the race to give them a slight power boost later on, what seems like a slightly childish idea is actually supremely entertaining. As well as this the drivers in Formula E can depart from the racing line, the quickest way to go, and pick up boost in certain places of the track which can help them later on. This means that the drivers have to choose between different advantages and can massively open the racing up, allowing cars to change positions more often. This means that the table in Formula E is much closer than Formula 1, despite using the same points system. The success of Formula E is also demonstrated in their television coverage, the rights are owned by BBC.

Overall it seems that Formula 1 has lost its’ way, neither committing to the past or the future. I massively enjoy the Goodwood Revival, as it is a phenomenal opportunity to see many of the hurtling around a track, the drivers struggling with the cars which have no electronic aids, the engines roaring and drifting round corners. This is more enthralling than modern F1, which is also falling behind Formula E in terms of entertainment factor. Despite a core viewer base, F1 viewing still continues to fall, which raises the question as to where do they go now?