FIA has really hosed it up this year...

This is exactly why I don’t watch F1, haven’t for like 10 years. It’s total garbage with the complex computers that run these cars. Go back to a tire choice, V10 engines, manual shifting and fixed wings. Not to sound like a grouchy old man but bring back the olden ways where the driver has control of the car, not some computer calculating corner mode downforce.
Rant over

Yea, and take it off apple and put it back where everyone can enjoy it without having to pay another bill.

As a big Formula 1 fan I see the issue these two guys are commenting on as quite similar to many racing series the minute the car platform changes. It almost sounds like the tire concerns from Nascar with teams being penalized for tire pressures because Goodyear and Nascar determined higher minimum pressures were required. The aero on the new Generation car is causing issues also, but most of us who watch Nascar know it is a constant battle to meet the rules and build ( Generation )changes . Changes naturally occur, yet many often have a different view when similar things happen in F1, because they are on a much more complex platform with insanely advanced engineering. My thought is said complexity is part of what makes many think it makes the racing more difficult yet many of the engineering changes often translate to automotive production - hybrids and their advances are good examples.

For those of those who have raced Sports Cars, Formula Cars, etc. I find it fascinating all the mental and physical talent needed to drive a Formula 1 car and to me it shows the skill needed is so far beyond most of us that the drivers are like Jet Fighter pilots and we are all flying Piper Cubs.

When you reside on this blue planet for 7 generations you are very used to folks complaining about racing series, road racers don't think drag racers are as skilled, drag racers think circle track drivers can't do much but go left, etc. Sure these are just generalized examples but it is human nature for our carbon based life form to grouse about things that are not our favorite and I guess I have just gotten to the age where I actually think it is a little funny. If we don't like something it is often because something else appeals to us much more, yet I have found changes in every form of racing has caused us all to gripe about them ----me included!!

The new changes in F1 have made it very challenging and some drivers are having difficulty adjusting while others like Kimi Antonelli are killing it. We all have seen many drivers in Nascar struggle when a new Generation comes out also, and the comments that the cars are hard to drive are often answered by other drivers saying the change made the machine more of a driver's car. The same seems to be said of F1 and many of the cars in IMSA and I found years ago as much as I hated change in the Classes I ran in SCCA, NASA, Viper Days, etc. I began to also see in many instances said changes were because the cars kept evolving or that they helped evolve automobiles. F1 has helped the industry so much with what we drive today I realize that evolution can be confusing at times but what cool stuff has come from it ( and other racing series )

Lastly, I often find folks who don't like F1 don't actually watch it and their comments are not much different than those who don't watch Nascar or IMSA , etc. I love F1 and I have for 65+ years, but I also love Nascar , IMSA, etc.

This year's F1 has been pretty exciting, with new drivers showing major talent, week to week other Teams showing improved pace while others may have lost said, and drama no different than the other racing series out there.

We will all continue to complain about racing , me included , but I couldn't get much into this video as it sounded so similar to the same tire/aero complaints of Nascar and to me it is all a simple part of the evolution process.

And McWhiskey is correct, get the dang races back to a more accessible site instead of Apple. Same pain for racing aficionados to watch IMSA , where you have to get Peacock. It won't be long where we can all go back to Cable TV as it could have all the channels we need and be cheaper because all the darn apps I have now I am paying the same as I did with cable.

Bill Pemberton said:

all the darn apps I have now I am paying the same as I did with cable.

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Get used to it Bill...........Pay to play is here to stay!!!!

Oh, I am used to it Bobby, just saying it may ironically be more convenient in the future to go back to cable, paying one fee to one supplier. Probably won't happen, but keeping my options open. I do Peacock for IMSA and Tour de France and once over I cancel. Same thing for Apple, do for Formula 1 then cancel. Sure one has to stay on top of billings but I can change back easily enough.

I think a big part of the issue is actually caused by the cost caps and limits on testing. With a major change to the aero rules, the downforce estimates teams gave Pirelli last year varied as much as 30%. The new rules package does target a reduction in overall downforce from 2025, but teams varied wildly on how much it would be reduced. Pirelli took the team estimates and designed the tire construction around them. Then (some of) the teams started to find chunks of downforce early this year and Pirelli was concerned that the rear tires would be overloaded and fail - especially if the car's active aero failed and was using "full downforce mode" on all the straights. The tires are homologated at the beginning of the year, so Pirelli told the teams to increase the pressures as a fix. There is a mechanism to allow the FIA to force Pirelli to change tire construction mid-year due to safety concerns, but it's a high bar and if just increasing pressures is an alternative that's going to be what happens.

PS - Looks like Newey made some major fixes on the Aston Martin, and AM were very clever to use an allowed "filming day" to test the revised Honda engine before its Dutch GP formal debut. Still pulling for Alonso. I'd love to see him do an Indy 500 again -- he could have the motorsports triple crown (Monaco F1, Le Mans, Indy 500) if his Honda (not again!) engine didn't blow up. At least he was voted Indy 500 Rookie of the Year that year.

We do see interesting dynamics occur every time a major series makes dramatic changes. The drivers who adapt quickly are not often the ones we initially suspect. I remember how the new Generation Cup cars caused numerous concerns with tires , aero , driveability, etc. and F1 is not immune to similar issues regardless of how complex they are. For me and I suspect for many others the changes are welcomed because it often brings out new talent or shows which older drivers can adapt quickly.

Like Dave_W , it would sure be great to see Alonzo back in the fray with an updated Aston. I still have my money on Antonelli, having stated to my F1 friends he would be a force to contend with just a few races in last year. Getting older has a few benefits having been able to watch Jimmy Clark, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonzo, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, etc. as it seems there is a new phenom every Generation. I have to believe Kimi Antonelli is the next driver to join the " SuperStar " list.

PS - I did not list all the great drivers above, as that would have taken a full paragraph itself, and there are some greats not listed , but considering when F1 started olde Fartzz like meself have had the pleasure of seeing a boat load of racing legends.

blacksheep-1 said:

FIA has really hosed it up this year...

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The video does not explain the issue very well. Are higher tire pressures required? The teams cannot ignore the recommended pressure from Pirelli and run whatever pressure they want?

Minimum tire pressure is set by Pirelli. FIA stewards monitor the tire pressures from a telemetry feed before each tire is mounted. Scrutineers also do checks with a Pirelli-calibrated, FIA-sealed gauge. If a car has initial tire pressure below the Pirelli value, the car is penalized (well, referred to the stewards for action).

In prior years, some teams were playing with tire blankets and brake rotor heaters, what part of the wheel/tire/brake was being heated and how much, formation lap strategy, etc., so that the tires had Pirelli's minimum pressure when they were put on the car for the start, but by the time the car got to its grid spot after the formation lap, the tires were below that pressure. FIA added rules to close loopholes teams exploited, and harder to do this year with the lowered max. tire blanket temp.

2016 https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/16667747/new-f1-tyre-pressure-checks-introduced-austria

2021 https://www.racefans.net/2021/06/15...id-red-bull-tactic-hamilton-spotted-in-spain/

TPMS used today - "Teams can access certain channels. The FIA can access others - encrypted separately - to verify the integrity of what's being measured." https://www.raceteq.com/articles/20...-2500g-the-f1-tyre-pressure-monitoring-system