We could talk about the race, but having watched at least a recap of every single F1 race since 1969, yesterday’s Bahrain grand prix was the most boring race I have ever watched.
Been a fan since 2003, and must agree. At times I was thinking that if not for the hype of a "season opener", this was nearly as boring as France 2019. Max deserves his praise, and I'm not trying to downplay his frankly flawless driving the last 18 months, but these regulations have been a massive disaster. The cost cap has stopped any chance of a team catching up, so the money that should be allowing Ferrari and Merc close the gap is being spent elsewhere on excessively extravagant car reveals and sponsor events, let alone in entire race series (ex. Ferrari's Le Mans campaign last year). The cars still can't pass without DRS (this was one of the least overtakes in a Bahrain GP ever), and Ross Brawn's warning that teams would be stopped from getting too far up front has expectingly fell flat as a lie.
The least we can hope for is Max to get a proper teammate (not that anyone outside Lewis, Fernando and maybe Charles would even stand a chance) to save us from this. Reliability isn't even a factor anymore either. A period of criticism is probably what this sport needs, forcing it to reinvent itself and hopefully simplify the formula. 2007-2012 should be a blueprint; make the cars smaller, give the big boys a blank check to their their job (ten teams are never going to compete for podiums, no matter how hard you try to convince us it's possible, Stefano), and simplify the aero so the cars are more unstable on corner entry and exit (i.e greater driver influence). Looking forward to watching 20 Chevy Suburbans drive in a single-file line around Madrid in 2026.
I still think Checo is out by midseason. They then bring in Sainz as a big FU to Ferrari. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy watching Sainz beat LEC in a car designed for LEC, a team geared to LEC, and strategists working slowly towards a strategy for LEC
Been a fan since 2003, and must agree. At times I was thinking that if not for the hype of a "season opener", this was nearly as boring as France 2019. Max deserves his praise, and I'm not trying to downplay his frankly flawless driving the last 18 months, but these regulations have been a massive disaster. The cost cap has stopped any chance of a team catching up, so the money that should be allowing Ferrari and Merc close the gap is being spent elsewhere on excessively extravagant car reveals and sponsor events, let alone in entire race series (ex. Ferrari's Le Mans campaign last year). The cars still can't pass without DRS (this was one of the least overtakes in a Bahrain GP ever), and Ross Brawn's warning that teams would be stopped from getting too far up front has expectingly fell flat as a lie.
The least we can hope for is Max to get a proper teammate (not that anyone outside Lewis, Fernando and maybe Charles would even stand a chance) to save us from this. Reliability isn't even a factor anymore either. A period of criticism is probably what this sport needs, forcing it to reinvent itself and hopefully simplify the formula. 2007-2012 should be a blueprint; make the cars smaller, give the big boys a blank check to their their job (ten teams are never going to compete for podiums, no matter how hard you try to convince us it's possible, Stefano), and simplify the aero so the cars are more unstable on corner entry and exit (i.e greater driver influence). Looking forward to watching 20 Chevy Suburbans drive in a single-file line around Madrid in 2026.
Love it. Seriously if they did half the year in identical Ford Festivas it would be more exciting than yesterday.
I still think Checo is out by midseason. They then bring in Sainz as a big FU to Ferrari. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy watching Sainz beat LEC in a car designed for LEC, a team geared to LEC, and strategists working slowly towards a strategy for LEC
A great recap. Thanks