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.
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.
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.
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 *
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 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.
