Competitive appeal question from an American sports fan

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Jack Acid
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Competitive appeal question from an American sports fan

Post by Jack Acid » Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:50 am

Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this; mods feel free to move if needed.

I am very new to being an F1 fan, I started becoming more interested after the END of last year, so this my first season of watching and following this great sport. Forgive me if my points or opinion seem naive.

Up until recently, the one thing that had always turned me off from F1 was the lack of parity - meaning, while there may be 24 drivers out there, there are only 8-12 who might win the race (realistically, maybe less). The tech behind the cars is moving at very different paces. The bottom part of the field is usually for lesser teams and newer drivers getting their lumps in.

"How can any self-respecting sports fan be OK with this?", I asked. "Is that not the point?" I wondered.

Take American football for example: a key to its popularity is that any given game, any team can win. Any given year, any team can win. Upsets can occur any time, any where.

So my question is for those who have followed the sport for a long time: does it always sit OK with you to be able to look at a team, or drivers on paper and know who will (likely) win? Or do you sometimes lament that it could not be less predictable?

What is the key appeal to you?

Having said all this - after watching some races and getting caught up in duels of the world's best, I realized it didn't matter: even if every race typically came down to the top 8-10 drivers, they were thrilling races all the same. The strategy behind the tires, pit stops and weather conditions give one plenty of ammunition from a strategy standpoint.

I've come to terms with the way things are, and still have a deep interest in team tech development, watching young guys come up etc. Looking forward to watching this year and hopefully getting to an event within the next 2-3 years.

Cheers to all.

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Post by Ed » Tue Apr 12, 2011 3:31 pm

First of all I would like to welcome you Jack to the NewsOnF1 forums. We hope that you enjoy the discussions and debates on the forums.

In regards to the point you raise, it is true that Formula 1 is fairly predictable and that most winners come from a few number of teams every year. Having said that, I don't think it is much different from any other team sport. In Football (soccer) for example, at the world cup level only a few nations have won the world cup and at the club level you'll notice that only a few clubs manage to win the league. The success in all these cases isn't down to just a single factor but a multitude of factors that collectively result in success.

With all team sports there is unpredictability still. In Formula 1 in particular, in 2009 Jenson Button won in a Brawn. No one predicted that. We are currently witnessing the huge success of Red Bull, a team that was only formed in 2005 when they purchased the Jaguar racing team. In their first season they finished seventh, finished second in 2009 and won the title last year. It is almost unheard of in any sporting franchise that a team can rise to the top and stay there in just 5 years.

I think in Formula 1, many new teams underestimate the amount of dedication, effort and funding required to succeed, many give up after a year or two but those who can stay on and have the necessary financial backing can survive and possibly succeed. The Sauber team comes to mind, yes the team was briefly sold to BMW but then bought back by Peter Sauber, but the way that team is run is very impressive given the budget they have compared to the big teams yet this year and against all odds, they are scoring points.

I don't think you could have total unpredictability in any sport and Formula 1 will always have a few favourite drivers and every once in a while someone new comes in and establishes himself. In 2005, Alonso came from nowhere and won the title, in 2007, Hamilton nearly won the title on debut and in 2009 Vettel finished second in his first year at Red Bull.

This year it appears that the new rules will create some more predictability but unless there are changing track conditions, it is unlikely that a driver outside of Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus Renault and Mercedes would win a race (in fact it is unlikely for the latter two to win). Still it is looking set to be another thrilling season.

Jack Acid
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Post by Jack Acid » Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:26 am

Well said, I agree. Also, it's easy for me to raise the issue early in a season, especially with Vettel landing a lightening quick 50 points in 2 races.

I think my judgment is best served after I've endured the ebb and flow of a season...I do love drama and I do love watching the best in the world at what they do.

Here's to hoping we're in for a great season!

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Post by jido » Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:07 am

The drama also exists at the back -- even though smaller / less successful teams do not win races, they still compete. Depending on race conditions you will see them in the top ten raking points. In times like that you get to admire the ingenuity of a driver, of a team, to be able to do better than others despite the odds.:up:

At the bottom of the ranks, it is impressive when they just reach the finish line which is a bit sad :roll: but I don't mind them, the Virgins and the Hispanias. I believe if they hang on they will eventually show their worth.

Hyper-Ham

Post by Hyper-Ham » Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:24 pm

I can see your point about predictable winner, (i.e. if Vettel wins every race this year it could get quite boring on a drivers championship side of things).

But you also have those (what the BBC commentary refers to) 3 groups of teams, the top runners, mid field, and the new teams. I find it exciting when a team makes it into a higher class of group. Take this year for example, Renault seems to progressing into the top runners group (with 2 podiums), compared to Mercedes who seem to be dropping into the mid field. So I often look at "winners" of each group, which adds excitement to the race.

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Post by cmlean » Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:37 pm

Maybe you could play 10'n'Pole. It adds to the intrigue of Formula 1 by trying to pick the first 10 in as close to possible the correct order as they finish.

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Re: Competitive appeal question from an American sports fan

Post by Quirked889 » Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:41 am

Jack Acid wrote:Sorry if this is the wrong forum for this; mods feel free to move if needed.

I am very new to being an F1 fan, I started becoming more interested after the END of last year, so this my first season of watching and following this great sport. Forgive me if my points or opinion seem naive.

Up until recently, the one thing that had always turned me off from F1 was the lack of parity - meaning, while there may be 24 drivers out there, there are only 8-12 who might win the race (realistically, maybe less). The tech behind the cars is moving at very different paces. The bottom part of the field is usually for lesser teams and newer drivers getting their lumps in.

"How can any self-respecting sports fan be OK with this?", I asked. "Is that not the point?" I wondered.

Take American football for example: a key to its popularity is that any given game, any team can win. Any given year, any team can win. Upsets can occur any time, any where.

So my question is for those who have followed the sport for a long time: does it always sit OK with you to be able to look at a team, or drivers on paper and know who will (likely) win? Or do you sometimes lament that it could not be less predictable?

What is the key appeal to you?

Having said all this - after watching some races and getting caught up in duels of the world's best, I realized it didn't matter: even if every race typically came down to the top 8-10 drivers, they were thrilling races all the same. The strategy behind the tires, pit stops and weather conditions give one plenty of ammunition from a strategy standpoint.

I've come to terms with the way things are, and still have a deep interest in team tech development, watching young guys come up etc. Looking forward to watching this year and hopefully getting to an event within the next 2-3 years.

Cheers to all.
While you do make a good point in football you generally know which teams are better and have a better chance of winning. Some years certain teams come out of nowhere and surprise people but usually its the same handful of teams making it to the playoffs.

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Post by jacfan » Fri Apr 22, 2011 3:47 pm

First up welcome to the forums. I hope you decide to enter the 10 n pole competition. It is a lot of fun!!!! I think all sports can be said to be fairly predictable on paper but in reality anything can go wrong for a top sports person or team and that is the uncertainty that we all love.
I have been watching since 1983 when being a newly wed my husband would ask me to get the results of the race for him. It was on late at night and he couldn't stay up to watch. Then I started watching as he wanted to know what happened in the race and so I would watch and make notes and became fascinated by this wonderful sport.
So keep watching and enjoy!!!
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