Barneyballbags":1qiht9up said:
I absolutely love F1, but there are far too many mechanical aids available to the drivers now. It's become less about driving and more about managing.
Exactly - great point, there.
When Schumacher recently had his rant about the tyres, then Anderson had a rant about Schumacher - essentially saying "Stop moaning, that's your job..." I sorta thought Anderson is missing the point. Just because that's the evolution of the drivers role, doesn't necessarily mean that all such factors are good progress.
Anderson just spouted what most team bosses would say (yes, I get, he's no longer a "technical director", he's now a "technical expert" or perhaps informed pundit for the BBC) - maybe it's natural for them to try and impose some of their value system on the ethereal, almost witchcraft like talent that some drivers have - which makes me think there's some truth in that old chestnut that good team bosses make lousy drivers, and good drivers make lousy team bosses - it misses the point about what (I suspect) most drivers want out of the sport, and quite probably, what most fans want - drivers being excellent at that whole driving skill, rather than brilliant multi-taskers, that have to "manage" things.
I don't want races or drivers performance to appear "managed" I want to think they're doing it by the seat of the pants, and are a whisker away from the gravel - I want them to be flat-out, trying everything possible, rather than having to simply "manage" or temper their effort.
"managing" performance, fuel usage and tyres caused the end of my interest in Indy / CHAMP / CART racing. And F1 has become as much about that than out-and-out, flat-out skill.
Barneyballbags":1qiht9up said:
The way it's going, in a few years time it's going to be more like Mario Cart, with power-ups and speed boosters all over the place!
And Dick Dastardly throwing banana skills and oil slicks.
Hard racing and seat-of-the-pants ability, not managed, multi-tasking technicians.
