Re: F1, boring?

F1 is probably the only sport I would go out of my way to watch. And, unlike most sports, it has churned out several British world champions in recent years. Nigel Mansell. Damon Hill. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

I'm hoping they explore fuel conservation technologies in coming years. Then it will have spin-off benefits for road cars. So it's not a complete waste of time (and fuel).

Re: F1, boring?

I am almost ashamed to say it but I watched a bit of the qualification pantomime for tomorrows Singapore GP.

I did it purely out of curiosity, not for the 'contest' but really to see if Eddie Jordan's syrup had been ironed since the last time I saw it and I suppose a little bit of me wanted to see the improvement in the 'sport'.

None of this is true, my young grandson wanted to see the cars at night.

What a farce, can anyone tell me the point of having a 10 car contest to determine the final grid positions for the race when only 6 or 7 cars bother to trundle round the track.

I feel sorry for the meeting goers who shell out for this con.
What would they do if all the teams pulled this stunt.

Re: F1, boring?

There is a 1 hour qualifying session at 2.00pm on the day before the race. The qualifying session is divided into 3 parts.

Qualifying session 1 - For the first 20 minutes all the cars on the track try to set the fastest time. The 7 slowest cars are eliminated, earning grid positions 16 to 20.

Qualifying session 2 - From 2.27 to 2.42pm the remaining 15 cars do another round, their previous lap times having been cancelled. The slowest 5 cars are eliminated and take grid positions 11 to 15.

Qualifying session 3 - From 2.50 to 3.00pm the 10 last cars fight for pole position and qualify no lower than 10th.

I hope that makes it clearer for you, Hammer I enjoy watching the qualifying rounds as well! . Our two boys are 3rd and 4th on the grid tomorrow.

Re: F1, boring?

Hi Mags, thanks for the very detailed explanation of the procedure but I was really trying to be ironic and perhaps a little humerous. Looking at it again I failed in every aspect.

The bit that I was moaning about was as you say,
"Qualifying session 3 - From 2.50 to 3.00pm the 10 last cars fight for pole position and qualify no lower than 10th."

Where were all the ten cars in the final stint? Surely it would have been better to have gone out and tried than to have not tried at all.
I thought that was the very nature of racing.
Off to watch the Grand prix now though

Re: F1, boring?

i moan about it sometimes,but wouldnt miss it,
cant stand tennis or golf,that is boreing,so is a lot of football.

Re: F1, boring?

You must have watched last nights ManU game then Doc.

Re: F1, boring?

The 10 cars in the final stint started off a few minutes apart ........ so they were all racing to see who had the fastest time, that car was in pole position today. The car with the 2nd fastest time took position two .....and so on through the rest of the cars.

I'll convert you yet, Hammer ......unless you're having me on!

Re: F1, boring?

I would never do that Mags
I did try and stay awake for the procession today and did not miss the salient points.
Vettel won again, Button came second again, and Hamilton transgressed the rules again.
Oh and the syrup had a fresh shirt on.
Perhaps I am missing something and should be looking from a different perspective but I still thought it boring.

That said, would you like to take a look at the MotoGP next weekend from Japan.?
I hope it will be a good meeting with the usual mix of speed and skill. Even though this seasons championship leader has more or less won the title I think and hope you will see some real racing.

Of course I would not expect one race to convince you but it might be worth a gander.

Re: F1, boring?

I might take you up on that, Hammer .....what day, Channel and time?

Re: F1, boring?

The race is coming from Motegi, Japan and so with the time difference it is a very early start.

It will be on the BBC but as usual the Saturday qualifying rounds will be hidden away on the red button.
The GP itself will be shown live on BBC2 at 0630-0800 Sunday.
There will be a rerun at 1230-1400 on the same BBC2 channel.
The coverage is usually first class, Steve Parish and Charlie Cox make a brilliant commentry team and the support folks are all good in what they do.