Sprint Races OR something MUCH more Entertaining ?

[Big Tea]

What about an out and out time trial? Drivers released maybe 20 seconds apart and 2 sets 15 lap stints, reversed to equalise conditions? If you go out, you are out, and the following car gains a lap if obstructed. If you are caught, you are out too.

It could be difficult keeping the gap in the starts, but it could be spread over 2 hrs to keep the crowd entertained.

In other words, quali as it is now but out alone and not just hot lap then cool

<26 cars released every 20s wouldn't work around any circuit on the calendar

There is that of course My head was still in single lap quali..

[El Scorchio]

I quite like this. Certainly preferable to the current SPRINT format. Maybe I’d have grid order based of fp times or something. Or perhaps with a reverse element based on a randomly drawn position like btcc reverse grid races.

Or even have it as a separate sprint championship so nominate <10 GPs a year where they have 3 day weekends with the rest 2 days weekends. 30minute practice, 1 lap quali and sprint on a Friday.

But don't you think any sprint championship will always be inferior to the actual championship, and seen as it's the same drivers in the same cars, it'll just be the same outcome unless there's some serious massaging? So will anyone really care about it? (Most casuals don't even care about the WCC already so would they about a secondary driver one?) I can't really think of a way you could organise it that wouldn't end up with the top teams and drivers winning it again over the course of a season, or if you rig it to put the slower cars at the front of the grid, then I think the contrivance will be a big turnoff. And we do have to accept the vast majority just want to see Ferraris, Red Bulls and Mercedes fighting at the front. They aren't going to get excited about two Haas and Williams cars holding up the rest of the field in a massive DRS train as long as they can.

It would also make the sport more expensive once more given the extra budget needed.

I just can't think of a single way that makes sprint races both exciting and meaningful. It seems that in order to do one, you have to more or less abandon the other.

Yeah but they're trying to make it so the sprint doesn't detract from the main race, but are still giving points.

The FIA wants more young driver running, maybe force one car on the Friday to be a young driver. I dunno. I think the sprint format sucks, but more are going to be coming no matter what we think, just trying to make the best of a bad idea.

That is true. I guess I’m trying to figure out why it even exists as a thing, apart from being a cynical money grab. I think that’s the fundamental issue. It’s the solution to a problem that didn’t exist. It was invented first and foremost to line people’s pockets (even more than already) rather than be a missing piece to a race weekend.

Sadly it’s going to stick around as something fairly pointless just because it makes rich people richer.

[Andres125sx]

The fact is I previously watched F1 on saturdays and sundays. Now (when there´s a sprint race) I watch F1 on fridays, saturdays and sundays

[Just_a_fan]

The fact is I previously watched F1 on saturdays and sundays. Now (when there´s a sprint race) I watch F1 on fridays, saturdays and sundays

I work on Fridays and then meet friends and so might be busy when the pre-qualifying is on. Haven't watched a sprint thing because it's pointless. So I end up just watching the race. Which is a shame because qualifying is often the most exciting hour of the weekend. So my viewing is decreased by the sprint format.

[Manoah2u]

blabla entertainment blabla

i'll make it simple for you, as i guess you just don't get it.
F1 is not for you. go watch another sport.

i hate that 'big bucks businesses' are in charge of f1 and that they're changing the sport to suit 'youth'. F1 was never for kids, never for youth, never for people whose interests and concentration span changes every 10 seconds.

F1 - and motorsport - was and is really simple in it's core. Its about racing, that's it. Nothing artificial, just racing.

Reverse grids are not racing, and random grid positioning is the epitome of bad ideas that i have ever heard.
stop turning your general need for speed games into real life.

buy a racing game, and enjoy that.

leave f1 as it is and leave it's fundaments as it is. F1 exists since the 50's. obviously it's doing something well.

if people don't like it, then do what other people do what they dont like: dont watch it and find something else.
I don't like soccer. I don't watch it and i don't expect it to change to suit 'my' needs. that would be egoistic.

So again, let's make it simple shall we.

If you think the entire things needs to change, then watch something else.

[SiLo]

To be honest, most of this is all related to the general decline in sports viewership amongst younger audiences, but the powers that be don't want to look at the real problem, which is the cost of that viewership. We don't need sprint races, we need better, cheaper access, and that includes ticket prices as well as TV packages. When I was a younger, it was free to air and tickets cost less. Now people of a similar age NEED their parents to be fans or to pay for it because it is cost prohibitive.

Netflix DTS is nice and all, but how about streaming live races on it? F1TV is pretty decent, but it's still pricey relatively for what you get.

[jjn9128]

To be honest, most of this is all related to the general decline in sports viewership amongst younger audiences, but the powers that be don't want to look at the real problem, which is the cost of that viewership. We don't need sprint races, we need better, cheaper access, and that includes ticket prices as well as TV packages. When I was a younger, it was free to air and tickets cost less. Now people of a similar age NEED their parents to be fans or to pay for it because it is cost prohibitive.

Netflix DTS is nice and all, but how about streaming live races on it? F1TV is pretty decent, but it's still pricey relatively for what you get.

This. When I was a kid we couldn't afford going to an actual race weekend but we could go to testing. It was mostly free but you couldn't guarantee anyone would actually be there - worst case we spent most of the day in the rain for a Benneton to do 1 install lap. When testing started being limited there was an open test ahead of the 2004 British GP where the circuit charged because there was a guarantee of cars - a whole £10!

[Just_a_fan]

To be honest, most of this is all related to the general decline in sports viewership amongst younger audiences, but the powers that be don't want to look at the real problem, which is the cost of that viewership.

Exactly. There is enough sponsorship money coming in to enable free-to-view coverage, even if just the race itself. But we're living in the aftermath of Bernie's deals which were only about short term financial gain for him and his mates.

It's the same with sports generally, the likes of Sky buy up the rights to sports - with the aim of dragging people to pay them a fortune for a subscription - and it just kills the ground level viewership.

I like cricket, rugby, F1. All of them in the UK are now locked behind Sky's doors. I'm not prepared to pay Sky £500/year to watch a few events that might take my fancy. Certainly, F1 isn't worth £500/year. And I don't have enough spare time, nor would SWMBO put up with it, to watch £500/year worth of Sky sport.

I listen to cricket on the radio - a long tradition and one that works well, and I watch rugby matches that are shown on the terrestrial services. Even managed to see some international cricket recently that Sky had apparently allowed to be shown for some reason.

I do wonder if the sponsors think they get value for money from their deals - if a sport is seen by only a few hundred thousand people rather than many millions, why do they bother sponsoring it?

So I watch F1 using online streams via VPN when I can find reliable streams. Or I go and do something else. After 40+ years of watching F1, it's a damning indictment of the situation that F1 has got itself in.

[Just_a_fan]

This. When I was a kid we couldn't afford going to an actual race weekend but we could go to testing. It was mostly free but you couldn't guarantee anyone would actually be there - worst case we spent most of the day in the rain for a Benneton to do 1 install lap. When testing started being limited there was an open test ahead of the 2004 British GP where the circuit charged because there was a guarantee of cars - a whole £10!

I used to go to Silverstone for an hour or two to watch some testing back in the day when it was free and the weather was ok. Sat in a small grandstand on the outside of Luffield/Woodcote, one could listen to the engine note screaming across the circuit and know exactly where a car was on the lap just from the rising/falling noises.

[jjn9128]

This. When I was a kid we couldn't afford going to an actual race weekend but we could go to testing. It was mostly free but you couldn't guarantee anyone would actually be there - worst case we spent most of the day in the rain for a Benneton to do 1 install lap. When testing started being limited there was an open test ahead of the 2004 British GP where the circuit charged because there was a guarantee of cars - a whole £10!

I used to go to Silverstone for an hour or two to watch some testing back in the day when it was free and the weather was ok. Sat in a small grandstand on the outside of Luffield/Woodcote, one could listen to the engine note screaming across the circuit and know exactly where a car was on the lap just from the rising/falling noises.

The one above the cafe? We might have been there at the same time

[Just_a_fan]

This. When I was a kid we couldn't afford going to an actual race weekend but we could go to testing. It was mostly free but you couldn't guarantee anyone would actually be there - worst case we spent most of the day in the rain for a Benneton to do 1 install lap. When testing started being limited there was an open test ahead of the 2004 British GP where the circuit charged because there was a guarantee of cars - a whole £10!

I used to go to Silverstone for an hour or two to watch some testing back in the day when it was free and the weather was ok. Sat in a small grandstand on the outside of Luffield/Woodcote, one could listen to the engine note screaming across the circuit and know exactly where a car was on the lap just from the rising/falling noises.

The one above the cafe? We might have been there at the same time

That's the one.

[El Scorchio]

So true about the cost of attending. Three of us go occasionally went a couple of years ago last time. It was £990 for three grandstand tickets. That's a family holiday for a couple of hours of entertainment. Then chuck in food, travel and everything else and that's probably another £100 on top. OWCH. It's always a sell out as well, more or less. It was actually wonderful to see this year as well, after all the restrictions.

BUT- I do understand Silverstone need to charge a fortune to keep themselves afloat thanks to the deals they have to tie themselves into to keep a Grand Prix there. I think it's outrageous the good old circuits with loyal fanbases are absolutely held to ransom by FOM. I do think if FOM were a little less greedy with their cash cow then it could really help the sport grow and survive.

As many of you have mentioned, free or cheaper access is the answer. Not gimmicks like a sprint race. I know I'll watch if I'm at home, but now I don't feel I need to make a point to not miss qualifying on a sprint weekend, because it's not a final result, and I just don't have the appetite to specially watch a sprint in it's current format because it's quite dull and doesn't count for much AFTER qualifying as there aren't going to be big changes and there are minimal points at stake. I'll ALWAYS watch the actual races, unless there's something else I can't get out of on the Sunday, and I'll always watch qualifying on a non sprint weekend.

[SiLo]

To be honest, most of this is all related to the general decline in sports viewership amongst younger audiences, but the powers that be don't want to look at the real problem, which is the cost of that viewership.

Exactly. There is enough sponsorship money coming in to enable free-to-view coverage, even if just the race itself. But we're living in the aftermath of Bernie's deals which were only about short term financial gain for him and his mates.

It's the same with sports generally, the likes of Sky buy up the rights to sports - with the aim of dragging people to pay them a fortune for a subscription - and it just kills the ground level viewership.

I like cricket, rugby, F1. All of them in the UK are now locked behind Sky's doors. I'm not prepared to pay Sky £500/year to watch a few events that might take my fancy. Certainly, F1 isn't worth £500/year. And I don't have enough spare time, nor would SWMBO put up with it, to watch £500/year worth of Sky sport.

I listen to cricket on the radio - a long tradition and one that works well, and I watch rugby matches that are shown on the terrestrial services. Even managed to see some international cricket recently that Sky had apparently allowed to be shown for some reason.

I do wonder if the sponsors think they get value for money from their deals - if a sport is seen by only a few hundred thousand people rather than many millions, why do they bother sponsoring it?

So I watch F1 using online streams via VPN when I can find reliable streams. Or I go and do something else. After 40+ years of watching F1, it's a damning indictment of the situation that F1 has got itself in.

if youre paying for a VPN I recommend F1TV. I pay £59.99 per season, and can watch every session plus F2 on it, can chromecast from my phone as well.

[Just_a_fan]

To be honest, most of this is all related to the general decline in sports viewership amongst younger audiences, but the powers that be don't want to look at the real problem, which is the cost of that viewership.

Exactly. There is enough sponsorship money coming in to enable free-to-view coverage, even if just the race itself. But we're living in the aftermath of Bernie's deals which were only about short term financial gain for him and his mates.

It's the same with sports generally, the likes of Sky buy up the rights to sports - with the aim of dragging people to pay them a fortune for a subscription - and it just kills the ground level viewership.

I like cricket, rugby, F1. All of them in the UK are now locked behind Sky's doors. I'm not prepared to pay Sky £500/year to watch a few events that might take my fancy. Certainly, F1 isn't worth £500/year. And I don't have enough spare time, nor would SWMBO put up with it, to watch £500/year worth of Sky sport.

I listen to cricket on the radio - a long tradition and one that works well, and I watch rugby matches that are shown on the terrestrial services. Even managed to see some international cricket recently that Sky had apparently allowed to be shown for some reason.

I do wonder if the sponsors think they get value for money from their deals - if a sport is seen by only a few hundred thousand people rather than many millions, why do they bother sponsoring it?

So I watch F1 using online streams via VPN when I can find reliable streams. Or I go and do something else. After 40+ years of watching F1, it's a damning indictment of the situation that F1 has got itself in.

if youre paying for a VPN I recommend F1TV. I pay £59.99 per season, and can watch every session plus F2 on it, can chromecast from my phone as well.

How do pay? I was under the impression that it would see a UK card / bank account and say "no".

[jjn9128]

How do pay? I was under the impression that it would see a UK card / bank account and say "no".

Mongolian togrog in a stamped addressed envelope of course!