2021 British Grand Prix - Silverstone, July 16 - 18

[Sevach]

There are a couple (no Mercedes yet), but i'm posting at respective car threads.

[JPower]

This just spells cringe.....

That and the 'speed king award' sound like things directly to appeal to a new American audience used to catchy labels and phrases like 'fast nine' etc. (Sorry if any fellow F1T American fans are not impressed with that comment. I have tried not to make it in a condescending way!)

This sprint race isn't for us. F1 might be growing in America but this concept is still pure F2. No catchy titles are bringing American fans any closer to the sport. So yeah, not impressed.

[Fulcrum]

This just spells cringe.....

That and the 'speed king award' sound like things directly to appeal to a new American audience used to catchy labels and phrases like 'fast nine' etc. (Sorry if any fellow F1T American fans are not impressed with that comment. I have tried not to make it in a condescending way!)

This sprint race isn't for us. F1 might be growing in America but this concept is still pure F2. No catchy titles are bringing new fans any closer to the sport. So yeah, not impressed.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... KWVjv.html

Well the new car looks like an Indy car, so perhaps appropriate.

[Sieper]

This just spells cringe.....

That and the 'speed king award' sound like things directly to appeal to a new American audience used to catchy labels and phrases like 'fast nine' etc. (Sorry if any fellow F1T American fans are not impressed with that comment. I have tried not to make it in a condescending way!)

This sprint race isn't for us. F1 might be growing in America but this concept is still pure F2. No catchy titles are bringing American fans any closer to the sport. So yeah, not impressed.

Our 1 American fan (that I know) Dans79 is also less than impressed! For me there was also no need to devaluate the real qualy. Let’s see.

[Wouter]

Tomorrow we will see the qualifying for Saturday's qualifying.
Who came up with that idea and why?

[Just_a_fan]

This just spells cringe.....

That and the 'speed king award' sound like things directly to appeal to a new American audience used to catchy labels and phrases like 'fast nine' etc. (Sorry if any fellow F1T American fans are not impressed with that comment. I have tried not to make it in a condescending way!)

This sprint race isn't for us. F1 might be growing in America but this concept is still pure F2. No catchy titles are bringing American fans any closer to the sport. So yeah, not impressed.

The sprint race / altered qualifying is about making on track interest for those at the track as much as anyone else. Fridays can be very dull, especially if the weather isn't great. That was also partly why the FP sessions were reduced to 1 hour - force the teams to go out and run the full session - I bet Sky also had something to do with it. Why have coverage of an empty track for half an hour? Make them run for an hour and that helps Sky with their scheduling too.

By moving the Friday qualifying session to later in the day, they're hoping folks will get home from work and watch it. It's on at 18.00-19.00 BST so I shall probably watch it in the pub.

I can see why they've done it, but qualifying was just about the best bit of the weekend - that's an indictment, isn't it - so messing with it is a risky choice.

But I think that the core reason for the changes is to try to throw some risk in to the mix and thus, they hope, reduce the chances of a dominant season in the future.

[dans79]

That and the 'speed king award' sound like things directly to appeal to a new American audience used to catchy labels and phrases like 'fast nine' etc. (Sorry if any fellow F1T American fans are not impressed with that comment. I have tried not to make it in a condescending way!)

This sprint race isn't for us. F1 might be growing in America but this concept is still pure F2. No catchy titles are bringing American fans any closer to the sport. So yeah, not impressed.

Our 1 American fan (that I know) Dans79 is also less than impressed! For me there was also no need to devaluate the real qualy. Let’s see.

I'm not the only American fan on the forum, nor am I the only one that doesn't think very highly of the new format. I can't even repeat what my best bud said about it the last time we had drinks, its would be nothing but bleeped out words.

[Scorpaguy]

...as another "Yank" on the forum, not sure I hate the "sprint" concept as it is being rolled out (although I do agree with "Just a Fan" in that Sat quali is one of/if not the best part of the weekend). Still, we will have a quali session...and then a chance to tear up some equipment during the sprint; I find myself ruminating upon the possibility of crash induced increased costs of the sprint possibly causing a bit of worry for those teams already having trouble with the budget cap.

As for the new format increasing overtaking/excitement...very skeptical on that. The ultimate catalyst for spice would be reverse grids...but even we savage Americans have foregone such (even at our most primitive dirt tracks) due to the need to conserve the almighty dollar. Looking forward to Silverstone...a great, historic venue that offers stunning visuals.

[cooken]

I'm a fellow North American but with emphasis on the north part. Also very skeptical about the whole thing and find it contrived and unnecessary. However, I'm trying to keep an open mind and look at some potential positives:
- We still do get the usual qualifying sessions, so the buildup and excitement towards Q3 laps should still be there
- No more bullshit Q2 tyre starting rule
- A big part of excitement of a race comes at the start when the lights go out. My heart rate goes up during the whole formation lap. With the sprint race we get that twice.

There are countless negatives that go hand in hand with those points, but I'm at least trying to sit on them until we see the weekend unfold.

[search]

Here is an example of why I think it's so stupid.

https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-sp ... w/6628140/

Rules around tyres are also changing. In Friday’s first practice each driver can only use two sets of tyres, while the Friday qualifying session will provide drivers with five soft tyres sets. After that teams will use these options for tyres for the remainder of the weekend:

• One set of tyres for Saturday’s practice session - teams decide which compound
• One set for the sprint race - teams decide which compound
• Two remaining sets of tyres for the grand prix, with teams able to choose which compound to start on

not sure this article is accurate - I just checked the rules, and they seem to differ a bit (https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files ... -07-12.pdf - page 26)

According to those, everyone gets 2xH, 4xM, 6xS before the weekend. Then:

- one set of free choice must be returned after P1
- only Softs allowed in Qualifying, two of those sets must be returned after Q3
- one set of free choice must be returned after P2
- one set of free choice must be returned after the Sprint Race
- at least 1xM and 1xH must be left over for the race

so normally (I guess) teams will do a qualy sim + longrun on softs in P1, use (up to) 5 sets of softs in Quali, do P2 on medium and maybe a set of used softs from Quali, the sprint race on medium or hard, and they are left with this for the race: 1-2xH, 2-3xM, 3xS (partly used)

edit: thinking about it, they will probably go H-S in P1, even if they only have to return 1 set. Those hards are otherwise useless anyway

[Big Tea]

I don't know that it is to do with nationality at all.
Things just seem to be going that way. For instance, I have watched a UK show called 'The chase' with the presenter called Bradly Walsh for probably close to 15 years and enjoy it.
A few days back I saw the 'trailer' for his new show, and could not even watch the trailer through. I doubt I will be watching. Even adverts are designed to drive anyone over 12 up the wall. Its the way the whole world is going.

The old adage 'if it is not broken, don't mess with it' has been dumped with a vengeance. Its 'pump up the hype ad hard as you can' now

[Marty_Y]

I don't know that it is to do with nationality at all.
Things just seem to be going that way. For instance, I have watched a UK show called 'The chase' with the presenter called Bradly Walsh for probably close to 15 years and enjoy it.
A few days back I saw the 'trailer' for his new show, and could not even watch the trailer through. I doubt I will be watching. Even adverts are designed to drive anyone over 12 up the wall. Its the way the whole world is going.

The old adage 'if it is not broken, don't mess with it' has been dumped with a vengeance. Its 'pump up the hype ad hard as you can' now

Did you ever see that show cash trapped, Walsh himself thought up the format of it, that imo was terrible.

I'm not too impressed with the new weekend format but I'm willing to give it a chance, at least we still have qualification which is normally the most exciting part.

[Zynerji]

Knockout qualifying had been the best part of the weekend since it's introduction. It's the races that have been the drag. So in typical American fashion, they double-down with a second one...

I wonder what would happen if the teams just agreed to NOT participate at all?

Someone has to take a stand against obvious foolishness.

[JPBD1990]

I have no issue with the sprint race. It’s Friday - spice it up. I’ll enjoy watching quali tonight with a glass of wine vs glancing up from my phone every now and then to see an occasional quali sim in FP2. Then Saturday? I’m keeping an open mind. Only time will tell if it’s more or less fun than normal knock out quali before the race.

I’m more concerned about the cars next year. It looks rancid front-on, and I really hope the rules aren’t now so restrictive that all the cars look the same next year. We’ve only seen the F1 demo rig so I’m sure it’s just paranoia, but if/when that day arrives my love of F1 and lust for F1 cars will officially be dead

[JPower]

That and the 'speed king award' sound like things directly to appeal to a new American audience used to catchy labels and phrases like 'fast nine' etc. (Sorry if any fellow F1T American fans are not impressed with that comment. I have tried not to make it in a condescending way!)

This sprint race isn't for us. F1 might be growing in America but this concept is still pure F2. No catchy titles are bringing new fans any closer to the sport. So yeah, not impressed.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... KWVjv.html

Well the new car looks like an Indy car, so perhaps appropriate.

No.