F1: The wrong formula

Red Bull German driver Sebastian Vettel races during the United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas.

If you’re reading this, it’s pretty likely that you’re a Formula 1 fan. A fan of thrilling racing, overtaking, battles for the lead and the championship. A fan of motorsport at it’s very best. That’s what F1 is all about, after all; it’s the pinnacle of motorsport. Or, at least, that’s what it should be.

Sadly, Formula 1 has become increasingly dull. At the weekend we saw the now four time world drivers’ champion, Sebastian Vettel, take his eighth consecutive victory. As usual, he was pretty much unchallenged at the front and the win was comprehensive and straightforward. As usual, we heard team radio messages to various drivers urging them to conserve their Pirelli tyres. Yes, that’s right, team radio telling drivers not to push to the maximum for fear that they might wear out their tyres. The overtaking that we did see either happened at the start or was largely achieved with the assistance of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid? Is this really what we want racing to be like at the pinnacle of the sport?

I should be clear that none of this is Vettel’s fault. He’s clearly a great driver, who has the privilege of driving cars that have been the class of the field for the last four years. Indeed, but for the Brawn double diffuser in 2009, there’s little doubt that Vettel and Red Bull Racing would have won five consecutive world drivers’ and constructors’ championships. No doubt, future generations will look at the record books and marvel at the German’s achievements. No doubt, his fans love his complete dominance of Formula 1. For the rest of us, though, be we supporters of other drivers, or just fans of great racing, Vettel’s dominance is a real turn off. What’s the point of watching a race when the outcome is all but certain?

The change in regulations in 2014 brings with it a huge opportunity for F1 to become exciting again. Non-Vettel/Red Bull fans are living in the hope that other teams and drivers will raise their games for 2014, and that the absence of the exhaust technology that Red Bull has mastered will level the playing field somewhat. I very much hope that it does, but even then there are other things that need to be addressed, chief among them the Pirelli tyres.

Again, I should preface my comments by saying that I don’t think the Pirelli are solely to blame for the problems that we’re now seeing. They must, though, shoulder some blame. When Pirelli entered F1 in 2011 they were asked to make tyres that degraded more rapidly than the Bridgestone rubber that had been used previously. Typically races run on Bridgestone’s during the time that they were the sole tyre supplier, following the banning of refuelling, were one stop races, lacking in much excitement. Then the Canadian grand prix of 2010 came along, with multiple tyre stops as the rubber degraded more quickly, we had an exciting and tough to predict race. “This is the answer” thought the FIA, “faster wearing tyres produce better racing”. So that’s what Pirelli were asked to produce.

F1 is not really helped by DRS, the other big change, along with Pirelli tyres, at the start of 2011. DRS, to be fair, does help overtaking by reducing drag. As you probably know, it can only be used at set points at each track and only when a car is within a second of the car ahead of it at a set detection point. The problem with it is that it’s completely artificial.

We’ve become so used to DRS now, though. I find myself watching a DRS assisted pass during races and thinking, “great pass” or “good move” when it’s anything more than someone just driving past someone else in the middle of a straight. These aren’t great passes, though. They are manufactured and artificial. A far cry from the truly great overtaking manoeuvres of the past that we now see fewer and fewer of.

As I’ve written about previously, instead of dreaming up devices to artificially boost overtaking, the FIA need to concern themselves with addressing the aerodynamic rules that make it difficult for Formula 1 cars to follow each other closely. Resolve that, introduce mandatory pit stops and request harder wearing tyres, and we might see Formula 1 racing that’s exciting again.

Of course, not much can be done if one team or driver is just better than the rest, as we’ve seen over the past few seasons with Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing. As I’ve said, it’s up to others to raise their game to make sure that it doesn’t happen again in 2014. They need some help from the rule-makers, though.

At the moment, the FIA have got the balance completely wrong. And when you add the ridiculousness of the driver market into the equation, the situation looks even bleaker. Increasingly, teams need drivers to pay their way, rather than earning their drives on the basis of talent alone. There are a few exceptions to that rule, most notably McLaren’s recent promotion of Kevin Magnussen to a race seat in 2014, but other aren’t as lucky.

The best example at the current time is Nico Hulkenberg. It looks increasingly likely that the talented German will be overlooked for a leading drive a Lotus because of his lack of sponsorship cash. Hulkenberg has performed wonders whichever team he has driven for in the past, but that’s not enough nowadays.

Instead it looks likely that the Lotus drive will go to Pastor Maldonado and his bucket-load of PVDSA sponsorship. The Venezuelan is quick on his day, but crash-prone, erratic and prone to red mist. As we saw in Austin, he’s also petulant and a poor loser. Certainly not a driver that’s worthy of one of the top drives in F1. Indeed, but for his sponsorship money I doubt he would have ever secured a drive in Formula 1.

I’m not sure what can be done about the rise of the pay driver in F1 but this, together with the lacklustre on track action does not make for a healthy sport. This is not the right formula for success. As they’d say in Star Trek, the F1 of 2013 “is Formula 1, Jim, but not as we know it”. Nor as we want it to be.