Formula One: The demise of 'real' racing

“Formula One” - a term which has given an adrenaline rush to generations of racing aficionados since its inception in the historic summer of 1950 seems to be on a downward spiral today. No matter which tabloid you pick up or which site you visit, statements and reports abound, stating how Formula One doesn’t seem to be real racing any more. So what exactly are the reasons behind the most charismatic motorsport event gradually losing its sheen? While it will take a whole treatise to state all the possible causes of the recurring questions over the “real racing” tag of F1, here are some to start with:

1. The advent of Pirelli tyres

When it comes to tyres, Formula One had been the domain of Bridgestone for over a decade until 2010. It was only in 2011 that Pirelli became the exclusive tyre supplier to F1 and what a couple of years it has been since then! While the entry of Pirelli was initially viewed with a whole lot of optimism, things don’t seem to be the same at this juncture. While the fast-degrading tyres of Pirelli never had many supporters in the realm of F1, yet it was Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz’s comment last month that F1 was no longer racing any more, that finally opened up the Pandora’s box. So here are some pros and cons of Pirelli’s tyres:

Pros

i) More pit-stops

In stark contrast to the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix when Fernando Alonso completed the entire race, except one lap, on the same set of tyres, in the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, the same driver required a humongous 4 pit-stops on his way to victory. Now, 4 pit-stops may be pushing the limit too far, but it is true that a single pit-stop race is anything but exciting.

ii) More overtaking

The days of wheel to wheel racing seem to be behind us. Just a couple of years ago, you could doze off in the middle of the race and wake up to see the positions unchanged, except of course unless one or more of the drivers had crashed or the cars faced any technical issues. But with the advent of Pirelli’s tyres which degrade faster, a driver on a car with an older set of tyres doesn’t dare compete with one on a newer set, leading to more overtakes.

iii) More excitement

Needless to say, the increase in pit-stops, overtakes and possibility of a dark horse emerging the winner due to better tyre management has only made the sport more exciting.

Cons

i) Q3 becoming ornamental

The third period of qualifying is a luxury that few drivers can afford. If not skipping it outright, they apparently just go through the routine instead of fiercely competing for the pole position. Well, you can’t blame them. They’ve got to save their tyres for the race and in a sport where tyre endurance seems to clinch the deal and race positions keep changing at the drop of a hat, gaining a pole position is hardly in the priority list of the drivers.

ii) No more pushing to the limit

While some detractors have said that the drivers race at only 70-80% for a majority of the race, others have claimed that the figure is even lower. While supporting data may be hard to conjure, even some top drivers have admitted that they can’t bear losing their tyres, going all out in a race.

iii) Fears of safety

In the Spanish Grand Prix last month, a number of cars had tyre delamination. It led to Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Helmut Marko to observe that these tyre failures could very soon lead to severe accidents.

2. Predictability

While the tyre-story is being portrayed as the only reason for F1 losing its status as the Goliath of motorsport racing, there are also many others, perhaps less discussed ones. Take for instance, the recent domination of Vettel and his team Red Bull, of the drivers’ and constructors’ championships respectively. It brings back to mind the days of yore when another German who went by the name of Michael Schumacher was winning F1 races for breakfast and dinner and although the world wondered at his genius, they also looked forward to the day that someone else defeated him. And going by present standings, Vettel and his team again seem to have a really strong chance to make it 4 championships in a row.

3. Focus on money

On one hand, teams like Lotus are losing millions and on the other, FIA is increasing the entry fees. A basic entry fee of $500,000 is anything but cheap and the recent developments have led the Force India boss Vijay Mallya to quip that there are some dark days ahead for the smaller teams who don’t have the huge finances of their more established counterparts. Besides, some recent circuit choices where the likes of Abu Dhabi and Bahrain have been preferred over the historic San Marino Grand Prix, makes one wonder what F1 is really about these days.

4. Scandals aplenty

Undoubtedly, no sport is devoid of scandals. But at the same time, the massive scandals that have rocked F1 in recent times, right from the infamous “spygate” scandal of 2007 to the recent tyre-testing issue involving Pirelli and Mercedes this year, makes one seek the glorious days of F1.

5. High technicality

Of course it is not bullock cart racing. But that doesn’t mean that the fans of F1 have to be bombarded by newer and weirder rule changes, design changes and technical jargon every season, half of which will most likely be overturned the next season. Take for instance, the recent brouhaha over the DRS zones or the insanely ugly platypus nose. No doubt F1 would have been better without them.

So that was all about F1 and real racing or the lack of it therein. While there have been no dearth of points made and fingers raised against the sport, there hardly seems to be a solution in the horizon. Of course, Pirelli have promised redesigned tyres by the British Grand Prix, but as our little discourse showed, tyres are but one of the dimensions involved.

So, is Formula One going to overcome the recent challenges or are its glory days far behind it? Well, only time will tell what’s in store for F1 and its fans, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that only in hard times like these that the true winners are decided and for a sport in its 64th season, it is just another obstacle that has to be overcome. Hopefully, it will not be long before F1 dusts off the recent setbacks and reclaims its throne at the zenith of motor racing.