Alan Baker <
notonyourlife@no.no.no.no> wrote:
On 2021-09-10 10:16 a.m., D Munz wrote:
On Friday, September 10, 2021 at 12:07:28 PM UTC-5, Alan Baker wrote:
Tell me:
How old are you?
And what was the best season of F1 you ever saw?
Not sure if you're being snarky or not, but this is actually an
interesting question.
Why can't it be both?
;-)
Agreed - both would be suitable.
Thanks to my Dad, I have been watching F1 most of my life. I remember
(mostly) seasons since the early-80s though I know I watched it from
earlier.
I really don't want to commit to the "best" season. In fact, I think
it's a myth. For all of that (say) 35 years, I have heard people talking
about how the "spectacle" isn't "what it was". And I am not sure
everyone talks about the same thing. If it's about crashes and deaths,
that isn't what it was is in the 70s and 80s (which I just about
remember), let alone the 50s and 60s. I don't think most (but the
ghouls) really want the clock put back on that. Overtaking is (I guess)
the biggest debate in my time watching, and that has been a real
challenge throughout the era I've watched, whether it was the ground
effects, the active suspension, the traction controls, wings and general aero-trickery, there has been a general move from drivers' skill to car dominance (particularly relative power).
I'm not sure that it has gone as far downhill as people claim, but I'm
also sure there isn't a clean solution. Most ways of dealing with car
dominance similarly challenges issues such as innovation or the whole
concept of the limited formula. F1 could be just another "spec" series
if that's what the fanbase wanted, but I'm pretty sure it isn't.
My view is that F1 is badly flawed...but it is what it is.
When it gets it "wrong enough", people will vote with their feet.
THIS season is the most interesting in a while. Verstappen in the Red
Bull is the equal (at least) of Hamilton in the Mercedes. There are
other driver/car pairings just nipping at the heels, really to pounce.
That is not bad.
I try not to look back with rose-tinted spectacles. There is a tendency
to remember every classic race of the 50s/60s/70s/80s without
remembering that there were awful races in each of those eras that time (mercifully) wipes from our consciousness. It's like music where the
completely awful 80s tunes are (rightly) consigned to the bin making the
stuff we remember as being "much better than this modern rubbish".
Nonsense. It's our memories playing tricks.
So, in conclusion: stop trying to compare eras or harking back to the
past. There isn't a golden era. There were good and bad races then, and
the same is true today but time hasn't had a chance to wipe the bad from
our memories. Give it time. Enjoy the good races.
And don't take it too seriously!
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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