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Mostly because modern F1 is more less about driving and more about optimzing fuel consumption, tyre wear, pitstop strategy and KERS. The driver is merely a pilo

Mostly because modern F1 is more less about driving and more about optimzing fuel consumption, tyre wear, pitstop strategy and KERS. The driver is merely a pilot doing what is instructed over the radio, unlike the V12 , V10 era where the driver had more autonomy.

itsoktocry 6y ago
>The driver is merely a pilot doing what is instructed over the radio I think this severely understates the skill of some of the highest paid athletes on the planet.
- draklor40 6y ago
  Not taking away anything from the drivers. All of them are exceptional and possibly the best on the planet. That said, when you are racing over ~20ish races , as a team, it pretty much boils down to long term strategy and tactics. Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey were 2 epic motorcyclists in the 90s. Schwantz had more individual wins, but it was Rainey that had more championships titles, because he was more consistent in his races and made fewer mistakes (Even Schwantz admits this in an interview)
  - csours 6y ago
    This is kind of fascinating to think about from an evolutionary perspective: Does it pay off more to have truly exceptional individuals that can outperform everyone else at times, but may be lost due to risk taking - or - is it better to have people that can perform consistently at a very high level?
  - Swizec 6y ago
    Consistency is the true mark of a good racer. I can’t remember who the quote is from but it goes like this: ”Yeah I was a great driver! On a good day I could beat anyone, Senna, Schumi, Prost I was up with the best and beating them. But that’s the thing, on a \good\* day. The real champions, they don’t have good and bad days. They’re always great. At every race, every corner.
- ip26 6y ago
  They have immense skill. The problem is the competition is nearly equally as skilled. We've seen this in a lot of different sports over the decades- as the field of play elevates, the variance from athlete to athlete shrinks.
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    That's why races in the Olympics are timed to the thousandth of a second. It's nuts.
mhh__ 6y ago
The drivers had more autonomy but it was still just the fastest car winning. The drivers now are so much more consistent and fit than their predecessors And it's ERS not KERS these days.
pertymcpert 6y ago
Explain the gulf in performance between the car that Verstappen is driving and Albon.
- skc 6y ago
  Not sure this helps your point immensely. The cars are very similar but obviously not the same in the sense that Verstappens car will be tweaked to his preferences, and Albons to his within the relevant regulations. So engineering still comes into play. On top of that Verstappen being the lead driver means that alot of engineering effort is geared towards giving him specifically the car he needs, with his teammate having to adapt within that framework.
  - pertymcpert 6y ago
    It does help my point immensely. > The cars are very similar but obviously not the same in the sense that Verstappens car will be tweaked to his preferences, and Albons to his within the relevant regulations. There's the difference. Red Bull have built a car they believe is the fastest they can build. Verstappen is able to extract the most from that. If Albon doesn't "prefer it", then that's his failing, a failing that Verstappen demonstrably does not have. > On top of that Verstappen being the lead driver means that alot of engineering effort is geared towards giving him specifically the car he needs, with his teammate having to adapt within that framework. Why is he the lead driver? Because he's a generational talent.
wintorez 6y ago
I really wished there was a version of F1 with less mechanical and technical regulation to see what human ingenuity could achieve.
- barrkel 6y ago
  The regulations exist both to put a cap on what the teams need to spend on R&D (if it's too much then smaller manufacturers and teams pull out and there's only two or three cars on the grid), and to make it safer for the drivers.
  - vl 6y ago
    The irony of course is that current very severe R&D limits on testing to reduce spending are significantly reducing competitiveness: if some team already has inferior car, they can’t improve it because they can’t test improvements!
  - Aaargh20318 6y ago
    The solution seems simple to me: take the drivers out of the car. Let them operate the cars remotely, then they can get rid of all the safety regulations. It both removes the risk for the driver and makes the sport more exciting to see at the same time.
    - getlawgdon 6y ago
      yuck.
  - mft_ 6y ago
    It bites both ways. If you restrict things heavily, the teams have to go after increasingly-expensive diminishing returns - meaning the biggest budgets usually win out. At least if you have greater technical freedom, there’s the chance for someone from a less-funded team to concoct the next double-diffuser, as there’s probably less of a link between budget and sparks of innovation.
- in3d 6y ago

itsoktocry 6y ago

>The driver is merely a pilot doing what is instructed over the radio I think this severely understates the skill of some of the highest paid athletes on the planet.

draklor40 6y ago
Not taking away anything from the drivers. All of them are exceptional and possibly the best on the planet. That said, when you are racing over ~20ish races , as a team, it pretty much boils down to long term strategy and tactics. Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey were 2 epic motorcyclists in the 90s. Schwantz had more individual wins, but it was Rainey that had more championships titles, because he was more consistent in his races and made fewer mistakes (Even Schwantz admits this in an interview)
- csours 6y ago
  This is kind of fascinating to think about from an evolutionary perspective: Does it pay off more to have truly exceptional individuals that can outperform everyone else at times, but may be lost due to risk taking - or - is it better to have people that can perform consistently at a very high level?
- Swizec 6y ago
  Consistency is the true mark of a good racer. I can’t remember who the quote is from but it goes like this: ”Yeah I was a great driver! On a good day I could beat anyone, Senna, Schumi, Prost I was up with the best and beating them. But that’s the thing, on a \good\* day. The real champions, they don’t have good and bad days. They’re always great. At every race, every corner.
ip26 6y ago
They have immense skill. The problem is the competition is nearly equally as skilled. We've seen this in a lot of different sports over the decades- as the field of play elevates, the variance from athlete to athlete shrinks.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  That's why races in the Olympics are timed to the thousandth of a second. It's nuts.

mhh__ 6y ago

The drivers had more autonomy but it was still just the fastest car winning. The drivers now are so much more consistent and fit than their predecessors And it's ERS not KERS these days.

pertymcpert 6y ago

Explain the gulf in performance between the car that Verstappen is driving and Albon.

skc 6y ago
Not sure this helps your point immensely. The cars are very similar but obviously not the same in the sense that Verstappens car will be tweaked to his preferences, and Albons to his within the relevant regulations. So engineering still comes into play. On top of that Verstappen being the lead driver means that alot of engineering effort is geared towards giving him specifically the car he needs, with his teammate having to adapt within that framework.
- pertymcpert 6y ago
  It does help my point immensely. > The cars are very similar but obviously not the same in the sense that Verstappens car will be tweaked to his preferences, and Albons to his within the relevant regulations. There's the difference. Red Bull have built a car they believe is the fastest they can build. Verstappen is able to extract the most from that. If Albon doesn't "prefer it", then that's his failing, a failing that Verstappen demonstrably does not have. > On top of that Verstappen being the lead driver means that alot of engineering effort is geared towards giving him specifically the car he needs, with his teammate having to adapt within that framework. Why is he the lead driver? Because he's a generational talent.

wintorez 6y ago

I really wished there was a version of F1 with less mechanical and technical regulation to see what human ingenuity could achieve.

barrkel 6y ago
The regulations exist both to put a cap on what the teams need to spend on R&D (if it's too much then smaller manufacturers and teams pull out and there's only two or three cars on the grid), and to make it safer for the drivers.
- vl 6y ago
  The irony of course is that current very severe R&D limits on testing to reduce spending are significantly reducing competitiveness: if some team already has inferior car, they can’t improve it because they can’t test improvements!
- Aaargh20318 6y ago
  The solution seems simple to me: take the drivers out of the car. Let them operate the cars remotely, then they can get rid of all the safety regulations. It both removes the risk for the driver and makes the sport more exciting to see at the same time.
  - getlawgdon 6y ago
    yuck.
- mft_ 6y ago
  It bites both ways. If you restrict things heavily, the teams have to go after increasingly-expensive diminishing returns - meaning the biggest budgets usually win out. At least if you have greater technical freedom, there’s the chance for someone from a less-funded team to concoct the next double-diffuser, as there’s probably less of a link between budget and sparks of innovation.
in3d 6y ago