Having watched this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, I have to say that I am loving this version of Formula 1. There is a narrative that the racing is ‘fake’ due to the 50/50 internal combustion engine/battery split and the existence of an electricity boost button. But I will take watching all of the close following, overtakes and racecraft over the ‘you can’t do anything once you’re in the dirty air’ problems that we’ve had for the past couple of decades any day of the week.
I started watching F1 in the early 1990s and I think it has suffered a lot since aerodynamics became king. This set of regulations seems to have properly addressed it, at least for now. When I started watching, we had passing and re-passing, which gradually eroded over time. That seems to be back. The battles were amazing, with so many close moments where things could have gone pear-shaped. The fact that they didn’t was because of the skills shown by the drivers. It was thrilling. Fernando Alonso lost the 2010 World Championship as his Ferrari was stuck behind the much slower Lotus of Vitaly Petrov for most of the race. It was sad to watch. I don’t think we would see that happen with these cars.
There are proper technical puzzles for the teams to work on, highlighting how much it isn’t just about the drivers. Teams are struggling for reliability — three cars didn’t even start the race, and other cars broke down during it — and the cars that are running reliably need to look for improvements. Ferrari are giving Mercedes a close battle at starts and restarts of each race, but they eat through their tyres much more quickly. It’s going to be fun to see how they improve.
I’m enjoying Formula 1 more than I have for years. Long may it continue.
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