That's Another F1 Year Over Then.

[Poppy]

It would be far more interesting if the drivers had to drink a pint and a whisky chaser at every pit stop.

[LondonRascal]

To be honest when it went from the BBC I stopped watching it.  I think the sport as a whole needs a through re-think as race venues are not being included as part of the 2017 season. 

I think it is stupid that in this day and age you can't have broadcast rights being spread over multiple platforms and providers so there is more physical money in the pot so that the most number of people could watch.  For example, you could pay online to watch the races either as a bundle for the season or as a per race amount. 

But it is what it is but I fear that in time it will loose more of its 'glamour' and attraction and then sponsorship will suffer and with that so then will the money generally for teams, for drivers etc. 

[TheQ]

If there are no race venues being included, where are they racing?

[smellyloo]

I regularly watch it but continue to wonder why I bother. Sadly, all too often, it is merely a procession of cars whose soul purpose seems to be to provide the particapents with a jolly, expensive knees up.

Maybe the post Ecelstone era will herald a change providing entertaining and proper motor racing.

[Polly]

I went to sleep............

[BroadAmbition]

I used to be a massive fan in the eighties / nineties, nowadays I watch it only if I have nowt better to do. Plus CH4 ruined it for me as I can only get to watch a few of the races live

Griff

[ScrumpyCheddar]

I reckon this season has not been the most exciting... sad loss of Jenson Button going into semi retirement.. will be greatly missed.. on and off the track.. I do think Mercedes has a big in house problem with there 2 drivers.. I'm not the biggest fan of Hamilton.. but I think he has had the 2nd service from his team this year.. and Rosberg sorry is Mr boring and very lucky to win his world championship with luck of his car... 

 My star of the 2016 is young Max verstappen this boy has upset the F1 apple cart he has no fear and he goes for it Red bull hold the next world champion lets hope 2017 will be his year .....

SKY F1 is the channel worth every penny in my eyes... fantastic coverage  and Great presenters ...

[JanetAnne]

I miss Murray Walker...

[BroadAmbition]

There just doesn't seem to be the characters in the driver line up anymore.  The corporate side seems to have sanitised them so there are almost sterile nowadays.  Now Jenson has gone it really is flat.  They don't even have world wide known nicknames anymore, remember il-lione' - Mansell,  'The Professor' - Prost to name but just two.  I used to be on the edge of my seat in the 80's and 90's, pulse up, nails off, some epic races.  Now my pulse is as flat at the tracks and I use nail scissors

Griff

[BrundallNavy]

I think last weekends GP sums it up very nicely, even going 6 secs a lap slower the pack still could not catch him. Hamilton's chance of the title went out of the window when Verstappen spun on the first lap. Let's hope the changes to the cars next year mixes things up.

Doug.

[Labrador]

On 28/11/2016 at 1:21 PM, smellyloo said:

I regularly watch it but continue to wonder why I bother. Sadly, all too often, it is merely a procession of cars whose soul purpose seems to be to provide the particapents with a jolly, expensive knees up.

Maybe the post Ecelstone era will herald a change providing entertaining and proper motor racing 

I think the main problem is, that the most exciting racing is taking place behind the leaders, but very little of it is shown -only when they crash.

[ScrumpyCheddar]

Griff is right there's no characters in it now.... I feel the last 3 years Jenson was let down by Mclaren by the promise of Honda being on top.. Well what a total flop... Mclaren should of stuck with Mercedes or gone down the red bull route and opted for the Renault engine.. with Mclarens development that would of been the best option and they could of moved up to podium places...  As now that Ron Dennis has had to stand down I think the future of Mclaren F1 team could suffer even more if the other 2 share holders decide to sell.. I think it's quite sad for Ron Dennis because Mclaren is Rons Team.. 

Going back to jenson, I really think he should of went to Williams and we could seen him enjoy his last couple of years racing before retirement and giving hope to himself and his fans of a win ...

I really hope next year that red bull can knock off  the mercedes  .. there's 2 cracking drivers Max and Daniel they work well together and that's how a team should be, good chemistry... and that's what we want to see. 

Mercedes just make me cringe .. there so false you can see the divide in the garage with the pit crews .. they had to split the 2 pit crews up because Lewis had his side and nico had his and it's gone back to how it was false smiles cheap champagne loud music at the end of each race.. it's got boring...

well what can we say about Ferrari this year... it's quite easy .. they need 2 new drivers.. Vettle should be sacked for his childishness at the Mexican gp And his moaning about max.... Vettle thought by leaving red bull and going to Ferrari would relight his world championship... how wrong was that,, and he knows it.. and Kimmi well he just runs on luck at times.. he hasn't got his heart in anymore and he should of stuck to rally driving lol.

So we will have to see what 2017 brings in F1.. let's hope it's better than this year.. 

[BroadAmbition]

Well that'll mix thing up a tad, Rosberg has of today retired from F1 whilst being the current F1 World Champion.  The last F1 World Champion not to defend his title was Nigel Mansell.  He went over the pond to compete in the Indycar series and consequently won it, so for a while there he held both world titles in each formula.  I can't ever see that record being matched ever again

Griff

[ScrumpyCheddar]

Well that's Mercedes problem sorted now ... Bye bye Rosberg the forgotten world champion..

Wouldn't it be great if Jenson to filled his seat...

[BroadAmbition]

Wouldn't it be great if Jenson to filled his seat...

I had the same thought - can't see it happening though.  I reckon Jenson has had enough

Griff

[ExSurveyor]

Put young Max in the empty car,  then sit back and watch the fireworks 

[ScrumpyCheddar]

2 hours ago, psychicsurveyor said:

Put young Max in the empty car,  then sit back and watch the fireworks 

Max was asked a question,  back earlier in the year..  Would you be as quick as Lewis one day..?? He replied put me in identical car and I will show you.. 

[Labrador]

I see Eddie Jordon reckons Vettel will go to Mercedes. If so Max could be the next F1 champion, because Hamilton and Vettel would take each other out in every race!

[MauriceMynah]

People seemed to tire of seeing Mercedes coming first and second time after time and say that Formula 1 was becoming boring. Now people are saying that the would like to see Verstappen as Hamilton's stable mate. Well I think I could guess what the podium would look like for that season, very similar to this one, followed with similar complaints. I would like to see them in closely matched cars but different teams.

Bernie Ecclestone is doing his damnedest to bring excitement back into the sport for the spectators, that's why he keeps trying to change the rules. Sometimes he gets it right, sometimes not but at least he's trying. It will be a sad day when he leaves the sport and F! will be a lot poorer for it.

Earlier someone noted that there were no "characters" driving these days. I'm afraid that the days of flamboyant excitable people like Nigel Mansell are over. Personally I think Lewis Hamilton is pretty good, OK, not the ambassador that Jenson Button is, but certainly as good as most sportsmen are.

As far as this last GP went the only ones I'd call over the coals would be the Mercedes team trying to give Hamilton "instructions" during the race whilst he still had a chance of winning the championship albeit through tactical driving. That was unforgivable.

[Timbo]

I'm afraid I lost all interest in Grand Prix after the debacle at the Balby circuit during the Doncaster World Championship in the summer of 1975. For those not familiar with the Balby Circuit here is a map of the course which was later featured in BBC's Open All Hours with Granville negotiating the course on his shop bike.

Competition that season had been fierce with Snotty Alison threatening to kiss whoever came last. By lunchtime I was doing well, not in the lead but certainly not last. It was after lunch that the controversy started when Kevin from the Corner of Bude Road emerged from the pits with his Dad, his DAD, having fitted new wheels to his car. I crashed in the chicane on the second lap of racing that afternoon, Kevin having a distinct advantage and with his Dad cheering him on had shot into the lead and clear of trouble. The crash had done me some good. Not only had it knocked axle askew giving me a distinct advantage steering into the mostly right handed turns, but my bravery and scabbed knees had caught the attention of the gorgeous Mandy from the top of the road.

By tea time I was lying in third place with six drivers behind me as we lined up at the top of the course. By this time we had quite a crowd of kids, mums and dads as well as my Nan peering over her wall at the end of the course. Gorgeous Mandy started the race and I collided with Kevin in the chicane cannoned into a wall split my axel, the race was over. As I dragged my car by the rope to the finish line I could see Snotty Alison wiping her green candles on the back of her sleeve.

There was a lot of hammering and banging going on around the back alley's that night. My car was in ruins, no way would I be able to finish the Grand Prix...and Snotty Alison was waiting. That's a lot of pressure on a nine year old!  I woke up stiff and sore from my many collisions the previous day and feeling utterly morose. I crept downstairs expecting to find Uncle Albert asleep in the front room after his night shift at International Harvesters...but he wasn't there. My six year old brother bounded in from the back yard telling me to come and see.

Uncle Albert was in the back yard and so were two new 'cars'. A single thick solid plank attached to two sets of wheel barrow wheels with pneumatic tyres, handles instead of rope attached to the low slung steering and both painted in International Harvester red. Outside on the track a proper finish line had been painted on a sheet and hung across the alley between Nan's house and the Bookies office. The races were back on!

When the races started it seemed that every kid in the neighbourhood had decided to enter. Not only that every Dad, Uncle and Grandad in the neighbourhood had been up all night building race cars. Not one of the cars was regulation as drawn up in the playground the week earlier. As the racing started I discovered that my brother's and my cars were very slow at the start. They were heavy, but if we got a clear run from the start, through the chicane and around the 90 degree bend we would be going much faster than everyone come the finish. Even so with one race to go I was in last place...Snotty Alison was still waiting.

Uncle Albert strolled across to me...you need a longer start son, he told me nodding to Death Hill. 'You're kidding' I thought. There's a reason we call it Death Hill! But I dragged my car up Death Hill, to many gasps of admiration from the kids and shouts of cheating from the parents. The race started.

By the time I hit the chicane I was flat out. Missed the 90 at the bottom and shot out of the alley straight on, luckily there were not so many cars on the roads in those days. I had come last! But...all's well that end's well, my brother had 'taken one' for the team and had gone off to kiss Snotty Alison of his own volition. 'She's nice' said my brother 'I let her wipe her nose on my jumper'.

Next summer I went fishing!

[Baitrunner]

British super bikes. Action, thrills and spills and always a few great characters. 

And tickets are cheaper!!!!

[lurcher]

I think Bottas would be a good fit at MB.Quick enough to bring in solid points without troubling Lewis every race weekend & apparently laid back enough not to rock the boat too much,although that might change when there are race wins on offer.But in a year that sees cars built to new regulations & with significantly increased grip would Williams accept a relatively inexperienced Wehrlein  & already signed Stroll an  F1 newbie?

[ScrumpyCheddar]

Jonzo I was thinking the same with Bottas ... he would be a very good choice he has proven with Williams what he can do in a car... Vettlel is a big no no...  I wouldn't even give him a job of selling F1 programs in the car park.. 

I don't really think it's going to matter who goes in the seat... I honestly think Mercedes have come to the end of there winning streak for now... if all the inside info is correct on next years cars Red bull could be on top again with Max and Danni fighting for the top spot .. I could be wrong... we heard all this last season with Ferrari saying with there new engines well they didn't deliver either... let's hope so it's another team, it could even be Haas.... or force India who knows,, until Jan/ Feb when all the testing is done we might have an insight for the 2017 season who will be on top...

[JanetAnne]

I would think both Button and Massa must be sat there thinking "what the hell had just happened?"

[Paul]

Had this happened twelve months ago then I would have had a bit of a punt on Perez, however things are different now because of the notable changes to the technical regulations for next year. Usually, a major change in spec means a change in the dominant team. Last time around we saw the switch from Red Bull to Mercedes and who can tell what will happen next year? We might even get a situation where no one team is dominant - we can only hope. With their first priority being the manufacturers title I think Mercedes will want someone they can rely on to score consistent points. They are unlikely to prize Vettel from Ferrari so there next target, for me at least would be Alonso. He's under contract but that is no major problem nowadays and there seems little love lost between him and McLaren who have just replaced Alonso's old mate Ron Dennis. Failing that they might look at either Red Bull driver or even as an outside bet a recently retired Englishman might be a good candidate for a one year contract, and he has a fond liking for Mercedes.