Chinese Grand Prix

[synaesthesia]

Was a cracker wasn't it!

Really rather enjoyed it start to finish. A few amusing moments, my favourite (slightly edited) is as follows:

[teejay]

Didn't enjoy it tbh, for me it's lost something with the rule changes and the Pirelli tyres. They've turned it into an entetainment event rather than a sporting event, you wouldn't have the London Marathon with the top athletes forced to use running shoes that fell apart after a quarter of the race.

[synaesthesia]

I will certainly agree with you on that point. I'm a huge fan of the technical side of it as well as the pure racing however as much as they try and tinker with it to promote the racing, I'd still rather it was the early 90s. Then again, imagine if all the cars were like the old Williams machines. Raw power.

[CESIL]

For me the rule changes have made the races more interesting and today's was great to watch...more action than I have seen for some time.

If the tinkering with the rules has wrecked the sport then how come the same top teams are still at the front?

I first started watching F1 in 1978/79 when Lotus ruled the roost even though most teams ran the same engines (the mighty Cosworth DFV). The grid had far more smaller independent teams and the smaller budgets meant that innovation was far more important to gain an advantage over ones rivals. Once F1 was bought up by the big car companies the budgets went through the roof and the 'sport' became more of a 'business' where results were achieved at any cost.

My personal preference would be a return to standard engines/gearboxes/ECUs and then less restriction on the design of the cars and the aero technology and a choice of tyre suppliers.

[ihaveaproblem]

I enjoyed the race. Was happy to see Webber get a good result considering his grid position.

[DAZZD88]

I liked it but have to echo the sentiments of @CESIL. I don't think the disintegrating tires were a problem either. Red Bull got their strategy wrong and it cost them, whereas Lewis hamilton got his right and stuck it to Red Bull. Webber had a bit of a dismal start but due to a decent selection of tires available to him was about 3 seconds quicker than any man on the track later in the race.

So far, this season hasn't been bad. Would still like to see budgets reduced further so that the smaller teams can catch up a little bit.

[mthomas08]

I will certainly agree with you on that point. I'm a huge fan of the technical side of it as well as the pure racing however as much as they try and tinker with it to promote the racing, I'd still rather it was the early 90s. Then again, imagine if all the cars were like the old Williams machines. Raw power.

Yeah I would agree, good race but it does feel a bit artificial, it is no longer about the best car and best driver. It really is more about "Right tyres, Right time", when last year it wouldnt matter so much.

As for JB, it did make me laugh even though I support him. Great result for Lewis, no doubt he drove a brilliant race.
Webber - totally shocked but again he did the right tyres at the right time, at the start he was struggling to get past anyone which makes me think again about the tyres...

So who knows, it is only the 3rd race over and done with.