Save yourself the trouble this week. Don't even bother with the highlights! It really was THAT dull

Have to agree, loved last season, but today, omg, if the rest are going to be like that it's going to be shocking.

Oh yeah and alonso jumping around like he's just won the most hard fought victory ever!
Apart from a few midfield and backmarker scraps, none of them have much to celebrate really

The scraps for 16th were better than the front. And most cars were ever so ugly 🙁

The back shot of the lotus is awesome

so, when does MotoGP start?

that was insanely dull.

hope the rest of the season is a bit more lively as its the only thing that makes working sundays entertaining

Bring back fuel stops IMO 😉

*wakes up* is it over yet ?

What a load of pants 🙁

Have to agree , on how boring that was …
was really looking forward to it and was totally dissapointed 🙁
Please bring back re-fueling and fresh tyres

It's OK though, proper exciting sport starts in the next few weeks.
The Red Bull Air Race series kicks off at end of March, the Boat Race is first weekend in April and the greatest one-day bike race in the world, Paris Roubaix, is April 11th.

🙂

For once I was quite excited about this season, first time in years. Even decided to watch it all. Shite. Dull. Boring. Dunno if it was just me, but it looked like the cars were going so slow unless it was the driver view camera. Doubt I'll be watching any more.

Formula 1 is dead and has been for years. It's as dull as dishwater with drivers who have as much charm as a four year old dog turd! Why anyone would even class it as entertaining now is beyond me and yes – I've followed it for years but I've had enough of it now and don't bother anymore. If you want racing it has to be bikes, MotoGP or WSB. You'll see more over-taking in one lap with those guys than you will in a complete F1 season and the skill is amazing too. Do yourselves a favour guys and watch the bikes instead.

Also a massive fan and despite the hype 1st race very dull.

If races are going to be about the amble to the first corner to look after your tyres, then cruise around until the first stop looking after your tyres and then with new tyres lean out your engine to save fuel then we are in for a dull season.

and the 55 meter rule in the pit lane FFS which Muppet thought of that… … let me guess the elf and safety person who does drive a F1 car

not forgetting a rule which discourages drivers from being on the start line for interviews, etc

Dunno if it was just me, but it looked like the cars were going so slow

I thought the same thing, seemed to be laboring around the track rather than racing. Alonso didnt exactly have his work cut out, apart from passing Vettel he seemed to do chuff all, ditto Massa.

Whats the 55 metre rule? (I wasnt paying to much attention so missed the commentary on it)

You can not release a car from the pit box if another car is within 55 meters of your car. F1 cars can go a long way in 55 meters

F1 cars can go a long way in 55 meters

…I've heard they can go as much as 55mtrs! 😉

How DULL was that…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

ah well at least im not last in the STW F1 fantasy league

But seriously – I believe the engineers know far too much about their cars during a race and some sort of telemetry ban should be imposed.

Let things fail, let engines blow up – make the drivers manage their cars, not the engineers in the pits. Fair enough let the car collect the data so they can examine it after the race, but not during.

And as for the eight engines and gear boxes made to last four races rules – FFS – this is F1 not LeMans.

Massa in the press conference saying "… having to look after my tyres…. have to look after the engine…. look after the fuel economy…"

If this is what they have to do to get some points then it's not racing they are doing, it's more like my drive to work Monday to Friday.

– except obviously there's more competition on my average commute.

I too was looking forward to this season but this wasn't a great start, although there was some more interesting stuff going on nearer the back. Hopefully some of the older tracks will spice it up a bit.

I'll probably stick with the highlights on iPlayer but don't think I'll be watching too many live ones this year.

There's also more over-taking on your average commute as well pmsl

I was really looking forward to it. Recorded it, went for a ride so I wouldn't hear the result. Got back, cracked open the Innes and Gunn while I watched the intro and then the race began…

…watched the whole thing at 16x speed and don't feeel I missed a thing.

Quite disappointed.

What a tedious weekend of sport – one rugby match which was a cure for insomnia, another which didn't meet it pre-match hype, and to cap it all a Grand Prix where the highlight was the smoke from Webber's car on the first lap. What was even more bizarre was the photo line-up of all the ex F1 champions with Jean Todt and his missus, Michelle Yeoh, sat in the middle – David Coultard and Eddie Jordan nearly swore when they saw that.

Tee Hee; F1 in boring shock!

The amount of fannying about they do every year to make it 'better' is a joke; it's poo.

Any race where you put the fastest guy at the front is bound to be a procession. Ditch the pole position silliness, put the drivers in order with the leader at the back of the grid, then have a race…

Come on guys. It's the first race with a load of new rules. From a lot of the after race comments it sounds to me that most teams were using it as a test to gain data for the rest of the season. It's not exactly the best track for overtaking either. So this one was a bit of a procession, let's not make too many judgements until the European leg starts though eh? And if it's that boring then, heh, don't watch it! 🙄

how about this

1… mandatory 2 pitstops
2… winners get weight penalty like in touring cars
3… after qualifying in week one.. reverse the grid from the previous week if you want to win a championship you have to fight from in the pack to the front and need to overtake
4.. in grass roots racing bangers and hot rods .. the best drivers start atthe back and have to race to win..

just a few thoughts….

let the disscussion begin

If the drivers (even the winner) think this, then it is worrying:

"With no refuelling, it will be difficult to see any overtaking, so after the first lap the positions will be set," said Alonso on his Ferrari debut.
Lewis Hamilton, who finished third for McLaren, added: "You start with fuel, you do one stop and it's pretty much a train all the way."

(from BBC news)

3… after qualifying in week one.. reverse the grid from the previous week if you want to win a championship you have to fight from in the pack to the front and need to overtake
4.. in grass roots racing bangers and hot rods .. the best drivers start atthe back and have to race to win

What, you mean like a real race? Are you mad?

Every time I can be bothered, I suggest this but strangely enough, no-one ever seems to think it's a good idea. I simply can't see the point of testing to see who is the fastest then putting the fastest driver at the front, it seems to suggest that a procession is what the sport is looking for…

Real motorsport – nuff said.

Enjoy yourselves.

http://www.cliptheapex.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=822

It's all about overtaking stats…

1983-4-5 Overtakes about 650 per season….

2007-8-9 Overtakes about 250 a season…

Dull and getting duller….

maybe bernie will have a brain wave and come up with some "mid season changes"

Really Mr Starship????? WRC is as much a joke as F1, two manufactures who are really making an effort, no night stages etc etc etc

People getting excited about Kimi a man who even the Finns find embarassing.

Pigface.

The recession took out some manfacturers. At least in WRC things go bang, engines blow up, cars crash and the terrain varies greatly.

F1 is like an automotive research project masquerading as motorsport.

Mr Starship it got so bad that when somone crashes or something goes bang they let them start again 😯 i know they dont get points but it just goes against the grain.

Rally used to be brilliant then it just became a TV circus, £30 to go watch a stage ie stand beside a forrest road and get yelled at by marshalls, **** that.

F1 was awesome in the 70's- 80's. I have seen amazing racing @ brands and silverstone, with Hunt, Lauda ect. And the sublime ronnie petersen, who used to drive a F1 Lotus like a rally car—-sideways everywhere.
Haven't watched it for the last 5 yrs. Paris-Nice is more exciting.

must agree wrc is more watchable than f1 anyday .

I doubt I'll be watching any more F1 this year. With so much technology and innovation in the sport why kill it all by not allowing them to refuel? I may be worng/fell asleep but did any of the cars got anywhere near the qualifying lap times? They were just nursing their cars round the track and agressive overtaking is well and truly out of the question now. Shame really, I used to enjoy it.

I'm a lifelong F1 fan (I remember Hunt's championship season).

I'd budget cap the teams (severely) and draw up a formula with driver protection and safety at it's core. After that, anything goes. Turbos, massive wings, moveable aerodynamic devices, refuelling, KERS, traction control, ground effect skirts, turbines, CVT, ABS, warp drives, whatever.

If you can design and build it in budget, you can race it.

Alternatively, the higher your declared (and audited) budget, the fewer the points you score per position.

It'll carry on as it is though, corporate junkets and hospitality being it's prime mover.

I gave up on it years ago, when it just became a procession, and was won and lost in the pit lanes. Senna's death was the worse thing to happen to it, because the new safety measures stopped any overtaking maneuvers almost overnight. From a selfish point of view, if you take out the risk, you take out the fun.