Just watching the F1 highlights programme. It's an hour long, encompassing qualification, analysis and the race highlights themselves. Oh my good God it is TEDIOUS. The last 20 minutes they're reduced to showing every single lap from 72 onwards, and wondering if they can talk about the landmarks again.
BBC must be kicking themselves for paying for this tripe

Oh, and can I have Brundle's job? Getting paid a fortune for coming out with insightful gems such as 'I'm not sure he (Webber) would want that gap closed' and 'so we're now under the safety car with only 2 laps to go, I think we may finish under the safety car'. Clown

Your remote has these buttons you can press…

unless it rains, Monaco does tend to be a bit of a procession. But with the thing that the slightest mistake is punished (and the bumps really test the cars reliablity.)

Watching Kovi really push the Lotus beyonds its limits in a couple of do or die laps at the end of Q1 was a joy to watch, thought for a moment he was trying a Scandinavian Flick around Loews Hairpin. you could see how badly it was riding the bumps compared to the bigger teams on the second to last lap.
Shame he was suffering with being unable to select 2nd gear most of the weekend.

I too find it hilarious if you just listen to what the commentators are saying. 60% is redundant because you can see it on screen, 20% is stating the obvious and 10% is irrelevant.

I too find it hilarious if you just listen to what the commentators are saying. 60% is redundant because you can see it on screen, 20% is stating the obvious and 10% is irrelevant.

Surely you can say the same for any televised sport?

Could always watch World Superbikes. Lots of brits doing well in that and good racing to. Got to admit, I have a soft spot for Leon Haslam's missus so hope he carries on doing well so we can see more of her!

But I think you are either a bike person or car one. Telling someone the other sport is more interesting seems pointless.

I enjoy watching F1 but never bother with Monaco.

But Monaco is one of THE F1 circuits!

Y'know some races are tedious, c'est la vie.It's always been like this, that's why when motor spots do retrospectives about past races there's only about 20-30 over all the years that stand out.

I love Monaco – and love to see the cars kissing the barriers. I'd rather have 5 more street circuits like it than the new circuits with acres of run-offs.

If you don't know what you're going to get with Monaco it's clearly your first year watching. There's never been much overtaking. Often plenty of impressive crashing and the potential for something truly momentous, but it doesn't always materialise. There's always the sheer spectacle of street racing, though.

Anyone who was watching it 18 years ago will remember some of the classic laps of F1 history being all about not overtaking 🙂

I'd rather have 5 more street circuits

wait till we get to Valencia, or Singapore.

street circuits, but utterly dull to a new form of dullness.

I too find it hilarious if you just listen to what the commentators are saying. 60% is redundant because you can see it on screen, 20% is stating the obvious and 10% is irrelevant.

what about the other 10% ??

Anyone who was watching it 18 years ago will remember some of the classic laps of F1 history being all about not overtaking

Senna vs Mansell. What a race! Mansell looked like the dullest man on earth but he could drive so well! I agree though, this race was pretty boring even in the highlights. I liked Shumaker catching Alonso out on the last corner. That's exactly the sort of thing he would do and exactly the sort of thing that would wind Alonso up, so good on him. I may not be a world class racing driver but even I know that if that bugger is behind you with only one corner to go, you block him big style.

Y'know some F1 races are tedious, c'est la vie

Fixed that for you 😉

I'm far from being a Schumi fan, but I reckon he has been very unjustly treated with the penalty. From all the information I've seen the safety car was coming in that lap, rather than the race finishing under it, thus making the overtaking move perfectly legitimate.

Anyway, regarding the race being boring – well of course there was no overtaking*, there never is at Monaco. But if you think it was boring because of that then you're rather missing the point.

*well apart from Alonso making his way up through the field that is of course, hence exciting to see overtaking at a track where it's not supposed to happen.

Yeah it was dull as ditch water but are the people who are saying there was no overtaking aware that Alonso finished in 6th, after starting 24th?

ok, a lot of his progression up the field was as a result of pitting early but he still added a little flavour in the early stages, then it returned to being dull sa all hell again.

Watched the race and yeah it was rubbish,,BUT what did make me laugh was the nice use of the new Ipad I thought the BBC didnt do products placement…Looked to me like apple had spent some money on getting Mr jake humphrey to wave the pad around….

I watched the start and then watched the 10min highlights on the BBC website (so that I could fast forward through).

However, the most impressive bit of TV imho was the in car footage from Mark Webber's qualifying lap that put him on pole. Seriously fast.

Alonso only overtook the rubbish cars though.

The only proper overtake (decent cars) was a certain German on the last corner. Very impressive.

The bottom line is that Monaco is only interesting when people crash or break down.

*bloke gets bored watching an hour of something he doesn't like shocker!*

But I think you are either a bike person or car one. Telling someone the other sport is more interesting seems pointless.

Love cars, can't be doing with watching F1. On the other hand, rallying is ace.

I think the rules for F1 need a total overhaul. Firstly, the drivers should have to run to the cars again, and secondly, the cars should be forced to conform to Cannonball Run style stereotypes:

Manor / Virgin would build a car made of Sheffield steel.
Red Bull would build cars made out of Aluminium cans that run off bile.
Force India would have a car based on an Austin A40.
All the teams based around Cambridge would have to wear mortar boards, and could only employ drivers who have at least one degree.
Ferrari would have a Priest bless the car before each race.
BAR would race an AC / Shelby Cobra.
And so on.

The final rule change would be that all media training would be banned. Ideally, Marcus Gronholm would be recruited as an F1 driver, in the paddock he'd look a bit awkward and sign the odd autograph, and at the end of the race he'd spout off for about ten minutes about how shit the car is, how the track is shit, how the tyres are shit and how he's really not very happy at all.

*bloke gets bored watching an hour of something he doesn't like shocker!*

mmm…. not quite. I know it's back in the dim and distant past these days, but there was a time when races weren't won in the pitstops, when the polesitter didn't necessarily win, and when the most exciting aspect wasn't wondering where the next crash would come (although the crashes are by far the best part). It's a few years back now, but Schumacher making moves on people, even Hamilton in his first year was doing some actual, what's the word…. er…

overtaking, that's it. But the drama now is in the qualifying, when they're not racing each other wheel to wheel, but checking their times on the lapboards.
Maybe I'm just turning into more of a bike person, because MotoGP just feels much more exciting and engaging these days. Boo, and indeed, hiss.

whilst not being too exciting on the overtaking front yesterday some of the in-car camera shots were mental. Especially from Alonso hounding the back markers.

nicko – MS rarely did overtaking on the track – he either qualified out front and stayed there or was the master of strategy (with Brawn), putting in blistering laps to make up the time necessary to be able to overtake on strategy eg in the pits.

Anyway, everyone knows there's an issue with overtaking in F1 – it's only the number of wet races so far this season that have really changed that and it won't be sorted until they fundamentally change the car designs.

On the other hand, I'd hate for it to be reduced to MotoGP/US-type racing where overtaking is easy and it almost seems to be a disadvantage to be in front. Overtaking should be difficult IMO, just not near-impossible as it seems to be in dry-F1 races at the moment.

Overtaking has never been easy in F1. The only time there was massive amounts of overtaking was when there were 1.5L turbo cars on the same track as 3.0L NA cars, and it got very dull, very quickly as the turbo cars tippy-toed round the corners, and then flew past all the DFV cars on the same straight every lap, you can recreate how this works by watching the Le Mans coverage on Eurosport, notice how dull it is watching the Audi R8's scream past the Porsches every single lap…

rallying is ace.

Dead boring. No overtaking at all.

Haslems misses has lots of soft spots, 'cuddly' is the word.

Dead boring. No overtaking at all.

No, but there's rather more slithering around at spectacular angles.

but there was a time when races weren't won in the pitstops, when the polesitter didn't necessarily win,

Well, this year the pole sitter has only won twice (both were Mark Webber this race and last)

Hamilton has been on a charge several times through the field this season, overtaking on the circuit – see China, Malaysia and Australia

aracer – Member

rallying is ace.

Dead boring. No overtaking at all.

😯 Y'know, you're right! Disgraceful!! 😉

Well its better than watching cricket/paint dry.

Go for a ride or read a cycle mag!?

The usual ill-informed codswallop on here, for the most part. You watch one race, and Monaco at that, and declare that there is no overtaking in F1. Idiotic non-observation. Monaco is an awesome spectacle in itself, nevermind the overtaking. Anyone that thinks there is no driver effect in F1 has not the faintest clue what they're talking about. As for letting the drivers "run the cars" – what driver aids do you think there are?

Do the same people think the goal-mouths in football should be increased in size so we get some more goals? If you don't like the sport, don't watch it. Several hundred million people disagree.

ive been enjoying the f1 a lot more this year though the second half of monaco was a bit dull, Alonso was spectacular and every time they had a in car (on car) camera belting round those long, blind, amaco-covered bends i couldn't help myself wincing in amazement at the driver skill/balls . that said i moved over to preferring the motogp a few years back and i think it is far more thrilling for racing thrill.

Impartially, I'd say on balance that MotoGP sux and F1 rox.
So, whilst I've watched both, F1 is more gooder and MotoGP more badder.

Apparently God prefers F1 too. And that's even if he doesn't exist!

Go Rossi!

I was impressed with that Merc safety car hammering it around trying to keep the fast boys in check….sounds amazing too!

I was at Monaco this weekend, great weekend, if you're a proper F1 fan, you've got to go! Got the general admission ticket for Sector Rocher, got there at 2am on Sunday morning and camped on the last corner. All for 80 euros, loved it !!!