1992 F1

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

I have just watched an old race from 1992 - the first of the season in Kyalami and in the era of Mansell, Patrese, Senna, Alesi, Berger, Herbert, Brundle, Capelli, Komas, Boutsen, etc. Murray and James Hunt commentating.

It was interesting to watch this and compare to modern F1....

1) Very little overtaking; I wonder if we wear rose tinted specs sometimes but aside from passing back-markers overtaking was rare

2) Senna was manually changing gear whilst the Williams Renaults had automatic boxes. Amazing to see how hard he was working.

3) The cars were unreliable Murray stating he expected only 11 out of the 24 to finish

4) Lots of old cars being used, Herbert driving a three year old car

5) Not many marbles

6) The cars were damn fast and had a lot of mechanical and aero grip

7) Camera shots from the cars were better as you got more of a driver's eye view and man did those cars vibrate.... and you got a lot more of the in car footage too.

8) Amusing quote from Murray "Ligier have one of the largest budgets in F1" (!!!)

9) Cars were less twitchy

10) Less incidents (in terms of drivers knocking each other's front wings off, etc)

11) Murray (surprisingly) did not p**s me off

And again, boy, did the drivers work hard in the c#ckpit, vibration, the steering looked very physical.

[HandyNZL 1]

The cars still vibrate the same...just the cameras have gyro's and image stabilisation these days.

[Caesar 0]

this season is so amusing that people have to reach in 1992 to find something interesting. DRS, Pirelli's and KERS this year were like trained monkeys in circus seen for the first time, very interesting, funny and amusing at the beginning. after 16 shows i am bored to death. i have found "2005 F1 Season Review " DVD, it's more interesting than 2011.

[Kopite Girl 0]

So. If its boring, don't watch.

We'll look back in 20 years and think the same of the likes of Alonso, Raikonnen, Hamilton, Button and Vettel.

In every generation of the sport you have drivers that make it special. Fangio, Hailwood, Ascari, Surtees and Moss in the 50s. Clark, Hill and Brabham in the 60s. Stewart, Fittipaldi, Rindt, Ickx, Hunt, Reggazoni, Bell in the 70s, Mansell, Piquet, Senna, Prost in the 80s. D. Hill, M. Schumacher, Hakkinen, J. Villeneuve, Alesi, Berger, Herbert and Irvine in the 90s and the aforementioned in the noughties.

That's why we keep watching.

[Autumnpuma 0]

So. If its boring, don't watch.

We'll look back in 20 years and think the same of the likes of Alonso, Raikonnen, Hamilton, Button and Vettel.

In every generation of the sport you have drivers that make it special. Fangio, Hailwood, Ascari, Surtees and Moss in the 50s. Clark, Hill and Brabham in the 60s. Stewart, Fittipaldi, Rindt, Ickx, Hunt, Reggazoni, Bell in the 70s, Mansell, Piquet, Senna, Prost in the 80s. D. Hill, M. Schumacher, Hakkinen, J. Villeneuve, Alesi, Berger, Herbert and Irvine in the 90s and the aforementioned in the noughties.

That's why we keep watching.

That you included these three names with everyone else you listed is why you're the perfect woman.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

this season is so amusing that people have to reach in 1992 to find something interesting. DRS, Pirelli's and KERS this year were like trained monkeys in circus seen for the first time, very interesting, funny and amusing at the beginning. after 16 shows i am bored to death. i have found "2005 F1 Season Review " DVD, it's more interesting than 2011.

Ah no, I never said that 1992 was more interesting - actually there was less overtaking and to be honest I find the 2011 racing (aside from Mr Sebastian Boring-Pants) more interesting.

The 1992 footage was only interesting because of the differences. good to see the old names and how hard they were working, but as a racing spectacle it was very processional.

Also funny to see Schui in drive no 7 of his career. He was very racey even then.

[HandyNZL 1]

As opposed to now in that Merc....

[HandyNZL 1]

That you included these three names with everyone else you listed is why you're the perfect woman.

You do realise that she had to ask me who they were....she thought they all played tennis or something with balls...

[Kopite Girl 0]

You do realise that she had to ask me who they were....she thought they all played tennis or something with balls...

Oh ok then. You're the perfect woman.

[HandyNZL 1]

And don't you forget it!

Hang on......

[Insider 0]

1992 was an extremely boring season. Not as boring as the Schumacher era though. However, what we have now is more exciting if not a little predictable. I would just like to see a team come in to the sport and genuinely improve season on season. Since the advent of RBR and to a lesser extent, STR this has not happened. Virgin and HRT are a joke and Lotus isn't shaping up well either. Williams are going backwards and VW are still sitting on the fence.I would rather see the top teams running three cars than watching this endless impasse at the back of the field.

[HandyNZL 1]

But in all the years past, there have always been teams that were useless...and quite a few in the '90's if I recall correctly.

Had the manufacturers not come into the sport en masse in the past decade, then I think teams such as Virgin, HRT and Lotus/Carterham/??? would have been there all along, and be "the norm". The entry of manufacturers as complete car teams, as opposed to just engine suppliers has distorted things to an extent I believe. Motorsport has always been independent teams doing the "run what you brung" thing, and whilst this changes to a degree as you move up the ladder of Formula, Formula One for the most part has been no different.

What F1 needs is the rules to stay steady for a few years or more at a time...only then will the smaller teams progress...they simply do not have the funds to constantly fit the next fandango to the car to keep in the hunt, and what they do have, allows them to manage the gap to the big teams.

Perhaps in 2012 with the exclusion of the blown diffusers the smaller guys will catch up. Newey himself see's this as a reason for RBR to go backwards.

[Insider 0]

But in all the years past, there have always been teams that were useless...and quite a few in the '90's if I recall correctly.

Had the manufacturers not come into the sport en masse in the past decade, then I think teams such as Virgin, HRT and Lotus/Carterham/??? would have been there all along, and be "the norm". The entry of manufacturers as complete car teams, as opposed to just engine suppliers has distorted things to an extent I believe. Motorsport has always been independent teams doing the "run what you brung" thing, and whilst this changes to a degree as you move up the ladder of Formula, Formula One for the most part has been no different.

What F1 needs is the rules to stay steady for a few years or more at a time...only then will the smaller teams progress...they simply do not have the funds to constantly fit the next fandango to the car to keep in the hunt, and what they do have, allows them to manage the gap to the big teams.

Perhaps in 2012 with the exclusion of the blown diffusers the smaller guys will catch up. Newey himself see's this as a reason for RBR to go backwards.

Of course a moratorium on rule changes will help the developing teams. My argument is that I don't believe the lack of a blown diffuser costs a team 5 or 6 sec a lap. A lack of design skills and engineering nous does though. Cutting development budgets and investing savings from that into top grade staff makes a difference. I think a standard, high performance engine, kers unit and drive train and may help to level the playing field. There is little difference in performance between the Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes lumps. Ferrari would squeal but let them, I say. If you want 12 teams on the grid then you have close the performance gaps or you end up with four elite teams versus the rest. No contest.

[HandyNZL 1]

Of course a moratorium on rule changes will help the developing teams. My argument is that I don't believe the lack of a blown diffuser costs a team 5 or 6 sec a lap. A lack of design skills and engineering nous does though. Cutting development budgets and investing savings from that into top grade staff makes a difference. I think a standard, high performance engine, kers unit and drive train and may help to level the playing field. There is little difference in performance between the Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes lumps. Ferrari would squeal but let them, I say. If you want 12 teams on the grid then you have close the performance gaps or you end up with four elite teams versus the rest. No contest.

Agree on some of those points, however the catch 22 is that the back-of-pack teams will always suffer from 2nd rate, or up and coming designers that are cheap and/or not already sewn up by the top teams. There was once a man that designed this car under the guise of Leyton House....an abortive attempt at keeping March going if ever there was one...said young man was even fired from the team for being of no use....said young man grew up and I do believe his WCC tally now stands at 7(thats a rough add up in my head - may be out by a count of one???)...

So if it were not for Leyton House, Adrian Newey would not be where he is today.

Likewise, all the other "talent" that first cuts their teeth at the small teams. Webber and Alonso, both first drive for Minardi, for instance.

They are a necessary evil, and they do qualify within 107%...albeit when the top teams are not trying too hard. So, they are there on merit, and I have always said it takes five years to get anywhere in F1...just some people can never wait that long (Stewart GP, Jaguar, then five years for RBR to get near the top...the sixth year...champions)

[donkeykong 0]

I agree 1992 was a boring season I remember it back then even as being one, it was one of those seasons that was a 'lull' in between a few great and exciting ones (in regard to the championships) - i think even up to the mid-90's there was something missing during that period for a while.

the tracks are supersmooth now in comparison too

the nutrition rate was always quite high. Its rare you get more than 3 drivers retire from mechanical failure, back then it was 10 plus per grand prix.

[HandyNZL 1]

Good to know that in 1992 that the drivers were well fed and had lots of good fruit and vege's. High NUTRITION is wonderful.

Pity that the ATTRITION of the cars was abysmal and you had six or seven cars finishing races...

[Rainmaster 7]

I agree 1992 was a boring season I remember it back then even as being one, it was one of those seasons that was a 'lull' in between a few great and exciting ones (in regard to the championships) - i think even up to the mid-90's there was something missing during that period for a while.

the tracks are supersmooth now in comparison too

the nutrition rate was always quite high. Its rare you get more than 3 drivers retire from mechanical failure, back then it was 10 plus per grand prix.

Yeah, they did eat a lot in that era. Especially Mansell.

[HandyNZL 1]

Nur nur...beat you to the joke by a minute...nur nur

[Rainmaster 7]

Nur nur...beat you to the joke by a minute...nur nur

Yes, well, if sheep could use phones you might have got a text off a friend whilst replying too! But evolution just didn't work out that way I think the mistake was worth pointing out twice, anyway!

[Kopite Girl 0]

Both of you. Gold.