F1...the Pinnacle Of Motor Sports??

[SIDEPOD 0]

Accidentally caught my 1st Indy race on abc, where Danica Patrick came 2nd. Comparing my viewing experience of Indy with F1, led me to ask why F1 which is claimed to be the pinacle of motor sports, not up to speed in ALL areas of the sport. Why do the lower levels of racing provide a better TV viewing experience?

I can understand that changing the rules (banning TC, increasing overtaking via aero mods, etc) regarding the cars need a few years to be implemented. But why can we as fans not have the latest in TV programming?

Here is what they have done better than F1.

1) Drivers name displayed and follows his car on track

Those of you who read comics know the way that a characters speech is displayed. Indy had the same with the drivers name in the on screen 'box' and a pointy end that followed the drivers car. (I've seen that with the Nascar TV presentation too). Which would be great for someone new to the sport to follow a race. Would appreciate if someone could let me know what this is actually called!

2) Ad breaks

The ad breaks were great! The screen was split vertically with about 2/3 of the screen to the right displaying the ad and the 1/3rd on the left still showing the race. Ofcourse the audio was for the ad! ITV hope u are reading this!

3) Scrolling text bar

A scrolling text bar at the top of the screen displayed each drivers position, their timing and gap to the previous car continously for the entire race.

Ok that's it for my rambling... Do any of you folks feel the same?

Edited September 3, 2007 by SIDEPOD

[goferrarigo 0]

Yup all those features are nice, but i see that ITV and others have no motivation to adopt those changes...

They still have their loyal F1 viewers who willl not change if they don't implement these features(i.e. they have a monopoly)

[Eric 0]

1: I find it annoying. Takes up too much of the screen.

2: Yeah. Side-by-side is the best.

3: Yes please. One of the more useful tools of a race.

Oh and...

4: If it is the pinnacle, make the racing better. See "ALMS Belle Isle 2007" for details.

Edited September 3, 2007 by Eric

[james 0]

#2 would be a nice addition but 1 and 3 i could live without. It would be nice to figure out a good way to display driver position and gaps but the scrolly thing just p**ses me off. maybe they could try doin something like video games do. have the track correspond to a square along the outside edge of the screen and then display the driver position with their initials and little colored dots.

[Eric 0]

I almost forgot:

5: HD. NASCAR has all 36 Cup race and all 35 Busch races in HD, and the 91st Running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race was in HD, as was all the qualifying and practices.

[Yoda McFly 1]

Funny ... I actually hate #3, and much prefer the way we see it in F1. (That said, I don't watch IRL or NASCAR, but this feature has been in use in American motorsport coverage basically forever, and it's always pretty much the same).

[Eric 0]

Funny ... I actually hate #3, and much prefer the way we see it in F1. (That said, I don't watch IRL or NASCAR, but this feature has been in use in American motorsport coverage basically forever, and it's always pretty much the same).

With overtaking so rare that the majority of them are shown on TV, the scrolling thing isn't that important for F1 if you think about it. Actually, it only really makes sense in NASCAR because they only show the cars whose sponsors payed for airtime.

[mikathegreat2 2]

Accidentaly, I once turned on TV3 & wham, a WTCC race in the Czech Republic! Then I saw the official licensed game in Game a few days later!

[Jez 0]

Accidentally caught my 1st Indy race on abc, where Danica Patrick came 2nd. Comparing my viewing experience of Indy with F1, led me to ask why F1 which is claimed to be the pinacle of motor sports, not up to speed in ALL areas of the sport. Why do the lower levels of racing provide a better TV viewing experience?

I can understand that changing the rules (banning TC, increasing overtaking via aero mods, etc) regarding the cars need a few years to be implemented. But why can we as fans not have the latest in TV programming?

Here is what they have done better than F1.

1) Drivers name displayed and follows his car on track

Those of you who read comics know the way that a characters speech is displayed. Indy had the same with the drivers name in the on screen 'box' and a pointy end that followed the drivers car. (I've seen that with the Nascar TV presentation too). Which would be great for someone new to the sport to follow a race. Would appreciate if someone could let me know what this is actually called!

2) Ad breaks

The ad breaks were great! The screen was split vertically with about 2/3 of the screen to the right displaying the ad and the 1/3rd on the left still showing the race. Ofcourse the audio was for the ad! ITV hope u are reading this!

3) Scrolling text bar

A scrolling text bar at the top of the screen displayed each drivers position, their timing and gap to the previous car continously for the entire race.

Ok that's it for my rambling... Do any of you folks feel the same?

Number 1 I think might get annoying if there's constantly some floating thing on the screen following a driver around. I'd definitely like to see number 2 though. Who wouldn't! Number three happens every now and then anyway, I can live without it being permanently on screen.

Yup all those features are nice, but i see that ITV and others have no motivation to adopt those changes...

They still have their loyal F1 viewers who willl not change if they don't implement these features(i.e. they have a monopoly)

Agreed.

[FUschumi 0]

European loves classic.

American loves innovation and creativity.

Both have their own values.

[Jez 0]

European loves classic.

American loves innovation and creativity.

Both have their own values.

Very true.

[DriftingGuy 0]

European loves classic.

American loves innovation and creativity.

Both have their own values.

What is so innovative and creative about a slick repackaging job?

Edited September 4, 2007 by DriftingGuy

[Niall McBride 0]

It's been only this year that I've really started following IndyCar, you can always expect close finishes

[Stub-o-matic 0]

Accidentally caught my 1st Indy race on abc, where Danica Patrick came 2nd. Comparing my viewing experience of Indy with F1, led me to ask why F1 which is claimed to be the pinacle of motor sports, not up to speed in ALL areas of the sport. Why do the lower levels of racing provide a better TV viewing experience?

I can understand that changing the rules (banning TC, increasing overtaking via aero mods, etc) regarding the cars need a few years to be implemented. But why can we as fans not have the latest in TV programming?

Here is what they have done better than F1.

1) Drivers name displayed and follows his car on track

Those of you who read comics know the way that a characters speech is displayed. Indy had the same with the drivers name in the on screen 'box' and a pointy end that followed the drivers car. (I've seen that with the Nascar TV presentation too). Which would be great for someone new to the sport to follow a race. Would appreciate if someone could let me know what this is actually called!

2) Ad breaks

The ad breaks were great! The screen was split vertically with about 2/3 of the screen to the right displaying the ad and the 1/3rd on the left still showing the race. Ofcourse the audio was for the ad! ITV hope u are reading this!

3) Scrolling text bar

A scrolling text bar at the top of the screen displayed each drivers position, their timing and gap to the previous car continously for the entire race.

Ok that's it for my rambling... Do any of you folks feel the same?

#1 and #3 are just instance of dumbing down the telecast in an attempt to attract new viewers. I find BOTH of these items very annoying...I used to be oblivious to #3, but EVERY flippin' show has a "crawl" on the screen with some B.S.

#2 is a nice idea, but unless I have a LARGE TV, it's not enough to keep me in my seat for 2 minutes...and I have yet to see them break away from a TV ad for any on-track activity. I have, however, seen this happen in NASCAR during the Daytona 500...any they don't use the split-screen

Edited September 8, 2007 by Stub-o-matic

[Stub-o-matic 0]

American loves innovation and creativity.

I agree to some extent. However, I think the problem is that Americans get what they want, when they want...and a lot of it. Therefore, there needs to be innovation and creativity for new things (ideas/shows, etc...) to be noticed.

I believe that is why there are SOOOOOO many NASCAR shows, each one has a new twist and the older ones are phased out after their concept has become boring.

[YHR 0]

What is so innovative and creative about a slick repackaging job?

[Eric 0]

It's been only this year that I've really started following IndyCar, you can always expect close finishes

I like IndyCar, but I hate Tony George, and I feel dirty supporting his series, but I kinda have to since Champ Car and IndyCar will be separate for a long while.

I'm eager for the season finale, hope the Patriots have the early game so I can watch it. GO DARIO!

[Eric 0]

F1 has the market covered on Dull. American racing in general is much more entertaining. Why don't you give us some examples of quality European sporting events on T.V. that American TV should aspire too???

Indeed, I like American racing better. They cater to low-attention span, action-craving people, and European racing caters to more of the thinking man. Not making a stereotype or generalization, just an observation I've made from watching both.

[DOF_power 0]

After WWII the GP format known as F1 started to lose much of its appeal because (amongst others) it provided an inferior quality show.

With the exception of some races/seasons, F1 thru the 50s/60s/70s was quite boring, and those who don't belive me should download and see the 1971 F1 season to see what I mean.

Excitement really came back thru the 1980s.

In fact the late 70s to ealry 1990s was the Golden Era of F1 and the second Golden Era of GP racing (first being the 1930s).

Ground effects cars, turbo cars, active ride cars, Villeneuve, Lauda and the fantastic 4 Piquet, Mansell, Senna and Prost put some terrific races and seasons.

I saw the 1971 season and the (exceptional) 1982 season, and what difference.

The boring Stewart-Tyrell domination vs. a fantastic battle Villenuve(died unfortunatly)/Pironi-Ferrari vs. Prost/Arnoux-Renault, Piquet-Brabham-BMW, Watson/Lauda-McLaren, Rosberg-Williams.

The 1983 while not as contested was still terrific.

Edited September 8, 2007 by DOF_Renault_BMW

[Rainmaster 7]

Accidentally caught my 1st Indy race on abc, where Danica Patrick came 2nd. Comparing my viewing experience of Indy with F1, led me to ask why F1 which is claimed to be the pinacle of motor sports, not up to speed in ALL areas of the sport. Why do the lower levels of racing provide a better TV viewing experience?

I can understand that changing the rules (banning TC, increasing overtaking via aero mods, etc) regarding the cars need a few years to be implemented. But why can we as fans not have the latest in TV programming?

Here is what they have done better than F1.

1) Drivers name displayed and follows his car on track

Those of you who read comics know the way that a characters speech is displayed. Indy had the same with the drivers name in the on screen 'box' and a pointy end that followed the drivers car. (I've seen that with the Nascar TV presentation too). Which would be great for someone new to the sport to follow a race. Would appreciate if someone could let me know what this is actually called!

2) Ad breaks

The ad breaks were great! The screen was split vertically with about 2/3 of the screen to the right displaying the ad and the 1/3rd on the left still showing the race. Ofcourse the audio was for the ad! ITV hope u are reading this!

3) Scrolling text bar

A scrolling text bar at the top of the screen displayed each drivers position, their timing and gap to the previous car continously for the entire race.

Ok that's it for my rambling... Do any of you folks feel the same?

Wouldn't mind number 2, champcar has 3 and i find it annoying.

most of all i'd like to see some racing going on at some point in the race

[Eric 0]

Wouldn't mind number 2, champcar has 3 and i find it annoying.

most of all i'd like to see some racing going on at some point in the race

What a brilliant concept...