2024 Formula 1 Season thread

[cyb3rdud3]

GBP57 per year to watch all races and much more in HD. I consider a bargain. If you are in the UK and want to watch it in UHD it is a great offering. Despite their annoying commentary. ViaPlay in other regions is also not bad, but the commentary is hilariously wrong many a times. Like they don’t watch the feed themselves.

And then there are many pubs and cafes where you can watch free of charge for the price of a drink of your choice.

I’d say it’s very accessible to watch.

 

[headlessmike]

GBP57 per year to watch all races and much more in HD. I consider a bargain. If you are in the UK and want to watch it in UHD it is a great offering. Despite their annoying commentary. ViaPlay in other regions is also not bad, but the commentary is hilariously wrong many a times. Like they don’t watch the feed themselves.

And then there are many pubs and cafes where you can watch free of charge for the price of a drink of your choice.

I’d say it’s very accessible to watch.

It's not difficult to find a way to watch F1 by any means if you are interested. But when I was growing up it was often free to watch on broadcast television at a time when we only had a few channels to choose from. With that in mind it's not surprising that fewer people casually watch races now than, say, in the 90s. And it's not just F1. I remember watching WRC on public television back when the likes of Carlos Sainz Sr. and Colin McRae were racing. Now I wouldn't know where to find it.

 

[JustinePaula]

Netflix would be ideal for me, if they chose, they could have it live, pay per view, or as part of the subscription, you pay a bit extra, NetFlix Sport, and get it on replay, often I get home as the race finishes, so have to wait until the useless broadcaster here, maybe replays it, the programme guide is 100% fiction...Never right.. But to pay extra on a netflix account, yes please!! If F1 made it easy to pay locally in local currency for access yes.. To be honest, I think Sky is paying too much, and then having to pay for the commentators, just send 2..to the comms booth, cut to the race at 2pm, drop the cringe 90 minute waste of money... who cares about the useless mostly insane drivel gridwalk.. nope.. get rid of the crew, 2 at most..the rest can drone on and on via teams!!!!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It's not difficult to find a way to watch F1 by any means if you are interested. But when I was growing up it was often free to watch on broadcast television at a time when we only had a few channels to choose from. With that in mind it's not surprising that fewer people casually watch races now than, say, in the 90s. And it's not just F1. I remember watching WRC on public television back when the likes of Carlos Sainz Sr. and Colin McRae were racing. Now I wouldn't know where to find it.

It’s definitely more of an effort to watch F1 compared to when it was just on TV years ago and you’re right, you have to be interested to go out of your way to watch it now. It’s not designed to catch casual viewers channel hopping anymore and ultimately that will limit the amount of people who get into the sport. I know plenty of people who watch Netflix DTS but don’t watch races or even catch the highlights, it’s just a more exclusive sport now. I used to go into work on a Monday and F1 would be discussed, but it’s now rarer to find anybody who has any idea what is going on.

I’ve adapted the way I watch and certainly don’t follow it as intensely as I used to. Having kids has affected that but so has the loss of live races. I used to record them in full, avoid the result and watch delayed. Now I catch the occasional highlights if I can be bothered and I always know the result before watching as it’s just difficult to avoid. It’s almost impossible for people to be fully satisfied with delayed highlights if they are trying to get into the sport IMO. I’ve toyed with the idea of going back to a hooky Sky box for £45 a year but to be honest, it wouldn’t really give me more than I get now as I’d have to watch live.

 

[Apple fanboy]

It’s definitely more of an effort to watch F1 compared to when it was just on TV years ago and you’re right, you have to be interested to go out of your way to watch it now. It’s not designed to catch casual viewers channel hopping anymore and ultimately that will limit the amount of people who get into the sport. I know plenty of people who watch Netflix DTS but don’t watch races or even catch the highlights, it’s just a more exclusive sport now. I used to go into work on a Monday and F1 would be discussed, but it’s now rarer to find anybody who has any idea what is going on.

I’ve adapted the way I watch and certainly don’t follow it as intensely as I used to. Having kids has affected that but so has the loss of live races. I used to record them in full, avoid the result and watch delayed. Now I catch the occasional highlights if I can be bothered and I always know the result before watching as it’s just difficult to avoid. It’s almost impossible for people to be fully satisfied with delayed highlights if they are trying to get into the sport IMO. I’ve toyed with the idea of going back to a hooky Sky box for £45 a year but to be honest, it wouldn’t really give me more than I get now as I’d have to watch live.

Funny where I work we have lots of Formula 1 fans who watch the races. Mixed between live watches (Sky) and highlights like me.
I always avoid the results before I watch the highlights show.
Channel 4 do a good job. The race show is two and a half hours, so pretty extended highlights.
That’s enough for me. Plus generally they are on in the evening which suits me better anyway.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

It's not difficult to find a way to watch F1 by any means if you are interested. But when I was growing up it was often free to watch on broadcast television at a time when we only had a few channels to choose from. With that in mind it's not surprising that fewer people casually watch races now than, say, in the 90s. And it's not just F1. I remember watching WRC on public television back when the likes of Carlos Sainz Sr. and Colin McRae were racing. Now I wouldn't know where to find it.

True, but those were totally different times. There was very little competition between channels, people used to watch live TV, and build their live around it. Sure F1 with Murray Walker was awesome, but plenty of people who didn't like it and had very little alternative choice. I don't think those days can be compared to how people watch now. Time change.

My children don't know otherwise, same with music.

 

[PlayUltimate]

If you have say in the UK, only 10 000 [as example] you can only charge x for ad rates etc, but if you can prove that on a Sunday between 2pm and 7pm, you have 25 000 watching, then ad rates can go up... Win all round..

FWIW, the F1 channel (F1TV), in the US, has two-tiered pricing: $89/yr for live+ and $29/yr for delayed. It is streaming
but not a terrible value on a per-race basis.

 

[PlayUltimate]

Re: cars- In the hybrid era, the cars have gotten too big for many of the road tracks. It will likely just get worse when they go fully electric. Batteries are big and heavy. Albeit tire strategy and pit stop times will increase in importance.

 

[TheIntruder]

As a motor sports fan, I'll find a way to watch the series I want to watch, so accessibility is more of an issue for casual viewers.

The time/reason I lost most interest in F1 was during the Schumacher/Ferrari era, because:

1) I didn't care for him as a driver, other than having respect for his ability (with Byrne and Brawn) to drag Ferrari as a team to the top, which is a rare skill that most drivers don't possess. He was able to do that, and at Ferrari, no less.

2) No interest in watching the one of the quickest, if not the quickest, driver on the grid, with the fastest car, face few challenges, including from his teammate, the one best positioned to put up a fight, by team decree. Dominance, haves/have nots, and yes, team orders, are intrinsic traits of F1, but that was a degree which was no longer entertaining, left little to chance, and not on balance with the rest of the "circus" elements that are also intrinsic to the sport. It's one thing if Checo can't challenge Max, but it would be an entirely different thing if he weren't allowed to, explicity or not.

3) Just plain fatigue with the "circus." Many do people enjoy that stuff, and while the battlegrounds have now shifted away from places like r.a.s.f1 to the comment sections on racing news sites, enough was enough. Column inches must be filled, even electronic ones, and the even just seeing the headlines of the same pablum, repeated on every site can be off putting.

That personal interest in F1 has never returned to the same level.

Lots of people may like the product, and it might be more popular than ever.

But it is ok to look away, and seek other forms of amusement, as a personal choice.

 

[JustinePaula]

I watched a great doccie about Salt Lake City and the fibre internet roll out programme they had, and the geek there stated that in order for 1 ISP to be different from another, was the add one products each offered, ISP 1 offered this or that tv channel or service, ISP 2 something different...

F1.tv should be free to air.. 100% $0.00 for access, no commentary, no replays, just the race without any added service, if you want the added sauce, you subscribe to Sky etc, or on the F1.tv for the extra...

F1.tv should be about access, after all, if you are "sponsor" of a team you want as many people to see it.. So the most basic even if was 2/3 video and 1/3 ads at the bottom, it would be helpful.. Annoying yes, but at least accessible...

What is wrong with Netflix adding F1.tv to the lineup, for a pay per view, a direct link to F1.tv, as a "bolt on" fee to the standard netflix account, for say $x per race, you pick and choose how many, or what races you want to "rent" $x per event...

I think the folks that run FOM are maybe not at all interested in growing the brand, or if they are, have a strategy in mind that is for them making sense, don't know... Still once the race is +1 hour old, flog the access for free on catch up.. after all it is no longer live..

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Not many care about watching stuff “live” I think you are overstating the importance of that by focusing on giving it away for free an hour later. Speek to some people of this century and you see they hardly ever watch broadcasts live.

f1 tv costs less per race than a drink at Starbucks. I do not accept that it’s not accessible based on cost. And free in many a sports bar, or where I am nearly every neighbourhood pub.

 

[pachyderm]

It's on espn/abc here in the states...

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Funny where I work we have lots of Formula 1 fans who watch the races. Mixed between live watches (Sky) and highlights like me.
I always avoid the results before I watch the highlights show.
Channel 4 do a good job. The race show is two and a half hours, so pretty extended highlights.
That’s enough for me. Plus generally they are on in the evening which suits me better anyway.

I agree the Channel 4 highlights are enough, especially for people who don't have time in peak hours on a Sunday to sit around for a few hours watching live races. I have adapted to that and I often even miss the highlights, but find out enough info to enjoy following the sport. If the sport was broadcast live, I'd likely have it on in the background while getting on with other things, something I sometimes do with the radio 5live broadcast. Not an ideal model for maintaining viewership though even if it suits me. Its difficult to get kids into it when the coverage is shown late at night unless you're on catchup. I got into F1 like many in my generation by having it on the TV on a Sunday while having dinner and through my Dad who was a big fan and a photographer at races when he was younger. He hasn't watched it in more than 25 years now. The exposure element is more of a chore than it used to be, but that's the way modern sport is covered now. Most football fans don't watch live matches and never have, but the appeal is largely different in that regard.

Theres only one person where I work that follows F1 with any interest and he doesn't watch live races. There was some buzz and discussion a few years ago as 80% of my colleagues are Dutch and when Max suddenly started doing well, there would be a bit of banter and discussion. That all seems to have died down now though and they'd rather discuss cycling and football again.

 

[pachyderm]

I agree the Channel 4 highlights are enough, especially for people who don't have time in peak hours on a Sunday to sit around for a few hours watching live races. I have adapted to that and I often even miss the highlights, but find out enough info to enjoy following the sport. If the sport was broadcast live, I'd likely have it on in the background while getting on with other things, something I sometimes do with the radio 5live broadcast. Not an ideal model for maintaining viewership though even if it suits me. Its difficult to get kids into it when the coverage is shown late at night unless you're on catchup. I got into F1 like many in my generation by having it on the TV on a Sunday while having dinner and through my Dad who was a big fan and a photographer at races when he was younger. He hasn't watched it in more than 25 years now. The exposure element is more of a chore than it used to be, but that's the way modern sport is covered now. Most football fans don't watch live matches and never have, but the appeal is largely different in that regard.

Theres only one person where I work that follows F1 with any interest and he doesn't watch live races. There was some buzz and discussion a few years ago as 80% of my colleagues are Dutch and when Max suddenly started doing well, there would be a bit of banter and discussion. That all seems to have died down now though and they'd rather discuss cycling and football again.

If I lived in the UK I would be very tempted to purchase the Sky package and ride along with the driver of my choice.

Have any of you lot done that?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

If I lived in the UK I would be very tempted to purchase the Sky package and ride along with the driver of my choice.

Have any of you lot done that?

I wouldn't give Sky my money, especially not at £60+ a month for sports, for something I wouldn't watch enough. I had a hooky Sky box for a few years which obviously didn't have any interactive features, but I found I still wasn't watching races live and the kids weren't overly interested in the childrens channels which was the main reason we got it. I haven't bothered since. Channel 4 have much better commentary and pundits too.

 

[Apple fanboy]

If I lived in the UK I would be very tempted to purchase the Sky package and ride along with the driver of my choice.

Have any of you lot done that?

Not here either. My TV subscriptions come to £3.99 a month. I’m far too tight to spend that amount of money and I’d then feel obligated to watch the support races and practice to. I don’t have that sort of time available. The two hour show on a Saturday and the 3 hour show on a Sunday are enough for me.

 

[PlayUltimate]

my wife got sucked into F1 via Drive to Survive. We then paid for the annual F1TV subscription. The cost is low enough to make my wife happy. And our adult children are now into it so it enables some banter and conversation; much like following any other sport. Last year was tough due to the dominance of Max. But this year is a bit more interesting and provides more uncertainty. Considering Mercedes has one 3 out of the past 4 races is indeed a surprise.

 

[Apple fanboy]

my wife got sucked into F1 via Drive to Survive. We then paid for the annual F1TV subscription. The cost is low enough to make my wife happy. And our adult children are now into it so it enables some banter and conversation; much like following any other sport. Last year was tough due to the dominance of Max. But this year is a bit more interesting and provides more uncertainty. Considering Mercedes has one 3 out of the past 4 races is indeed a surprise.

If your whole family is in to it then it’s a no brainier. But My wife doesn’t like any sport. It’s just the two of us, so if I pay for a package I feel obliged to watch she is going to see even less of me.
As I’m pretty much the only person she sees I’m not prepared to do that.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

If I lived in the UK I would be very tempted to purchase the Sky package and ride along with the driver of my choice.

Have any of you lot done that?

Yes we have the full Sky Q service. The Ultra High Definition and interactive services are the best online services I've ever seen and experienced anywhere. F1 Coverage is really good, and each season they improve their services. Being able to choose your own battles to watch can be fun. Just a shame about the commentary; Johnny Herbert is gone luckily, but for me the likes of Ted Kravitz, Martin Brundle, and Naomi Schiff can go as well please.

And that is just one part of Sky Q, so much more about these services that makes it worth while. A fast UI, easy to use UI, excellent recording, scheduling, most UHD content of any provider, and multi-room extendable.

Yup costs a bit, but worth it.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

If your whole family is in to it then it’s a no brainier. But My wife doesn’t like any sport. It’s just the two of us, so if I pay for a package I feel obliged to watch she is going to see even less of me.
As I’m pretty much the only person she sees I’m not prepared to do that.

Most women/partners would love some time for themselves. You know being apart makes the heart grow fonder, and all that. Be nice to her and treat yourself

We have Sky Q in the UK, Ziggo with ViaPlay in the Netherlands, and F1TV when on the move or other locations 🧐🤣

 

[Glideslope]

[Thomas Maher] is reporting Adrian has signed with AMR. Announcement Sept 1st.

He is a reliable source…

 

[CWallace]

Also picked up by Italian media: https://autosprint.corrieredellospo...5597/f1_clamoroso_newey_andra_in_aston_martin

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

[Thomas Maher] is reporting Adrian has signed with AMR. Announcement Sept 1st.

He is a reliable source…

I’ve seen that doing the rounds for a few days too. I bet Eddie is chuffed as it’s his old team with an Aston Martin sticker slapped on the top of it. Glad he’s going to a British team tbh and he’ll get all the money he wants and resources he needs. I don’t think Ferrari was going to be a good fit despite so many people wanting it. They also didn’t want his wage demands and the 20 additional engineers he apparently brings with him.

 

[Glideslope]

I’ve seen that doing the rounds for a few days too. I bet Eddie is chuffed as it’s his old team with an Aston Martin sticker slapped on the top of it. Glad he’s going to a British team tbh and he’ll get all the money he wants and resources he needs. I don’t think Ferrari was going to be a good fit despite so many people wanting it. They also didn’t want his wage demands and the 20 additional engineers he apparently brings with him.

Agreed. I had Brief hopes for Williams with James being there. I never thought Ferrari would accommodate his needs.

It will be nice to have him back with Honda Power. 😉

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Agreed. I had Brief hopes for Williams with James being there. I never thought Ferrari would accommodate his needs.

I thought he might want to go there just to have them on his legacy but he commands a lot of control on the technical side. Ferrari are very much reluctant these days to change to much in that regard.

Hopefully Newey will add pressure on the Aston Martin shareholders to put 2 class drivers in seats. Alonso is nearly done and Stroll simply isn’t good enough for F1. It doesn’t matter whether Lawrence disagrees or not if the pressure is on.