Best era of F1 ?

[anfield5]

It's not just the restrictive rules. It's the total artificiality of it all. It's no longer a competition, it's now a show. And to provide a 'show' they stifle innovation as they don't want somebody running away from the field the way, for example, the Lotus 78 and 79 did.

With respect, it is clearly still a competition.

One that Red Bull are running away with.

If it wasn't a competition, and a high-quality one at that, then there would not be the difficulty to beat red Bull that, evidently, there is.

There aren't the headline-grabbing, turn-the-world-on-its-head innovations of yesteryear, but the technical developments in areas like exhaust-blown-diffusers are, for me, just as fascinating.

Off-throttle-blown-diffusers are, I feel, something Colin Chapman would be impressed by.

There is innovation. The rules prevent a left-field game-changer arriving, I completely accept, and that is something that I too regret. I don't let it ruin my interest in the technical revolutions that still take place, albeit more subtle ones.

Again you are correct. But it is always the big teams with the cash that seem to find these little tweeks because thay can afford to look, the small terams are too concerned with merely creating a version of this seasons little box that is consumong all of thier budget and expertise. There is no way a small team like Caterham could possibly divert resource into researching blown diffusers for example. So it is a case of the rich get richer.

The current crop of designers and engineers are in some ways far better than any that have gone before, it is a crying shame that their talents are being squandered on trying to find small gains in loopholes, rather than being allowed to design.

[Parabolica]

Wasn't it always the case that the bigger teams were more likely to innovate? Lotus were not exactly minnows when the monocoque chassis was debuted, and were top-flight by the era of the 79. Brabhams fancar was not knocked up in a shed, either. The back of the grid in every era was made up of teams and cars which were anything but revolutionary.

Of course, I agree with you that the current rules are not conducive to overt innovation, but I always try to find the silver linings and don't worry about the black cloud.

[steveaki13]

It's not just the restrictive rules. It's the total artificiality of it all. It's no longer a competition, it's now a show. And to provide a 'show' they stifle innovation as they don't want somebody running away from the field the way, for example, the Lotus 78 and 79 did.

Spot on D Type.

"Show" pushes me over the edge.

[FAL]

Oh all so recent.
This question appeared elsewhere and I suggested (and many agreed) that, from a UK point of view, it had to be 1958.
A dominant multiple World Champion had (effectively) retired and the mantle passes to UK drivers. Any one of 4 of those could easily have inherited the crown. The one who did was not the most expected one. Two competitive makes. Two others not so far behind. Crucially, the final dominance of "real" cars with the engine at the front - albeit with clear signs of impending change to that. Scarred by multiple tragedies within and immediately after the season. You couldn't get away with writing a film script to cover that - they considered it and dropped it (and now we have 1976, the next least believable year, at the movies...)

[steveaki13]

I love looking back at those eras' but as I was only born in 1986 and have only watched F1 since early 90s I don't know enough about that time.

However I stick to the mantra that F1 is good no matter what era its in.

[555-04Q2]

I love looking back at those eras' but as I was only born in 1986 and have only watched F1 since early 90s I don't know enough about that time.

However I stick to the mantra that F1 is good no matter what era its in.

I tend to agree with you. I enjoy the current era, but there was certainly more excitement back in the 80's than we get today.

It's like our local saloon car racing (like your touring cars). In the 80's and 90's we had great racing with door to door action, bumps aplenty, trackside skirmishes that were fantastic and racers that even woman recognised.

While the current racing is good now, I prefer the early days when there was far more action and often the fastest way round the track was to get the back end out in most corners

[journeyman racer]

Personally, since I've been aware of fully aware of F1, it's been from the 89 Australian GP (first one I can recall watching), til the end of the 93 season (Australian GP). Looking back, I feel that 93 was the last "real" year of F1. It's not that the racing was more entertaining or anything, but that 93 was the last year of "real" F1 cars. The regulations introduced for 94 (and subsequent) were, in retrospect, farcical. Since then, I think the regs have slowly eroded the "authenticity" of a proper F1 car, even though the performance has increased out of sight. The introduction of mandatory fuel stops was comical and unnecessary. Even though they've gotten rid of that, the marshmallow tyres introduced since then is an attempt to appease fans, for whom mandatory stops have become the norm. It isn't.

[AAReagles]

but it can happens that some of us, after gaining a Motor Racing culture, will see that the best era wasn't when they discovered F1.

.... but nevertheless Jim Clark era rules !

Yeah, I agree on both counts.

With regards to my following the sport (1978 - mid 1990's mostly). At least from the mid-1980's and back I got to watch the races performed on decent (and beautiful) circuits: Zandvoort, Brands Hatch, Paul Richard, Hockenheim, Osterreichring to name a few. Back then the trackside-sponsorship-overload didn't appear as bad. Not to mention some of the soap-opera-drama (tabloid porn) that played out between drivers, wasn't as apparent like it is now, which became increasingly common the last 25 years. That is probably due to the increase coverage of the sport since those bygone days.

Oddly enough, after Clark passed on, sponsorship starting taking a bigger role in the GP/F1 fraternity.

There are definetly times I wish I was born earlier to observe and appreciate the birth of the rear-engine era and onwards to the late 1980's.

[Doc Austin]

It's all been good but the era with Hill, Stewart, Rindt, Fittipaldi was when I was growing up, so from a nostalgic standpoint I've got to go with that. The stars were bigger than life and the cars were very interesting, if not very safe. It was a tragic era, but watching the safety crusade unfold was most interesting and I have to give Jackie Stewart his due for making it a better sport.

[AAReagles]

Yeah I don't have a problem with the increase with safety other than the over abundance of chicanes. Though I could see the instance where the original SPA needed to be put down. With telephone poles, houses, wire fences (think Bristow 60') and 20 foot drop-offs (think Bonnier 66') decorated along the roadway.

Back in 67', pole sitter Jim Clark even complained about blurred vision while engaging the Masta Kink, initially thinking it was suspension troubles. Needless to say, it was not a good location to encounter such an experience.

It's no wonder Stewart's safety campaign began there.

My hat is off to anyone who drove on it, much less went fast enough to qualify for the event back then. Only to look forward to another 28 laps or so.