No overtaking in F1 anymore? Best race for a long time.

[F1boat]

and the winner passed how many cars (that were not being lapped) on the track on his way to victory?????

This is not NASCAR, you know... if you are fast and smart enough, you don't need to overtake half the grid.

[ArrowsFA1]

Me too, if only every race could be guaranteed damp conditions or a rain shower at some point in the race to enable us all to witness what we saw today.. F1 would be just perfect.

Wet/damp conditions certainly make the difference so the sport needs to look at changing the cars to replicate those conditions without resorting to sprinklers!!

Less reliance on aero, more power less grip, is what we need.

[Dave B]

Is it just me, but I don't want too much overtaking.

Controversial viewpoint? I want overtaking to be special. It should be bloody hard work, and I enjoy the anticipation of a good move as much as the pass itself. The sight of a driver jinking around behind his opponent, trying to unsettle him, to maybe force a mistake, to perhaps pass but immediately be re-passed on the exit: all these things I find thrilling.

It's a little but too far the other way at the moment thanks to the massive turbulence coming off the back of the current cars, but the last thing I want to see is a series where overtaking is so commonplace it becomes devalued.

[ArrowsFA1]

...the last thing I want to see is a series where overtaking is so commonplace it becomes devalued.

Agreed

What I want to see is more opportunities for overtaking. At the moment the drivers know as soon as they get within a certain distance of the car in front that's where they'll stay. The evidence was there to see with the Kubica-Massa-Alonso-Hamilton-Webber train we saw at the Australian GP.

[Valve Bounce]

Wet/damp conditions certainly make the difference so the sport needs to look at changing the cars to replicate those conditions without resorting to sprinklers!!

Less reliance on aero, more power less grip, is what we need.

[I am evil Homer]

There was certainly some overtaking...Hamilton on Rosberg being the best example. But much of this was to do with the track and the conditions - challenging tracks create challenging GPs. Barcelona will be a snooze fest.

But the same problems persist - Lewis caught Alonso and although he did make some errors in that chase he struggled massively in the dirty air as the on board shots showed.

[ShiftingGears]

What it did show was that without the mandatory pitstop, and having some drivers last the race out on used tyres while others pit more frequently for new tyres, it did add another element to the grand prix.

[evooo]

i recall back in 05 or 06 that alonso mentioned he needed a 2 sec advantage to be able to pass schumacher at imola. now whitmarsh is saying you need a 3 sec advantage to do the same, and that is with a raft of regulation changes aimed at increasing overtaking.

something is seriously wrong with the approach and enforcement to car regulations that they have altered since 4 odd years ago.

[F1boat]

Is it just me, but I don't want too much overtaking.

Controversial viewpoint? I want overtaking to be special. It should be bloody hard work, and I enjoy the anticipation of a good move as much as the pass itself. The sight of a driver jinking around behind his opponent, trying to unsettle him, to maybe force a mistake, to perhaps pass but immediately be re-passed on the exit: all these things I find thrilling.

I agree. As I said, I don't want to see F1 like a race with bikes.

[jens]

Let's be serious for a moment now. The end of the race again once again showed that F1 still has the same serious problems with Hamilton being unable to do much against Alonso. The fact that soft tyres can basically last the whole race distance is also quite ridiculous. By combining those two factors, it's quite obvious that processions are going to be a norm in conditions, when the rain doesn't hit track during a Grand Prix.