I am not a big fan of any sport, but over the years, I have watched some formula 1 motor racing. To be quite honest, it’s a great way of being sent to sleep on a Sunday afternoon.
I remember the good days of Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet, Hunt, Hill and others.
When Michael Schumacher was driving, he was so good he won pretty much everything. Commentators and others said it was all a bit boring, predictable. Now Lewis Hamilton wins everything (well almost, he has had some penalties), but no-one says it’s boring, predictable, even though it is. I wonder why?
Sometimes things do happen to make it interesting, but usually it goes:
- qualifying: Hamilton first, Bottas second then the rest
- the race: Hamilton goes into a quick lead, changes his tyres, still leads, wins
- it’s a procession of the rest
I’m not trying to say that Hamilton does not deserve to win, or is not good. Just that generally, it can be dull stuff. Even the Sky commentators say that.
In 2023, Max Verstappen has dominated, and continues to win just about every race by tens of seconds. Discussion about tyres is even more intense. Most races are just a procession around the track. The only thing that can make a race interesting, but hopefully not dangerous, is rain.
When Michael Schumacher was a constant winner, people said it was ‘boring’. When Lewis Hamilton was a constant winner, no-one dare say it was boring. Now Verstappen is winning, many are saying ‘boring’ again. I wonder why…