One has to realise that the purpose of F1 is no longer racing but entertainment.
The average punter (who has never been in a racing kart, let alone a racing car) has no idea what difference the rubber really makes, their experience is based on what appears on the screen and their own experience of buying different tyres for their car.
I was trying to explain to a non-racer recently that one adjusts F1 tyres by 0.035 bar (0.5 psi), that the difference between good grip and poor grip is as little as 0.2 bar (3 psi) and the drivers can tell the difference. This is a guy who drives a BMW Alpina but rarely checks his tyre pressures, one was 25% low and all four rims were bent where he had hit potholes. How was he going to understand what a difference the rubber was going to make or even how much difference the setup of the car would make to the wear on the rubber.
Yet he enjoys the new format racing because it is less obvious than the American system where they bring out the safety car at 75% race distance if it hasn't been out already to close up the race, unlap drivers and create the sprint to the finish that looks so good on TV.
Perhaps the Beeb should do the public a favour, instead of the endless gossip and speculation the indulge in to fill in the hour before etc, they should take a car and show what the various settings do. Use the onboard telemetry to demonstrate that 0.05 psi tyre difference means a rise in temperature, a change in grip, a slide here instead of power down etc.
OK, it might have to be exaggerated to be visible but with a driver like Coulthard available they probably have someone who could demonstrate and exaggerate the effects without creating danger for himself, not to mention slow motion and sited cameras.
After all, one of the interests in MotoGP etc are the shots showing the rubber actually peeling off the tyres and the visibility of a driver backing it into a corner and the clear dangers of getting it half a degree wrong. You often cannot see the mistake on the wheel but the highside that follows is unmistakeable. Meanwhile F1 cars seem to be impeturbable except for 'braking errors' or breakages.
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Alonso Rant by 'Gillard77' (16 Apr 2009 @ 15:30)
