F1’s unfortunate problems
A combination of factors have robbed this year's races of excitement.
After last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, a tweet from Mercedes F1 Esports driver Marcel Kiefer resonated with me. “It really pains me to admit, that currently (at least most GPs) I’m fairly bored at watching F1,” he wrote.
It pains me to say I was bored too. Flashpoints in the Montreal midfield weren’t enough to keep me hooked.
Admittedly, this isn’t the first time in 2023 that I’ve been left wanting more… Remember Azerbaijan?
This season, F1 seems to have lost something. It’s not one thing in particular, but an unfortunate combination of factors. With all of them present, the on-track excitement has, in my opinion, diminished.
F1 must address this immediately. People won’t watch F1 if it’s not exciting. But some factors are easier to address than others…
Factor #1: Overtaking is harder
F1 has a new commentary term this season: “DRS train”. I loathe it.
The phenomenon happens when heaps of cars follow each other, but no one can overtake anyone because they all have the drag reduction system (DRS). It happened several times in Canada.
It also happened during the snooze fest race in Azerbaijan.
After that race, some drivers commented that it had become harder this year for them to follow other cars and eventually overtake them.
That’s a concerning development because closer racing was among the main goals of massive regulation changes introduced in 2022. It stings to hear that progress is slipping.
Still, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to suggest that F1 could tweak next year’s rules to tackle this concern head-on.
Factor #2: Strategies
I’ve often found that the more exciting F1 races contain a mixture of strategies.
Races like Hungary in 2019 - or Spain and France in 2021 - remain etched in my mind because they were a battle for strategic supremacy. Those three races had tension throughout and the real winner only emerged in the dying stages.
Strategies aren’t like this in 2023.
Saudi Arabia, Australia and Azerbaijan saw nearly every driver adopt the same one-stop strategy. In almost all other races, top teams still tended to make the same number of stops. (Canada was a notable exception, as teams opted for both one and two-stop strategies).
Additionally, races this year have only featured two tyre compounds, even though three are available. Spain is the only race that saw widespread and genuine use of all three compounds.
Tyre variation is something that could be addressed as part of ongoing discussions about who will supply F1’s tyres between 2025 and 2027.
Pirelli has been F1’s sole tyre supplier since 2011, but according to several media outlets, including Motorsport.com, they’re facing competition for the newest contract from Bridgestone.
Factor #3: Dominance
Red Bull is undeniably the dominant team this season, but the bigger issue is that they have no plausible challenger.
This is different to when Mercedes were dominant between 2014 and 2021. While Mercedes were at the top, they still had Red Bull or Ferrari challenging them at some point in each season.
The same was true from 2010 to 2013 when Red Bull won consecutive championships. Other teams were still winning races during that time.
Red Bull’s monopoly on 2023 is also worsened given Sergio Perez hasn’t matched the performances of Max Verstappen - so we don’t even get a close fight for the drivers’ championship.
Changing this situation is purely in the hands of Red Bull’s rivals. F1 management won’t get involved.
Simply put, other teams must catch up, though it’s far easier said than done.
Factor #4: Crashes and reliability
2023 has had very few crashes or retirements. In Miami and Spain, everyone finished - something which doesn’t happen often.
On its own, this is actually a good thing, especially the lack of crashes. We never want to see drivers in harm’s way.
But, having more finishers undoubtedly removes an element of unpredictability from the racing. It’s an unfortunate truth.
The cars are likely more reliable these days because F1 power units are no longer upgraded during a season. The only changes that are allowed are those that improve reliability.
With regards to crashes, it’s hard to say definitively why they are seemingly less commonplace - though one reason could be the cost cap. A significant number of crashes could put pressure on budgets, so perhaps drivers are being more careful?
Truthfully, there’s not a lot that can be done here.
TLDR
F1 needs to make overtaking easier and give teams more options with strategy. Meanwhile, other teams need to somehow close the gap to Red Bull.
Thank you for reading
Do you think changes are required to make F1 more exciting? If so, what changes would you make? Let me know in the comments.
I miss refueling, the mystery of if someone was running light or heavy, the different strategies; a tire war, refueling, and DRS would be nice.
I often wonder if the constant tire innovation has actually hurt the excitement of F1. Tires have reached the point that, at some points this season, I've wondered whether teams would even be making a pitstop if it wasn't required. I've not considered it long enough to make any suggestions, but I hugely agree that the lack of a strategy battle--made possible by the strength of modern F1 tires--is harming F1 as a while. I really hope Bridgestone will bring some variation back!