Duke
First off, how dare any of you snobs say anything bad about NASCAR after an event like this. This race was duller than ditchwater, and not just because it was all Alonso from flag to flag. All the vaunted performance of these cars aside, it still amounted to a pit strategy battle. The only thing worth commentating about was whether or not a given driver would make it out of the pits before or after his rival.
Well, I wont comment on NASCAR, because Ive only seen 1 race in my life you know, since they dont show NASCAR on free-to-air T.V. in Australia.
Yes, the race at Silverstone was dull – probably the worst of the year. I mean, normally I will not call and F1 race boring, because I enjoy watching them all. But this race really didnthave any reason for me to get excited.
Räikkönen looked like he could challenge for a few laps, but Alonso soon took advantage of his superior car, and got an insurmountable lead. Schumacher couldnt pass Kimi, so the race was over before the first sets of pit-stops.
Duke
I used to be a big F1 fan back in the late '70s and early '80s. It was amazing then, with amazing racing, amazing cars, amazing action. Each season was a war and each race was battle; the battlefields were the tracks and garages.
I think it is unfair of you to judge a sport on 1 race. However, I can see where you are coming from, and I know that the sport has changed since you were a fan.
I dont know how to justify this to you, but Formula 1 is
still amazing. The races are exciting perhaps its not the wheel to wheel racing that was possible with the cars and circuits of that era, but I never watch a race and think that it wasnt worth watching.
The cars are more amazing than ever. They always have been at the peak of technology, and have always been the quickest vehicles on four (or six?) wheels. However, what makes them more amazing now, to me, is the fact that the cars are completely different from anything else. The regulations controlling their design are so strict, yet engineers are still making the cars go faster and faster.
The cars are, as you say, almost irrelevant these days its not like in the late 50s, when Cooper were racing with a gearbox based on that of a road going Citroën, and key suspension parts that were borrowed directly from a Volkswagen Beetle. To some people this is a good thing, to others this is a bad thing. Personally I think theyre both different eras, but I plan to enjoy the one that I am seeing, while appreciating the past.
Duke
It's been steadily less and less of a drivers' battle and more and more of a technicians' battle
F1 has
always been an engineer’s battle. The only difference is that more money is put into the design of cars than ever before. Teams are being paid hundreds of millions of dollars in sponsorship every year they are going to spend every cent of it. It has always been this way. The only thing that has changed is the amount of money.
Good drivers will always be a key part of racing in Formula 1. It is a shame that many people do not believe that the drivers have to be talented to drive, and race, a modern Formula 1 car. Some average Joe couldnt step into an F1 car and mix it with the best. Not even an average racing driver can compete with the current field of F1 drivers (case in point: Yuji Ide).
I think the reason that you say that F1 is less of a drivers battle is because the cars are so aerodynamically dependant, that it is almost impossible to overtake another driver unless you are
much faster than them.
Duke
the stupendous amount of money and the stupendous amount of technology spent in pursuit of that performance has just put Formula 1 right off my map of interesting things.
Im sorry to hear that, but I sincerely hope that youre not tossing the sport aside because of a boring race.
The money, and the technology may not appeal to you, or be relevant like it was some decades ago. But Formula 1 is still the pinnacle of motorsport, with the best designers, engineers, mechanics, and drivers in the world competing for the same championship. I hope you can appreciate that the spirit of Formula 1 has not changed since you were a fan of the sport.
It took 3 years for that to happen with Schumacher!
I found this link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtusA6v6gHA&search=Prost
. Now THAT was F1!! 
Just 23 points behind FA now with 10 races to go! You still can win the Championship Schumi, so good luck!
