That's a good point. However the amount of races has gone from 14 in 1980, to 16 in 1990, to 17 in 2000 and now we're at 24. I feel like it's a little too many. I feel like the spectacle is a little too much. There seems to have been a shift from actual sport to entertainment sometime in the last 10 years. I'm probably exaggerating but something has felt increasingly artificial about F1 ever since Netflix got involved.
I'd chalk that up to Liberty Media. Granted, its never been entirely safe from the premise as Bernie has always had some insane ideas to "Spice up" F1 even before the buyup regardless of how tone deaf they might be (Like purposely covering cars with a tarp immediately after a wreck just to add suspense, even if said driver is in no actual danger).
I followed F1 pretty diligently in the early 2000s...most closely from around 2005-2008. The rule change in 2009 that made the cars, for me, nearly unwatchably ugly coincided with me having a lot less time for anything (high intensity college from 2008-2015) so I stopped watching. I only started getting interested again with the 2022 rules which gave the cars a bit more grace. In that interval the sport had become considerably more gameified and with a lot more emphasis on trackside drama.
Technically there were even more at some points previous to that, 1989 had 20 teams fielding 39 cars (the odd one never actually raced, but still), but the dreaded creature known as pre-qualifying kept the majority of the mobile chicanes out.
Honestley, the fact that Ferrari is currently 2nd in the Constructors Championship, with a Double-DQ in Shanghai, and with a less-than-stellar car is astounding, and likely due in no small part to the work Fred is doing within the team. Both Lewis and LecLerc have been singing his praises this year as well, which likely helps maintain Fred's staying power.Ferrari extend Fred Vasseur's contract with F1 team principal handed new multi-year deal ahead of Hungarian GP
Frederic Vasseur signs new multi-year deal at Ferrari; Hamilton labelled principal the man to take us back to the top; Vasseur on new deal: Im grateful for the trust Ferrari continues to place in me; watch the Hungarian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Fridaywww.skysports.com
Good for Fred. I think he's doing a good job even if this year's car is disappointing. Hopefully they nail the new regs and give Leclerc a car to match his talent.
