Just wanted to weigh in on a few issues here:
I reckon that F1's dead rubbish nowadays. This is what F1 should be like...
Pic removed because it was designed by Colin Chapman... 
See, I think that's better looking than a lot of modern F1 cars.
The difference was; there were no restraints on car design then, the only rules on design were that FIA-spec Formula One cars had to 1) be single-seaters 2) have no enclosed bodywork over the wheels 3) have a rollover hoop that pretended to save a driver's head in a rollover.
That's it, save the technical (3.0-liter NA/1.5-liter supercharged, no aviation-gas) and sporting (no shared drives, shortcuts, etc. ) regulations. More importantly, there were virtually no aerodynamic influences on the cars until late in the 1967 season, they weren't seen in full force until the Monaco GP the next year. The wings, and later on, ground effect, changed the sport a lot.
Lastly in 1967, sponsorship was limited to small areas of the cars: Fuel, oil, tire manufacturers, and the marque itself were the only words on a car. Color schemes were chosen by the national origin of the car, entrant, or driver, and not based on marketing departments, focus groups, or the corporate colors of the team's sponsors. Do you think Ferrari and and Maserati squabbled over who's shade of Italian Racing Red was better? Did Cooper and BRM argue about which shade of British Racing Green was more attractive to the TV audience? Of course not.
But sponsorship added a completely different wave of fans to the sport, eventually bringing the "circus" into the sport, the TV cameras and production crews, motorcoaches, stages, and PR displays that help defray the costs of the sport as we know it today. Formula One racing didn't exactly sell-out, it needed to pay the bills; nothing's changed in that regard; every team and driver wanted to be faster than the next. While innovation and imagination may be free, staying merely competitive in any form of motorsport costs money; to be in the top tier costs even more.
Back then (1967 was my favorite season) there was none of this traction control rubbish and there was tons of skill involved. Back in the day, these gorgeous beasts would be sliding around all over the place...and there would be noise and fumes, sights and smells.
Traction control exists merely because computers exist to "keep costs down" (theoretically), and since not all computers could be diagnosed to whether they control the car or not, the powers that be basically looked the other way, but at least it was one of the few items in F1 racing that would provide safety in road-going automobiles. But the cars still slide, a little. The tires weren't as wide then, as they are now. That changed a few years in F1, too, as slick tires came to the sport in 1970. The sounds are different, just as the sounds on the radio are different now, the sights are different just as fashion, culture, and designs have changed, and the fumes are probably just as toxic (just ask Mika Salo).
Heck, they even filled them up with fuel through a metal funnel from a tank. The modern F1 cars are just... kind of boring to watch. They drive like they're on rails and there are rarely crashes and spins. It just isn't as exciting as in '67.
These are some of the good things about the sport that have changed; a spin might mean hitting a wall, now the competitor can give chase to make a good race, and push his hardest to make a good race or dice. Without a good race, the fan doesn't watch. Without a fan, there's no professional racing circuit, top-level motorsport; Fernando Alonso has to race in Formula Palmer Audi (not that there's anything wrong with that), karts, or club race in a Ford Fiesta.
A driver needn't fear for his life by worrying about hitting a tree at 150mph; more importantly, neither should he worry about the mechanical soundness of his car while negotiating ess-bends in the rain. He shouldn't have to worry about running into a ditch or hitting a fan that's walked out onto the side of the track while competing in a speed contest. A pit lane shouldn't as dangerous as an unmarked minefield with a lack of safe fuel rigs and no fuel cell bladders and fire-retardant suits. These were real dangers in all sorts of motorsport throughout the world, not just Formula One racing. Drivers, led by Jackie Stewart, stood up against the organizers, and for better (see above) or for worse (loss of Nurburgring/9-mile Spa) it showed how to make racing a bit more civilized.
The drawbacks are that driving ethics have weakened; the addition of sand traps and guardrails meant that some drivers had no problem safely disposing of their competitors into these objects, without much guilt. Car-to-car crashes increased, but it could be said that more competitors and the closeness of competition, as well as increased pressure and prizes could be even more motivation.
With no internet and next to no F1 coverage on TV, I bet you’d love it.
Bah! You're paying for your TV and internet services; likewise, you'd just get involved in F1 the old fashioned way! Reading race reports from car magazines, borrowing or buying books on the subject, and
then when you discover the secret of the universe was hidden from you on some obscure basic-cable channel (ESPN)...now fruit is even more sweet and nourishing!
Granted there are things attractive about various time periods of Formula 1, but this is the way it is, and if you don't like it, change the channel. Simple.
[Click], there's the IFC...Just kidding.
Exactly, that's the point. It's not all perfect; just as every race is not a wheel-to-wheel, fight-to-the-flag event now, the results and lap charts of the past tell a similar story. But like all things nostalgic, and as history presses on inexorably, it's just another chapter in the same story.
Sorry to go off the rant; now that I'm getting nostalgic myself, the Renault needs to at least keep the yellow color.
Why did they have to get a madcap five year old to paint the thing? 
