ruggedhawk20 said:You’re just being dense because you don't get it—simple as that. You stared at the screen, saw the guy in third crossing first, and decided to come here and cry about it. Listen, thousands of people watching the race twenty years ago knew exactly why the leader was technically third—it was crystal clear—but since a few thousand people today are just as clueless as you, Bernie decided to play hero and simplify things for the masses, even if it meant screwing over the leader.
That’s exactly my point—F1 races used to be these niche little events that only a tiny handful of people actually cared about. For every fan watching, there were like a hundred others who didn't give a damn.
Look, I don't follow football—I have no clue who Arsenal is, how they ended up named after some coach, or what a corner even is... whatever. All I know is it’s basically 22 guys chasing one ball while only two wear gloves, and everyone else just wears cleats. Also, a 0-0 tie is mind-numbingly boring. So, if someone actually fixed the game for me—like, making the goals the full width of the field, killing off the offside rule, and getting rid of goalies entirely just to stop those zero-score snoozefests—what would a "real" fan think? Would they actually have a point if they told me to go jump in Lake Tahoe?
I’ve been obsessed with F1 since back when it was actually just a rulebook for building cars—not this circus we have now. Back before Google existed, before all the cheating, and before the constant drama—it actually made sense. If you started on pole, you won. Simple. You were the fastest in qualifying, so obviously, you were the fastest on race day—and if you're the fastest, nobody's passing you. It was common sense, period.
Then the Disney crowd showed up and decided the race was "boring." Those are the people who ruined my sport—I didn't change theirs, because honestly, I never even bothered to change their sport—since their version was boring to begin with, just like mine was to them from day one. Truth is, I never even noticed their sport existed, and I still don't.
It’s all just a mindset thing—honestly. If I don't like something, I just stop watching; if they don't like it, they go ahead and change it. Some people call that progress, others call it aggression—it’s a total gray area. Look, I’m not claiming I’m right, I’m just saying you and I aren't cut from the same cloth. You like one thing, I like another. You’ll probably call me a bully, and I might just call you some stuck-up, old-fashioned dinosaur whose time has passed. Maybe. Who knows?
Maybe my era is over—and yeah, it is. Was it better? Who knows. If F1 looked like this back then, I probably wouldn't have even noticed—actually, I’m pretty sure I wouldn't have given it a second thought.
I’m watching F1 today mostly because it reminds me of a sport I actually used to give a damn about—back when it was fun. One of my favorite things about following Formula 1 was being seen as a total weirdo for staring at cars driving in circles—and honestly? I loved that little bit of eccentricity. But nowadays, if you watch F1, you aren't some oddball anymore—you're just one of the masses—and that's where all the soul goes to die.
Then you get one of those days—totally polar opposite to how things used to be—where it actually hits you just how much the world has shifted. You’ve got two drivers, basically neck-and-neck in terms of talent and trophies, yet they trigger completely different vibes today. One guy practically breaks the internet, while the other is mostly just a niche topic for the die-hards.
and honestly, in the context of F1, they're basically the same guy
I’m not sure how old you are, but the reality is that F1 became a truly global phenomenon back in the 80s. Even if you've followed the sport since day one, you're essentially comparing a niche hobby enjoyed by a small group to the massive spectacle it is today. It's all pretty relative when you ask what "real" F1 actually looks like. Think about soccer—it started on some muddy fields in England, played by people far away from cameras, TV crews, or journalists. Basketball, tennis, volleyball—it's the same story for almost any sport. If you look at racing itself, even in its early days (around 1910, though it goes back further), it had a following and was quite popular compared to the early years of soccer. During the golden era of the 1930s, Grand Prix races could draw upwards of 300,000 spectators, which isn't exactly a "niche" crowd for that time. So, is the idea that this is just a "sport for weirdos" really accurate? As far as I know, many of the rules—which have shifted constantly since the beginning—involved bans, removals, and new regulations. At its core, F1 is just a set of organized rules designed to let engineers build the best possible car and hand it over to the best driver to see if they can take the win. That is the essence of F1: constant changes (even if I don't always love them) and new challenges for the most brilliant engineers and elite drivers on the planet. The car has always mattered; drivers alone never won championships. They could close a gap or make a difference, but they couldn't win without a competitive machine. There have always been plenty of talented drivers. The goal is for the competitors to adapt and thrive under new conditions. Sure, things like KERS or DRS might feel artificial, but back in the 80s, they had boost buttons and nobody complained. Rules change; sometimes only certain races counted toward the standings, sometimes fastest laps earned points, and at other times, there wasn't even a constructors' title. We've seen bans on all-wheel drive, six-wheelers, and ground effect—it's similar to recent technical changes or various types of assistance. That's the beauty of F1: the variety of rules, drivers, teams, winners, and champions. It's about constantly stepping into the unknown and, of course, racing. I don't think that old rule regarding letting cars through is really tied to modern complications, because the fact remains that F1 is much more complex today than it was in the 60s or 80s. When you look here, you realize that teams have always tried to level the playing field (going back to the 50s!) to make the competition more unpredictable and exciting, which leads to higher viewership and more overtaking. It just looks a lot less "natural" these days...