So, stealing from Douglas Adams there.
The last 2 seasons have been odd. Watched a race here and there. A couple live, and most on replay. Partly due to the brave new pay broadcasting world, and partly due to time, which becomes less and less available the older I get. Which seems counter-intuitive, but there you go.
Yet even still, I get to work in the early morning and each day the first thing I do is search the F1 news sites. So now with the season concluded, there is nothing really to do when I get in. Will have to start looking for daily Donald Trump jokes, or something.
And so to next year. Lots of questions there: will the new cars actually be interesting? will anyone challenge the Mercs? will McLaren & Williams still be also-rans? who will drive for Merc next to Hamilton? will Hamilton manage to be even more of a tosser? how will the battle go between Max & Daniel (potentially, the most interesting thing about the championship at the mo)?
Fundamentally, things have changed a lot very recently. Bernie, Frank, & Ron are effectively out. There are more executives than racers now actually in control. What does that mean in the end, I wonder? Europe keeps trying to turn its back on F1, but Asia is a fickle critter, so the future doesn't really appear to be there. In some ways, I would like to see the money turn away as well. Make the buggers produce a spectacle of racing, instead of some pseudo game of American Football on wheels.
So now it time to wait. Wait until the new season starts. Here in the sunny bottom of the world, we look forward to our major holiday break of the year. Next Friday, we will be jetting to Japan and Hong Kong & Thailand for 3 weeks before it all starts again in the work world. Actually, now that I think of it, next July we have a Baltic Cruise booked. Starts in Stockholm, and does a lap via St Petersburg, before eventually spitting out and skimming round to Amsterdam. Thinking of spending 2 or 3 days there before flying back RJ, Simon? in the vicinity??
To all a very merry Christmas. That's right, I said it! I have recently discovered that most Moslems & Jews, not to mention Hindu-Taoist-Budhists, are not in fact offended if you utter these words. Shock Horror! Let the new year bring contentment, and if possible, some car racing that is worth watching and doesn't cost money to actually watch it.
Comments
More like F1 turning its back on Europe. No race in Germany, kicking Imola off the calendar but replacing that with Baku and Sochi? (Admittedly the Baku race actually made me want to visit the place but I still feel deeply nostalgic about Imola)
Lack of engine sounds, plain jane drivers, silly rules, flappy flaps and 19 out of 21 races won by the same team. I could live with the latter but the rest has all become a bit silly. Saw maybe 2 races this year. Yes, this is partly about nostalgia and longing for the days that I actually cared, but I genuinely don't feel F1 has improved between 1994 when I started and now.
Enjoy Nihon! And Merry Christmas!
Yes, I have had a similar 2016, feeling that I am drifting away. It is the fakery which is the push factor - flappy wings, silly tyres, driving slowly, lack of gravel traps, etc. But sometimes you get glimpses of the old magic.
And, yes, Lewis is hard to like but I find that quite likeable - he is not in the paddock to make friends and makes no pretence. Not sure he enjoys it as much as he used to.
July, you say? You know we're floating away from the continent, don't you?