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INDYCAR SOARS, F1 SINKS.
Monday, June 24, 2019 at 12:20PM By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. When the preeminent driver in F1, Lewis Hamilton, acknowledges that the latest F1 race - Sunday's French Grand Prix - was a complete snooze-fest and unwatchable (see The Line -WG), it's long past time for F1's overlords to make some drastic changes. I have railed against the rampant sterility and rote cadence of F1 for going on a decade now, and it's hard to imagine that it could get much worse, but it definitely has.
F1's long pursuit of money over the quality of the racing has caught up with The Circus and now the sport is in free fall. The French Grand Prix wasn't a race, it was a technological demonstration with all the warmth of an autonomous vehicle conference. F1 is now so far afield from its "glory days" that F1 overlords are in danger of turning entire generations, old and new, against the sport.
F1's obsession with technology has cost it dearly; the sport is now completely lacking of emotional resonance. Racing enthusiasts don't get juiced about F1 anymore. I can't tell you the number of anti-F1 letters we get here every week, and these are from previously hard-core F1 enthusiasts who are turning their backs on the sport for good. F1's downward spiral is accelerating, and I don't think the powers that be have even a remote clue what to do about it.
Fortunately, we have IndyCar. Say what you will about the spec car negatives associated with IndyCar, but Sunday's race at Road America was what racing should be all about. Yes, Alexander Rossi put on a dominant performance for the win, but the cut-and-thrust racing going on behind him was mesmerizing, and exactly what racing enthusiasts want to see. Every position was fought for, every pass was ballsy, and the entire race was an homage to what great racing can be.
I am glad we have IndyCar, because the driving talent is exceptional and the racing is the best in open wheel right now.
And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.
(Photo by Dave Friedman)
Riverside International Raceway, October 13, 1963. Bob Bondurant (No. 99 Shelby American Cobra) on his way to the win in a special 1-Hour race for GT cars. Shelby Cobras dominated, as Allen Grant (No. 96 Coventry Motors Shelby Cobra) was second, Lew Spencer (No. 98 Shelby American Cobra) third, and Dan Gurney (No. 97 Shelby American Cobra) fourth.