F1 cars "too slow" say driversposted in F104 | 02 | 2014
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS after Formula One's commercial rights owners confirmed a 50 million fall in worldwide viewing figures in its 2013 Global Media Report, drivers have today admitted they think the new generation of cars are too slow at the moment.
While acknowledging they remain hugely challenging to drive — at last week's first test at Jerez it was clear the new turbo V6 engines are delivering plenty of horsepower — they are lacking in cornering speed.
As a result, a number of drivers head to the second test in Bahrain later this month already concerned that F1 has lost some of its sparkle.
To illustrate the lack of pace, consider this. The fastest-ever lap time at Jerez was by Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari in 2004. Last week's quickest time of 1min 23.276secs, set by Kevin Magnussen's Mercedes-powered McLaren, was EIGHT seconds slower!
"We have lost downforce, around 20-30% from last year," Sauber's Adrian Sutil said, "and now also the tyres are one step harder. It makes it more difficult all the time.
"It is a shame because F1 is a bit too slow at the moment. From the engine side it is very powerful, so we are not down on the power side, it is nice to drive and nice to have a turbocharger.
Related: Red Bull troubles continue in Jerez
"But from the aerodynamics, I think we have to step up a little bit, because F1 should also be quick in the corners.
"And the tyres are just too hard. I don't understand why they have to be so conservative. I think we can at least have a tyre with decent grip situation."
The German's concerns were mirrored by Williams' new racer, former Ferrari winner Felipe Massa.
"The car is much slower than last year," the Brazilian explained. "When you drive on the limit you're trying to use everything from the car, so when the car is difficult to drive it doesn't feel so slow, it feels difficult.
"But when it's easy and grippy, to drive it feels slow even if you have a much quicker lap time."
Meanwhile, the latest TV viewing figures delivered more bad news for F1 bosses. Last year's global figures were down 50m, from from just more than half a billion in 2012 to 450m in '13. And the recent, according the sport's commercial rights owners, was Sebastian Vettel's (pictured) domination.
"Last season our global audience was 450 million viewers, a decrease compared to 2012, although not an unexpected one," F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, said in his introduction to the report.
"The less-than-competitive nature of the final few rounds, culminating in the championship being decided ahead of the races in the USA and Brazil, events which often bring substantial audiences, had a predictable impact on reach.
"The overall effect was exaggerated further still when you consider that the calendar was one race shorter in 2013."
Interestingly, both the UK, the US and Italy all delivered increases in audiences: the UK enjoyed a 2% increase, with just more than 29m viewers in 2013, while the US enjoyed the biggest increase, up 18% to 11.4m viewers.
Related: Ross Brwan confirms F1 retirement
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Jim McGill