Saw F1 live, rather disappointed

[mep]

What a ridiculous topic.
Apart from the comparison of F1 and GT. This video clearly shows a massive speed difference.
@ jdlive, You must really have a sense for coming up at the right time. This week 2 guys good killed in Motorsports and you whine cause the SPA GP was to boring for you.

[jdlive]

It's not a ridiculous topic at all, I'm sure many people found it to be not as spectacular as they expected speed-wise in real life. I see someone say it looks slower on tv, well I can assure you it looks FASTER on tv. The camera I used there is quite old and films at max 30m width in real life so everything is going to look faster on there, then it did when you physically stood at that fence.

Of course this might not have been the best forum to ask this on but on other forums, chances of people actually having watched races live are slim no?

And mep: because two people died my timing on this is bad? I could have just as well not have known about those two since I don't follow either series.

Regular people die in trafic every day. Get off your high horse.

[richard_leeds]

The problem is that the TV exposure is too high. Long lenses from perfect vantage points mean that real life will always disappoint, but the real life event has the compensation of the excitement of the crowd and having been there.

Its the same for most sports, you are better off at home if you want to see what is happening, but you'll never get the buzz of being there in person.

[gerhard]

I've being in Interlagos at '06 and '08, and it was awesome. I was sit in the middle of the opposite straight. I have never being personally in another circuit, but I don't think there is another place in the whole calendar where you can see +70% of the circuit and all the overtaking spots from one single place. TRULY awesome. The sense of speed from there was terrific, too. Strongly recommended.

[strad]

The problem is that the TV exposure is too high. Long lenses from perfect vantage points mean that real life will always disappoint, but the real life event has the compensation of the excitement of the crowd and having been there.

Its the same for most sports, you are better off at home if you want to see what is happening, but you'll never get the buzz of being there in person.

[mep]

jdlive
Those cars do more than 300km/h and 300km/h look like 300km/h.
You can't expect it to look like 400.
And this topic is ridiculous.
I mean at least tell what you want.
Do you want cars doing 350km/h instead of 310km/h?
You prolly won't even see a difference.
You didn't saw the difference to the Porsches or the Safety car.
Also somebody posted a brilliant video here where you can see the difference between F1 and GT. You have not even commented on it a single time!!
If you are not impressed by F1 its fine.
You don't need to be.
Just as example you could go and watch tour the france next time.
At least their speed should impress you.

[Jeffsvilleusa]

Pretty much everything is different when you see it in person, and there are some aspects that seem diminished, but other aspects which you couldn't appreciate before. For my part, when I went to the grand prix at Indy in 07, what impressed me was that the cars actually appeared a little bit smaller than they do in photos and TV- you can see how these machines are built to accommodate a single person with nothing extraneous. Also I noticed how delicate the cars are when I saw guys carrying around big pieces of bodywork in the pit like they were nothing, so I could better appreciate how F1 cars balance between delicacy and raw power.

As far as speed, at Indy I saw the cars accelerate through the banked oval, and believe me, they looked pretty fast! I also sat at the end of the main straight on race day, and they were zipping by- Turn 1 at Indy was a quick right left, they took it quicker than I would have thought. I also went to Montreal 08, and sat at the turn 1 complex, and they did seem a little slow through there, but I mean, this is reality, not a computer game!

F1 is hard to appreciate in person anyway, because there is all this action taking place at the same time over a stretch of a few miles, and you end up watching it on the big screen as if you were at home anyway, but it's still cool to see someone behind one lap, and ahead the next!

[jdlive]

The problem is that the TV exposure is too high. Long lenses from perfect vantage points mean that real life will always disappoint, but the real life event has the compensation of the excitement of the crowd and having been there.

Its the same for most sports, you are better off at home if you want to see what is happening, but you'll never get the buzz of being there in person.

Idd. I think my disappointment stems mostly from the fact that I was assured before by multiple sources that it would look (significantly) quicker in real life than on tv.

[jdlive]

jdlive
Those cars do more than 300km/h and 300km/h look like 300km/h.
You can't expect it to look like 400.
And this topic is ridiculous.
I mean at least tell what you want.
Do you want cars doing 350km/h instead of 310km/h?
You prolly won't even see a difference.
You didn't saw the difference to the Porsches or the Safety car.
Also somebody posted a brilliant video here where you can see the difference between F1 and GT. You have not even commented on it a single time!!
If you are not impressed by F1 its fine.
You don't need to be.
Just as example you could go and watch tour the france next time.
At least their speed should impress you.

We don't need to fight over this, perhaps I'm just not easily impressed, who knows I wanted to ask if people shared similar experiences, which I don't doubt given richard leeds' long lens camera remark.

Personally I would love to see 400 KPH through Eau Rouge in my lifetime. If they didn't limit advances every year, they would be doing that already. Ticket sales would triple...

[dren]

The acceleration and braking are amazing. The cornering is as well. The noise is on another level

[Just_a_fan]

I've watched F1 live at Silverstone only. But to stand on the outside of Maggotts and watch the direction change is amazing. Much better than the clips posted earlier by the OP (which isn't actually that close to the track as far as I can tell). An F1 car is impressive in corners, not on straights. You need serious direction change to understand them. Radillon is not the right corner for that.

Also, watch them accelerate out of a slow corner. Amazing. And braking in to a slow corner from top speed? Seen from the side it's like watching a jet landing on an aircraft carrier; they slow down like they have been caught by an arrestor wire.

Watch them on their own on a fast bit of track and they don't look that quick because there is no comparison. Watch them and then watch the support race guys immediately afterwards and you can instantly recognise where they are quicker than anything else.

[mep]

We don't need to fight over this, perhaps I'm just not easily impressed, who knows I wanted to ask if people shared similar experiences, which I don't doubt given richard leeds' long lens camera remark.

Yea we don't fight about this.
I am sure there are other people as well which are not impressed by F1.
That's simply how life is.
Also I can't explain somebody why I like it and never want to miss a race. I don't even try it when somebody asks me. I would also not ask you why you love your wife and mention that there are prettier ones.

Then Formula 1 is not about maximum speed. When you just want highest speed you should go to a drag race. Others would argue that this is rather boring because it's just about going in a straight line. I like the close wheel to wheel racing in F1. They could do or have done maybe 20km/h more on camel straight but I think F1's top speed stayed rather constant about all the years. Also it's true that you can hardly see a difference between +-20km/h.

Also lovely is the stuff going on around the circuit. All the fans etc. and the campsite parties at night. Many many people have a great time there.

[Lycoming]

Personally I would love to see 400 KPH through Eau Rouge in my lifetime. If they didn't limit advances every year, they would be doing that already. Ticket sales would triple...

spare a thought for the driver, G loading increases with the square of the speed don't forget. Even F-22 fighter jets are limited by the dude with the stick in his hands, NOT technology.

[dave34m]

I took Jenson Buttons advice and saw F1 cars for the first time at Becketts. man it was unreal, the noise and speed they carry thru those corners is incredible.
After that I went to Spa and was also amazed at the speed thru Eau Rouge/Raidillon not to mention the speed they come down the hill to Pouhon, it was all really impressive especially after watching the other classes on the circuit early on the day.

[jdlive]

We don't need to fight over this, perhaps I'm just not easily impressed, who knows I wanted to ask if people shared similar experiences, which I don't doubt given richard leeds' long lens camera remark.

Yea we don't fight about this.
I am sure there are other people as well which are not impressed by F1.
That's simply how life is.
Also I can't explain somebody why I like it and never want to miss a race. I don't even try it when somebody asks me. I would also not ask you why you love your wife and mention that there are prettier ones.

Then Formula 1 is not about maximum speed. When you just want highest speed you should go to a drag race. Others would argue that this is rather boring because it's just about going in a straight line. I like the close wheel to wheel racing in F1. They could do or have done maybe 20km/h more on camel straight but I think F1's top speed stayed rather constant about all the years. Also it's true that you can hardly see a difference between +-20km/h.

Also lovely is the stuff going on around the circuit. All the fans etc. and the campsite parties at night. Many many people have a great time there.

I agree with all of that. Perhaps "rather disappointed" was expressed wrongly on my part. I'll still be going to races because it's the best there is.