Yeah, I think you're right about most of this - I watched most of the races this season. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in most races in the middle of the pack too, like "will force india do well, or will they crash into each other" or just watching fernando alonso drive the wheels off of his mclaren, despite it lacking top-end speed.

That said, I also noticed that a lot of cars had to hold back quite a bit: the current aerodynamics of the cars means the choppy air seems to run about 1.5 seconds off of the back of the lead car, so if you're staying in clearer air, you're out of DRS. Meaning: people even trying to get into overtaking of the lead car are drastically lowering the lifetime of their tires if nothing else. Combine that with the wider car and there's not a lot of actual overtaking going on in race-leadership positions. It happens, but not a lot - more often I think there's the under/overcut calculations about when a pit stop happens, and the pass happens virtually with time lost in the pit lane.

This is all exacerbated by mercedes's dominance in the qualifying rounds. In a season where so many races were won from the front row if the leaders get out of the first lap clean without a crash, this is all huge. It adds up to: Hamilton totally dominated the second half of the season, easily winning the championship and Mercedes taking the constructor's championship even earlier. In terms of leadership swaps and contention for first, it's a boring season. Still: can't discount Hamilton here, he is an amazing driver and clearly the best on the circuit.

Overall? I had to start watching the red bulls and force india scrapping over the midfield, because the front of the pack was indeed boring. And I'm not sure that really appeals to average viewers.

You're absolutely right here - DRS is just a little too short to be useful without a massive pace disparity between the two cars (attacking car is on far better tyres, for example). Hamilton has said that the point where turbulence kicks in is about 1.1 - 1.2 seconds and I have reached the same conclusion this year.

Formula 1 should seriously consider mandating reduced aerodynamic complexity. It might not be a great solution, but it's a better alternative to artificial DRS and snooze-fest races.

For what it's worth, the Sauber, Toro Rosso and Haas cars had a great battle last race. That said, turbulence affected them too, almost as badly as it did the front-runners.

> There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in most races in the middle of the pack too, like "will force india do well, or will they crash into each other" or just watching fernando alonso drive the wheels off of his mclaren, despite it lacking top-end speed.

Yes. Interestingly, I think there have been a few races where the television coverage follows that pattern too, basically ignoring the guys out in front until something happens, and spending a lot more time in the middle of the pack. Watching Force India is 100% fun.

> In terms of leadership swaps and contention for first, it's a boring season. Still: can't discount Hamilton here, he is an amazing driver and clearly the best on the circuit.

As far as the driver's championship, I wouldn't discount the competition Vettel and Ferrari put up, and if Vettel hadn't crashed out in Signapore it's at least possible they would have been fighting until the last race. The thing about Hamilton is that he makes it all look easy.

> Abu Dhabi is a boring racetrack

Dunno, I love driving around in various racing sims and it's a lot of fun with a decent amount of passing unlike many circuits (GRID Autosport, F1 201x etc.)

The real-life F1 passing is pretty bad right now; that's not a problem with the circuit itself.

I can't speak to the performance of the sims but what you're describing is a little bit contrary to the reality on the ground. I suspect some of that is down to the difficulty in simulating how heavy traffic interacts with aero on a crowded racetrack, but I just have no idea. I try to avoid going on and on about aero and "the F1 cars these days" since people have been complaining about it for almost two decades now (that I can remember).

Some Hamilton quotes about the problems passing this time at Abu Dhabi: https://wtf1.com/post/lewis-hamilton-doesnt-think-yas-marina...

A very brief teaser for some potential changes to the track: https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/11/26/tilke-considering-sma...

Lewis AFAIK said at the beginning of the year that lower/wider rear wing would make passing way more difficult even with DRS, and that's what happened. If you remember, previous F1 style with narrower/higher rear wing was just fine, though he cars looked less "brutal". So I'd certainly blame current F1 cars as not fitting Yas Marina anymore.

I imagine with some tweaking they'll make it something the F1 guys can have fun with on the current hardware.

I have to admit that most of the time, I enjoy the chaotic tracks the most. Monaco is a classic for a reason, and there is something inspiring about the fact that a track as fundamentally insane as Baku can come about in these modern times.

> Hamilton started on the pit lane and clawed his way up to 4th

isn't that the boring part? it's like playing F1 2017 on PC on easy mode.

It sure was entertaining to see them run on a brand new engine, gearbox and electrics on full race power (they probably have even more for qualifying) instead of the usual economy mode to reduce wear and tear. And the Interlagos track is a phenomenal race track despite the lack of overtaking opportunities.

Some race tracks just don't provide good racing and some are downright boring to watch despite being fun for the drivers. This is even more of a problem with Formula E, which usually runs on street circuits with mostly 90 degree corners.

A lot of F1 fans complain about grid penalties, but watching guys like Vettel, Hamilton, and even Ricciardo - guys with a legitimate shot at a place on the podium - make up time and set fastest laps to move up in position has been a lot of fun this season. For better or worse, the very front of the pack tends to be more quiet. If you're in front and your position is safe, you won't generally set fastest laps, you'll preserve the car.