At the opposite end of the debate, Max Verstappen<\/a> said last weekend his experience of racing in the Nuerburgring 24 Hours made him realise F1 has drifted too far away from authentic motor racing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been racing different kinds of cars, especially last week, that remind me how pure motorsport can be and how great the racing can be<\/a>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But these ideas of \u2018pure\u2019 and \u2018artificial\u2019 racing mean different things to different people. When you watch F1 today, does it feel too faked?<\/p>\n For<\/p>\n Artificiality is everywhere in F1. The incomprehensible racing, where drivers swap positions from lap to lap for no obvious reason, is just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n The FIA changes the limits on engine performance between rounds to engineer close racing. They will go further in Monaco, forbidding the use of active aerodynamics and limiting engine power to cut top speeds.<\/p>\n The purity of competition between the engineers has gone, too. Aerodynamic development is handicapped based on championship position<\/a> and the ADUO gives a boost to struggling engine manufacturers<\/a>. This is now a show, not a sport.<\/p>\n Against<\/p>\n The hand-wringing over \u2018artificiality\u2019 misses the point: in an era when F1 is trying to sell itself as \u201cthe biggest sport entertainment in the world\u201d<\/a>, it has to provide closer racing, regardless of how it is produced.<\/p>\n Are those watching concerned about whether they are watching a pure competition or one that is increasingly sculpted by the rules to guarantee frequent changes of position? Some may hate \u2018yo-yo racing\u2019 but others welcome it.<\/p>\n Far from diminishing F1, the competition has become better because it has relaxed its attitude towards the kind of \u2018pure racing\u2019 Verstappen craves. In that respect, there\u2019s no such thing as \u2018too artificial\u2019.<\/p>\n Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free<\/a><\/p>\n I say<\/p>\n One of my favourite early memories of watching F1 was seeing Gerhard Berger<\/a> and Nigel Mansell\u2019s fight for second place in the Mexican Grand Prix in 1990. First Berger nipped past Mansell, but the pair remained close, and at the dauntingly fast Peraltada curve Mansell incredibly went around the outside of his rival to reclaim the race.<\/p>\n Passing and re-passing doesn\u2019t automatically mean artificial racing. But the difference between what F1 was then and what it is now is huge. Back then, Berger and Mansell were fighting on a level playing field: if I saw the same today I would just assume Mansell had benefited from his Overtake Mode.<\/p>\n At that time Berger\u2019s Honda engine was a dominant force in F1, but within two years they were being beaten by Renault. Not because Renault got help from the rules, but because they built a better engine. Today team principals sit in press conferences agreeing about how the rules need to be changed again to give Honda even more help to catch up.<\/p>\n F1\u2019s increasingly contrived rules have tainted every aspect of the competition with artificiality. When one driver passes another, or one team suddenly improves their car, did that happen entirely because of their own effort and talent \u2013 or partly because the rules helped them?<\/p>\n Who knows. And, therefore, who cares?<\/p>\n You say<\/p>\n Has Formula 1 become too artificial? Would the competition be less enjoyable if it was \u2018purer\u2019? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.<\/p>\n Do you agree Formula 1 is “too artificial”?<\/p>\n \t\tNo opinion (0%) Total Voters: 0<\/p>\n Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free<\/a><\/p>\n A RaceFans account is required in order to vote. If you do not have one, register an account here<\/a> or read more about registering here<\/a>. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.<\/p>\n
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