When it comes to watching an enjoyable Formula 1 Grand Prix I often find myself questioning
whether I’m watching for the entertainment value of the skilled drivers or a rather embellished automotive show. Of course these doubts are quickly disregarded; Formula 1 taken at face value is enjoyable to watch regardless of how much you know about behind the scenes. It’s like watching a fantastic game of football to later learn that half of the players involved with the game were using performance enhancing drugs. It would naturally dis-hearten you to learn that the game was only good because of the drugs but it remains a subjectively enjoyable game. Formula 1 cars are becoming more and more complicated and able to utilise a larger variety of performance boosters. When you learn all about them they seem rather dull and gimmicky but to any light-viewer of the sport they might seem like an impressively cool feature. I guess where this is going is trying to determine the standard of a quality viewing experience compared with stuffing the sport so full of tricks and abilities that it can keep the viewer attached to their set to learn the outcome of the race. When did we lose the patience to encourage all involved to use these techniques or are they using them to attract larger crowds of viewers? I’ll leave that with you guys to answer.