Yikes! How nearly a decade took the fun out of Monza (Video Comparison)

Are Formula 1 cars as fun as they use to be?

Over a year ago, I shared an incredible side by side video which demonstrated the immense speed and grip that Formula 1 cars have over other racing machines.

The videos were shot from the same angle, at the foot of Eau Rouge. It was a real compliment to modern F1 beasts as they took the challenge of one of the greatest corners on the planet.

Now let’s take a look at another video comparison. This time its F1 v F1, Ferrari v Ferrari around an entire lap of Monza, one of the greatest circuits in the world – or at least certainly one of the fastest. The difference here is they are from 9 years apart, so not quite a decade but close enough.

Click here to launch the video comparison now.
Or continue reading the rest of the article first.

I am 25 years old so essentially spent my childhood watching F1 in the mid 1990’s, but got a proper grip on the sport during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. This of course is the era of the beloved V10 engine.

My first real experience of a V10 engine at full chat was the 2001 British Grand Prix around Copse corner, not a bad place to start eh? When V8’s came in, I was devastated, but still chuffed I’d at least got a few years of memories from around Silverstone of that awesome sound and feeling. In my opinion, they were so much better, and obviously extremely more powerful than what we have now.

It’s only from digging around on youtube.com and checking out some old onboard videos around Monza it started to dawn on me how toned down the modern F1 car is in comparison to those “glory days.”

Watching how fast a V10 powered F1 car can get round the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza and how much it can attack the kerbs in phenomenal! They also had the benefit of higher aerodynamic packages meaning the cornering speeds are far greater also. But no slick tyres!

The side by side below is slightly unfair in that Schumacher’s 2003 video is his pole lap, where as Alonso’s 2011 lap is during the race, fat with fuel. But back when refueling was allowed, there was nothing to stop the drivers running on light-ish fuel loads and enjoying the types of speed you’ll see below. It blew me away how much more fun and on the absolute ragged edge it looked back then…

Click here to launch the video comparison above.

What do you think? Has F1 engine technology been toned down too much? Do you miss the V10 days? Will the new 2014 regulations make comparisons like this even more dramatic? Let me know in the comments.

Posted by James Wilson. - Follow him on twitter @enterf1.

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