Opinion: Why it's time for F1 to learn from Le Mans
When someone mentions motorsport, what do you think of? For the majority it’s fast cars, unrivalled high-octane entertainment and a friendly, sportsmanlike image, with the former being most important.
It’s no surprise then that the biggest debate in the sport right now is the ‘boring’ state of Formula 1, with many top pundits and former drivers providing their own insight into how it can be made more exciting.
And just by coincidence, sandwiched in between two Grand Prix weekends was Le Mans 2015, which saw current F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg taking a break from his current duties with Force India to win Porsche’s 17th title at the famous La Sarthe circuit.
The 27 year-old German who along with Britain’s Nick Tandy and New Zealand’s Earl Bamber, completed 395 laps around the 8.47 mile circuit, and as a result became the first active F1 driver to win Le Mans since 1991, an incredible achievement that somehow wasn’t the most impressive this weekend.
Qualifying saw the number 18 Porsche break the lap record for qualifying by almost two seconds set by Stéphane Sarrazin in the Peugeot 908 back in 2008, which underlines the development of hybrid technology over the past few years. If that wasn’t enough, the number 9 Audi R18 then set the new official lap record (only race times count towards the record), with a time of 3:17.6, beating the previous time of 3:18.4 set by Porsche way back in 1971.
When compared to F1 where the cars have slowed down marginally year-by-year, Le Mans continues to get faster and great credit is due for that. It’s no wonder that spectator numbers continue to rise for one of motorsport’s greatest races, that offers a full entertainment package of endurance and lightning fast speed.
And 2015 was no exception. Each of the four classes were incredibly competitive for the majority and factors such as the weather, time of day, and the sheer number of cars on the circuit at one time meant you couldn’t take your eyes off it for a second.
A historic battle of German dominance dictated the LMP1 class, with Audi and Porsche going side by side, the latter ending a string of five back-to-back Audi wins.
In LMP2, the KCMG Oreca Nissan won by a margin of 48 seconds over the second placed Jota Sport Gibson Nissan, in a class that saw most of the team’s rivals retire, once again highlighting the achievement of actually finishing the race that only 37 out of the 55 entrants managed to accomplish.
The winner of the GTE Pro class was hotly contested, with the Corvette Racing C7R securing the American team’s first win since 2011. The number 99 Aston Martin and 51 AF Corsa Ferrari came closest to denying the C7R victory, but in the end a crash and technical problems forced both to retire respectfully.
And finally, there was heartbreak in the GTE AM class as the number 98 Aston Martin, which had lead for the majority of the race, crashed out with only 45 minutes left on the clock. That meant the SMP Ferrari took a surprise victory, coming days after Ford announced they would renew their old rivalry with the Italian manufacturer in 2016, as they unveiled their plans of a new GT racecar.
After a fantastic weekend that has once again shown the magic that Le Mans brings not only to motorsport fans but newcomers to the event, the 2016 race is already on the tips of tongues and will no doubt provide new twists and turns to a race that delivers unparalleled entertainment.
Meanwhile F1 continues to suffer in an era of record-breaking TV deals that should be improving viewership, especially in the category of the younger generation. Maybe the glitz and glamour should be swapped with some of the basic fundamentals of racing, as change is clearly necessary in order to maintain and attract fans worldwide like Le Mans continues to do every year.