The F1 Dominance Problem

Dive into the problem of dominance in Formula 1, from the relatively open championships of the 50s to the 70s, through the tactical brilliance of McLaren in the late 1980s, Williams' technological advancements in the 1990s, to Ferrari's strategic mastery in the early 2000s. I'll also cover Red Bull's aerodynamic innovations in the 2010s, Mercedes' hybrid era supremacy, and the current resurgence of Red Bull.

This video provides a detailed comparison of each era, highlighting their unique contributions and strategies. It concludes with my personal view on which era I believe was least favorable for the sport.

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[DonLee]

People forget what they wish for. "more reliability" = more predictability. spending cap = underdogs have a chance to win, but when one team gets it really right, other teams can't catch up because... they aren't allowed to spend that much money.

[Housestationlive]

i think crashes shouldn't be included in budget cap cause it happen more often when you're in the middle of the pack than being alone in front.

[raomega]

People here talking about the miami gp are missing the point. 1 race is not going to change the fact that dominance has gotten worse in f1. I think that reliability is the biggest factor in domination today. Can you imagine senna and mclaren or williams with today's reliability. But you can't just ignore that, it's part of the dominance factor.

[TheAdyyoung]

There was a degree of dominance in the early days.... Fangio!

[Jegge_]

For the Schumi era it has to be noted 2003 was close. Schmi only won by two points and both Williams and Mclaren were very competetive.

[DavidIzzy]

People overlook that it took Max 6 seasons in F1 to become WDC

[papakimchitv]

Schumacher's dominance overshadowed the fact that both McLaren and Williams are faster. They just both suffered from reliability issues. And during the Ferrari dominance in the early 2000s, you can still see other cars take pole. Lewis' and Max's era basically locked their teams in the front row.

[MentalParadox]

I'm somewhere between "you're a Brit and you only suddenly developed a problem with dominance now that it's no longer Lewis doing the dominating", and "you've got a point". 2007-2008 were the best seasons, imo. 3-5 drivers had a chance at the title right up to the last race.

[versiable]

This aged beautifully, Lando Wins. McLaren genuinely have the fastest car with the upgrades on Lando Norris' car.

[DoctorTauri]

What’s crazy is that it almost seems that the more regulations and strictness the more a certain team dominates. Look at the 70s and 80s it was FORMULA 1. We had cars with fans, cars with six wheels. It was perfect.

[cosmic-elegy]

INDYCAR is nowhere near perfect. It's a very flawed spec series, but damn it... it has some of the best racing every weekend. The drivers can make a big difference in the performance of the car. It's an extremely fun series to watch.

[noelburland]

The current Red Bull and previous Mercedes dominance do come down to both teams nailing the technical regulations enforced at the time and having the best driver on the grid driving their cars. Obviously the key difference between the two is that for the first three years of Mercedes' dominance, there was a strong inter-team rivalry won 2-1 by Lewis Hamilton over Nico Rosberg, stopped only by Rosberg's decision to retire after winning the 2016 driver's title. I expect Red Bull and Max Verstappen to dominate until the end of next year, despite losing Adrian Newey at the end of this season. I think they will still be near the front of the grid from 2026 but with the next regulation change beginning that year there's another opportunity for a team to nail the new rules. Since 2010 the race wins have been largely dominated by Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, with a handful of other teams winning races, which shows which teams have had the largest budgets in the sport. Even with the budget cap being introduced these three teams still remain the most likely to find the winning formula to dominate.

[brianrasmussen]

This has never been different as. far as I recall. Williams - Ferrari - Red Bull and then, 7 Years of Mercedes Dominance broken by RB Dominance. Let's see what the future brings.

[eaglestrikeman]

i think most people forget that there is simply nothing really comparable to f1.
I mean, every team builds their own chassis, theres 4 different engine suppliers and at least 5 different in 2026 and there are no BoP rules. Sure theres less time for wind tunnel testing and CFD simulations when you finish higher up in the constructors championship but thats still vastly different to "normal" BoP regulations.

Show me a motorsport series where the racing is closer than in f1, while everyone has to build their own car (no complete spec chassis and no spec engine) and where there is no BoP in the Regulations.

[VykronianF]

You got the solution to dominance, open up the rule book. I can’t speak on the 50-80s. But I know come the 1998 rules the designs got more similar. Ferrari and Bridgestone were a formidable combo, but let’s not forget 2003 and 2000 weren’t easy. But the 2014 regs allowed Merc to run away, same with the 2022 regs. Because the rules are so strict there’s only one sure way of success. Copy the Redbull. If the regs were more free there’d be opportunity to try something different. And the lack of testing as we see doesn’t hinder dominance. It makes it worse.

[judithwardley]

Mercedes dominated 2014-2020, so I don’t see why red bull dominating for 2 years is worse

[EverSoPossiblyPat]

The Redbull “dominance” was nothing, NOTHING compared to Mercedes. The majority of F1 fans are British and they just simply don’t like the sport being dominated by a non-Brit.

[korski]

they need to make the cars smaller, bring back v10’s, and not let teams work on cars so early before the season starts

[Martok]

It's the ragulation changes. The team that has the best first shot in the new rules gets to dominate. When others have caught up which now is almost impossible because of the cost gap, it's already time for new rules (like after 2021).

These really long years of dominance started in 2014 with the hybrid era. Almost no car has been as dominant as the 2014-2020 Mercedes and the 2022- Redbull.

[Smudgie]

I've followed F1 for 50 years now and I can barely watch any more. I struggled through the Schumacher and Hamilton eras but the Verstappen dominance is a step above. At least when Schumacher and Hamilton were dominating there was a chance of someone else winning, even if it came down to engine failure.
Worse still, I find the likes of Crofty trying to sell a dying horse unbearable. I know what good competive racing is and I know when someone is trying to polish a turd. At least there are always old Goodwood videos to re-watch.