Formula 1 racing, why Americans (and growing numbers of others) don't care, the stats

Since 1983, the sophistication and technological advancements in race car body and engine design have made the race cars far closer in similar capabilities to the point that they are identical, and once on the track, rarely can pass each other, to the extant that the facts show they finish the race in the order they began the race.

Ergo, there is no race, no competition, and no point to watching cars go around a track for hours without changing anything but the fule tank level. Boring.

http://thechicaneblog.com/2010/04/04/suspicions-confirmed-current-f1-mathematically-proven-less-interesting/ has the stats graphed out.

some reasons:
Decreases in overtaking due in part to 1 engine per race, rev limited engines, equalized horsepower and decreasing amounts of design freedom, aero-grip dependency, exotic technology in brakes, the stopping distances are too short giving no window of opportunity to really take advantage of mistakes... on that topic, cars are more reliable, and fewer fail on the course than decades ago

- 1993 >> 1994: A lot of changes after Imola to make F1 safer
- 1995 >> 1996: 107% Rule, field size down from 26 to 22
- 2000 >> 2001: Traction Control Introduced
- 2003 to 2005: Engines must last longer
http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=115835

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Stats from Automobile Magazine, Feb 2011, page 16

in the 201o season:
there were 19 races, and teammates finished 1-2 no fewer than 9 times
not counting opening laps, and pit stops, there were only 4 passes for the lead all season. Snore fest. Only one was successful, one resulted in both drivers spinning out, one was an immediate repass. The only "successful" pass was a teammate passing another to accumulate points for the championship. Big whoppee I say with emphatic dullness.
Eight of the 19 races in 2010 were won from the pole, 6 from 2nd on the grid, 3 from 3rd, on from each 4th and 5th
In 2010 there were 5 winners in 19 races, compare that to 1982 when 11 winners in 16 races