Are you not entertained?

‘ANYONE SEE THE Grand Prix at the weekend?’ I ask, hopefully. Tumbleweed.

Eventually: ‘Nah, I don’t watch it any more’, ‘Haven’t seen a race for years’ and an exasperated ‘Soooooooo tedious’.

Even the CAR office – a place that hums with automotive discourse, and that loves the smell of hot rubber in the morning – would rather talk Champions League football than F1. Ross Brawn, F1’s poacher-turned-gamekeeper (CAR, April 2018) clearly has two big tasks. Not only must he improve the spectacle, he must also convince those long since tuned out that F1 is again worthy of their time.

But I’d argue it already is. Four races into the 2018 season I’ve yet to fall asleep in front of the TV – really.

Previously dominant like Real Madrid, Mercedes only just won their first race in 2018. In China, Daniel Ricciardo’s drive from sixth place to the lead (and win) inside 10 laps was the kind of different-level spectacle most considered long-gone in F1, up there with Senna at Donington or Fangio at that scary German circuit. Azerbaijan was scintillating: Red Bulls knocking lumps out of each other (literally, in the end); Sebastian Vettel delivering a race weekend masterclass, right up until the lunge, lock-up and flat-spot that kept him from the podium; rookies hauling in points like pros; veterans clonking walls like rank amateurs. And that was just the race – qualifying yielded the YouTube clip Baku 2018 will be remembered for, a full-chat near-miss that freezes your breath in your lungs every time you see it.

In short, the Baku race was everything F1 should be: preposterous, outrageously fast, visceral and underpinned by layers of strategy, technical intrigue, history and politics to be ignored or revelled in, as you wanted.

The next race is Monaco, May 27 – if this season can deliver a thrilling race there then it truly is a vintage year. Don’t miss it.

Enjoy the issue.