F1 IS DEAD. PERIOD.

Anyone watch the Russian GP? Anyone enjoy it? No? Well what a surprise.

It was an interesting start, with the top four staying in the same order, and it was boring until around Lap 15 when Hamilton pitted and Vettel managed to do the undercut and pass him. Then there was an interesting battle between the two four time world champions, Hamilton winning that battle, which credit where credits due, was quite exciting... but that was it.

Then, came something that made me decide that this motorsport category was dead. Valtteri Bottas, leading the race with Hamilton and Vettel closely behind subdued to team-orders and that was that. Hamilton won the race, and pretty much his fifth title.

Now I understand team-orders, but then there are team-orders. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, but it has been a heck of a long time.

GERMANY, 2010

We all remember this. Felipe Massa started on the second row behind championship contenders Alonso and Vettel but took the lead by turn one, and was looking like he was going to take his first win of the season. This was until Ferrari implemented team-orders, gifting Alonso the win and a Ferrari 1-2. Later that day Ferrari were fined $100,000. That sounds like a good penalty to me.

AUSTRIA 2002

But this is the one which reminded me of Russia 2018 the most. Barrichello took pole, much like Bottas but Schumacher took the win; the Brazilian yielding to team orders. This was just unnecessary, much like Russia, with Schumacher easily leading the title, with his closest rival was...Barrichello.

This time Ferrari were fined $1,000,000 dollars for failing to listen to Article 170 of Formula One.

But this was just pure awful. At one of the worst circuits on the calendar team-orders were implemented for Hamilton to take yet another meaningless win - no offence to Hamilton fans.

Sure, Hamilton said he didn't want to overtake Bottas when he was ordered too, but he could have not. He is the team leader, he can allow Bottas to take the win, like he did in Hungary 2017, letting Bottas take the podium. Sure, different circumstances, but you get my point.

That isn't the only reason. There just isn't any competition anymore. Look what happened in Sochi.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo started at the back of the grid, yet the two Red Bull drivers finished fifth and sixth, with Verstappen over a minute ahead of Charles Leclerc, who claimed a great seventh place for Sauber (now only three points behind Toro Rosso!).

If you were in Ferrari domination of 2000-2004 then I would understand, but Red Bull are the third quickest team. Just let that sink in for a moment. There is such as huge gap between Red Bull and the other seven teams, and nothing will change it for quite along time, despite this bollox that Renault will be very near to Red Bull next year.

Also, there is no overtaking anymore. In 2017, overtaking was down by 50% (!!) compared to 2016, and you're a fool to think it has gone up in 2018.

The cause of this is the cars. When within two seconds of another car, they just loose all grip and cannot race. The fact that the 2021 regulation changes might be postponed until 2023 just shows how dead this sport is.

I watched DTM and BTCC recently and I couldn't help but notice how much more exciting it is compared to Formula One. They have something called overtaking in corners. Never heard of it.

To be absolutely honest the only reason I'm still watching Formula One is due to three reasons. One: Kimi Raikkonen. Two: It is interesting to see the battles between the lower teams - eg Haas v Renault; Sauber v Toro Rosso. And the third and final reason is I'm doing it for DriveTribe. Cheesy.

I wrote an article a few weeks ago and got into an interesting chat with another DriveTriber, saying he's been enjoying this season of Formula One because of the speed of the cars. Eg. how Raikkonen beat JPM's record in 2003 of the fastest lap in F1 history. But the cars are so easy to drive compared to 2003. Watch a race in 2003 and watch the wheel action and listen to the pitch of the engines and then think about Sochi.

I'd love to know what everyone thinks. Am I alone in thinking F1 is dead, or is it a collective thought? Leave your thoughts below in the comments.