8 Little Things That Irritate Me About The FIA WEC

1. Lack of LM GTE coverage

One thing I have noticed while watching the FIA WEC races for a long period of time is that LMP1 and LMP2 get much more airtime compared to the LM GTE categories. While it’s obvious that LMP1 includes the biggest manufacturers and teams, the battles in the GT classes are often missed.

2. Quiet calendar

It’s such a big series and with a huge following, so it’s disappointing that there are only nine rounds this season. We want more! Yes, we get six (or on one occasion, 24) hours of action but the racing is really exciting and it would be awesome to see more locations and tracks on the calendar.

3. Dull liveries

I really liked what Porsche did at Le Mans in 2015, with the three cars each having different coloured liveries. It would be great to see more creativity in some of the designs, especially in LMP1 where there is so much bodywork to cover. There is too much white and they all look quite similar. At least in LMP2 there are is a diverse range of colours and styles.

As a WEC and F1 fan, it frustrates me that the Le Mans 24 Hours and the European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, will clash. Qualifying for the F1 will start just as the action begins at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France and the famous endurance race will end just as the European GP begins. WHY YOU DO THIS?!

5. Driver ratings

As if endurance racing wasn’t categorised enough, with different classes and multiple drivers per car. Add to that the driver ratings system and it all gets a bit confusing. There are four categories, Platinum and Gold for pro drivers and Silver and Bronze for non-pros.

This all seems okay but biased judgement and odd choices have meant some drivers find themselves demoted in rank, when they really shouldn’t be. While it makes it easier to sort out cars that require a certain number of pro and non-pro drivers, the four categories are a cruel way to rate drivers and quite unfair.

6. Following the action

Particularly at the Le Mans 24 Hours, it can be quite tricky to pick out the positions cars are in during the night. While the number panels are lit up and there is a light system for the top three, I’d much prefer panels on the side of the car showing the position and other vital information like the number of laps completely. It’s just a little thing but it could help spectators. Maybe it’s just my poor eyesight?

7. Easy passes

While I really like the fact that each LMP1 car has its strengths and weaknesses, it was a little tiring to see the Porsche 919 Hybrids powering past the Audis on the straights. It would be really exciting to see cars being more closely matched in all areas and hopefully we will see more of that in 2016.

8. Drivers left out

I think the current qualifying format is pretty neat, with two drivers per car setting their fastest laps and the average being worked out to decide the grid. But it annoys me that not every driver is getting involved in qualifying, which is a hugely exciting time, pushing the cars to the limit. The LMP1 machines have three drivers each and this means some are left out.

While these small things may annoy me about WEC, I’m still a massive fan of the series and the 2015 season was mega. See why it was better than last year’s F1 here.