[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by Silver Supra

Usain was faster than the guys he was racing over the years, but he is not now. He was beaten, without cheating. (May have been age and/or injury, but beaten). Runners used to run without starting blocks at one time, but times have changed (and times continue to go down)!!
IMO, race drivers are better than they were twenty years ago.
The point we seem to disagree on is whether manual shifting is a "skill that should be challenged". I say no, because it is unnecessary now with many of the new transmissions. It is a skill that should be learned, so one can drive anything out there! I also think it helped me early on because the earlier autos were definitely not for racing!! But, with a good auto, the driver can spend more time focusing on and challenging other skills. That was my point in bringing up other improvements (like PS, PB, HUD, syncros, etc), that are not "cheating", but fact. No need to challenge those manual braking and steering skills! Winning within the rules is what matters; challenging skills gets participation trophies.

None of this is to say people should switch from or not drive manuals. Drive what you like. Just don't conflate what you like and what is best for someone else.

Anyway, I don't disagree with most of your points.

You watch the video I posted? Top Gear host interviews Formula racer who drove Arton Senna's F1 car. Interesting.