The F1 Strategy Group has been meeting to discuss a 2017 revamp of F1, and it has some ideas. Lighter cars? Check (up to 50kg off, they reckon). More revs and more noise? Of course (but retention of the current hybrid V6 turbos, which is sensible news). 1,000hp hasn't been mentioned but presumably that'll be part of the plan too. Wider rear tyres and wider bodywork would be good, and the need for drivers to do their own starts using the clutch, rather than pre-programmed auto-start gadgetry, is a no-brainer.
But there's something else being proposed too: the return of refuelling. Divisive? You bet. I personally don't like refuelling, as I think it's unnecessarily dangerous and too much like theatre (they're F1 cars, not endurance racers - they don't need to refuel!). But others think it would provide a strategic shake-up and also allow cars to run closer to optimum for more of the time: remember back to Michael Schumacher's brilliant refuelling-era 1998 victory at Hungary, a race he won through being able to put in 60 qualifying laps in the race. It wouldn't have been possible if he'd had to lug around a race worth of fuel at the start.
What do you think though? These are working ideas from F1's strategic planners, so input from fans is encouraged. Tell us what you'd like in F1 from 2017, and hopefully the strategists will be listening...
First race, first win - looking good for the R8 LMS
It was the world's best 24 hour sportscar endurance race this weekend. Don't worry, you haven't missed Le Mans - I just happen to much prefer visiting the Nurburgring 24 Hours; less corporate, more earthy, much more charismatic. As always, I rocked up on Friday a full five days after the German fans had assembled their castles deep within the forest and spent almost every hour since drinking Bitburger and eating half-metre-long Frankfurter hot dogs.
In the pits, I soon caught sight of Audi's sharp-edged new R8 LMS car, proudly displayed on the typically enormous Audi hospitality suite (contrasting starkly with the 1970s-spec German trailers used by the VLN regulars). It looks good; sharp-edged, potent, quite beautifully detailed. Every inch the junior R18 e-tron. But, ah, snorted some: this is its race debut - no way it can pull it together for 24 hours at the world's most challenging race track.
For atmosphere there's nowhere better
Wanna bet? Yup, on Sunday afternoon, the #28 R8 LMS Team WRT drivers of Laurens Vanthoor, Christopher Mies, Edward Sandstrom and Nico Mueller stood on the podium with the victor's trophy. OK, it was the closest winning victory (over the #25 MarcVDS BMW Z4 GT3) since 1970 - just 40 seconds - but they still had it in hand. And, had the Team Phoenix R8s not crashed, they'd almost certainly have been well up there too.
The rest of N24 2015 was typically wonderful. Bentley's new green livery for Guy Smith's #85 Continental GT3 looked sublime, Aston Martin was celebrating 10 N24 races since its debut in 2006 with a five-car entry, and the legendary Opel Manta's foxtail discovered Twitter. While the foxtail finished the race in a fine 52nd place, things went less smoothly for the Brits, variously caught out by incidents and oil-related crashes. Both #007 and #85 cars were in the wars and in the pits for ages while repairs were carried out; both got to the end further down the order than they deserved, but still scored a finish to withhold some N24 honours. Dr. Bez scored a fitting SP8 class win too, after the GT12 was forced to retire.
As for the 2016 race, you have to be there. Five hours from Calais, endless entertainment, cheap entry, cheap beer, cheap camping - what's not to like? One for the bucket list.
Let's hope they stay this way up for the race
Helio Castroneves flipped in early IndyCar practice last week, and we all thought it was a one-off. Then it happened again. And again. Three cars flipping in incidents at the world's most famous oval is less than ideal; all three were the new Chevrolet aero kits debuting at Indy.
To recap, the aero kits are added to the standard Dallara DW12, first introduced in 2012. There are two designs, intended to differentiate between Chevrolet and Honda engines. There are two variations of each; one for road courses and smaller speedways, and the other for high-speed super speedways; in Chevy hands, it's the latter that's proving problematic (there've been no problems for the Honda kit).
A temporary solution is in place, which reduces boost and forces the teams to use the race aero kit for qualifying; in yesterday's session, headed by polesitter Scott Dixon, things went smoothly (props also to Brit Justin Wilson, best of the Andretti Autosport racers in sixth). What for this weekend's race, though? We'll just have to watch on and see. Fingers firmly crossed.