How to make F1 better
Discussion
custardtart said:
Given the majority of people seem to think F1 is going to be a bit dull this year what magic wand would you wave to make it better? 
My starter for 10 would be to get rid of any computers either on the car or in the paddock, F1 is about engineering not IT.
I assume you mean the over reliance on computers so that the pit wall know that a grommet is coming loose, in which case I agree. We still need the car electronics ECUs etc.My starter for 10 would be to get rid of any computers either on the car or in the paddock, F1 is about engineering not IT.
I know it is simplistic, but there is too much reliance on aero grip or the wrong type of aero. I am not an aerodynamicist so won't pretend I am, but something needs to be simplified.
I would quite like to see the reins taken off regarding engine configuration, maybe teams are given a money quota for chasis and engine development and they can do what ever they want inside that.
How about a points system that doesn't reward the winner as much, but rewards progressively for how many laps you spend in a certain position during the race (pretty out there, but just throwing round ideas) so being P1 is 1 point per lap, P2 .8 points per lap etc.
i am sure there would be a lot of good ideas to get back to the roots of the sport. It think the BTCC has done it quite well and that will be getting alot of my attention this year.
Aused said:
custardtart said:
Given the majority of people seem to think F1 is going to be a bit dull this year what magic wand would you wave to make it better?
My starter for 10 would be to get rid of any computers either on the car or in the paddock, F1 is about engineering not IT.
I assume you mean the over reliance on computers so that the pit wall know that a grommet is coming loose, in which case I agree. We still need the car electronics ECUs etc.My starter for 10 would be to get rid of any computers either on the car or in the paddock, F1 is about engineering not IT.
Lets get rid of the lot. I may be young (cough) but I'm sure cars used to run without ECU's or computers at some point? F1's dissappeared up it's own proverbial IT backside!Ditch the 'Plank' and reinstate allowing cars to generate aero from ground effect thus restricting wings / diffusers to very simple devices for minimal air disruption behind the car.
Increase physical grip with a wider track / tyres.
Allow small turbo charged engines with variable boost but a boost limit to limit HP to around 1000. (Modern Turbo technology should run greener to keep the Green Lobby Happy) Oh and keep the no-refueling ban.
Not popular with those handing out the 'life mittens' but it's the right action IMO.
Increase physical grip with a wider track / tyres.
Allow small turbo charged engines with variable boost but a boost limit to limit HP to around 1000. (Modern Turbo technology should run greener to keep the Green Lobby Happy) Oh and keep the no-refueling ban.
Not popular with those handing out the 'life mittens' but it's the right action IMO.
Edited by Fire99 on Wednesday 17th March 01:01
Somehow or another make the cars different.
It seems everything in the last few years has been about making the cars more and more the same to put the emphasis on "driver skill."
This is absolute none sense as we saw on Sunday. All the drivers are very highly skilled, so when their machinery is about equal, the only thing to choose between them will be the .0001 of a second a lap that comes from having a slightly better set of tyres, or suspension or aero set up, and whoever was faster in qualify will be faster in the race, every lap, by the same small margin.
Make the cars different, make them behave differently throughout the race and it will get interesting.
It seems everything in the last few years has been about making the cars more and more the same to put the emphasis on "driver skill."
This is absolute none sense as we saw on Sunday. All the drivers are very highly skilled, so when their machinery is about equal, the only thing to choose between them will be the .0001 of a second a lap that comes from having a slightly better set of tyres, or suspension or aero set up, and whoever was faster in qualify will be faster in the race, every lap, by the same small margin.
Make the cars different, make them behave differently throughout the race and it will get interesting.
Fire99 said:
Ditch the 'Plank' and reinstate allowing cars to generate aero from ground effect thus restricting wings / diffusers to very simple devices for minimal air disruption behind the car.
This would be my suggestion too.I believe I read a quote by a driver along these lines too, I just can't remember who right now.
elster said:
Fire99 said:
Ditch the 'Plank' and reinstate allowing cars to generate aero from ground effect thus restricting wings / diffusers to very simple devices for minimal air disruption behind the car.
This would be my suggestion too.I believe I read a quote by a driver along these lines too, I just can't remember who right now.
So I would suggest either minimal or no aero on the cars at ALL. Instead using wider wheelbases and wider stickier tyres. Then there will be no disadvantage to close following. This would make it more like tin top racing - BTCC cars follow and overtake so much as there's no aero reliance. Same with NASCAR where slipstreaming is beneficial.
I honestly think ditching aero completely is all that's needed.
Tear up the rule book, have an absolute free-for-all with hardware and IT. Winning cars are then handicapped with a weight penalty the same as horse racing.
Teams are required to declare their budget at the start of the season and are penalised or receive a bonus according to a sliding scale based on the average spend of all teams. i.e. underspend and receive bonus points, overspend and have points knocked off. Add in the race order points and a low spending team that does well could win out over a high budget team.
Alternatively make all cars run on stock tyres from Quickfit.
Teams are required to declare their budget at the start of the season and are penalised or receive a bonus according to a sliding scale based on the average spend of all teams. i.e. underspend and receive bonus points, overspend and have points knocked off. Add in the race order points and a low spending team that does well could win out over a high budget team.
Alternatively make all cars run on stock tyres from Quickfit.
IT would be a very good start, take last weekend Alonso was driving the nuts off the car to overtake Vetel, would he have done it? nobody knows because the ferrari was getting so hot it was going to explode. So due to a hot temp sensor we lost a battle for number one and a possible Ferrari explosion!
I would love to get back to the old days and have a split formula you can either have 2 litre engines limited to 700bhp (or whatever) or you can have 1.5L Turbo engines limited to 700bhp. And let the engineers battle it out, there would be advantages and disadvantages or both, you could get different looking cars and maybe some overtaking! they tried to do this with KERS but failed due to the weight of KERS.
I would love to get back to the old days and have a split formula you can either have 2 litre engines limited to 700bhp (or whatever) or you can have 1.5L Turbo engines limited to 700bhp. And let the engineers battle it out, there would be advantages and disadvantages or both, you could get different looking cars and maybe some overtaking! they tried to do this with KERS but failed due to the weight of KERS.
Every car should have some sort of Bluetooth device,that talks/roams for other cars, and when the car behind gets in range, it gets move revs for say 6 seconds.
Thus the driver catching still needs to be quick enough to catch the driver ahead without the extra revs, the defending driver, if good, can defend until the 6 seconds if over. There will be then be a 30 second reset.
Its not KERS,as everyone will simply use extra revs from the motor, OR when KERS comes back next year then implement it properly.
It will eliminate the aero difficiency, as soon as the driver gets close enough, the turbulant air kicks in, but the extra revs will power through the dirty air.
Job done?
Thus the driver catching still needs to be quick enough to catch the driver ahead without the extra revs, the defending driver, if good, can defend until the 6 seconds if over. There will be then be a 30 second reset.
Its not KERS,as everyone will simply use extra revs from the motor, OR when KERS comes back next year then implement it properly.
It will eliminate the aero difficiency, as soon as the driver gets close enough, the turbulant air kicks in, but the extra revs will power through the dirty air.
Job done?
Edited by Ralf Rockefeller on Wednesday 17th March 09:42
I've looked back at what made the best cars and I've decided one something like this, Rene Arnoux's 1979 Renault:
http://i43.tinypic.com/25rgyfr.jpg
If you look, it's got simple (and massive) wings, tyres you could fit half of New York's taxis in, dustbin sized turbos and ground effect up the arse! Even leagues like IndyCar use ground effect now so why not the pinnacle of motorsport?
http://i43.tinypic.com/25rgyfr.jpg
If you look, it's got simple (and massive) wings, tyres you could fit half of New York's taxis in, dustbin sized turbos and ground effect up the arse! Even leagues like IndyCar use ground effect now so why not the pinnacle of motorsport?
Manual boxes and hard tyres....
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2010/03/getting-rid-...
The man talks some sense...
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2010/03/getting-rid-...
The man talks some sense...
Some wild ideas (not all to be introduced)
- Restrict teams to using a standard no of computers and remove ontrack>base telemetry. Still give them the ability to use the systems, but to a more limited effect as they will have to make strategic choices about what data they analyse
- Restrict the number of channels of data from car to pit of data
- Halve the front and rear downforce; further reduce tyre width
- Reduce brake capability - revert to ceramic or standard steel - lengthen the stopping distance
- Re-introduce turbos and 1.5l engines, and bring back KERS
- In car, reduce the number of things that can be changed - eg, diff lock; simplify the steering wheels and allow 6 standard functions from a choice of 10?
- Random grids
- Double header races - 2 sprints of say, 40 laps, no refuelling and no pit stops. Grid order is reversed for 2nd race.
No engineering telemetry (think of the cost savings not having 10 blokes looking at screen in the garage).
All cars must be able to start themselves independently (more restarts after spins, less electronics for anti-stall)
All cars must complete racing distance with a maximum fuel load (say 150kg). No other engine or aero restrictions apart from restriction on moving aero parts. Engines will get really interesting and more relevant to road cars.
All drivers must have helmet cams.
Testing is allocated according to your position in the championship. Current leaders have no testing, down to maybe 5 days allowed a month for the HRT end of the grid.
Moar Nekkid women.
You can't get a paddock pass if you
a) Are wearing, or have ever worn white jeans or yellow trousers, or a sports jacket and jeans.
b) Your girlfriend is out of your league in physical attraction stakes.
You get a free paddock pass if you:
a) Have been a PH member and 10 years and own an old Porche.
b) You are a nekkid woman.
All cars must be able to start themselves independently (more restarts after spins, less electronics for anti-stall)
All cars must complete racing distance with a maximum fuel load (say 150kg). No other engine or aero restrictions apart from restriction on moving aero parts. Engines will get really interesting and more relevant to road cars.
All drivers must have helmet cams.
Testing is allocated according to your position in the championship. Current leaders have no testing, down to maybe 5 days allowed a month for the HRT end of the grid.
Moar Nekkid women.
You can't get a paddock pass if you
a) Are wearing, or have ever worn white jeans or yellow trousers, or a sports jacket and jeans.
b) Your girlfriend is out of your league in physical attraction stakes.
You get a free paddock pass if you:
a) Have been a PH member and 10 years and own an old Porche.
b) You are a nekkid woman.
mrmr96 said:
I've no desire to watch any more drivers die out there so I don't think bringing it back is a good idea.
Car safety, one aspect that I whole heartedly agree with, has come on dramatically since the beginning of the 'plank'. Crash cells, higher side protection. Neck Protection etc.However, and it's a well banged drum, Motorsport is dangerous. F1 is the pinnacle. If you take the possibility of danger out of the mix then it's not pushing it.
Also remember, even with much reduced car safety etc, prior to the deaths at Imola, It has been what 12 years since the last fatality? Now with the advances of car safety / track / medical facilities, that should be much much longer now.
- Open the engine formula back up, i.e. anything goes as long as it runs on pump unleaded (sourced by the FIA from the forecourt of a team’s nominated supplier) and conforms to a capacity equivalency formula
- Engine to be based on production motor / block, max of 2 engines per car per race (motor going kablam always adds something to a race!)
- No diffusers
- Single wing elements front and rear
- Cars back to 1980's size
- Pre race grid open to teams (inc physio) and fans from the crowd, no "celebrities"
- Post race celebrations allowed i.e. donuts and stopping for a flag / pick up a stranded driver
DeadMeat_UK said:
You get a free paddock pass if you:
a) Have been a PH member and 10 years and own an old Porche.
b) You are a nekkid woman.
I agree with all your points apart form the above. It leaves too much to interpretation by the teams. By your criteria, the whole paddock could be filled with naked ugly women. Or with some teams, an ugly man with some fake boobs and a skirt as that falls "within the spirit of the regulations"... a) Have been a PH member and 10 years and own an old Porche.
b) You are a nekkid woman.
We would need an in depth FIA study into acceptable dimensions, ages and ideal dynamics and draft up some guidelines.
Any volunteers?
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