Less is More - or How to make F1 fun
Discussion
Reduce downforce/turbulent air to maker it easier to drive close behind another car and therefore overtake
To make it more environmentally friendly reduce the engine size to under 1litre
To compensate for the reduced power reduce the weight to 150kg's
To make it more visually entertaining reduce the overall grip by having a maximum 2 wheels
Replace the current F1 drivers with supremly talented nutters and hey presto!!!!
Moto GP anyone?
To make it more environmentally friendly reduce the engine size to under 1litre
To compensate for the reduced power reduce the weight to 150kg's
To make it more visually entertaining reduce the overall grip by having a maximum 2 wheels
Replace the current F1 drivers with supremly talented nutters and hey presto!!!!
Moto GP anyone?
taffyracer said:
standard ecu's
For 2012
taffyracer said:
and standard fuel
Not really sure how this would improve racing, but it has been standard since 1991 (date ?)
taffyracer said:
no TC
From next year
taffyracer said:
limit on downforce
How?
taffyracer said:
reduce the no. of test days allowed
Already done
taffyracer said:
this will make it more of a sport and less of a parade, so boring it is now
Hmmm...
SamHH said:
MrKipling43 said:
taffyracer said:
and standard fuel
Not really sure how this would improve racing, but it has been standard since 1991 (date ?)
Are you sure? I thought the teams can use whatever fuel they like from whatever company they like as long as it is within the regulations?
They can, but it's just the same stuff as road fuel. It's just a bit fresher than the stuff you get out of the pumps - but still has to comply with all the same regs as the juice you buy on the forecourt.
They don't have enough freedom for the fuel to make that big a difference.
I would agree with removing Traction Control (which appears to be going soonish) and going back to a sequential shift manual box would be a good move with a manual clutch..
However the crutial one is for the car to rely far more on Mechanical grip and not Aerodynamics. Big Fat tyres and less Aero-Aids.
At the moment the minute the car is in 'Dirty Air' the car has almost no hope of overtaking.
However i'm sure there are big financial implications etc in stopping that kinda technology.. Would make the racing half decent again tho..
I have to admit F1 is the dullest racing on earth at the moment
However the crutial one is for the car to rely far more on Mechanical grip and not Aerodynamics. Big Fat tyres and less Aero-Aids.
At the moment the minute the car is in 'Dirty Air' the car has almost no hope of overtaking.
However i'm sure there are big financial implications etc in stopping that kinda technology.. Would make the racing half decent again tho..
I have to admit F1 is the dullest racing on earth at the moment
Restricted aero is the key - the cars punch such a big hole in the air that nothing behind can get close without losing pace. Seen once again at the last race where Massa couldn't get by the Renaults despite having a 4 second a lap advantage on a clear track.
Small wings, and weak brakes will generate overtaking, the fans have been calling for this for years, but the authorities have persisted with a "safety first" policy with grooved tyres to reduce cornering speeds and big wings and brakes to increase deceleration.
Combine that with a racing culture of "passing in the pits" and you have the tedium that is F1 today.
Madness.
Small wings, and weak brakes will generate overtaking, the fans have been calling for this for years, but the authorities have persisted with a "safety first" policy with grooved tyres to reduce cornering speeds and big wings and brakes to increase deceleration.
Combine that with a racing culture of "passing in the pits" and you have the tedium that is F1 today.
Madness.
"and going back to a sequential shift manual box would be a good move with a manual clutch.. "
But with modern sequential boxes you dont need to use the clutch when you go up or down the box, you just blip it on the way down and lift on the way up (and thats if theres no electronic rev cut that works when you move the shifter).
Even the nascar agricultural vehicles dont require the use of the clutch when shifting, and they have 4 speed fully manual H pattern boxes.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1VFgDisBtc&mode=related&search
Tough dogs
pez
But with modern sequential boxes you dont need to use the clutch when you go up or down the box, you just blip it on the way down and lift on the way up (and thats if theres no electronic rev cut that works when you move the shifter).
Even the nascar agricultural vehicles dont require the use of the clutch when shifting, and they have 4 speed fully manual H pattern boxes.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1VFgDisBtc&mode=related&search
Tough dogs
pez
Edited by alexpez on Monday 19th March 18:31
I think F1 should still remain a high downforce formula to keep corner speeds high and overall laptimes fast, because to keep its rightful place as the pinacle of single seater racing, it also really has to be the fastest.
The aim should be to have the downforce generated from areas that aren't affected by following a car closely, ie the allow full length diffusers / tunnel floors and generate 90% of your downforce from the underbody, and then increase tyre widths and allow slicks again to increase the mechanical/aero grip ratio so the drivers have something to work with even if they are tucked right up behind another car
Also it is entirely possible to develop a wing that would actually slightly help the car following to get close and overtake rather than severely hinder it, but obviously all the time the wings are designed by the teams and not standardised, the team is going to ensure the escaping air from their car / wing makes it as hard as possible to overtake.
The aim should be to have the downforce generated from areas that aren't affected by following a car closely, ie the allow full length diffusers / tunnel floors and generate 90% of your downforce from the underbody, and then increase tyre widths and allow slicks again to increase the mechanical/aero grip ratio so the drivers have something to work with even if they are tucked right up behind another car
Also it is entirely possible to develop a wing that would actually slightly help the car following to get close and overtake rather than severely hinder it, but obviously all the time the wings are designed by the teams and not standardised, the team is going to ensure the escaping air from their car / wing makes it as hard as possible to overtake.
I watched A1 for the first time a while back, not really expecing it to be much more than an expensive banger race. However, how wrong I was, the cars were much more active on track, big tweaked up power slides out of the corners, overtaking, it was great. In terms of entertainment I thought it was pretty good, certainly a much more racier spectacle than F1.
For me, F1 is not just about the racing, but also the technical spectacle. Unfortunately this seems to have been lost with the introduction of an ever changing rule book.
Teams seem to be spending huge amounts of time arguing about rules, rather than just getting on with building the fastest cars possible.
Grooved tyres have been a daft introduction, since it has just increased the importance of Aerodynamic performance, rather than mechanical grip, so no overtaking is possible due the "dirty air" other cars produce. Absolutely nuts.
Where have all the innovators gone? All the cars seem fundamentally the same now, if they all were painted white, could the average punter tell them apart? I doubt it.
The FIA is a mess and really doesn't seem to have a clue what it is trying to achieve. The teams have too much power and the whole game seems to have lost the joy of racing, it's just a money making excercise now and from the outside seems to have lost all it's soul.
I mean having all these vacuous celebrities wondering about on the grid before a race WTF..... Bernie made a comment to Brundle about having to get rid of some of the huge numbers of folks wandering about "How about we get rid of the mechanics" That says a lot to me....
Teams seem to be spending huge amounts of time arguing about rules, rather than just getting on with building the fastest cars possible.
Grooved tyres have been a daft introduction, since it has just increased the importance of Aerodynamic performance, rather than mechanical grip, so no overtaking is possible due the "dirty air" other cars produce. Absolutely nuts.
Where have all the innovators gone? All the cars seem fundamentally the same now, if they all were painted white, could the average punter tell them apart? I doubt it.
The FIA is a mess and really doesn't seem to have a clue what it is trying to achieve. The teams have too much power and the whole game seems to have lost the joy of racing, it's just a money making excercise now and from the outside seems to have lost all it's soul.
I mean having all these vacuous celebrities wondering about on the grid before a race WTF..... Bernie made a comment to Brundle about having to get rid of some of the huge numbers of folks wandering about "How about we get rid of the mechanics" That says a lot to me....
A good point about the "celebs". Why was Bernie so keen for Martin Brundle to meet and interview the Spanish Prime Minister?
Bernie's "Game" is not about furthering F1 as a sport. It's about furthering his personal ambitions and the buzz he gets from wheeling and dealing, playing one group (whether it be circuits, teams, manufacturers, sponsors or TV companies) one against the other.
Bernie's "Game" is not about furthering F1 as a sport. It's about furthering his personal ambitions and the buzz he gets from wheeling and dealing, playing one group (whether it be circuits, teams, manufacturers, sponsors or TV companies) one against the other.
Reverse the downforce rule, and allow as much downforce as they like.
Passing seemed easier when more DF was allowed, by getting into the "hole in the air"
Reducing tyre width and restricting downforce years ago just seemed the opposite of what was needed.
The tyre width reduction lowered the drag co-efficient, and the cars got quicker in a straight line IIRC.
Passing seemed easier when more DF was allowed, by getting into the "hole in the air"
Reducing tyre width and restricting downforce years ago just seemed the opposite of what was needed.
The tyre width reduction lowered the drag co-efficient, and the cars got quicker in a straight line IIRC.
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