Is a two-tiered F1 system on its face moot?
Discussion
Nigel Roebuck in this month's Motorsport says that he was talking to a fairly executive FOTA member who said that he had charged his engineers with analysis of the new cap rules, and they came back and said the cars built within the cap rules would be 3 SECONDS A LAP FASTER than current cars. This raises all sorts of interesting problems:
1. Safety. Is it possible to safely allow cars of such different performance on the track at the same time? Did the Mosely crowd calculate this problem? If so, were they merely idiots to make the rule change anyway, or did they figure that nobody would be so stupid as to run under the slower regs, thus making the cap essentially mandatory?
2. If the difference is really that great, would it be possible for the old-tech/un-capped cars to even qualify, given that they have to lap within a percentage of the pole time? I think the number is 107 percent, so on a 90-second lap 3 seconds would still have you in the field.
2. Roebuck doesn't say if the engineers were told to just figure out what the mechanical limits of the cap regulations were, or if they also had to figure in the cost limits, i.e., is it possible to build a car at the limits of the specifications-and three seconds a lap faster-with the limited money they are allowed?
If the answers to these questions point where they seem to, Mosely could never have thought the two-tiered system would be applied, so it is all a bargaining ploy used to stir up as much manure as possible and see who comes out cleanest.
3. Has anyone checked to see if a Renault RE40 meets the new cap regs?
1. Safety. Is it possible to safely allow cars of such different performance on the track at the same time? Did the Mosely crowd calculate this problem? If so, were they merely idiots to make the rule change anyway, or did they figure that nobody would be so stupid as to run under the slower regs, thus making the cap essentially mandatory?
2. If the difference is really that great, would it be possible for the old-tech/un-capped cars to even qualify, given that they have to lap within a percentage of the pole time? I think the number is 107 percent, so on a 90-second lap 3 seconds would still have you in the field.
2. Roebuck doesn't say if the engineers were told to just figure out what the mechanical limits of the cap regulations were, or if they also had to figure in the cost limits, i.e., is it possible to build a car at the limits of the specifications-and three seconds a lap faster-with the limited money they are allowed?
If the answers to these questions point where they seem to, Mosely could never have thought the two-tiered system would be applied, so it is all a bargaining ploy used to stir up as much manure as possible and see who comes out cleanest.
3. Has anyone checked to see if a Renault RE40 meets the new cap regs?
Gazboy said:
If Mosley is happy to have a 3 second increase in performance then why all this safety BS about slowing the cars down? F1 only got the slicks back to increase overtaking after a decade of grooved tyres to slow them down, V8's instead of V10's, 2.4's instead of 3.0's or indeed 3.5's and reduced track width, oh and the plank too.
To make his two-tier proposal seem "rational", he had to retain this year's formula as a benchmark. Because what he really wanted was all the teams to take the capped option, he then had to ensure that the capped formula would be so clearly faster than the uncapped one that no one would choose the latter.flemke said:
Gazboy said:
I know. But it totaly contadicts the restrictions imposed to reduce the speed of the cars.
If one were looking for intellectual substance and consistency, one would not start by scrutinising the words and deeds of the FIA President.flemke said:
Gazboy said:
I know. But it totaly contadicts the restrictions imposed to reduce the speed of the cars.
If one were looking for intellectual substance and consistency, one would not start by scrutinising the words and deeds of the FIA President.Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff