Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

So What's The Way To Fix F1?

1K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  Teutone 
#1 ·
What Can Change To Fix F1? | Planet F1 | Formula One | Features | Editorial...

What Can Change To Fix F1?

After the Bahrain borefest, change is once again on F1's agenda. So what can be done? PF1 considers the options being put forward...

Do Nothing And Pretend All's Well In The World
As advocated by: Formula One's official website (see picture above).
Comments: And that type of myopia is presumably why, ladies and gentlemen, you've opted to visit this website rather than theirs.

Wait And See
As advocated by: Bernie Ecclestone.
Comments: Bernie's clout tends to end all argument so if he says that F1 should wait and see until after China - which is followed by a three-week break in the calendar - before entering into a decision-making process then that's the (non-)decision likely to be made. It's a surprise, though, that Bernie seems so apathetic; he's F1's money-making promoter, he must realise the damage that is being done to his product and indeed one of the reasons Bahrain felt such a letdown was that there were - the past tense is a matter of personal choice - such high hopes and expectations. Millions of casual viewers will have tuned into the opening race of the season on a promise of greatness and they will now need a convincing push to return. Try telling them to wait and see...

Ratings will plunge for Australia and will continue to fall if a repeat of the Bahrain borefest is served up. Does Bernie really need telling this? Apparently not: according to reports, he left the Bahrain circuit even before the grand prix had finished its procession.

Bring In Short-Cuts
As advocated by: Bernie Ecclestone (who does want to do a little something after all).
Comments: And when he says short cuts, he is speaking literally. "A driver could use it so many times a race so that if he really gets stuck behind somebody he could still get past," said Ecclestone. "I'm pushing, but sometimes people don't understand these things too well, they don't see the advantages."

We can see the advantages. The problem is that it's easier to spot the disadvantages with the words 'laughing stock' to the fore. F1, as the pinnacle of motor racing, has spawned a multi-billion pound industry on the basis of its cutting-edge technology and awesome machinery. If it can only be saved with computer-game gimmicks then we might as well call it quits and buy shares in Sega instead.

Change The Circuits
As advocated by: Sir Frank Williams
Comments: "There's no magic formula," says Sir Frank, "but the one change that might help is a different style of circuits with longer straights and wide run-off areas."

Hmm. The sound you can hear in the background is five years ago calling.

F1 doesn't have time to wait for new circuits to be built. And if it was possible to actually add overtaking opportunities to those circuits that already preclude such pleasant activities - Monaco, Valencia and Budapest, we're pointing at you - then, surely, it would have already been done long ago.

Use Two Similar Types Of Tyres
As advocated by: James Allen.
Comments: Every driver has to use two different compounds in a single grand prix and on Sunday the standard formula was to begin on the super-softs before pitting for the primes after 20 or so laps and then continue a circular procession.

JA's proposal would be for 'Bridgestone to bring tyres which are closer together in performance, rather than two steps apart as at present. This was done last season and it improved things, but now they have gone back to bringing super soft and medium to the first race. Because the soft is so much faster, around 6/10ths and degrades more quickly, it will always be the qualifying tyre, which then leads to an early first pit stop for the medium, which is the better race tyre.

'With tyres that are closer together, the performance difference is less and so are the wear rates and it is more attractive to try a different tactic.'

Somewhat perversely, the key ingredient of the Bahrain 'failure' was the excellence of Bridgestone's rubber. The theory was that the extra weight every car was carrying in the form of their race fuel would cause telling degradation, especially on those cars whose drivers hadn't nursed their tyres. Unfortunately, and it was definitely an unfortunate thing, the drivers seemingly found tyre-management easy despite the heat. Put bluntly, Bridgestone did too good a job - so it's hard not to sympathise with them. In an era of one tyre supplier, Bridgestone are only mentioned whenever there is a perceived problem. The problem in Bahrain was that their diligence prevented any occurring. JA is no doubt correct in what he states, but rather than provide the implication that Bridgestone are to blame, F1 should look for a solution of its own.

No Mandatory Pit-Stops
As advocated by: The PlanetF1 Forum.
Comments: An idea that's worth listening to (in part because the forum doesn't take kindly to being ignored...)

The theory is that it would inspire a shake-up because the teams would have to choose between attempting to run an entire race on the primes tyres or a multi-stop strategy using the softs (there are other permutations, but for argument's sake we'll use the most dramatic discrepancy as illustration).

The flaw, however, in the idea is the risk that one strategy would prove clearly superior and if the primes were found to be a better choice then the running order wouldn't even be altered by the sort of pit stop 'jumps' we saw in Bahrain to change the running order.

A Second Mandatory Pit-Stop
As advocated by: McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh, Red Bull's Christian Horner and Mercedes' Nick Fry.
Comments: The most likely change.

Horner's inclusion on the list of advocates is significant because it was the Red Bull boss who first called for a second pit-stop to be compulsory - the theory being that it would offer the potential of different strategies as well as incentivise drivers to run aggressively on every stint rather than prioritise tyre protection - but was rejected because of the suspicion the Red Bull boss had an ulterior motive. Now that the Red Bull has proved in Bahrain that it is kind - or at least not unkind - on its tyres, that suspicion cannot be levelled against him.

Intriguingly, Ferrari, whose public position has been to sit on Bernie's wait-and-see fence, are reported to have voiced their objections to the proposal in private. Yet if the pattern of Bahrain is repeated, with the Red Bulls quickest in qualifying and Ferrari unable to captalise on their superior race because of the impossibility of overtaking, then the Italians would have the most to gain from a second stop being demanded. Still sitting comfortably on that fence, chaps?

Clean Up F1's Dirty Air
As advocated by: Anyone and everyone.
Comments: The fundamental issue holding F1 back - and its cars, literally - is the 'dirty air' that a faster car must drive through to overtake. In Bahrain, Fernando Alonso clearly possessed a quicker car than Seb Vettel but lost a second in a single lap of turbulence when he caught the Red Bull. On his radio, Vettel was even told by his race engineer not to worry about Alonso's superior pace because he was likely to overheat in the dirty air his Red Bull was churning out.

The outlawing of Double Diffusers will only come into effect next season and it remains to be seen to what extent the ban cleans up the sport. It was, in case we've forgotten, pretty dirty even before Ross Brawn and co had their brainwave.

In the meantime, nobody should be under any illusions about the dirty mess F1 is in. No matter the number of pitstops being made or tyres being used, overtaking will always be at a premium if the cars can't follow another without being penalised.

Pete Gill
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Ecclestone admits F1 'cannot change' 2010 rules (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone says formula one must for now live with its current set of rules.

After the processional Bahrain grand prix, there has been widespread criticism of the current rulebook and calls for immediate changes.

The F1 chief executive has himself proposed that external engineers in future pen the regulations, and is also pushing his bizarre proposal for circuit 'short cuts'.

And he told the Telegraph: "Some might wonder why the teams have options on tires at all.

"Maybe if we only gave them a soft compound they would have to stop twice but I am not sure that they will vote unanimously for the mandatory two-stop race which Red Bull proposed," said the 79-year-old.

Reinstating refuelling is also now impractical due to the designs of the 2010 cars, leading Ecclestone to admit that the rules for now are set in stone.

"We cannot change the rules," the Briton told Germany's Bild Zeitung.

"It would take far too long and it's too difficult. F1 is now a democracy.

"And all the teams voted for these rules, so now they must also deal with them," added Ecclestone.
 
#4 ·
The changes I would implement would look at things from a "best interest of the sport" perspective instead of a "best interest of the team(s)" perspective. I'd like to see a common chassis, engine and gearbox. Common tires. Common aero options. It then comes down to the teams to set up the cars the way they feel is best for their own drivers. They would all have the same range of adjustments and options for both mechanical and aerodynamic grip. I like the idea of having a hard and soft compound option for tires, but I would not make it mandatory to use both. I like the large fuel tanks but I would not outlaw refueling. There would be numerous options for teams to follow independent strategies, but they would all have the same combinations and strategies available to them.

The upside is that you would get to see who has the best drivers and strategists, not who has the best engineers and deepest pockets. You'd get great racing. The downside is that it would run every manufacturer out of the sport, because they don't get the opportunity to distill F1 technology into road cars of the future and they don't get the halo effect of building brand equity by winning prestigious races with their own engineering.
 
#10 ·
Spot on! :thumbsup:

Ok here's my $.02.

Rules that give a freer interpetation of design. Years ago F1 teams had a max displacement for powerplants. Teams could then decide if they wanted to run a V6, V8, V10 or V12. It was their choice for their package.

Bring back the gumball tires as in the 80's and 90s plus allow qualifying tires.

Qualifying, I would not have a problem with the old (1) hour (X) amount of laps to get your fastest qualifying speed in. The days where the drivers would put up a fast time and then have the shootout as the (1) hour time limit closed in. Remember Senna, Prost, Mansell, Berger et al; all shooting it out for pole. Damn exciting!

Change the aero package by allowing the cars to be wider in addition to wings being no wider than the width of the inside of the wheel rim (left to right both front and back).

Refueling is a tactic and should be allowed.

Pitstops are the teams call!

Points spread should be 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1.

As you can clearly see I believe that some of the old F1 ideas made the show a hell of a lot more exciting. As Bernie, Charlie and Max tinkered with the formula to get us where we are today anyone can see they have gone in the wrong direction.

F1 is the top of the line in motor racing and the free flow of ideas of engineers and designers should be allowed to produce the true magic of Formula 1. Anything else is just spec racing.

The powers that be have ruled and regulated F1 into a graveyard of bordom!
 
#9 ·
I'm not going to argue that.
I'm not a fan of street circuits either, but compare the two races this past weekend. If you want to see RACING, that spec series race in Brazil was a resounding success, so maybe.

I like the technology F1 brings and the international flavor, but something has to be done.

There are a number of new tracks, right? Designed by Tilke at a handsome fee I'm sure. He says he's learned to work on smaller tracks in the future.
I recall the broadcast boys as mentioning a tight turn at the end of a straightaway results in passing opportunities, that should help. There seems to be a couple at Bahrain, (didn't help, tho) which is considering a redesign.

I don't have an answer, there isn't a silver bullet, but multimillionaires can't figure it out either.
 
#7 ·
Well, there has been talk about bringing the 107% rules back for qualifying / teams to be eligible to race. The rule would be hard to comply with for new teams.
How long would they travel to a GP, only to be excluded from the race.
IMO most of the blame should fall on the FIA, for first implementing a low budget cap, only to raise it later under pressure from the established teams.

Could locking all team engineers into a large room and not letting them leave until a solution / compromise has been found work?
Cheers
 

Attachments

#8 ·
IMO most of the blame should fall on the FIA, for first implementing a low budget cap, only to raise it later under pressure from the established teams.
I actually think the fans bear a substantial portion of the blame because we willingly continue to buy a crap product. F1 is a business - as long as they're making money they have no reason to change. We need to vote with our wallets.
 
#11 ·
(GMM) Formula one lacks the "will" to make sweeping changes to address the problem of the sport's flagging spectacle, according to two prominent figures of the governing body FIA.

When expectations about the 2010 season were sky high, the Bahrain season opener last weekend was highly criticized after a mainly processional race.

But Peter Wright, a veteran engineer and long-time FIA technical consultant, predicted that the problem is not yet severe enough to motivate substantial reform.

"It's like climate change, it's got to be bad before it can get better," he is quoted as saying in an AP report.

"It's got to get bad enough for people to actually have the real will to do things that they wouldn't normally do," added Wright, whose experience dates back to roles with BRM and Lotus.

Another technical consultant Tony Purnell, who left the FIA earlier this year, is more critical of a formula that is not designed to stage good racing.

"The root cause is that the cars are not good racing cars, the formula is badly designed," said the former Jaguar boss, who was central to Max Mosley's failed attempt to cap budgets.

"The will to please the public really isn't there," he added.

"The sad thing is that there are solutions but no one is really brave enough or forceful enough or probably convinced enough that they will do anything about it.

"When they look at the politics of change they all just groan and say 'well, I don't want to fight that battle'," said Purnell.

Carlos Gracia, the Spanish motor racing federation chief and FIA vice president for sport, insists F1 should wait three more races before assessing the success or failure of the 2010 rules.

"It's clear that Fernando's overtaking of Massa (in Bahrain) was spectacular and he was planning an attack (on Vettel) in the closing laps," he told the Diario AS newspaper.

"Pedro also gave us a show with Kobayashi. You can not assess regulations with a single race."
 
#13 ·
I don't disagree with a lot of what has already been said. For some quick fixes:
- allow teams to refuel or run with a full tank; let them decide their strategy
- Give points for fastest lap and/or most laps led
- starting mid-season standardize on only one tire compound per race weekend

Longer term, with a clean sheet of paper so to speak:
- stop going to and designing boring tracks
- return to traditional circuits either by reducing the cost of having a race or limiting the scope of F1 (eliminate many of the boring overseas events)
- Only allow one car per team but allow a complete backup car
- as said before, go to a displacement limit but allow different engine designs
- use single plane wings; limit end plates to the profile of the wing
- allow testing either on Thursday or during sanctioned testing sessions

Just some thoughts because what we have today is getting stale.
 
#14 ·
All 2010 cars have been designed around a larger tank with a ban on refueling.
Trying to revert back to refueling would likely change too many parameters (weight distribution etc). At this stage, changing back may be impossible.
Another consideration is the financial resources of the new teams, stretched as they are, and insufficient for a re design.
Cheers
 
#15 ·
Here is what I would do to fix the problem:
1. Add 100Km to every race so that refueling is going to be a necesity ( that way you don't need to do any modification to the car, everyone should start with a full tank but the last stint would be soft tires and balls in )
2. Give every team 4 more sets of tires for the weekend ( that way teams can do the full testing on friday and saturday and the 3rd stint in qualifying will be the real deal, it's stupid to kill the times with tire management )
I miss the times of the turbo era, when they had over 1000 Hp in qualifying trim! We need to go back to turbo engines.
 
#17 ·
Webber blames new front tyres for lack of overtaking

2010 Season

Webber blames new front tyres for lack of overtaking
ESPNF1 Staff
March 19, 2010


Mark Webber believes the narrower front tyres introduced this season to improve the car's balance were key to the lack of overtaking at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Tyres were pinpointed as a main reason for the lack of excitement last weekend, as they did not degrade as quickly as the teams had expected. However, Webber has revealed that the narrower front tyres, regardless of degradation, have made it more difficult to pass.

"Well, I think the tyres are a pretty big part of it," he told BBC Sport. "They are set for the season but they're different to last year and not as easy to follow at all. There's less grip now following people."

One of the suggestions to improve the show this year is to introduce a mandatory second pit stop. Webber believes it might make the race more exciting for TV audiences but doubts it will do anything for overtaking.

"It wouldn't hurt it," he said. "There is a lot of effort that goes into one pit stop, it's all over in under four seconds and it's pretty predictable now around when that stop will happen. If there are two stops that could involve a bit more tension and the potential for errors within the team as a whole will increase. Two stops will help but that may not be the solution for more overtaking on the track."

Nevertheless, Webber is confident there will be more entertaining races than Bahrain as the season wears on.

"There definitely will be some more exciting races than we saw in Bahrain - which won't be hard," he added. "There was a huge build-up but the race didn't deliver on that. We've just come off the back of three really good seasons of racing, with Lewis Hamilton going down to the last race in 2008 to win the championship, Jenson Button's title fight last year in a season where we saw some really good overtaking."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Feeds Feeds: ESPNF1 Staff
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top