How to make F1 interesting?

[alfapersius]

So just how can F1 become more interesting with more action on track than in the pits? Anybody got any bright ideas?

How about going back to basics, give the teams the same kind of technical rules they ran the cars to back in the 50's? Lots of overtaking back then!

Andy

Why not got the other way?

No rules on engine sizes, weight or
anything else for that matter.

[alfapersius]

not that would be interesting, just how fast do you think they could go? If they are already have enough downforce to (in theory) drive upside down on the ceiling then with no restrictions I shudder to think how fast they'd end up!

[swanny]

- Manual gearboxes with gear sticks and clutches.
- A lot less down force and skinnier tyres
- Proper qualifying sessions again, non of this elimination 5hit. 12 laps to set the fastest lap you can, full stop.
- Change the layout of the circuits to make more overtaking possible

I know somebody will bleet on about progress etc. etc. but at the end of the day its a spectator sport, I'm a spectator and I think its become boring now. I dont watch many and until something positive happens I'll keep watching MotoGP and A1 instead.

[swanny]

Originally Posted by andrew.deackes

not that would be interesting, just how fast do you think they could go? If they are already have enough downforce to (in theory) drive upside down on the ceiling then with no restrictions I shudder to think how fast they'd end up!

Make 'em drive/race on the ceiling...........
I'd watch that.

I'm very sorry because everything in F1 is special.
For example: Engine gas is special for F1. If you put this gas into the regular car, your engine will burn-out.
More rationality could get interesting things.

[Stori]

1) Remove telemetry so that the 'pits' do no know what is happening in the car during a race.
2) Bring back slicks to imrove corner grip
3) 'Specify' the amount of turbulance so that cars can travel in slip stream.
4) Remove Carbon fibre brakes as they are too effective.
Would be a good start

[pierre_samanni]

1. Same budget cap for everyone.
2. Introduce a soccer-like multi-league promotion/demotion mechanism.
3. Technical obligation to allow for some amount of slipstream.
4. Maintain current safety rules regarding cockpit and head/neck protections.
5. Other than that, I'm with Nev. No other technical rule whatsoever. The best package overall should win based on wits, execution and the same amount of money spent.

[pierre_samanni]

6. F1 teams should agree to hold patents to their exclusive technical solutions for one season at the maximum.

[swanny]

When Andrew asked how to 'make F1 more interesting' I thought he meant the make the racing interesting, not to have more complicated technical rules/regs to keep the techno geeks happy.
Surely having drivers RACING each other is the main interest not the rule books, budgets, technology, Bernie and the bull5hit politics.
Am I in the minority?

[VeloceMitch]

Probably Swanny yes.... F1 has and always should be the ultimate technical challenge in motor sport, apart from war and space exploration it might be the ultimate technical challange period!.

It just happens that it provides exciting racing now and again.

That said I agree with earlier comments that they would probably be better off without carbon brakes and I would like to see a return to mechanical grip, ie slicks not aero packages. Both these would be technical challanges but also would improve the racing too.

Racing may or may not have been closer in the fifties, but that had nothing to do with the rules and everything to do with the advance of technology.

[pierre_samanni]

I respectfully disagree, Swanny, budgets and technical specs enforced by the FIA do matter for the racing show.

All the FIA is doing in enforcing more and more sophisticated technical rules is separate rich teams from the rest that don't have the resources to analyse/test absolutely every detail of their designs.

Having the same budget cap for every team would therefore essentially level the field, thus allow for more racing.

Raising technical restrictions in this context would also allow for more innovation across the board, potentially allowing underdogs to get the advantage. More racing as well.

[HowardA]

I think Champ Cars have a fantastic package - spoilt by a combination of poor marketing and a perception of 2nd-tier drivers.

Apart from Sebas & Justin, this may be true.

1. Push to pass
2. crap but consistent brakes
3. no traction control - all mechanical grip
4. no tyre warmers

I would add regulations to limit downforce & allowing slipstreaming to become more relevant

[VeloceMitch]

FIA are attempting to control the costs by various methods, not always succesfully. But in truth the best teams will always win, thats why they are the best. They will wax and wain a bit and new ones will come along, but thats racing and IMO thats how it should be.

What F1 does not need is dumbing down.

[PeterWolf]

Originally Posted by andrew.deackes

not that would be interesting, just how fast do you think they could go? If they are already have enough downforce to (in theory) drive upside down on the ceiling then with no restrictions I shudder to think how fast they'd end up!

Montoya got up to 369 kph i think. And Honda, of course with a modified car broke the 400kph barrier in Bonneville.

And i agree with VeloceMitch and some other posts .Do not dumb down F1. It is contrary to everything concerning Formula 1. I really enjoyed the last season as I've said on numerous occasions and i fail to understand how people continue to cry about how boring F1 is when 06 was a great season with fantastic racing and great drama.So i think you should take your own advice and stick to watching Champ and A1 and stop working so hard to make F1 more exciting.

[Per]

Take away all the driver aids, all the computer contorl etc and let the driver do the driving. These cars are probably not far off from being able to race by remote control, and at that point, cornering forces will only be limited by the levels of downforce and tyre grip available, and not be what the driver can cope with!!

Other than that, as said earlier, make qualifying a case of fastest drivers lap places him on pole position.

Also now that Schuey is not racing, there may be a little more variety in the sport, with other drivers abilities being able to shine through???

Per

[Vespasian]

Easy,

1 change the aerodynamics of the car to allow the car behind to close up in the "dirty air zone "

2 slick tyres

3 a boost system that can be used say 10 times per race

[Ralf S.]

The only way you'll get a better spectacle on track is if you introduce MORE variables, not less. The FIA have contributed to the stale show by insisting that all cars are essentially identical (v8s .. even with the bore centres defined, aero regulations, electronics regulations etc.)

Now they've introduced a standard tyre (whereas I'd say the tyre war made 2006 the vintage it was) and next year they'll all have a standard ECU.

Allowing a free(r) rein in design WILL favour the rich teams but it will also allow a small but ingenious team to also have a good season when they discover some way of doing something different to the big teams but which gives an advantage at enough tracks.

I say there needs to be different design options available. For example a team should be allowed to run a 10 or 12 cylinder engine if they want. That's obviously thirstier and heavier than a 8-pot but it could make more BHP (if the FIA got rid of their imposed for 2006 rev limiter) so that will give it the edge at Monza, Indianapolis.. it'd be less good at Monaco, Hungary..

Teams should have the option to run a "light" car (say 550kg cf. 600kg) up to a certain number of times (3 or 4 races a season with some restrictions ... like no "light" car at Monaco). The trade-off should be that the light car can only be refuelled once per race, rather than 2 or 3 times. That'll make it nippy at certain points of the race but less nippy at others.

Some tracks would suit these different approaches, others won't .. the teams will also get it wrong from time to time, if the weather is variable or if they get stuck behind a "normal" or a "light" car at the wrong time.

So that introduces variation in speed between cars at different tracks or at different parts of a race.. So how to get past the slower car but not TOO easily (it shoudl still be possible to win in a slow car).

Tyres should be slick but brakes should be steel and smaller diameter than present. Electronics .. yadda, yadda... for the techies and the scrutineers!.. but the clutch and gearchange should be manual.

There should be 3 tyre manufacturers.

Pit stops must still be allowed.

They should put me in charge of the FIA!


Ralf S.

[PeterWolf]

Originally Posted by Ralf S.

(whereas I'd say the tyre war made 2006 the vintage it was)

Pit stops must still be allowed.

I agree only with those points.

But i would love to see how they will be able to successfully regulate different types of cars(light,heavy,medium??), three different types of engines(v8-10-12 unrestricted). who has the right to only one pit stop or three and when. They would need three different set of regulations and rules....... and the gear changes are manual.

[Ralf S.]

If the FIA didn't keep changing the rules every year, they would have plenty of time to write new regs to cover the "variation" cars.

Instead of saying the cars "must have 8 cylinder engines of 2.4 litrs, in a V of angle NN degrees, with bore centres at ... " they could say the cars "must have engines of 2.4 litres" and have done with it.

A "light" car is the same as a normal one but with less ballast. doesn't need any different technical rules. It would be easy to add "if a car is running unballasted, it can only stop to refuel once during the race". All other regulations are unchanged, so no worries with tyres etc. Anyone will be able to see if a fuel nozzle goes on.

And "Teams must nominate which events they wish to use a light (unballasted) car (if any) at the time they submit their entries for the next year's championship... up to a maximum of XX events". Better still if the "light" races chosen by each team are confidential (just known to the FIA) until the race meeting itself. The punters should know what they're watching.

It's pretty simple.

Ralf S.

[PeterWolf]

Originally Posted by Ralf S.

If the FIA didn't keep changing the rules every year, they would have plenty of time to write new regs to cover the "variation" cars.
Ralf S.

I absolutely agree with that. And that is why i am against drastic changes that will further complicate things in the tumultuous world of F1.

Originally Posted by Ralf S.

It's pretty simple.

It is for you but not for the average F1 fan who will struggle to understand what the hell is going on and why one car is so much faster then another when only a week ago in the previous race the same car was miles in front of everyone else. Well....it's the ballast you see.....

[BigFoot]

I think F1 won't ever be the same again, just like many other sports but super team now dominate them.

[gavin dack]

Yer F1 is boring now. The only good bit is that start.

I prefer to watch the btcc or arca

[BigFoot]

Originally Posted by gavin dack

The only good bit is that start.

Wonder if we should have a F1 "shootout" with just drag starts and who gets out of the first corner at the head of the pack, wins the race ...

[HowardA]

Originally Posted by BigFoot

Wonder if we should have a F1 "shootout" with just drag starts and who gets out of the first corner at the head of the pack, wins the race ...

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