Ecclestone, Di Montezemelo and Todt hold meeting to improve F1

The new regulations robbed our hearing of pleasure and placed penises on the front of the cars what did they expect to happen?

 

As much as I've loved attending the race over the last 28 years, our group is collectively skipping Montreal this year. Enough is enough...

 

LOL. Now all of a sudden they care what the fans want. O...K...

Did anyone really want to see the switch from V10s to V8s? The swap to grooved slicks? The move to narrow-width cars? The absurd last race point system this year? etc.

 

You want to see a good show? May 29 - June 1 at Englishtown.
Schedule, Tickets, & Results

I know, I know... It's only for neanderthals and the uncultured. Just try it though. Top Fuel makes the current F1 look like kid karts.

 

Actually going to the Six Hours at The Glen, and I wish the WEC was closer than Austin...

 

Wait, I thought it was only a very small minority of people that did not like the changes (at least that is what I read from a few posters on this site). The real question is how much is viewership down and will it remain down or will fans just accept it and continue to watch? If viewership declines significantly and consistently, then F1 will have to do something to regain viewership. Sometimes the fans just don't come back, look at CART/IndyCar. I am not planning on attending any races this year after going to at least one almost every year since 1992 as I am not impressed with the new regulations whch are causing economy runs, the terrible sound (and lack thereof) and the cars that are ferociously ugly. I am watching the races on televison having not missed a race since 1988 and following F1 religiously since 1974 hoping it will get better. I am not ready to give up, but I will not be spending my hard earned dollars traveling to see Formula 1 in its current state.

 

duh.

/thread

 

hmmmmm.
entire other threads in this section dominated by guys who say that if you dont like the current formula you are an ignoramous and can go pound sand.

then the actual viewer results come in and ...... they are down....and then it becomes a business again. piss off the fans enough they will go away. piss them off for long enough and they dont come back.
this meeting is probably an indicator of grave concern among the bigger stake holders in this game.

so you other guys still think us doubters are ignorant??

the restrictors will be removed, and the cars will get louder, and they will allow for body changes to make them better looking - all of this will happen within the next 2 races, or the european season will suffer. mark my words.

 

for me F1 started to slide when they stopped refueling and then the games with the tires. It became parade laps after the first lap. Its all about saving the tires now and very little strategy.

This year with the Briggs&Stratton engines they are running the sound is gone and this fuel crap is killing it. Its supposed to be the pinnacle of racing, not the pinnacle of green technology.

Go back to tires that last half a race or more, ok still require a change of tires but make the softs last longer so there is some strategy as to when to change them. I understand fuel stops were dangerous but they sure added a lot to the game, since cars would start full or low and no one knew.

This last race point system needs to be killed off NOW ! I understand it was put in to potentially kill Red Bull but instead it might help them, make the teams and the drivers earn their wins, don't hand it to them with inflated points in the last race.

I also wont be going to races this year, I have family in Cannes so I always planned a visit around the Monaco GP but not this year.

 

I'd love to know what "a significant drop" means percentage wise.

The quoted 78 and 83 number is merely unhappy fans. That's not the same as folks not going to races or not turning on the TVs anymore.

I have been unhappy about F1 in many years but it hasn't stopped me from going to a race.

That said it is good that the big guys are working on some of the issues.

 

It's like Steve Machett said during the last race, I'm paraphrasing here, but basically all these stupid rules being brought about, is in the belief people will see it as a greener sport.
News bulletin, most fans of F1 don't care about that, and, even with all the current changes to the cars, they only get about 5MPG. So stop caving to the minority and get on with real racing. Hell, the new Formula E series sound better, and they're electric. Go figure. And even with their "greeness", (is that even a word?), all the flying around will negate any minimal gas savings.

 

+1

I understand we need to 'STFU'.

ok...

 

Significant enough for these big cheeses to have a meeting so soon.

Some diehards may be fascinated by all the invisible new tech but all the casual fan sees (and doesn't hear) is a less entertaining race car. And so they tune out. This isn't exactly a surprise.

 

No they won't apparently!


"Noise levels won't increase

Noise levels won't increase | Planet F1 | Formula One | News, Standings, Results, Features, Video

Renault have quashed any hope that Formula One could raise the noise level of the new engines as it would require a shift in the regulations.
The 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 made their debut in Australia but fell flat with many Formula One fans.
Equating the noise to vacuum cleaners and hair dryers, reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel summed up the general opinion when he said the sound was "s**t."
There had been talk about the possibility of increasing the noise levels, something F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone suggested.
However, according to Renault's head of track operations Remi Taffin that is not possible.
He explained to Autosport: "There's two big items that drive this.
"Firstly revs: we went from 18,000 to something like 12,000 this year.
"It's important to say it's based on the regulations, because they set 15,000 as a maximum, but the fuel flow limitation means the maximum we're running, whether it's a Ferrari, a Mercedes, or a Renault, is 12,000 and at the end of the straight it could be 10 or 11,000.
"This makes a very big difference, because last year it was 18,000. Now where you've got grandstands it's something like 10.
"The other item is the turbo. You put one thing through the path of the exhaust gases, which is like if you would put a pillow on someone's face. It acts as a muffler.
"If you combine these two, we've got the result we've got."
And while increasing the revs alone would improve the sound, Taffin revealed that is not possible given the sport's fuel flow limit of 100kg/h.
"If you want to have a different noise you have to go up on revs, but there would be no point going up on revs if you look at the fuel flow, because you would have to get the fuel flow up. But then you bring get your efficiency down.
"There's nothing you can do with exhaust profiling because again you've got both exhaust pipes running into the same tailpipe after it has run through the turbo, so it is what it is."

 

Still doesn't answer the question of what that means in percentages. F1 is the most watched sport on the planet, so it can probably afford some drops in viewership.

Significant enough to hold a meeting, yes. Talk is cheap.

Significant enough to change the rules? Apparently not (yet).

We'll see.

 

I realize why other people say "if you don't like the new rules, go pound sand." I love Ferrari and F1 as much as anyone here. But the truth is it's just not that engaging with these new rules. I usually go to 2 races per year, one of them in the Ferrari hospitality section. Not this year, just not the same. I'm not even that keen to DVR the races anymore, I'll check into Fchat to see who won. I was 3 miles from Hockenheim in 2010 and the sound was amazing, everyone in the car had the windows down, beyond excited to get into the circuit. That's the way it should be, but hey, it's their business.

 

Changing the rules so soon would probably kill F1 for good.

Just think what it must have cost for the 3 "powerplant" manufacturers in term of research and development.

Every team on the grid had to redesign a complete car from top to bottom, also at huge cost.

A change of formula so quickly after this one would certainly cripple the sport and demotivate many who have invested in it.

 

Not sure it would kill it. We had similar scenarios where after the first few races the FIA had to make a difficult call (e.g. super diffuser allowed or not?).

Based on the article you quote I could envision dropping the fuel flow limitation (many would love to see that erroneous sensor gone anyway) and allow for the RPMs to rise. That would improve the sound.

But if they want to preserve face, they probably hold out until next year with changes.

 

I remember visiting the 1992 Grand Prix at Spa. While parking the car, the warmup session was about the begin. And allthough we had quite a walk to the circuit, exactly at 09:30 PM the sound of F1 cars screaming down to Eau Rouge filled the air. Amazing stuff.

A collegue of mine, not a racefan in particular, visited the Friday session at Sepang last weekend and as it turns out, sound is no longer a factor of entertainment in F1. Only the supporting series (Asian GP2 I suppose) required ear protection.

 

I don't even think they can drop the fuel flow limitation at this point.
That would bring higher fuel consumption and higher revs.

Higher fuel consumption would bring the need for larger tanks or refuelling. Larger tanks means a complete redesign of the chassis, new packaging, etc... all at added cost.
Bringing back refuelling would open another can of worms, with safety issues, added personnel in the pits, etc...

Higher revs would mean shorter engine life and possibly a need to redesign them.

I am afraid we have to live with what we got ...

Personally, I welcome lower noise level, but I may be in the minority.

 

For crying out loud, a little late aren't they?

 

To get into the Ferrari F1 club and paddock club, the price ranges from $6,500USD (Silverstone/Hockeinheim) to $10,850USD (Monaco). Every time I've attended with Paddock Club tickets, it seems like it's at approximately 60-75% of capacity as measured against how many people could be in there. I would imagine they will be watching these numbers closely for further declines.

 

I'm sure they will.

However I have the feeling that Paddock Club clients might not be that much into sound levels etc. No disrespect, I had those tickets once myself, but the majority of those guests don't know the difference between an IRL and a F1. At least not in the US.

 

BS. F1 wouldn't even be in the top 10 for most watched sport. This is why NBC pushes its broadcasts around. Even Tour de France and the BS olympic games get more precedent.

When have you ever met random people in public talking about F1? How about other sports? In america is even worse, most dont even know what F1 is. Some don't even know its racing. F1 may be the most expensive sport but no where near the most watched.