Since the F1 season is over and we have less things to discuss, I hereby make by proposals on how to make F1 more exciting. 1. Remove all restrictions for reducing speed, basically the FIA will eliminate all rules which restrict a vehicle's speed, however if track owners want to creat chicanes to slow down race car speeds it is up to them, but the FIA must not encourage it, with the sole caveat being that engines must have the same dispalcement and number of cylinders, and must be made of the same materials, also it must be uniform whether teams will be allowed to have non naturally aspirated engines or noe, for example, in the 2007 season, all teams must use 3 liter V-10 engines, made of x materials, and must be naturally aspirated, and must have no temporary boost feature. 2. Bring back the slick tires in order to improve grip. 3. Improve overtaking chances by banning teams from performing aerodynamic modifications in thier cars that make it difficult for a car travelling behind it to overtake it, however, I will not make race tracks wider since based on the pictures of Grand Prixs from earliers decades, race tracks were generally as narrow then as they were now. 4. Go back to the old format of 12 laps per car in the qualifying sesion, with the cutoff time being 107 per cent of the poles lap time. 5. Go back to the old system of points 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1, although this will make it harder for those who lag in the points to catch up, it will also make teams hungrier for race wins, since they can not just hope to catch up in the later part of the season since if they do not perform well from the start, they will be left in the dust, so every race, and every win matters. 6. Make driver aids legal again since it is so hard to police them anyway 7. Make the lenght of races the minimum number of laps above 800 kilometers(500 miles), which will make Grand Prix races as long as IRL as NASCAR ones, since I think Grand Prix races are too short right now, the 305 kilometer limit is fine when cars travelled slower, but is clearly too short now when races are usually over at around 100 minutes.
Usually, I do not like any restrictions on teams. I want them all to innovate and do whatever it takes to win a race. This is a team sport not a spec car race where the best driver should win. Although banning front a rear wings may achieve much of the FIA goals to slow down the cars and increase passing. At least for a little while until the CFD guys figure out another solution.
I used to agree with this philosophy until I ran a computer game where I drove a 1979 F1 car around the Nordschleife - completely stupid, no fun at all. If you dont restrict the speed of the cars then the circuits have to change which means slow corners, short straights and MASSIVE expense (changing real estate). Its far cheaper to limit performance, somehow. This has always happened. In the late 1930's they went from 6L Supercharged to 3L then 1.5L in an effort to control things. But I think engine format should be free. The more "samey" the cars are the more likely it is that one car will win all season. The circuits should all vary, some slow, others fast, high and low altitude, different temps etc. Then some cars would have V12's (power), others V10's (compromise) and V8's for nimbleness/torque. Promoting the chance of a different car being strong at a different circuit. Bring back the old Hockenheim I say instead of the Tilke cr*p we have now. 100% agreed, more mechanical grip and less aero is a no brainer. Makes the cars safer, increases overtaking, allows the driver to control the car without aids, reduces topend speed (if aero acts as an air brake) looks "sensible" etc In general tracks are now wider (Sepang and Shanghai)..minimum width is 10m but average is 15m and more. I think it should just be there is the track, you have 1 hour and thats it. If they all wait until the best moment then they will hit loads of traffic, their choice. And bring in the "only count your best 12 scores"...means drivers can take risks without being too heavily penalised. Totally disagree. Ban electronics - and get rid of all the electronic engineers and programmers, total waste of resources and add's NOTHING to the "race". I am a programmer at heart but I think the level of boredom of any racing series is directly proportional to the amount of electronics used in it. Maybe give them a simple engine ECU where they can specify air/fuel curves/ignition etc but no mod's to the software itself. Agreed. I believe the rule is "2 hours or 200 miles whichever is shorter" make it "2 hours or 200 miles whichever is the longer" - that should sort it. And also ban circuits from having more than 3 corners per mile.
5.The points system needs to change to allow more points for the winning driver, but by taking out 7 and 8 as point scoring oppurtunites there would have been a 3 way tie for last this year. 6. If my car has more aids than an F1 car than something is wrong. 7. Too short definetely, would make it much more interesting to see strategies if the races were over 100 laps. Gives a better oppurtunity for drivers lower on the grid (like Schumi in Brazil) to have a chance at the podium. The cars should be made faster, which would then better show who are the better constructors and drivers. F1 cars should be the fastest cars using the most technology, not being limited to make racing "better".
Totally agree, and Thou shall fit the car inside this 3 dimensional box. Everything else free! ... and no friggin sponsorship Pete
Usually I agree with Andreas, but this is too contrived for F1, which is the pinnacle. IMHO, I believe that many points that were stated above are excellent. This is what an Armchair F1 Driver in me would do: 1) Ban Huge Wings and Underbody Diffusers 2) Return to Slick Tyres ( More Mechanical Grip vs. Aero) 3) Normally aspirated 4.0 V8-V12 Engines, people get a thrill from watching cars slide under power. Ever see Ronnie Peterson or G. Villeneuve? 4) Points 10-6-4-3-2-1 5) All electronic aids with the exception of F1 Transmissions banned via FIA Electronic Boxes 6) FAT Pit Stops ok (Fuel and Tyres) 7) Qualifying with all cars on track like they used to be 8) No team orders period 9) No more pit to car telematry but ok on Radio transmission between driver and pits. 10) No BS from the FIA on driver chances in the race, IE if someone knocks someone out on passing or qualifying it is what it is.
Ban the semi automatic trans. I always hated it, an F1 car shouldn't be easy to drive. Instead of 10 points to the winner it should be 9, like in the old days. Slicks and less aero would round off the package just right. Less FIA meddling and no team orders would also be great. Inverted grids by a random lottery system on race day right before the start so no one knows which races would be inverted would work for me too.......Oh, to dream.
Reinvent the stockblock Formula 5000 series/rules. Make it affordable so others can buy decent customer engines. Find a way to make the 3.0 and 3.5 Cosworths competitive, give 'em about a 400 lb weight break. Consider bringing back turbos. I'd like to say go back to manual STICK shift transmissions with actual clutches, but I doubt that happens, someone will call it a 'safety issue'. Make it so folks don't have to run chassis they build themselves. You know eventually this will come back. No reason not to have a 'factory' team and also some 'privateer' teams, it happened in the 70's and happens in Gruppe C/ALMS/Rolex Cup, and pretty much happens now with Ferrari/Red Bull. Limit the over-the-wall pit crew to about 7 people, not 16. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Realize not much will happen until the BIG money pulls out, such as Mercedes, Renault, BMW, possibly Toyota and/or Honda. At some point you know this will happen, with costs where they are, with NO sign of them coming down.
wow, Tony. excellent points! but the reverse grid should be really fun. i mean, whats the point? the front runners qualify in the top 3, and they finish the race in that same position. or, the least FIA can do is to soak the track before every GP, especially since there's a tyre monopoly next season
Part of what made the racing exciting then was that you never knew who was gonna blow up. I think the cars are a bit too reliable these days.
I've been saying this for a long time-the aeros on these cars are out of control..... I would like to see wing sizes reduced, ride height raised by at least 2 inches, flat bottoms, and no diffusers. Tire size reduced also.....I want to see the cars slide around...therefore we need 5 liter 12s... Reducing wing sizes and banning diffusers will hopefully have a 2 fold effect: 1-it will slow the F1 cars down; and 2-ricers will take note and do likewise to their Hondas, etc....
+1, with the following exceptions; 1) I'd ban any form of wing or appendage whatsoever. 5) I'd take the F1 trannies out as well, and perhaps even ban rev limiters.
Longer GP's would dilute the excitement. Plus usually only about 15 of the 22 cars finish, would you really want to see half or less of the pack finish every race? Not me!
I'll bite: 1. 3 liter - no rule internal combustion engine... no max on cly, etc... only thing that can not be used are super exotic metals... 100% of the engines have to be made of what 80% of the road car engines are made of... ceramics should be incuraged. 2. alternative fuel ok... but must be commercially available as all fuels should be "pump" grade... actual fule from the gas station down the street... same for oil and all other lubes too... 3. Slick tires... as wide as you like and as many as you like 4. driver aids ok... but driver must be in command at all times...no RC cars with a passanger 5. Aero package open - car must not generate more than 2 x its own weight as measured each day by mobile FIA wind tunnel... 6. Min weight 1000 lbs with wet with driver... can any one say super exotic materials 7. Re fueling and super sticky tires OK.... I like multi tyre suppliers keeps the show interesting. 8. Race distance a min of 1000 KM...or no less than 2 hrs of racing... 9.Revert to Old Qualifying using times taken on Friday and Saturday... but each driver / car must complete no less than 45 min of practice/ qual time... 10. award 5 pts for pole etc... if you set pole on Friday you get 6pts .... 11. independants can buy a car. chassis, engine combo and compete... 12. Fans are allowed access every day from 4 PM to 7 Pm to garage area/ paddock area. for fan friendly activties meet & greets etc... as a driver you must attend no less than 65% of the time to Fan activities over the whole season... if not then points are reduced... My F-1 would try to mix the technology heritage with the show that is now obligatory... if you want it to be a soap opera you have to have the players around, hense the paddock open to the public... $50.00 each ... etc...
how 'bout a requirement that Bernie hire a woman for some function other than being window dressing/eye candy? no chance in hell of that one occuring...
One of the Reasons for the Wing Size is also due to Sponsorship (Economics once again). I agree about the F1 Shift, it separates the men from the boys.
Put some small wings on that car to placate the sponsors, give it a 5 liter twin-turbo 12 and it will all be good...
Lotus 49, one of the most beautiful cars ever to grace an F1 Grid. Driven by the greatest driver of his generation (some say of all time).
Agreed with your long list. Regarding reversed grid: Yes it is contrived. But so are many things, e.g. limit the tank size so the teams MUST refuel (as it is currently the case) to name an example. AND: Just look at the best races in recent years and it is normally those where some leading driver had to start from the back of the grid. MS in Monaco comes to mind. Or MS in Interlagos after the tire failure. MS and FA in Hungary would be another one. It will never happen, but it would do away once and for all with F1's stigma of being a no passing series: Because of the normal grid formation the cars/drivers start according to the strengths. So not barring some first corner melee or a rocket start from somebody, they basically end the first lap the way the started. And furthermore that's kinda the sequence in which they will finish. Processions instead of racing. Reversed grid would do away with all that in one simple swoop.
