http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6827941/Vettel-Drivers-could-strike The season-opening Australian GP could be threatened by a driver strike, according to reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel. This season, F1 has introduced ajustable rear wings and brought back KERS with both devices controlled by the drivers. And this means more buttons on an already-packed steering wheel. Several drivers have raised concerns about the number of buttons, saying it could be a safety issue. And if it does prove to be, Vettel says the drivers may strike. "Most drivers agreed it could be a safety issue," the Red Bull driver told the Mirror. "The most important thing is that the drivers are together. If we all agree on something then we can be very powerful. We can say, 'Okay, we are not racing'. "That doesn't necessarily mean we will go on strike. We'll try to find a solution with the FIA first." .
Massa said it's like second nature to him now. In previous seasons there was more than this to fool with. They will be fine unless safety really becomes an issue.
That really isn't all too bad. Back until about 2007 when they even had to adjust the diff for entry, mid corner and exit for every corner...that would have been pretty difficult I would imagine. Mess up once and your car would feel a lot different through a corner...
Barichello mentioned that you have to take your eyes of the track to check if the light is on, allowing you to activate the movable rear wing. I don't know if this has been addressed, but it's certainly an issue.
Maybe they should have some little LED to let them know in the helmets off to the side of their vision?
Of course Barrichello is *****ing. This is pathetic IMO, F1 is a bunch of premadonnas now. You're being paid millions, go drive the damn car. This sport NEEDS danger.
Hopefully this is just to hype up the season further, which it probably is. Or maybe Red Bull have a problem
He's not so far off the mark. Adding the wing adjustment and KERS has been a matter of concern to a number of designers for a while now.
"Most drivers"? Sorry, Seb, Alonso has already been quoted as saying that the extra buttons are no problem, not a big deal. If Vettel wants to strike, only Red Bull will care! I seem to recall reading a few years back, before his retirement from Ferrari, that Schumacher was experimenting with indicator and status lights in his helmet...
"Too many buttons" is not the issue. The issue is having to do too many things at the same time. I expect that the drivers will earn their money and find a way to cope but there must be a limit to this high speed multi-tasking. Doesn't there?
Exactly. The 'shut up and drive' argument is invalid coming from people have never sat-in , or driven a 2011 F1 car....remember the drivers are asking for all of this crap. They just want to drive and race. Modern racing is stressful enough without to remember which button to push at which part of a track..... I may not like some of their personalities, or attitudes, but I respect their abilities and opinions....
i saw take off all the crap and run what you brung,,leave off all the nonsence and just drive the cars
If they don't want to race there are many willing participants that will gladly take their place in a second. God forbid they ever had to take their hands off the wheel and change gears...like I said they need to just make do with it. I don't like the movable wings either, I think they're dumb, but they will have to accept it...at least until it causes a crash and the FIA bans it (mark my words on this one). Also, I don't find it shocking that "The Boob" is complaining. If the season didn't start with Rubens *****ing and moaning it just wouldn't be the same.
So no one complained about this during testing and suddenly they wanna bring it up during the race? And go on strike? Well, if they're uncomfortable, just use a normal wing and opt to run the cars without KERS. After all, they're not using those devices throughout the track, but only at certain points.
I'm pretty sure at least a few of them did mention it. Like someone said, it's not necessarily that there are too many buttons, its that they are going to have to be concentrating on too many different things. It's is totally different than changing gears. Gear changing is something that is done without thought; this requires waiting for some light to come one before you can even hit the button. I seriously can see one of the drivers being caught out by something that happens on track because some of his concentration is on watching for the light to come on. In my opinion, the moveable rear wings are a waste of time; either make them an all time thing or get rid of them. Mark
