Fuel economy is part of all auto racing if only because thirsty cars need to carry more fuel and so more weight. But that's not the issue. It's the mandates. The imposed arbitrary restrictions.
This. Bring back the big tobacco money and let's go big boy racing again. Take off restrictions on testing (which is the stupidest thing I have ever heard) allow unlimited replacement engines, gearboxes, etc..., limit top speed if everyone is so concerned about safety, but bring back everything else. I want to see active suspensions and traction control and engines made of unobtanium that blow up as the cars cross the finish line. Let the manufacturers decide how many cylinders to make their engines and make this sport the technical showcase it used to be. It's ridiculous that production cars have more technology than an F1 car. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Oh yeah, the criticism of the new cars as "slow" - tell us what the lap times difference is, please!! (The Mayor is disqualified from complaining the new cars are slow, since he wants all aero banned, which would make them much, much slower than they are currently) I can tell you that the 2014 cars are actually 10 - 15 km/h faster at the end of the straights than the V8 cars... to me that means "faster", not "slower". Are they a bit slower overall around a lap? Yes, but that has absolutely NOTHING to do with engine power or performance - it has to do with reduced downforce, and thus reduced cornering speeds. The new V6 turbo power units, in and of themselves, are more powerful and faster than the V8s. People who have actually heard the new cars on track note that they're much quieter... which is good, since I saw several of the V8 races and the cars were so loud they were ear-damagingly painful unless you wore earplugs... which had the result of making them quieter. So now you don't actually need earplugs to avoid hearing damage? How terrible. People who have actually heard the new cars trackside also commented that they still sounded OK, and that it was pretty cool to be able to hear gear whine, downshifts, tires squeal, and that it was a better experience for the broader sound range and not just the engine. Hmmm, again, that's so bad how? Sorry for trying to tie in actual experiences from people who've been there rather than just those who heard them over their TV speakers. Carry on curmudgeons!
Cornering speed is a greater safety concern than top speed... and the 2014 cars go slower around corners and faster on the straights, because they make MORE power overall. I sure don't want to see traction control - I want to see the drivers having to control the power, and to see slides and spins if they can't control it well. However, your last sentence is very conflicted - the new F1 cars are finally catching up to and getting ahead of production car technology, with the turbos and hybrid energy systems. If you're arguing against the new turbo V6 engines, you've just argued yourself into a corner.
There is a huge difference between a refueling strategy and the kind of idiocy that is going on today.
I enjoyed the first race, watching the drivers have to actually drive the cars with less downforce and as for sound, well in 1984 the turbo engines sounded pretty good to me. And they were 4 and 6 cylinder turbos for the most part. And as for fuel economy in 1984: FISA had introduced new fuel economy rules aimed at reducing speeds, ruling that cars powered by turbocharged engines would only have 220 liters of fuel per race, with re-fueling banned. What is old is new again
That's like your dad telling you..."marry the biatch, shes rich and you will get use to the ugly face" Not me F1 is dead dead dead. I cant wait to see who the first driver will be to stand up and tell them what he really thinks. Better than that, who will be the first team to say..."to hell with this crap, we are out of here".
And guess what? A fully electric car will be even faster. Is that what you want to see because seeing is all you will do as there will be no sound. Imagine being at Monsa on the straight, watching the cars go by you at full speed and hearing the seagulls over head? What a joke. Maybe they will use spoked wheels and then they can attach playing cars to them for sound like we did as kids. Man im glad I taped the race, there is no way I could have indured the race in its entirety. Anyone that likes this type of racing and the cars was never a real race fan but more like a chess player that liked kicking the tires at a Ferrari dealer.....Oh I digress, but when the weather gets better, Im gonna go down to my cantina and grab a bottle of Amarone, jump into my 355 (that by the way is as close as you will get to a real F1 sound anymore) drive north into the country, park it, and sit there and drink the bottle and remember what F1 racing use to be like.
Possibly for about a lap or two. OK, bye. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. You're one of the folk claiming you're off to watch Le Mans, right? BOP nonsense and no noise at all there I'm afraid. Enjoy it. Cheers, Ian
Yeah, I remember F1 of the 2000s, with screaming V10s and V8s... and processional racing where the drivers couldn't overtake on track because of the aerodynamic rules... and it was like a chess game where the strategy was not about overtaking and daring passes on track, but all about refueling once, twice, or 3 times, tire changes. Yep, drivers just matted the throttle because they had traction control and let the electronics sort it out, and team strategists said "you'll drive 17 laps on 77 litres of fuel and soft tires, then 23 laps on 97 litres of fuel on medium tires, and we'll win as long as you follow my strategy. Don't you dare try overtaking on track, that's too risky and could screw up my careful chess-like strategy". There you go, that's what you are lamenting, what F1 racing used to be like. Oh, wait, you don't like chess-like F1 racing? Just what F1 racing will you be remembering? (PS - don't worry, I will stay off your lawn)
Not a new thing... But also not THE thing as it is now. Like I said, get rid of the wings and you just got back fuel economy. Get rid of wind tunnels and poorer teams can compete with richer ones. Concentrate on mechanical grip and drivers are more involved. Get rid of engineers running the car remotely and let team managers make decisions on the fly. Why is such a bad thing? Because they will be slower ? Hello! The cars yesterday were 3 seconds off last year. Did anyone care?
I'm late to this thread. But to me, F1 ended in 2006 in Japan when Michael Schumachers engine blew in Japan to lose to Fernando Alonso. It's been a steady decline ever since then. This year is the last straw. The cars are horrible. I don't even have the desire to watch the races anymore.
I think that prescribing how the cars are developed behind the scenes is even more contrived than limiting the rate of fuel flow. Without a wind tunnel, or testing days, you end up favoring whichever team can afford more supercomputer time. If money is at the root of F1 inequality, why not have the FIA manage the team budgets and get rid of all these crazy design constraints?
The new F1 season was sad for all the reasons mentioned (cars ugly, slow, unreliable, expensive, and sound horrible) ... the only good news I heard this week was Lamborghini doing an interview about how they are going to stick with big engines and loud cars until the politicians pry the keys from their cold dead hands. Great way for Lamborghini to turn lemons into lemonade since they were late to the hybrid party (Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren) are the big geniuses tripping over each other in order to find ways to save $4 bucks on gas, for a million dollar sports car. LOL I'd like to see Lamborghini make a stance... and not give a crap about anything with less than 10 or 12 cylinders
I'm afraid so yes. The last time F1 was F1 was back in 2008. After that the cars got uglier, and slower. It used to be a challenge to drive an F1 car. I used to remember how pale the drivers looked when they finished a race. Now, it's easier to drive, it's more like a Sunday drive. Too much of 'control' in F1. They can't go too fast, they have to manage the tyres, the cars are ugly, they sound horrible, like friggin lawn mowers...It's terrible. I'm just happy i managed to witness the 90s F1 era, arguably one of the fastest and one of the most challenging eras. Now, i don't even care if i miss a race. Well done FIA
In old good days F1 was about crazy guys doing crazy things, today it's about engineers sitting in the lab, F1 should be like action movie, in action movie you want to see Jason Statham not some nerds from laboratory (in all respect for people of science, my sister is also engineer )
Don't like the new sounds at all - But I think Bernie may do something about it - Hopefully Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk
Damn, I haven't read so much *****ing, moaning, whining, and complaining in my life. Yes, the cars are quieter, but some of you exaggerate so much. Lawnmower, really??? Slower? Higher top end speed, and most/all cars didn't even use their last gear. The reasons lap times were slower were due to less downforce, higher torque making them tail happy, and basically all drivers still learning how to cope with these cars. 3 seconds can be an eternity in F1, but you're all acting like they are 20 seconds slower. How about you all put your money where your mouth is, shut up, and go watch Le Mans / NASCAR like you all say you are. If you're truly done with F1, don't just talk the talk. As for Ricciardo's DQ, that was due to Red Bull's fault to comply with the sporting and technical regulations for several different infractions centered around the fuel sensor, NOT just exceeding the fuel rate of 100kg/h. Red Bull thought the rules did not apply to them and they were wrong.
No, otherwise I would have been at the race, drinking champagne, eating caviar, lobster, and doing cocaine off beautiful sexy women, or something like that I assume. Are you done with F1?
