Exactly what I said before. They did it because Renault would quit and they wanted Honda back to be a basic engine supplier to teams in the future. My feeling is Mercedes will also bow out eventually, particularly if they win a WCC. They are spending too much money for the pay off. That doesn't mean this makes for a better formula, better racing, or a better experience. What it means is that F1 is slowly dying because what the fans want no longer matters so that the manufacturers can be enticed enough to keep it alive a few more years. What you're looking at with the V6 Turbo is the end of the road for F1. It won't die completely but it will slowly fade away like Indy cars did after the Cart/IRL break up and the money dried up. Note to F1: Fans don't want technology that mirrors what they drive on the streets. They want something that DOESN'T drive on the streets. They want excitement, not logic. F1 cars are completely illogical. They are, however, exciting. Or at least they were... Next we will have Formula Prius because it reflects what's on the streets.
Exactly.... which is why the 1967 model works so well. Get rid of all the aero tech crap that drives up the cost and doesn't add anything to the racing. The last 10 years has been a constant struggle to get speed from aero and then to find a way to let people pass because of it. The DRS zone is a band aid to try to solve the problem. The reason we have "ugly noses" now is the silly rules governing the dimensions of the height of bodywork around the front axle to try to limit efficiency. Go back to allowing engine makers to make new engines and engineers working on mechanical grip. Go back to lowering the R and D costs. Allow a more flexible engineering solution to the problem. Want a V8? Sure. Want a V6 Turbo? Sure. What a Straight 4 with Hybrid? Sure. Of course they need to be balanced but you get the idea --- let engineers experiment and come up with their own solutions. In 1968, a team could buy a Cosworth DFV and a Hewland gearbox and be 50% of the way there to having a team. I'm not saying you can be that simple today (you still need CF tubs, exotic materials, etc) but these CAN be had with a lot lower budgets -- which will bring in more teams and less reliance on the big car makers. The fans don't matter anymore. What matters is that teams continue to support it's insane costs or it goes away.
DUH! Lauda's team is 2 seconds a lap ahead of everyone. You think he's going to complain? For every person who defends it, 4 people criticize it. I don't see this as a winning formula for success.
Bob, get your eyes on the latest issue of Motorsport. Their man has an intersesting vision of what F1 should look like.
True, but I cannot see an independent engine builder wanting to develop a powerplant for F1 anymore. The days of BRM, Cosworth, JUDD, Ilmor, HART or Zakspeed are gone. Developing an engine is to costly for a small company these days. That's how the big manufacturers have become pivotal to F1 survival. Ecclestone understood that and keeps courting them.
I just watched rush again. I was at nurburging for that race in 76. It reinforced my belief. That was racing. Today is a shadow of that. Get off on the tech if you like but that is not racing.
Sorry, I'm not letting one film critic tell me if movie is good, particularly if he's one of the producers.
There is certainly that. No doubt Lauda was speaking pro domo. However he also made the same point, I've been making: There is a bunch more to F1 than just engine noise.
I see it a little the other way round. The shouting monsters of last year, with better aero, way bigger engines and consuming much more petrol than this year's, were just slightly faster than today's.
+1 both Lauda and Mika work for Mercedes, there is not any chance they are going to say let's go back to Red Bull domination.
and 2014 is failing on all points. Granted, we're only one race in, but the racing needs to spice up real fast to compensate for the lack of sounds and looks, because for now, as entertainment, Formula 1 comes up way short.
Your opinion, not mine. I think we will have one of the best seasons in decades. The first race was a good indicator for that.
Andreas, negative people will always be negative people. Waste of energy to try to convince that mentality. We both remember the same reactions a few times in the past when rules and regulations changed. F1 did not die those times, and it will not die now. I do not have the formula to make F1 have the kind of side by side competition of say NASCAR, even IndyCar. Possibly that is not possible in road racing? But the new rules are a start.
There's a big difference between being negative and constructive criticism. If you think we are lone whiners, you're not paying much attention. This time... it's big and it's deep --- so deep that even the teams agree something needs to be done.
Huh? Please tell me how Melbourne was any good. The race was at least as boring as anything we have seen in the second half of 2013.
