Future F1- autonomous 300mph cars, no drivers...interested?

Cosworth Vs Honda Vs Ferrari engines. Otherwise I'd rather watch Bullitt

 

It was bound to happen!!

 

Not at all interested.

As a race car designer you would think I would be all over this.

Get rid of the driver (Adds weight but no performance, prevents proper triangulation of chassis, is biggest variable in car performance you have, costs a lot, has limited usable lifespan, limits vehicle performance, etc!) and you would have the perfect bit of engineering excellence in a car.

They would be incredibly fast, corner at 6,7 8 g's, race with mm's of each other, etc. The ultimate in an engineering showcase. And completely boring to me.

I mean--Why? What is the point? I want a human, with all of their faults, to control the car, from the car, in the car.

Ask yourself this: What is some of the most incredible race footage you have ever seen?

Senna at Donnington in the rain in 1993?
Villeneuve/Ferrari vs Arnoux/Renault at Dijon in 1979?

Now imagine these same events with no driver-just machines fighting machines.

Sorry--I want and need the human element. I once saw Senna drive at Monaco and I can tell you no machine, no matter how fast, would ever compare to seeing him dance with the steel barriers/railings every second, every mm, for the whole race. Clearly he was on a different level to all of us mere mortals there, but for a moment, watching him, he elevated me a small bit to his world. No machine will replace that.

 

To me there are 5 Years in F-1 History that stand out ....

1. 1960 - Rear engine cars won - Cooper & Brabham

2. 1967 - Lotus, Jim Clark , and Ford DFV

3. 1976 - Ferrari Lauda, Hunt McLaren rivalry and TV went international on F1.

4. 1982 - The most deadly season in F-1 TV history - also the champion only won one race...

5. 1990 - the wildest variety of modern F- 1 cars, with the best sound, and best drivers ever racing.

from 1985 - 1994 - that to me was the pinnacle of F1.

 

I agree with you, but I think the next generation will be something like this and with virtual reality you'll be inside the car... that is where the excitement will come from... and people will pay for the experience... I think that will be how live F-1 would be seen.. pay for view. and then you get the " outside race" for free- that is where all the adverts will come from. until it all goes fully digital.

 

It needs to happen to develop autonomous technology.
Petd

 

I def agree with that.....

 

I welcome it because that extreme is likely to create a rebellion of sorts. Just like in painting post camera, just like the renaissance in watch making post digital, an electric autonomous series may well result in a series consisting of old school gas guzzling monsters.

As long as the FIA don't close their rules completely to fossil fuel burning engines, there will always be a traditional race series that will likely grow more and more extreme as it competes for eyeballs.

All is not lost.

 

Yep, that would be the perfect showcase for the technology.

 

Why do we assume that autonomous means it's instantly at this level of capability? I'd think it would take years and massive software development to get to the point where they could race successfully within inches, let alone mms. Initially, I'd expect a ton of carnage, to the point that stewards would still need to officiate and dole out penalties - not to drivers, but to the software developers.

The development over time would be pretty interesting. Not a replacement for F1, but something else entirely. Just as human-remote-controlled would be yet another thing as well.

 

Exactly!

The first few races would be lucky if they lasted more than 50 metres and it WOULD be interesting to watch the development/improvements.

People seem to think with F1 that over the last 60 years we watched "drivers" improve. We didn't we watched ENGINEERS improve the car and that is what was captivating. This would be the same and without driver physical limit restrictions all sorts of new things could be tried, heck proper ground effects would likely return.

The only issue I can think of is spectator safety as these cars cornering at considerably higher speed means pieces will be flying for longer distances ...
Pete
ps: Note I will never own or get in an autonomous car, even if its 'my' hearse!

 

Why stop there? Run the robot championship in a computer simulation. The spectators could be simulated as well, so no humans are forced to watch.

 

How do you know that's not already happening?

 

No interest whatsoever.

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and thought "so what" when you were done? The reason you felt that way is that the writer failed to form a connection between you and the characters. Without that connection, there is no emotional involvement or concern on the part of the audience.

Driverless F1 cars are just cogs going around. What's interesting about that?

 

The technology is amazing.

 

I don't think you would be able to buy a ticket and watch this at any current racing venue. Liability insurance would prevent this. What am I talking about? Think LeMans in 1955, when cars were racing at half the speeds of a 300-325 mph "E-racer," or at Daytona, where 3500 lb. cars have recently sailed into the catch-fencing at 200 mph over the past 2 or 3 years. Fans were injured. I just don't see this "what if" ever happening.

Now, you want to talk about cars having the cornering speeds that look like slot-cars...that was my impression watching the WEC cars race at Sebring in the 1990s ('93?)!

 

Formula X-Box?


With no driver, why make them full size?

They've been saying an F-1 car can drive upside down, due to aero.
Without drivers, make the track 3-D.
Formula Hot Wheels.