I just came across this little bit he said in an article on Autosport.com. It reads... I understand that he wants to see more overtaking, but enough is enough. I was never in support of going to V8s, or grooved tires, or the engine freeze, or the new 19,000 RPM rev limiters, or many other things that Bernie has come up with the slow the cars down. Also, what he has done to our precious F1 tracks is just horrible. Putting that stupid chicane in Barcelona to "increase overtaking" and messing around with Hockenheim hasn't made the sport any more exciting. I say we bring back the banking at Monza and have the cars run the full Nordscheife, etc. I understand that he also wants to make the sport safer, but we aren't racing econo-boxes with 5-star crash test ratings. ;we are racing Formula 1 cars. Slowing down the cars a little for safety is one thing, but taking 5+ seconds off of laps times and trashing some of the best and most exciting corners of F1 is another. Let's bring back turbos, slicks, etc., and then we'll be talking. Just my $.02, John
i also want to see 'special brew' race gas, yep, those massively boosted turbo'd engines putting out ~1500 hp, humungous slicks out back... man that would be lethal and cool!
James more on the commercial side, it is that Putz Max Mosley that does the rules. I still firmly believe that F1 would be much more entertaining for race fans if the cars had more mechanical grip than Aero. Also Bernie has a point about braking.
Don't really understand what he is doing, he wants F1 to be the most technologically advanced formula racing league in the world, but is attempting to push back progress. Safety at courses should be addressed, but adding a chicane doesn't do much except bore the hell out of me and many other fans. If the drivers can't handle it, there is plenty of room in Champ Car. People who aren't businessmen should be in charge of sports, some of the best franchises/team/scuderias are run by people who have a passion for the sport, and are not there for financial gain.
FIA makes the rule, yes, but i think bernie's the one that goes around and spoils the circuits. i gotta agree with John, he totally destroyed Hockenheim, and not to mention, Catalunya. we never saw a single overtaking with that new chicane. so they spend so much amount of money for that chicane, and they keep talking about cutting costs.
+1 The title of this thread is wrong IMHO: Bernie wants to make the show better by making passing more feasible. Nothing wrong with that. The speed of the cars is no longer an issue now that we have a standard tire: If they get too fast, Bridgestone can make a harder compound. Sadly that didn't stop the knuckleheads in Barcelona from adding a chicane.
Bernie and the FIA, as usual, have thier heads up thier asses. They need to stop slowing the cars down by doing stupid things like grooved tires, rev limits, that god awful looking double rear wing idea, etc, and get rid of paddle shift, TC and all these others things that make the cars easier to drive. The emphasis needs to be more on driving skill than computers. On the aero side, ditch all the flip ups and extra elements on the wings and make them simpler hence less aero sensitive. Two elements on the front and read wings, that's it. I think the brake idea doesn't make any sense. What difference does it make if everyone has the same thing. So they'll be stopping further back in the corners but you still can't pass on the brakes because the turbulent air doesn't let you get close enough to the car in front of you.
+2 My sentiments exactly. I would love to see all the electronics disappear and go back to the days when traction control meant the driver's right foot.
well, there has been talks to get rid of the winglets and stuff, to make overtaking more easier. but i don't understand how overtaking has become so difficult all of a sudden. just a few years back, 2004 if think, we saw lots of overtaking, but now, the entire race is just like parade..
No Brian, that was not overtaking, go back to 1980 or so and watch overtaking, better yet watch Dijon 1979 between Arnoux and Villenueve. That was overtaking. The problem is how much money goes into Wind Tunnel testing. Take away Aero as far as cutting the Diffusers and Barge Boards and returning Mechanical Grip and it will be so much more entertaing for the fans.
I've seen some of those clips on youtube, simply amazing. I've seen more excitement in one of those laps than in an entire season combined. I wish F1 would turn back into something similar to that.
Well Young Man, next time your in Orange County consider yourself a guest in my house, and we can watch those races and I can tell you why Ronnie Petersen and Gilles Villenueve had the Greatest Car Control of all time.
Oh man I've spent countless hours searching Youtube and studying vids like those. It's so much more amazing to me than the current races.
How do you have those races? 8 track, VHS, stone and chisel? People say the passion of F1 ended with Senna, they need to go back 12 years more to the death of Gilles.
Guys I have been watching these things for a long time, and for most of you guys F1 started with Schumi, well F1 started for me with Gilles, and for my dad it was Jim Clark. I ask my Dad today, although he has gone to more GP's and watched them, who was the best Driver he ever saw? Well he says the best Driver he saw was not just F1, but it was Mario Andretti? But he says the best two Grand Prix Pilots he saw live were: Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna. What about Michael Schumacher, well Senna was just a bit more special....
Yeah Sir Sterling Moss himself said he felt that Senna was better than Schumacher. What was your Dad's reasoning for saying Mario was the best? Simply because of his versatility or was he speaking of his actual on track skill? I remember watching a bit of Cart when Mansell came over, and I remember him just dominating all the regulars. He was also teammates with Mario, although I think Mario wasn't in his prime.
