What..until half the world is asleep using the F1 sleep aid??? Tuesday 16th March 2010 - PlanetF1.com Bernie warns against knee-jerk reaction F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has called for patience in the wake of the negativity that has surrounded Sunday's boring start to the new season. The Bahrain Grand Prix was expected to herald the beginning of a new era for the sport, with four World Champions on the grid and the hope it would yield exciting racing. Instead, the new regulations - with a ban on re-fuelling and with nearly all the teams able to limit themselves to one tyre change - are likely to have had the armchair fan turning off in droves. Drivers and team chiefs were of the same mind after the race, that it was a bore and will continue to be so unless this latest crisis to rock the sport is rapidly addressed. One possible quick fix is to introduce two mandatory pit stops, although F1's problems are more deep-rooted than that as the issue regarding a lack of overtaking has long been a thorny one. It could be introduced soon, but only if all 12 teams are in agreement - which was not the case when it was most recently debated, with just McLaren, Red Bull and one other, thought to be Mercedes, in favour. Ecclestone has suggested, rather than a knee-jerk reaction now, the sport would be better served to adopt a calm, rational view and address the matter after the next three 'flyaway' grands prix in Australia, Malaysia and China. "I don't think it (the Bahrain GP) was much different to some of the other races we had last year to be quite honest with you," said Ecclestone. "It wasn't the sort of race that would excite most people I would suppose. "But I think we ought to judge these things a little later on. It's a bit early. We ought to wait until we come back from China." If those races serve up similar tedium then that would be the time to act, with a three-week gap to the following grand prix in Spain. "There are lots and lots and lots of things that could happen to make the racing closer and better. It's a case of getting all the teams to agree," added Ecclestone. "If everybody agrees (to two mandatory stops) then we could change it (the regulation) immediately." Another Ecclestone proposal, one he aired recently and has again revisited, is the possibility of creating short cuts at each track. "A driver could use it so many times a race so that if he really gets stuck behind somebody he could still get past," said Ecclestone. "I'm pushing, but sometimes people don't understand these things too well, they don't see the advantages. "It would be good for TV, and you'd get a lot of excitement out of it." Again, that would require the unanimous agreement of the teams to be introduced for this season, although as Ecclestone also points out "it would be difficult for all the promoters to alter their circuits to make that happen." However, he has not ruled out the prospect of such a scheme coming into force at a later date, potentially even for next year. For now, introducing two pit-stops appears to be the most logical suggestion, as proposed by McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh, Mercedes GP managing director Nick Fry, and Red Bull boss Christian Horner. "We were one of the teams that voted for a two-stop strategy," said Whitmarsh, who is also chairman of the teams' body, FOTA, that could push for change. "I was a bit worried we were going to get this (kind of race). But it's reviewable in my view." In support of Whitmarsh, Horner remarked: "Personally I have always endorsed that there should be two mandatory stops." Fry feels F1 cannot ignore what happened in Bahrain, insisting: "It would be bad if we didn't react. "We have to look at this and establish what do we need to do. "Technical changes are very difficult to make, and expensive, but we should look at both the technical and sporting sides with Bernie and the FIA and see what we can do about it. "The most important people are the customers, and they are the fans who pay and the people who watch on television. "We are beholden to them to put on a good show. So we will see what we can do." Like Ecclestone, though, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali also believes there is no need to jump on any bandwagon just yet. "Let's wait and see how the other races develop," said Domenicali. "We may have a different situation, different conditions. We need a fresh scenario before we can say if this (Bahrain) is the real situation or not."
Shortstops.Why not introduce red light, green light ,1-2-3 ( It's an old game we used to play as kids in NYC ) .
As much as the ever-changing regulations suck; one area that needs to be addressed are the TRACKS. The modern tracks all suck. Sure they have great amenities, and look good on paper. But as we know, the races aren't on paper.....For every Interlagos there are 5 Tilke domes F1 as a whole needs a major overhaul...Every year it's been getting worse
Yup--what I've been saying for years. Chasing big bucks in parts of the world where the sport is of little interest to the local impoverished culture. The tracks seem to be assembled out of a Tilke-Kit of track parts mixed up to form a 'new' layout. With places like Bore-ain, the circuit is sand-blown and slick from disuse so drivers couldn't pass if they had to. But gee, can't wait for Korea later this season I do agree that everyone needs to chill out a little bit--all of a sudden this has become the dullest race ever to be contested since the invention of the motorized carriage. Let's just wait and see how the season unfolds for a few weeks before lighting the torches and storming the palace.
+1 I said it somewhere else, but I believe the "overtaking working group" is still around and have been critical of the tilke-domes in the past. Well, how about the OWG studies some tracks and gets one or two modified to their liking? *IF* they do good, then let 'em do a few more....... "How hard can it be?"..... [I guess, very, but it's a lot easier to criticize than fix anything.] Cheers, Ian
It's a lot of things taking the excitement out of it. Technology has advanced so much that the cars don't resemble anything you can relate to. I think we'll see the FIA tweaking things behind the scenes i.e. mysterious podium finishes, weird incidents on the track etc. that will in the end make it more of a mockery.
They should put floating boxes at certain points around the track. The drivers could reach up and pull out things like: banana peels, green and red turtle shells, a special blue turtle shell that makes the leader spin out, and my favorite a lightning bolt that makes all of the competitors turn into micro versions of themselves. Oh I forgot star power and mushrooms.
Why are they always in a position to try and reverse engineer excitment into the sport? They all know it comes down to downforce...why don't they just address this one issues and then let the best team win? Here's how to make F1 the exciting pinnacle: 1. You only get "X" amount of liters of fuel per race. 2. Make the fastest most efficient horsepower your talented engineers can dream up. 3. Mechanical grip made more important than aero. 4. Spend as much money as you want. 5. Winner gets the trophy.
While I agree, how do you propose achieving #3? The OWG has (I believe) been trying to do just that for 3-4 years (?) now.....
Congrats. Incredible race track. Great atmosphere and lots of stuff to do and places to go within driving distance. Take your rain coat! Frank
Changes must really be made!!! and drivers are finally starting to protest to dull races, even for them!!! Something's not right and they must do something before they kill F1!!!
It may be prudent to ask the opinions of the ex WC drivers about how to make races more exiting. After all they are now being used as stewards so why not get there input....maybe?
Not sure. What would happen if you banned a rear wing and diffuser as a start? Not sure if it would just be unstable, or if the cars can be morphed into more dependent on mechanical grip. For me F1 is about the manufacturer more than the driver. It is Ferrari vs. MB vs. Toyota vs BMW, etc. And it is about what the brilliant minds at each manufacturer can come up with, and in the process of winnng bring some valuable technology to the rest of the world, automotive and otherwise. Drivers change, manufacturers don't. It's kind of like college football (here in the US) vs NFL. In college there is more of an identity, whereas in the NFL players change teams all the time. So now look what we have: All kind of non-manufacturer teams, so you've got money Branson...so f*cking what? Major manufacturers dropping out. Drivers bored, fans bored. Rules changing every year to try and engineer in excitement. The major excitment in F1 is now no different than Oprah....scandal and intrigue. Pathetic.
Think about the great circuits, and what they have in common for the most part is being built into the topography, often times not with the intention of being a race circuit. If you took a track map of Spa and laid it out flat in a field on the outskirts of Bumblefudge, it would suck because it would lack the character given by the natural terrain. How many times have race series unsuccessfully attempted to recreate Monaco in some other Urban setting? And the more wrinkles they add to Silverstone, the more sanitized and dull it has become.
I have to say it was most boring F1 race I watched. I hope they do something to make it more interesting than last race. Might as well just watch nascars turning left all day.
Pathetic response from the lead promoter of F1. Reads like: "We had boring races last year too - what's the problem?" >8^) ER
More BS from Bernie. He's just manipulating the press as if he has something to really say. This is his way to get a press release and keep his gaunt little face in the limelight - pathetic. WTF does he want? There were three new teams, the best driver in recent history came back. There were new drivers, new sponsors, disappointment (if you are a Red Bull/Vettel fan), on and on. This guy is a mental case and there are some who are starting to sound like him.
The two easiest (relatively speaking) solutions that could be implemented this year would be a minimum number of pitstops and less durable tire compounds. The two (or more) stop requirement is a no brainer. Bridgestone has hundreds of variations in their compounds and could easily make super soft tires that with incredible grip and high degradation. With multiple requried stops you would have drivers pushing like crazy since they wouldn't be as concerned about tire wear. The racing would be more aggressive/exciting (theoretically).
The main cause of the boring GPs of the last years, is not the bunch of rules regarding races and cars uselessly made every year, but an idiot named Hermann Tilke Tilke is an insane architect, the author of the "modern" racing circuits, only suitable for karts races and not for real F1 races. The real problem is not represented by the cars or by their managment in racing, but from such a kind of circuits that don't allow any kind of take over. Why the F1 GPs raced on the old fashioned tracks like Montreal, Spa, Monza, Silverstone, Suzuka or Sao Paulo are not so boring like the others? Can you define circuits the ones like Bahrein, Valencia, Singapore or Abu Dhabi ? Is it really the Hungarian GP a true F1 GP or only a karting race? Why racing in China or Malaysia or Korea instead of Imola,Zeltweg or Laguna Seca? Only for business reasons not for other reasons. Haven't you seen how many people there were on the Bahrain's stands? Just the same than at a school's party... Is that normal ? The real goal of Mr. Bernie with the help of Mr.Tilke is to make a lot of money, not to produce a big show, and that mountain of money means only boredom for us. Ciao Andrea
