Since I am re-vamping the world of F1 management, I will make you in charge of evaluating the grid girls.
Surely it is the modern engine control and thus rev limiter that stops the blow ups, not the fact that the gear change is faster due to paddle shifting ??? I mean what happens if the driver forgets to change up? ... I do understand that for down changes if the driver pulls the paddle too early the computer will wait until the right time ... though when you think about it, is the driver really that good any more? Just a thought. Pete
I wasn't arguing for equal payout for all the teams. Here is a quick (well not really) glimpse at my idea. And Pete's right. The rev limiter would prevent over revs on manual upshifts but not downshifts. Pete, I also am not sure if the driver is not that good anymore. Sometimes I long for the day when the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny...
I think though Senna21 that the travel money is bugger all compared to sponsorship money ... but I could be wrong. Beaut quote! Pete
The travel money wasn't such a big deal for the European based races where the teams "just" drive their trucks to. It is an increasingly bigger deal with all the fly-away races, especially now that Bernie adds more of them to the calendar. Speed TV actually made some interesting comments in one of the last races: They showed some of the extravagant motor homes, read palaces that some teams like Mc Laren built and now that the trend is to leave Europe, these dinosaurs become more and more obsolete.
Good point, but correct me if I am wrong ... I thought that if you scored a WC point last year ALL travel was paid for?? This comment is extremely relevant and shows to me anyway how F1 has completely lost focus and NO longer is the racing the correct focus. They have moved so much into looking after the sponsors and all the BS that they are now over spending in this area. As I have said before, somebody soon is going to wake up and state: "What the heck are we doing with this racing ****?, we can have a much better function and party at some park, club, etc. and we will be just as exclusive and we will not have the fncken noicy cars ruining everything" That IMO is how far OFF the ball F1 currently is ... and Bernies constant moaning about pit complexes, amenties, parking, etc. just proves it. I have not heard him even talk about racing for ages, other than how to cheapen it! How about spending money on the cars ... Pete
Pete, I think you're correct about the travel money: One point and Bernie pays for your 747 carrying your cars to Brazil etc. I agree with you in general about the other stuff, but don't really blame F1 or Bernie for it: If we want F1 to be the pinnacle of motorsports, it means big corporate money has to be poured into it. And corporate VIPs want to be pampered in big monster motor homes. Blame Colin Chapman if you must: He was smart enough to bring corporate sponsorships to pick up his increasing racing bills. It was a slippery slope from there. People like Ron Dennis and Bernie just perfected the game.
