Post-Euro GP editorial thread:WARNING SPOLIER INSIDE !!!!

Totally agreed on 4). I heard his comment and he was right, but this is destroying F1 and turning it into <yawn> endurance "racing".

To 4.5): Swiss ex F1 driver Marc Surer made exactly the same comments a year ago in "motorsport aktuell". There it was in regards to the Alonso-Kimi situation. The irony is, that the 10-8 points were created to make F1 more interesting in the years MS dominated. The idea was to not allow the champ (MS) get away from the competition. And it sorta worked.
Unfortunately in a situation like 2005 and now 2006 where the champ builds out a quick lead in the first few races this system makes it almost impossible for the runner up to equal out the points. Ironic isn't it? Particularly now that it is MS in the chase against whom this system was introduced.

 

Another exciting race. A very nice win for Ferrari. Nice to see Massa on the podium.

I agree that the points system needs to be revised. It should go back to a 4 point gap between 1st and 2nd, or perhaps a 3 point spread would be a fair compromise.

Fisi - the man is a second rate driver, no doubt about it. Alonso continues to blow his doors off, and he makes it look quit easy in doing so. I think this will be the last time we see him on a top tier team - there are many other drivers out there who deserve to be in his seat. If Ferrari ever hires this guy, I will lose complete respect for them.

JV did a nice job, and so did Nico Rosberg. Kudos to them both.

 

Definitely agreed on points #4 and #4.5.

I think the points system should give 15 points for 1st place, 10 for 2nd, 8 for 3rd, 6 for 4th and then 4, 3, 2 & 1 for the next four positions.

Should be interesting to see if Ferrari can carry their momentum into the next race in Spain. It would be great to see Schumi take the win from Alonso in front of his home crowd - that would be just the thing to drive the Spaniard crazy.

One thing about the Championship points is that again this year seems to be showing that reliability is key. Alonso really needs to park that thing mid-race for any of the drivers to have a realistic chance of catching right up in the points battle. Renault seems to have their amazing reliability record of last year forming already with the new package which will make them tough to beat in the long haul. Of course with Fisi playing back marker lately that might not be so tough as far as the Constructer's points are concerned, but it will be difficult for Schumi to overtake Alonso for the Driver's Championship at the current rate.

>8^)
ER

 

I think you got it right. The current system was an anti MS move to start and now just like most things has backfired.

 

Replying to your points.
1) Why do ppl make a big deal about age? Its like once u hit 35 you must be over the hill? Maybe after mid 4's0 we could be getting excited if he is winning but not while he is still in his 30's. Im just happy Ferrari are back in the winning ways and it wasnt a one off, like last season.

2) Agreed.

3) Yes they are evil to Ferrari Tifosi and I cant believe how many Ferrari Tifosi have Mclaren as the 2nd team fav.... They did come 4th and only .5 off Massa, they are still a danger to Ferrari.

3.5) Looks at Ferrari this time last year... I dont think FA has anything to worry about just yet. But Id be extra happy to see Mclaren have a really bad season next year

4) FA just said something that we all knew since they changed the rule... hopefully tho if enough drivers mention it they may just may change it under political pressue, tho the poisioning started years ago with the change to pts system, qualifying changes, grooved tyres etc and its getting worst, we still have some great races and F1 is still great but not as great as it should be. Anyway no point complaining when noone wants Max's job. Last 2 elections noone has run against Max...

4.5) As mentioned above, its all got to do with the poisioning that started in the 90's. The old system of 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 worked well because the Winner got the bonus for winning. These days you can win the championship without winning 1 race if the others are less reliable. which seems far from fair. Remember Schumi almost lost the Championship to Kimi due to the new pts system when Schumi had won soo many more races. So its not like you are raising a new point all Tifosi are well aware of it

I recall reading that they(FIA) wont ever go over 10pts for a win soo its much easier to compare and put stats with oldskool drivers of yesteryear. But they really need to put 2nd back down to 6pts or atleast 7pts.

They need a Top 6 again, Top 8 is too many finishers with pts.

Nothing personal, but we can all agree Max Mosley suxs balls and needs to go. He may of been good for the sport back in the 70's and 80's and I agree with certain things like safety but dont tell us that F1 needs to save money then charge GP's $30mill a year to host an event or ask new teams for $40mill to enter the sport.....

Im off to send my resume to FIA.

 

I'm sure if MS had had the early season success of FA, and instead the Renault boys were trying to catch up you'd still be complaining about the points situation....

The fact of the matter is that the first race of the season is just as important as the last--and every other race for that matter--and that Renault had their **** together from the start, unlike Ferrari. It's not about who wins the most races, it about who performs the best over the ENTIRE SEASON. I absolutely hate Renault, but they are without a doubt the team to beat right now.

I do think the points system is terrible. I happen to like the points system in NASCAR or CART. If FIA wants engines to last longer, they should offer points to all cars that finish, but obviously with some sort of system where each successive place gets even more points than the previous position jump.

I realize that FIA does take this into account when mailing out the checks, but the only people who care about the money more than the points are the team managers, sponsors, and investors. The drivers, mechanics, and fans I'd think are all more interested in the points.

Also offering pts for quick lap of the race would entice even those in the middle of the pack who may have gotten caught behind an accident the incentive to race hard and pick-up fast lap points.

People don't want to see F1 as an endurance race, but along the same lines, how lame is it to have nearly half the field drop out during the race? Boring. It's simple: the more cars that remain in the race and are competing for points makes the race that much more enjoyable to watch.

 

Excellent point. I remember a similar issue back in "the golden years" of turbo power: In the beginning it was all about who could build a turbo engine that wouldn't self destruct. Once reliability was on par, rules about fuel consumption came into play (basically you had only so many liters per race so people couldn't just go to foll turbo boost). And eventually we ended up with races where the cars towards the end didn't race anymore but roll home on fumes and many dropped out in the last few laps. Not good either.

So in essence it is a fine balance between loosing cars and having many cars that are being babyed home.

 

Get rid of the two race engine rule and go back to the old points system that rewarded the winner. Now that would make the series more exciting for me.

 

Agreed, but I still would like to give more points so a mid field team has a chance to proove itself towards its sponsors.

So how about:

10-6-5-4-3-2-1

or

11-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

 

Yes, agree with you also. I like the second version for the reasons you stated.

 

I have always been a fan of Fisi, who was always quick, mistake free and got the better of every teammate including R. Schumacher and Button (until Alonso). However, I have thrown in the towel at this point and feel Renault should do the same. Kovalainen will correctly fill one seat at Renault in 2007. IMO, Renault should set Bourdais in for a test ASAP. Thoughts on who should have the second seat at Renault assuming Fisi continues to self-destruct?

 

Again, people bash Flavio, but look at his track record. He can pick 'em, can't he? Fisi, Trulli, Mark Webber, Alonso, now Kovalainen. If you saw the Race of Champions two years ago when Kovalainen beat Schuey for the whole ball of wax, even though it's just a show, it set a lot of people's tongues wagging...

Man, this is a great time for F1. Nico, Heikki, all KINDS of young talent coming in. Time for JPM to go! <grin> Stick Louis Hamilton in there!

I feel bad watching Fisi struggle. He is absolutely one of the smoothest (and quickest) guys out there, but he can't buy a good qualifying or finish, it seems, over the last two years. Clock's ticking...

-Peter

 

Yep, same here

 

The reality however will be different: At some point somebody will screw up, be that Alonso, MS or somebody else taking them out.

I agree with you about the points system being bollocks (see below), but these calculations in the end never really work that way. Alonso won over Kimi in a rather dominant way and we don't know yet how 2006 will play out, but I'm certain there is going to be a DNF for Alonso and maybe another one for MS.

Also I don't think Ferrari will simply be winning every race and Alonso always come in 2nd. Ferrari is at the top, no question, but they also had good rubber today and Michael was in top form. I think Alonso was realistic when he said, that this time the factors were in Ferrari's favor, but it won't always be like that.

One DNF by Alonso and the championship is wide open again. But to me what is much more important is that Ferrari has shown today that Imola wasn't a fluke.

My only question at this moment is whether McLaren is already out for the count or whether they bounce back. I couldn't help myself thinking today, what if Michelin would have done a better job today: Alonso would have won, MS in 2nd and Kimi in 3rd. So if the tire pendulum swings just a little bit, the McLarens are back and it will be a three way fight to the title. Good for us.

 

I haven't thrown in the towel yet but I am starting to lose faith in Fisico too. I have always liked Fisico like I like the Chicago Cubs. I always like an underdog. He still won a race this year (only 3 drivers have won this year I believe) but like everyone else has said he is getting beat badly by his teammate. His blow up at Villeneuve was not necessary and showed just how desperate he has become. Kovalainen is extremely talented but I don't see Flavio giving up on Fisico this year but I could be wrong. Next year will be different story though if fisico doesn't start producing podiums on a regular basis.