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Note one of the most farcical parts of Formula E is changing for the 2018–19 season (when the new chassis is introduced): they're getting rid of the mid-race ca
by gsnedders 9y ago
Note one of the most farcical parts of Formula E is changing for the 2018–19 season (when the new chassis is introduced): they're getting rid of the mid-race car change, and the batteries are required to last the full race distance.
- splike 9y agoThe most farcical part of Formula E for me will always be the Fan Boost [0]. I almost couldn't believe it when I saw it on TV for the first time. Fans vote for their favourite driver, and that driver then remotely receives a boost to their car. I thought it was a joke. [0] http://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/ http://fanboost.fiaformulae.com/
- isfield 9y agoTHIS I immediately stopped watching Formula E because of that. I like motor racing not popularity contests with cars. The tech involved in the cars is great though.
- sbarre 9y agoFan boost is great. Formula E is in it's infancy, and right now is still drawing in fans and support.. Now is the time for stunts like this... It won't be around forever, but for now it provides an additional measure of interaction and excitement in a sport that is already hard to get into if you're not willing to follow the non-race drama (the "circus" as they put it).
- isfield 9y agoOkay fine. Just don't call it motor racing then. Given that the cars are obviously running in some artificially crippled state compared to the 'boosted' car. Call it ... Car-big-brother or something instead :p
- ricardobeat 9y agoThe cars’ power output is electronically limited, this limit is raised during the 5s of boost. The same thing could be done for normal F1 cars - for example, by raising the RPM limit, power output or drag reduction for a few seconds. In fact, with KERS, F1 drivers already have the same kind of boost but without the voting.
- isfield 9y agoSure. The voting aspect is my big gripe though. Without the voting they don't need the limiter. If the dumped the voting and allowed teams to innovate battery I'd be ALL OVER IT but they need dump the voting aspect like-right-now.
- sbarre 9y agoLike I commented elsewhere, you're making a big deal out of basically nothing. FanBoost is a gimmick, and even F-E management acknowledges that it has virtually zero impact on the race itself. It's a 5-second ~5% power boost.. That's not going to change anything, and neither would letting the cars run at 5% more power in general without it.. I am sure that teams are innovating battery and motor just fine even with this minor limitation.. Don't you think if FanBoost was actually crippling or limiting innovation in the way you're assuming, the teams would cry foul? That kind of counter-productive decision would go against one of the main reasons they do these racing leagues (to innovate!). As an aside, all motor racing is "crippled", as you put it, by rules and regulations designed to provide a reasonably level playing field. Even Formula 1 has all kinds of limiting rules and guidelines that prevent teams from simply building the fastest/lightest/most powerful cars they can possibly design, and that's intentional.
- rasz 9y agoSo all the smart people know this is a scam played on uneducated redneck masses in order to grow following. I bet nothing can go wrong with building your fan base out of idiots.
- ferongr 9y agoNot really, it's not. It's a popularity contest in what should be a contest of crews and vehicles.
- sbarre 9y agoAnd Formula E is 99% still a contest of crews and vehicles, and a 1% gimmick designed to engage fans and viewers in this new sport. It's really not the problem you're making it out to be. FanBoost gives one driver a one-time 5-second ~5% boost to use during the race.. That's not going to change race outcomes in any significant way, and even Formula E acknowledges that it has (intentionally) virtually no impact on the race..
- hinkley 9y agoYou're not supposed to take ideas from the Hunger Games or The Running Man and use them in earnest. That's some Phillip K Dick level insanity right there.
- makmanalp 9y agoI feel like we could extend this to essentially be like mario kart or the wacky races and it'd be great!
- rjvs 9y agoAs I understand, fan boost allows the selected car to use more energy for a small amount of time. However, it doesn’t increase the amount of energy the car has available. The driver will still need to account for that somewhere else in that lap or another. also, it’s one-time per race. It might allow a single pass but it’s not going to make a huge change to the results.
- dharmab 9y agoMany of the greatest moments in motorsports hinge on "a single pass."
- csours 9y agoDo you mean they are removing the farcical re-charge? IE, it was a farce to recharge in the middle of the race in the previous season.
- gsnedders 9y agoThey don't re-charge the car mid-race (and never have); they simply change between two cars, and that's what they're getting rid of.
- Fripplebubby 9y agoI'm not sure what makes that farcical - in the first three seasons, the car swap was required because battery capacities were too low to power the car for the whole race. Now the battery capacity requirement is double - isn't this pushing battery development forward?
- gsnedders 9y agoThe batteries have been, and remain, standard parts, used by all teams. There's no on-track competition pushing battery development forward, they're just put out to tender every few years by the organisers.
- utellme 9y agoYeah, but bodywork "much more stylised than before" will please advertisers, not aerodynamicists. And sound which will irritate your pets still remains.
- colordrops 9y agoWhat's farcical to me is that the cars are standardized and manufactured by one company. How is that supposed to be interesting and drive innovation?
- zimpenfish 9y agoSame as A1GP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A1_Grand_Prix#Chassis_and_engines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A1_Grand_Prix#Chassis_and_engi... > This regulation provided a level playing field in which driver skill and team effort should become the primary factor for success. Compared with F1 now where some teams can (effectively) "pay to win".
- sjm-lbm 9y agoTo be fair, the F1 teams pay to win by paying for some stunning engineering. The way the F1 rules are set up means that F1 is basically an engineering contest first and a racing series second. It's part of the reason that it is so great to watch. .. and I say this as a McLaren fan (which, for those that don't follow F1, is a traditionally top F1 team that has had an absolutely woeful couple of years).
- Cshelton 9y agoTrue. For example, Force India, one of the teams with the least amount of funding of all of them on circuit. They are competing way above their way class, in terms of money, and doing very well. It's actually pretty amazing how often they are in the points (top 10 race finish) for the resources they have. Talk about amazing engineering and process they must use to compete against Ferrari/Mercedes/Red bull.
- wastedhours 9y agoYep - one of the things Eddie Jordan did right, setting the environment up to really optimise for one condition (top speed). When you have limited resources, focus on the most important thing and then make up for other shortcomings with talent.