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F1 is an extremely difficult position these days. How can a team(s) increase lap speed YoY, have competitive racing, make money, stay safe, and still have incen
by happyjack 6y ago
F1 is an extremely difficult position these days. How can a team(s) increase lap speed YoY, have competitive racing, make money, stay safe, and still have incentives for OEMs to participate? The answer is they can't. At least in the current formula. I think Bernie did a great job running the sport as a dictator, but he set up a house of cards that was doomed. I don't think Chase Carey and Liberty really had a chance. Also, the talent pool has become increasingly level. With the advances in simulator technology and aero dominating the sport, I think the driver / pilot has much less factor. I don't think there is really any room to argue. Kimi is still out in Q1, and the Mercs are 1 2. There will always be different eras and arguments as to who is good, blah blah. But the fact is driver salaries are going down, and the margin between the drivers is shrinking. This isn't 2003 where Schumacher and Ferrari would run 3000 miles of testing every other week.
Let's be honest; it's about the car. There is a reason Adrian Newey has won titles with 3 teams. There is a reason MClaren is going back to Mercedes. There is a reason why Toro Rosso only wins in the wet. There is a reason driver salaries are down. There is a reason we have 18 year old drivers.
I think the only way to go back to exciting racing is bringing back more variables. Less Tilke / new age tracks (more track diversity), refueling / more tire manufacturers and the like, go back to the old school points system, and get rid of these crazy stewards that are killing races like the one Vetell had in Canada. Have a technical regulations package that has a diminishing return past a certain amount of $ spent. Make it more about mechanical grip and less about aero.
I remember listening to a beyond the grid podcast with Juan Pablo Montoya. The host kept trying to pull the whole "what was it like to race with Michael" ooze fest. Juan simply stated he was in the best car, and when he was at Mercedes he didn't do that well. All the drivers on the grid are good. All of them. The difference between the champions is some skill and a lot of luck, and managers making the right moves.
Don't get me wrong; it takes skill. But (especially today) to say that drivers are not second place to the cars is somewhat ignorant. The only pair of teammates on the grid right now who have any legitimate gap are Albon and Verstappen. Other than that, it's par for the course.
- WalterBright 6y agoI've idly thought that if I was the F1 Czar I'd ban all transistors in the cars, except for in safety equipment. Not even a radio. Have the operation of the car be up to driver skill, not computer programmer virtuosity. (And I'm a programmer!) Of course, it is possible to make mechanical computers, but they are very costly to develop, heavy, take up lots of space, hard to modify, etc. Besides, it's a lost art.
- mft_ 6y agoFormula 1 is meant to represent the pinnacle of technology. (Although arguably it doesn’t now, thanks to the myriad restrictions). Your idea would probably give us a great racing series, but it wouldn’t be Formula 1.
- happyjack 6y agoYou are spot on. At the core F1 is less about racing and more about the pinnacle "formula."
- exDM69 6y agoTransistors have been in racing cars since 1967 when the Cosworth DFV engine, with a "transistorized ignition" system, was put to the back of the Lotus 49, driven by Jim Clark and Graham Hill. Going all mechanical would be going back to an era long gone. It would be difficult to attract funding for a formula racing series (not a spec series) based on obsolete technology. That said, the early 1960s era of 1.5 liter V8 engines produced some of the most eloquent racing machines ever.
- WalterBright 6y agoMy 1972 Dodge came with a "transistorized" ignition. It was one transistor! (I replaced it with an MSD ignition box.)
- wil421 6y agoSounds like you would like NASCAR.
- meditative 6y agoI watch F1 for the engineering, but unfortunately it's not covered much due to the secretive nature of the sport. > The only pair of teammates on the grid right now who have any legitimate gap are Albon and Verstappen. Other than that, it's par for the course. Abon and Verstappen are no the only legitimate gaps; Leclerc vs Vettle and Ricc vs Ocon are also substantial. A better driver can take 250ms off their team mate - something that would take multiple millions of dollars a year to obtain via regular engineering. That said, I agree that a great driver such as Ricciardo has no chance to compete for the WDC in his car.
- happyjack 6y agoI'm not sure I count Lec & Vet. Vet is leaving next year and I am sure he is a pure testing car right now. You are spot on about Ric and Oc. Ric is driving superb compared to him.