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Wouldn't Formula 1 be more interesting if everyone had to race with the same car? Then it would just be about driver skill? Otherwise all of the rules are just

Wouldn't Formula 1 be more interesting if everyone had to race with the same car? Then it would just be about driver skill? Otherwise all of the rules are just too easy to game for a season and dominate.

kaoD 6y ago
F1 is a team sport, car engineering is part of the competition.
tempestn 6y ago
It can become boring when one team is very dominant, as has been the case for a number of years now. Absent that though, differences between the cars can make the sport more interesting. The engineering competition is a part of it. As are the adaptations the drivers and teams need to make to take into account their cars' relative strengths and weaknesses compared to others. Plus, if the disadvantage isn't too great, it can be fun to cheer for an underdog who overcomes a disadvantageous car and still manages to win. Spec racing certainly has its place, and it is indeed also nice to see drivers pitted against each other on skill (and luck) alone. But that's never been Formula 1.
Gene_Parmesan 6y ago
F1 is as much about the engineering challenge of having the teams competing to build the fastest circuit racing car in the world as it is about the drivers driving it. If you remove the engineering challenge, you no longer have F1. (Kind of literally, as the Formula in Formula 1 refers to the regulations teams need to follow in their construction of the vehicle.) There are plenty of other major racing series around the world that use standardized vehicles. The reason F1 is special is the engineering, plain and simple. The aerodynamics involved, the engine efficiencies... Mercedes' ICU (traditional fuel part of the power unit) has achieved a thermal efficiency of over 50%. That is astounding. You just don't get these sort of advances with a spec series; there's no motivation for it. If you combat the imbalance in team success at all, you do it by inserting negative feedback loops and spending limits. Making total available budget be not the #1 determining factor is an obvious choice. Some caps are in the works currently. And for negative feedback loops, these are things like -- the higher your finishing position for the season, the less wind tunnel time you have available to use in the offseason. Something like that, things that make it so if you win, it's a little bit harder to keep winning the next time. You definitely don't turn it into a spec series, because then you have killed the sport.
- throwaway210222 6y ago
  Just make the cars and the tires less wide and you'll have a competitive F1 series with overtaking at every corner. Like what Fangio had to drive.
acover 6y ago
There are leagues that do this, they aren't as popular as formula 1. Even still, the best teams can afford to buy 3 engines and keep the one that's 10% better.
masklinn 6y ago
> Wouldn't Formula 1 be more interesting if everyone had to race with the same car? It would be a different sport. Not necessarily worse or better, just different. The engineering constrains and challenges are, et this moment, part of the point. Formula E is closer to what you’re talking about, i believe only the power train is customisable.
AmericanChopper 6y ago
That sport is called already exists, it’s called IndyCar. Viewership and revenue statistics would suggest that it’s probably not more interesting.
- frockington1 6y ago
  As one of the 10 people who watched Indycar, simliar things still happen. Teams are limited in the number of wind tunnel trials they can do each year, so one team bought a mountain with a road that tunnels the wind in order to skirt regulations. Its called the Laurel Hill Tunnel if you want to read more
  - masklinn 6y ago
    > Teams are limited in the number of wind tunnel trials they can do each year I don't understand, what's the purpose of wind tunnel trials when you're not designing the car?
    - jacurtis 6y ago
      I think they can do some minor body adjustments to fins and things. But the core car and powertrain is the same. In a sport where everyone drives the same car, marginal gains (1% more performance) can be what wins a race.
jacurtis 6y ago
> Wouldn't Formula 1 be more interesting if everyone had to race with the same car? This already exists. Formula 2 is essentially Formula 1 racing, but everyone races the same car with the same specs. IndyCar is another example of Formula style racing where everyone races the same vehicle. But Formula 1 is fascinating because it pushes the technological envelope of what is possible. The engineers back at car-manufacturer headquarters are the athletes participating on the team. The main driver of course is important, but there are plenty of examples of amazing drivers in less desirable cars that lose repeatedly. Because the engineering is part of the sport. Formula 1 drivers have quit teams over engineering decisions. Formula 1 is so interesting because the cars just keep pushing the engineering envelope of what is possible with 4 wheels. This is similar to the old Ford vs Ferrari days at Le Mans, where car manufacturers had to build cars that were capable of racing at high speeds for 24 hours straight. Of course the driver is important. But more important than the driver is the car. The car must be able to last, and especially back in the 60s, cars really couldn't do that. Much of the technology that is developed at those races trickled down into what we drive today and have built more reliable cars. Technology like fuel injection that we take for granted in cars today came from these races.

kaoD 6y ago

F1 is a team sport, car engineering is part of the competition.

tempestn 6y ago

It can become boring when one team is very dominant, as has been the case for a number of years now. Absent that though, differences between the cars can make the sport more interesting. The engineering competition is a part of it. As are the adaptations the drivers and teams need to make to take into account their cars' relative strengths and weaknesses compared to others. Plus, if the disadvantage isn't too great, it can be fun to cheer for an underdog who overcomes a disadvantageous car and still manages to win. Spec racing certainly has its place, and it is indeed also nice to see drivers pitted against each other on skill (and luck) alone. But that's never been Formula 1.

Gene_Parmesan 6y ago

F1 is as much about the engineering challenge of having the teams competing to build the fastest circuit racing car in the world as it is about the drivers driving it. If you remove the engineering challenge, you no longer have F1. (Kind of literally, as the Formula in Formula 1 refers to the regulations teams need to follow in their construction of the vehicle.) There are plenty of other major racing series around the world that use standardized vehicles. The reason F1 is special is the engineering, plain and simple. The aerodynamics involved, the engine efficiencies... Mercedes' ICU (traditional fuel part of the power unit) has achieved a thermal efficiency of over 50%. That is astounding. You just don't get these sort of advances with a spec series; there's no motivation for it. If you combat the imbalance in team success at all, you do it by inserting negative feedback loops and spending limits. Making total available budget be not the #1 determining factor is an obvious choice. Some caps are in the works currently. And for negative feedback loops, these are things like -- the higher your finishing position for the season, the less wind tunnel time you have available to use in the offseason. Something like that, things that make it so if you win, it's a little bit harder to keep winning the next time. You definitely don't turn it into a spec series, because then you have killed the sport.

throwaway210222 6y ago
Just make the cars and the tires less wide and you'll have a competitive F1 series with overtaking at every corner. Like what Fangio had to drive.

acover 6y ago

There are leagues that do this, they aren't as popular as formula 1. Even still, the best teams can afford to buy 3 engines and keep the one that's 10% better.

masklinn 6y ago

> Wouldn't Formula 1 be more interesting if everyone had to race with the same car? It would be a different sport. Not necessarily worse or better, just different. The engineering constrains and challenges are, et this moment, part of the point. Formula E is closer to what you’re talking about, i believe only the power train is customisable.

AmericanChopper 6y ago

That sport is called already exists, it’s called IndyCar. Viewership and revenue statistics would suggest that it’s probably not more interesting.

frockington1 6y ago
As one of the 10 people who watched Indycar, simliar things still happen. Teams are limited in the number of wind tunnel trials they can do each year, so one team bought a mountain with a road that tunnels the wind in order to skirt regulations. Its called the Laurel Hill Tunnel if you want to read more
- masklinn 6y ago
  > Teams are limited in the number of wind tunnel trials they can do each year I don't understand, what's the purpose of wind tunnel trials when you're not designing the car?
  - jacurtis 6y ago
    I think they can do some minor body adjustments to fins and things. But the core car and powertrain is the same. In a sport where everyone drives the same car, marginal gains (1% more performance) can be what wins a race.

jacurtis 6y ago

> Wouldn't Formula 1 be more interesting if everyone had to race with the same car? This already exists. Formula 2 is essentially Formula 1 racing, but everyone races the same car with the same specs. IndyCar is another example of Formula style racing where everyone races the same vehicle. But Formula 1 is fascinating because it pushes the technological envelope of what is possible. The engineers back at car-manufacturer headquarters are the athletes participating on the team. The main driver of course is important, but there are plenty of examples of amazing drivers in less desirable cars that lose repeatedly. Because the engineering is part of the sport. Formula 1 drivers have quit teams over engineering decisions. Formula 1 is so interesting because the cars just keep pushing the engineering envelope of what is possible with 4 wheels. This is similar to the old Ford vs Ferrari days at Le Mans, where car manufacturers had to build cars that were capable of racing at high speeds for 24 hours straight. Of course the driver is important. But more important than the driver is the car. The car must be able to last, and especially back in the 60s, cars really couldn't do that. Much of the technology that is developed at those races trickled down into what we drive today and have built more reliable cars. Technology like fuel injection that we take for granted in cars today came from these races.