4 ms·

It seems your data on F-1 are slightly out of date. Yes, the rules are the same for everyone, but each team optimizes within them differently. As for identical

It seems your data on F-1 are slightly out of date. Yes, the rules are the same for everyone, but each team optimizes within them differently. As for identical cars, I guess McLaren only wish they had a car like Mercedes or Ferrari (or any old car that could actually last an entire race).

bitL 12y ago
There is no longer awe associated with breaking records/introducing diverse tech into motorsports anymore. I guess previous generations had it better as they could watch how somebody breaks 190, 200, 210, ... mph barrier, run engines with 900, 1000, 1100hp for the first time, run two sets of rear or front wheels etc. None of that applies now, motorsports are now regulated and consolidated. New revival attempts introduce super ugly cars (look at IndyCars in the past 10 years, or even current Formula E), all mind-blowing racing that deviates from the norm is now banned (Zanardi's "The Pass" can't happen anymore), engines can't be pushed to higher hp unless we want to allow multiple casualties per race, as Firestone Firehawk 600 shown us in 2001 we already crossed the threshold of what humans can withstand and had to backtrack... F1 is now boring (who cares that some German guy in a red car wins?) and mainly a world unto itself with very little connection to the real world as the rules are a result of decades of political fights (i.e. they aren't representing technological pinnacle of what is possible rather what powerful people allowed each other). There were glimmers of interesting things happening with drifting etc. but they never had mainstream potential. I really don't see much future in this, the existing motorsports can be probably milked for a while with a proper marketing strategy, but the future lies elsewhere.
- jkot 12y ago
  > engines can't be pushed to higher hp unless we want to allow multiple casualties per race, We need robots than.
  - bitL 12y ago
    More like sophisticated human augmentations...
  - TheLoneWolfling 12y ago
    It would be interesting to do remote control. I.e. nobody in the car. Two classes: one with restrictions (i.e. driver must be in control - no assists / etc. May be tricky to define.), one without (want to go fully computer-controlled? Sure!).
    - andrewchambers 12y ago
      Remote control means you can tweak the scale of the cars/races.
      - TheLoneWolfling 12y ago
        Yep. Although it would be interesting to go "you must have a space where a person can fit, and if you ever kill the dummy inside you lose the race" (defined a little more precisely, of course). Remember: you probably want to keep the scale vaguely car-size. That way you'll get the most applicable innovation coming out of it. And also that way it'll tend to be the most interesting to spectators.
      - TheLoneWolfling 12y ago
        Yep. Although it would be interesting to go "you must have a space where a person can fit, and if you ever kill the dummy inside you lose the race" (defined a little more precisely, of course). Remember: you probably want to keep the scale vaguely car-size. That way you'll get the most applicable innovation coming out of it. And also that way it'll tend to be the most interesting to spectators.

bitL 12y ago

There is no longer awe associated with breaking records/introducing diverse tech into motorsports anymore. I guess previous generations had it better as they could watch how somebody breaks 190, 200, 210, ... mph barrier, run engines with 900, 1000, 1100hp for the first time, run two sets of rear or front wheels etc. None of that applies now, motorsports are now regulated and consolidated. New revival attempts introduce super ugly cars (look at IndyCars in the past 10 years, or even current Formula E), all mind-blowing racing that deviates from the norm is now banned (Zanardi's "The Pass" can't happen anymore), engines can't be pushed to higher hp unless we want to allow multiple casualties per race, as Firestone Firehawk 600 shown us in 2001 we already crossed the threshold of what humans can withstand and had to backtrack... F1 is now boring (who cares that some German guy in a red car wins?) and mainly a world unto itself with very little connection to the real world as the rules are a result of decades of political fights (i.e. they aren't representing technological pinnacle of what is possible rather what powerful people allowed each other). There were glimmers of interesting things happening with drifting etc. but they never had mainstream potential. I really don't see much future in this, the existing motorsports can be probably milked for a while with a proper marketing strategy, but the future lies elsewhere.

jkot 12y ago
> engines can't be pushed to higher hp unless we want to allow multiple casualties per race, We need robots than.
- bitL 12y ago
  More like sophisticated human augmentations...
- TheLoneWolfling 12y ago
  It would be interesting to do remote control. I.e. nobody in the car. Two classes: one with restrictions (i.e. driver must be in control - no assists / etc. May be tricky to define.), one without (want to go fully computer-controlled? Sure!).
  - andrewchambers 12y ago
    Remote control means you can tweak the scale of the cars/races.
    - TheLoneWolfling 12y ago
      Yep. Although it would be interesting to go "you must have a space where a person can fit, and if you ever kill the dummy inside you lose the race" (defined a little more precisely, of course). Remember: you probably want to keep the scale vaguely car-size. That way you'll get the most applicable innovation coming out of it. And also that way it'll tend to be the most interesting to spectators.
    - TheLoneWolfling 12y ago
      Yep. Although it would be interesting to go "you must have a space where a person can fit, and if you ever kill the dummy inside you lose the race" (defined a little more precisely, of course). Remember: you probably want to keep the scale vaguely car-size. That way you'll get the most applicable innovation coming out of it. And also that way it'll tend to be the most interesting to spectators.