A real engineering challenge

[AngusF1]

From an engineer's perspective, F1 is dead boring as the cars are mostly designed by regulation, then most years the project is just to refine last year's car. The formula remains stagnant for years at a time.

Here's a much better idea. At the start of each year, generate the formula for the following year at random. Then the engineers have the year to design the car. Each year the formula changes completely, providing a genuinely new engineering project each year.

For example roll a dice for:

• Electric (1/6) or combustion (5/6).

• If electric: various details but not interested.

• If combustion:
  - Rotary (1/6), two stroke reciprocating piston (1/6), four-stroke reciprocating piston (4/6).
  - Cylinders: 4,5,6,8,10,12 all 1/6
  - Toluene allowed (1/6)

• Length: 4 to 6m by d6

• Width: 1.6 to 2.2m by d6

• Aero:
  - Wings banned (1/6)
  - Skirts allowed (1/6)

• Weight limit: 400kg to 600kg by d6

• Tyre sizes: vary by similar method

... etc

Something like this would provide real engineering interest and bring the best creative minds and best drivers to the fore rather than the best tinkerers and optimisers.

[Greg Locock]

A year wouldn't be enough, in my opinion, to produce a reliable car. However it's a fun idea, rather like the X Prize and DARPA challenges.

[Rodak]

You might have to increase the spend limit a wee bit.......

[Stu]

A creeping variant might work, change one significant variant each year (engines require a fair amount of lead-time), but a two year lead in to each change would allow time for development. It would be great fun!!

[NL_Fer]

We might as well throw the dice to decide the winner. Since one team will built the fastest car of the season and win all races.

[Stu]

Isn’t that always the way of things? Normally there are two teams that are close, but we are really used to single team domination since at least 1977.

[lucafo]

A creeping variant might work, change one significant variant each year (engines require a fair amount of lead-time), but a two year lead in to each change would allow time for development. It would be great fun!!

I would prefer less modifications as you posted.
Engineer is about developments so, besides all the standards we seen, they keep improving.
From last year we saw that a small change on the floor put Mercedes 6 months in trouble.
The down side is those changes tends to be political (as life). So, little sad...


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[neiljay]

What a great idea, especially getting rid of wings but skirts - not so much.

I would love to see a return to mechanical grip allied to a maximum co-efficient of drag, say 0.30, which would obstruct clever aero tricks. (Load sensors on each corner would do the same job.) Maybe then we'd see a bit of real car control without resorting to slow-mo replays.

Forgot to add - introduce Index of thermal efficiency for those interested (Sebastien Vettel?).