The end of F1

[CMSMJ1]

I would agree with the above statements.

The Blue flags rules has made it "too" easy for the leaders and really does ruin the races of the drivers who are being lapped. It might cause some noise now adn again but over a season it'll be fair for everyone.

Also DRS - it is far too powerful and leads, in my opinion, to cars designed without any consideration of efficienccy in dirty air - they are designed to rol up to tsomeone and breeze on past.

Were DRS removed, or neutered, or perhaps given as a time limited resource - that would give the designers food for thought as a car that would be less impacted following another would be the car that could get a traditonal slipstream overtake.

We do also have to consider the cars being too fat, heavy and with too much accessible performance that they just like to rail around tracks well within their outright performance capability because they are tyre and fuel limited.

When was the last time we saw a car being pushed as fast as it could possibly go in a race and without any concern for tyre life, fuel use or batteries etc? Seems a long time ago - perhaps in MSC period..maybe 2005 - Raikkonen at Suzuka?

Oh I don;t know - it should be easy right?
1: Safe rules - protection and sensible rules
2: Everyone must start with XX litres of Fuel - no stops (though I did enjoy the light cars pace in a 3 stop and how they were designed to be so much smaller...)
3: You can change tyres if you want to (and why not have a tyre war eh....)
4: The race is 305km
5: Go get 'em people!

[Stu]

Gary Anderson makes an interesting point in yesterday’s “The Race” tech podcast. Allow DRS usage until the following driver is within a second and then it is disabled.

Some interesting points that you make here (^above^), it seems that winning in the latest (hybrid) era is to win as slowly as possible (mostly due to tyre preservation). I really miss the days of “Michael, this is Ross; we need you to do 19 qualifying laps to make this strategy work, do you think that you can do it?”

Shorter, more narrow cars; smaller wheels (with lower profile tyres) reduced fuel levels all lead to an ability to reduce the mass of some of the safety kit that is mandated (less mass means less energy to dissipate).

As you say, it should be easy….

[basti313]

The Blue flags rules has made it "too" easy for the leaders and really does ruin the races of the drivers who are being lapped. It might cause some noise now adn again but over a season it'll be fair for everyone.

This would kill strategy. Everyone would just pit before hitting the first backmarker and putting in an additional pitstop is close to impossible as you would spend even more time behind backmarkers after the stop...
I do not think it is that "neutral" as you say, it is bringing issues that are not there at the moment.

Also DRS - it is far too powerful and leads, in my opinion, to cars designed without any consideration of efficienccy in dirty air - they are designed to rol up to tsomeone and breeze on past.

Dirty air optimization was never the case in the time before we had DRS? Why should it happen now?
And no or less powerful DRS in general would lead to no more overtaking on some tracks, the overtaking festival in Hungary was a DRS festival....
I think it rather needs to be solved on a track basis, not a car basis. Why is there a DRS activation on Kemmel for example? Or DRS at all in Monza? Too much in Brazil? Removing or strongly shortening the stupid DRS zones would make it better already and they do not even need a rule change for it. It would be even cheaper if the teams can design the Monza wing without DRS.

Gary Anderson makes an interesting point in yesterday’s “The Race” tech podcast. Allow DRS usage until the following driver is within a second and then it is disabled.

But then you can not overtake on many tracks.

Shorter, more narrow cars; smaller wheels (with lower profile tyres) reduced fuel levels all lead to an ability to reduce the mass of some of the safety kit that is mandated (less mass means less energy to dissipate).

I do not know why the cars needed to grow, but do you see any sign of a target to go smaller from FIA? Is the idea of going smaller realistic?

[Juzh]

Gary Anderson makes an interesting point in yesterday’s “The Race” tech podcast. Allow DRS usage until the following driver is within a second and then it is disabled.

1s is too much, there'll be zero overtakes. Automatic shut-off at ~0,5s or maybe 0,3s should be fine to prevent drs fly-bys. Easy to monitor with some extra mini-sector loops on drs straights.

[CMSMJ1]

DRS is a mitigation though isn't it? It should have been a temporary solution to the 2009 regs becoming too difficult to pass.

It's a massive crutch and has removed a huge element of racing.

If we need a method to improve overtaking then it shouldn't be such a blunt instrument.

[johnny comelately]

DRS is a mitigation though isn't it? It should have been a temporary solution to the 2009 regs becoming too difficult to pass.

It's a massive crutch and has removed a huge element of racing.

If we need a method to improve overtaking then it shouldn't be such a blunt instrument.

Perfectly put.

[Big Tea]

DRS is a mitigation though isn't it? It should have been a temporary solution to the 2009 regs becoming too difficult to pass.

It's a massive crutch and has removed a huge element of racing.

If we need a method to improve overtaking then it shouldn't be such a blunt instrument.

Exactly. You now have to have the fastest car as passing is done on the straight, even if it actually tales place in the corner as without the speed and DRS you will not be in a position to pass or repassed on the next drag.
Pull 10 car lengths through the 'twisty bits' and it is gobbled up on the next straight.

[AR3-GP]

DRS is a mitigation though isn't it? It should have been a temporary solution to the 2009 regs becoming too difficult to pass.

It's a massive crutch and has removed a huge element of racing.

If we need a method to improve overtaking then it shouldn't be such a blunt instrument.

I would argue that the biggest improvement to non-DRS overtaking would be to simply slow the cars down by 10 seconds a lap or so.

In many ways, F1 is forcing itself into a tightening vice. The faster the cars are, the more unrealistic overtaking without DRS becomes.

[Big Tea]

DRS is a mitigation though isn't it? It should have been a temporary solution to the 2009 regs becoming too difficult to pass.

It's a massive crutch and has removed a huge element of racing.

If we need a method to improve overtaking then it shouldn't be such a blunt instrument.

I would argue that the biggest improvement to non-DRS overtaking would be to simply slow the cars down by 10 seconds a lap or so.

In many ways, F1 is forcing itself into a tightening vice. The faster the cars are, the more unrealistic overtaking without DRS becomes.

They are probably over powered too. There is no longer a choice of gearing for speed or acceleration, probably too many gears too

[johnny comelately]

DRS is a mitigation though isn't it? It should have been a temporary solution to the 2009 regs becoming too difficult to pass.

It's a massive crutch and has removed a huge element of racing.

If we need a method to improve overtaking then it shouldn't be such a blunt instrument.

I would argue that the biggest improvement to non-DRS overtaking would be to simply slow the cars down by 10 seconds a lap or so.

In many ways, F1 is forcing itself into a tightening vice. The faster the cars are, the more unrealistic overtaking without DRS becomes.

They are probably over powered too. There is no longer a choice of gearing for speed or acceleration, probably too many gears too

I've thought about all this for years and lamented the convergence by rules and each point raised is valid, until...
Max came along and defied the lot!
I abhor his dirty overtakes which seem to be lessening perhaps by maturity, but he does race.
And the knock on effect has been, naturally, others are doing the same. That is one way how evolution works.
So the future is OK

[sosic2121]

DRS is a mitigation though isn't it? It should have been a temporary solution to the 2009 regs becoming too difficult to pass.

It's a massive crutch and has removed a huge element of racing.

If we need a method to improve overtaking then it shouldn't be such a blunt instrument.

I think KERS was great way of improving racing in a fair way. Something like that could still be implemented.

[coaster]

If they do it, then its their responsibility to run similations at each track of a failed aero car becoming airborne and hitting the spectators.
Raising fences at the end of fast straights, move seating back in braking zones, they gotta forsee it.