Is F1 getting boring?

[West]

It's been boring for a while. I stopped following religiously after 2006. Even though Alonso is my favorite driver, that season was pretty boring. I hate it when there is usually only one or two teams that control the championships. I follow endurance racing a lot more now.

[mep]

racing should be wasting

[RacingManiac]

Alternatively, they can make an "endurance tire", so it'll be enough to last a whole race being pushed. So driver will have to race at the limit of the tire, and make a 2nd "sprint" compound that is MUCH faster than the "endurance" but has more defined finite life. And make stopping optional.

[Pandamasque]

I accidentally removed a phrase while posting.

I think FIA should act ASAP because they might just as well award points for qualifying and let them go home afterwards. Everyone knew that Webber's pace was as good as Vettel's and that Ferraris were catching Vettel at some point in the race, BUT COULDN'T USE THE ADVANTAGE due to overheating, loss of DF/punishing the tires in the wake of the car in front.

EDIT: added the missing bit in CAPS

[WhiteBlue]

I accidentally removed a phrase while posting.

I think FIA should act ASAP because they might just as well award points for qualifying and let them go home afterwards. Everyone knew that Webber's pace was as good as Vettel's and that Ferraris were catching Vettel at some point in the race, BUT COULDN'T USE THE ADVANTAGE due to overheating, loss of DF/punishing the tires in the wake of the car in front.

EDIT: added the missing bit in CAPS

Now it makes more sense.

[Rob W]

No matter what the rest of the rules are, as long as the engines and gearboxes must be preserved for next race(s), and as long as the pit stops for any reason are mandatory, there will be no racing.

There is nothing substantially different this season in engine and gear box rules to the last which saw thrilling races. This shows how little sense the endurance argument makes.

You mean other than the fact that the cars spend the bulk of the race with upwards of 100kg more weight to pull than in previous years? Basically 15% more weight for 2/3 of the race.

Manchild does make a good point and we saw it in the first race - cars keeping off the limit earlier in the race and seemingly not bothering to make much effort at overtaking.

Ferrari have already opted to change engines for the next race. Maybe a partially wear-related decision?

[Sebp]

I say scrap the whole book of regulations!!

The only rules I would impose are these:

1.) Power output limit of, say 750 bhp.
2.) Budget cap of 50m $ a year or even less.
3.) Safety stuff (obviously).
4.) Some eco/green stuff (50% of one years car has to be incorporated into the next model)

The numbers are up for debate.

So: no weight limit, no stupid banning true innovations, possibility of different motor concepts (turbos, diesels, turbines, you name it), active suspension, ground effect, active aero (driver controlled of course )...

Imagine how different the cars would look and race!

I'm only dreaming of course.

[manchild]

..You mean other than the fact that the cars spend the bulk of the race with upwards of 100kg more weight to pull than in previous years? Basically 15% more weight for 2/3 of the race.

Thanks for clarification. What we have in 2010 are old spec. engines and gearboxes, that are expected to push much heavier cars for 5 races. No one has the clue if they'll be able to do do it even at this endurance level.

[vall]

I say scrap the whole book of regulations!!

The only rules I would impose are these:

1.) Power output limit of, say 750 bhp.
2.) Budget cap of 50m $ a year or even less.
3.) Safety stuff (obviously).
4.) Some eco/green stuff (50% of one years car has to be incorporated into the next model)

The numbers are up for debate.

So: no weight limit, no stupid banning true innovations, possibility of different motor concepts (turbos, diesels, turbines, you name it), active suspension, ground effect, active aero (driver controlled of course )...

Imagine how different the cars would look and race!

I'm only dreaming of course.

Keep dreaming With the current understanding of the aerodynamics and the tool available to develop it, imagine what monsters those cars well be.... no way they can satisfy the safety requirements

[Sebp]

Still I don't think it would be unreasonable to cap the budget and open up the regulations a little bit for more innovation. I'm thinking about diesels or seamless transmission.

With a limited budget teams would be forced to concentrate on the technology they think would give them the biggest advantage. They couldn't develop every aspect of the car in as much detail as they would like.

So for example one team would have a great engine and power train while their aero was rubbish. And vice versa for other teams.

[Pandamasque]

With a limited budget teams would be forced to concentrate on the technology they think would give them the biggest advantage. They couldn't develop every aspect of the car in as much detail as they would like.

Can you imagine an F1 team like Ferrari or McLaren following the spirit of the budget cap rule? We're talking about ones that can develop their engines during the engine freeze, using airfoils as a part of a braking system etc etc etc.
I don't want to see Tomba posting about innovative accountancy in F1T development blog.

[kishigae]

I say scrap the whole book of regulations!!

The only rules I would impose are these:

1.) Power output limit of, say 750 bhp.
2.) Budget cap of 50m $ a year or even less.
3.) Safety stuff (obviously).
4.) Some eco/green stuff (50% of one years car has to be incorporated into the next model)

The numbers are up for debate.

So: no weight limit, no stupid banning true innovations, possibility of different motor concepts (turbos, diesels, turbines, you name it), active suspension, ground effect, active aero (driver controlled of course )...

Imagine how different the cars would look and race!

I'm only dreaming of course.

I tend to think (or dream) on the same lines. F1 regulations should be written in a couple of A4 sheets. I guess that more technical freedom would help more radical innovation in the cars. And innovation is not something you buy with money, so there wouldn't be a need for a budget cap, which in my view is almost impossible to enforce. No need to limit power if you can limit the amount of energy (fuel for example) a car can carry and use during a race, encouraging the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly technologies that could be passed on to road cars (not the other way round).
NOTE: I don't care too much if there is overtaking or not during racing. When I want that I watch other series.

[kilcoo316]

(1) Simple (and immediate) solution is to allow setup changes between qualifying and race. Often in the past, you found cars that were better in qualifying trim than race - but with the parc ferme rules, we cannot see this today. Thus, we cannot get what we need in the race - fundamentally much faster cars behind slower ones.

(2) The second fix is to use softer tyres so there is a real appreciable difference between a driver taking it easy on the tyres and a driver pushing for times.

(3) The third fix is to demolish every Tilke track.

(4) The fourth fix is to allow the rev limit to be raised 1,000rpm for 5-10 seconds per lap. (akin to a cheaper kers boost)




Mandatory pitstops are a joke and should not be considered.

[jac]

The past weekends' GP was a bore-fest. Yawn....

The problem in my opinion comes down to the tyres and the rules regarding the use of 2 compounds during the race.

By limiting the life-range of the compounds (say 15 laps soft, 25 laps hard), drivers almost always end up trying to preserve the tyres for later on. Which means they usually end up following each other monotonously, instead of nailing it and going for the pass.

In my honest opinion they need to scrap the 2 compound rule and instead introduce a single-spec, ultra durable tyre for the whole weekend. None of that saving tyres for later on nonsense. Give them ultra-grippy tyres and let the drivers have a go at it from the get-go through the end.

This will encourage them to really push for the pass instead of holding station/position 'till later.

These cars are meant to RACE people, not go round the track like a train.

[meves]

As far as I can see the only solution to the lack of racing is.

Short term

Change the tyres
Make them long life
Make them very short life span but very grippy

Remove parc ferme rules

Long term

Reduce the dependency on diffusers
Remove the rev limit and keep the engine life
Give the teams a set energy input into the cars e.g. 256000mj of energy, meaning that the teams can use whatever fuel and fuel recovery systems but they are limited to that energy input into the car per race.
Prevent Tilke from designing more circuits to get some variety back

That's my 10 pence worth!