Tough titties Mr Driver! How is this different to the current regulations? They still try and run the car as low as possible to gain maximum underbody ground effect and as we have ascertained, often touch the plank.
i'm saying it could be pushed so hard that the plank comepletely wares away. its improbable, since they have to keep that plank intact and with a certain thickiness till the end of the race but i'm just saying what if? what if a driver some1 was already running low tyre temps, theres a little bit of rain, track temp lowers, pressures lower and the car starts bottoming out and wearing out the plank to such an extent it doesn't absorb any of the energy when the car bottoms out.
And i'm not really concerened to much towards the end of the season cause usually by then the engineers have got it all together but its usually the begining of the season when new rule changes get drafted in that freaky sh*t happens. Take JV killing that marshal in Australia when the front wings where raised by 5 mill. I donno, just hate to see bad things happen to people for the sake of motorsport, as much as i love it you can't justify it.
Of course safety is paramount, for everyone. It took me ten years to get over the loss of Senna, and everything about that terrible weekend still haunts me.
But sometimes you need to specify minimum and maximum parameters in the rules, and then step back and allow the teams and drivers to make their own decisions. Brakes are a good example, the teams are allowed to basically choose how powerful the brakes are, and how well they perform and survive. If the brakes fade away at the end of the race, then obviously someone didn't do their homework.
The same applies to ground clearance and the risk of bottoming out, and crashing. It's up to the teams and drivers to ensure they stay within their own comfort zone. We can't mandate every single aspect that relates to safety, it's just not practical. No one tells the drivers they have to brake before a certain point, it's up their own personal judgement and comfort level.
But I would like to see the bottom plank rule altered, so that wear is not tolerated. The occasional touch with the the road surface can happen, but regular contact with the road surface on every lap should be severely discouraged. When new the skid block is 10 mm thick. On post race inspection, it cannot be less than 8mm at any point (barring specific holes or impact points with objects that may be thrown up from the road surface), or the car is disqualified.
I don't mean to appear callous or ignorant of the risk of tragedy, but personally I believe the road to take is to educate all the teams and drivers on the great risk of bottoming out, give them parameters to work within, then step back and give them the dignity of making their own decisions.
