How Would You Change Formula 1?

[WhiteBlue]

I would first of all limit the scope of aerodynamic work teams can do. How would you do it? Quite simple, just apply the same principle the teams impose on engine development work. Allow one basic aerodynamic design per season and a limited list of upgrades that can be done over one year, like a low and high downforce package and that would be it.

As compensation rules on engines and Energy recovery would be freed up considerably. AWKERS would be allowed and pretty much everything that is allowed in LMP1. So free choice of engine config every year. Less fuel flow for progessivly bigger energy recovery systems. The whole works.

I would go for a tunnel floor, smaller wings, 18 inch wheels and movable and adaptive aerodynamics. In aerodynamics everything that makes the car more aerodynamic efficient would allowed. I would keep power unit homologation but no freeze. Small changes with limited number like the aerodynamic allowance from a closed list can be made during the season. Big changes can be made for the following year.

I would generally allow a team to make changes every third race. That means you have six changes per season. Two aerodynamic, two energy recovery and two engine changes. If that is not enough and you have money left allow three changes per season from a very restricted list.

The purpose is limiting what teams can do in volume and resources and still provide development in all fields during the season. This would make F1 technically more interesting and limit the development cost at the same time. Mid field teams would have a better chance of catching up.

Commercially I would give all teams a base budget that they can exist from. The rest can be distributed by points earned. Ferrari are not to receive any extra money. They have already enough. I would also prohibit any corporation that is involved in tobacco or other drug business to sponsor a team or F1 as a whole.

I would also allow more than one tyre supplier but testing would be restricted to one additional hour on Friday for tyres only. Every tyre supplier must be prepared to supply all teams if called for.

I would change the F1commission to give the manufacturers more say to balance the vote of the constructors and attract more manufacturers. Currently F1 is totally unattractive to manufacturers because the constructors get it all their way.

I have an easier way to restrict aero, ban front wings and go back to ground effects.

And why would you prohibit any corporation involved with tobacco or other drug business to sponsor?

It is perhaps easy but ineffective for all t he other problems in f1. No drug sponsorship because the sport is not to promote drugs. Very simple.

[turbof1]

That's noble, but simply not doable. Enough ways to circumvent it; just look at Ferrari.

banning front wings and reintroducing ground effect isn't exactly going to work against eachother. Back in the day they removed the front wings by their own. They had so much downforce that removing the front wing just increased the aero efficiency without sacrificing cornering speed.

I would reintroduce ground effect on a small area of the floor.

Also something else: instead of throwing fines for speeding in the pitlane and such, I would force the drivers and teams to do public road safety awareness actions. It has no value to let them pay such small fines, but if they can convince young ones in schools to be more defensive in traffic and safe even one life that way, they really would have made a big contribution.

[MOWOG]

Here's a snippet of a conversation Bobby Rahal had with Car & Driver magazine 10 years ago. Make of it what you will. At least Rahal had a small peek behind the scenes at Formula One, so his ideas should carry some weight........

How would you fix F1?

Throw away the technology. Dumb it down. Start over. A new formula, a paradigm shift. Make it look like it was 25 years ago. Limit technology, like NASCAR has done. NASCAR knows it has to entertain. In F1, there's no obligation on the part of anyone there to entertain.

You know, racing used to claim it was setting the technical frontiers for street cars. Now street cars are far, far more sophisticated, so that argument is dead, out the window. And it doesn't matter if purists want super-advanced cars, because racing can't afford it. You'll have 10 cars flying around, whoever has the most money wins.

[langwadt]

I would first of all limit the scope of aerodynamic work teams can do. How would you do it? Quite simple, just apply the same principle the teams impose on engine development work. Allow one basic aerodynamic design per season and a limited list of upgrades that can be done over one year, like a low and high downforce package and that would be it.

As compensation rules on engines and Energy recovery would be freed up considerably. AWKERS would be allowed and pretty much everything that is allowed in LMP1. So free choice of engine config every year. Less fuel flow for progessivly bigger energy recovery systems. The whole works.

I would go for a tunnel floor, smaller wings, 18 inch wheels and movable and adaptive aerodynamics. In aerodynamics everything that makes the car more aerodynamic efficient would allowed. I would keep power unit homologation but no freeze. Small changes with limited number like the aerodynamic allowance from a closed list can be made during the season. Big changes can be made for the following year.

I would generally allow a team to make changes every third race. That means you have six changes per season. Two aerodynamic, two energy recovery and two engine changes. If that is not enough and you have money left allow three changes per season from a very restricted list.

The purpose is limiting what teams can do in volume and resources and still provide development in all fields during the season. This would make F1 technically more interesting and limit the development cost at the same time. Mid field teams would have a better chance of catching up.

Commercially I would give all teams a base budget that they can exist from. The rest can be distributed by points earned. Ferrari are not to receive any extra money. They have already enough. I would also prohibit any corporation that is involved in tobacco or other drug business to sponsor a team or F1 as a whole.

I would also allow more than one tyre supplier but testing would be restricted to one additional hour on Friday for tyres only. Every tyre supplier must be prepared to supply all teams if called for.

I would change the F1commission to give the manufacturers more say to balance the vote of the constructors and attract more manufacturers. Currently F1 is totally unattractive to manufacturers because the constructors get it all their way.

I have an easier way to restrict aero, ban front wings and go back to ground effects.

And why would you prohibit any corporation involved with tobacco or other drug business to sponsor?

It is perhaps easy but ineffective for all t he other problems in f1. No drug sponsorship because the sport is not to promote drugs. Very simple.

how do you define drugs? what about medical companies like promoting NiQuitin? what about alcohol? beers allowed?
if not what about champagne on podium? brewery promoting their water?
and what about red bull? it is full of coffein

[GitanesBlondes]

It is perhaps easy but ineffective for all t he other problems in f1. No drug sponsorship because the sport is not to promote drugs. Very simple.

According to who, you?

The sport will promote whomever pays sponsorship dollars/Euros/pounds/etc. so long as there is no legal restriction upon the product being displayed. You don't have to like, or even agree with a sponsor, or sponsors as it is your given choice.

Frankly, I wish the tobacco sponsors were still allowed to be sponsors as they were even 10 years ago. While you may not like or approve of tobacco, they did far more to keep the sport afloat than any sponsor period. Personally, I think it's a joke alcohol is considered to be ok, but tobacco is not as one can make a case alcohol is no better than tobacco in terms of total destruction wrought upon people.

But let's be honest here, if there were terms attached to the nature of sponsorship as you seem to be interested in, there'd be very few sponsors to be had period.

[MOWOG]

Considering that several states in the US have approved the use of marijuana for "medical reasons" , perhaps we could see a car painted to resemble a cannibis sativa plant at some point in the future? [-o<

[GitanesBlondes]

One of the IRL team's main sponsor is Blu e-Cigarettes. Says it right on the engine cover and rear wing.

Should be interesting to see if that sort of sponsorship makes it's way to Formula 1.

[PhillipM]

that's 6km/l for a 300km grandprix, doubt a normal family car could do that when you drive it hard

motogp can barely do it

Good, it'd be a challenge then, they'd have to have some serious KERS and active aero

[krisfx]

One thing I would like to see, is a system that allows more pre season testing the lower you come.

IE:

Constructors champions get one day

bottom teams get a week or something, or maybe allow some in season testing and more hours the worse you did the previous season.

That way the top teams wouldn't just walk it year on year I think.

In order to fund this, as someone said previously, the money pay out should be increased to the teams, rather than lining the investors' pockets.

[mnmracer]

Considering that several states in the US have approved the use of marijuana for "medical reasons" , perhaps we could see a car painted to resemble a cannibis sativa plant at some point in the future? [-o<

Robin Frijns may finally have his sponsor!

[SectorOne]

Open engine regulations, capped at 1000 bhp through dynos and restrictors.

Fuel same as today, road relevant-ish.

No wings, or any other downforce generating aero parts on the car, just imagine the body of an F1 car without wings.

Spec floor with a fan driven by the engine giving downforce levels of early 2000, not much at all compared to today.
Basically lower corner speeds, higher top speeds, 380-400 region for top speeds.

The best tires that can be produced.

[beelsebob]

For me, it's simple. Remove all of the rules surrounding the type of engine you need, remove restrictions on fuel flow, and KERS unit etc. Instead, one simple rule – "you must start the race with no more than x kJ of energy stored in any form on the vehicle, you may not add any more, other than that generated on the vehicle.

[MOWOG]

just imagine the body of an F1 car without wings.

Imagine there's no aero. It's easy if you try.
No diffusers down below them, above them only sky.
Imagine all the race fans, clapping hands with glee,
Ooooh OOOH, ooooh ooooh oooooh........
You may say I'm a dreamer.....but I'm not the only one.
Maybe some day you will join us, in the wingless world of F1!

[strad]

MOWOG.. Beautiful and an example of what I would do,,and would hairlip just about everyone on Bear Creek.........
No sponsor livery or decals

[toto1041]

F1 no longer innovates meaningful technology relevant to road cars. That fork in the road has passed.

F1 cars need to be machines that maintain focus on the art of racing. F1 cars should be the most physically demanding, difficult to drive, and the fastest machines on the planet.

There should be a budget cap but how to police that I don't know.
There should be economic incentive to hire drivers from the two closest lower formulae and sanctions when hiring a pay driver.
Obtaining a Super License should cost in the millions up front. Winning the GP2 championship should grant it as prize. This would help prevent pay drivers. Once obtained there should be no per-points fees as currently imposed.
There should be a set amount of standardized fuel supplied and controlled by FIA per race weekend.
There should not be any form of DRS or push-to-pass boost type artificial passing technology used.
Event hosting fees should be lowered and capped.
Somehow ensure certain landmark tracks cannot fall victim to extinction.
TV licensing and commercial rights controls should be more relaxed as to allow the F1 seed to be planted far and wide and spread naturally.
There should be a unequivocally fixed 20 race calendar to maintain the relevance and value of each race high.
Hire a better production company to televise the races and produce high quality, easy to access online interactive content for a fee anyone around the world can afford. Exclusivity is dumb. Paddock club should be enough for wealthy people.