Is F1 going through a crisis?

comment by ManUtdDaredevil (U9612)
posted 21 minutes ago
The biggest problem in F1 is fans with short memories

My problem with the current state of affairs are costs and driver aids as well as the lack of innovation in car design .

We have always had dominant cars and teams, people used to moan about Bridgestone, moan about the lack of overtaking and moan about the speed of the cars

That has not changed
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This

For me, my F1 fixes would be:

1) Scrap DRS and make overtaking an actual show of a driver's skill.
2) Bring back naturally aspirated V10 engines. Safer and cheaper.
3) Get rid of all the regulations limiting actual innovation.
4) Bring back unlimited in-season testing.
5) Introduce a budget cap to give smaller teams a fighting chance.

Thanks.
Is that something that is potentially in the works?

i think if you scrap DRS something has to be done to prevent the affect of dirty air. Other than that, agree with most of what is said. Apart from budget caps. What is better is a better distribution of the wealth. Budget caps stifle innovation

Yeah, I was really more shooting for giving smaller teams a better chance. The distribution idea is better.

One thing they can do is stop giving Ferrari a huge cash payout just for turning up.

Bernie will never agree to that.

comment by TallAndUseless - No greater loss than unrealised potential. RIP, Jules #JB17 (U7652)
posted 4 minutes ago
Yeah, I was really more shooting for giving smaller teams a better chance. The distribution idea is better.

One thing they can do is stop giving Ferrari a huge cash payout just for turning up.
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this .... ferrari take ridiculous amount of "prize money" regardless where they finish.... I havent looked into it but did one year a few seasons back didnt they finish something like 4th in the contructors but still got the most money at the end/beginning of the season !!?

Aero dynamics need to be looked at ... need far less, more mechanical grip less grip from aero that will help nulify some of the "dirty air" not only affects downforce of the cars behind but engine temps, brake temps, tyre wear etc.....

Wider circuits ! they produce more lines on the circuit which in turn means more options to overtake the more options youn have the harder it is to defend against. Gravel traps instead of run off areas... Sick and tired of seeing drivers making mistakes goin of circuit but only losing 0.200 of a second get the gravel there and that 0.200 secs becomes 5 secs or possibly retirement. less restrictions on tyre wear (ie less deg on the tyres and better operating windows) hate seeing drivers "manage fuel and tyres" during a race ... its a bloody race should be flat out not 90% for half the race and 75% pace for the other half .... flat out pedal to the metal 100% of the race.

My knowledge of f1 is poor (clearly) but if Bernie sympathises with teams and says he is selling a crap product, can he not bring about these changes, or is it money concerns?

comment by LEEDSTILLIDIE! (U9898)
posted 1 day, 23 hours ago
My knowledge of f1 is poor (clearly) but if Bernie sympathises with teams and says he is selling a crap product, can he not bring about these changes, or is it money concerns?
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The point here is money concerns. The original idea with the new engines (hybrids) was to be leading the way in innovation. It has worked, the engines are a wonderful piece of design. The huge drawback was, it was going to cost immense amounts of Money. This wasnt just an overall drawback in terms of some teams going out of business. This has lead to the nullifying of the races, because the team with the most money....and most time....was Mercedes. So there engine is immense. Ok....Lotus use Mercedes engines, so why are they not challenging. Well the answer is, Mercedes had the most time to also design there car perfectly aerodynamically, and there engine packaging is fantastic.

The other side to this was F1 didn't really have a choice to change to these engines. They had lost a number of hiigh profile car makers because the car maker felt F1 wasnt relevant to there road cars, notably BMW and Toyota - to some extent Jaguar. All these teams still exist - Jaguar is now RedBull - however without RedBull a huge financial sponsor, thered of been no Adrian Newey to masterclass the aero which lead to there success.

So F1 is stuck between a rock and hard place. To go back to normal engines may see some teams drop out and would cost a whole load more money to go back. It could continue with the current engines, but Mercedes are so far ahead, and the development curve (from what i gather) is still in its early stages, so the plateau in performance gains is a long way a way. Meaning mercedes will dominate for longer.

For me, the way around this is. Take out regulations. Take out regulations to allow other teams to find a quick way around the track. You can have a car which could be developed to be more aero than a merc, but has an underpowered engine. End result might still be 1.50 round spa. Many ways to skin a cat.

De-regulate - encourage innovation. Keep these engines, they are relevant, modern, unbelievably powerful, if not a little clinical.

Gravel traps instead of run offs, and keep on with the punishments for breaking rules, what that does is put leading cars back in to the mix, which causes exciting races and overtakes

If i was king for a day, I would have rules for car dimensions/size to ensure 75% of grip is mechanical.
Would also remove all restrictions on engine sizes and drivetrains replacing it with a fixed amount of fuel for a race - and have the amount of fuel decrease every year. The goal being a 50% reduction in current race fuel usage within the next 5yrs.
Would also distribute TV money equally amongst the teams (like footy) and enact a financial fair play system with limits.