How Can Formula One Be Improved?

[ICEMAN]

Just curious to see what changes people think need to be made to formula one to make it more competetive, and bring a few more teams into the mix?
Also what is everyones thoughts on the removal of traction control? who will be the movers and who will be the loosers? and is everyone happy about it going?

[Bluewolf]

I just wish they would set rules that would effectively require the back end of all F1 cars throw clean air to the car behind so we could see more overtaking.
[not to be nitpickey Ice but it's spelled -- Losers.]

[Armco Bender]

3 litre motor,4 wheels..thats the rules...turn up with the fastest thing you can build.

[duke_toaster]

Production based turbo engines with HP around current levels, wings producing around 30% of their current downforce, but all grip is kept to current levels by slicks and a control undertray.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

3 litre motor,4 wheels..thats the rules...turn up with the fastest thing you can build.

3 litre turbocharged,supercharged,nitrous injected,rocket fuel burning motors it is then.

On top of which they will be cunningly designed to be an integral part of the "wheels" (perhaps a 'radial' engine),so that will be four of the above then.

Now you see why we need more than just two regulations.

[f1manoz]

Everyone has their own ideals on what would make a good F1 car to produce exciting racing. I seem to remember the cars could actually pass in the early 1990s.... perhaps just get those out of the museums, stiffen them up a bit so they are safer and resume racing!

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by f1manoz

perhaps just get those out of the museums, stiffen them up a bit so they are safer and resume racing!

This is pretty much what Super Aguri did earlier in the season.

[Sodemo]

Big fat wide slick tyres (wider rears too),
massive reduction in upper surface aero,
underbody aero increased,
V8 / V10 / V12 engine formula,
no refueling.

[ensign14]

No fuel stops
No tyre stops
Wings banned

[adamaca]

No refuelling. Thats the key. The fia keep making all the rules to restrict engineers and designers. If kimi wants to pass alonso or whoever to win the race, he will have to pass him on the track. At the moment this is not necessary or desirable for teams. Get rid of race strategy, thats what i think.

[Graz]

Ban refuelling - make the drivers have to think about setting the car up to be a compromise with being heavy at the start and gradually lightening to the end of the race. This is an art form sadly lost to F1. Tyre preservation is then also a consideration.

Reduce wing sizes to make them less efficient (like early 80's GP cars) and if needs be, ground effect so they can follow each pther closely in corners.

Ban driver aids including paddle shift boxes - this opens another avenue to racing where a driver can miss a gear and be passed (e.g. Berger in Monaco 88 when Prost passed and ultimately won the race) or if he's not careful can buzz his engine.

Bring back V10's and V12's for the sheer sound

[Pro Racer]

anything that brings back great battles and passing.

[tristancliffe]

Originally Posted by f1manoz

Everyone has their own ideals on what would make a good F1 car to produce exciting racing. I seem to remember the cars could actually pass in the early 1990s.... perhaps just get those out of the museums, stiffen them up a bit so they are safer and resume racing!

Not true - in the 90s everyone still moaned that modern aerodynamics stopped cars from following through corners.

In fact, there has never been an era filled with lots of passing. The best cars and the best drivers running to the same set of rules means that the quick teams are out front and the slower teams near the back. Always has been.

Of course, every now and then, a great race happens. And our spectacles become more and more rose tinted, until some of us actually believe that it was a non-stop passing battle in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Not so.

The way to spice up F1, other than obvious things like control the aero a bit more and ban refuelling/tyre changes, is to have random grid orders. After qualiying, which would be done on low fuel, the grid order is decided by picking a name out of the hat. Everyone from that driver upwards is reversed on the grid. Sometimes the fastest chap in qually will be on pole, other times Yamamoto would be on pole. But it means that the fastest person (which we would know, because of light fuel qually) would usually have to do some overtaking.

And we all know that if a driver REALLY wants to overtake, they can. Without an easier option (pitstops), they would try about fifty times harder again.

And shoot Mosley.

Edit: Oh, and my way would be easy to explain to people - "they reverse the grid order up to the driver whose name is pulled out of a hat", rather than "well, they have three goes, some on light fuel, some on heavy (when they do lots of laps JUST to burn fuel), and afterwards they get some free fuel back to replace the stuff they just burnt, meaning that the driver on pole might or might not be quick, but he might be stopping early, so you can't really tell until the race is over how good qualiying was. Oh, you've gone to watch the football?".

[Ralf's Girl]

By saying how they want F1 improved, aren't people in danger of just announcing that they want to go back in time? Why, to make F1 better, does it have to be the 80s again? I started watching in the mid-90s and have enjoyed plenty of races where the cars have had wings, stopped to refuel etc. I wouldn't like to see F1 go backwards.

[Graz]

Originally Posted by Ralf's Girl

By saying how they want F1 improved, aren't people in danger of just announcing that they want to go back in time? Why, to make F1 better, does it have to be the 80s again? I started watching in the mid-90s and have enjoyed plenty of races where the cars have had wings, stopped to refuel etc. I wouldn't like to see F1 go backwards.

It should be all about the racing. Essentially the only overtaking that goes on is in the pits. It would be a huge leap forward rather than a backward step for F1 to do all in it's power to re-introduce overtaking. People talk about this season was the best in years and from the point of view of the three drivers having a chance for the title, this is true but in reality how much true racing was there between them (running around nose to tail with no chance of overtaking is not racing). Compare this to the last season three drivers had a chance to win going into the last round in 1986 and you'll see what I mean.

We're not looking to the past for old times sake (I'm not actually that old!). It was just simply better racing and we want this back. Will it happen? Doubt it...

[MacMan]

Get rid of Max Mosely

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally Posted by Graz

It should be all about the racing. Essentially the only overtaking that goes on is in the pits. It would be a huge leap forward rather than a backward step for F1 to do all in it's power to re-introduce overtaking.

Isn't that why there's an Overtaking Working Group, though? They're trying to find ways of increasing the amount of overtaking without compromising F1's reputation as the peak of engineering in sport. Whether any of their ideas will come to fruition or not, I don't know - I assume it's all down to the FIA, but it's worth remembering that the teams are interested in making the races more exciting.

[pdman]

F1 is dieing a slow death: drowned in money, celebrities, and crazy stunts like the engine freeze rule. The drivers are brave but cossetted with mega salaries and they get younger and younger because the cars are easier and easier to drive with all the gismo's and gagetary. The drivers in the top teams don't even bother to hassle each other anymore and just accept that after the first couple of corners it's almost impossible to pass the car in front (on-track) so they just protect their tyre's and save the engine for the next race........................

I've watched F1 since the 80's and I've always considered myself one of the die-hards who would still be there when the last chequered flag was waved but I'm at a loss ..... I don't think anything will make it great again but it will take a long long time to die........

..

[Adam43]

When they (re-)introduced refueling they went back in time to the '50s (or '80s).

[GORDON STREETER]

Although I am not a great F1 fan its a terrible pity its gravitated to the state its in at the moment. They might as well not bother to have cars or drivers and just have big court cases to decide who is champion !

[Ingsy]

1 - Is it the diffuser that chucks back a lot of dirty air to the car behind? If so, could that not be a stock item? That would then leave the aero genius' the freedom to play around with the other bits.

2 - Get rid of groove tyres, purely because I think they look poo.

3 - Change the points system to make a bigger difference between 1-2-3 so that (hopefully) drivers would try to move up a position to get more points. Perhaps something like 15-10-6-5-4-3-2-1 or something?

4 - Introduce a point (or two) for fastest pitstop. This is a team sport afterall, right?

5 - Change the format of the race weekend so the actual race is on at a later time, perhaps 5 or 6pm for us UK people. Saves ruining a whole sunday by taking a 3 hour chunk right out of the middle. This wouldn't improve the racing, obviously, but it would help me feel less guilty about staying in all day on a sunday at the weekend.

[Graz]

Originally Posted by Ralf's Girl

Isn't that why there's an Overtaking Working Group, though? They're trying to find ways of increasing the amount of overtaking without compromising F1's reputation as the peak of engineering in sport. Whether any of their ideas will come to fruition or not, I don't know - I assume it's all down to the FIA, but it's worth remembering that the teams are interested in making the races more exciting.

Yep, good points. However, this issue of improving the racing has been going on for years now with various think tanks set up and the two fan polls on the FIA website in recent years which fairly unanimously made good and sensible suggestions have not been taken on board it seems. If the teams were really serious about it, they would force these things through. However, they are like kids and can't organise anything - they need to have meetings about meetings if you know what I mean.

[tristancliffe]

Actually, it is the limiting diffuser regulations that make the cars hard to follow - they have to rely on wings, winglets and flow conditioners to get as much upper body downforce as possible, whilst the stepped floor and small diffusers (which would give relatively 'clean' following air) do almost nothing in comparison.

At least, that's my understanding.

[Bononi]

Like it was said before...

Wanna F1 improved ?

Dump Max and Bernie.

[BertMk2]

Lose Max.

Lose the random penalties applied seemingly on the roll of a dice - consitency is the key.

Lose Max.

Lose the silly little winglets and flip ups all over the car - for no other reason than they look rubbish

Lose Max.