Carl Tyler's Blog :: The Formula 1 2004 season has kicked of in Australia

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I didn't watch it, but it sounds like every other Formula 1 race for the last few years. They all go around the circuit with Michael Schumacher leading from start to finish, they get to the end and the losers complain that their tyres weren't as good as the other team, or that their new car needs some modifications to be competitive etc. Basically Formula 1 has turned into a really boring sport, in fact I would go as far as to say it's almost as boring as Nascar and cricket. Here are the things that I believe should happen to get Formula 1 exciting again, and pull back some of their viewers:

Remove the stupid regulations that slow the cars down, the whole point of Formula 1 is to make the cars go as fast as possible to beat the other team, rules that stop companies inventing new things that make the car go around the corner faster, in my opinion are stupid.
Allow the use of slick tyres - if we're not careful they'll say that F1 cars need snow tyres to reduce their speed
Go back to the old format of a real qualifier, none of this 1 lap rubbish
Let the petrol tanks be big enough to go around without a pitstop if the team wish, also gets rid of that stupid refuelling gear
Allow driver gadgets like anti lock brakes, this is all about getting these objects around the track as possible
Remove radios from the cars, don't let the drivers speak to the team, will help remove team orders
Bring back Spa, in other words Bernie Ecclestone, get of your big ego trip and listen to the fans
Oh and to make it really interesting, make Schumacher drive blindfold so that the other drivers have a chance

Other suggestions more than welcome..

Comments

1 - Well, that last is great, except that most of the other nonsense is there now to give the other drivers a chance. How else can you explain allowing the Michelins to run slick for the past two years?

I agree with just about everything else. It was painful to watch last year's fiasco. The new points system no longer adequately rewards winning (they've taken NASCAR as some kind of inspirartion, it seems). One-lap qualifying places far too much importance on the vagaries of weather (and other transient conditions). The "parc fermée" concept makes it nearly certain that the car most likely to win, all things considered, is unlikely to qualify on the pole -- you need to guess at what Sunday's weather might be and what fuel strategies everybody else will be using. I miss the "formula" -- minimum all-up weight, maximum wheelbase, track, tire size and engine displacement, no fenders -- and all else is fair. If they want to make it more technically challenging, then go back to the maximum total fuel consumption idea. And, just for the heck of it, let alternate engines like Wankels compete at even displacement. Let racing improve the breed.

The sport has always (at least in my time) been dominated by one marque at any given time. I'd rather see Ferraris (or Tyrrells, or Loti, or Renaults, or whatever) lapping the field than this artificial "fairness" crap.

As for dear Bernie -- I still think he should have been booted during the FISA/FOCA wars in the seventies. He's never been good for the sport as a whole.

Posted by Stan Rogers At 12:13:31 AM On 03/08/2004 | - Website - |

2 - Couldn't resist to comment this, as I am a freako F1 watcher :)

1. Remove the stupid regulations ....
I agree. Let them create cars with jet-motors and let them all kill'em self in the first hairpin curve :)

2. Allow the use of slick tyres.....
Agree, but I believe you haven't tried snow tyres :) I would rather use good tyres on a curcuit that snow tyres. Imagine those spikes in 250km/t and you start breaking. Haha, that would be a killer!

3. Go back to the old format of a real qualifier
Agree !

4. Remove radios from the cars
No no no. Let rather increase this function. To make it more difficult, let's start to feed them rubbish information to make them confused, or let them listen to the other teams information. That could be cool.

Schumi go go go !

Rune

Posted by Rune Carlsen At 03:40:56 AM On 03/08/2004 | - Website - |

3 - Rune although I hate to say this, if they had more crashes, more people would watch. This is the same reason people go to airshows, on the chance that a plane may crash. These people should be on the cutting edge, they're happy to die doing what they love.

Posted by Carl At 11:09:22 AM On 03/08/2004 | - Website - |

4 - I think they should be allowed to do anything to the cars that doesn't damage the track (like the titanium skirts) or other cars (like that one with the fan that worked like a hovercraft in reverse but shot pebbles at other cars) I would like to see more on active aerodynamics so there is less downforce on the straights but loads on the corners. F1 developments like ABS find their way on to mainstream cars so they should not restrict innovation.

Posted by Alan Bell At 05:10:30 AM On 03/09/2004 | - Website - |

5 - Spa is back on the calendar (Aug 29 2004) as the Belgian government have suspended their ban on tobacco advertising.

Posted by Simon At 01:38:27 PM On 03/09/2004 | - Website - |