If F1 were to introduce Non-Championship 'Fun Races'...?

[garyjpaterson]

Would you be interested in watching this? I'm curious to hear what other fans opinions are on this subject.

For me, I love F1, but it has its problems - money distribution, overtaking difficulties and performance gap between teams are just a few examples. Whilst a secondary 'Fun Race' wouldn't fix these problems, it could provide the close racing and entertainment fans crave.

I'll set an example scenario, but feel free to add suggestions as what would and wouldn't work:

• Non-Championship - Drivers are racing for fun, and can have a laugh.
• Single Make cars - equal for everyone (maybe neutral brand, don't think Ferrari want Vettel in a Merc...)
• Little reliance on aero - allow for close racing
• Liveries chosen by driver - separate from team (think Nico Rosberg Helmet livery)
• Durable and cheap enough to allow a little paint-trading
• Fast enough to run on full track at without seeming too slow
• Live drivers radio, maybe driver to driver radio?
• Guest drivers each race - Former F1 drivers (Martin Brundle), Team Bosses (Toto Wolff), Junior drivers (Pierre Gasly)

Personally, I'd love to see something like this. Put the drivers as centre of attention, make it all about them. Let them race in equal machinery, have a laugh together, perhaps group interviews. Get them to watch replays together, have a bit of banter, and just generally have a less formal appearance.

I think with the cars next year being so fast and dramatic, with many corners now going to be easy flat - I think an additional race where the drivers are always on the edge of adhesion, and most importantly driver skill being the differential factor, it would provide a great spectacle and contrast to the main race.

Interested in what other think, perhaps there's a massive flaw in the whole idea

Edited by garyjpaterson on Monday 7th November 14:13

[Eric Mc]

Too many races already.

[garyjpaterson]

Eric Mc said:

Too many races already.

Should have said I was imagining these additional 'fun races' to be held on the F1 weekends (maybe 1 hour timeslot on Saturday, 15 min qualy plus a 30 min race). So no new venues to go to. Plus it wouldn't have to be every race weekend, perhaps every second race.

And yes, I agree we have too many race weekends already.

[Eric Mc]

I can't see that ever happening.

[AndrewEH1]

Watch Rallycross, pretty much ticks all of your boxes.

F1 drivers can't even race in LM24 these days. F1 has gotten too technical and complex to allow drivers to race anything else, there just isn't time allowing for all the technical and corporate things the drivers have to be involved in.

[garyjpaterson]

Eric Mc said:

I can't see that ever happening.

Yep, me neither, not with the people in charge just now.

My question was more of a hypothetical situation: If it were to happen, would fans be interested, and if not, why?

[Eric Mc]

I'd prefer more races of OTHER types of cars on a GP weekend rather than more F1.

[thegreenhell]

Most of what you just described sounds like the BMW Procar series:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M1_Procar_Champi...

[MitchT]

Like most motorsport, if it's on free-to-air TV and I'm not doing anything important, I'll watch it.

[KevinCamaroSS]

One major flaw is the cost. Multi-millions per team to take part. Just add on or two fun races at specific locations in the season and you are still talking tens of millions per team, one extra PU (16-20 million a pop), tyres, other parts.

[garyjpaterson]

KevinCamaroSS said:

One major flaw is the cost. Multi-millions per team to take part. Just add on or two fun races at specific locations in the season and you are still talking tens of millions per team, one extra PU (16-20 million a pop), tyres, other parts.

Sorry, i mustn't have been very clear: I'm thinking a single make series, ie non Formula 1 cars. Reasons being cost, as you mentioned, also i think having equal kachinery would be very interesting. Also cars that are slower, and have a greater power to grip ratio (ie little to no downforce) would be more exciting to watch.

Also it should be completely separate from the current teams - no team, no individual setups, just a team of mechanics to keep all the cars setup identically.

Edited by garyjpaterson on Monday 7th November 16:33

[Matt_N]

Perhaps something like a Formula Ford or similar entry level basis single seater?

A pool of cars all set up the same, drivers draw a car number at each race, 15 min qualy and a 30 min race.

Guess most, probably all teams wouldn't want their star drivers running the extra risk though.

[yellowjack]

Pretty sure the OP isn't talking about 'fun races' with the actual F1 single-seaters. More like a enclosed wheel sports car support series, if he's talking "robust enough to trade a little paint".

F1 has a long history of Non-Championship races, but they were part of the calendar and taken seriously by the drivers. I can't see it working to be honest. Not with team support or the current F1 drivers racing - too much to lose and little to gain risking time in the seat of a car that is far from what your main job is. Fine in the off season, but it won't happen in F1 as it's too much of a revenue generation circus for them to get distracted by a side show like this idea...

[KevinCamaroSS]

My mistake, misread the OP.

Problem would be with contracts. Can't see the teams allowing their multi-million investments running a risk in another race. Gone are the days of a driver racing in Ford Anglias then jumping in the F1 car for the GP.

[Derek Smith]

I was at Brands one year when I saw the team managers racing in identical cars, possibly Escorts. I remember Chapman leading into the last lap but something happened, as it was bound to in those days, and he failed to finish.

Now that was fun.

EDITED TO ADD:

I've found the race on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnNd1sCHa0

Spoiler alert: Chapman didn't fail to finish.

The last corner of the last lap. Great race.

Edited by Derek Smith on Monday 7th November 21:41

[garyjpaterson]

Derek Smith said:

I was at Brands one year when I saw the team managers racing in identical cars, possibly Escorts. I remember Chapman leading into the last lap but something happened, as it was bound to in those days, and he failed to finish.

Now that was fun.

EDITED TO ADD:

I've found the race on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnNd1sCHa0

Spoiler alert: Chapman didn't fail to finish.

The last corner of the last lap. Great race.

Edited by Derek Smith on Monday 7th November 21:41

That's amazing! That's what we need in F1, something a bit silly, a bit less formal, have a bit of a laugh. Great to see the F1 drivers cheering on there bosses.

Smiles on the drivers faces, that's what its all about, surely?!

[Eric Mc]

garyjpaterson said:

Smiles on the drivers faces, that's what its all about, surely?!

Sadly, not in the modern age.

And pleasing the fans? Good God, that comes way down the list of priorities.

[Glasgowrob]

A fleet of something like identical Suzuki swifts and let the drivers go at it on a Saturday afternoon

I see where your coming from OP as you say throw in a few celebrity drivers each round and it could be highly entertaining

[yellowjack]

Derek Smith said:

I was at Brands one year when I saw the team managers racing in identical cars, possibly Escorts. I remember Chapman leading into the last lap but something happened, as it was bound to in those days, and he failed to finish.

Now that was fun.

EDITED TO ADD:

I've found the race on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnNd1sCHa0

Spoiler alert: Chapman didn't fail to finish.

The last corner of the last lap. Great race.

Brilliant!

Out of interest I had a look for the cars (they were road registered 1600cc Escort Mexicos).

HLA 208K (Chapman) was last taxed in 1978, DVLA have it as a black car.
HLA 210K (Brabham) was last taxed in 1985 and is recorded as being a red car.

I couldn't get a clear enough view of the other cars plates on first watch, and I'm not going back through the lot frame by frame. I wonder if the last owner/keeper of HLA 210K knew that Jack Brabham had won a competitive motor race in it? Or perhaps these cars never went out into the 'real world'? Maybe they stayed in corporate hands, and still exist in a dusty storage unit somewhere. After all, just because a car isn't taxed and tested, doesn't mean it's been scrapped...

HLA 201K - last recorded tax expired May '81, red.
HLA 207K - last recorded tax expired Mar '86, blue.
HLA 211K - last recorded tax expired Sep '83, white (but this one is recorded at DVLA as a 2 litre car?)

Limited for time, I looked for records from HLA 200K to HLA 212K, but these were all the results that turned up. No point guessing which other bloc registration batches were used in the race without some visual clues from the video.

edit:

Combining two sources of info, I found two more (possibles)...

HLA 214K shows up as a 1600cc Escort Mexico in red, tax due May 1994.
HLA 215K shows up as a 1300cc white car at DVLA, but elsewhere is shown as a Mexico. Tax due June 1989.

Edited by yellowjack on Tuesday 8th November 08:51

[Halmyre]

Derek Smith said:

I was at Brands one year when I saw the team managers racing in identical cars, possibly Escorts. I remember Chapman leading into the last lap but something happened, as it was bound to in those days, and he failed to finish.

Now that was fun.

EDITED TO ADD:

I've found the race on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnNd1sCHa0

Spoiler alert: Chapman didn't fail to finish.

The last corner of the last lap. Great race.

Edited by Derek Smith on Monday 7th November 21:41

I've read somewhere that Chapman did a *lot* of practising beforehand to make sure he wouldn't get a showing-up.

I love the bit where the commentator suggests that, with Chapman hounding him, Brabham would be anxiously looking in his mirrors, and Graham Hill's response "I seriously doubt it, he never bothered when I was racing him".