F1 Weight Penalties
Discussion
"Formula One bosses are considering major rule changes for next season in an attempt to prevent Ferrari's domination of the sport.
F1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone has said that he will find ways of slowing Ferrari down if they are as superior in the first few races of 2003 as they have been this season." - BBC News
Is this what F1 needs?, I think it is a spot on idea.
Anyone else?
F1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone has said that he will find ways of slowing Ferrari down if they are as superior in the first few races of 2003 as they have been this season." - BBC News
Is this what F1 needs?, I think it is a spot on idea.
Anyone else?
WRONG!!!!
Just cos they are excelling where others fail, it is most certainly not the way to run the championship. If they want to introduce weight penalties, then they have to apply to all entrants/winners, not just the Prancing Poncies. Personally I couldn't give a flying s
t who wins - its cp to watch anyway.
Just cos they are excelling where others fail, it is most certainly not the way to run the championship. If they want to introduce weight penalties, then they have to apply to all entrants/winners, not just the Prancing Poncies. Personally I couldn't give a flying s
t who wins - its cp to watch anyway.quote:
WRONG!!!!
Just cos they are excelling where others fail, it is most certainly not the way to run the championship. If they want to introduce weight penalties, then they have to apply to all entrants/winners, not just the Prancing Poncies. Personally I couldn't give a flying s
But surely the idea is that once they have slapped a weight penalty on a car the racing becomes closer and therefor it becomes much more interesting - Ferrari wouldn't just be singled out - it would apply to all contestants...
Well it does seem to work in BTCC and BGT...
It seems that Ecclescake has thrown the idea up to spark a debate within the FIA and between the teams.. so it's not like they're unaware of the problems that the Sicilian Shirehorses' dominance is causing in stifling spectator appeal.
Either way, I doubt F1 will ever again be as exciting to watch as the above mentioned British Series..
It seems that Ecclescake has thrown the idea up to spark a debate within the FIA and between the teams.. so it's not like they're unaware of the problems that the Sicilian Shirehorses' dominance is causing in stifling spectator appeal.
Either way, I doubt F1 will ever again be as exciting to watch as the above mentioned British Series..
works in GT. I always thought they should do it for F1, cos lets face it, it is currently the most dull of all motorsports. I often drift to sleep on my sofa while watching F1 on a sunday afternoon, cos it's that dull. And frankly introducing the drivers and their teams and telling me who's doing what or thinking about what doesn't interest me. I just want to see a good race.
-Darren
-Darren
But wouldn't weight penalties merely close up the decider of the rice, that's to say the qualifying sessions. With no overtaking, whoever gets into the first corner first pretty much has the race sewn up, pending breakdowns of course. Surely the solution is to enable overtaking again.
I gave up watching the processional races since grooved narrow tyres were introduced. Give them huge slicks, add the gurney flap CART racing uses to eliminate the problem of aerodynamics being harmed by driving to close to the car in front, and change brake rules to lengthen braking zones.
Net result cars could run closer into the corners, stand a chance of outbraking each other and be able to slip stream down the straights. Could be fun to watch again...
I gave up watching the processional races since grooved narrow tyres were introduced. Give them huge slicks, add the gurney flap CART racing uses to eliminate the problem of aerodynamics being harmed by driving to close to the car in front, and change brake rules to lengthen braking zones.
Net result cars could run closer into the corners, stand a chance of outbraking each other and be able to slip stream down the straights. Could be fun to watch again...
)on row 10, who remove all 100kg. 
The proposal as I understand it is to add weight when a points lead of a given amount has been opened up.
I think this is a better idea than the BTCC one where you get weighted down if you won last time. That's because some cars/teams/driver combinations work better at some circuits than others. If you win at a circuit where you are strong and the next race is at a circuit where you aren't, the penalty would effectively be doubled.
Weighting for a big points lead means the penalty would only apply to consistent good performance and would be fairer in my view.
I think this is a better idea than the BTCC one where you get weighted down if you won last time. That's because some cars/teams/driver combinations work better at some circuits than others. If you win at a circuit where you are strong and the next race is at a circuit where you aren't, the penalty would effectively be doubled.
Weighting for a big points lead means the penalty would only apply to consistent good performance and would be fairer in my view.
Watching NASCAR on TV the other day (yea, I know, boring oval racing etc), A couple of times there were 3 cars across the track, and the middle one would get a bit of a tank slapper - and recover it.
How often do you see a F1 car sideways and the driver recover it? - Almost never - because they are to dependant on aerodynamic grip-which only exists when the cars are going straight forward - Therefore solution (I recon) is less reliance on aerodynamic grip. Remove rear wing/some elements of/standardise the design of it (Gurney flaps might help?), and back to soft slicks (not neciserraly wider, 'cos most tracks are narrow enough (relative to width of the car) already.
This weight penalty seems to me to avoid the most obvious current symptom of one of the problems - Ferrari/Michael Schumacher domination - but this has always happened -Willams/McLaren/Lotus/Mansell/Jim Clark/Ayrton Senna/whoever. What these penalties do not however overcome is the lack of exciting on-edge racing. In a car complying to the current very strict technical regulations you car either make a corner or not, there is no (little) driver influence, as it is not possible to "just" make a corner, verging on the edge of control.
Pete
How often do you see a F1 car sideways and the driver recover it? - Almost never - because they are to dependant on aerodynamic grip-which only exists when the cars are going straight forward - Therefore solution (I recon) is less reliance on aerodynamic grip. Remove rear wing/some elements of/standardise the design of it (Gurney flaps might help?), and back to soft slicks (not neciserraly wider, 'cos most tracks are narrow enough (relative to width of the car) already.
This weight penalty seems to me to avoid the most obvious current symptom of one of the problems - Ferrari/Michael Schumacher domination - but this has always happened -Willams/McLaren/Lotus/Mansell/Jim Clark/Ayrton Senna/whoever. What these penalties do not however overcome is the lack of exciting on-edge racing. In a car complying to the current very strict technical regulations you car either make a corner or not, there is no (little) driver influence, as it is not possible to "just" make a corner, verging on the edge of control.
Pete
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