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Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide
This is pretty illogical. 24 races would cost more than 16 (or 19), epsecially as so many new rounds would be fly-away events, and would sponsors pay any extra for under-supported events.
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Not illogical at all. Sponsorship money is a function of TV air-time... that's why a 3x4 sticker on a Minardi is so much less than the same thing on a Renault. Also, more TV-airtime=more opportunity for TV-company ads=higher TV revenue=more money for the teams. The differential revenue over cost would be quite pronouced.
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Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide
NASCAR doesn't involve advanced team-developed technology or a huge variety of races, so the technical challenge is minor by comparison. Also, with 24 races and regular 2-week breaks, surely that means only a 6-week winter break for teams to perfect their new cars?
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If there was a 6 month winter break, teams would spend it in development... if there was a 2 week winter break, teams would spend it doing less development. There's no reason to have such a monster step change from one year to the next unless there are regulation changes one year to the next. If regulations were introduced on a rolling basis instead of one year to the next, then teams could work in a constant development [and testing] mode over the course of the year without big bang steps one year to the next. Even if that's not possible, many teams still manage to launch brand new cars in the middle of a season, so a shorter winter break would not be a problem.
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Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide
Having two seperate pitcrews isn't really practical either - teams can't function without guys like Ross Brawn there, and hiring enough quality staff and gelling them into two tightly knit teams would be a huge task. Also, put yourself in the shoes of a mechanic, watching a race on TV knowing that you should be involved in it, especially if your stand-in makes a mistake?
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All teams have fully independent test teams that function perfectly well without their strategists. Those test teams are perfectly competent to run a car at a race I would think. What's more Ross [and his peers] have not been to every single race... and those that they were absent from, their teams were still successful at. Another thing, if their involvement really were essential, they could do it remotely. Right now, they spend most of their race looking at TVs on the pit-wall... they could do that from the comfort of their beds... like we do.
I think its important to think radical and improve the entertainment value.