What would you do to F1?

[duke_toaster]

A homage to the threads in other forums (Sportscar, touring car). What technical and sporting regulations changes do you think would be good for F1 for 2011, 2012 and 2013? My ideas in a while.

[ECW Dan Selby]

*Fat rear tyres
*Drop the top 10 qualifying/tyre ruling
*Ban shark fin engine covers
*Simplify the front wings/make them less wide
*Ban those vanes in front of the air intakes on the side pods
*Make tyres marginal such as in Canada
*Ban DDD's

I'm not too fussed about a return to KERS, and i'm also not convinced the whole adjustable rear wing is the way forward, either.

Selby

[Spritle]

Ban rules!

[Casper]

Make them look like race cars, not caricatures on wheels.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Originally Posted by Casper

Make them look like race cars, not caricatures on wheels.

I actually think that getting rid of the shark fins, the vanes next to the side pods, reducing the front wing, and sticking some fat rears on it would make for a quite handsome modern day F1 car.

What's that I can hear....? Photoshop....??

Selby

[Matador]

*ditch the stupid two compound tyre rule
*point for fastest lap/pole position
*Cap ridiculous driver salaries

*new engine formula, open regulations, development permitted (in regulated areas).
*wider rear wings

F1 is in a conundrum. It needs to remain cost controlled (Though I honestly think if you want to be at the top you should have to pay to play), but it still needs to be the pinnacle of racing technology and the fastest racing series there is (re:more technical innovation and not so much stifling regulations please). It should NOT become a spec series. At the same time, it needs to be more entertaining, with closer racing, more passing and be accessible to casual followers as well as us fanatics.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Here's what the cars would look like with my little tinkers :P

Before


After
By ImageHousing.com

Selby

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Spritle

Ban rules!

There was a time when the only rule was engine size with or without a "compressor", but then people started getting clever.

An interesting history of F1 regs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...ne_regulations

Less downforce and well thought out tyre regs would be a good thing.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Originally Posted by Marbot

An interesting history of F1 regs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...ne_regulations

Interesting indeed.

1970
Engine specs allowed amended to 500 cc compressed engine or 3000 cc normally aspirated engine, minimum weight set at 530 kg, safety bladder fuel cell tanks introduced, report published on track standards, recommends straw bales be banned, double guard rails in place, 3 metre grass verges, spectators to be kept a minimum of 3 metres behind guard railings, barrier between pit lane and track as well as track width, surface and gradient recommendations and mandatory FIA inspections of track facilities.[15]

I wonder how tight those regs were on the track design...? Especially in comparison to today's standards.

Selby

[ECW Dan Selby]

Another interesting bit:

27 corners identified as very high risk and as a result changes to circuit layouts implemented to remove or modify these parts of the track.

What were those 27 corners?

Selby

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

What were those 27 corners?

Selby

Answers on a postcard to......

History of F1 tech regs in slightly more detail.

http://www.f1technical.net/topics/30

It's always interesting to know where you've come from so that you have a better idea of where you're going.

This is interesting.

http://www.f1technical.net/articles/20

[ECW Dan Selby]

Also, sorry if i've blown this page up (not with explosives... just jpegs). I didn't mean to! *begs*

Selby

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

Also, sorry if i've blown this page up (not with explosives... just jpegs). I didn't mean to! *begs*

Selby

Nice pics! But you seem to have left the wings on? *hint*

[duke_toaster]

Getting rid of wings is ridiculous for several reasons, just as ridiculous as suggesting American football should get rid of the past. Even though they haven't always been there F1 wouldn't be F1 without wings in the same way that American football wouldn't be American football without the forward pass.

I'd go for the following changes. They wouldn't all be able to be done for 2011, but some would be for 2012. The new powertrains could come in for 2013 if 2012 is too soon.

Aerodynamics

• No outwash front wings, front wing adjustability scrapped. Front wing to be generally simplified
• No shark fins, no sidepod vanes.
• Wider bodywork between front and rear axles.

Powertrain and electronics

• Four or six cylinder 1800cc turbo engine with engine speed and turbo pressure limits - if these don't keep power to reasonable, we'll just have to start playing around with intake restrictions. Three year engine freeze as per current rules. Five engines per season in the first year, then four thereafter.
• KERS as an integral part of the powertrain rather than just a bolted on kit, at a higher level than now.
• Standard telemetry system, with the FOM TV crew having full access to it.

Wheels and tyres

• Overall front wheel size to remain at 660mm diameter and 355m wide, but on 15 inch rims. Rear wheels to become 748mm diameter 380mm wide, 17 inch rims. This means slightly lower profile tyres (but not paint-on types like Michelin whinged for), the same overall size at the front and larger rear wheels.

Sporting regulations

• Return to 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points system,
• Give the bottom three teams on a three year WCC average extra testing.
• Remove two types of tyre rule, but generally make the tyres quite soft, like they were in Canada.
• No car may be refuelled during a qualifying component.
• Scrap the same set of tyres in Q3 rule.

[fourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by duke_toaster

Getting rid of wings is ridiculous for several reasons, just as ridiculous as suggesting American football should get rid of the past. Even though they haven't always been there F1 wouldn't be F1 without wings in the same way that American football wouldn't be American football without the forward pass.

Quite agree with this wings are here to stay although we don't necessarily need current downforce levels.

As to the rest of your list duke_toaster I agree with every word, this is as well thought out a plan for the technical future of F1 as I have seen anywhere

[chunterer]

Like your ideas Duke with the exception of your support of the world engine formula.

We surely don't want top level single seater racing to sound like either F2 or GP3?

We want serious engine sounds and ideally a selection of different ones even though I know it's probably not eco friendly!

[duke_toaster]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Like your ideas Duke with the exception of your support of the world engine formula.

We surely don't want top level single seater racing to sound like either F2 or GP3?

We want serious engine sounds and ideally a selection of different ones even though I know it's probably not eco friendly!

It's not the world engine formula - I've gone for larger engines (1800cc, as 1600cc is too small for something to realistically push out 750hp or so), and allowing six cylinder engines. Obviously, if a manufacturer goes down the inline four option they have the option to share a number of parts from that engine, which isn't a bad thing.

Even so, a V6 1800cc engine pushing out these power levels at these RPMs will sound far different from that god-awful lawnmower motor in that god-awful GP3 Series machinery.

The World Engine Formula as a concept isn't a bad one, I'm just not sure about the reliability of 1600cc motors under high stresses.

[jab]

What would I do to F1?

Get rid of it and start again

[ralf fan]

More Tilke tracks.
More durable tires.
No Tire war.
More standardized components.

[Knowlesy]

Have every race at Montreal.

[Adam43]

Put it on a minority satellite channel and make it HD.

[Knowlesy]

And widescreen. Which is hand in hand with HD anyways, but I just wanted to get that dig in.

[duke_toaster]

No need for minority satellite channels, BBC HD is perfectly good enough.

[Adam43]

Nah, I would like it to be on a channel that not everyone watches. Of course this is subject to the quality being as good (which may not follow).

[PabloTeK]

IF I were to change it, F1 would end up witht hese new bits:

> Simple aerodynamic devices, ground effect reintroduced to aid back-to-back racing;
> More open engine rules, give them a certain amount of fuel and see what they come up with;
> Move the USGP to a proper venue (the Glen) and get rid of Bahrain;
> Marginal tyres (inc. tyre war) and dump that stupid forced tyre for the top 10 rule;
> At least 1 oval race for the hell of it ;
> Re-introduction of chosing your own number, every other major sport has this so why not F1?
> Open up testing, we saw with Badoer last year how crazy it is without it;

AND

> Give us HD so the coverage is no longer more lo-tech than NASCAR coverage!