18 replies to this topic

[PassWind]

Something I would like to see in Formula One and other series where the biological makeup of a driver can offer increases in a cars performance potential.

 

A Driver Parity rule which would be based on the following.

 

Take the weight of the 90th percentile male averaged across regional interpretations of the 90th percentile used in assessing ergonomics when engineering solutions in the automobile industry.

 

Implement a tech reg that provides for the design of the cockpit area for the location of parity wieght to be applied to each car to meet the 90th percentile weight requirement, use the medical reference for the break up of body percentages, Head, upper arm, lower arm, torso, upper leg, lower leg. In those areas of the monocoupe there is to be space made available for the secure fitment of wieght made of a material that has the same size to mass ratio as the human body.

 

It of course must be fitted in a way that it meets and exceeds the minimum F1 crash testing requirements. For example it ought to pass with the weight fitted.

 

There may be some element I am missing however the intent of the rule is to not have a large slice of talent excluded from the sport becuase of their natural weight, the 90th percentile is an easy reference as its a common measurement used in getting a base weight to meet. The majority of the healthy population of males will fall into that category. Females will fit in by having a smaller 90th percentile to begin with.

 

So to work out the weights needed, take the drivers weight during scutineering inform the team of its requirement, the weight is divided by the medical formula and placed into the cavities provided by the techs regs by the team prior to qualifying. 

 

There is a poll for general reference to how people feel about a rule like this, please add your opinions on the matter. I feel drivers on the verge of breaking in on talent but ultimately never get a seat because they are just too big being able to race because parity is implemented would in the long run see of a better quality field of drivers.

Edited by PassWind, 05 November 2013 - 05:22.

[e34]

Motorsports is one of the very few sports in which smallish people are not hugely disadvantaged. Spud Webb was a fantastic basketball player; his only problem was that his height was 1,68. Agains people of his height, he could have been one of the best. Yet, I never heard anybody proposing that Dominque Wilkins should have played on his knees to level the playing field. 

[SenorSjon]

Have you ever seen a large horse jockey? Watched MotoGP lately? Weight is everything in motorized sports.

[PayasYouRace]

Sounds very complicated for a very small advantage that would otherwise be gained. I say just have a minimum weight for driver+seat.

[KiloWatt]

I read the title as "Opinion for a New Driver Panty Rule". That was a shock.

[Lurb]

I thought this would be about Bernie contracting all the drivers directly and having them rotate between all the cars. Proper WDC and WCC and a forum meltdown every weekend. What's not to like?

Edited by Lurb, 05 November 2013 - 12:13.

[jonpollak]

My FOM in Race Fixing Scandal thread is much funnier.

Jp

[SpaMaster]

Totally agree with the OP's point.

[redreni]

I voted yes to the principle of this. Not sure how it would work in practice but the intention is exactly correct in my view. It's rather like the question of money being required to get anywhere in motorsport; some of the problems are pretty intractible and there's no obvious way of making everything perfect overnight, but it is only right and proper to try to do whatever can be done to try to ensure that as drivers progress through from karting and up the single seater ladder, any filters that are not based on talent are removed. We shouldn't be filtering drivers out for daft reasons like their legs are too long or they can't get down to a low enough weight. It's relatively easy in principle to prevent this by mandating, through the technical regulations, cockpits that are capable of accommodating tall or oddly proportioned drivers, and by having a minimum driver+seat weight. This is actually a much easier filter to get rid of than the one being talked about on the "pay driver" thread, which sifts out the non-mega-rich.

[DampMongoose]

Agree a minimum weight limit for car & driver and only allow ballast to be placed in the underside of the drivers seat rather than anywhere they feel like.

[Jackmancer]

I fail to understand the opening post since it's not written in normal English.

[PassWind]

I fail to understand the opening post since it's not written in normal English.

 

Yeah your right, but I only want people with an amount of assumed knowledge to have a go at it, the rest well they can go and find out for themselves, I am not their mother.

[PassWind]

Sounds very complicated for a very small advantage that would otherwise be gained. I say just have a minimum weight for driver+seat.

 

 

Actually its very simple and would take an engineer about 30 seconds to work out. To simplify for those less than bothered to do this simple excercise would you like to see a driver weight imposed where the weight is placed in the confines of where a driver would sit, so that all drivers, weight wise start as equals so drivers like Hulkenberg are better able to get a top seat and not be excluded due to his size.

 

Using the 90th percentile model all current drivers would carry wieght into the race.

[DampMongoose]

The opening wording sounds like a thread Ron Dennis would start to ask for all drivers with their seat to weigh the same.  But based on some of the recent posts I don't think Ron's got as big a chip on his shoulder...

[Gorma]

You'd have to implement all that to every class starting from karting. 

[Jackmancer]

Yeah your right, but I only want people with an amount of assumed knowledge to have a go at it, the rest well they can go and find out for themselves, I am not their mother.

About the English language or the subject your trying to discuss?

[Wander]

Motorsports is one of the very few sports in which smallish people are not hugely disadvantaged. Spud Webb was a fantastic basketball player; his only problem was that his height was 1,68. Agains people of his height, he could have been one of the best. Yet, I never heard anybody proposing that Dominque Wilkins should have played on his knees to level the playing field. 

 

I don't completely disagree, but I think (car) motor sports is in a different position, cause there it is actually possible to implement viable rules to make people's natural body type matter less. And luckily, we are in a situation where that has already been implemented fairly successfully.

[undersquare]

What about drivers who are discriminated against by being born with worse than average fine muscle control?  That's no fair is it?  Not their fault in the slightest it's just what they were born with.  Surely they have to have an assistive exoskeleton so they can compete on a level playing field, and we can see their talent in being intelligent and determined and 68 kg.

 

Or maybe weaker drivers can get power brakes, or drivers with emotional judgement could be allowed dual controls from the pits  .

 

And @the OP, why 90th %ile?  What about the other 10%?

 

Really it's a flawed concept.  This is people we're talking about, who vary.  And that variation is the entire point of the sport - to see which variations are most successful piloting a car. Why single out one variation to try and cancel it out?  Because we can?  Why?

[Seanspeed]

Yeah your right, but I only want people with an amount of assumed knowledge to have a go at it, the rest well they can go and find out for themselves, I am not their mother.