117 replies to this topic

[hamilton10000]

Seeing as there are various discussions about this across different threads I though it should probably have its own thread.

The Australian GP was desperately lacking action and excitement today so this is just a thread where you can share your ideas on what should be done to make F1 more interesting and exciting.

[Wingcommander]

A grid full of cars would be a good start. 

[Scuderia312]

My answer to the topic title - Get rid of people creating these stupid topics after every non-classic F1 race. If you will be less seeing these topics then your F1 perception will be better. Really, we know what happened today but please stop these kneejerk reactions.

Edited by Scuderia312, 15 March 2015 - 09:09.

[kamikaze1]

Every team (that existed at whichever period) has to bring a classic car with them from a certain year, which the reserve driver of each team races, prior to the main race.  Even if it was only 4 teams with one car each, it would still put on a better show than the main attraction.  

[TheManAlive]

I dont think they need to make it more exciting. What they need to do is fix the finances, share the money fairly, bring in a cost cap, let more teams operate on an equal footing.

 

I think the fans also need to moderate their expectations. If the only fight that counts is the one for the lead then fans will quite often be disappointed. If you enjoy fights up and down the field then there is usually something going on (at least that is what I find). Equally, if fans define exciting as ONLY wheel to wheel overtaking lap after lap, then they will be disappointed. This isn't an arcade game, overtaking is tough and it should be - though I'll admit I think DRS has worked as a concept. If they could drop the noses back onto the deck and allow the side skirts so cars can run close behind it may be better.

 

Other than that, leave the sport alone, stop making artificial changes. I think fans also need to stop screaming that everything is broken if every single lap of every single lap isnt amazingly exciting. Name me one other sport that offers 100% excitement all the time? Football? Cricket? Golf? Nope, they all have quite bits.

 

F1 should should stop talking about the 'show' and focus on a fair business model and then just get on with the bloody racing.

 

 

Edit to say that Scideria312 is totally correct.

Edited by TheManAlive, 15 March 2015 - 09:14.

[Murl]

The Australian GP was desperately lacking action and excitement today so this is just a thread where you can share your ideas on what should be done to make F1 more interesting and exciting.

 

Pretty normal race.

 

It is F1, not tin-tops.

[Turbo1]

Let  them test more for starters so performance gaps can be closed. It wont be very exciting with one team always dominating. No fancy rules will fix that issue.

Edited by Turbo1, 15 March 2015 - 09:16.

[carbonfibre]

Refuelling, engine development all year long, more testing, etc o wait....

Back then sure some races were boring as well but you always had the excitement of pitstop differences and the gaps could be overcome in a season. Now everything is set in stone from the start with little room for improvements.

Edited by carbonfibre, 15 March 2015 - 09:20.

[Murl]

Let  them test more for starters so performance gaps can be closed. It wont be very exciting with one team always dominating. No fancy rules will fix that issue.

 

 

Like with the Schumacher years?

 

[Massa]

I like durable tyres like that. Raikkonen was able to push for + 20 laps and was posting fastest lap after fastest lap. The race was dull because they had to save fuel. If they didn't have to save fuel, the race would have been great.

 

Scrap the 4 engines a year rule, and the fuel saving.

 

4 engines is silly, nobody is running during FP now.

Edited by Massa, 15 March 2015 - 09:28.

[Turbo1]

Like with the Schumacher years?

 

 

at least that gives the possiblity of closing the gap, now its very slim.

[Dalin80]

Better management and distribution of funds, the sport and the vitally needed small teams are being bled dry by billionaire leeches trying to cram the last few pennies into their coffins.

Abandon the nonsense of fuel saving and 'green' running, the single jumbo needed to cart everything around uses far more fuel then the cars could save in a dozen seasons.

Less complicated engineering. The new engines are just a disaster.

[V8 Fireworks]

They already tried with DRS etc.

 

Maybe 3rd Mercedes with Alonso driving would be the ticket.     

[Ghostrider]

Let  them test more for starters so performance gaps can be closed. It wont be very exciting with one team always dominating. No fancy rules will fix that issue.

 

Yes, definitely this. Now with no testing and engine regulations so tight it is impossible to close a gap in a season.

 

We need competition at the top. Not that team 4-7 is close to eachother...

[Jamiednm]

Better management and distribution of funds, the sport and the vitally needed small teams are being bled dry by billionaire leeches trying to cram the last few pennies into their coffins.

Abandon the nonsense of fuel saving and 'green' running, the single jumbo needed to cart everything around uses far more fuel then the cars could save in a dozen seasons.

Less complicated engineering. The new engines are just a disaster.

 

I disagree with this, as I think F1 being at the cutting edge of engineering technology is part of its identity. Also, speaking as a Brit, having most F1 teams based in the UK developing extremely complex engineering solutions is a good thing for the British economy and skill set. I understand your concern that such complex machines can create big performance gaps, but that can be resolved by things like proper in season testing etc.

[Tourgott]

Get rid of these engines.

First things first.

[Kobasmashi]

For goodness' sake. We've had one race (with a depleted field on a circuit famously tough on fuel consumption) and all of a sudden F1 is in some dire irreparable state?

[syolase]

The answer is sprinklers obviously 

[Murl]

at least that gives the possiblity of closing the gap, now its very slim.

 

He was MORE dominant because of his massive development schedule, thanks to testing.

 

The best dominate when they get the opportunity and always will.
 

 

Teams can close the gap now with CFD, prototyping at the factory. Testing only proves the new bits. The teams with resources can out-innovate with or without testing.

 

Personally, I think the restrictions on engines and gearboxes are arse. It is racing, let them have at it

[micktosin]

I will repost my reply to the other thread, which I also think is relevant to here seeing cost is one of the reason for this turd of a race. 

 

The whole F1 saga is a mess, how can the FIA continue to pocket around half of the total revenue when they barely spend anything to fund the race events and operations, while the teams are funding most of the logistics costs? I know the team are smart and all, but how they haven't be able to unite to demand more is amazing. The whole situation reminds me of La liga, with Real & Barcelona negotiating their own revenue while the whole league suffers as a result, thus creating a financial gap to the premier league. Until Ferrari and Red-bull (Maybe Merc) start thinking about the whole teams rather than selfishly, then nothing will change. I firmly believe FIA shouldn't be getting more than 25%, of which if you think about it will help the lower teams a lot.   

 

In addition, I will also like to see less change in the regulations, why make things so complicated?

Edited by micktosin, 15 March 2015 - 09:59.

[SUPRAF1]

If every race is exciting, then no race is exciting

[hamilton10000]

I apologise if it may have seemed like I was way too soon in creating a thread like this. I was just reading through comments in other threads with lots of people speaking about how disappointing the race was and fear it will be the same all season. I do not think f1 is in a "dire irreparable state", I just wanted to hear peoples opinions on what can be done, whether it is to the cars themselves or with other rule changes to make it more exciting. I'm sorry for the "kneejerk reaction"

[micktosin]

I apologise if it may have seemed like I was way too soon in creating a thread like this. I was just reading through comments in other threads with lots of people speaking about how disappointing the race was and fear it will be the same all season. I do not think f1 is in a "dire irreparable state", I just wanted to hear peoples opinions on what can be done, whether it is to the cars themselves or with other rule changes to make it more exciting. I'm sorry for the "kneejerk reaction"

No need to apologise to anyone, today's race was dreadful even as a lewis fan. There were few moves going on, the field were too spread out and the gap to Mercedes was too much. 

[GrumpyYoungMan]

Why should Force India, Manor, and Lotus get the same amount as McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari?

 

The top 3-4 teams are worth more to F1 than the lower 3-4 teams.

 

But I will agree with that FOM is bleeding F1 dry by taking over 50% of the revenue...

 

Maybe all the teams should get £x from FOM, plus a bonus pay out for each year they have been in the sport and for each point scored?

 

Couldn't they test on a Thursday if they are already there set(ting) up?

 

Copied from here.

Edited by GrumpyYoungMan, 15 March 2015 - 10:16.

[hamilton10000]

No need to apologise to anyone, today's race was dreadful even as a lewis fan. There were few moves going on, the field were too spread out and the gap to Mercedes was too much. 

I was getting a lot of flack so I felt it was necessary. At times I was hoping Nico would catch up with Lewis just so we could actually have a decent battle on track

[Clrnc]

I miss the days where the development race is intense and there are more freedom to change the aero on your car. Nowadays it is such a boring season, dominated by engines. 

 

Why do we have to regulate the nose height so much? Why do we have to ban all the winglets? Why do we keep making the cars slower? The 2008 season was the best spectacle for me, the cars designs were brilliant. Adrian Newey was right to say that nowadays f1 isn't interesting enough for him anymore, which is why he took a back seat. There's little he can do in terms of aero and design. 

 

Moving forward though, I got this idea from last season's final race. Why not we have a wildcard for every driver per season? You can choose to play the wildcard in any race (before FP1), and they will allow you to gain double the points on whatever position you finish. 

[SUPRAF1]

For starters, having a healthy grid of at least 24 cars would help, simply through probability of two or more cars being closer to each other .

[micktosin]

My answer to the topic title - Get rid of people creating these stupid topics after every non-classic F1 race. If you will be less seeing these topics then your F1 perception will be better. Really, we know what happened today but please stop these kneejerk reactions.

Kneejerk reactions? Open your eyes buddy, today's race was unacceptable when you look at the overall picture. Yes the race will get better and we will see more running on the grid, but anyone with a brain could see this coming with constant Regulation changes, Leaches taking half the revenue, lack of proper cost effective plan as a result of divide and conquer by Bernie, etc... I am not worried about today's race as it will get a lot better, I am worried about what the future hold for F1 as all I see is another wall street type crash. Do you honestly think Manor, Sauber, FI and the rest will survive the current situation? F1 should do more to help teams and ensure there are more competition by engaging with fans, aid innovation reasonably, devising proper management structure etc. 

Edited by micktosin, 15 March 2015 - 10:25.

[SpartanChas]

It's only been one race, give it a chance..

 

For the last few years Australia has never been an exciting GP. If you don't like it the Indycar season starts very soon.

 

I do think that four engines a season is a silly rule to bring in yet though. Should have stayed at five longer.

Edited by SpartanChas, 15 March 2015 - 10:33.

[micktosin]

Another thing, the implementation of PU must be closely monitored by FIA to ensure a fair system to the customer teams. If I am paying some odd million quid for Mercedes PU, I would expect to have the same service as the Mercedes team. Right now the gap between Mercedes and their customer teams are so huge that I think even if 90% of the gap is down to the downforce, I am sure the other 10% is down to the PU implementation and what not.     

[SpartanChas]

Every team (that existed at whichever period) has to bring a classic car with them from a certain year, which the reserve driver of each team races, prior to the main race.  Even if it was only 4 teams with one car each, it would still put on a better show than the main attraction.  

No it wouldn't.

[superdelphinus]

"THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU," Death continued. "THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING."

[GrumpyYoungMan]

Another thing, the implementation of PU must be closely monitored by FIA to ensure a fair system to the customer teams. If I am paying some odd million quid for Mercedes PU, I would expect to have the same service as the Mercedes team. Right now the gap between Mercedes and their customer teams are so huge that I think even if 90% of the gap is down to the downforce, I am sure the other 10% is down to the PU implementation and what not.     

You get what you pay for - and why should Mercedes (or Ferrari) give all there secrets away to a customer team? - There has to be a benefit for making a chassis and PU...

[Dolph]

For starters, having a healthy grid of at least 24 cars would help, simply through probability of two or more cars being closer to each other .

 

But have we ever had that? A healthy grid of 24 cars?
 

[aljaxon]

the answer is simple

cover the full race track with an inch of gravel (or snow)

 

if you remove the emphasis from power to pure handling you would probably still get one manufacturer dominating

so then what ? race in the air? or underwater?

 

would more testing just give Mercedes more time to increase the gap even more?

[AlexLangheck]

I do wonder if people are really fans or understand the sport. If you want exciting close racing, then watch Touring cars. F1 isn't the only sport with domination - but none of them sports decide to WWE it to add some excitement.
It's up to the other teams to catch up, not the FiA to handicap them.

Saying that, the whole business and governance of F1 needs an overhaul, as it's not working.

[Tsarwash]

Note, I've not watched the race yet, but considering the gaps between the cars in testing and the reduced grid I have been thinking the following. If viewership has been steadily declining during the last few years when we have had great wheel to wheel racing and an exciting, unpredictable season, what shall happen if we end up with a dull, predictable season ? If the season turns out to be a dullfest, I think audience numbers will start to slide heavily and Bernie will have to do something.

[GoldenColt]

People were moaning after the season opener in 2010, then Melbourne happened and the rest of the season was fine.

 

Melbourne 2014 wasn't exactly a thriller either. Then Bahrain happened.

[JHSingo]

Make Mercedes carry a load of ballast for every race.

[Clrnc]

Saying that, the whole business and governance of F1 needs an overhaul, as it's not working.

Clearly. Still hoping for the day F1 can overhaul their business to attract more of the big car manufacturers for an interesting season. e.g VW, Nissan, Porsche and Toyota, BMW back. 

[DutchQuicksilver]

- Budget cap

- More teams

- Normal engines

- No artificial overtaking devices

- Normal race tracks

- no FIA

 

That's about all you need really.

[johnmhinds]

I do wonder if people are really fans or understand the sport. If you want exciting close racing, then watch Touring cars. F1 isn't the only sport with domination - but none of them sports decide to WWE it to add some excitement.
It's up to the other teams to catch up, not the FiA to handicap them.

Saying that, the whole business and governance of F1 needs an overhaul, as it's not working.

 

The teams can't catch up because of the FIA's rules!

 

The FIA are already handicapping some teams in F1, it's the back markers who are being priced out of the sport due to stupid engine, testing and development regulations.

[P123]

Firstly, accept that domination has happened before and will happen again, that F1 races are generally predictable, that not every race is a stonking classic, that this was the first race of the season and that F1's biggest problem is the distribution of it's wealth among the teams. Then before you start wishing for change, just remember who will be deciding on those changes...

[New Britain]

Cost cap.

 

Make testing days/miles allowed in reverse order to current position in Constructors'.

[SenorSjon]

Like with the Schumacher years?

Imagine 98 without testing. McLaren would have a field day without the improving Ferrari of Schumacher. Current rules prevent elbow grease to catch up.

[Paco]

More threads like this.. Which never go anywhere.

1. Budget cap unenforceable. People need to live in the real world. Small sub companies easily created to hide all r&d activities outside of teams budget.

2. What killing competition is simple: stupid stops on development. This freezing engines that suck means years of bad results. Does nothing to control costs.

3. Ridiculous limits on testing over dependence of sims, which ultimately miss too much. Virgin showed, sims simply are never a replacement for track work - they tried and failed miserably to depend on computers to cover the hard work..

[jonpollak]

Have them race on ovals

 

Jp

[BrokenBaculum]

Clearly. Still hoping for the day F1 can overhaul their business to attract more of the big car manufacturers for an interesting season. e.g VW, Nissan, Porsche and Toyota, BMW back. 

It's clear Le Mans holds a greater prestige for manufacturers, and gives them a more desirable technological platform, and fair play to them. It's not being strangled for every dollar by a cantankerous old man.

[pdac]

Have them race on ovals

 

Jp

 

More than 1 at the same time?

Edited by pdac, 15 March 2015 - 15:40.

[MikePost]

Well these engine rules mean only a top manufacturer team is going to win, that's a problem and needs addressing, every team should have access to a first line motor, and the rules should not be so complicated that only one manufacturer could get it right, if companies like Renault, Honda and Ferrari are having trouble then it's simply to complex !