92 replies to this topic

[Rediscoveryx]

Ok, so lately we’ve had quite a lot of discussion about various format tweaks to ”spice up the show” and make Formula One more appealing to the viewers (granted that these voices have calmed down following Austria and GB, but still). Everything from reverse grids to reinstating refueling has been suggested as means to spice things up a bit and add that little extra touch of unpredictability to the sport.

 

But perhaps the answer doesn’t lie in one specific format tweak. Perhaps the answer would rather be to ditch the rigid one-size-fits-all weekend format that is currently in place, where the only truly craaaaazy idea we seem to have been gifted is to move FP1 & FP2 to Thursday’s when in Monaco.

 

So here’s an idea; ditch mandates on the weekend format. Let race organizers decide this for themselves, or mandate a rotating format between different races.

 

Take qualifying as an example. Instead of mandating the current Q1-Q2-Q3 format. Wouldn’t it be neat to have a 20 race season divided up somewhere along these lines:

 

• Current format (Q1-Q2-Q3) used for 4 races
• An additional session with shorter session lengths (Q1-Q2-Q3-Q4) used for 4 races
• One-lap qualifying (starting order the reverse of FP3 results, effectively rendering FP3 a pre-qualifying session) used for 4 races
• Straight one hour session (a la millenium shift F1) used for 4 races
• Hybrid superpole qualifying (a la FE/DTM) used for 2 races
• The dreaded elimination style session (though extended for the full hour ) used for 1 race
• Reverse grid sprint races used for 1 race

 

The pros and cons of each format would quickly be seen and tweaks could be made. There would be quite the hype surrounding that one reverse grid sprint race. FP3 would be of heightened importance during the four races in which it decides the starting order for the one-lap qualifying session. And we’d all get to join in and moan endlessly about the frustrations related to the elimination system.

 

And why not also allow for varying FP-regulations? Have a couple of races each year with no FP3 (giving teams less time to perfect their setups). Or a few races where all FP-sessions are to be run on different tyre compounds than those to be used in qualifying/race (again, increasing the chance that top teams will drop the ball on setup/strategy).

 

For races the format could be kept pretty much the way it is today, but let’s throw in a few curveballs here and there. For instance:

 

• Have a couple of races where teams are free to use just one compound throughout (effectively opening up for 0 stop strategies).
• Have one annual “endurance race”, extended by 50% with refueling allowed.

 

The annual endurance race could be held on a different track each season (perhaps decided by lottery) and would be possible to market as a one-off event, kind of like the Indy 500 is for indycar.

 

The specifics mentioned above can be debated back and forth, but they are mainly there for illustrative purposes. Bottom line is; if we allow for varying formats then we will also add more character to the Grand Prix weekends. It will be more difficult for the top teams to perfect their packages in a way that suits all races, and the midfield teams can instead tailor their packages to suit specific events in a bid to get that one big giant-killing, sponsor-attracting result. And it will make each race weekend more unique to the viewers.

 

What do you think?

[shure]

It's the obsession with "spicing up the show" that has caused a lot of the issues F1 currently has and has brought us such turkeys as comedy tyres and DRS.  Adding yet more complexity to the already bloated rule book will only accelerate F1's descent into WWE.

 

F1 doesn't need to spice up the show.  It needs to remember that it's a racing series first and foremost and stop trying to pander to the attention deficit audience.

[Imperial]

And still see a Merc on pole every race.

[SophieB]

I think a revolving format would make things very difficult for a new fan to get into it all, to follow what's going on and why. Frankly, there's quite a lot of arcane stuff to F1 as it is.

[Rediscoveryx]

I think a revolving format would make things very difficult for a new fan to get into it all, to follow what's going on and why. Frankly, there's quite a lot of arcane stuff to F1 as it is.

 

I'm not so sure about that. Cross-country skiing and cycling both have varying formats. Both the WEC and Indycar already have this to some extent and it used to be the case for the WRC. The main event would look exactly the same to the casual viewer, and they don't watch qualifying anyway, so I don't think that would be a big problem.

Edited by Rediscoveryx, 16 July 2019 - 10:14.

[TomNokoe]

If they want to mess with the format then just have non-championship in-season tournaments like soccer does.

"The Champions Cup". Every fourth race is a street race, held at night time, reverse grid based on WDC. Points scored do not contribute to the championship.

I'm fed up of recommending this, honestly.

Edited by TomNokoe, 16 July 2019 - 10:22.

[Cornholio]

I'd prefer this sort of mixed up system to F1's usual MO of making radical change to the weekend format, then either sticking with it out of stubbornness even though it has made things worse, or having to do an embarrassing climb down (e.g. 2016 knockout qualifying).

 

Although I personally my most preferred option would be Brawn's suggestion of a non-championship race used as a pilot for things,and gauge the effects that way.

[JeePee]

They have the hardest time getting all the timing apps/graphics to function for the current format. FOM could not handle your suggestions.

[Grayson]

But perhaps the answer doesn’t lie in one specific format tweak. Perhaps the answer would rather be to ditch the rigid one-size-fits-all weekend format that is currently in place, where the only truly craaaaazy idea we seem to have been gifted is to move FP1 & FP2 to Thursday’s when in Monaco.

 

So here’s an idea; ditch mandates on the weekend format. Let race organizers decide this for themselves, or mandate a rotating format between different races.

 

With more and more races on the calendar, I'm in favour of anything which makes each race seem a bit more distinct from the others.

 

The specific suggestions you mention may be a little too drastic (for example, I'm pretty sure you'd have to completely redesign the car for a race that's 50% longer), but I'd be in favour of just about any flexibility which allows each Grand Prix to make some minor tweaks!

[SophieB]

I'm not so sure about that. Cross-country skiing and cycling both have varying formats. Both the WEC and Indycar already have this to some extent and it used to be the case for the WRC. The main event would look exactly the same to the casual viewer, and they don't watch qualifying anyway, so I don't think that would be a big problem.

 

Ok, but in all honesty, is qualifying the big problem to start with? I'm not trying to piddle on the bonfire here but sometimes it feels like there's a house with rotting foundations and no roof and people are endlessly wanting to focus on how to re-paint the front door.

[SophieB]

Also, do you want other people chipping in with their ideas, Rediscoveryx?

[Rediscoveryx]

Also, do you want other people chipping in with their ideas, Rediscoveryx?

 

Absolutely. As I mentioned in the opening post - the specific ideas that I brought up are just to illustrate what could hypothetically be done. I'm not necessarily advocating for these specific tweaks and some of them are ideas that I don't even like myself.

 

But the main idea is to open up for variety between race weekends and allowing events to differentiate themselves from the others by adding or removing elements that would make each race weekend a little more unique. F1 wouldn't turn into WWE if some races were longer than others, or if some events used a different qualifying format than the one that's used today, but it would be a challenge that a dominant team like Mercedes would be more likely to screw up than just another weekend of the exact same format.

Edited by Rediscoveryx, 16 July 2019 - 10:40.

[AustinF1]

The weekend format isn't broken. It doesn't need fixing.

[Risil]

Indycar has experimented with this over the years (heat races in Iowa, two feature races in one weekend, random qualifying draws) and you'd be surprised how little difference it makes. The exception is the Indy 500, but IMHO 95% of the reason for the special rules there is tradition.

[SophieB]

Absolutely. As I mentioned in the opening post - the specific ideas that I brought up are just to illustrate what could hypothetically be done. I'm not necessarily advocating for these specific tweaks and some of them are ideas that I don't even like myself.

 

But the main idea is to open up for variety between race weekends and allowing events to differentiate themselves from the others by adding or removing elements that would make each race weekend a little more unique. F1 wouldn't turn into WWE if some races were longer than others, or if some events used a different qualifying format than the one that's used today, but it would be a challenge that a dominant team like Mercedes would be more likely to screw up than just another weekend of the exact same format.

 

 

Then I propose that one race each season be run in the F2 cars, location and car distribution to be decided by drawing pieces of paper from a hat at the FIA end of term gala, in the manner of the FA Cup third round draw.

[Rediscoveryx]

Then I propose that one race each season be run in the F2 cars, location and car distribution to be decided by drawing pieces of paper from a hat at the FIA end of term gala, in the manner of the FA Cup third round draw.

 

I think the ideas I proposed make a little more sense, but fair enough. 

[SophieB]

I LIKE MINE BETTER

[muramasa]

Format is different, unique and distinct by each GP already, that is the venue. Base protocol should stay the same and consistent otherwise it does not make one integrated championship anymore, that's nothing but multiple separated cups in one year. It's same as asking for using totally different sized/shaped and material ball and different size goal net different pitch dimension etc for football, different height center net different size/elasticity ball different scoring system for tennis etc. Base condition has to be identical or within the set narrow range of variation, otherwise you cannot make double blind test, RCT, cohort etc at all, this basic science protocol is applicable to many other things.

Edited by muramasa, 16 July 2019 - 11:59.

[Imperial]

Why not just watch different categories of racing to have some spice?

[f1paul]

Absolutely. As I mentioned in the opening post - the specific ideas that I brought up are just to illustrate what could hypothetically be done. I'm not necessarily advocating for these specific tweaks and some of them are ideas that I don't even like myself.

 

But the main idea is to open up for variety between race weekends and allowing events to differentiate themselves from the others by adding or removing elements that would make each race weekend a little more unique. F1 wouldn't turn into WWE if some races were longer than others, or if some events used a different qualifying format than the one that's used today, but it would be a challenge that a dominant team like Mercedes would be more likely to screw up than just another weekend of the exact same format.

I fully agree.

 

There is nothing wrong with the current F1 format but it does not mean it can be improved.

 

For 70 years now, the format has been the same other than a few tweaks to qualifying.

 

Why not have a double header a few times a year, why not have a different qualifying format now and then, why not have different length races etc. There was talk of bringing refuelling back into F1 last week, well why not do it for some of the races (rather than all) such as Monza  to make races longer perhaps.

 

Liberty talk so much about making each event 'unique' - well this is the perfect way to do it.

[f1paul]

I think a revolving format would make things very difficult for a new fan to get into it all, to follow what's going on and why. Frankly, there's quite a lot of arcane stuff to F1 as it is.

 

It doesn't IMO.

 

People I know who are casual fans of F1 only care about the racing and not how it happens or how long a race is. 

 

That's why if F1 became more artificial (for example) the casual viewer won't care as they care only about the action, it is only people who are die-hard F1 fans who will. 

 

IndyCar, V8 Supercars, NASCAR, GT championship all have different formats - whether it is as simple as having a longer race at some point and it works very well. 

[shure]

I fully agree.

 

There is nothing wrong with the current F1 format but it does not mean it can be improved.

 

For 70 years now, the format has been the same other than a few tweaks to qualifying.

 

Why not have a double header a few times a year, why not have a different qualifying format now and then, why not have different length races etc. There was talk of bringing refuelling back into F1 last week, well why not do it for some of the races (rather than all) such as Monza  to make races longer perhaps.

 

Liberty talk so much about making each event 'unique' - well this is the perfect way to do it.

My question would be why is it necessary?  We don't have tweaks to football matches every other weekend, or tennis, or cricket, or any of the major global sports.  Why do we feel that F1 needs to have variety to be successful? 

 

If we really need to have some kind of stocking filler then may be focus that around the support events, say have all the drivers take part in a spec race - maybe f2 cars? - with all equal equipment and have a kind of mini drivers championship or something.  That might drum up some interest to see who really is the best driver.  But let's please not mess around with the core product.  It's not necessary and mucking about with the rules is a main reason for some of the frustrations in the sport in the first place.

[screamingV16]

The weekend format isn't broken. It doesn't need fixing.

 

Yep, of all things that need to be done to improve F1, changing the format to some novelty WWE style format is lowest on the list. What next, drivers have to take part in a dance-off to see who gets on pole?

[Rediscoveryx]

My question would be why is it necessary?  We don't have tweaks to football matches every other weekend, or tennis, or cricket, or any of the major global sports.  Why do we feel that F1 needs to have variety to be successful? 

 

If we really need to have some kind of stocking filler then may be focus that around the support events, say have all the drivers take part in a spec race - maybe f2 cars? - with all equal equipment and have a kind of mini drivers championship or something.  That might drum up some interest to see who really is the best driver.  But let's please not mess around with the core product.  It's not necessary and mucking about with the rules is a main reason for some of the frustrations in the sport in the first place.

 

 

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is by any means "necessary". Of course it's not necessary. But it would be an easy way to bring a touch of variety into what is an increasingly monotone championship.

 

And, depending on how you define things, you do actually have tweaks between competitions in most other sports.

 

In tennis you have five set matches for the grand slams (on differing surfaces). Three set matches for other ATP tournaments etc. If all tennis matches were three-set matches on hardcourt then the sport would likely be less interesting.

 

In football, the Champions League decides who advances to the next round using a combined result from two matches, in the World cup it's down to one game. Both formats are challenging in their own ways.

 

The Tour de France has stages of varying lengths, some are even time trials as opposed to just pack racing. It's the same in cross-country skiing. Different athletes thrive in different circumstances.

 

In motorcycling, road races are held both as time trials (Isle of Man) and as pack races (pretty much others...). In the WEC you have a span from 24 hour races down to... whatever the shortest spec is. etc etc.

 

I don't think that any of these variations detract from these sports or that they necessarily have to be seen as "messing about" with the core product. It's still a matter of who arrives at the finish first, or scores the most goals or whatever. Also, I don't think that any of the suggested variations would be such a dramatic change that folks wouldn't recognize the sport. It's not like the suggestion is to start racing on dirt roads or something silly like that. Most of them have already been in place earlier on in F1 history. 

[Rediscoveryx]

Yep, of all things that need to be done to improve F1, changing the format to some novelty WWE style format is lowest on the list. What next, drivers have to take part in a dance-off to see who gets on pole?

 

I'm not sure that that is comparable to using a straight one-hour session in a few races.

Edited by Rediscoveryx, 16 July 2019 - 12:56.

[SenorSjon]

@rediscoveryx

 

F1 has different tracks (race, street, Tilke) to have that. 

 

I would have two tweaks:

1) Bring back warm-up for a proper F1 breakfast. From then on, no parc ferme.

2) Stop racing at Idiot past ten, but use the 14.00 time slot it was like forever before. I really hate it when post-race is near dinner time.

[Marklar]

I think the quali system is fine, it could maybe need a little bit tweaking to make Q1 more attractive, but Q2 and Q3 cant be much better than it already is. I'm all for variety but if there is clearly a system that is superior in terms of fairness and entertainment it shouldnt be touched. At least not in the majority of the races.

The races are a different matter. A lot would be helped if nearly all tracks werent 5-5.5 km long and didnt nearly all had roughtly the same lap times. In such a long calendar this is indeed extremely repetitive. It might be more expensive to organize that but if we had occasionally races on much longer tracks (longer than Spa) and shorter tracks (shorter and/or quicker than Monaco & Spielberg) you add another new element (there are different challenges on short and long tracks) to it without confusing the casual fan.

Most agree that Monaco, Silverstone, Monza and Spa (and maybe Suzuka) are something like the Grand Slam of the sport. Why not making those races a bit more special then? Like other series do it with a certain race, or other sports even (Tennis is a good example).I wouldnt even call that WWE or artificially spicing it up, especially since you keep the same system for all other races, it would make a extremely long calendar more worthwhile.

Edited by Marklar, 16 July 2019 - 14:12.

[SenorSjon]

I would experiment in Q that the times won't be deleted, so you can have a go at pole in Q1 instead of the Q3 shootout. Of course ditch the dual compound and start on Q2 nonsense as well. Only midfielders are troubled by this, with a penalty for reaching Q3..

[f1paul]

My question would be why is it necessary?  We don't have tweaks to football matches every other weekend, or tennis, or cricket, or any of the major global sports.  Why do we feel that F1 needs to have variety to be successful? 

 

If we really need to have some kind of stocking filler then may be focus that around the support events, say have all the drivers take part in a spec race - maybe f2 cars? - with all equal equipment and have a kind of mini drivers championship or something.  That might drum up some interest to see who really is the best driver.  But let's please not mess around with the core product.  It's not necessary and mucking about with the rules is a main reason for some of the frustrations in the sport in the first place.

I feel that F1 is scared of change.

 

As I said in a post earlier, the format has stayed exactly the same for decades.

 

Qualifying on a Saturday, a 300KM race on a Sunday. For 21 races, it would be nice to have a few changes.

 

Other motorsport series do it and it works well, makes each event unique and many of the flyaway races have plenty of room to have two races or a longer race on the Sunday.

 

F1 needs a 'growth mindset' and does not always need to stick to its traditions. 

[Retrofly]

changing formats and duration doesn't work for TV so LM wouldn't allow it in a million years.

 

"We need a gap for ad-breaks!"

[Atreiu]

F1 should definitely consider having different formats for GP weekends.

 

First to help promoters get their money's worth as they fill the weekend schedule, second to give the teams new different challenges and hopefully make the racing better. With the right format they could actually integrate testing into the race weekend and guarantee all track time to be relevant. This includes varrying the race distance from one GP to another to create new challenges with the tyres and engine/fuel management.

 

All these added changes would help each GP weekend be a greater challenge in itself and test/expose cars strengths and weaknesses.

 

I don't think it'll happen though. F1 is simultaneously timid and clumsy and they will more likely take a stupid and fruitless u-turn, like bringing refueling back (which no educated fan or professional wants to see).

Edited by Atreiu, 16 July 2019 - 14:48.

[Garndell]

Switching quali formats throughout a dozen+ times the season alienates a hell of a lot of casual viewers plus will as has been said upset almost every broadcaster & promoter.  Adding a sprint race in identical cars would be a good addition but a logistical (all that extra cargo) & commercial (who makes it, powers it etc) nightmare.

 

There is normally a Karting track within spitting distance of a F1 track and most if not every F1 driver has done Karting so simply provide identical powerful karts with weight adjustment to balance out the driver weights.  Throw in some former/upcoming drivers & maybe some local talents and you have a showcase of talent over machinery & fun for the spectator.  It can even be opened up to people at the race weekend between sessions, don't want to go to the concert, get a few laps with a driver on a Kart track.

 

Want to see the grid organised differently, use the Karts for quali and you end up with a mixed grid, might end up with someone like Albon on pole and Lewis mid pack or at the back.  Much less artificial than "reversed grids" and much more on driver ability.

[Atreiu]

Switching the qualif format would have little or no impact to viewership. All people care about is who lines up where and that it's decided by saturday afternoon.

 

The average fan would never care about slashing Q3, or tweaking tyre selection in Q in relation to the race start, making it just a frantic 20 minutes shoot out. I bet few would be bothered with reversed grids once they saw guys trying to climb the field.

[Anderis]

I would experiment in Q that the times won't be deleted, so you can have a go at pole in Q1 instead of the Q3 shootout.

I can't see what improvement could that bring.

 

It would only make mistakes in Q2 and Q3 less punishing. I feel like F1 is already not punishing enough if you compare how many mistakes were made by drivers 10-20 years ago and how much it costed them and how it's now. Also it makes Q2 and Q3 less unpredictable, because if a top driver screws something at some point, he will likely still have a decent time from his previous segment.

Also if conditions are getting worse after Q1 (rain or sth), then Q2 and Q3 become pointless, which is not the case with current format.

 

So there are several drawbacks. What would the advantages be? I can't see any.

[muramasa]

Tennis golf etc are standalone tournament whereas F1 football etc are seasonal thus format has to stay identical regardless of venue, and stay gimmick free as well. It's like asking for double score about everything for big matches like Man U vs Chelsea, such does not make a championship anymore. Monaco is exception but that's just compromise (actually Monaco can be 300km as well). What needs to be changed is hardware, ie aero and tyre.

 

Keeping time throughout quali doesnt make difference unless drizzling condition because lap time gain comes from rapid rubbering in and drivers learning to attack more and more and go nearer to the edge, and that is why max PU mode is saved for later runs too.

[F1matt]

Its the cars that need changing not the show, the format works for the teams and the fans, they also squeeze in the GP3, F2, and Porsche supercup races in there as well. 

[shure]

 

 

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is by any means "necessary". Of course it's not necessary. But it would be an easy way to bring a touch of variety into what is an increasingly monotone championship.

 

And, depending on how you define things, you do actually have tweaks between competitions in most other sports.

 

In tennis you have five set matches for the grand slams (on differing surfaces). Three set matches for other ATP tournaments etc. If all tennis matches were three-set matches on hardcourt then the sport would likely be less interesting.

 

In football, the Champions League decides who advances to the next round using a combined result from two matches, in the World cup it's down to one game. Both formats are challenging in their own ways.

 

The Tour de France has stages of varying lengths, some are even time trials as opposed to just pack racing. It's the same in cross-country skiing. Different athletes thrive in different circumstances.

 

In motorcycling, road races are held both as time trials (Isle of Man) and as pack races (pretty much others...). In the WEC you have a span from 24 hour races down to... whatever the shortest spec is. etc etc.

 

I don't think that any of these variations detract from these sports or that they necessarily have to be seen as "messing about" with the core product. It's still a matter of who arrives at the finish first, or scores the most goals or whatever. Also, I don't think that any of the suggested variations would be such a dramatic change that folks wouldn't recognize the sport. It's not like the suggestion is to start racing on dirt roads or something silly like that. Most of them have already been in place earlier on in F1 history. 

I think you're mixing a few things there.  The tennis and football examples are for two wholly different competitions.  They don't go into Wimbledon and play 5 sets on a Monday and then 3 on a Tuesday to "mix it up."  And Champions League and the World cup are team vs nation competitions so completely different.  

 

Cycling and the others haven't suddenly moved from one format to another.  There's no real precedent in major sports to make such wholesale dramatic changes and in my view it's completely unnecessary.  The problems in F1 aren't related to the format but to the governance and the fact that those in charge seem wholly unable to make decisions in the interests of the sport as a whole rather than the vested interests of (some) participants.  All they really need to do is stop this obsession with gimmicks and remember what F1 is supposed to be about.  And not involve the teams in the decision making process.  Changing the race weekends won't address any of that

[FullOppositeLock]

The weekend format isn't broken. It doesn't need fixing.

Absolutely this. If the cars allow for close racing and performance levels are more similar so that there will be more (significant) on track battles and bigger variety in the results none of these artificial tweaks to the weekend/qualifying/race format are necessary. Throw in some deeply grounded rivalries plus a quality free to air broadcast and F1 would be set for a bright future.

[thegforcemaybewithyou]

I'd like to see a qualifying where in the first part of it, a driver would only have one attempt to set a time. A bigger mistake then automatically means you're stuck at the back of the grid. So in a maybe ten minute Q1, the positions 20-16 are set. Q2 and Q3 could be as we know it currently or a similar system where only one attempt per driver would be allowed.

 

For the race, I'd move away from the 300km race distances and set the number of laps based on the qualifying time or fastest time of the weekend after qualifying. The number of laps would be calculated as:

 

roundup( 90mins / "fastest time of the weekend" ) - for rain affected weekends, we'll use last year's fastest time or an estimate from the teams what the pole time would be.

 

Some races are simply too short others too long IMO.

Edited by thegforcemaybewithyou, 16 July 2019 - 15:15.

[Marklar]

They don't go into Wimbledon and play 5 sets on a Monday and then 3 on a Tuesday to "mix it up."  

Tennis is a bad example to counter that though. The four Grand Slams all have a different tiebreak rule for literally no reason for example 

[Kalmake]

I'd like to see a qualifying where in the first part of it, a driver would only have one attempt to set a time. A bigger mistake then automatically means you're stuck at the back of the grid. So in a maybe ten minute Q1, the positions 20-16 are set. Q2 and Q3 could be as we know it currently or a similar system where only one attempt per driver would be allowed.

One attempt is terrible as long as you can get blocked due to no fault of your own.

[Garndell]

I think you're mixing a few things there.  The tennis and football examples are for two wholly different competitions.  They don't go into Wimbledon and play 5 sets on a Monday and then 3 on a Tuesday to "mix it up."  And Champions League and the World cup are team vs nation competitions so completely different.  

 

Cycling and the others haven't suddenly moved from one format to another.  There's no real precedent in major sports to make such wholesale dramatic changes and in my view it's completely unnecessary.  The problems in F1 aren't related to the format but to the governance and the fact that those in charge seem wholly unable to make decisions in the interests of the sport as a whole rather than the vested interests of (some) participants.  All they really need to do is stop this obsession with gimmicks and remember what F1 is supposed to be about.  And not involve the teams in the decision making process.  Changing the race weekends won't address any of that

 

Cricket has had a major shake up with Twenty20 and 100 ball cricket, it hasn't changed the main game much but the effects have been felt by it.  Tennis does have differing formats of 3 or 5 sets but it's between men playing best of 5 & the women best of 3.  Also some tournaments DO play best of 3 for men and women while still having ranking implications.   Wimbledon & Queens, they both take place within a season of tennis yet are run over different formats.

[Beri]

There is only one solution:
Limit the harvesting of data and forbid computing models like strategy scenarios.
Less data is less known is more variety and more probability of fun.

[Marklar]

I'd like to see a qualifying where in the first part of it, a driver would only have one attempt to set a time. A bigger mistake then automatically means you're stuck at the back of the grid. So in a maybe ten minute Q1, the positions 20-16 are set. Q2 and Q3 could be as we know it currently or a similar system where only one attempt per driver would be allowed.

 

One attempt is terrible as long as you can get blocked due to no fault of your own.

Indeed.

Alternatively you could increase the risk for the top teams by either eliminate more drivers in Q1 or by shortening the session.

[balage06]

[Sterzo]

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is by any means "necessary". Of course it's not necessary. But it would be an easy way to bring a touch of variety into what is an increasingly monotone championship.

Rule One of problem solving is to identify what the problem is and fix that, not something else. Not sure what you mean by "an increasingly monotone championship" but it's not a term that makes me think of the real problems in F1.

[thegforcemaybewithyou]

One attempt is terrible as long as you can get blocked due to no fault of your own.

 

I'm absolutely aware of situations like that. You can get blocked by a slow car, have to abandon your lap due to a yellow or red flag, lose time because of a mistake under braking... There are many options that send a driver to the back of the grid. If that is too cruel for many fans, we maybe could add a rule where a driver who gets hold up by a another driver or a flag situation gets another run while his first time gets deleted.

[Dr. Austin]

How about leaving things alone and have the sport be real instead of spicy? 

[Rodaknee]

These vanity posts make me laugh.

[BuddyHolly]

Just ban Merc and we'll be fine, the season would be awesome (as the thread showing the season without Merc proves)