Should F1 Pitcrew numbers be reduced???
#1
Posted 09 March 2000 - 21:39
Also I may just be selfish, but I think its really something special to see so many people working safely as a unit during an F1 pitstop
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#2
Posted 10 March 2000 - 00:46
[This message has been edited by f li (edited 03-09-2000).]
#3
Posted 10 March 2000 - 00:55
#4
Posted 10 March 2000 - 01:39
I think the example of NASCAR is a bit misleading. Their cars are huge compared to an F1 car and the sight of that poor sod sprinting around the car with a trolley jack is just laughable.
CART is a better comparison - at least the technology is closer. They do very well on pit stop times with only 6 (I think) people over the wall and are not much slower than F! using sometimes 15 or 16 people. This is a rule that F1 could very well pick up from CART. Fewer people in the firing line MUST be safer.
Of course, I am a reactionary who would like to see the end of the whole pit-stop culture, both on safety and sporting grounds. But that’s another thread
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BRG
"all the time, maximum attack"
#5
Posted 10 March 2000 - 05:18
#6
Posted 10 March 2000 - 05:32
#7
Posted 10 March 2000 - 05:42
#8
Posted 10 March 2000 - 05:53
#9
Posted 10 March 2000 - 05:56
#10
Posted 10 March 2000 - 06:06
This sounds like a good idea to me, since you keep the stops quick, you can have 50 guys over the wall if you want, and there is no fuel being mishandled. Plus, you can have more strategy, since the car gets lighter towards the end of the race, and the tire wear changes.
Just a thought.
[This message has been edited by EddieJF1 (edited 03-09-2000).]
[This message has been edited by EddieJF1 (edited 03-09-2000).]
#11
Posted 10 March 2000 - 07:39
I believe you went past the 5 year limitation of discussion on this thread ;) Please refer to the first post....LOL!!
#12
Posted 10 March 2000 - 07:46
What does fire have to do with the number of pitcrew members? Just a thought.
#13
Posted 10 March 2000 - 08:40
Even to the point of the brake board man holding up the exit of a car if necessary to prevent pit lane crashes. Should there be traffic in the pit lane on completion of tyre changing and refuelling.
Though some times accidents happen, I think it was Johnny Herbert who exited the pits with the rear jack still attached to the car a few years ago. Thankfully accidents seem to be rare and are dealt with quickly and efficiently.
The difference with Champ cars and other formulae seems to be the use of overhead air hoses in F1, for the outer wheels, rather than hoses trailing across the pit box. Therefore running over a hose and becoming entangled is not such a problem. Also the wheels taken off are cleared away before the car exits the pits usually not leaving barriers in the pits for
others to run into.
#14
Posted 10 March 2000 - 09:11
#15
Posted 10 March 2000 - 10:07
IMO, the CART pitstops look awful and NASCAR's are even worse.
#16
Posted 10 March 2000 - 19:11
Even the "authorised" pit crew take up a lot of space (I know they are only meant to be there for one lap before the car comes in, but that means they are out, in effect for three laps at a time, with two cars to service) and this is starting to become part of the team tactics, making it more awkward for the team in the neighbouring garage, by occupying the limits of their own box and making the next car have to turn in/out much more tightly.
I wonder what the rules are for the stop/go man to allow his car out when another car is approaching - are there any fixed distances or is it just his judgement?
#17
Posted 10 March 2000 - 19:12
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Ursus
Trust me, send money.
#18
Posted 10 March 2000 - 08:42
Think how many heads Michael Andretti could have run over in a F1 pit....
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BRG
"all the time, maximum attack"
#19
Posted 10 March 2000 - 21:42
Pitstops with refueling 94-99
3 fires (verstappen 94, irvine 94 and a Prost in 98 or 99)
2 mechanics injured (Imola 94, and another one somewhere, dunno)
1 X-wing torn off, 1 jack taken out for a ride (you should have seen Briatorre smile and shake his head ;)
I bet I forgot some, but on the whole, it doesn't look that bad for 6 seasons... = 6x 16 races, average of 20 stops per race? (DNF's equal out 2 stop races, low estimate IMO), that's about 2000 pitstops in total...
Can't say I find the accident rate alarmingly high! And if the FIA checks the fuel rigs correctly, there shouldn't be too much of a spill (rigs shut down when there is a preasure loss, so you never get 'hundreds of liters' in the pitlane)
This is just an observation, no personal oppinions. But saying pitstops are unsafe seems (so far) to be untrue...
#21
Posted 10 March 2000 - 23:14
#22
Posted 11 March 2000 - 00:36
I think you are a bit too ready to dismiss the risks. Perhaps you wouldn't mind being hit by a F1 car at 80kph (that's 50mph in old money) but I would.
Statistics in the UK show that pedestrians hit at 20mph mostly survive, more are killed at 30mph, still more at 40mph and at 50mph they almost all are. Multiply that by 10 or 12 when Jimmy Racer loses it in the pitlane and we have major carnage. This assumes that they survived the fire at the other end of the pitlane when Benny Backmarker's tank overflowed.
Yes, motor sport is dangerous. Let's try to minimise that. Complacency kills.
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BRG
"all the time, maximum attack"