My Ideas for Next Season

[Ingsy]

Admittedly, it's probably too late to implement some of these for next season, but they are my suggestions. Comments welcome

First up - Ban testing. No testing allowed during the season. Use the fridays of Grand Prix weekends instead. Surely this would give the teams more information as they will actually be testing on the track they are about to race on? Also it would give a bit more on track action for the fans on the friday.

Second - no pitstops. F1 should be about the best drivers in the best cars. not about the best pit crews. Looks what happened to Button at Suzuka. Compromised by a fuel flap. Also I feel that too many drivers are not actually trying to overtake if their pitstop is looming, as they would rather pass in the pits where there is less risk of getting taken off. Good thinking. But dull for the viewer. (who will be the first to point out Alonso's move on schuey at the weekend to prove me wrong? )

Third - Get rid of the stupid 10 place penalty for changing an engine. To start off with if you generally qualify outside the top 10 you're getting a smaller punishment than if you would have been on pole. I.e. someone who qualified 15th drops to 20th - only a 5 place penalty. Also it's robbed us of at least three potentially great races this season. Instead dock the constructor (not the driver) 1 point for every engine change.

Fourth - Qualifying. Get rid of single lap. Although the grid in suzuka gave us a great race, the whole point of qualifying (in my view) is to see the absolute fastest car/driver combination. Go back to low fuel, fresh tires and unlimited laps. For the sake of tv, perhaps split it into 2 or 3 sections and make it compulsory for each driver to post a time in each section? The FIA has suggested something like this for next year, and I really hope it goes ahead.

So, anyone got any other thoughts? Or comments on mine?

[Kicking-back]

Originally Posted by Ingsy

First up - Ban testing. No testing allowed during the season. Use the fridays of Grand Prix weekends instead. Surely this would give the teams more information as they will actually be testing on the track they are about to race on? Also it would give a bit more on track action for the fans on the friday.

Fundamentally disagree.

Testing on a Friday at the track would enable the teams to all get their cars absolutely optimised for the track and likely lead to a procession

[Marbot]

I'd go with the no pit stops thing,but it's too late for that.As for testing,well i think they have something sorted for that as well as qualifying.As for tyres,leave it alone,if it aint broke don't fix it.

[John Turner]

I agree with K-b about the the proposed ban on testing although not necessarily for the same reason. I don't see how you can build a highly sophisticated piece of machinery with an incredible performance envelope without testing it. You can't leave it all to chance to sort out the day before the race and there maybe safety issues as well. I agree with the other proposals however, although it should be noted that we have had a similar thread in the not too distant past which threw up similar constructive proposals.

[Ingsy]

Ah ok, I didn't spot that other thread. I think the ban on testing should only be during the season, beforehand they could test as much as they like (as they can do now, I believe). I see k-b's point but at the moment fridays are basically wasted - race drivers only do a handful of laps at best. The is no show for the fans at all. Part of that is the two race engine rule, of course.

Personally I think my best suggest was docking the constructors 1 point for each engine change. This would not affect the driver, or the WDC but would still punish the constructor for having to change the engine.

[maltafan]

These are my views:

Testing: I would fix some testing days maybe 20 during the whole season, when safety procedures are all in place, but I would choose a circuit which is not in the race calendar. All teams have an option to attend or not. But there should be no extra ones for those who do not attend.

Pits: I agree with the fuel stops but am aginst tyre changes unless for safety reasons.

Penalty: In my opinio it is too harsh for a driver who did no mistake. I would penalise the constructors, but more than 1 point.

I would change the point system too, where the second gets a 7 and not the present 8. I would add a point for pose position adn another one for the fastest lap.

Qualifying: Low fuel and minimum No if laps but same engine as race.

[Knowlesy]

There has to be something done to get more running on a friday.

At Silverstone this year I felt kind of saddened when nobody went out for first free practice, somewhat short changed. The rules work against the real fans who pay for the privilege of being there live and F1 mustn't lose sight of that. Oh no, sorry, it did that long ago.

No pitstops I agree, should be enforced. But we are going the other way it seems!

And proper qualifying would be nice.

[BootsOntheSide]

With testing, the FIA have 2 options - reduce testing away form the track so as to increase the value of Friday testing, or rearrange the weekend so that the F1 cars get less testing, and replace it with more GP2/other support series practice, or extra support races or displays, or even do away with the third day altogether. The lack of Friday running currently is farcical, and I agree about testing at a race circuit before the race being a negative thing. I'd probably favour banning testing at all the race tracks before they have had their race, other than 1 designated 'home' track for each team, and make Friday an open testing day.

As for the engine change penalty, I'd go for a combined penalty, of perhaps 1 second added to the laptime, and a 2 point penalty for driver and team but only if the team goes on to score - thus preventing the penalty having a lasting effect.

If they stay with one-lap qualifying, a compromise system needs setting up for wet weather sessions, and the running order should be decided a different way. If they change over to a fixed-length session like the old days, teh problem invovles the engine limit, as teams would be wary of doing more laps than neccessary. The best option might be to require one lap in the first half-hour to get into the top 10, and then a second lap to get a higher position. Alternatively, allow changes to fuel loads before each run, but only count the run achieved on current fuel levels, as a slight compromise.

[Knowlesy]

It must be pretty easy to organise testing for the GP Friday, you'd think. it is a win-win situation. Although the engine situation is a mitigating factor.......

But at a stroke, testing would be cut and the fans would be pleased as punch.

[chillibowl]

imo (which has probably changed from some of my past posts but thats just because ive given it more though) restricting testing to just friday would be the same as getting rid of testing all together.

1.for testing to yeild any positive results it need to be done in the most controllable way. and the best way to do that is allowing teams to return to the same track over and ovar again - its the only real way you can account for the changes you are hoping to make. being able to compare test data only from one year to the next is irrelevant in F1 since the tech regs change yearly.
2. how would you propose that teams conduct tire testing? these things are hand made, you cant do that overnight.

that being said a compromise allowing restricted testing for tires and new parts and compullsory outings on friday by a 3rd car could be a good thing.

[Dutton]

I still reckon if you make it that the engine life thing starts on a Saturday instead of a Friday it might encourage more Friday running. Okay, the people who are moving onto their second week (the 2nd week starting on the Saturday) would run the same amount as they do now; however, those coming to the end of their second week (new engine on saturday) would presumably be inclined to run a lot of laps.

The potential for a solid day's running on the second Friday could cause the teams to try to make sure the engine is more reliable (thus reducing the risk of failures affecting races).

I dunno, I am sure it is unworkable/stupid for some reason or other. Just a thought.

[Stargazer7]

I would not ban pitstops. But I would definetely ban refueling.
I think that a pitstop is characterized by tyre change and not by refueling.
Refueling results to strategy plans, and this is not a battlefield, its a sport so instead of really difficult to digest strategies just leave the cars and the drivers to antagonise and then we'll see who is the best. Do you think that with only tyre changes allowed someone would go for three pitstop strategy.
I really doubt it.

There are many other advantages for refueling ban and will analyse them as this topic moves on.

[Flat12-Aircool]

Well I'm sorry but I can't agree with all this whining I hear from ITV pundits etc about the 10 place engine change penalty. If anything it should be more.

Kimi Raikonnen has benefited no end by Mercedes risky engine strategy, a large portion of his speed is down to the immence power of the engine in his car. You can't say its not Kimi's fault because with a more reliably built engine he would no doubt be slower. He profits from the risks Maclaren are taking, so why shouldn't he be penalised as well.

And as for docking 1 point for each engine change, lol don't make me laugh. So basically Maclaren could push their engines to the Maximum each race knowing that even if they have to change engines for the next race they are still gauranteed 18 points with a 1st & 2nd finish and only to be docked 2 for engine changes!!!

Without sufficient penalties for both Driver & Manufactorer then Teams would just run their engines to breaking point each race knowing that the pros outwayed the cons.

[Knowlesy]

Would that be the immensely powerful Mercedes engine that is less powerful than the Renault then?

The McLaren speed comes from two things mainly.....superb aerodynamics and a seamless shift gearbox.

On the topic of that gearbox, just listen to the McLAren on the upshift from an outside perspective.....absolutely gorgeous.

[Snrub]

In my mind it's not the driver's fault if their engine expires. If the engine expires why not take away 2 points from the team's constructor's championship and not penalize the driver? (no team could be sub zero) With all of the manufacturers in F1 the WTCC likely holds more significance for them than the WDC.

Kimi/JPM's speed is not solely down to the engine. By any accounts I've read the Mercedes isn't the most potent engine. If the Mercedes was 5-10hp less potent I don't think it would have a huge impact on the outcome of the races. Perhaps Mercedes found the same reliability issues existed in lower power configurations as well. We don't really know what the problem is.

[Kirk]

In his post race comments, Kimi did mention that he hit the rev limiter a few times in high gear. I guess McLaren are holding nothing back and are right on the edge. Fisi mentioned that Kimi's McLaren straight away speed was 13 kph faster than his Renault last weekend. That's quite a bit. Sorry for venturing off topic but I'd say presently the McLaren Benz is indeed (precariously) producing the most power.

[Knowlesy]

There are a number of factors involved in straightline speed kirk, not just engine power.

Aero slipperiness, corner exit, speed carried through a corner, setup.....

The Arrows were the fastest thing in a straightline by some margin in 2000, yet they had an engine that was by no means the most powerful.

[Kirk]

True enough. It is obvious that the whole package is required to be at or near the top.... but I still think Kimi and JPM enjoy having the most powerful motor on the grid. Not that that means a great deal but it helps.