F1 2009 Rule changes

[Flibster]

Allowing innovation would be a step in the right direction.

De-restrict defusers, allow ground effect, remove KERS, remove air powered valves - force them to use springs again, manual gearboxes, no aero between front axle and rear axle other than what is required to cover the cars inernals.

Oh, and get rid of Max and Bernie...

[divine]

Whilst allowing innovation sounds good, a good idea will last maybe a couple of races before it gets copied (unless it is truly mad like that fan car that would need a whole new car). That, or the innovations would be devices that do their utmost to prevent the cars behind getting in front.

I don't think such derestricted thinking would work as well as it might initially sound like it could.

The next bit baffles me though, 'allow innovation but remove all these new things and make them use old ideas'

I don't think anyone could argue with the last part though

[Justsomebloke]

Originally Posted by Del Lardo

I'm struggling to get excited about the 09 season after the debacle that was the 08 season, I really want to enjoy F1 again but fear the Max & Bernie show will **** it up

About sums up my thoughts, I am Gutted that a sport I grew up loving has become such a debacle

[kaiowas]

Ultimately the teams are just too professional, everything is optimised and analysed to the nth degree giving very little margin for differentiation no matter what the rules. I'm not really sure there's anything you can do which will undo that.

[Flibster]

Originally Posted by divine

Whilst allowing innovation sounds good, a good idea will last maybe a couple of races before it gets copied (unless it is truly mad like that fan car that would need a whole new car). That, or the innovations would be devices that do their utmost to prevent the cars behind getting in front.

I don't think such derestricted thinking would work as well as it might initially sound like it could.

In a copy of Autosport recently they coloured all the F1 cars white... very few people I know could tell all the cars apart correctly. One chap even got the car he worked with wrong....

Allowing innovation is better than a cookie-cutter formula which is what we are heading towards.

I'm all for cheap engines and cheap gearboxes so more teams can join, but unless customer cars are allowed the grid may shrink further. Williams started by buying a March 761 and entering it.

Originally Posted by divine

The next bit baffles me though, 'allow innovation but remove all these new things and make them use old ideas'

Because so many road cars have KERS, semi-automatic seamless shift gearboxes and pneumatic valves...

Removing them increases the road relevance, reduces costs and makes it possible that someone will over-rev an engine or miss a gear - thus overtaking....

Ground effect isn't effected by the turbulent air coming off the car, defuser is an important part of that. Gives them grip to follow more closely through corners, which in turn allows them to get closer on the straights.

Ideally, remove all the computers from the cars *excluding the data recorder for safety* and make men of them.

[divine]

Surely making the cards closer to road cars defeats the point of this being 'the pinnacle of motorsport' just as much as any of these other rule changes do though?

It seems to me like you want a return to the 'good old days' (which, I can agree with, i've only been watching since mid nineties I think, perhaps 1 or 2 seasons on BBC before the switch and it was more fun then) but I think doing that by wanting the removal of half the technological advancements we've developed in the last 10 years is perhaps a bit of a misguided way of trying to achieve that. Take that too far and you're left with a 'pinnacle of motorsport' with technology from 1985.

[Flibster]

Originally Posted by divine

Surely making the cards closer to road cars defeats the point of this being 'the pinnacle of motorsport' just as much as any of these other rule changes do though?

It seems to me like you want a return to the 'good old days' (which, I can agree with, i've only been watching since mid nineties I think, perhaps 1 or 2 seasons on BBC before the switch and it was more fun then) but I think doing that by wanting the removal of half the technological advancements we've developed in the last 10 years is perhaps a bit of a misguided way of trying to achieve that. Take that too far and you're left with a 'pinnacle of motorsport' with technology from 1985.

The FIA are pushing for road relelvence in motorsport. Whats wrong with a F1 car just being a massively slimmed down road car with a bigger engine?

The difference between the last few years and the good old days, is there was overtaking in the good old days. However, it also helps if there is decent tracks. Sadly, we've got Valencia, Monaco, Hungary, Singapore....

[Feek]

I used to follow F1 almost religiously but I pretty much gave up on it about five years ago. For more years than I care to remember there has been discussion on increasing overtaking but nothing has really made that much difference.

I miss the days of the turbo engines where the drivers could manually control the boost from inside the car, where they weren't allowed to refuel so they couldn't just run on maximum boost all the time because they wouldn't finish the race. I hope that KERS will bring some of that back with the ability to get a bit of a power boost during the race.

Did I read somewhere that refuelling was being removed or have I imagined it?

[Jhadur]

Originally Posted by Flibster

The FIA are pushing for road relelvence in motorsport. Whats wrong with a F1 car just being a massively slimmed down road car with a bigger engine?

I'm not at all up on motorsport with more than 2 wheels but isn't that the idea for touring cars.(not massively slimmed down but road cars with bigger/highly tuned engines)?

Bike racing has MotoGP which is the Formula 1 of bikes all innovation and stupid costs and then there's World Superbike which is based on road going bikes(a production run of so many bikes required before that model can be used) with modifications but not stupid money type mods.

[Flibster]

Originally Posted by Feek

Did I read somewhere that refuelling was being removed or have I imagined it?

2010 sadly. I'd rather that we've never have had refuelling at all. Always hated it.

Originally Posted by Jhadur

I'm not at all up on motorsport with more than 2 wheels but isn't that the idea for touring cars.(not massively slimmed down but road cars with bigger/highly tuned engines)?

The FIA want all motorsport to have road relevance. All a F1 car really is, is a road car stripped down to the bare minimum with a whole lot of tech applied to it.