F1 returning to 1990s-style cars for 2017?

[Ayrton_Senna88]

1982,1986 to 1989 are the best seasons and cars

 

[Andy_J]

Passing eachother using artificial means instead of skill is not racing. Feel free to argue <snip>

LOL Connor, careful, you'll be getting some private messages with some abuse.

 

[Rui Santos]

Main problem with nowadays F1 is that the car is everything and driver doesn't make almost any difference! What could change if cars get more power and less downforce aerodinamics is that the difference goes more towards driver side, he becomes more the main actor in the scene, not the car. Some drivers are suffering from this today, i can imagine 4 or 5 drivers that could be champion in Vettel's Red Bull in those 4 years he was champion! F1 cars today are just made to get into it and drive, you can be an average driver but into the best car you win with not much problem... Related to this and also boring is that good young drivers with poor cars can't show they're good or spectacular, because it's impossible to make difference in F1 nowadays... What people made of F1 today is that it's a safe boring sport, everyone knows (drivers included) that motorsports are dangerous, that's why people like it, the danger factor that sepparate the men from the kids, if races become a cars in a form of a snake around a circuit i guess people won't be spending money to see this...

 

[Milos]

Main problem with nowadays F1 is that the car is everything and driver doesn't make almost any difference! What could change if cars get more power and less downforce aerodinamics is that the difference goes more towards driver side, he becomes more the main actor in the scene, not the car. Some drivers are suffering from this today, i can imagine 4 or 5 drivers that could be champion in Vettel's Red Bull in those 4 years he was champion! F1 cars today are just made to get into it and drive, you can be an average driver but into the best car you win with not much problem... Related to this and also boring is that good young drivers with poor cars can't show they're good or spectacular, because it's impossible to make difference in F1 nowadays... What people made of F1 today is that it's a safe boring sport, everyone knows (drivers included) that motorsports are dangerous, that's why people like it, the danger factor that sepparate the men from the kids, if races become a cars in a form of a snake around a circuit i guess people won't be spending money to see this...

Exactly, I couldn't agree more! Put Chilton in a Mercedes and he'll be at least 2nd overall at the end.

 

[Graham Laing]

LOL Connor, careful, you'll be getting some private messages with some abuse.

A mod will step in if people cannot argue a point without belittling or insulting someone

 

[James Cook]

F1 cars of the late 80s and early 90s have always been the most aesthetically pleasing to me. Simpler looking cars with cleaner lines. Many were quite beautiful actually. I don't think it's nostalgia, more a case of the modern F1 car looking a little ugly by comparison.

Whatever happens, I believe F1 has something of an unwritten obligation to ensure the cars are visually pleasing to the spectator. Cool looking cars is part of the glamour and spectacle of F1, a series that is regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport.

 

[Sk3ptik0n]

I think it's entirely possible to have future cars take inspiration from what made the older cars great while at the same time push the technology forward.

We should not go back to the silliness (and expense) of having qualifying motors but leaving room for more innovation and taking some aesthetic cues from the 80's and 90's cars would be good and pleasing to the eye.

Actually,m one thing I really miss from the old days is that almost all cars look alike. If mercedes took a ferrari and fielded it with their colors, it would take a while, if ever, for the average fan to notice.

Remember the 70's? That was a period of innovation and crazy ideas. Almost each car looked different from the next one and there was a variety of powerplants and engine noises. That's one of the things is missing today.

 

[Ian Strom]

I think that F1 cars should go back to some of those old six wheel designs, or even eight wheels! Except the cars would be AWD and use nice tall&wide tires. 13 or 14" rims.

 

[Darth]

I think that F1 cars should go back to some of those old six wheel designs, or even eight wheels! Except the cars would be AWD and use nice tall&wide tires. 13 or 14" rims.

That would be real fun. I only fear that they might have a lot of understeer. Still,
it would be quite interesting.

 

[kedy89]

The racing was pants. They have a bloody 'Push-To-Pass' (DRS) button. That is NOT racing, that is a procession...

100% agree. First and foremost they should get rid of DRS. This has nothing to do with racing and overtaking, it's just a FIA enforced wave through. Häkkinen on Schumacher in Spa 2000, Räikkönen's win in Suzuka 2005, Jones and Prost epic battle in Hockenheim 1981 (just to name a few), imagine if DRS was involved, all of these wouldn't have been any special and memorable as they are.

 

[Stereo]

I'm ok with DRS as a concept, just not the "10 times per race, push to pass" style. Either make it available all the time or none.

Personally I'd be happy if they brought the rpm limits back down even further, I find the high pitched whine of a 20k rpm engine more annoying than the hum of electric.

 

[RichardHessels]

Here we go again... they keep changing F1 radically every few years and than complain it gets to expensive. No wonder if you have to redesign the whole car every 2 years.
The reason why less people look at F1, first it's only for those who want to pay to see it on TV. Sponsors don't like it. 2nd, stop driving in countries where they are not interested to watch it in the first place.

 

[William Néron]

Main problem with nowadays F1 is that the car is everything and driver doesn't make almost any difference! What could change if cars get more power and less downforce aerodinamics is that the difference goes more towards driver side, he becomes more the main actor in the scene, not the car. Some drivers are suffering from this today, i can imagine 4 or 5 drivers that could be champion in Vettel's Red Bull in those 4 years he was champion! F1 cars today are just made to get into it and drive, you can be an average driver but into the best car you win with not much problem... Related to this and also boring is that good young drivers with poor cars can't show they're good or spectacular, because it's impossible to make difference in F1 nowadays... What people made of F1 today is that it's a safe boring sport, everyone knows (drivers included) that motorsports are dangerous, that's why people like it, the danger factor that sepparate the men from the kids, if races become a cars in a form of a snake around a circuit i guess people won't be spending money to see this...

Agree a lot! I just watched the USA race of 1990 with Jean Alesi seriously challenging Senna for the win in his Tyrrell. Also a Minardi starting second on the grid and a Dallara in third, with both cars (being midpack if I recall) making good racing early on in the top 6 against the top drivers and teams.

This was racing, pretty much zero driving aids to the driver, good ol' full-manual clutch gearbox and also only the first 6 positions had points for the championship, which made it just more intense and meaningful...

The huge difference was simply, the driver was what would make the difference in the end... In-Car-Technology in my opinion killed Formula 1, as newer do not mean better...

 

[Darth]

Agree a lot! I just watched the USA race of 1990 with Jean Alesi seriously challenging Senna for the win in his Tyrrell. Also a Minardi starting second on the grid and a Dallara in third, with both cars (being midpack if I recall) making good racing early on in the top 6 against the top drivers and teams.

This was racing, pretty much zero driving aids to the driver, good ol' full-manual clutch gearbox and also only the first 6 positions had points for the championship, which made it just more intense and meaningful...

The huge difference was simply, the driver was what would make the difference in the end... In-Car-Technology in my opinion killed Formula 1, as newer do not mean better...

Formula 1 has always been about technological development. It's just that there
are too many limitations on the wrong places.
Driver aids should continue to be banned and the drivers must not receive any
help from the pits, as regard the racing part itself. There should be greater freedom
in the downforce department and on tyre tech. Furthermore, we need stewards like
N.Mansell, allowing the drivers to battle and not pet them.

As for the engine part, I'm divided. I'm in favour of high tech new gen engines,
but at what cost to the sport?

 

[Luca Antinori]

I just recently discovered WRC+, it's great. You can watch it live over your Internet connection and they have also recorded onboard actions of each driver, and it doesn't cost much.
If F1 could offer something like that it probably would increase the audience.

About DRS or not and new or old schools, I would not like to go back to those years, 70s 80s, when you had faster cars stuck behind a slower car they could not overtake it because of some odds technologies issues (I am not technical, just a spectator lol). It also may help from a safety point of view.

I personally find modern F1 cars (last 7-8 years), more beautiful than those in the 70s, 80s and 90s, specially the lines of the cars, more graceful, while before those were a bit squatty, although I loved the Ferrari T4.

But a part of that I can't wait for the moment, every year, when they unveil a new car just to discover what's new about it. I wouldn't like to see an old looking car be presented as a new model.

 

[Rui Santos]

Right now i'm addicted to MotoGP, old school racing with simple rules where driver makes all the difference

 

[Darren Bentley]

The rider doesn't make ALL the difference though do they, take Rossi for example, his Ducati days were AWFUL compared to where he is now and where he was before, Cal Crutchlow another example been shocking on that bike compared to what he was on before and no one can match Honda and Yamaha in race trim.
Though I do accept no one can match Marquez in any sort of trim

 

[Philip Heck]

If F1 could offer something like that it probably would increase the audience.

Won't happen as long as Bernie's in charge as he seriously thinks the internet is "going away soon" ...

 

[Rui Santos]

The rider doesn't make ALL the difference though do they, take Rossi for example, his Ducati days were AWFUL compared to where he is now and where he was before, Cal Crutchlow another example been shocking on that bike compared to what he was on before and no one can match Honda and Yamaha in race trim.
Though I do accept no one can match Marquez in any sort of trim

OF COURSE the bike has a word to say, but it's not hugely decisive like in F1 and i bet last season Marquez would have won the title with the Yamaha too...

Rossi glory days (i'm a fan) are a bit away, despite i think he can give a bit more, his times in Ducati were hard because he had a bike to develop and that also decreased his morale. There are a lot of great riders nowadays in MotoGP too which makes it a very competitive sport. Then it comes Marquez, a young kid full of strength and morale, full of desire to conquer things and beat his idols and with a COMPLETELY NEW driving style (here comes the theory that the rider makes all the difference) that suits perfectly the bike and the team. Anyway Rossi is still there despite the age and i bet he'll offer Marquez a good oposition this year, aswell as Lorenzo...

 

[Chris Jenkins]

Put Chilton in a Mercedes and he'll be at least 2nd overall at the end.

Put Chilton on a track by himself and he'll still come 2nd