How to make the season and races even more interesting

[Kennett Ylitalo]

We've had a two years of really exiting racing and Buttons year was great too but that was because it was Button who came out of the blue and stole the crown. The season didn't have a lot of classic moments like the last two. But there is a problem: it is impossible for the lesser teams to get anywhere so we have three main teams fighting and the rest have no chance.

Is there something to do to make the field more even?

Budget cuts and limits is one way but that can be so easily countered by these gigantic teams. They can simply divide their programs so that the F1 department don't use any money for developement and some obscure factory department is doing all the work. They can do it and are doing it.

My solution would be to implement weight penalties. Not a lot, maybe 10-15% more weight for the top runner and divide that thru the whole field. The last team/driver would have no penalties then. The difference is minute but so are the differences in speed. The top teams would still be at the front but that way the lesser teams could have some chance of getting in to the points. Now they have to fight to even be able to race as sponsors won't invest large sums to teams that won't make any headlines. There is also one factor that would increase the enjoyment of the race; the top teams would have to manage fuel consumption a lot more. They would have to put the absolute minimum of fuel on board while the weaker teams could use full power thru the whole race.

There are a lot of holes in this theory, i would like to hear what they are and what do you guys think would decrease the perfomance gap to allow more point finishes in a season, more winners too. The goal is to make the championship season more even, now if one team is ahead, it stays ahead. What i fear is another 2000-2004 where the challenge just didn't seem to be present. Schumacher and the Ferrari would've anyway win, only with a smaller margin. I don't mind RBR and Vettel winning every race just as long as there is at least a chance for others. And without McLaren winning everything in the late 80's we would not have the legend today that gives these teams the Royal Crown to wear, that x-factor (i hate that expression but it works...) why we almost worship them.

 

[William Levesque]

Less downforce, shorter cars and bigger rear tyres, that is all...

 

[Richard Knight]

That's why we have GP2 & lower formula's which use the same basic car for each team. For me, I would simply reverse grid from last race, Vettel wins, he starts last next time. The better racers will overtake more through skill, Hamilton & Massa? will be interesting!

 

[Bradley Vanian]

Rocket boosters

 

[Chris Jenkins]

Penalising people for being fastest and winning? Where's the incentive? Why would anyone bother??

 

[Luke McVicar]

I think, changing the tyres to softest possible, with hardest possible would shake things up. But pirelli should be trying to make softer and harder tyres then they already have.Some races have the two softiest options as there soft and hard tyre why not make the harder tyre the hardest tyre, on tracks like Monaco the difference between the tyres would be like 3 seconds. Imagen what that could provide.

 

[Derek Day]

anyone say flame throwers? :tongue:

 

[Carlos Luna]

The only thing that I can think of that won't unfairly penalize the top teams would be to restrict how cars can be built/designed. Perhaps give the teams even stricter specifications or guidelines which the car must be designed under. The main reason Red Bull is dominating right now is that they have some sort of advantage in the design of their car that gives them much better downforce than all the other competitors. (Thus why the RB7 doesn't have great straight speed.)

Once you start moving top finishers to the back of the field for the next race or whatnot you are essentially penalizing drivers for winning / finishing well, which is the point of the sport.

 

[Kyle Constable]

Less downforce, shorter cars and bigger rear tyres, that is all...

Superkarts with MotoGP Engines, would need a proper rollcage but would be good viewing

Penalising people for being fastest and winning? Where's the incentive? Why would anyone bother??

Super GT Seems quite happy with it

 

[Luke McVicar]

Superkarts with MotoGP Engines, would need a proper rollcage but would be good viewing

Super GT Seems quite happy with it

Super gt is not f1, f1 has been about car development in it's entire existence and that's what makes it unique and innovative.
Just because one team has more talent in there engineer and design team doesn't mean they should be penalized, same with drivers.

Talent should always be imbraced not strangled.

 

[Kimi450]

Cars able to use drs anytime they want, equal engine only diff liveries and points given for spectacular overtakes

 

[Chris Jenkins]

The cars have equal engines already? V8 - 18000RPM limit.

 

[glendo]

if i was the supremo/FIA:

1. i would create continental championships within the world championship. a driver could be awarded the Asian Champion, Champion of the Americas, European Champion etc based only on the points they have earned in races in those areas... so Vettel would be WDC, Euro Champion etc.. but maybe another driver could earn the title of Asian Champion... it makes for smaller victories under the umbrella of the WDC.

2. i would allow for the bigger teams to sell more of their technology. why not sell chassis as well? i think privateers could actually benefit from buying a car's chassis, and then buying an engine etc.. allowing for customer teams to race alongside manufacturers... but i want to see absolute customers as well.

3. testing should be controlled a lot more. each team should only be given 10 days per year outside race weekends to test at will, and then open up a massive testing day on thursdays on GP weekends. if they spend all their testing days, no more testing allowed.

4. qualifying should go back to the 1 lap qualifying that occurred in 02 or 03... i liked the fact that there was surprises good and bad that changed the dynamics of the entire race... i remember when frentzen got a prost up to 4th on the grid.. and sometimes the good drivers ended up at the back due to stuffing up that one lap.

5. remove the points system for WDC only. they would go to a simple gold/silver/bronze medal system tally. WCC would still go with points system.

there is always going to be back marker teams.. someone has to be last. i personally think the tracks themselves have a lot to do with it, and by improving the tracks (by firing tilke and start making tracks the old fashioned way) so that cars can fly around them faster and for longer, we would see decent racing again.

thats my 2c

 

[Luke McVicar]

No points system will make a championship more intresting unless it allowed more teams to score, moto gps point system is what f1 should have IMO, that way atleast everyone has potential to score points.

 

[Aleksander Turnsek]

What about giving cars into 3 groups:
1. group (best cars of previous season) no KERS, no DRS
2. group KERS, no DRS
3. group ("worst" cars of previous season) KERS and DRS

 

[Chris Jenkins]

Again, why punish people for winning?

 

[glendo]

i would also love to see one race a year that's not a circuit race, but a road race between 2 cities... and watch f1 cars go down freeways at full throttle... i've always wanted to see that happen for some reason.

 

[Diego Lopez]

if i was runnig F1, ban Newey, bring Favio. end of story.

its meant to be comic not serious

 

[Kennett Ylitalo]

No points system will make a championship more intresting unless it allowed more teams to score, moto gps point system is what f1 should have IMO, that way atleast everyone has potential to score points.

A fact that has been a practice for a while in simracing, larger field of points, larger success of a drivers finishing the league. Best 15 gets points, the slower teams don't have to worry about loosing their whole season because of one race, like Lotus/Caterham have to do now, defending 12th position from one race.. If any non point scoring teams happens to get 11th place, Lotus/Caterham would loose millions even thou they've beaten the HRT & Virgin in almost every race. Stupid system and not fair at any means.. And punishing for victory? This suddenly has started to have similarities to the OWS... We are figuring out how to "tax" the succesful teams in order to make the whole field getting better.. Hmm, Team Socialism FTW! lol, i'm all for it, srsly.

Back on-topic.. It gives the middle teams some pressure too to get those 12th places. It's a bit american, giving huge points like 500 from a win but they are just numbers.. The larger the numbers, the more even you can balance the table so that wins still means something but that there would be more motivation of racing to the finish at the back too. I don't like that a championship would be decided in scale of 5000 points (like it when they gave 8 points from a win..) but if it works, why not?

Here's a wikipedia entry of F1 points scorings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_World_Championship_points_scoring_systems