Opinion | How To Fix Formula One?

[MarkR]

Make it solely an esports event with the damage and track limits turned off. Invite in celebrity goalkeepers, popstars, golfists and YouTubers to liven up the roster. Use poor web connection as a surrogate for mechanical failures.

 

[michelforest]

For start, ban DRS and bring back refueling.

I would ban DRS but *no* refueling. I was always against it and I was glad when it was abolished. In F1, you fill up the tank and you go racing. That's how I see it anyway.

 

[Stevie_007]

Refilling and get rid of the race engineer, driver should not be told when rain is coming what the tyres look like ,all the remote monitoring, basically let the driver decide, they should rely on pit boards

 

[GTAlpha]

In poor words, "take a time machine and go back in time."

Guys... It doesn't work like that. What makes you think that, by going back to a V10, every engine manufacturer would be okay with it?

 

[homecalendar]

Perhaps the problem with the modern formula is the age of the pilots. Moody infants will never behave like grown men. We admired past battles so much because personalities fought in them. Great, noble, courageous and intelligent personalities.

 

[TorpTheTorpedo]

-Change the point system to make it more competitive
-Set a cap on the big teams etc. Ferrari, Merc, and Redbull
-Limit Super Licence requirements to allow more talent
-Bring back old circuits and not charge heavenly to host races (Malaysia, Indy, Imola, Fuji, Nurburgring)
-Bring back Louder Engines
-Longer races+refueling

 

[mantasisg]

Max vehicle length 4.4 meters; MAXIMUM weight 600kg without driver. 1L engines, street tires low wear, manual gearboxes, refueling. No races at parking lots, except if it is something like DelMar race track (check out Willie T.Ribbs), preferably lesser known circuits included. Establish committee aimed to decide which chicanes are absurd stupid and replace them with fun chicanes, but I could do it alone for 100000 Euros. No ABS and TC. Focus on less drag, not more downforce. No pedo gay listening to teams radio and stalking drivers in chill out room. Bringing back grid girls. Longer races. Round steering wheels.

 

[TheLoudAssassin]

In my opinion the Pinnacle of F1 was 02-08 the cars were much smaller and had some driver aids but the cars were rugged and could be thrown around if you look at the races of Monaco back then the cars back then fit the track unlike now. , If we could have a mix of 04 cars on slicks with the supposed areo design of the new cars having more ground effect and less areo wash and increased mechanical grip then it's all good, I don't agree with mechanical gear boxes that's too far back and at the speed's the cars are going drivers would find it near on impossible to handle having the cars, harder to drive doesn't make the racing better.

But the big thing is costs either bring the costs down or have a spending cap there's to much money in F1 now with stupid payment being given to teams for stupid reasons the gap will always remain.

 

[michelforest]

There are so many ideas in your article, Paul, that it would take a long message to reply point by point. I agree with the reduction of downforce, it's almost ridiculous to see cars take Eau Rouge flat out nowadays.

This may be off-topic, but with the possibility of racing being delayed until July or, more probably August, I think the current season should simply be cancelled. I don't think that a driver would really like to be crowned champion after a season of 10 races. Can you imagine the endless discussions about the real worth of that championship?

Instead of a championship, when racing resumes, why not have a number of non-championship races? Maybe 8 or 10? There used to be non-championship F1 races before. So, let's race at Silverstone, Spa, Monza, Suzuka, etc. There could also be a race at the new Zandvoort to try out the new layout. And since these would be non-championship races, with no points in play, F1 could test some new race formats. All those ideas that were mentioned recently, like reverse grids, qualifying races, etc. could be tried out. And maybe have a few races where teams could run a third car with the reserve drivers. That could result in a 24, maybe 25 cars grid.

That way, each race would be an event and I bet you the TV ratings would jump. And for the fans, it would be a nice change from the routine of conventional race weekends. Then, a real season will take place in 2021.

 

[Nico]

Make it cheaper and more accessible to the general public and the racing teams. Look at LMDh in comparison to Hypercars. ACO foolishly expected manufacturers to get into a ship whose tickets cost millions of dollars like if this was the 90's and normal people were still interested in cars. The IMSA came with a much cheaper and reasonable solution which brought far more (and more realistic) interest. Something similar should happen to F1, especially now considering the difficult times ahead. And put a big focus on independent teams. Don't let big manufacturers selfishly dictate the rules.

 

[Koen Verlinde]

It's needs to go back to old school, let the drivers drive show their real talent, get rid of the electronic shite, manul gear boxe's, let them be men not puppets, bring back refueling, and make the cars identical like that A1 series, you can only adjust areo and so on..

Those kinds of regulations caused the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger.

 

[NoseyGuyy]

• 85% reduction in aerodynamics.
• Remove electronics (dash readout / energy recovery / other modern trickery)
• Standardised front and rear wings (and whatever other bits are needed) that ensure sliding is quicker than neat driving.
• Heavier reliance on mechanical grid.
• Considerably extended braking distances.
• Hard tyres that last full race weekend without drop off in pace.
• Open regulations on engine size (V6/V8/V10/V12) with no turbos - restricted by fuel usage to ensure no one specific type of engine is dominant.
• Massive engine complexity reduction to encourage boutique engine builders to join the grid.
• Return to manual h-pattern gearboxes.
• Calendar of races on tracks that support good racing.
• Reduce championship length to 14 races.
• Abolish pit-to-car radio except for safety reasons.
• Remove telemetry.
• Change race weekend format to 60min Free Practice, 60min Qualifying and current race length as is now.
• Guest driver per race event in the FIA run car.
• Reintroduce gravel traps.

• Having a more underbody focused aero would be better than a reduction in overall aero. Allows for close following as well as keeping the spectacle of fast cars.
• There's no downside to the electronic stuff from a viewers POV, leave that decision to the drivers and what they'd prefer.
• Standardised aero completely negates what Formula 1 is. You've seen the backlash the FIA have gotten from the very restricted 2021 (or 2022 now) rules, completely spec parts would turn a lot of teams away IMO. Sliding rather than neat driving being quicker would be bad for safety, and IMO looks horrible. I think I speak for a few when I say if I wanted to see sliding I'd go watch Formula Drift.
• Can't argue against heavier reliance on mechanical grip, but relying too much on mechanical grip would be a step backwards.
• Can't argue against longer braking distances at all, this would be a fantastic change.
• Having tyres that don't drop off AT ALL would be very difficult. I like seeing pitstops, so removing the need for them removes one of the most impressive sides of the sport as well as puts people out of jobs.
• Open engine regs will just result in all teams finding the one best solution, which nullifies the point of open engine regs. One type of engine WILL be dominant, and unless you enforce BOP (which again goes against the philosophy of Formula 1, angering many teams and fans) it's unavoidable.
• I agree with a reduction in engine complexity, as much as I don't think it'd entice many more manufacturers given the way technology is going outside of the sport.
• The choice for manual H-pattern gearboxes should again be left to the drivers, not the viewers, as it doesn't affect our viewing experience much if at all, whilst it massively affects the driver's driving experience.
• Full agree with choosing tracks that promote strong wheel to wheel racing.
• Also full agree with a shorter calendar. Makes F1 weekends more exciting and special. Full agree.
• Abolishing pit-to-car radio again should be left to the teams and what they prefer.
• Removing telemetry doesn't affect viewers AT ALL. There's no reason to remove it.
• Kinda agree with this, but at the same time, fans who pay for live tickets want to see as much track action as possible.
• What's the point in a guest driver in a FIA spec car? Someone who doesn't drive the cars on the regular, in a car that won't be on par with the teams' cars, just means that the guest driver ends up aimlessly trundling round at the back. This is completely silly and I'm 100% against this, and I suspect most if not all teams will be also.
• Reintroducing gravel traps is something I'm 50/50 on myself, but I know a lot of the drivers want it, and so do fans, so apart from the safety argument, I don't see why this couldn't happen.

On the surface it looks like you just want the 1970's back, which is an awful idea for racing as the 70's were awful for field spread.

In my opinion a few simple things could help Formula 1 retake it's former glory days:

• Lighter cars - a big reason for the heavy cars is the huge batteries, so make them smaller until technology evolves, creating a larger emphasis on ICE power too. The big crash structures are another huge reason for heavy cars, but I'm against making the cars less safe for the sake of weight saving.
• Removal of the MGU-H - this would help with engine complexity, as a result we'd see development costs being reduced, with reliability being increased, meaning teams could possibly run the engines a bit harder.
• Less top body aero, more underbody aero - keep the spectacle of fast cars, but allows cars to follow more closely too. This has already been implemented into the 2021 rule changes, which is a positive.
• Force the teams to run with maximum fuel in the car for the race - stops teams from having to fuel save so aggressively, meaning they run the engines harder.
• Better Tyres - to stop the emphasis on tyre management, make the tyres have a more shallow drop off, and have them last much longer. On top of this, give the tyres a much wider operating window. The reason the current tyres suck so much is that they must be ran within a very small peak operating temperature, stopping the drivers from being able to push for too long and ruining strategies with thermal degradation.

These are just my few suggestions. Feel free to pick them apart.

 

[graphicaluserinterface]

It is fine to have semi-automatic gearbox and other modern (1990s and beyond) developments. But starting by changing some basics such as:

• Far more simplified aero - simpler floors and clean body (think of 1988-2000), with restrictions to number and size of plates on wings and no protruding aero devices on chassis, and no "fins"
• No holes or aero devices throughout extension of nosecone, or limiting to basically a small opening of 1x4cm at the tip
• Banning of DRS
• Reduce width of front wing, increase width of rear wing and provide 2-4cm window of width in rules
• Reduce car length (and thus also wheelbase) by at least 60cm from current limit
• Reduced brake pads so while they may still be incredibly efficient, the pressure will have to be reduced so they last and thus, provide longer braking distances
• No restriction to qualifying beyond limited sets of tires and 8 engines to a season. You don't have to carry the same tires and fuel to the race session. Run an hour-long session where the bottom 4 are eliminated every 10 minutes - so we get the entire hour filled but hope to revive 80s-90s-00-02 qualifying excitement
• Limiting pitcrew members during pitstops who can touch or work on a car to 6-8 at a time.
• Limit the number of programmable engine settings
• Allow for multiple engine types and sizes, from 1.6L to 3.0L - at least two of the following: V6, V8, V10, V12
• Electric engine starter
• Increased minimum weight by 40kg
• Six tire compound types: super soft, soft, medium, hard, intermediate, wet
• No race refueling and free tire change choices - no need to pit if so desired
• Reduced race calendar to 16-18 races maximum

The main aspect to the changes is allowing cars to run in more circuits and making them be a better fit for said circuits. You won't always have close racing or overtaking at the front but there won't be limitations to the wheel-to-wheel racing and drafting caused by the advancements in technology. You cannot ignore natural evolution but some fields need limiting.

 

[pcraenme]

I thinks some good steps were already made last year, when drivers were allowed to race more on the limit and sometimes maybe a bit over the limit. That is what racing makes exciting. Let them race! And get rid off DRS, because it makes overtaking too easy. The most exciting overtakes are the ones that are not made with DRS. Force the drivers to find other opportunities to overtake. Overtaking should be a driver skill. And yes, that may result in more racing incidents, but that would only add to the excitement.

On the matter of the cars and engines... we need to move forward and not move back. Technology advances, also in racing. Let’s see what the new, but now also postponed regulations will bring us.

 

[Jugulador]

We reach a point where people start to discuss if track X or Y are not fit to new F1. I think that it's not the problem, but a big symptom of what it is.

The thing is: Tracks don't need to be fit to F1, but F1 to tracks. It's not like "F1 need to go offroad", but one can't rech the point to say that "Zandvoort is not fitted to F1 racing".

So... I think that F1 cars should resemble more road cars. "Resemble" in a sense that these cars should use street legal tires, much less aero, no special petrol... in a nutshell: Evolve the race tech more close to the road cars.

I believe that something like it can make races more unpredictable (and fun), reduce the costs and bring more results on the development department (because it will be a more close work with the consumer ready product).

Of course... they should ban all Tilkedromes and prohibit Hamilton (and everybody else... but specially him) to dye his hair.

RESUME: F1 should be more like Australian V8 Supercar and less like F-Zero.

 

[Brian Duddy]

I understand some of your points but most of this is just silly. You're basically just saying "take it back to the good old days when I remember everything being great". You're going to completely destroy manufacturer interest (seriously, literally no one is interested in making an NA gasoline V10, probably not even a V8) and turn F1 into a laughingstock for anyone who cares about strategy or technology, or wasn't around for the "good old days" you seem to care the most about.

 

[rubaru]

I actually completely disagree with the sport being about who the best drivers are and showcasing their talents. Currently, I think anyone on the current driver lineup (including most of your least favorites) would do quite well and win many races in a Mercedes or Ferrari. As the name of the sport implies, there exists a "FORMULA", which is meant to be a set of rules defining the construction of a CAR. Other than obtaining and maintaining a Super License, there are no formulae about the composition of a driver. None.

As far as making the sport better, it isn't necessarily the car itself that is the problem. Some of the items which can help improve things have already been established (or are about to be). I am referring to things like a budget cap (to enable smaller teams to succeed), simplification of engine rules (to encourage new makers or privateers to join), and expanding the season to new locations (an incredibly volatile discussion point). Something else that absolutely needs to stop is allowing the teams to vote on the rules...especially when some of these changes require unanimous decisions.

 

[Zhabik]

Simplify it. Get rid of all adjustments a driver can make while on track. Give him a steering wheel, gear shifter and pedals. The set-up will be a compromise for the lap as a whole, not adjusted corner by corner. Let the best driver win, not the best computer expert.

 

[TL98_RD]

HOW TO FIX F1 WITH 1 SIMPLE TRICK

LESS. POLITICS.

especially mercedes-biased ones

 

[Dobermann92]

Bring back the grid girls!