Ways to improve F1

[Monty]

PF1 suggests a magnificent seven ways to improve F1 - by making it fairer and introducing more jeopardy.

Niki Lauda is right when he says that F1 doesn't need (a 'worthless wrinkled old has-been' to quote Heidi Klum's aunt) Flavio Briatore to work out what F1 needs to do to improve the show. It's pretty good as it is. But increasing the jeopardy drivers are in, is always going to spark some action.

1. Increase the weight limit for cars, so that heavier drivers aren't penalised. At the same time limit the areas where ballast can be used. Ideally it should only be placed around the cockpit area, so that means lighter drivers don't have the distinct advantage they have today.

2. Aim to get 26 cars on the grid. It used to happen! Incentivise new entrants to the sport with a more even distribution of the prize money so that we have more drivers, and potentially more nationalities on the grid. The difference between the winning team and the last placed team should be no more than £50m. At the moment the top payout gets 10x more than last place.

3. Banish the Blue Flags for backmarkers. In future leaders will have to scramble their own way past lapped cars, thus increasing their jeopardy by going off line and onto the marbles.

4. With fuel consumption becoming more critical, the Safety Car is seen as a relief to heavy-fuel users (or even light fuel users who are gambling on running less fuel than they need to). In future, when the Safety Car comes out, those laps should count as zero laps. Thus cars have got to make sure they have fuel onboard for every eventuality, or risk running slower towards the end. This means that runaway leaders like Mercedes will have to build more of a safety margin into their calculations, whereas teams willing to run a risk could take advantage.

5. Red Bull's Christian Horner says that drivers aren't seen as heroes any more because they spend a lot of the race on team radio taking instructions from their teams on what to do next. Even the really good ones. And he's right. Banish team radio for the second half of the race. This means that drivers will be able to get messages to keep the cars reliable up to half distance, but after that they're on their own, with just pitboards for information.

There would be an exemption for Safety Calls. Nobody wants to be fined for telling their driver the front wing is coming loose.

6. Those cars that qualify in the top 10 cannot pit for new tyres (unless it rains) for the first 20% of the race. In Hungary, which was a 70-lap race, that would mean no car could come in before the end of Lap 15. This could make cars adopt different tyres in Q3. In the past it was thought that teams would vary the tyres they run in Q3 but in practice almost all Q3 runners opt for the same tyre.

7. Eliminate eight cars in Q1. Quite often it's the cars that finish in P15 and P16 in Q1 that finish in P15 and P16 at the end of Q2, but widening the net adds that extra bit of jeopardy to the session.

Well in my opinion ideas 3,5,6 & 7 are ridiculous.
I am sure we can do better:
Probably like me you have loads of ideas but let's post just one idea each-
I would scrap the stupid double points rule but introduce new points for pole, fastest lap of the race and leading the race for more than 10 consecutive laps (this would make teams think of some adventurous pit stop strategies).

[Dare]

I don't know how it couldbe accomplished but
I'd like to see pay drivers not used.Drive on
your talent and not your checkbook.

[cosworth151]

I would modify #3. Retain the blue flag, but only as a safety warning to the slower car that faster traffic is approaching.

Eliminate much of the smooth, paved run off area. Going far off track should have real consequences. If gravel is determined to be a safety risk, put rumble strips on the asphalt run offs. Not enough to endanger the safety of drivers, but enough to slow them dramatically if the wonder too far afield.

Make allowances for greater fan accessibility. Bring tickets available at prices within reach of average fans, and allow fans to get closer to the sport. Examples: ALMS tickets included access to the paddock. The USGP at Indy had a free pit walkabout and driver autograph sessions (with ALL of that week-end's F1 drivers) on the Thursday before the race.

Open up the engine regs. Allow V-12's, V-10's, V-8's, flat-6's, I-4's or what ever else a particular engine builder would like. Allow blowers or turbos with smaller displacements, restricted intakes and a weight penalty.

[Jericoke]

I would scrap the stupid double points rule but introduce new points for pole, fastest lap of the race and leading the race for more than 10 consecutive laps (this would make teams think of some adventurous pit stop strategies).

Let's put on a REAL show for qualifying:  points for the top time in Q1 and Q2, not just Q3.  (However, winning the pole is such an advantage, it seems silly to award points for that)

I do like the idea of points for fastest lap, although I imagine a lot of cars outside the top 10 will just come in for fresh option tires on the penultimate lap and put in a flyer on light fuel.  Maybe that would be fun to see though.

As for the 10 consecutive laps leading... again, I foresee a 6th place runner on primes staying out far too long.  Maybe that's a good show, I don't know.

[lkjohnson1950]

This is why they should return to Ground effects aero, the front wings aren't as critical to the car.

Quote from Steve Roby, engineer of the Chaparrel 2K via Racer Magazine

We also found that the wake off the front wings influenced the flow into the tunnels so any reduction in front wing frontal area resulted in more total downforce. Later in the year we managed to achieve a good balance with good total downforce with a set of much smaller cord wings

[John S]

Do away with the stupid fuel flow meter, if someone wants to gamble by pushing on hard at the start and then trying to glide gently into a points paying place at the end - or vice versa - let em.

Can only be good for us spectators as overtaking will take place at both ends of the race in either scenario,  if they happen to run dry it will still be an amusing talking point. 

 

[lkjohnson1950]

+1 

[Willy]

Bring back refueling.
Banish DRS.
Banish driver aids such as telling them when to shift with a light or sound. Surely these men are able to tell when to shift gears?
Allow the driver to make driving desicions and let them race each other.
Stop changing the engine regs every season, let the manufacturers decide what engine to use but make the Horse Power the same.

[J.Clark]

In general, I rather like most of the suggestions.

I like Cos' idea about the blue flags only to let a slower car know that faster cars are approaching.

I agree that the fuel flow meter is a crap idea and should go.

Gravel traps kept drivers honest and served a real purpose.

[Irisado]

I have no problem with ideas one or two.  The rest are either impractical or unworkable, although making the blue flag rule less harsh on the backmarkers is an option which could be pursued.

The main changes that were missed to improve Formula 1 were to cut down on dominance of aerodynamics, and to make the circuits more difficult by bringing back the gravel traps.

The second one in particularly still irritates me.  Look at all the drivers who went off at Pouhon in practice today, and just drove over the tarmac.  It's supposed to be one of the most demanding corners in Formula 1, and it certainly used to be.  These days it's just so easy.  Why is there no gravel there?  It's not a dangerous corner.