How To Make F1 Better- Crazy Suggestions From YOU!

[J Washburn Stoker]

A stack of cardboard boxes to drive through when cutting chicanes.

Seriously though, I hate that it's okay to cut chicanes as long as you don't gain from it. It's not okay. Exiting the track should cost you a bunch of time, every time.

[CarlosFerreira]

5. Colin Kolles going home. (Forget that did you Carlos?)

I didn't; I actually wrote that. Then I decided ti keep my serious hat on.

[dr-baker]

Or 8:

Even better! I remember reading a quotation once (or even more than once in different places) that on the Williams 6-wheeler, if the track was wet and wet tyres were fitted on the more forward of the two rear axles, enough water would be dispersed to run slicks on the rear-most axle. That mock-up (which I assume is a mock-up) of a four-axle Ferrari would provide phenomanal tyre grip. But imagine the pit-stops! Make pit-stops compulsory and having to change all 9 (including steering wheeel), just to add as many people as possible to get in each others' way!

[runningboots]

I like these !

For me, the lack of overtaking has nearly always been a problem since I started watching in 1986, but the real fun has been unpredictability or a chase to the end. You know the problem this year ? Forcing drivers to run two compunds during the race. This means they have to stop. If they chose the compounds and then didn't have to stop, they would have to gamble. Remember:

* Piquet passing Senna in the closing stages at Monza 87 after changing on to new tyres and Senna's old ones just gave up
* Prost passing Berger in Estoril '87 for the same reason
* Mansell catching and passing Piquet at Silverstone 87

One other change that is more realistic though is to make all teams use a control chassis/engine combo, with a choice of three (it is Formula 1 after all...). In no order of brilliance:

1) 1986 Zakspeed/Zakspeed 4-cyl turbo
2) 1986 Osella/Alfa V8 turbo
3) 1986 Minardi/Motori Moderni V6 turbo

If each team used these there would literally be no way to predict who would finish let alone positions. Modern telemetary would prove that the drivers are using full throttle and not cruising just to finish.

[Phoenix]

One other change that is more realistic though is to make all teams use a control chassis/engine combo, with a choice of three (it is Formula 1 after all...). In no order of brilliance:

1) 1986 Zakspeed/Zakspeed 4-cyl turbo
2) 1986 Osella/Alfa V8 turbo
3) 1986 Minardi/Motori Moderni V6 turbo

If each team used these there would literally be no way to predict who would finish let alone positions. Modern telemetary would prove that the drivers are using full throttle and not cruising just to finish.

If I understood correctly, you suggest offering the teams a choice of 3 chassis, each one coupled inseparably to a different engine. I disagree. You have to let the teams total liberty for designing their own chassis and, if it's a manufacturer, engines, I think. F1 is about innovation, and you have to let the teams be free to design and innovate instead of limiting them to a limited choice of pre-built chassis and engines.

[johnmustang]

Or 8:

Even better! I remember reading a quotation once (or even more than once in different places) that on the Williams 6-wheeler, if the track was wet and wet tyres were fitted on the more forward of the two rear axles, enough water would be dispersed to run slicks on the rear-most axle. That mock-up (which I assume is a mock-up) of a four-axle Ferrari would provide phenomanal tyre grip. But imagine the pit-stops! Make pit-stops compulsory and having to change all 9 (including steering wheeel), just to add as many people as possible to get in each others' way!

I guess this will be a good racing car concept for having a 6-wheeler, but there is a little problem about pits-stop it will have a delay in changing tires.

[dr-baker]

Or 8:

Even better! I remember reading a quotation once (or even more than once in different places) that on the Williams 6-wheeler, if the track was wet and wet tyres were fitted on the more forward of the two rear axles, enough water would be dispersed to run slicks on the rear-most axle. That mock-up (which I assume is a mock-up) of a four-axle Ferrari would provide phenomanal tyre grip. But imagine the pit-stops! Make pit-stops compulsory and having to change all 9 (including steering wheeel), just to add as many people as possible to get in each others' way!

I guess this will be a good racing car concept for having a 6-wheeler, but there is a little problem about pits-stop it will have a delay in changing tires.

Bingo! Exactly what I suggested...

[madcat]

F1 Rejects: Improving The English of Foreigners Since 2009!

Fixed: F1 Rejects: Improving Foreigners' English since 2009

[Phoenix]

F1 Rejects: Improving The English of Foreigners Since 2009!

Fixed: F1 Rejects: Improving Foreigners' English since 2009

+1

[tommykl]

i want a flemish grand prix in zolder, a wallonian grand prix in spa, a brussels grand prix in what is left of the nivelles track (it's still there, there are just a lot roundabouts on it...), a belgian grand prix in mettet and the grand prix des frontières in chimay, just to make the political problems in belgium a bit tougher, so we won't have a government for the first 30 years (this is all part of my plan to conquer the world)
and oh, the german speaking part of belgium must have a grand prix too, we can use the nordschleife for that!

I agree on Spa and Zolder, but Nivelles is too dull anyway to host a GP. Why not bring back the old Molenbeek track ?
And for the germanophone community, we need the total opposite to the Nordschleife, we need to stay in Belgium, we need the Eupener Karting circuit, complete with the famous bridge that happens to cross three different parts of the track. Did I mention it's indoor? In other words, just perfect.

PS: one of those weird dutch speakers from the north ruling the world?...meh.

PPS: sorry for resurrecting an old thread.

[F1000X]

Here's my shot at the best season of tracks. Each of these circuits is Grade 1 or 1T, meaning F1 may already either race or test here.
Paul Ricard
Estoril
Vallelunga
Zandvoort
Monaco
Spa Francorchamps
Imola
Suzuka
Silverstone
Indianapolis
Interlagos
Montreal
Monza
Jerez
Catalunya
Hungaroring
Eurospeedway (Oval, because why the hell not.)
Albert Park
Fuji
Mugello

[thehemogoblin]

F1000x, if you're going to do oval racing, take out Indianapolis's road course and do the oval instead.

[F1000X]

F1000x, if you're going to do oval racing, take out Indianapolis's road course and do the oval instead.

I thought about it, but I don't think the FIA would allow F1 to run the Indianapolis oval, its just too fast.

[thehemogoblin]

F1000x, if you're going to do oval racing, take out Indianapolis's road course and do the oval instead.

I thought about it, but I don't think the FIA would allow F1 to run the Indianapolis oval, its just too fast.

Bristol? Martinsville? We both know how bad intermediate tracks suck...

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Well, my ideal calendar, will never happen, as these tracks are 'too dangerous' or 'not financially suitable'. (In order from first race to last)

1. Brands Hatch- UK
2. Paul Ricard- France
3. Zandvoort- The Netherlands
4. Spa Francorchamps- Belgium
5. Nordschleife (really)- Germany
6. Monza- Italy
7. Monte Carlo- Monaco
8. Jerez- Spain
9. Algarve Portimao- Portugal
10. Gilles Villeneuve- Canada
11. Road America- United States
12. Interlagos- Brazil
13. Durban Street Circuit- South Africa
14. Sepang- Malaysia (Its not too bad a tilkedrome, they will add Turkey's turn 8 to the track after Istanbul is destroyed)
15. Korea IC- South Korea (Not bad either)
16. Adelaide- Australia
17. Suzuka- Japan
18. Enoch and Jamie's backyard- F1Rejects (Bonus Race)

[thehemogoblin]

Well, my ideal calendar, will never happen, as these tracks are 'too dangerous' or 'not financially suitable'. (In order from first race to last)

1. Brands Hatch- UK
2. Paul Ricard- France
3. Zandvoort- The Netherlands
4. Spa Francorchamps- Belgium
5. Nordschleife (really)- Germany
6. Monza- Italy
7. Monte Carlo- Monaco
8. Jerez- Spain
9. Algarve Portimao- Portugal
10. Gilles Villeneuve- Canada
11. Road America- United States
12. Interlagos- Brazil
13. Durban Street Circuit- South Africa
14. Sepang- Malaysia (Its not too bad a tilkedrome, they will add Turkey's turn 8 to the track after Istanbul is destroyed)
15. Korea IC- South Korea (Not bad either)
16. Adelaide- Australia
17. Suzuka- Japan
18. Enoch and Jamie's backyard- F1Rejects (Bonus Race)

Vanuatu? Some F1Rejects fan you are...

[Cynon]

This image says "Formula Indy Cart", hinting that this was supposed to be an IndyCar. The staggered suspension on the right side would indicate as much also... also, the rear wing looks a lot like rear wings that ran at Indy, not to mention the droopy front wings that became common at Indy when Reynard broke onto the scene in 1994.

So I'm going to say; NOT AN F1 CAR.

[FullMetalJack]

Another suggestions would be to shrink the cars and drivers down to micro size and have them race across breakfast tables, science labs, school desks, bathrooms etc.

MEMORIES, Micro Machines V3, LOVED THAT GAME!!!

[uh_clem]

After qualifying, the drivers draw car numbers to see which car they will actually race.

[Aerond]

Two easy; realistic things which would GREATLY improve the spectacle;

- Reduce brake efficiency, or introduce steel brakes.
- Bring back gravel//grass traps. I know asphalt is there for safety, but it makes mistakes very cheap to pay for (see Hamilton when passed by Alonso at the Korean GP). I know there can´t be 100% gravel or grass traps, but maybe there could be a grass or gravel trap next to the track, then asphalt afterwards. This way drivers would pay for the mistakes they make while the asphalt will brake the car if the incident is really serious.

[Cynon]

Remove all the chicanes at Monza to make it a de facto oval track.

F1000x, if you're going to do oval racing, take out Indianapolis's road course and do the oval instead.

I thought about it, but I don't think the FIA would allow F1 to run the Indianapolis oval, its just too fast.

MAN UP AND RACE IT

[Aerospeed]

MID-SEASON TESTS AS THE TEAM PLEASES

I hope I adressed that situation enough.

[F1000X]

Bristol? Martinsville? We both know how bad intermediate tracks suck...

If the FIA would ratify Bristol, that a fine choice, but I need Super-speedway on the calendar. I need drafting at 250mph. I don't think F1 cars have a steering rack for Martinsville, and honestly, I can't watch Martinsville most of the time.

Remove all the chicanes at Monza to make it a de facto oval track.

It would be so sick, and so boycotted.

[Shizuka]

Gran Turismo tracks in real life!

[Cynon]

Remove all the chicanes at Monza to make it a de facto oval track.

It would be so sick, and so boycotted.

That layout has the closest gap from 1st to 4th in the history of F1 if I'm not mistaken. That and some of the finishes we've seen in the IRL should speak for themselves, and IRL drivers have no problems nearly interlocking wheels for 200 laps...

The F1 drivers and teams would run scared at the prospect, but if you put the IRL drivers in those cars, they'd actually RACE.

[dr-baker]

Remove all the chicanes at Monza to make it a de facto oval track.

It would be so sick, and so boycotted.

That layout has the closest gap from 1st to 4th in the history of F1 if I'm not mistaken. That and some of the finishes we've seen in the IRL should speak for themselves, and IRL drivers have no problems nearly interlocking wheels for 200 laps...

The F1 drivers and teams would run scared at the prospect, but if you put the IRL drivers in those cars, they'd actually RACE.

And there would be left and right turns as well (with the only left being at the current Ascari chicane).

[chrismcn]

Two easy; realistic things which would GREATLY improve the spectacle;

Give Kobayashi the RB6 and make him start from the pit then give Schumacher the HRT and put him on pole. Loads of overtaking at one end and blocking at the other.

And make it compulsory for Eddie Jordan to only talk about things that happened to his team in the 1990s.

[FullMetalJack]

Gran Turismo tracks in real life!

Special Stage Route 11 FTW!!! The original GT1 layout was much better than the GT3 layout.

[Shizuka]

Gran Turismo tracks in real life!

Special Stage Route 11 FTW!!! The original GT1 layout was much better than the GT3 layout.

Yes! SSR11's original layout is an amazing track. Also, Autumn Ring Mini!

[mario]

Remove all the chicanes at Monza to make it a de facto oval track.

It would be so sick, and so boycotted.

That layout has the closest gap from 1st to 4th in the history of F1 if I'm not mistaken. That and some of the finishes we've seen in the IRL should speak for themselves, and IRL drivers have no problems nearly interlocking wheels for 200 laps...

The F1 drivers and teams would run scared at the prospect, but if you put the IRL drivers in those cars, they'd actually RACE.

How much longer until somebody suggest reviving the old oval layout at Monza, where the banking (at 31º) is even more extreme than quite a few modern oval tracks?

However, back to some potentially more realistic options:

Two easy; realistic things which would GREATLY improve the spectacle;

- Reduce brake efficiency, or introduce steel brakes.
- Bring back gravel//grass traps. I know asphalt is there for safety, but it makes mistakes very cheap to pay for (see Hamilton when passed by Alonso at the Korean GP). I know there can´t be 100% gravel or grass traps, but maybe there could be a grass or gravel trap next to the track, then asphalt afterwards. This way drivers would pay for the mistakes they make while the asphalt will brake the car if the incident is really serious.

I don't think that changing the brake material would automatically make things more challenging for the drivers, and increase the braking distances in itself. Grey iron/steel disks are still fairly widely used in motorsport - for example, in GT car racing, where carbon fibre disks are banned. It would probably push up the cooling demands (leading to oversized brake ducts compared to today), and extend the braking zones a bit, but it would remain to be seen how much longer the braking zones get (the drag of the cars alone is quite significant at high speed, and greatly increases the retardation of the cars).
And in wet weather, steel disks would make things a lot easier for the drivers - it's one of the reasons why, traditionally at least, MotoGP riders would revert from carbon fibre to steel disks in wet races (because the surface of carbon ceramic disks tend to vitrify in cold conditions, or 'glaze over', which is less of a problem with steel).
I think for that proposal to work, you would probably have to look at either a reduction in disk size, or a reduction in the force which can be applied to the disk itself, in addition to changing the brake material. Nevertheless, I agree with the idea, since increasing the braking zones would give a brave driver slightly more time and a longer distance over which he could make his move.

On the latter point, with the more stringent FIA crash protection measures around, it would be hard to bring back gravel traps, due to the traditional problem of cars digging in and potentially flipping - such as Trulli in 2004, when his car barrel rolled across a gravel trap at the British Grand Prix after his rear suspension dug into the ground.
Perhaps one compromise would be what they have done at Paul Ricard and Abu-Dhabi, with the painted tarmac zones. At Paul Ricard, they painted the tarmac zones with an abrasive paint - the first zone, in blue, will damage the surface of the tyre slightly, so it doesn't punish going off the track once too heavily, but the high tyre wear would deter you from doing it too often. The second zone, in red, is much more abrasive, and running across that for more than a few seconds will damage the surface of the tyre more heavily, requiring you to pit afterwards.

[Phoenix]

Gran Turismo tracks in real life!

Special Stage Route 11 FTW!!! The original GT1 layout was much better than the GT3 layout.

Yes! SSR11's original layout is an amazing track. Also, Autumn Ring Mini!

Red Rock Valley, El Capitan, Deep Forest, Grindelwald, Grand Valley, COMPLEX STRING...we can only dream
About the run-off areas, what about the first section being asphalt, then the section closer to the walls a gravel trap?

[atvli]

1). Introduce an enduro event in the year, with two drivers per car V8 Supercars style. Double the normal points on offer.

2). Award points to the driver with the most overtakes* in a race.

* Overtakes for position only.

[TomWazzleshaw]

1). Introduce an enduro event in the year, with two drivers per car V8 Supercars style. Double the normal points on offer.

The Monaco 1000... now THAT would be epic

[the Masked Lapwing]

1). Introduce an enduro event in the year, with two drivers per car V8 Supercars style. Double the normal points on offer.

The Monaco 1000... now THAT would be epic

The crashes would be awesome, but how many would actually finish the race?

[F1000X]

1). Introduce an enduro event in the year, with two drivers per car V8 Supercars style. Double the normal points on offer.

The Monaco 1000... now THAT would be epic

The crashes would be awesome, but how many would actually finish the race?

Nobody, the cars arn't designed for that kind of punishment. If you were going to have an enduro event, it would have to be at a track that was not as hard on the cars. Catalunya would be ideal, as the cars already test like crazy there.

[Dj_bereta]

-3 cars for top 4 teams in actual grid. Put Jason Plato in Red Bull third car, Takuma sato in Mclaren third car, Paul Tracy in Mercedes third car and JPM in Ferrari third car.

-Up to 30 racings and put some cart tracks, like toronto, vancouver and road america.

-Removal of regulation of the use of two compounds of tyres during the race.

-Removal of blue flags.

-10 point for driver who hold more the race leader until being lapped.

-2003-2004 qualify system. One Lap!

-Ban Legard and Galvão.

[FullMetalJack]

1). Introduce an enduro event in the year, with two drivers per car V8 Supercars style. Double the normal points on offer.

The Monaco 1000... now THAT would be epic

The crashes would be awesome, but how many would actually finish the race?

Probably none if it was done in 1996.

[dr-baker]

-2003-2004 qualify system. One Lap!

-Ban Legard.

Agree with above two points. But why no Villeneuve at Ferrari? Might boost viewers...

[Aerospeed]

-3 cars for top 4 teams in actual grid. Put Jason Plato in Red Bull third car, Takuma sato in Mclaren third car, Paul Tracy in Mercedes third car and JPM in Ferrari third car.

1. Who's Jason Plato?
2. JPM and Tracy are has-beens
3. Isn't Sato in CindyCar?

[AndreaModa]

1. Who's Jason Plato?

BTCC champion of 2010